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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2011
12/9/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
11/18/11
Island Heat 3: Tha Comeback
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom,Waipahu)
11/11/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
10/22/11
NAGA Hawaii
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
10/21/11
Destiny MMA
(MMA)
(The Waterfront, Aloha Tower Market Place)
10/15/11
Up N Up
(MMA)
(Kodak Room, Waikiki Shell)
10/7/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
9/24/11
Aloha
State of BJJ
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser HS)
9/23/11
808 Battleground Presents: Unstoppable
(MMA)
(The Waterfront, Aloha Tower Market Place)
9/2/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
8/27/11
Pro
Elite MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
Toughman Hawaii
(Boxing, Kickboxing)
(Hilo Civic)
Add to events calendar
8/20/11
POSTPONED
Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open Tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Neal Blaisdell Center
Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, Maui)
8/13/11
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waterfront at Aloha Tower)
8/12/11
Up N Up: Waipahu Brawl
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
8/6/11
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
7/22/11
808 Battleground & X-1 World Events
Domination
(MMA)
(Waterfront at Aloha Tower)
Vendetta
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
7/16/11
2011 Sera's Kajukenbo Open Tournament
(Continuous Sparring, MMA (Controlled), and Submission Grappling)
(War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
7/8/11
Chozun 2
(Kickboxing)
(The Waterfront at Aloha Tower Marketplace, Honolulu)
Rener Gracie Seminar
O2 Martial Arts Academy
$65
7-9PM
7/1/11
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
6/25/11
Kauai Cage Fights
(MMA)
(Kilohana Estates)
6/17-19/11
Big Boys & MMA Hawaii Expo
Neal Blaisdell Center, Honolulu)
6/18-19/11
Hawaii Triple Crown
“State Championships”
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Neal Blaisdell Center, Honolulu)
6/18/11
Destiny: Fury II
(MMA)
(Neal Blaisdell Center, Honolulu)
6/17/11
UpNUp: On The Rise
(MMA)
(Neal Blaisdell Center, Honolulu)
6/10/11
Genesis “76 South Showdown Kickboxing”
(Kickboxing)
(Campbell H.S. Gym, Ewa Beach)
6/2-5/11
World
Jiu-Jitsu Championship
(BJJ)
(California)
5/28/11
HUAWA Grappling Tournament 2011
Grappling Series II
(Submission grappling)
(Mililani H.S. Gym, Mililani)
Cancelled
Battleground 808
(MMA)
(The Waterfront, Aloha Tower)
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
5/21/11
Scraplafest 3
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Island School, Puhi, Kauai, behind Kauai Commuity College)
5/20/11
Kauai Knockout Championship II: Mortal Combat
(MMA)
(Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall, Lihue)
5/14/11
Boxing Smoker
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Gym)
5/6/11
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
4/28/11
Destiny: Fury II
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
4/23/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Gladiators for God
(Amateur Muay Thai)
(Wet&Wild Water Park)
4/16/11
Hawaiian
Championship of BJJ
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
4/15/11
Destiny
& 808 Battleground presents "Supremacy"
(MMA)
(Aloha Tower Waterfront)
4/9/11
Fight Girls Hawaii
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
4/2/11
Toughman Hawaii
(Kickboxing)
(Hilo Civic Ctr)
3/24-27/11
Pan
American Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA)
3/26/11
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing, Triple Threat)
(Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
HUAWA Grappling Tourney
(Sub Grappling)
(Mililani HS Gym)
3/12/11
X-1:
Dylan Clay vs Niko Vitale
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/11/11
Chozun 1: "the Reckoning"
(Kickboxing)
(The Waterfront at Aloha Tower Marketplace, Honolulu)
3/5/11
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Auditorium, Hilo)
2/25/11
808
Battleground Presents
War of Warriors
(MMA)
(The Waterfront At Aloha Tower, Honolulu)
2/20/11
Pan
Kids Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(California State University, Carson, CA )
2/19/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
2/5/11
Garden Island Cage Match 10: Mayhem at the Mansion 2
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Kilohana Carriage House, Lihue, Kauai)
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
2/4/11
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
1/29/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Battle At The Barn
(MMA)
(Molokai H.S. Gym, Molokai)
1/8/11
Hawaii Toughman
(Kickboxing)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
|
|
September
2011 News Part 1
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi.
Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with Kaleo Kwan, PJ
Dean, & Chris Slavens!
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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
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Click here for pricing and more
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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!
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If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
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Monson:
“I’m going to face Fedor in Russia this November”
Jiu-Jitsu
black belt and MMA fighter Jeff Monson (42w, 12l) announced what
is in the works for his next outing via Twitter. Monson (pictured)
said he’s confirmed to face Fedor Emelianenko (31w, 4l)
on November 12 at M-1 in Russia.
According
to MMAJunkie, however, the bout agreement between the ex-UFC
fighter and ex-Strikeforce fighter haven’t been signed yet.
The supposed date of the event, November 12, is the same as the
inaugural UFC broadcast on Fox, direct from Anaheim, California.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
No-show
Diaz deserves his UFC fate
LAS
VEGAS – This is Aaron Rodgers skipping the Super Bowl, Roy
Halladay passing on the World Series.
An
elite professional athlete doesn’t do what Nick Diaz did,
not on the precipice of what could have been the greatest night
of his professional life.
UFC
president Dana White made the dramatic move Wednesday to yank
Diaz from a welterweight championship bout against Georges St.
Pierre that would have topped the card at UFC 137 on Oct. 29
at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas about 10 minutes
before a bizarre news conference began in the deserted arena.
White
opened the news conference by recounting the chain of events
of the last several days. He noted how Diaz missed two flights
to Toronto, another to Las Vegas and how he couldn’t be
certain Diaz would show up for the fight.
Only
moments before White and St. Pierre walked on stage, White pulled
Diaz and offered the bout to Carlos Condit. Condit, who was to
have fought B.J. Penn on the undercard of UFC 137, broke down
in tears when he learned the news, White said.
White
said he has promoted more than 1,600 fights in his career and
this is the first time a main-event fighter has failed to show
up for a news conference. Worse, White called Diaz after Diaz
had missed a Monday afternoon Air Canada flight from San Francisco
to Toronto. According to White, Diaz apologized and White had
him rebooked on a flight later that night.
“He
lied to my face,” White said.
Diaz
has lost virtually all of the credibility he had with all but
an extremely small segment of the fan base. He’s the guy
who once taunted an opponent while asking for a rematch by saying,
“Don’t be scared, homie.” But Diaz wasn’t
willing to get onto a plane and sit through a couple of hour-long
news conferences in order to fulfill his contractual obligations
and earn what White said would have been “life-changing
money” to fight St. Pierre.
Diaz
has never liked to do media appearances – The truth is,
though, few high-level fighters do, including St. Pierre, who
admitted as much on Wednesday – but sitting for an hour
at a news conference is far better than blowing a major fight
and, potentially, his career.
“I
would have to assume with Diaz that we’re probably going
to let him go, but we’ll see what happens,” said White,
who said he had spent $15,000 on airfare trying to get Diaz to
where he needed to be.
It
was almost comical when, in the middle of the news conference,
White’s cell phone rang. Cesar Gracie, Diaz’s manager,
was on the other end of the line. Gracie, though, wasn’t
pleading for one last chance.
Gracie
agreed with White’s decision and told him so.
“I’ve
stuck up for Nick, even when he was wrong before,” Gracie
told MMAjunkie.com. “But he’s let a lot of people down.
He’s let his team down. We all bought plane tickets to Vegas.
We got hotel rooms booked, paid for. We’ve got all that,
and Nick just decided not to go to something he’s supposed
to. They’re paying him a lot of money, and in this economy
where people don’t have money, he’s blessed. He should
be thanking God every night how blessed he is.
“And
instead, he’s not getting on a plane to go to Vegas. I’m
extremely disappointed. He’s done a lot of stuff, but this
is the worst of it. If I were him, I would be begging Dana White
to get my job back and work your way up to a title shot at some
point.”
A
straight-thinking person doesn’t do what Diaz did, but Diaz
also isn’t a Harvard graduate. Gracie speculated Diaz might
have a social anxiety disorder, but he admits he doesn’t
know. No one does.
Only
Diaz really knows what moves him and, if the truth be told, he
probably couldn’t rationally explain why he chose to skip
the news conferences.
That’s
why White couldn’t have gone forward with the fight card
with Diaz in the main event. This is a guy who slipped out the
back door at Gracie’s home as Gracie was preparing to drive
him to the airport.
It’s
bad enough to pull him now, after tickets had gone on sale, advertising
purchased and promotional materials had been printed.
Imagine,
though, the outcry from fans who had purchased the pay-per-view
expecting to see Diaz fight St. Pierre only to learn on the night
of the fight that Diaz failed to show.
White
made a rational decision Wednesday because it was clear he couldn’t
count on Diaz to do the same.
“Am
I supposed to move forward with this fight and feel confident
that this kid is going to show up to fight?” White said.
“He’s running and hiding from his camp, his team. I’d
rather pull the fight now than not have him show up the night
of the event.”
The
UFC almost has no option to cut him. White is extraordinarily
fighter-friendly in these kinds of situations. In 2008, he went
to great extremes to defend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
when Jackson was charged with several felonies while leading
police on a chase in Costa Mesa, Calif. If White had a viable
alternative, he likely wouldn’t dump Diaz. Given the circumstances,
though, what choice does he have?
The
news of his release will likely come in the next several days,
and that will leave Diaz struggling to find a job. Any promoter
whose fights air on television would have to think long and hard
about putting Diaz on, given the threat of the no-show.
It’s
a sad situation, but Diaz is a grown man. He doesn’t have
to fight Georges St. Pierre if he doesn’t want.
But
when you sign your name on a contract and say you’ll do
something, including making media appearances to promote your
fight, you do it.
When
you don’t, you find yourself in a situation like Nick Diaz
is today, a great talent who is likely to discover he has no
place to showcase it.
If
it was willful on Diaz’ part, then he deserves everything
that happens to him.
But
if, as I suspect, there is more to it than Diaz just flouting
authority, here’s hoping the UFC gets him the help and gives
him the support he needs. That’s the only right thing to
do.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Mailbag:
Overeem psyched for Lesnar bout
Only
a few days after a report suggested that his health would force
him to retire, the UFC announced that former heavyweight champion
Brock Lesnar will return to competition on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas
when he meets ex-Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem at UFC
141.
The
Los Angeles Times broke the news on Tuesday.
Alistair Overeem is focused on his chance to meet ex-UFC champion
Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar
has not fought since losing the belt to Cain Velasquez at UFC
121 in Anaheim, Calif., on Oct. 23. Shortly afterward, Lesnar
underwent surgery after he had a flareup of diverticulitis.
Last
week, the web site TheMMACorner.com claimed that Lesnar would
be forced to retire. The erroneous report then spread when the
site Bleacher Report followed up on it. Asked about it during
a conference call Friday to announce that the Velasquez-Junior
dos Santos fight would headline the Nov. 12 show on Fox, White
dismissed it out-of-hand.
“That’s
ridiculous,” White said of the story. “That’s
so far from the truth, it’s not even funny. He’s been
working up on a farm in Canada all summer. He’s back to
100 percent, and he’s getting back into training in the
next couple of weeks.”
On
Tuesday, the UFC revealed just how ridiculous Bleacher Report
was, when it signed Overeem to a UFC contract and announced he’d
make his debut at UFC 141 against Lesnar.
“It’s
a going to be a very aggressive fight,” Overeem told Yahoo!
Sports. “Knowing Brock, and knowing myself, it’s going
to be extremely aggressive and I’m pretty sure it’s
not going to go the distance. He’s a big guy, I’m a
big guy and it’s not in our nature to be conservative. He’s
a wrestler and is going to try to get me down. I’m a striker
and I’m going to try to knock him out. I am excited and
I can’t wait for the bout.”
It’s
a terrific, and unexpected, matchup &ndah; the kind the UFC
keeps pulling out of the hat to excite its fan base. Overeem,
who signed his contract Tuesday in UFC chairman Lorenzo Fertitta’s
Las Vegas office, told Yahoo! Sports that he was offered the
opportunity to fight the Velasquez-dos Santos winner, but didn’t
want to wait that long and chose to face Lesnar instead.
“I
was offered the option to fight for the [UFC] title right away,
but it would probably be six months, because those guys would
need some time to recover,” Overeem said. “I’m
a fighter and I like to be active. As we were talking, Brock’s
name is one of the names that came up. The fans wanted to see
that fight, and I wanted to see it. Taking everything into consideration,
one of the most important things are the fans. They wanted to
see it, two big guys slugging it out, so I said, ‘Let’s
do it.’ ”
In
addition, the UFC reached verbal agreements with lightweights
Clay Guida and Ben Henderson on a fight that will be on the undercard
of the Fox show on Nov. 12 in Anaheim, Calif. The winner of that
fight will be the top contender for the winner of the upcoming
title fight between champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray
Maynard.
MMA
musings
•
The UFC’s announcements completely overshadowed the Strikeforce
Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinal card, which is Saturday at U.S.
Bank Arena in Cincinnati. And given that the UFC is hosting a
news conference on Wednesday to formally announce the Georges
St. Pierre-Nick Diaz fight set for Oct. 29 at Mandalay Bay in
Las Vegas, it’s going to be another day that the Grand Prix
takes a back seat in the headlines.
•
A Lesnar-Overeem fight is enough to salivate over. But can you
imagine what an Overeem-Shane Carwin fight or an Overeem-dos
Santos fight might be like? Unreal.
•
White clarified Tuesday that the UFC’s deal with Fox was
for four fights a year, not six.
•
Good move by Bellator to stream its undercard fights on Spike.com.
MMA fans are used to going to Spike and this will help to increase
Bellator’s exposure. How long before Bellator leaves MTV2
and announces all of its broadcasts will be on Spike?
Readers
always write
Velasquez-dos
Santos lack casual-fan interest
Regarding
the heavyweight title match between Cain Velasquez and Junior
dos Santos on Fox, do you think it is the best choice to headline
the network premiere? Personally, I think it will be a great
fight. But while this fight will be highly anticipated among
the mixed martial arts crowd, I don’t see where it is going
to appeal to a broad, “first-time MMA,” general audience.
I don’t imagine most people who don’t watch MMA have
ever heard of these guys, but they may have heard of fighters
like Brock Lesnar, Georges St. Pierre or Anderson Silva. Your
thoughts?
Stan
San Diego
Stan,
I think they made the perfect choice. First, they had to go with
who was available. Second, there is always something special
about a heavyweight title fight. And third, the casual fans aren’t
going to tune in for the name. They’re going to tune in
because they’ve heard of the UFC and want to see what it’s
about. It was incumbent upon White and Fertitta to put on a match
that promised to be wildly entertaining so as to capture those
new fans. I think Velasquez-dos Santos does that very well.
Pay
Alvarez, bring him to the UFC
Hey
Kevin, I am in Iraq on my fourth deployment and still following
the UFC. I love your work, along with Dave Meltzer’s. The
reason I am writing is I think it is time for Eddie Alvarez to
get paid the money he deserves from the UFC so he can fight the
best in the world. After talking with Eddie’s manager, it
seems that Dana does not want to pay him and he will have to
take a pay cut if he leaves Bellator. His team felt the money
offered was a slap in the face considering he is the fifth-ranked
lightweight in the world. Plus, he is a very entertaining fighter
with a big heart. If Dana is true to his word; he will bring
Alvarez in and set up good fights for the fans. Unfortunately,
now it is all about the money.
Stanley
Zgrzepski
Philadelphia
Thanks
for everything you’re doing for us, Stanley. It’s appreciated.
As far as Alvarez’s contract, that’s private between
him, Bellator and his manager. But what I will say is that there
are many fighters who have signed in the UFC who are now making
more than $1 million a year. If Alvarez is in it solely for the
money, he’ll have to be content fighting on a much smaller
stage, which will impact his out-of-cage earnings, too. He has
to make a choice that he feels is best for him, but I’d
love to see him fight the likes of Strikeforce champion Gilbert
Melendez, UFC champion Frankie Edgar, as well as guys like Gray
Maynard, Anthony Pettis, Benson Henderson, Jim Miller, Clay Guida
and others.
Silva
should face the light heavyweights
UFC
champion Anderson Silva has “lapped the field” at middleweight.
He has also destroyed the light heavyweights he has faced. So
why is the “super fight” with a welterweight? Georges
St. Pierre is a great fighter who, under the best of circumstances,
could conceivably wrestle Silva to a decision. The problem is
that Silva is taller, longer, probably the most accurate MMA
striker in history, has knocked out everyone he has tried knock
out, can fight on the ground and St. Pierre got knocked out by
Matt Serra. So why isn’t the Silva super fight at a higher
weight class with Jon Jones (a longer, taller fighter)? Jones
is probably not experienced enough to handle Silva over five
rounds. The truth is, Silva is simply in a class by himself.
Devin
Galaudet
Los Angeles
Devin,
I agree that the most intriguing matchup would be Silva-Jones.
But Jones is a young guy who has yet to make one title defense.
And the UFC has had a policy that a champion clean out a division
before he fights someone from outside of his division. Plus,
there are several major fights awaiting Jones, not the least
of which is his Sept. 24 bout against former champion Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson in Denver. If he wins that, he faces
Rashad Evans. I think circumstance, as much as anything, puts
Silva and St. Pierre together, as well as the fact they’re
1-2 in the rankings.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Matt
Hughes vs. Josh Koscheck Official for UFC 135 Fight Card Co-Main
Event
After
a bit of deliberation, Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck are now
set to face off in the co-main event for UFC 135 coming up on
Sept. 24 in Denver.
UFC
president Dana White announced the new fight on Tuesday via Twitter.
Originally,
Hughes was set to face “Ultimate Fighter” season 1
winner Diego Sanchez on the card, but Sanchez suffered a broken
hand in training and was forced back to the sidelines.
In
his place, Josh Koscheck offered to step up and accept the fight,
and now he faces Hughes in a bout the American Kickboxing Academy
fighter has been asking about for years.
Hughes
returns to action for the first time since UFC 123 in November
2010 when he lost by knockout to B.J. Penn.
Koscheck
also comes back from a loss after suffering a defeat to current
UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 124 in Montreal
last December.
Hughes
and Koscheck meet as the co-main event for UFC 135, which is
headed up by light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones”
Jones taking on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Nick
Diaz Says He’s Ready to Fight and He’s Sorry for Missing
the ‘Beauty Pageant’
The
former Strikeforce welterweight champion who was slated to face
Georges St-Pierre at UFC 137, but was then pulled from the fight
after missing two pre fight press events, has now resurfaced
with a cryptic video explaining his absence.
It’s
been no secret that Diaz has never been a huge fan of press obligations,
but after not returning calls from UFC President Dana White and
his manager and trainer Cesar Gracie, the Stockton native was
yanked from the main event bout.
Now
hours later, Diaz released a video on YouTube with his version
of the story, and reiterates several times that he’s ready
to fight.
“The
UFC wanted me to fight for the title against Georges St-Pierre,
and now they’re telling me that they’re going to give
the fight to Carlos Condit, which I think is ridiculous,”
Diaz stated.
“Georges
thinks it’s a great idea because Carlos Condit poses an
even greater threat, so I guess that just leaves me out.”
No
showing press commitments isn’t anything new for Diaz, but
under the UFC he’s been expected to show up and participate.
Currently, he’s 0-2 for press conferences with the promotion
since re-signing earlier this year, but he calls it a ‘beauty
pageant’ and says he’s still ready to compete.
“All
I know is I’m ready to fight. I’m sorry I didn’t
make it to the beauty pageant, but I’ve never not showed
up to a fight, and I’ve never backed out of a fight in my
life. That’s not what I do,” Diaz stated.
Georges
St-Pierre is now set to face Carlos Condit in the main event
of UFC 137, and while the promotion still hasn’t decided
what to do about Diaz yet, as of now he remains on the UFC’s
roster.
If
he does get another shot, Diaz is more than ready to fight and
face whoever they put in the cage with him.
“I’ll
fight whatever, whoever, anything,” said Diaz. “I’d
definitely rather fight GSP of course.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Alistair
Overeem: ‘You Can Call Him the Belt Collector’
It
may have been one of the biggest fight announcements in UFC history
when the news broke that former Strikeforce heavyweight champion
Alistair Overeem would be facing former UFC heavyweight champion
Brock Lesnar on Dec. 30 at UFC 141.
Overeem’s
arrival in the UFC is not unexpected, but still a huge signing
as the K-1 Grand Prix champion finally makes his Octagon debut.
Originally,
Overeem was cut from Strikeforce due to contractual issues between
his management at Team Golden Glory and the bosses at Zuffa.
Cooler heads ultimately prevailed and, according to Golden Glory
leader Bas Boon, once the talks began the deal worked out without
much of a problem.
“It
took patience and negotiating in good faith. I must admit that
it went more smoothly then I expected,” Boon told MMAWeekly.com
on Tuesday. “We at Golden Glory are excited and Alistair
Overeem has finally got his chance to become the UFC champion.”
Now
that all the paperwork is signed and Overeem is officially a
UFC fighter the next business at hand becomes the preparation
for his showdown with Lesnar later this year.
The
bout will be a five-round main event fight with a shot at the
UFC heavyweight title on the line. Expectations are already lofty
for what this fight could mean to the heavyweight division, and
Boon is expecting even bigger things.
“Alistair
Overeem against Brock Lesnar will be fireworks and it will be
the best PPV fight in the history of the UFC,” he predicted.
The
fight between Overeem and Lesnar will be a big fight undoubtedly,
but the former Strikeforce champion has said in several interviews
that he was actually offered a shot at the UFC heavyweight title
on day one, but he didn’t want to delay his debut and chose
to fight Lesnar instead.
The
decision could be risky, but Overeem’s longtime trainer
Martijn De Jong from Team Golden Glory says it’s just the
first step before he claims the UFC heavyweight title as his
own.
“Alistair
fights anybody on any day. We were not disappointed at all that
we didn’t get a title fight right away,” De Jong said.
“When the time is right, he will get that title shot and
he will take that belt. You can call him the belt collector.”
If
Overeem is able to win the UFC heavyweight title he will add
that to his current stable o gold which includes the K-1 Grand
Prix title, the Strikeforce heavyweight title, and Dream heavyweight
belt.
To
prepare for Lesnar, Overeem is currently putting together his
training camp and will travel home to Holland soon to begin the
construction. Overeem had mentioned training in Los Angeles,
and his manager Bas Boon revealed to MMAWeekly.com that plans
are in place for Golden Glory to host a team in California.
“We
are opening a Golden Glory camp in California,” he stated.
De
Jong says it doesn’t really matter where Overeem trains
at, they will make sure he has the best coaching and training
partners he needs to get ready for his showdown with Lesnar.
“Alistair
will be training with all the guys from Team Golden Glory with
potentially flying in some heavyweight wrestlers for our camp
as well,” said De Jong. “We can set up a camp anywhere
in the world: Holland, Thailand, or the U.S. We will discuss
this with the team as soon as he comes back to Holland.”
The
addition of heavyweight wrestlers will answer some of the questions
surrounding Overeem dealing with Lesnar’s tremendous grappling
pedigree as a former NCAA champion.
But
his trainer believes that Overeem already possesses the skills
to beat Lesnar at his own game, and if he thinks that it’s
going to be good to get the Dutch wrecking machine to the ground,
he’s got another thing coming.
“Alistair
is a very well rounded fighter. He is not only a good striker,
but also holds a great submission and wrestling game. He was
the former ADCC European Champion. Besides that, I can’t
even remember when he got taken down in one of his fights?”
De Jong stated.
“However,
we will have a game plan ready for Brock and I can personally
tell you that this is going to be an amazing fight; 2011 will
go out with a bang!”
Overeem
will travel home soon and then begin his preparation for Brock
Lesnar and his UFC debut to close out the year at UFC 141 on
Dec. 30 in Las Vegas.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Alistair
Overeem Opens as -135 Favorite Over Brock Lesnar at UFC 141
On
the heels of the announcement that former Strikeforce champion
Alistair Overeem would be facing Brock Lesnar in December, the
odds are already out and putting the Dutchman as a slight favorite.
The
odds come courtesy of oddsmaker Nick Kalikas from BetonFighting.com.
Overeem
opens as a slight betting favorite with -135 odds, while the
former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar comes back as a
+105 underdog.
The
odds remain very close, but Overeem has been dominant over his
last several fights including wins over Fabricio Werdum and Brett
Rogers.
Lesnar
meanwhile will have been out of action for over a year when he
returns in December. The former champion was once again stricken
with a bout of diverticulitis earlier this year and forced back
to the sidelines when he opted for surgery.
When
Lesnar gets back in action he will face Overeem in a five-round
main event fight at UFC 141 that will determine the next UFC
heavyweight title contender.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Kid
Yamamoto vs. Darren Uyenoyama Added to UFC on Fox Fight Card
Now
that the first UFC on Fox main event is in the can – UFC
heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will defend his belt from
No. 1 contender Junior Dos Santos – the rest of the fight
card is filling up fast.
The
UFC on Tuesday announced that popular Japanese bantamweight Norifumi
“Kid” Yamamoto and new UFC signee Darren Uyenoyama
have agreed to square off as part of the Nov. 12 undercard in
Anaheim, Calif.
Yamamoto
(18-4) was originally slated to face Damacio Page at UFC 135
in Denver, but the bout fell apart due to injuries. He will instead
return at UFC on Fox 1.
Yamamoto
is in desperate need of a victory after losing three of his last
four bouts, including a decision loss to Demetrious Johnson in
Yamamoto’s Octagon debut at UFC 126 earlier this year.
A
Strikeforce veteran, Uyenoyama (6-3) has fought his last couple
bouts in Japan under the DEEP and Shooto banners. He is coming
off of a second-round TKO victory over Shuichiro Katsumura.
The
only bout scheduled to air live on the UFC on Fox event is the
five-round title fight between Velasquez and Dos Santos. It is
currently unclear where the undercard bouts will be broadcast,
although the UFC can always fallback on its Facebook page to
stream the fights.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
140 Fight Card Adds Two Welterweight Bouts, Including Ebersole
vs. MacDonald
And
the hits just keep on coming…
After
a rare weekend off, UFC officials have had a busy day on Tuesday,
announcing numerous fights. The big one was Brock Lesnar’s
return to welcome former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair
Overeem to the Octagon at UFC 141 on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas, but
that was far from all the announcements.
“Two
of the welterweight division’s most promising contenders
have verbally agreed to fight as Brian ‘Bad Boy’ Ebersole
takes on Rory ‘Ares’ MacDonald Dec. 10 in Toronto,”
UFC president Dana White proclaimed.
That
fight and another welterweight contest pitting Rich Attonito
against Claude Patrick will grace the UFC 140 fight card.
Largely
considered a journeyman fighter, Ebersole (48-14-1) has taken
his UFC opportunity and run with it. He defeated Chris Lytle
in his Octagon debut at UFC 127 in Australia then returned at
UFC 133 to rid the UFC and its fans of Dennis Hallman’s
atrocious attire.
He’ll
face his toughest test to date, however, in MacDonald (12-1),
who enters the bout on the heels of back-to-back wins over Mike
Pyle and Nate Diaz.
Attonito
(10-4) is a veteran of the eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter
that has gone 3-1 since his time on the show. He and Patrick
(14-1) should be a solid match-up. Patrick has won all three
of his UFC bouts and is on 13-fight winning streak.
UFC
officials also confirmed a previously reported match-up between
lightweight debutants John Cholish and Mitch Clarke.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Cesar
Gracie: 'I Can't Stick Up for Nick on This One'
Cesar Gracie, Nick Diaz's long-time manager and trainer, says
he has stood behind Nick Diaz for years, but he can't defend
his decision to not show up to the UFC 137 media days in Toronto
and Las Vegas this week.
Instead,
Gracie told MMAFighting.com that he stands behind the UFC's decision
to remove Diaz from the UFC 137 main event against Georges St-Pierre
in favor of Carlos Condit.
"I
told Dana [White] he was right to have done that," Gracie
said.
In
fact, Gracie called White in the middle of the UFC's press conference
to announce the main event switch to say as much.
"There's
a lot of hard workers I see that have trouble putting food on
the table for their kids," Gracie said. "I've stuck
up for Nick a lot, but I can't stick up for him on this one."
Gracie said he last spoke to Diaz on Tuesday. That's when Diaz
informed him that he couldn't find his passport and was not going
to be able to fly to Toronto for that day's media obligations.
The UFC excused Diaz for missing the Toronto leg of the trip,
as long as he made it to Las Vegas.
"I
would have driven him to Vegas if it came to that," Gracie
said. "I don't care. He just turned his phone off and acted
like a little kid. It just doesn't cut it."
In
talking to Gracie, it's clear he's more disappointed than anything
in Diaz's behavior considering how big this fight against St-Pierre
was for him.
"Nick
is like family to me. We're going to have a long discussion,
hopefully with Dana, to see if he's still in the UFC or not.
But let's face it, Nick is 28 years old. I talked to Dana about
this before, and I think a big problem with all of this is Nick
has social anxiety. He doesn't like to go and be away from home.
He has no trouble fighting in the cage, though," Gracie
said.
"You
can't just not show up and [not] tell anyone anything."
At
Wednesday's press conference, White suggested the pressure of
fighting GSP got to Diaz, but Gracie quickly refuted that notion.
"He
doesn't feel comfortable being around people," he said.
"He has a very deep ingrained social anxiety, and it's something
he probably needs help for, I think. I think that's why he self-medicates
himself with the marijuana. That's my amateur opinion.
"He
did the same crap with Paul Daley and a couple other guys. It
was the same Nick Diaz. It's not the pressure of fighting GSP.
It's the pressure of doing a news conference before the fight.
Fighting is no pressure because he gets to beat someone up or
get beat up."
Gracie
isn't ready to severe ties with Diaz, though. Not when he needs
him most. But he did offer his pupil a bit of advice through
the media because that's the only way he can reach him right
now.
"I've
always been there to facilitate things for him and stuck up for
him even when he was wrong. If I were him, I would be calling
Dana at some point basically begging for my job and giving [me]
another chance to fight for the title."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
140: Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Three years after they first stepped into the Octagon together,
Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira are set to meet again.
Mir
vs. Nogueira 2 has been confirmed for UFC 140 on Dec. 10 at the
Air Canada Centre in Toronto, with Mir finally getting his next
opponent and Nogueira making a quick turnaround after his impressive
victory over Brendan Schaub in August.
In
their first meeting, at UFC 92, Mir pulled off what was then
an upset and became the first person ever to finish Nogueira,
winning a second-round technical knockout. That fight came at
the conclusion of their season coaching against each other on
The Ultimate Fighter, gave Mir the UFC's interim heavyweight
title, and set up Mir for his bout with Brock Lesnar at UFC 100.
Mir
has gone 3-2 since the first Nogueira fight, losing to Lesnar
and Shane Carwin and beating Cheick Kongo, Mirko Cro Cop and
Roy Nelson. Nogueira has gone 2-1 since losing to Mir, beating
Randy Couture and losing to Cain Velasquez before beating Schaub.
The
UFC's heavyweight division is looking revitalized right now,
with Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos and Brock Lesnar vs.
Alistair Overeem set for November and December. The Mir-Nogueira
rematch isn't quite as big a fight as those two, but it's another
sign that we're going to see some big heavyweight action in the
months ahead.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Lesnar’s
BJJ trainer talks Overeem, future in the UFC: “He wants
that belt”
Responsible
for Brock Lesnar’s Jiu-Jitsu training, Rodrigo “Comprido”
Medeiros is confident about the heavyweight’s return to
the octagon. The former heavyweight champion, who’s been
put under a diverticulitis surgery, faces Alistair Overeem on
December 30th, in UFC 140.
Directly
from the United States, the two-time BJJ openweight world champion
affirmed firsthand to TATAME that MMA fans will see Brock Lesnar
fighting in high level again.
“The
information I have is that the surgery was a success. You’ll
see Brock fighting in high level again,” Medeiros said.
“He was well prepared to fight Dos Santos and it was a shame
he had to go under this surgery. We’ve tried to avoid it
the most we could, but it was the best call because now it’s
permanently over. Brock’s goal is to get the belt back”.
Check
below the exclusive interview with “Comprido”, who
talked about the upcoming fight against Overeem and more.
Have
you started sharpening his Jiu-Jitsu?
He’s
in vacations in Canada, getting better, but he’s doing great
on the trainings and will be great in December. You can love
or hate Brock, but you’ll never find his fights boring.
He goes there and put on great shows, that’s why he’s
so important to the sport. I don’t know about his agenda
yet, but I’ll start working with him soon. He’s in
great hands for his technical and cardio trainings.
Does
Brock talk to you about his return to the octagon?
He’s
a discreet guy, he doesn’t talk much while he doesn’t
know what will happen. He gave a statement saying he’d like
to fight again, that he wasn’t retiring, after sent a video
explaining that. People talk too much, but he’s consistent
and behaves the same way he acts. He doesn’t like to get
exposed, doesn’t play games to promote himself. He made
it clear he wants to become Ultimate’s champion again, he
wants that belt. Brock’s motivation was never been disturbed.
He did not only say this to me, but to everybody who work with
him.
What
are you expectations for his fight against Alistair Overeem,
scheduled for December 30th?
I
think it’ll be good for Brock. Overeem is a guy who has
heavy hands, he’ll try to keep the fight up, but when he
goes to the ground he has a good foundation. It’ll be an
exciting fight, between two big guys, what brings much appeal
to the fans. Overeem must be crazy to debut in UFC, because he
lost the opportunity to fight in Strikeforce’s GP, but he
still is the champion of the event. Brock will be tested once
again with a great opponent, who’s the current holder of
the belt of one of the biggest organizations in the world. If
you stop to look at it, Brock, besides Heath Herring and the
Korean (Min Soo Kim), has only fought champion, former champions
and Velasquez, who became a champion after defeating him.
Is
there any limitation due to his surgery?
I
believe he has no limitations because it was a cut on a damaged
area, they cut off like 15 inches of his intestine. Besides that,
he’s good to go. I didn’t know if it’d be a huge
cut that could complicate his life, but thanks’ God the
cut was just big enough to bring him a new and healthy life.
Source: Tatame
|
Yoshihiro
Akiyama Moving to Welterweight, Hopes to Fight at UFC in Japan
Yoshihiro Akiyama will finally be making the move to welterweight
following his loss at UFC 133 to Vitor Belfort.
The
move has long been suggested because of Akiyama’s size,
being one of the smaller middleweights in the UFC, and now the
former Dream and K-1 fighter will be dropping down to 170lbs.
Akiyama
made the announcement when speaking to Japanese site Sponchi.
Three
straight losses put Akiyama in a tough position, and even UFC
President Dana White admitted he wasn’t sure what his future
would be following his latest loss.
“This
one was a lot different than his other losses,” White said
after Akiyama was knocked out by Belfort in the first round.
The
move for Akiyama might earn the fighter at least one more chance
in the Octagon, possibly on the upcoming UFC card set for Japan
in February 2012. Akiyama stated he hoped to get a shot to fight
on the Japan show, which is currently slated for Saitama Super
Arena on Feb 26, 2012.
Akiyama
also mentioned in the interview that he would like to take up
training with UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, to
help him prepare for his 170lb debut.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
From
Royce Gracie Sparring Partner to MMA Pioneer, Big John McCarthy’s
Been There, Done That
“Big”
John McCarthy is one of mixed martial arts pioneering referees,
widely known for his famous catch phrase, “let’s get
it on!”
The
48-year-old’s no-nonsense attitude originated when he was
a member of the Los Angeles Police Department. For 23 years,
McCarthy served in law enforcement, but it was mixed martial
arts that became his calling. He’s become one of the most
recognizable figures in the sport, but still finds himself sometimes
missing his former colleagues.
“I
truly miss the clowns; I don’t miss the circus,” McCarthy
told MMAWeekly Radio.
“There
are a lot of very good people that are a part of the LAPD and
there are a lot of very good people who live in the city of Los
Angeles that are citizens there that are just going about their
lives and just trying to be happy doing the right things. So
I miss those people. Do I miss all the wacky stuff? That’s
kind of fun. Do I miss all the political stuff? No, I’m
glad I’m away from that.”
In
his book “Let’s Get It On,” the Californian mentions
how he almost fought at UFC 2 instead of refereeing. Having been
a sparring partner of the legendary Royce Gracie, McCarthy felt
he was ready to fight, but after speaking with Rorion Gracie,
McCarthy stepped out of the tournament and called the action
right down the middle.
“What
happened was, I wasn’t smart enough to figure life out.
In the beginning, when they had UFC 1, I was there with Royce
as one of his sparring partners to get him ready for it and I
went to the event and helped out with the event and I loved it.
“When
I came back I said, ‘you know what, I can be with these
guys. I want to fight in this.’ I filled out the thing for
Wild Promotions (which was the promotional company for the UFC).
Next thing I know is Rorion is calling me in and he asked, ‘what
are you doing?’ He said, ‘you can’t fight Royce.’
It was obvious that Royce was the star and I was just too stupid
to recognize it at that point.
“There
was never any disrespect in the fact I wanted to fight Royce,
I wouldn’t have ever done that. It was at about that point
that they asked me to be the referee and I thank them for that
because they allowed me to have a career that I would’ve
never had if I was lucky enough to fight or dumb enough to get
myself in there.”
At
the end of the day, McCarthy is happy and believes that he’s
rich in life because he gets to do what he loves for a living.
“I
love refereeing. I love the sport of MMA. That’s what makes
me happy. You learn things as you get older and I’m old,
so I’ve learned a lot. Life is not so much about how much
you make or what you have, it’s more about what you’re
able to do and what you’re able to be a part of and what
makes you happy.
“If
you’re happy with what you’re doing, then you’re
rich in life. It may not be rich monetarily, and that’s
fine, but you’re rich in life and that’s the most important
thing. I’m very rich in my life and I get to do what I love
to do and I couldn’t be any luckier.”
McCarthy
is headed out on a tour to support his new book. Check dates
and locations below for a stop near you:
Thursday,
September 15 at 6pm ET
Barnes & Noble, Tribeca
97 Warren Street
New York, NY 10007
Friday,
September 16 at 7pm ET
Bookends
211 East Ridgewood Avenue
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Sunday,
September 25 at 2pm ET
Indigo Rideau
47 Rideau Street
Ottawa, ON K1N 5W8
Monday,
September 26 at 7pm ET
Indigo Eaton Centre
220 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M5B 2H1
Tuesday,
September 27 at 12:30pm ET
Indigo Place Montréal
1500, avenue McGill College
Montréal, QB H3A 3J5
Friday,
October 21 at 7pm PT
Book Soup
8818 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Sunday,
October 23 at 2pm PT
Barnes & Noble, Pico-Westwood
10850 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Wednesday,
October 26 at 7pm PT
Glendale Public Library
222 E. Harvard St.
Glendale, CA 91205
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on Fox Fight Card Growing, Adds Swanson vs. Lamas
]Now
that the main event for the first UFC on Fox event is set –
heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will put his belt on the
line against Junior dos Santos on Fox – the roster for the
supporting cast is sure to fill up fast.
The
UFC on Saturday announced a featherweight bout pitting Cub Swanson
against Ricardo Lamas for the Nov. 12 event in Anaheim, Calif.
Swanson
(15-4) has twice been slated to make his UFC debut, both times
against Erik Koch, but both times he has had to withdraw due
to injury. Maybe a switch in opposition will bring him better
luck in his attempt to finally fight in the Octagon.
If
the fight goes off as planned, it will be one day more than a
year since Swanson last fought. He won a split decision over
Mackens Semerzier at WEC 52 last November.
Lamas
(10-2) finally made his UFC debut in June with a TKO finish of
Matt Grice. That bout also served as Lamas’ first in his
new weight class. He had previously fought at lightweight before
dropping to 145 pounds to face Grice.
The
Velasquez vs. dos Santos bout will be the only live fight on
the one-hour UFC on Fox telecast. If the fight ends quickly,
the remaining time will either feature one or more tape delayed
undercard bouts or a highlights package.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Cyborg
is “the highest paid female athlete in the world”,
says manager
Strikeforce
champion and pointed out as the best female MMA fighter of the
world, the Brazilian Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos negotiated
for the last months the renewing of her contract with Strikeforce,
and they’ve finally reached an agreement.
Manager
of the ahtlete, Rudimar Fedrigo told TATAME that the new contract
met the expectation of both parts.
“The
negotiation is concluded successfully. A proposal has been made,
after a long time of arguing, and it was accepted. Cris signed
her new contract and now she’s waiting to be called back
for her next fight”, explains Rudimar. “Cris ain’t
just another athlete... Besides being the champion, she’s
the highest paid female athlete in the world. The negotiation
lasted for like a year, but now it’s all set”.
Rudimar,
head-coach of Chute Boxe, also tells that Cris doesn’t have
a date to return to the octagon, but she’s hoping to have
something after Evangelista Cyborg’s next bout, on September
10th in Strikeforce, against Jordan Mein.
“Her
husband fights on the 10th and she wants who she’s fighting
next”, said Fedrigo, revealing that the athlete has signed
a four-fight contract with the organization. “She’s
motivated, she’s been watching closely her husband’s
trainings... She’s ready to go, she’s just waiting
to be called in”.
Despite
having signed a contract with the organiztion, Cyborg might not
last long on the event. It’s all depending on how Zuffa
will manage Strikeforce, once Dana White never expressed the
wish of including female bouts in UFC. In case Strikeforce’s
division merge to Ultimate, the girls might be left off.
But
Rudimar still is hopeful. “When I was there watching the
fights, the fans at the gym always showed they like it, and the
female bouts were good, there were only good fights, interesting”,
compliments. “I rather be optimistic and believe they’ll
keep the female division of MMA so I can keep doing this work”.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Rumors
of Brock Lesnar’s impending retirement “ridiculous,”
says UFC president
Reports
released on the eve of the announcement of the UFC on FOX main
event painted a picture of an ailing Brock Lesnar (5-2 MMA, 4-2
UFC) calling it quits on a career in MMA.
Those
pictures couldn't be any more wrong, according to UFC president
Dana White, who said the rumor was "ridiculous" today
during the announcement.
"It's
so far from the truth it's not even funny," White said.
"The guy's working up on a farm in Canada all summer. He's
100 percent."
Lesnar's
health has been the subject of great concern since he announced
a second bout with diverticulitis that scratched his No. 1 title
contender match with fellow "The Ultimate Fighter 13"
coach Junior Dos Santos.
The
heavyweight underwent corrective surgery this past May and was
targeted to return in 2012, according to UFC president Dana White.
A 12-inch section of Lesnar's colon was removed during the procedure.
But
despite the severity of the illness – and its recurrence
after a bout with it in late 2009 – Lesnar's prognosis got
rosier with White calling his recovery "incredible"
this past July.
Today,
White said the fighter is set to begin training in a "couple
of weeks." That would suggest a return to the cage perhaps
at the end of this year or the beginning of 2012.
In
a recent interview with Sherdog.com, former UFC interim heavyweight
champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira said his next fight would be
against either Lesnar or former champ Frank Mir at UFC 140, which
takes place Dec. 10 in Toronto, or in Japan, where a Feb. 26
date is targeted to host an event.
White
did not elaborate on a timetable for Lesnar's return. It's clear,
though, that the former heavyweight champion will be back.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Cormier
makes a living off beating the odds
Logic
would dictate that Antonio “Big Foot” Silva will blow
out Daniel Cormier when they meet Sept. 10 in Cincinnati in the
semifinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament.
Silva
is far bigger, far more experienced and has beaten a much higher
caliber of opposition.
Anyone,
though, who looks past Cormier doesn’t know the man and
what he’s overcome to become one of the top mixed martial
arts prospects in the world. There may not be a lot of believers
outside his family and his teammates at the American Kickboxing
Academy, but that’s fine with Cormier.
Given
his background, being a significant underdog is the least of
Cormier’s worries.
The
2004 U.S. Olympic wrestler has faced unspeakable tragedies in
his life – the death of a young daughter, the murder of
his father – and rebounded to reach greater heights each
time.
“I’ve
had a lot of opportunities that I haven’t cashed in, man,”
said Cormier, a former Oklahoma State wrestling standout. “The
Olympic Games, I felt that could have made a lot of the things
I’ve been through better, but I wasn’t able to cash
in on that opportunity. I have had chances and I’ve used
them to propel me to places I didn’t think I could go.”
His
father was murdered in 1986, one of several deaths of people
close to Cormier. But as bad as each of the tragic and unexpected
deaths of a friend or a loved one hit him, nothing prepared him
for the events of June 14, 2003.
Cormier’s
three-month old daughter, Kaedyn, was properly secured in a car
seat of a vehicle on the freeway driven by a family friend when
it was rear ended by a tractor trailer. The other inhabitants
survived, but the infant girl died.
The
worst day in the life of any parent is to learn a child had died.
Life’s not supposed to work that way. Parents aren’t
supposed to bury their children.
“When
you hear that news,” he said, softly, in a voice barely
above a whisper, “it’s like everything else stops.”
He
wanted to lock himself away and avoid the world, not see anyone,
hear from anyone, talk to anyone. He was wrought with emotion:
anger, sadness, bitterness. He couldn’t contemplate life
without this child he’d loved so much.
As
harsh it is, though, life goes on. The pain never leaves, but
time allows the hurt to recede and so, after a telephone call
from John Smith, his former wrestling coach, Cormier reemerged
three months later.
He
threw himself into his wrestling and, even though he didn’t
win the NCAA championship the year before, he wrestled his way
onto the 2004 U.S. Olympic team that competed in Athens, Greece.
He
went to Greece full of high hopes, but came home without a medal.
He was again confused and befuddled. He believed he was the best
in his class, but failed to have anything to show for it.
Cormier,
though, is one of the most intelligent and insightful athletes
you’ll find. And when he got home and mulled over what happened
in Greece, he was suddenly at peace with what had occurred.
“It
was so depressing,” he said of failing to win a medal. “When
I lost in the 2004 Olympic Games, and in [2008], when I didn’t
get to compete, it’s like a death. It’s like dealing
with a death. Like I tell everybody, I really like MMA. I like
the sport. I enjoy the sport.
“But
man, you have to understand, wrestling is something I’ve
done since I was nine years old in little gyms around Louisiana.
Winning the Olympics was my world championship. That was my UFC
heavyweight title. To not accomplish it was like dealing with
a death. I would not leave my house. I locked myself in my house
for three months until I was able to comprehend what happened.”
The
reason he didn’t win, he realized, was simple. The answer
had been staring him in the face for each of those three months,
but he didn’t see it.
“Initially,
after the Olympic Games, I didn’t think the guys [who beat
me] were better,” he said. “But as I went through my
career, I realized that I’d never beaten those guys. The
two guys who beat me at the Olympic Games? Never beat them. Always
really hard-fought, tough matches, but I never beat them. I lost
to the gold medalist three times over the course of my career.
“I
lost to the Iranian [Saeid Abrahimi] who beat me in the bronze-medal
match four times over the course of my career. You can’t
argue with results. Obviously, those guys were just better wrestlers
than I was. Once I realized that, then I could deal with what
happened and I could go out and work at making myself better.”
That
pattern followed Cormier throughout his athletic career. He won
far more than he lost – He was a six-time national champion
and a two-time Olympian, captaining the 2008 team – but
he had a knack for making himself better when results weren’t
the way he wanted them to be.
He’s
young in his MMA career and is just 9-0 with few recognizable
names on his resume, but his coach, Bob Cook, is unfazed. When
Zuffa, the company that owns Strikeforce, removed Alistair Overeem
from the tournament in a contract dispute, it put Cormier into
his place as an alternate.
“We
would have liked to have had more time to work with Daniel and
have him develop,” Cook said. “He hasn’t beaten
a lot of top-level competition, but anyone who knows me knows
I wouldn’t take a fight for one of my guys if I didn’t
think he could do it. Facing ‘Big Foot,’ who in my
opinion is one of the top three heavyweights in the world, is
a huge step.
“But
I don’t sell Daniel short. He’s one of the top heavyweight
prospects in the world. He’s got great wrestling. He’s
a tremendous, committed athlete. We know Big Foot is going to
have a difficult time stopping Daniel Cormier with his plan and
his wrestling. It how the rest plays out. Our one big advantage
is the wrestling, obviously. It’s out the striking plays
out and how the jiu-jitsu plays out that we have to see.”
Silva
is coming off a dominating win over Fedor Emelianenko and is
a heavy favorite to defeat Cormier and advance to the finals.
That’s
fine with Cormier, who gets that he doesn’t have Silva’s
resume.
Yet.
“People
won’t believe it until they see it,” Cormier said.
“I get it. But I’ve been working incredibly hard to
get ready for this moment. I have a lot to overcome to win this
fight, but knowing what I know, I believe I can and I will win
it.”
This
is a guy who has overcome unspeakable tragedy and unbearable
disappointment to rise to the top.
If
he says he’s ready to spring another surprise, I’m
not going to argue with him.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Minotauro:
“I should face Mir or Brock Lesnar”
The
fight Rodrigo Nogueira fans have been dreaming about for years
may end up happening at the February UFC Japan event. According
to a statement made yesterday at Beira-Rio Stadium, where soccer
club Internacional play their home games, in Porto Alegre, Rio
Grande do Sul, the fighter best known as “Minotauro”
already has former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in his sights,
following his dispatch of the young Brendan Schaub in Rio de
Janeiro.
“They’ve
asked me to fight again in December or at UFC Japan, in February.
I should be fighting [also former champion] Frank Mir or Brock
Lesnar,” said the Brazilian yesterday, according to Legião
MMA blog, backing up what he said at the UFC Rio press conference
last Saturday.
Brock
Lesnar, like Mino, has also had a long spell away from training,
when he took care of a severe case of diverticulitis. This August
he stated that he has returned to training.
Turning
to soccer, Minotauro voiced his pick for the top star on the
Southern Brazilian soccer team: “Leandro Damião is
scoring loads of goals. He’s the Minotauro of the soccer
pitch.”
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Manager
says Nogueira vs Mir “makes sense”, everything is possible
for Anderson Silva
Anderson
Silva and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira put on a great show in UFC
Rio, and Jorge Guimaraes, manager of the duo, could not be happier.
Guimarães, who served as commentator on UFC Rio to Brazilian
broadcast Combate, had to control his emotions at seeing his
athletes winning at HSBC Arena, but spoke exclusively to TATAME
about the triumphs of the idols, and analyzed the knockout of
Minotauro, Anderson’s great performance and talked about
the possibility of Rodrigo faces Frank Mir and Anderson’s
return against Dan Henderson. Check it:
How
did it feel to see UFC back in Brazil?
It
was very enjoyable after 13 years to see the Ultimate returning
to Rio de Janeiro, enjoying the moment that will already have
here the World Cup, Olympics ... I was very pleased with the
evolution of the sport, what it is today. On the same day of
Back to Black, which is a great event for black music, one of
the biggest festivals that happen here, but the Ultimate stole
the attentions. It was really a fucking good show, and you see
the massive presence of stars, entrepreneurs...
You
had athletes fighting on the event, like Anderson and Rodrigo,
but you were working as a commentator. How did you do to control
your feelings?
Bro,
I'll tell you it was a terrible experience because you're in
trouble. I was a little worried because I also had athletes in
the preliminaries, a guy who deserves and who was longing for
this opportunity for a long time is Johnny Eduardo and Luis Cane.
They lost right away. Then there was the main card with Nogueira’s
fight, and to close the card, Anderson (laughs)... It was brutal.
That tension first by doing an event, the first UFC in Rio and
the first here in Brazil, the first one produced by Zuffa. It’s
great to see it. You lived it even with these ups and downs of
MMA, so you must also have been happy with this wonderful show.
Absolutely...
We could tell you were nervous when Nogueira was fighting, because
you barely talked while he was fighting... Did you hope Rodrigo
vs. Schaub ended the way it did?
Well,
not exactly. I could not have written this script, but no doubts
its outcome was the best possible. I never questioned this option
that he’d finish the fight by knockout. Nogueira didn’t
come 100%, 60% maybe, if he was that good. But it is a real warrior.
Either way he’s much better than before surgery. He is a
guy who was in pain for three and a half years, and now he is
here, he’s back with everything and will surprise many.
It's really an example of overcoming life obstacles.
Did
you consider asking him not to fight, afraid he wouldn’t
be ready to go?
That
there was a goal that he drew, I mean, we all ... I talked to
Angela (Cortes), his physiotherapist, an angel who fell from
the sky into Rodrigo’s hands when he needed it most. There
were 180 days of intense physiotherapy, over 800 hours of sessions.
I asked what she thought and she said 'he can do it, let's go'.
Rodrigo was a little reticent. We went through that and put some
pressure on him. We said 'let's go. It's a good fight, you’ll
fight at home’. He had this goal and rigorously fulfilled,
really focused on this: in the rehabilitation and training. Several
sessions because he felt pain. He felt pain, but not as it was
before. He was a guy who practically dragged on, he was feeling
pain for three and a half years ... You can’t go on like
this. After those three surgeries and this brilliant performance,
I think from now on it’ll be only joy.
How
importance was this camp he did with great athletes, like Anderson,
Junior dos Santos, Feijao, Bigfoot, Jacare? Do you believe it
was a crucial point for him to be ready to go?
That’s
everything. Now people realize that. The big deal is crossed
training. There still is people who don’t like going to
another gym to help someone out if he’s a potential opponent,
but it’s really important you train with the bests and,
thanks’ God, Rodrigo is a guy everybody like and love. He’s
not just an idol, but he’s adored and loved by everybody,
so he can have a great team. Anyone will want to help Rodrigo
anywhere in the world.
After
the fight he said he wants to fight this year again, maybe in
December, and he also commented on his wish to fight Frank Mir.
What are your thoughts about that? Have you talked to UFC about
Rodrigo’s next bout?
No,
not yet. I think he is now on the rise. He'll come much better
for this next fight, but we have not studied opponents yet. Frank
Mir really is a guy that makes sense for him to face, because
it is a fight that makes sense to Rodrigo, and can be promoted
a lot, since the Frank Mir beat him before rehabilitation, so
no doubt is a good option, but nothing was thought yet.
About
Anderson vs. Okami, what are your thoughts about the fight?
I
do not expect otherwise. We were then crossed spine in our throat.
I was the one who took Anderson to fight in Rumble on the Rock
and he did that fight, which was poorly explained, there was
a communication error and Anderson thought it was he oculd use
that coup and ended up being disqualified. They gave five minutes
to Okami to come back and Okami... I don’t wanna start saying
things because I do not know what happened there, but was very
clear that he would not like to return, he played by the rules,
because he was taking a beating of Anderson and stayed. I don’t
know why because I don’t speak Japanese, but I felt like
his corner was pushing him not to come back becauset that would
be the best strategy, the only way to win that fight. I see that
when he (Okami) wins, he is running around with samurai sword...
If he were a true samurai, he would have returned for that fight.
We
never got over it. The promoters of the event had a clause saying
that if the athlete was disqualified, he would not receive any
money, so we still had to fight for money and still walked away
with only half the money, so we really had this spine stuck in
our throats. Anderson also sent a kiss to me later, when they
were raising his arm (laughs), because we really weren’t
over that. Without taking the merits of Okami. Okami is a tough
fighter, a guy who is tough for anyone, but Anderson performed
an ultrasound of Okami on the first round, he measured him in
all ways possible and, when he switched the engine on, that’s
what happens.
There
were rumors about a possible bout between Anderson and Dan Henderson,
on FOX’s event, which was denied by Dana White. Yesterday
we’ve talked to members of Dan Henderson’s crew, who
confirmed the fight has been offered to him, but with no date
set. What Anderson’s next step is?
Anderson
is here in Buzios, it’s time for the warrior to rest. He
deserves it. Now we have nothing in mind. He’ll relax because
he deserves it. After this wonderful show he deserves to take
some time off. It’s a fight which makes sense, but we don’t
think about it for now.
So,
Anderson will only be back in December or in 2012, right?
Well,
you never know, man. Anderson has urges and we have a boss, Dana
White. So, we’ll see, anything’s possible.
Source: Tatame
|
Brock
Lesnar Still on Track for UFC Return in Early 2012
Brock Lesnar may be on a record pace. If Internet rumors were
to be believed, the former UFC heavyweight champion and WWE superstar
has been forced in and out of retirement too many times to count
since he announced his second bout with diverticulitis.
Of
course, he was also rumored for the first UFC on Fox main event,
despite the fact that he hasn’t even returned to training
yet.
Less
than a month ago, when the UFC and Fox television deal was announced,
UFC president Dana White told MMAWeekly.com, “Brock’s
gonna get back in the gym in September. Brock will probably be
back the first of the year.”
The
rumor mill continued to crank away, however, churning out more
talk of Lesnar’s demise, recent rumblings once again pointing
to a forced retirement due to his health.
“That’s
ridiculous. It’s so far from the truth it’s not even
funny,” White blasted back on Friday when asked about the
rumors.
“The
guy is working up on a farm up in Canada all summer. He’s
100 percent. His surgery went great. He’s 100 percent. He’s
getting back into training here in the next couple of weeks.”
Lesnar
had surgery in late May to help him deal with a second bout of
diverticulitis. The resurgence of the intestinal disorder kept
him out of the main event of UFC 131 in Vancouver. He was to
have fought Junior dos Santos for the number one contender spot
in the UFC heavyweight division.
“They
removed about 12 inches of his colon, repaired it, he feels great…
the operation was a huge success,” White had said the day
after Lesnar’s procedure.
So
while the rumors continue to churn, and likely won’t stop
anytime soon in our TMZ world, according to White, Lesnar is
on track and should be stepping back in the Octagon sometime
around the beginning of the New Year.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
on Fox Executives: ‘This is Like Us Getting Ali-Foreman’
The
UFC has long been called the Super Bowl of mixed martial arts,
and now their new television partners at Fox are treating it
just like that for their debut event on the network.
On
the heels of the announcement on Friday that the first fight
for Fox on Nov. 12 would be a heavyweight title match between
Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, executives from both the
UFC and Fox are promising a mega-event feel to the first show.
While
the production will still be handled by the UFC, Fox executives
are promising a Super Bowl type atmosphere for the show in Anaheim
on Nov. 12.
“I
will say one thing we will be doing is launching the UFC on Fox
with a Super Bowl style red carpet and tailgate party with every
star in Hollywood, and every dignitary we need to get out there
to launch this thing. It will be a la Super Bowl tailgate and
Super Bowl red carpet, with a huge party outside before the event,”
said Fox Sports president Eric Shanks.
UFC
president Dana White echoed those sentiments exactly.
“This
is going to be an event of all events,” he stated.
As
far as the production goes, the UFC staff will handle everything
as usual, but that doesn’t mean that White and the executives
at Zuffa aren’t open to making changes and working with
their new partners at Fox to put out the best product possible.
“We
like the style and feel of our show, we want input from Fox.
We want the Fox look to this thing. We’re open to suggestions,
we want to work with them,” said White.
Fox
Sports chairman David Hill likes the look and feel of the UFC
show and feels completely comfortable leaving the production
in the hands of Dana White and his team at Zuffa.
“We’ll
have a mini-pre game show and then into the fight. We’re
very happy with the way Dana’s people do the production.
We’re going to leave well enough alone,” Hill stated.
As
far as the magnitude of this fight, White believed that Velasquez
vs. Dos Santos would be the network television equivalent of
what Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar at The Ultimate Fighter
Season 1 finale on Spike did for them, but on a much bigger scale.
Hill
believes it’s even bigger than that.
“This
is like us getting Ali-Foreman,” he said.
The
two best heavyweights in the UFC will go to battle on Nov. 12
to see if they can prove White and Hill correct.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Nate
Marquardt Expected to Return in December as a Part of BAMMA 8
Nate
Marquardt‘s long awaited return to action is just a few
months away.
The
former UFC middleweight contender will look to make his return
to action in December at BAMMA 8, and he will still be making
his welterweight debut.
Liam
Fisher, head of BAMMA business development, confirmed the news
when speaking to MMAWeekly Radio on Friday.
“We’re
looking for Nate to debut in December at the next show,”
Fisher revealed. “Nate’s coming over for BAMMA 7 and
he’s going to be spending a week with us, we’re doing
some press over in the UK and bits of filming here and there,
and we’re sitting down with Nate to talk opponents.”
Fisher
stated that Marquardt is anxious to get back in action, but has
made it clear that his home is at 170lbs. BAMMA has been looking
to build that division with Paul Daley coming back to England
next weekend for BAMMA 7, as well as adding other talent set
to be signed in the coming weeks.
“It’s
a division we don’t have a title holder at the moment, it’s
definitely something that we’re building. Nate’s a
part of that, he wants to fight at welter, he doesn’t want
to fight at middleweight. We’re discussing opponents right
at the moment,” Fisher said.
While
the BAMMA executive was holding his cards close to his vest when
talking opponents, Fisher did say that they have a few ideas
in mind and would hopefully be able to announce something soon.
“We’ve
got a few ideas, we’ve got a few signings in the works at
the moment and like I said we’re trying to build our welterweight
division,” said Fisher.
Marquardt
has been out of action since March when he fought at UFC 128
in New Jersey. The embattled fighter was then thrown into controversy
after a elevated testosterone test took him out of his fight
at UFC on Versus 4 in June.
The
end result was Marquardt’s release from the UFC, but he’s
looking forward to getting his career back on track and that
starts with BAMMA 8.
The
date and venue for BAMMA 8 have not been released as of yet,
but Fisher promised an announcement soon for that as well as
more fights for the December card.
“We’ll
be announcing the specific date and venue very early next week,”
Fisher commented. “It’s going to be in December.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
Nogueira
and the final hours that also made a difference
Following
months upon months of physiotherapy with Dr Angela Cortes to
recover from three surgeries (two on his hips and one on his
knee), Rodrigo Minotauro wasn’t going to let himself lose
his fight with Brendan Schaub on minor details.
First,
Rodrigo managed to convince his father, Hamilton Nogueira, to
fly to Rio to support him in one of his fights for the first
time. “My father always gets nervous, but every time he’s
ever watched one of Rogério’s fights it ended in
a win by knockout. It had happened twice! At UFC Rio he finally
agreed to watch it live, and the outcome was no different: it
was a knockout, too!” said the heavyweight’s twin brother.
Another
boon to his performance came last week. To step into the ring
in the perfect zone and gain further mobility, he called on physical
conditioning coach and GRACIEMAG columnist Alvaro Romano, who
has worked with Jiu-Jitsu and MMA stars for the last 25 years,
to fly down from San Diego, California, to work with him.
Minotauro
and Romano practicing breathing techniques on the beach /
Romano
took up the task of guiding Mino through his final preparations,
using Ginástica Natural breathing and mental training
techniques, as Minotauro explains:
“I
really like doing Ginástica Natural. For me what I like
most, besides the mobility on the ground it provides me, is that
Ginástica breathing helps me focus a lot during the fight.
“For
this last fight we only did three days of Ginástica Natural
training.
Three
days from the fight, in the final stage of preparation, we worked
on breathing and it got me super focused.
Two
days before the fight we did two hours of breathing exercises.
Then we did three intense sessions starting in the morning, which
made it feel like my head was flooded with blood, causing me
to think quicker, rationalize better. Ginástica makes
my body more agile, and the breathing exercises make my mind
more agile, allowing me to think quicker, concentrate more, rationalize
better, putting me in a mindset whereby I can contain my emotions
when it’s time to fight.”
In
the following video you can see a completely relaxed Rodrigo
in a prime state of concentration six hours before heading to
the fire pot that was the HSBC Rio on August 27.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Dana
White Expects Fox Debut to Blow Kimbo’s CBS Debut Out of
the Water
While
the executives at Fox and the UFC aren’t going to make predictions
on just how big they expect the first live UFC event on Fox on
Nov. 12 to be ratings wise, everyone believes it will be huge.
The
first major MMA event on network television was the EliteXC fight
on Saturday, May 31, when former street fighter Kimbo Slice faced
James Thompson in the night’s main event.
The
peak viewership for that card hit 6.51 million viewers, with
an average of 6.12 million viewers for the event’s last
50 minutes, which encompassed the main event for the card.
With
the UFC set to debut on Fox Saturday, Nov. 12 with the heavyweight
title up for grabs as Cain Velasquez faces Junior Dos Santos,
the stakes have been raised. So do the Fox executives expect
a bigger number than what the Kimbo vs. Thompson fight drew?
“One
of my golden rules is never predict ratings because it’s
a zero sum game,” said Fox Sports chairman David Hill. “If
I was a betting man, which I am, I’d probably put a couple
of bucks on the fact that we will.”
UFC
president Dana White wasn’t quite so coy.
White
first pointed to the fact that the fight Kimbo had with Roy Nelson
on Spike TV as a part of The Ultimate Fighter, which was a taped
broadcast, pulled in five million viewers. He expects huge numbers
for their debut on Fox.
“I’m
not going to be too cocky here and trump what David Hill said,
but I’ll tell you right now, I’m expecting to blow
that number out of the water,” White stated.
The
fight will air on Fox as a one-hour special with the only live
fight on air being the bout between Velasquez and Dos Santos.
There will be a short pre-fight show, and then the championship
bout filling the air for the 60-minute special event.
The
fight card will stretch out for a full event in the arena, but
the bout between Velasquez and Dos Santos will be the only bout
on Fox that night.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Folayang
Survives Broken Nose, Decisions Kwon in One FC
Universal
Reality Combat Championship welterweight titleholder Eduard Folayang
took a hard-fought decision over Heat champion A Sol Kwon in
the One Fighting Championship “Champion vs. Champion”
main event on Saturday at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The
colorful South Korean import made it clear he would be no pushover,
despite filling in last-minute for an injured Ole Laursen. Kwon
baited Folayang from the outside, grinning in an attempt to force
his opponent to overcommit. Thus, the even opening frame saw
Folyang delivering hard low and inside leg kicks, followed by
quick punching combinations. Initially, the Korean caught the
kicks to counter with winging punches, both wobbling Folayang
and breaking the nose of the Filipino champion.
Despite
receiving a cut over the right eye from Kwon’s shots, “Landslide”
pulled ahead in the second and third frames, smashing Kwon with
sidekicks and blistering flurries into the cage. For his constant
pressure and aggression, Folayang was awarded the unanimous decision,
as well as a $5,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus, courtesy
of One FC promoter Victor Cui.
With
a visibly crooked broken nose, Folayang commented post-fight
that he was confident he would have succeeded regardless.
“Well,
I’m always blessed to win,” said Folayang. “I
need to fight even though I’m hurt. I know I could win every
round.”
Yoshida
Grounds, Outpoints Baroni
Yoshiyuki
Yoshida grounded fellow UFC veteran Phil Baroni for three rounds
and edged him on the scorecards in their welterweight attraction.
Given
his historically shaky chin, “Zenko” employed an intelligent
game plan of pressuring Baroni against the cage and on the ground,
mashing him with short punches from above and sapping the powerful
American of his strength. Though Baroni rallied to score punches
to the face and body of a backpedalling Yoshida in the second
frame, the Japanese fighter’s stifling grappling still controlled
the bout, as he took the unanimous decision victory.
A
dejected Baroni refused to shake hands or embrace with Yoshida
after the final bell, but he was convinced to give a curt bow
after a negative reaction from the crowd.
Kelly
Chokes Chilson, Stays Undefeated
Universal
Reality Combat Championship featherweight champion Eric Kelly
handed Mitch Chilson his first career loss, bringing his own
record to 6-0 in their featherweight bout.
Explosive
from the start, both men came out swinging, until Chilson caught
a kick and took the Filipino to the canvas. Kelly eventually
reversed to take top position but could not keep the American
on the mat. Back on the feet, Chilson and Kelly battled against
the fence, until the URCC champion locked in a surprise rear-naked
choke during a clinch exchange and put Chilson to sleep at the
3:10 mark of the first round. The unexpected submission not only
preserved Kelly's own perfect record but also netted him a $5000
submission of the night bonus.
“For
me, I just come here to fight. If there’s a chance to win,
I’ve got that opportunity to win,” said Kelly. “I’d
like to represent my country, the Philippines, in the UFC.”
Gracie
Takes Decision Over Kim
Gregor
Gracie, a 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World
Championships bronze medalist, had his hands full against South
Korea’s Seok Mo Kim, who endured submission attempt after
submission attempt from the Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue blood.
Between
eating punches from mount, the tough Kim survived a topside triangle
in the first period and tight arm triangles in the second and
third. Although the Korean showed no small amount of heart and
durability, Gracie’s control and offensive dominance saw
him take away the unanimous decision by bout’s end.
“I
wish it was over, but he was very slick. He defended very well;
he was slipping out of my moves,” said a gracious Gracie.
“I guess I have to work harder.”
Moreira
Stops Wang in Second
Despite
a significant reach advantage and two unintentional eye pokes
by Zorobabel Moreira, gritty “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 5 alum Andy Wang toughed out a mauling at the Brazilian’s
hands for just over a round in their 159-pound catchweight bout.
Moreira
used his lengthy jab and kicks at range, along with vicious elbows
in the clinch, to break down the tenacious Wang. The end came
when Moreira delivered a number of unanswered punches to the
head and knees to the body of a dazed, turtled Wang, prompting
a hesitant referee Shimada to step in for the stoppage at 1:59
of round two.
Ng
Stops Bo in 45 Seconds
Hong
Kong’s Eddie Ng expediently blasted China’s Yuan Chun
Bo after a worrisome first few seconds of their bout.
Scoring
the takedown right off of the bell, Ng quickly found himself
fighting off a Bo guillotine and armbar attempt before landing
four crushing punches to his foe’s chin from inside the
guard. With Bo stiff as a board, referee Hume had no choice but
to call the bout at the 45-second mark.
Debuting
Rahman Mauls Ghosh
Debuting
flyweights Radeem Rahman and Susovan Ghosh put forth a brief,
if brutal, bout that saw the Singaporean maul Ghosh for a first-round
technical knockout victory.
What
the Indian karateka may have lacked in size and cage experience,
he made up for with perseverance, doggedly chasing takedowns
as Rahman assailed him with brutal elbows, knees and punches.
After a sustained beating of 3:18, referee Hume stepped in to
pull off Rahman for the stop. In addition to his first victory,
Rahman also brings home an additional $5000 bonus for scoring
the evening's knockout of the night.
Colossa
Jab Overwhelms Yu
In
a lightweight attraction, Vuyisile Colossa notched a win for
muay Thai over Sanda practitioner Ma Xing Yu with a stiff jab.
Colossa’s jab proved problematic for the Mongolian from
the opening moments, allowing the South African to assault a
dazed Yu against the cage with punches and knees.
A
follow-up jab collapsed Yu at the 49-second mark of round one,
forcing referee Hume to dive for the save.
Sityodtong
Knee Finishes Mashamaite
Former
WBA super featherweight champion Yodsanan Sityodtong had a successful
MMA debut, dispatching South Africa’s Daniel Mashamaite
with a brutal knee to the face at the opening of the second period.
After
acquitting himself on the ground in the early goings of the first
frame, Sityodtong stalked Mashamaite with big punches against
the cage for the remaining time. A botched Mashamaite takedown
to start the second round resulted in a crushing knee to the
face, prompting referee Shimada to call the bout at the 14-second
mark.
BJJ
Ace Issa Outpoints Kim
Starting
off the show’s bouts, decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor
Leandro Issa went toe-to-toe with Soo Chul Kim in a high-paced
bantamweight contest, giving the Korean his first career loss.
Issa
impressed with hard low and body kicks, coupled with stiff jabs
and lead hooks. Though suffering an early low blow and later
a swollen right eye, Kim returned fire with lightning-fast punches
of his own, but Issa’s impressive grappling control, ground-and-pound
and submission attempts in the latter rounds tipped the scales
in his favor for the unanimous decision win.
Source: Sherdog
|
Rampage
on Jones Camp: ”They’re lying, full of s—, and
dumb.”
Rampage
on Jones Camp: They're lying, full of s , and dumb.Last time
we took off from Rampage’s ‘spy-gate,’ accusations,
Jones, his manager, and even Rashad Evans denied Jackson’s
claims that they planted a spy in his camp. Now the latest in
the revelations is that manager Malki Kawa has addressed the
issue once again in a more ‘professional’ manner via
MMAJunkie.com
mma
As
an agent and manager, I often receive phone calls and e-mails
with tips from reporters, fans, friends and even business colleagues
throughout the MMA world. I have never placed a spy in any camp
or hired someone to spy on a camp, nor have I ever proactively
inquired about information from any camp. As is the case with
any agent or manager, I do receive information on a regular basis
that is the result of a tight-knit MMA community where everybody
knows everybody.
Early
last week, I received a phone call from one of my employees who
informed me that he had seen a tweet stating that he had heard
of the possibility of Mr. Jackson suffering a hand injury and
it may be serious. While Mr. Jackson finds it inconsequential
that information of this variety may be on the internet, it is
still my job as a manager to follow up on this information with
the UFC. Any such injury would directly effect my client and
his training in preparation for a fight on Sept. 24, a date that
is approaching fast, especially if the possibility of a new opponent
existed.
I
followed proper protocol in such an instance and contacted Joe
Silva immediately to inquire about the possibility of Mr. Jackson
not being about to fight. Contrary to Mr. Jackson’s statements,
Mr. Silva was actually in the United States at the time of my
phone call with him. After follow-up calls from Mr. Silva regarding
this situation, it was confirmed that Mr. Jackson indeed had
not been injured and was training to fight Jon “Bones”
Jones. For me and my client, this issue had been closed.
I
am sorry that Mr. Jackson feels that he has someone in his camp
that is calling other people with sensitive information within
his camp. He is unwilling to state who this “spy” is
but is more than happy to attempt to damage other reputations
in his wake. This leads me to believe that Mr. Jackson is simply
looking for a way to create a distraction or create more pre-fight
hype. Mr. Jackson has made accusations of cheating against multiple
fighters throughout his career, none of which has ever been remotely
close to being proven true. This case is no different.
Mr.
Jackson has informed the media and public more of what is happening
in his training camp in the past three days than any spy he believes
is present could have possibly shared.
At
this time, the entire team at First Round Management considers
this non-issue dead. Our team is setting its sights fully on
UFC 135 in Denver as Jon “Bones” Jones makes his first
defense of the light heavyweight title.
After
all that hoopla, Rampage has a simple response.
“Come
on. Think about it. If that was on Twitter, that would have been
big news. Me pulling out of the fight with Jon Jones? That would
have been big news already. So you can just tell that he’s
lying, he’s full of s—, and he’s dumb.”
Rampage
is still confident that the excuses are ridiculous and that there
is a rat in his team. What does this mean for his upcoming title
fight Aug. 24? Will Rampage’s training suffer due to paranoia
of Jones trying to get the inside scoop?
Source: Caged Insider
|
Lyoto
Machida still waiting for his next fight in the UFC
Lyoto
Machida defeated Randy Couture on his last appearance in UFC,
but he still hasn’t a date to return into action. On the
last weekend, the karate fighter went to Rio de Janeiro to try
to speed things up with UFC big bosses, but it was in vain. “There’s
nothing set so far, I’m just waiting. I guess I’ll
fight later in November or in December, even so I could have
time to get ready, but the guys (from UFC) haven’t mentioned
anything”, tells the athlete, on an exclusive interview
given to TATAME, commenting the possibility of facing Phil Davis,
complimented Anderson, Nogueira and Shogun for their win in UFC
Rio and more.
You
said you were coming to UFC Rio to try to negotiate your next
bout. Do you reach an agreement?
There’s
nothing set so far, I’m just waiting. I guess I’ll
fight later in November or in December, even so I could have
time to get ready, but the guys (from UFC) haven’t mentioned
anything.
People
talked about a possible fight between you and Phil Davis. Is
that the plan?
People
have been talking a lot, but nobody from UFC talked to me, so…
How
did you like UFC Rio? Were you surprised by this big party?
It
was great, positive… I knew it’d be like that because
I know Brazilian people, I know how the fans are around here.
They’re the most loyal fans ever, it’s different from
American people, that changes side very easily. Winning or losing,
people cheered for Brazil until the end, and I thought it was
nice.
How
did you like the performance of the Brazilians on the main bouts?
The
outcome was even better than we expected... Rodrigo surprised
me. He wasn’t pointed out as the favorite by the majority
of people because he was coming from surgeries and he was fighting
a young and good guy, but he won. Anderson, like I’ve mentioned
before, is above average and we all knew it’d be great,
and it wasn’t any different. Shogun had a very quick and
good fight… We hoped to see him a little more, but it’s
part of the show. Brazil, in general, went good
How
do you see this movement of soccer clubs sponsoring MMA athletes?
I
guess it’s nice if it’s professional. When would a
team look for a fighting sport? We see here the chance for Brazil
to take this chance, and I believe it’s a good thing for
the sport, but we have to be careful because soccer fans sometimes
are fanatic and mix things up a little. Apart from that, it’s
only good.
Would
you negotiate with some soccer club?
If
they propose me something, we’re here, of course… I’m
a professional fighter. I’m opened to offers (laughs).
For
whom do you cheer for?
At
this point we don’t get to pick a team (laughs)... I’ve
watched soccer when I was a teenager, but the fighting world
caught me. I’ll never cry for a soccer team ever again,
or die for it. I like soccer and all, but it’s not so important
to me anymore. I like watching, but I don’t give opinions.
Do
you have a favorite team?
I
don’t know... Maybe Santos, where there’s Paulo Henrique
Ganso, who’s also from Para (laughs)... I’m open to
propositions.
Source: Tatame
|
Jiu-Jitsu
teacher analyzes “Bulgarian threat”
The
people of Brazil and UFC fans alike were introduced to light
heavyweight Stanislav Nedkov at UFC Rio, where the Bulgarian
knocked out Luiz Banha. But Professor Bruno Bastos (Nova União),
called on at the last minute to be Nedkov’s corner, has
known about the fighter and his style since way back.
“I
trained with Nedkov when he fought at Sengoku in Japan,”
recalls Bruno. “Since signing with the UFC he’s run
into some bad luck with a spate of injuries – his and his
opponents’, too –, so he only got to make his debut
now. For this fight he unfortunately couldn’t make it to
Bulgaria because he didn’t manage sponsorship, so we agreed
that I’d help him with the final adjustments to his game
here in Rio on the week of the fight, and it all worked out fine.”
Nedkov,
who has knockouts and submissions (especially rear-naked chokes)
on his ledger, is a well rounded fighter, asserts Bruno:
“His
wrestling really is awesome, and he’s obviously got heavy
hands, as everyone could see. Now his Jiu-Jitsu lacks polish
but is fine for MMA,” he says in praise. “We’re
working on getting him to spend some time with me in Dallas before
his next fight.”
Could
another fighter have arrive on the scene to challenge for the
belt that once belonged to Lyoto Machida, Maurício Shogun,
and now sits with Jon Jones? What do you think, dear reader?
And who would you like to see the hard-hitting Bulgarian fighting
next? Let us know in the comments field below.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Twitter
Mailbag: UFC on FOX, Strikeforce Grand Prix, and More
Alistair OvereemFor a week without any major event, we've still
had an eventful few days in the MMA world. Between major announcements,
post-fight fallout, and pre-fight Grand Prix build-up, there's
no shortage of available topics for the old Twitter Mailbag.
Hit
me up on Twitter @BenFowlkesMMA to ask your own question. Then
hit me up again a few weeks later to complain about not getting
an answer. It's a vicious cycle.
@taylorloyal
With Cain- Junior on 1st Fox card, sort out the rest of the division.
Which fight(s) should determine the next contender?
It
all depends what Zuffa decides to do with those Strikeforce heavyweights.
In a perfect world, you'd hurry up and finish that Grand Prix
tournament so the winner could immediately slide on over to the
UFC and challenge for the belt. Sadly, ours is far from a perfect
world, so it may not go down like that.
Of
the existing UFC heavyweights, I'd match Frank Mir against Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira in a rematch, mostly because I have no idea
what else you'd do with either of them at this point. Then I
would pray for the stars to align on a Brock Lesnar-Alistair
Overeem blockbuster, the mere thought of which is so awesome
I have to take a pill to calm down if I even get started thinking
about it.
Do
either of those work as number one contender fights? Hard to
say. If Lesnar beat Overeem, it'd be a little weird for him to
get right back in a title fight after winning just one bout as
a non-champion. If Overeem won (which I think is more likely),
you couldn't justify not giving him a crack at the belt.
Basically,
here's where I'd be as vague as possible about the stakes if
I'm the UFC, then decide what to do once the dust clears. With
Strikeforce fighters waiting in the wings, I think the UFC heavyweight
division is on the verge of getting very, very interesting. It's
less a matter of which dream fights materialize, and more a matter
of which ones materialize first.
@LoganasaurusRex
who is the smartest fighter in the game? In terms of mma knowledge,
game planning and just general smarts?
That's
essentially three different questions, but okay, I can handle
it. As far as being a walking encyclopedia of MMA knowledge,
I don't think you can beat Mo Lawal. He seems to know every fight
that every other fighter has had, and he can reconstruct them
blow by blow. It's actually kind of creepy, and it makes you
think he does nothing but sit around and watch fights all day,
which is only partially true.
When
it comes to constructing and, more importantly, sticking to a
game plan, I think it's a tie between Randy Couture and Georges
St. Pierre. Both of them are known for coming into a fight with
a very specific strategy, and implementing it even when their
opponents know it's coming.
Overall
intelligence? Well, that's an impossible question simply because
there are so many different types of intelligence. Shane Carwin's
an engineer in charge of whole city water systems, which sounds
hard. Josh Barnett and "Mayhem" Miller are two of the
most fun fighters to talk to, since they're both quick-witted
and interesting guys, and both are secret nerds in different
ways. Kenny Florian seems like he could probably sit down with
a number two pencil and ace the SATs tomorrow if he had to. And
who knows, maybe Chael Sonnen could write a haiku that would
make us all cry. He's obviously got some creative talent kicking
around in there.
@MattRoth512
Has anyone asked "How much fun was UFC 134 and was it your
favorite event ever?" Because that's my question for mailbag.
As
a matter of fact they haven't, so thank you for asking. The answers
to your two questions are 1) so much fun, and 2) maybe not my
favorite, but definitely one of the most memorable. If you ever
get a chance to go to Rio, take it. The food is unbelievable,
and the people are wonderful hosts. Better pack a good book or
three, though. That flight is brutal.
@KevinMarshall
what goes in the main event slot for UFC 139? And will we see
Brock vs Overeem in 2011?
Another
multiple question? I'm starting to feel like you guys are taking
advantage of me. The problem with moving a title fight off one
event and onto another is that you're sort of obliged to replace
it with a different title fight. Or at least, you're obliged
to do that if you don't want to hear a ton of griping from fans.
The
champ most likely to be ready by then would probably be Anderson
Silva. If the UFC is interested in/capable of signing a rematch
between Silva and Dan Henderson, now would be the time. I sure
wouldn't mind seeing it.
As
for Lesnar and Overeem, you're basically asking me to tell you
if it's going to rain three Saturdays from now. I could take
a guess, but it would only be a guess. I know that, personally,
I'd love to see that fight. I also know that getting both those
guys in a cage right now is probably a little more complicated
than strolling up to both and asking, in your best Undertaker
voice, 'You wanna do it?'
@TheFightingPost
Do you think the TUF production changes will revitalize the show?
Admitting
this makes me feel a little bit like a guy who's just been suckered
into playing a carnival game by a very talented barker, but yes,
I actually do. For me, the reality show drama got old as soon
as Shonie Carter was no longer around to bling the crap out of
every surface in the house. That leaves the fights as the only
source of interest, though it's hard to get too fired up about
watching a tournament unfold when you know it was all taped weeks
and weeks ago.
If
nothing else, the live fight format promises to make it feel
more immediate, and maybe that will inject new life into the
show. Sports on tape delay are only so interesting, and we're
quickly getting to the point where no one can stand to hear even
one more argument among pro fighters about dirty dishes or missing
cereal.
@michaelbond89
anderson silva wants 2 fight his clone? How do u see it goin
down? A stand off? Double knockout? Simultaneous tap?
He
says he wants that fight, but I have a sneaking suspicion that
if Silva did come face to face with his clone he might change
his mind. How do you look in your own eyes and summon that kind
of pitiless brutality? How do you attack your own face with one
of Steven Seagal's deadly moves?
I
think Silva and his clone would actually become great friends,
splitting up household chores and taking turns giving interviews
and making public appearances. Behind closed doors they'd be
inseparable. Perfect training partners who always get each other's
jokes.
Then
one day Chael Sonnen would drop by the gym and casually ask which
one is the real Silva and which is the clone. Perplexed, they'd
stare in horror at one another as it dawned on each that he could
never be sure whether he was the original or merely a copy, nor
could they be sure that it even mattered.
And
as the two Silvas pondered this terrible riddle alone, yet together,
the only sound in the distance would be Sonnen's cruel laughter
as he sped away in a car driven by his own impersonator, some
guy with a Hispanic accent.
@VineStreetLife
TMB:I don't see any "bungalow throwin" in Quinton's
future @135. Agree?And is Jones as "off putting" in
person as he seems?
I
disagree. I think "Rampage" Jackson will absolutely
come looking to throw them bungalows at UFC 135. I just don't
think he'll land many of them.
As
for Jon Jones, I wouldn't say he's off-putting at all. He's a
nice guy, and surprisingly mature for his age. If anything, he's
just a little too image-conscious, and much too sensitive to
criticism. If you're going to be in the spotlight, you've got
to develop thicker skin.
@JasonRule
what is your opinion of Cruz-Johnson on VS (besides that it's
a free fight) is Faber the only marketable 135er? why no ppv?
I
wouldn't say Faber is the only marketable bantamweight, but let's
face it, he is still the most marketable bantamweight. The problem
is that, after relegating the lighter weight classes to a second-tier
promotion for so long, the UFC needs time to build awareness
about them among the general fan base.
Hopefully,
the most recent Cruz-Faber bout made some of those people realize
how exciting 135-pounders can be. Putting a 135-pound title fight
on free TV provides another chance for the division to ease its
way into the broader fan consciousness, even if it could be seen
as mildly insulting to the champ.
If
we're being honest though, we have to admit that Cruz-Johnson
is not a fight that, by itself, would sell a ton of pay-per-views
right now. Maybe if we give the division time and space to grow,
all while increasing its exposure via free TV and building new
contenders, that will change.
@JeremyFM
if penn defeats condit, what happens to the WW title picture?
Could the ufc actually promote penn vs gsp 3?
First
of all, I don't see how B.J. Penn is going to beat Carlos Condit.
He's not going to surprise anyone with his wrestling after he
let that cat out of the bag against Jon Fitch, and he tends to
fade in the later rounds, while Condit only gets better. Then
again, Penn has been full of surprises his whole career, both
good and bad, so it's a possibility we can't rule out.
But
even if Penn somehow put Condit away in the first round, I still
think the UFC would have a hard time selling another GSP-Penn
fight. The last one wasn't exactly competitive, after all. As
long as GSP is champion (and don't forget, he's got a tough fight
with Nick Diaz coming up) people are going to push for him to
face new challenges (cough*Anderson Silva*cough) rather than
rehashing old battles.
@LiamOaf
do you think either or Hendo or the Reem will sign with the UFC??
Yes
and yes. Where else are they going to go? Unless they have dreams
of opening up an Arby's together somewhere, they'll both end
up in the Octagon. It's the only rational, profitable move for
big time MMA fighters.
@Jason_MMA
1 fight on Fox, which will probably last 7.5 minutes, in a 1
hour time slot. How should they fill the void?
FOX
seems to be kicking around the idea of either airing a taped
fight from the undercard or else showing some sort of highlight
package of the night's action. Of those options, going with another
full fight is definitely preferable to a bunch of decontextualized
clips of random violence among men the casual viewer has had
no chance to get to know. If the goal is to introduce a new audience
to MMA, it's better to give them fewer full servings than a bunch
of small samplings.
@Liver_Shot
What's your opinion on the beef between @Jonnybones and @Rampage4real
? Also, do you think ONE FC will revitalize Asian MMA?
There's
bound to be a little personality conflict between those two,
but it also seems like a half-hearted and unnecessary effort
to sell a fight that sells itself. It doesn't matter what they
think about each other, that fight is stylistically interesting
enough that people will watch even if they never utter a contentious
word to one another.
Every
time you watch Jones it feels a little like peeking at a science
experiment. How much will he have advanced since the last time
we saw him? What's the newest mutation in his game? You know
he's going to do something wild that we'll all be talking about
the following Monday, but you don't know yet what it will be.
As
for ONE FC, I'm glad there's a new organization trying to do
something in that market, but after watching the inaugural event
I'm not sure I see it being a complete game-changer. I hope I'm
wrong, though.
@joelsellsout
Who is the Kurt Vonnegut of MMA fighters?
Charlie
Brenneman. It's the hair.
@noelluperon
What IS the SF GP now? As the UFC picks the bits it likes from
SF, does it matter winning this thing? Only for the winner?
It
matters in the same way that it is always better to win than
to lose, but with Overeem gone from the field you can't even
sort of claim that this tournament will determine the best heavyweight
in MMA. That was a shaky claim to begin with, but it was kind
of like my repeated assertions that The Rolling Stones were the
best country-western band ever. Even though I didn't completely
believe it, at least it prompted interesting conversations.
But
now that the GP has been reduced to a four-man field that features
a promising, but relatively inexperienced alternate in the place
of the organization's heavyweight champ, we have to admit the
tournament has lost a lot of its sparkle. That's not to say that
winning it will mean nothing. If Josh Barnett crushes Sergei
Kharitonov and then "Bigfoot" Silva, he could roll
right into the UFC will a full head of steam.
On
the flip side, if injury withdrawals and bracket gerrymandering
result in a Daniel Cormier vs. Chad Griggs finale, we'll probably
all just be happy to have it over with.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Rashad
Evans Had a Good Laugh at Rampage’s Claims of ‘Spygate’
Spygate
is no longer just a term used when talking about the New England
Patriots and the NFL.
Now,
Spygate has hit the sport of MMA with light heavyweight contender
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson recently breaking the news
that he believed something was afoul in his camp, and a spy was
in his midst.
Jackson
says in an interview with MMAWeekly.com content partner Yahoo!
Sports that he released information about a false injury to see
if the news would leak out of the training room and into the
public. Sure enough, a few hours later, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva
was calling Jackson’s manager, Anthony McGann, to inquire
if he had indeed suffered an injury.
The
former UFC champion went as far as to state that he believes
current titleholder and upcoming opponent Jon Jones and his manager
have somehow contracted a spy to get information from his Colorado-based
camp. Rampage and Jones are set to square off at UFC 135 on Sept.
24 in Denver.
While
Jones and his manager Malki Kawa have vehemently denied any wrong
doing, and essentially laughed off the idea that they would spy
on Jackson or his camp, Rampage still believes something was
rotten in the state of Denmark.
This
wasn’t the first time Jackson believed that something could
have been amiss in his camp. Prior to his fight with Rashad Evans
at UFC 114, Jackson suffered a knee injury, but was lucky enough
to hide the ailment and keep it from becoming public knowledge
before the fight.
However,
during the match-up, Evans punched Jackson in the same knee that
was injured, and it led him to believe that maybe someone was
leaking information even back then.
“In
all my years of fighting, I’d never been punched in the
knee before and I never saw anyone punch someone in the knee,”
Jackson said when speaking to Yahoo! Sports.
Since
the story broke, everyone has been curious if Jackson has a point
or if he’s just being paranoid?
The
other fighter he accused of possibly spying on him thought the
entire idea was pretty hilarious.
“Rashad
laughed, he thought it was so funny,” Evans’ manager,
Glenn Robinson of Authentic Sports Management, told MMAWeekly
Radio. “He said ‘I hit him in the knee cause that’s
where I could reach at that moment.’”
Like
a lot of people looking at the situation, Robinson believes Jackson’s
claims are just a way of stirring up some controversy as the
fight draws near. What matters to Evans however, is getting the
winner when the fight is over.
“This
whole thing is funny, it’s drama,” Robinson stated.
“It’s going to be an interesting fight between Jon
and Quinton. Either way, we don’t really care who the winner
is, but it’s going to be an interesting fight and a good
fight for the fans.”
If
spygate MMA did anything, it certainly seems to have at least
made former teammates Rashad Evans and Jon Jones agree on one
thing… they don’t need a spy to get ready to face Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson.
Source: MMA Weekly |
With
Help from Meditation and Sokoudjou, Jesse Taylor Ready to Upset
Hector Lombard
Sometimes
people get the chance to make themselves great. And sometimes
those same people blow that big opportunity.
Jesse
Taylor was one of those people.
It
wasn’t that long ago that the San Diego resident was a cast
member of The Ultimate Fighter and well on his way to competing
on the show’s finale for the six-figure contract and a spot
in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Unfortunately, after an
incident that included the damaging of property while being inebriated,
Taylor was let go from the show. He got a brief chance to fight
in the UFC thereafter, but lost to C.B. Dollaway via submission
at UFC Fight Night 14 and was ultimately let go from the UFC.
Three
years later, Taylor still competes and has been paying his dues
in the smaller promotion circuit. During that time, the fighter
out of Team Quest has maintained an 18-3 record and taken out
such notables as Drew Fickett, Chris Camozzi, Tom “Kong”
Watson, and Denis Kang.
Taylor’s
most recent success includes a five-fight win streak. The fighter
attributes the current run to finally getting his head on straight
and taking the time to discover meditation as a key to his relaxation
and refocus.
“I
got into it about a year ago,” Taylor told MMAWeekly.com
about his meditation practices. “It just helps me balance
my life, especially before fights. So much is going on in your
head and I like doing it right before. It helps me relax.”
So
now, while meditating and centering his inner self, Taylor prepares
for what he described as the “biggest fight” of his
career in a scheduled match-up with Bellator middleweight champion
Hector Lombard, which takes place at Australian Fighting Championships
2 on Saturday night.
Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard
Bellator
middleweight champion Hector Lombard
Lombard
is widely considered one of the world’s best middleweights
outside of the UFC. With a record of 29-2-1, Lombard hasn’t
seen the losing side of a fight in nearly five years and leaves
little doubt to his destructive repertoire. Emulating such a
devastating opponent in training camp is tricky, but Taylor feels
he’s found someone who most closely mirrors “Lightning.”
Rameau
Thierry Sokoudjou plays the role of Hector Lombard at Team Quest.
With
Sokoudjou helping him prepare for AFC 2, Taylor sees himself
has having the tools to figure out the Lombard enigma, and anticipates
surprising spectators with a stunning win in the land down under.
In fact, Taylor proclaims Sokoudjou to be a bigger, stronger
version of the Bellator middleweight champ.
“I
couldn’t have asked for a better partner than Thierry Sokoudjou.
He’s kind of like a bigger, stronger version of Hector,”
he said.
“Thierry
comes from a judo background, like Hector. He’s actually
a pretty good wrestler, as well.
“Thierry
is a lot like Hector; he punches and kicks super hard.”
The
hours count down to Taylor’s date with Lombard in Australia
and with each passing moment, the fighter grows even more excited
about the match-up. As tough a fight as it is, preparing for
the bout comes across as much easier than his fights in years
past due to the focus and relaxation Taylor has gained from discovering
meditation.
Through
this meditative approach, Taylor says he finally got this whole
mixed martial arts thing down pretty well, which is fitting,
since MMA is more of a mental game for him. Through his own admission,
Taylor has been his own worst enemy and has no one else to blame
for putting himself in bad positions, like the one that saw him
booted from The Ultimate Fighter. Luckily, he’s seen the
error of his ways and wants his current win-streak to help carry
him back to the big show.
With
a win over Lombard, the statement will be louder than ever when
asking to come back to the UFC. Taylor hopes the Las Vegas-based
company’s bosses take notice and give him a call when he’s
done in Australia.
“If
I do well in this upcoming fight, I think a fair deal should
be made for me,” he said. “I respect Dana, I respect
the Fertittas, and I just hope the respect is mutual.
“I’ve
been down and out. Now, I’m back again.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
One
FC: Champion vs. Champion Weigh-In Results
The
inaugural One FC event is set to go down this weekend in Singapore
with several fighters from international waters as well as some
fan favorites from the United States.
The
main event pits Korea’s A Sol Kwon against Edward Folayang,
while former UFC fighters Phil Baroni and Yoshiyuki Yoshida square
off in the co-main event.
For
the weigh-ins, the only fighter who didn’t make weight was
former ‘Ultimate Fighter’ competitor Andy Wang, coming
in 4lbs over the contracted weight for his fight. The two fight
camps will now negotiate a catchweight bout with part of Wang’s
purse likely given over to his opponent.
Outside
of that, all of the other fighters on the card made weight without
incident.
ONE
FC: CHAMPION VS. CHAMPION FULL WEIGH-IN RESULTS:
MAIN EVENT:
Edward Folayang (155.9) vs. A Sol Kwon (155)
MAIN
CARD:
Phil Baroni (176) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (174.8)
Eric Kelly (142.4) vs. Mitch Chilson (145.5)
Gregor Gracie (170.9) vs. Seok Mo Kim (169.7)
Andy Wang (163.1) vs. Zorababel Moreira (158.9)
PRELIMINARY
CARD:
Eddie Ng (159.6) vs. Yuan Chun Bo (154.3)
Radeem Rahman (125.2) vs. Susovan Ghosh (125.2)
Ma Xing Yue (155.2) vs. Vuyisile Colossa (160.7)
Daniel Mashamaite (136) vs. Yodsanan Sityodtong (135.1)
Soo Chul Kim (135.5) vs. Leandro Issa (136.5)
Source: MMA Weekly |
Manager
wants Shogun vs. Ortiz on UFC’s New Year’s Eve show
Mauricio
“Shogun” Rua put on a great show in UFC Rio, knocking
out Forrest Griffin in less than three minutes, but his team
thinks ahead. Manager of the former champion, Eduardo Alonso
told TATAME he hopes Shogun is called in to fight on New Year’s
Eve in UFC, on an event that might take place in Abu Dhabi, and
he would pick Tito Ortiz as the Brazilian’s opponent.
“I’ve
been hearing some rumors, but until now there’s nothing
concrete about UFC. If it depends only on my plannings, he’d
fight on December 31st, it’d be great. I’d really like
him to fight Tito Ortiz since he’s an icon of the sport
and will soon retire”, explains the manager.
The
fight might not make much sense, once Griffin defeated Ortiz
before beating knocked out by Shogun, but it pleases the manager.
“He
didn’t have the chance to fight (Randy) Couture, something
Lyoto had the luck and credits to do, but I’d like to see
this fight. It came from Tito himself, who challenged him, but
we’re realistic. I know it’s not much likely, so it’s
only left for us to wait. Everybody knows Shogun doesn’t
pick his opponents, so we’re opened to discussion. To me,
the date (December 31st) is more important than the opponent”.
Despite
the party after the big KO in UFC Rio, which brought Shogun quickly
to the spotlights, his manager highlights the negative points
of the ‘fame’.
“The
repercussion is being amazing, the win opened some space for
him on the press... We went to see Flamengo vs. Vasco (soccer
match) on Sunday and Shogun needed to be escorted by the cops
to leave the stadium, but the fame also brings the rumors along
with it”, tells Alonso, regretting the fact many gossip
websites have published Shogun, who’s married, ‘hittin
on’ Sabrina Sato on a party after UFC Rio.
“It’s
outrageous the capacity of people to lie, making up rumors, but
it happens, it shows athletes are becoming celebrities”,
said. “We didn’t go to any party, I challenge these
‘reporters’ to show any picture of us in there. We
went to a pizza place in Leblon and then went back to the hotel.
It’s unbelievable how people lie like that”.
Source: Tatame |
UFC's
Choice for First FOX Fight a Bold Move, but Not Without Risks
Cain Velasquez vs. Brock LensarUFC president Dana White said
on Friday that he was "literally betting everything"
that Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos will deliver a quality
fight for the UFC's first event on the FOX network this November.
While
this statement makes White just one more pro sports figure to
misuse the word 'literally' (just saying, even if the fight's
a dud, White won't wake up penniless in a vacant lot the next
morning) he does still have a point.
The
UFC is taking a major gamble putting this (and only this) fight
on its first network show. But then, what did you expect? When
you're on the big stage, you might as well give it your best.
In the UFC's case, that's a heavyweight title fight, the gravity
of which any sports fan can immediately comprehend. Especially
for those who only understand combat sports through the lens
of boxing, the heavyweight strap is the grandaddy of them all,
the biggest title in the world.
Now
it's coming to network TV in one dramatic roll of the dice. It's
a shrewd choice by the UFC for several reasons, even if it's
no sure thing.
Choosing
how best to showcase the UFC to new viewers in a free, hour-long
event on FOX must have been its own special challenge. On one
hand, you want to give them something that feels appropriately
important. As Bull Durham's "Nuke" LaLoosh would say,
you want to announce your presence with authority.
A
title fight fits that bill nicely. Then again, a title fight
also has the potential to go five full rounds, leaving very little
room for anything else in a 60-minute network TV broadcast, once
pre-fight packages, introductions, and commercials are factored
in.
But
come on, these are heavyweights we're talking about. Not since
Tim Sylvia dropped the belt via decision to Randy Couture in
2007 has a UFC heavyweight title fight gone the distance. Between
Velasquez and dos Santos, it sure seems like somebody is liable
to end the night face down on the mat before the judges have
their say.
Of
course, the promise of heavyweight power is both an asset and
a liability in this case.
Say
you spend weeks pumping up this fight on football and baseball
broadcasts. Say you successfully suck in millions of casual sports
fans who have never really sat down to watch an MMA fight before,
let alone a huge UFC title fight. Say you beat those people over
the head with how important and monumental this whole deal is,
and say they buy into the hype. Then what happens if it's over
in 90 seconds?
On
Friday's media call FOX executives admitted they hadn't yet decided
what to do with any extra time. Maybe they'd show a fight from
earlier in the night, they said, or maybe they'd run a highlight
package.
There's
also the chance that they could run into the opposite scenario.
Velasquez, being a wrestler, could always decide to play it safe
and grind out JDS on the mat rather than stand up and play Russian
roulette with the Brazilian striker. For his part, dos Santos
has a bit of a reputation for stunning opponents early and then
coasting in the later rounds.
Now
matter how much "education" you do on FOX before the
fight, network TV viewers might easily be underwhelmed by either
scenario in their first exposure to MMA.
But
then, such is the risk you take with any fight. There are no
guarantees in MMA. How many times have we seen big fights turn
out to be snoozers while lackluster pay-per-views become the
fight card of the year?
Any
fight the UFC could have offered up here would involve some potential
downside. With a heavyweight title fight, at least White and
company are signaling their willingness to put some of their
best material on free TV. At least they aren't saving it for
pay-per-view, hoping the network audience will be content with
action more suited to a Spike TV Fight Night event.
Instead,
the UFC is kicking in America's door with its first fight on
network TV. It's putting everything on the table and relying
on the fighters to bring it home. And really, what else can you
ask for? Promotion and pre-fight build-up is a big part of this
business, but eventually it always comes down to what happens
when the cage door closes and the hype-men take their seats on
the outside. Eventually, it's always about the fighters.
If
you're going to put your faith in anyone, you might as well put
it in two evenly matched big men fighting for a title every sports
fan understands. You might as well put the best you've got into
the national spotlight, now that you've finally got it all to
yourself for one precious hour.
Whether
it lives up to the expectations or not, at least you won't have
to sit around years from now, wondering if you should have gone
bigger when you had the chance.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
What
will the first post-UFC Rio Jungle Fight be like?
Wallid
Ismail, who nearly stole the show at the UFC with his facial
and mouth expressions while cornering Paulo Thiago, is now back
to wearing his promoter hat. Photo: Jesus Henrique.
What
has changed in Brazil’s MMA scene since the historic UFC
Rio show? Let’s start by looking at the date September 10.
That’s when Jungle Fight 32 is set to go down at São
Paulo’s Ibirapuera Park.
The
evening’s main event will be a bantamweight title draw between
Iliarde Santos and John Lineker, both of whom are from the Brazilian
state of Paraná. To attend the event, the public will
need only to show up at event time and present an invitation,
which will be handed out for free in a number of locations a
few days before the competition. The locations where invites
will be handed out will be released shortly. Maximum capacity
at the venue is 10,000 people. Check out the card being released
by the promotion:
Jungle
Fight 32
Ibirapuera, São Paulo, Brazil
September 10, 2011
Iliarde
Santos (Ulisses Pereira Team) vs Jonh Lineker (Emporium Team)
– Under 61kg (bantamweight) title fight
Neilson Araujo (Champions Team) vs Jeremy Franklin Umphrie (Werdun
Team) – Under-70kg (lightweight)
Paulo Henrique “PH” (Machida Team) vs Charles Michael
(Miguel Repanas Team) – Under 77kg (welterweight)
Wendel Negão (Gracie Fusion/Mangueira) vs Thiago Passos
(Bolado Team) – Under 77kg (welterweight)
Bruno Capelosa (Equipe Gracie Fusion/Veras TK) vs Dirley “Mão
de Pedra” (Equipe Mão de Pedra) – Under-95kg
(light heavyweight)
Serginho vieira (Luciano Nucci/ Vera TK) vs Reginaldo Vieira
(Peso pesado / Bolado) – Under-66kg (featherweight)
Douglas Silva (Xgym Team) vs João Paulo de Carvalho (Chute
Boxe/Bauru) – Under-84kg (middleweight)
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Kaleo
Kwan Loses in Australia's AFC
Chris texted me right after the fight. He stated that Kaleo and
his opponent had an inital exchange and Kaleo hit him with nice
hook. When he stepped in for the next exchange, the kid did a
nice step around to a knee bar. Kaleo successfully defended the
knee bar, but got caught in a heel hook at 55 seconds of round
1. Chris said it was a very slick move and there was no way that
Kaleo could see it coming. We studied his opponent and put in
a lot of hours in upping Kaleo's knee bar, heel hook, and footlock
defense, but as everyone knows in MMA, anything can happen. We
are proud of Kaleo for breaking in to the international scene
and we hope they invite him back soon!
Now Chris and Kaleo are off to see the sites of Melbourne and
then will fly back to Sydney to take in the sites there before
returning home.
|
Man
Up Stand Up Results
Man up and Stand up
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu, Hawaii
Sept 2, 2011
Ola Lum
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
140
Derek Min
Min wins
by decision
JONAH
AFOA
215
KANOE KAHIKINA
DUSTIN CULLASTRO
230
BEN BOYCE
EVAN QUIZON
130
TONY RODRIGUES
ISAAC HOPPS
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
145
CORY ESTRAD
Hopps wins
by decision
MIKE MORALES
145
MAURICE PHILIPS
BRYSON AIONA
205
JUDE KAPUA
CHRISTIAN BAUTISTA
175
MICAH ABREU
COLIN MCKENZIE
145
LAA HOOKELE
NALU KAWAILIMA
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
125
KALEI AIWOHI
Kawailima
wins by decision
KEONI CHANG
140
MARK YARCIA
MAKANA WIGGLESWORTH
145
KAI KIWASAKI
KAYLEN STAFFORD
140
DARRYL DANO
JONAH VISTANTE
153
JORDAN ANDUA
AJ DEGUZMAN
125
DENNIS MONTIRA
RODNEY BANIS
170
TOLO SARAGOSA
DAMON APPLEBAUM
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
215
AARON ROSE
Applebaum
wins by decision
MARC KUMAI
185
PELETI FAUMUINA
BRADA
130
BRYAR
BRYSEN
4 REAL LUM (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
150
LANCE BELL
4 Real
Lum wins by decision
ANGELO DEAN BONGO (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
105
MAKOA DESANTOS
Dean-Bongo
had an exhibition so no winner
STANFORD HOKOANA
155
JUSTIN
JUSTIN BURGESS
160
JOSEPH GARCIA
DARIUS
LONDO (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
175
LOMBART MALEDONA
Lando-Adolfo
wins by decision
DUSTIN JACOBSEN
125
SHAWN DESANTOS
JEFF LAGAMAN
145
MAKAIO ALVARADO
BRANSON
TADAKI (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
140
NOA KAMELAMELA
Tadaki
wins by decision
All
matches & participants may be subject to change.
Source: Derrick Bright
|
UFC
134 Rio Medical Suspensions: Forrest Griffin Leads The Way With
Potential 180-Day Suspension
The
lack of a commission in Brazil doesn’t stop the UFC from
following the same rules when they oversee and event, and thus
they have handed down medical suspensions from the card last
weekend.
Leading
the suspension list is former UFC light heavyweight champion
Forrest Griffin who faces a possible 180 day suspension unless
cleared by a doctor with an x-ray of his right foot, and jaw.
Also
at the top of the list are Stanislav Nedkov, who has a similar
180 day suspension due to a potential broken nose, as well as
Ian Loveland, who has to provide a negative chest x-ray or he
could face a 180 day suspension as well.
The
full list of suspensions are listed below courtesy of MixedMartialArts.com
as confirmed by UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc
Ratner.
UFC
134 Rio: Medical Suspensions
Yushin
Okami; 45 days no contest; 30 days no contact
Forrest
Griffin; 45 days no contest; 30 days no contact
Forrest Griffin; 180 days or must have negative of right foot
and jaw, or cleared by doctor
Ross
Pearson; 45 days no contest; 30 days no contact
Brendan
Schaub; 45 days no contest; 30 days no contact
Luiz
Cane; 30 days no contest; 21 days no contact
Stanislav
Nedkov; 30 days no contest; 21 days no contact
Stanislav Nedkov; 180 days or must have negative nasal x-ray;
if positive must be cleared by doctor
Thiago
Tavares; 7 days mandatory rest
Rousimar
Palhares; 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact
Dan
Miller; 45 days no contest; 30 days no contact
Raphael
Assuncao; 30 days no contest; 21 days no contact
Raphael Assuncao; 180 days or must have negative nasal x-ray;
if positive, must be cleared by doctor
Erick
Silva; 7 days mandatory rest
Luis
Ramos; 40 days no contest; 30 days no contact
Yuri
Alcantara; 7 days mandatory rest
Felipe
Arantes; 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact
Yves
Jabouin; 30 days no contest; 21 days no contact
Ian
Loveland; 30 days no contest; 21 days no contact
Ian Loveland; 180 days or must have negative chest x-ray; if
positive, must be cleared by doctor
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Nogueira
says knockout over Schaub was “surprising”, wants Mir
next
Rodrigo
Nogueira thrilled Brazil. Used to epic battles in the rings,
the giant Brazilian fighter went through months of fear and doubts,
fighting the injuries back with three delicate surgeries on the
knees and hip. On the perfect comeback, on his 40th MMA fight,
the first one in Brazil, he beat up the young promise Brendan
Schaub in a way nobody would see coming, not even him: with a
KO on the first round. On an exclusive interview with TATAME,
the heavyweight fighter talked about his surgeries, the healing
process, the fans’ doubts about his future in MMA, and he
also explained why he didn’t cry after the fight, revealing
the wish to return to UFC in Japan, Canada or Brazil, and he
already has an opponent in mind: Frank Mir.
It
couldn’t go any better this first fight in Brazil, right?
It
was a surprising knockout. The guys expected me to take him down,
but I distract him a little. I went for his leg and then his
body, only using my striking skills, not using the tactic to
take him down. I moved my head a lot too. He started fast, but
I dodged. It was awesome. What a big party!
Before
the fight, you had a #FinalizaMinotauro (Submit Minotauro) campaign
in Twitter, but you won while standing yo. Was your game plan
to take him down or did you use it to mix him up and trade punches
with him?
I
was ready to fight anywhere, I was ready for everything. I was
huge in the ground, feeling fine. I guess it was my best camp
of all, with names like De La Riva coming up to help me. He spent
the whole time with me. I also had the support of Ramon Lemos,
who’s a coach at Atos, and he came down to help me on the
last days of training. I trained with five black belts and they
all tapped out twice, man. I was really huge on the ground game.
I
called Josh Janousek in for Wrestling... I really spent a lot
of money on this camp, bringing down here a good American wrestler
so that I could be good with my Wrestling, besides the work I
did with (Luis Carlos) Dorea and Erivan Conceicao, who’s
a Boxing coach. I’ve worked the encounter Boxing.
Before
going to the fight, Junior (dos Santos) kept telling me to ‘use
this one, this one’. It’s like a punch, a jab and a
powerful left hand. I got Schaub with his back at Dorea, Rogerio
and Junior. And the guys kept yelling ‘do it now, now, now’...
When they yelled ‘go’, I moved my head and punched
him (laughs). It was automatic, it was the right timing. I guess
he thought I would grab his legs and I fit an upper punch. He
didn’t know I’d strike as much, It really was a surprising
knockout.
When
it was over everybody was touched, many cried, but you didn’t
drop one single tear. Why didn’t you cry afterwards?
It
was like an outflow to me. Many things happened. It was like
an outflow to those who didn’t believe in me. You saw I
had an angry face, but it wasn’t about Schaub, I don’t
feel any anger towards him. It was an outflow for those who told
me to retire, to those who asked Dana White if he would retire
me after this fight... I won’t retire.
So
I unburdened this doubts about me, because people don’t
know what I went through so that I could be in there, because
I had to go through three surgeries... Until four months ago,
I only walked with crutches. A month and a half ago I’d
put my hand on my leg and I turned to my physiotherapist Angela
Cortez and said: ‘it’s really tough today. Will I make
it there?’, and she’d said to me: ‘go, Rodrigo’.
She was someone who believed in me. My physical coach was Claudio
Pavanelli. She was with me since the beginning and Pavanelli
spent these last four months with me.
That
was like an outflow, an outflow to my former sponsor, who’s
someone I’ve helped, but then he cancelled my sponsorship
one month and a half before the fight... I wanted to say many
things to those who didn’t believe in me, those who thought
I was going to lose. You can see I had anger in my face when
I got in there. But I don’t feel any anger towards my opponent,
I feel it towards people who do that. I guess people should believe
more.
Once
again you proved the world you’re like Rocky Balboa, getting
in there like an underdog and, while fighting big guys, you’ve
triumphed...
I
like challenges. I just need to stop and get focused for three
months, like I did now. I have a column on a paper, two gyms
filled with students... Besides training we do many things too.
I have almost 15 sons in my gym and I have to take care of their
diet, their bouts... It’s hard. But, if I can stop and train
hard for three months, I get good. I’ve stopped my Schedule
for a while but, even doing that, there’s much things I
do besides training. But, on this fight, I dedicated myself to
the job and it was pretty good, it was the result of three months
of trainings.
We
saw your evolution since your first train. You was still limping,
doing physiotherapy and stretching with Angela for like one hour
before actually start training. Two weeks before the fight you
were already doing much better. How important this work with
Angela and Pavanelli was?
It
was really important. Besides the work with Angela, and all the
physiotherapy sessions, he was a very positive person, she did
a great psychological work too. When I got there, she told me:
‘see, so that we can work together you won’t do physiotherapy
seeking for healing. We do physiotherapy here with goal. What
is your goal?’ I sat down at the clinic in Barra da Tijuca
and said: ‘my goal is to fight again’. And then she
told me: ‘tell me a date’. I thought, and it seems
crazy, but I told her I wanted to fight in October, December...
Then she said: ‘ok. Until December we’ve got plenty
time’. Then I told her ‘yeah, but my dream is to fight
in UFC Brazil’. She then looked at me and asked: ‘is
this really your dream?’, and I said ‘yes, it is’.
She turned to me and said: ‘so we’ll make your dream
come true’.
I
told her the doctor would have to work with me later, and then
she said: ‘I trust you. Do you trust me? I believe in you’.
I knew August was too soon, that I would have a short time to
train, I thought i couldn’t make it, I wasn’t feeling
safe to fight on that date. But she told me: ‘Rodrigo, if
you have a goal, we’ll work on this goal and you’ll
make it. With no goal, with no agenda, we can’t make it’.
As
the time went by, I didn’t need to use the crutches anymore
and she told me she was introducing me to a guy who’d work
my body, Pavanelli. He went to my house, he saw me getting out
of the pool with crutches, when I couldn’t walk by myself.
He did a two-week work on the pool, only water exercises. Then
we starting working my muscles out. We didn’t do much back
then, just one or two things. I used the cruthces on the strengthening
process. I left one exercise and had the help of the crutches
to get to the other for like a month and a half. We worked together
with the crutches for a months so that I could train again. I
had much perseverence too. One day after the surgery I looked
for a physiotherapist at the clinic and did like half an hour
of arm bike. I was spending over one leg and doing it one day
after my surgery.
The
doctors went crazy. My coach too. I said: ‘hold me’,
because I had just gone through a surgery, but I really believed
in me. I wanted to come back. One or two months before the fight
I said: ‘Angela, I won’t make it. It’s too close
and I’m not fast with my leg, I’m not yet flexible’.
I said it like a month ago. And then she asked me: ‘how
are you doing?’, and I told her I was limping and using
the crutches still. And then she told me that whitin a month
I’d be ok. I was waiting to tell UFC guys if I was going
to make it or not.
A
month before the fight she asked me if I was doing better and
I told her I was doing better, but not a lot better. And she
told me I’d be fine in a month. So it was planned. 21 days
before the fight I already was 100%. I was 100% three weeks before
the fight. Bigfoot got here and it was crucial. Dos Santos also
got here so I could test myself. Three weeks before the fight
these guys got here and helped me on the final part of my trainings.
Feijao helped me a lot when I started training, and, in the end,
Bigfoot and Junior helped me a lot.
You
said at the press conference that, for the first time, you’d
be fighting at your best in UFC. Were you really 100% healed?
Did you wonder if you had rushed things too much and got scared
of fight a young guy with no injuries?
We
always wonder if we’re good to go. Will I make it? I had
that in mind. On the last weeks I remained focused, I went to
a friend’s house, who helped me with all this Internacional
thing (e sponsorship of a soccer team), and I stayed there, focused.
I was scared, but confident, I was doing fine and well trained.
The boy’s tough, I knew he would be, but I’ve trained
a lot and I was confident. I just didn’t know what could
happen...
I
knew my ground game was better than his and I knew I could trade
punches with him, that I could smash him while striking. I didn’t
move backwards. He came and I moved forwards. If I wasn’t
trying to get his leg, I was punching him on his body and moved
forwards. He was the one who moved back. I forced him at all
times, he walked a lot on the Cage and that was exactly what
I wanted to do: to corner him and go for his legs. I punched
him and I’d go for his legs, but it all changed. I had other
options on that fight. I felt good.
What
are the expectations for your future in UFC? Do you hope to fight
Frank Mir, since he has no bout scheduled and you’d fight
each other in the past?
I’d
like to fight Frank Mir, I want to fight UFC Japan. I’d
like to fight UFC Canada, which will happen later this year.
Fighting Frank Mir is something I’d Love to do. I’m
motivated to fight him.
Feel
free to send a message to everyone who believed in you and knew
you’d come back with a great performance...
For
those who believed in me or not, because I knew there’d
be people in there who didn’t believe in me but would cheer
for me... I came from a loss by knockout, I came from three surgeries,
and they weren’t simple surgeries, so I get it... I went
through three surgeries on my hip and knees. For those who believed
in me or not, I want to say I accepted this fight in short notice,
but I’d like to tell people I’m back. I’m back
now. I still have a lot to do and I want to represent Brazil
many times and fight in Brazil again. It was wonderful to fight
in Rio, it was great to fight at home. I’d like to fight
here again, so I can’t wait to fight in UFC in Brazil again
because i want to be here representing our country.
Source: Tatame
|
After
training with Drysdale, he says he’s unafraid of Roger’s
Jiu-Jitsu
In
the lead-up to his Cincinnati, Ohio, showdown with Roger Gracie
and after training in Holland and Las Vegas with Ray Sefo (ex-K-1
fighter), Robert Drysdale (ADCC) and Floyd Mayweather Sr. (boxing),
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal’s confidence seems to
have reached the stratosphere as he goes into his Strikeforce
outing on the 10th.
In
a chat with our colleagues at MMAJunkie.com, the American muay
thai and wrestling expert expressed certainty that he’s
not going to end up on bottom. By not ending up on bottom, he’s
convinced he can’t lose.
“I
might land on bottom if I slip. But I’m not afraid of his
Jiu-Jitsu at all,” said the hard-nosed fighter who has been
away from the cage for a year now. “He has a great closed
guard, but when you hit them they tend to open up. I’m not
worried, except about making weight. I know I’m going to
win this fight. I don’t know if it will be by stoppage or
ground and pound. Maybe I’ll submit him,” said the
30-year-old, who has only lost once in eight fights – to
Rafael Feijão in August 2010.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
‘Rampage’
accuses Jones camp of spying
Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson’s hands are not injured, haven’t
been injured and won’t impact him in his bout for the light
heavyweight title at UFC 135 on Sept. 24 in Denver against champion
Jon Jones.
But
there was enough discussion of the state of Jackson’s hands
that it has led the former champion to suspect he has a spy in
his midst.
Spygate
has come to the UFC.
Jackson
said in an interview with Yahoo! Sports on Monday that he made
up a story about having a hand injury last week. Yet, four hours
after he mentioned the story in his gym, he said his manager
received a call from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva asking about it.
Quinton
Jackson says someone in his camp gave Rashad Evans details about
an injured knee before their fight. Now he says a spy is leaking
info to Jon Jones.
Jackson
said he first became wary about a spy in his camp during the
days prior to his May 29, 2010, fight at UFC 114 in Las Vegas
with Rashad Evans. He said he injured his knee in training, but
kept it quiet and let no one know. He was pleased when the injury
never found its way into the media.
Yet,
Jackson said that during the fight, Evans punched him repeatedly
on the injured knee.
“In
all my years of fighting, I’d never been punched in the
knee before and I never saw anyone punch someone in the knee,”
Jackson said.
He
said that made him wary that someone in his camp had been disloyal.
But it wasn’t until recently, when he received a message
from a fan on Twitter telling him that Jones had a spy in Jackson’s
camp, that he began to consider it a possibility. It prompted
him to make up the story about the injured hand to see where
it would go.
Jackson
said that four hours after he first made mention of the supposed
injury, Silva, who was attending UFC 134 in Brazil, called his
manager, Anthony McGann, to inquire. When McGann assured Silva
that Jackson was not injured, he asked where Silva had heard
the information.
To
Jackson, the response was predictable: Silva said he had gotten
a call from Jones’ manager Malki Kawa.
“One
of my friends was talking to Jon Jones’ manager recently,
and Jon Jones’ manager was saying that he knows everything
that is going on in our camp,” Jackson said. “He said
he had spies in our camp and he knew everything that was going
on. That got me thinking.
“How
did he know about my hand injury that fast? It wasn’t on
the Internet, and yet he knew about my hand injury right away.
The UFC people were in Brazil, which is why it probably took
them four hours to call me. That shows me two things: They have
spies in my camp, one, and two, they’re dumb as hell, because
they didn’t know how to use the information correctly and
to wait. He called right away, running to Joe Silva. Joe Silva
called my manager right away.”
Jackson
said he was bothered by it because he said he doesn’t operate
that way and doesn’t try to seek out information about any
opponent.
“I
don’t care what Jon Jones is doing, and I don’t care
what his game plan is,” the former UFC light heavyweight
champion said. “I have zero care. I still have the honor
of a fighter and going into battle the right way, not spying
on my opponent. I’m not scared about my opponent, asking
a lot of questions or worrying about what he’s doing. I
don’t even watch film.”
Kawa
vehemently denied having a spy in Jackson’s camp, but admitted
he called Silva to inquire. Kawa said he had seen a report on
Twitter that Jackson was injured, which prompted his call to
Silva.
But
Kawa was adamant that he was not spying on Jackson, and that
the publication of such a report would only negatively impact
Jones.
“I
promise to God, I have no spy in that camp,” Kawa said.
“It’s completely and totally untrue. There is nothing
to it at all. It’s funny he said that, though, because we’ve
heard he has had old training partners of Jon coming in to work
with him. We don’t care and it’s kind of hilarious
he’s doing this. But I can guarantee you there is nothing
at all that is true about this other than that I called Joe Silva
after someone put out a thing on Twitter that Rampage was injured
and pulling out. I wanted to know what was up, but it was no
more than that. That is it.”
Kawa
was once briefly Evans’ co-manager, along with Glenn Robinson
of Authentic Sports, but Evans was managed by Jervis Cole at
the time of his UFC 114 fight with Jackson.
Evans
said he hadn’t received any information about a Jackson
knee injury, but said he kept punching him in the knee because
Jackson reacted to it.
“I
never heard a thing about it,” Evans said of Jackson’s
knee injury. “I heard him talk about it after the fight.
I didn’t know about it going into the fight. When I had
him against the cage, I kept hitting him in the knee because
of how he was reacting, not because anybody told me anything
prior.
“When
you’re in a fight, you just go for what you can get a reaction
from. I’d punch him in the toe if I felt it was bothering
him. We were leaning against the cage and it was really hard
to take him down from there. I really couldn’t do much to
him and he couldn’t do much to me. I wanted to keep the
position and so I didn’t want the referee to break us. So
I had to keep looking busy and I saw it was bothering him, so
I kept hitting him in his leg. That was it.”
Jackson,
though, is convinced there is someone who has been around him
who has been leaking information about what he’s doing.
He said that one day he was working on elbows in camp and the
next day, Jones tweeted that he had to start working on elbows.
It
could be a coincidence, but Jackson doesn’t see it that
way. He said he is going to try to get a campaign for his fans
to send him messages on his Twitter page telling whether they
believe Jones is using a spy. He said he suspects he knows who
is leaking the information, but said he wouldn’t release
the person’s identity.
“I
don’t do that,” Jackson said. “That will be between
me and him. I would never out him publicly.”
He
said he feels betrayed, particularly since he says he treats
his sparring partners well. But he said he’s in his best
shape in a long time and ready to shock Jones. Jackson said he
weighs 228 pounds more than three weeks from the fight.
He
takes the spying issue as a sign of weakness on Jones’ part.
“Of
course they’re going to say they aren’t doing it, but
we’ll put the story out there to the fans and let them decide,”
Jackson said.
Spying
in the fight game is hardly new. In 1987, as Marvelous Marvin
Hagler was preparing to fight Sugar Ray Leonard in a major middleweight
title match, Leonard sent J.D. Brown to Hagler’s camp in
Palm Springs, Calif., to spy.
Brown
was a matchmaker for Leonard and known to Hagler and his camp.
But Brown wore glasses, dyed his hair and got into camp without
being noticed. Then, to prove to Leonard that he had inside access,
Brown posed as a fan and had a photograph of himself taken with
Hagler after Hagler had finished sparring. He brought the photo
back to Leonard’s camp as proof.
Jackson
is brimming with confidence – “I don’t care what
they see or who they have watching,” he said – and
vowed he’d take the title from Jones.
“We
all know the story about this guy,” Jackson said of Jones.
“He’s going to learn a hard lesson [on Sept. 24]. He’ll
see.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
Fight Night 25 Update: Semerzier and Johnson Out, Baczynski In
UFC
Fight Night 25 Shields vs Ellenberger PosterSlightly more than
two weeks out from the event and UFC Fight Night 25: Shields
vs. Ellenberger has suffered a couple losses to its fight card.
Mackens
Semerzier and DaMarques Johnson are both out of their respective
bouts due to injury. The UFC announced the withdrawals via its
Twitter account on Wednesday.
Semerzier
was slated to meet Mike Lullo in a featherweight contest, while
Johnson had a welterweight bout on tap with Clay Harvision.
MMAWeekly.com
has learned that Johnson has already been replaced by Seth Baczynski.
There has yet to be a clear replacement for Semerzier.
Semerzier
(6-3) had just rebounded with a win over Alex Caceres at UFC
Fight Night 24 in March, ending a three-fight skid that almost
saw him out of a job.
A
cast member from the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter, DaMarques
Johnson (12-9) has been bouncing between wins and losses in his
UFC tenure. He most recently submitted to Amir Sadollah due to
strikes at UFC Fight Night 24, and was hoping to bounce back
against Harvison.
Baczynski
(13-6) failed to fight his way into the fighter house on the
eleventh season of TUF. He also lost his one fight in the Octagon,
to Brad Tavares, at the TUF 11 season finale event. Baczynski
has since won back-to-back fights outside the Octagon, earning
the opportunity to step in on short notice against Harvison.
UFC
Fight Night 25: Shields vs. Ellenberger is headlined by welterweights
Jake Shields and Jake Ellenberger. Shields’ manager and
father, Jack Shields, passed away earlier this week. There has
been no word, however, on whether or not Jake will remain in
the fight.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Matt
Brown Steps in to Face John Hathaway on UFC 138 Fight Card in
England
An
injury to Pascal Krauss forced him out of UFC 138, so former
‘Ultimate Fighter’ competitor Matt Brown has stepped
in as a replacement and will face John Hathaway on the card.
Sources
close to the match-up confirmed the news to MMAWeekly.com on
Wednesday. MMAFighting.com first reported the switch.
Coming
into his last fight, Matt Brown was in a tough spot. Always known
for exciting fights, Brown was dealing with a three fight losing
streak, but had no plans of exiting the UFC.
Brown
was able to dominate John Howard en route to a unanimous decision
victory at UFC on Versus 4, and now returns at UFC 138 in England.
Brown
faces John Hathaway who returns to action after a split decision
win over Kris McCray at UFC Fight Night 24 in March.
The
bout between Brown and Hathaway takes place at UFC 138 in England,
but the official line up for the televised card, set to air on
Spike TV, has yet to be announced.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Tonight!
Man up and Stand up
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu, Hawaii
Sept 2, 2011
JONAH
AFOA
215
KANOE KAHIKINA
DUSTIN CULLASTRO
230
BEN BOYCE
EVAN QUIZON
130
TONY RODRIGUES
ISAAC HOPPS
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
145
CORY ESTRAD
MIKE MORALES
145
MAURICE PHILIPS
BRYSON AIONA
205
JUDE KAPUA
CHRISTIAN BAUTISTA
175
MICAH ABREU
COLIN MCKENZIE
145
LAA HOOKELE
NALU KAWAILIMA
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
125
KALEI AIWOHI
KEONI CHANG
140
MARK YARCIA
MAKANA WIGGLESWORTH
145
KAI KIWASAKI
KAYLEN STAFFORD
140
DARRYL DANO
JONAH VISTANTE
153
JORDAN ANDUA
AJ DEGUZMAN
125
DENNIS MONTIRA
RODNEY BANIS
170
TOLO SARAGOSA
DAMON APPLEBAUM
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
215
AARON ROSE
MARC KUMAI
185
PELETI FAUMUINA
BRADA
130
BRYAR
BRYSEN
4 REAL LUM (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
150
LANCE BELL
ANGELO
DEAN BONGO (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
105
MAKOA DESANTOS
STANFORD HOKOANA
155
JUSTIN
JUSTIN BURGESS
160
JOSEPH GARCIA
DARIUS
LONDO (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
175
LOMBART MALEDONA
DUSTIN JACOBSEN
125
SHAWN DESANTOS
JEFF LAGAMAN
145
MAKAIO ALVARADO
BRANSON
TADAKI (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
140
NOA KAMELAMELA
All
matches & participants may be subject to change.
Source: Derrick Bright
|
MMA
Top 10 Pound-for-Pound: Anderson Silva Stands Far Above the Rest
Anderson Silva defeated Yushin Okami in the main event of UFC
134.Saying that Anderson Silva the best fighter in MMA is an
accurate statement, but it's also an understatement. Just calling
Silva the best doesn't really capture just how big a gap there
is between Silva and the rest of the sport right now.
Since
signing with the UFC in 2006, Silva is 14-0, which is the best
record anyone has ever had in the UFC. But it's not just the
fact that he keeps winning, it's the way he wins. Twelve of Silva's
14 victories are by stoppage, and he has a wide variety of ways
he can stop his opponents: He knocked out Chris Leben and Rich
Franklin with knees, James Irvin and Forrest Griffin with punches,
and Vitor Belfort with a front kick. He TKO'd Yushin Okami and
Nate Marquardt with punches, and Franklin with knees in a rematch.
(He also TKO'd Patrick Cote, although you can't give Silva a
whole lot of credit for the way Cote's knee buckled underneath
him.) Silva made Chael Sonnen tap out to a triangle armbar, made
Dan Henderson tap out to a rear-naked choke and made Travis Lutter
tap out by holding him in a triangle and elbowing him in the
head.
Winning
percentage and stoppages aren't the only way to measure a fighter,
but a fighter's record gives you a pretty good idea how good
he is, and how often he finishes his opponent gives you a pretty
good idea how dominant he is. And there's really no one on Silva's
level when it comes to fighting at a high level, consistently
winning and stopping his opponents with great frequency.
We'll
compare Silva to the rest of the best fighters in MMA below.
Top
10 Pound-for-Pound Fighters in MMA
(Number in parentheses is the fighter's rank in the last pound-for-pound
list.)
1.
Anderson Silva (1): Silva is the all-time UFC record holder for
consecutive wins and wins in title fights, and he's twice moved
up in weight class and destroyed the two opponents he met at
205 pounds. The only real question is whether the UFC can keep
finding good opponents for him; other than a Sonnen rematch there's
not a lot for Silva to do at middleweight.
2.
Georges St. Pierre (2): In the same time that Silva has gone
14-0, St. Pierre has gone 10-1, with three wins by TKO, one by
submission and six by decision. The methodical way St. Pierre
controls fights by insisting on doing what he does best and never
allowing his opponents to do what they do best is impressive,
but it's not as impressive as the way Silva crushes people. And,
of course, GSP lacks Silva's undefeated record inside the Octagon.
3.
Jon Jones (3): Jones' record looks a lot like Silva's: He's 13-1,
with eight wins by knockout or TKO, three by submission and two
by decision. And Jones could easily be 14-0 with one more stoppage;
his disqualification loss to Matt Hamill is really more like
a TKO win for the purposes of considering how good Jones is.
The difference between Jones and Silva is that Jones has only
been fighting professionally for three and a half years, has
only been in the UFC for eight fights and only started fighting
the best of the best this year. Jones is the active fighter whose
accomplishments may look the most like Silva's one day, but Jones
isn't there yet.
4.
Jose Aldo (4): In the same time that Silva has gone 14-0, Aldo
is 11-0, with seven wins by knockout or TKO and four wins by
decision. Aldo is somewhat similar to Silva as a striker in the
diverse way he can finish fights with his hands, feet, knees
and elbows. But he's not quite as consistent as Silva, and unlike
Silva he hasn't yet proven that he can finish fights with his
submission game.
5.
Dominick Cruz (5): In the same time that Silva has gone 14-0,
Cruz is 12-1, with one win by knockout, one win by TKO on a doctor
stoppage, one win by submission and nine wins by decision. Cruz's
stand-up style is very effective in its own way but a lot different
from -- and nowhere near as destructive as -- Silva's style.
Cruz is the master of point-fighting, and that's respectable,
but if he ever wants to be considered one of the truly great
fighters he's going to need to finish more fights.
6.
Frank Edgar (6): In the same time that Silva has gone 14-0, Edgar
is 10-1-1, with one win by TKO, one by submission and eight by
decision. The loss and the draw came against the man Edgar will
face at UFC 136...
7.
Gray Maynard (7): In the same time that Silva has gone 14-0,
Maynard is 8-0-1, with one win by knockout and seven by decision.
Maynard also had two wins, a loss and a no contest in his Ultimate
Fighter days. Maynard was something of an anti-Silva during his
eight-fight winning streak prior to fighting Edgar, as he'd consistently
win but rarely dominate and often bore. His fight with Edgar,
however, was sensational, and if he can win the rematch, he'll
eliminate any doubt about what a great fighter he is.
8.
Cain Velasquez (8): Velasquez is 9-0, including eight wins by
knockout or TKO and one by decision. Velasquez has only seven
UFC fights, so he has a long way to go before he has achieved
as much as Silva, but his run of dominance to begin his career
has been impressive. The big question is whether he can keep
it up as he recovers from a serious shoulder injury, starting
with Junior dos Santos in November.
9.
Shogun Rua (10): Shogun's pounding of Forrest Griffin moves him
up a spot in the pound-for-pound rankings. The Rua of the Pride
days was a lot like Silva: In the three and a half years he fought
in Pride, Shogun went 12-1, with nine wins by knockout or TKO,
one win by submission and one win by decision. But he's not quite
that fighter anymore; in the same time that Silva has gone 14-0,
Rua is 8-3. Rua is still a great fighter who I'd pick to beat
anyone at 205 pounds not named Jon Jones, but knee injuries have
robbed him of some of his explosiveness.
10.
Junior dos Santos (9): Dos Santos is 13-1, with eight wins by
knockout or TKO, three by submission and two by decision. Unlike
Silva, dos Santos's decision victories have been thoroughly impressive,
and he has shown knockout power like few fighters in MMA have.
If he passes his toughest test yet when he faces Velasquez, dos
Santos will have a good case that he belongs near the top of
the pound-for-pound list.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Tito
and ‘Big Nog’ repped the old guard, fellow veterans
hope to stay alive during the fall
The
victories by Tito Ortiz and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira produced
high drama at UFC 132 and UFC 134, respectively.
Without
a win over Ryan Bader, Ortiz was on his way out of the UFC. A
a bad loss by Nogueira against Brendan Schaub, would've inevitably
prompted retirement talk. They live another day.
Nothing
in the fall will match the stories of Tito and Big Nog, but there
are plenty of showcase fights where veterans need to avoid a
bad loss to ensure their future with the UFC. The sport is evolving
so quickly, a veteran fighter can go from a UFC contender to
the minor leagues or even retirement in just a few fights.
The
fall slate is filled with older fighters who are under the gun.
Mirko
"Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Roy Nelson - UFC 137
There's
some pressure on Nelson, but this is really about Cro Cop. Following
a loss at UFC 128, Dana White said it was time for the legendary
heavyweight to walk away. Because of contractual obligations
to the 36-year-old, the promotion had to give him another fight.
Cro Cop (27-9-2, 4-5 UFC) was competitive in the losses Frank
Mir and Schaub, but seems to run out of gas in the middle of
fights and lacks the athleticism to use his trademark kicks as
a big weapon. Cro Cop was the No. 2 heavyweight in the world
from 2004-2006.
Mark
Hunt vs. Ben Rothwell, UFC 135
Hunt
is another strange case. Believe it or not, he made his UFC debut
coming off of five straight losses (Melvin Manhoef, Fedor Emelianenko,
Alistair Overeem, Gegard Mousasi, Josh Barnett). He got the shot
solely because of an old PRIDE contract the UFC had to honor.
Hunt, 37, saved himself at UFC 127 with a surprise win over Chris
Tuchscherer. Give him credit, Hunt used to fight at a sloppy
290-plus pounds. Now he's dedicated himself to better conditioning.
Hunt certainly has the one-punch knockout power to keep on trucking
with a win over Rothwell.
Yves
Edwards vs. Rafaello Oliveira - UFC on Versus 6
Edwards
is far from ancient, but the 34-year-old does have 58 fights
under his belt. One has wonder how he'll bounce back from a devastating
knockout against Sam Stout. His job may still be safe even if
loses to the 29-year-old Oliveira. After all, the UFC has some
loyalty to Edwards (40-17-1, 8-5 UFC) who first fought for the
promotion back in 2001.
Tito
and ‘Big Nog’ repped the old guard, fellow veterans
hope to stay alive during the fallStephan Bonnar vs. Kyle Kingsbury
-UFC 139
Bonnar
is the most unique name on this list. As a participant in the
biggest fight in UFC history (Dana White's words) the finale
of "The Ultimate Fighter 1," the promotion is extremely
loyal to Bonnar and his opponent Forrest Griffin. That said,
Bonnar absorbs a lot of abuse during his fights and has little
hope of ever getting back into the light heavyweight top 10.
If he suffered a loss, you wonder if White and Co. tell Bonnar
it's time to walk away from the Octagon. It's a much easier decision
knowing the UFC will take care of him with a job for the rest
of his life. That said, the 34-year-old has won two straight.
So the decision will be left up to him. Maybe he gets to go out
like Chris Lytle did when he walked away after a win over Dan
Hardy.
Josh
Barnett vs. Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix field
Barnett,
33, isn't back with the UFC, but he controls his own destiny.
The former UFC champ, White adversary and two-time PED policy
violator probably has to make the final to even be considered
for a return. He faces Sergei Kharitonov on Sept. 10 and the
winner of Antonio "Big Foot" Silva sometime in the
beginning of 2012. Would a close performance in a loss in the
final still get Barnett back in the UFC? It's a tough call.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
134 Prelims Draw Average Numbers Despite Effects of Hurricane
Irene
The ratings are in for Saturday’s UFC 134 Prelims Live on
Spike TV. The one-hour show drew an average audience of 1.3 million
viewers.
Although
that number seems to fall in line with recent returns for preliminary
bouts on Spike TV – UFC 133 drew 1.4 million viewers and
UFC 132 did 1.2 million – it actually could have been much
higher, all things being equal. The 1.3 million viewers that
Spike drew on Saturday night takes into account that numerous
people on the East Coast were without power during the broadcast.
As
a result, Spike TV has decided to air the UFC 134 Prelims again
on Thursday night with a mini-marathon of Anderson Silva themed
episodes of Unleashed leading up to the rebroadcast.
Spike
is loading up on UFC broadcasting for the remainder of 2011 with
a final season of The Ultimate Fighter on the network and several
preliminary bout broadcasts in the works.
The
network’s contract with the UFC is up at the end of the
year and the UFC has inked an agreement with Fox to take the
majority of its televised offerings – including The Ultimate
Fighter, UFC Prelims, and other shows – over to its new
home.
Spike,
meanwhile, retains the rights to reruns of the live UFC events
it has aired over the years, along with The Ultimate Fighter
and Unleashed for 2012. It will remains to be seen if Spike will
hang on to those rights to help build an audience for a new mixed
martial arts offering or if it will attempt to negotiate an agreement
for the UFC to buy those rights back.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Dream
Commentator Hans Thompson Breaks Down Japanese MMA
Dream LogoWith its second show in three months, Dream continues
to rebuild and establish itself as a major promotion for Japanese
MMA. Among those who have had an opportunity to see these events
first hand and evaluate where the promotion can go from here
is HDNet commentary member Hans “The Hanslator” Thompson.
“Obviously,
I’m very excited to go over for their first showings; it
has a huge impact on me professionally and as a fan; but we’re
not out of the woods yet,” said Thompson.
“These
first couple of shows only drew about seven to eight thousand
fans. They were smaller shows with mainly Japanese talent. There’s
no telling how much – if anything – these guys are
getting paid yet. There’s still trouble with the TV deals
and stuff like that. I’m excited, but I’m cautiously
optimistic.”
As
Thompson told MMAWeekly.com, it’s Dream’s upcoming
events that could lay the true foundation for the promotion’s
future.
“We’ll
have to judge Dream’s ability as a promotion by the show
in September, and then Dynamite is always a big one,” said
Thompson. “If they can put together a big card on Dynamite,
they might be able to rebound into the next year.”
Still,
Thompson was impressed by the promotion’s latest event,
held on July 16, and by the fighters on the card who stepped
up and could very well spearhead Japan’s increased efforts
to compete against the American-dominated MMA scene.
“I
was pretty entertained by it, and I thought there was a lot of
good storylines on there,” he said.
“Having
not performed well in the States, it seems that there are some
fighters that have a chance to take on the American-style fighters,
so I’m excited about that.
“With
their performances in Strikeforce, it has caused people to underestimate
Japanese MMA. There are some guys I think who can compete, but
they just haven’t had good showings in the U.S. Maybe they
(can seek to compete with the) UFC in the long-term, but right
now, even just being able to compete in the unified rules in
general (is paramount).”
Two
fighters from the event in particular that Thompson feels could
be ready to spearhead the Japanese movement are Hideo Tokoro
and Hiroyuki Takaya.
“Tokoro’s
always been a talented fighter, but it would have been easy for
him to fall into the trap of being the (understudy) to (Masakazu)
Imanari,” said Thompson. “He always respected Imanari
coming up, but he wasn’t intimidated by him and took the
fight to him.
“Takaya
stopped (Kazuyuki) Miyata, who was on an absolute tear at featherweight.
He’s got a great base and wrestling defense, which can counter
some of the top American wrestlers. Not to say he’d be a
champion in the U.S., but he can be a tough guy who can battle
and be a Japanese fighter who is very difficult to beat.”
Thompson
himself has undergone a transition from being in the background
of HDNet’s broadcast team to a full-fledged commentator
with the help of one of his partners.
“I
have to thank Michael Schiavello for that,” said Thompson.
“He’s been more proactive in bringing me in and asking
me questions and things like that. I appreciate it and I enjoy
the commentator role.
“As
we’ve worked together, I’ve gotten more of a relationship,
and Michael and Frank (Trigg) realize that I’ve been in
this sport a long time and I know a fair amount about it. Because
I’ve lived in Japan, I’ve trained in Japan, I can read
Japanese interviews and blogs and stuff like that, so I have
more insight into Japanese atmosphere and what fighters are like.”
Thompson’s
increased role has not only increased in HDNet’s Japanese
coverage, he’s also been working hard behind the scenes
on the company’s domestic assets like Titan FC and Legacy
Fighting. Still, his heart remains in Japan, and he’s excited
for what Dream has upcoming throughout the rest of 2011.
“I’m
really looking forward to the Sept. 24 card because this looks
like the first ‘real’ Dream card,” concluded Thompson.
“They’re trying to find big fights on it. Dynamite
is a huge spectacle, and I expect to be in Japan for New Years
for the event. That’s what I’m looking forward to.
“You
can find me on Twitter @hanslator or find me on Facebook. I’m
usually pretty responsive to messages and I’m always excited
to get a chance to discuss MMA with the audience.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Kurt
Angle Says He Almost Joined the UFC; Now Aiming for 2012 Olympics
It’s
a name in a lot of circles that people associate with one of
the most famous pro wrestlers of the last 20 years.
To
others, Angle is known as the 1996 Gold Medal winner for the
United States Olympic team in wrestling.
What
some people may not know is that Angle, on a few different occasions,
has flirted with the idea of moving into the world of mixed martial
arts.
Following
the 1996 Olympics, Angle returned home from the Atlanta games
and started to map out the next stage of his life. According
to the former Clarion University wrestler, the road forked in
two major directions. One pointed towards MMA and the other lead
towards a career in professional wrestling.
“Right
after the Olympics, I had the chance,” Angle told MMAWeekly
Radio about the chance to do MMA. “Was I going to go into
pro wrestling or the UFC? I talked to the UFC, but at the time
they were only paying their top fighters 15 grand to fight, and
here WWE throws this big contract at me. It’s kind of like,
let me see, do I struggle and go in the UFC or do I go here and
make a bunch of money? Obviously, the decision was very easy.
“Then
when the UFC started to become popular, I started to say ‘oh
boy, I really should have done that. I don’t know why I
didn’t do that. That’s more my cup of tea,’ and
then when I was getting ready to make the switch in 2003, I broke
my neck.”
Angle
had neck surgery in 2003 to repair nerve and spinal damage, as
well as other existing problems, and following his recovery,
he went back to the WWE where he stayed until 2006.
Eventually,
Angle ended up with TNA wrestling where he continues to work
now. His goals, however, have shifted a bit over the last several
months.
Angle’s
passion for wrestling never really went away, but with the 2012
Olympics just around the corner, the former gold medalist started
to feel that hunger inside him to compete again. Now in full
training mode, Angle’s goal isn’t just to make it onto
the U.S. Olympic team, but to reach medal status once again.
“I’ve
been training for five months. I contacted USA Wrestling. By
the end of the year, I will probably be out at the Olympic training
center for periods of time. Their concern was ‘Kurt, are
you really doing this? We need you out here because if you make
the team, God willing, we want you to medal,’” Angle
stated.
“So
they know I’m making a very serious approach at this, and
if I do make the team and I do beat the guys in my weight class,
they want to make sure I’m ready to medal.”
Before
his training for wrestling got back into full swing, Angle landed
a role in the upcoming MMA film “Warrior,” in which
he plays an undefeated Russian middleweight named “Koba.”
Once he was cast in the role, Angle really enjoyed training and
participating in MMA drills, even if they were scripted for film.
It
was then that Angle flashed back to more than a decade ago when
he made that pivotal choice to go into pro wrestling instead
of MMA. He says he picked up the phone and called UFC president
Dana White and discussed a possible turn back to the world of
professional fighting.
“I
actually contacted Dana White again after the movie. I flew out
to meet him once and got a great offer. I contacted him again,
I was thinking about dropping out of Impact wrestling, and there
were some personal problems with my marriage and I just wanted
to get away. I contacted Dana White, I flew out, and he had me
take the UFC physical. I passed it, thank God, and he gave me
the offer,” Angle stated.
“The
terms weren’t good, I mean not for me, and the terms I gave
him weren’t good for him. He wanted me ready in four-and-a-half
weeks; I wanted three to six months. So I respect Dana White
and I love him to death, very good friend. I knew I was capable
of winning in four-and-a-half weeks, but I wanted to be at my
best.”
While
he was unavailable for direct comment about Kurt Angle, White
did respond on Twitter when asked if he made the former Olympian
an offer. He tweeted, “love Kurt, but not true.”
Angle,
however, didn’t budge in his version of the story that he
was close to terms with the UFC just recently. Whatever happened,
Angle obviously didn’t sign or decide to move into MMA,
and will try his hand at the Olympics instead.
If
Angle is successful in making the Olympic team, he will go into
the 2012 games at 43 years of age. Still, Angle won’t let
age be a factor, and when the Olympics are over, can he say with
absolute certainty that he wouldn’t once again consider
a run at MMA?
“That
remains to be seen. Depending on how good I do, I can’t
say no,” Angle admitted. “Obviously, it’s going
to raise Dana White’s eyebrows. He actually sat me down
and said, ‘Kurt, if you do this, is your neck okay? Are
you well enough to do this, cause I know you’ve taken a
pounding the last 10 years?’ and I said, ‘Dana, I’m
fine. Yeah, I broke my neck five different times, but I have
never felt better than now. I’ve had setbacks, but I’m
fine.’
“I
can’t tell you till that time comes, but I tell you what,
even making the USA team, the top two or three, it would raise
Dana White’s eyebrows. My goal is to make the team. If you
make the team in the United States, you have more than a better
shot of medaling.”
Angle
also doesn’t discount staying with his family at TNA wrestling
or maybe even making a shift to Bellator Fighting Championships,
who he says will end up on Spike TV at some point in the near
future. Spike TV also broadcasts TNA wrestling on the network.
“Who
knows? Let’s see what happens,” Angle said. “I’m
not counting out Bellator either. They’re going to be on
Spike soon and you never know what’s going to happen with
that company, they could flourish. The way Spike promoted the
UFC, they could do the same for them.”
With
“Warrior” set to be released on Sept. 9, Angle may
have a refueled passion for MMA, but he still knows his best
days ahead will see him in front of the camera acting, but not
necessarily as a professional wrestler.
“My
long-term goal is to be an actor. That’s why having the
opportunity to be in an incredible movie like ‘Warrior’
is a plus for me, because I think a lot of people are going to
watch it,” said Angle. “There’s going to be a
lot of directors and producers that watch it. There’s going
to be a lot of casting agents that are going to watch it.”
“Warrior”
opens nationwide on Sept. 9. The U.S. Olympic wrestling trials
will be held in Iowa City, Iowa, in April 2012, to determine
the team that will go to London for the 2012 Olympics. Will Kurt
Angle be on the roster? He thinks so.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Edson
Barboza happy with UFC Rio fight of the night: “It was a
war in there”
Edson
Barboza Junior earned US$ 100 thousand for the best fight of
the night, on which he defeated Ross Pearson, and he couldn’t
hide his happiness for fighting on the historical event. After
the triumph on the judges’ decision, the lightweight fighter,
who remains undefeated in MMA, talked to TATAME about the duel
and how he felt when fighting at HSBC Arena, having his name
yelled by the fans, regretted his friend’s loss (Luiz Cane),
and talked about the wish of fighting again as soon as possible,
seeking the title. Check it:
How
did you like your fight in UFC Rio?
It
was pretty good. I think I did good, it was all like we’ve
planned. I came prepared for a war and that was exactly what
happened, it was a war in there. We fought hard for three rounds
and it was what I was hoping for.
Were
you surprised by his Boxing skills?
No,
absolutely not. If the guy was there it’s because he’s
really good. I knew he own great Boxing skills. I’ve been
watching him closely, so I knew it’d be hard on me. He’s
really good, had only been defeated once. And, even when he was
beaten up, that one time, he was doing just fine but then he
was hit by one coup that took his breath away and he was then
submitted. So I knew it’d be hard, that it’d be like
a war and I was ready for it.
How
did you feel entering the arena?
It
was awesome, crazy. When I was walking, listening to my music,
I felt like crying for everything that was happening to me...
It was an amazing edition of the show, but seeing everyone screaming
my name and yelling ‘Brazil’ was great. It was really
something unique.
Did
you feel you’re under pressure, since you were fighting
at home, especially after Nogueira got that great win?
No.
Honestly, I felt no pressure. I always say this: the pressure
stays outside. After you get in there it’s only you and
the judge. The guys kept screaming my name but I didn’t
listen to it. It was awesome, sensational, but I didn’t
feel the pressure.
What
are your thoughts about Brazilians’ performance in UFC Rio?
Anderson,
Nogueira, Shogun... They all knocked out, there were amazing
KOs. I did the best fight of the night. Raphael Assuncao, who’s
also a training parter of mine, did a great job. It was not complete
only due to Cane’s loss, but it happens. Like it happened
to him, it could have happened to me, to Nogueira... When we
fight it’s something that can happen, but you can be sure
Luiz is a really tough guy. I’m his fan and I don’t
doubt he’ll comeback stronger.
And
he was doing fine so far on the fight...
He
did great. We’ve trained it a lot, and we knew his opponent
used some overhand punches all the times, but it happens. Unfortunately
it happened, but let’s move on. He’s a champion and
we’ll always be together.
Do
you have plans for how you’ll be spending this US$ 100 thousand
you earned for the FOTN?
I
don’t know (laughs). Honestly, I haven’t thought about
it yet, I’m resting. I haven’t even watched the video
of my fight. I’m just taking some time off, spending some
wuality time with my family and friends.
You
have three wins in UFC, and you’re earning some positions
on its ranking... What are the expectations for the future on
the event?
Of
course, man. I’m doing my job, thanks’ God I didn’t
get injured, I’m 100%. I’m just resting for a while
and I’ll stay here in Brazil for two weeks now and then
I’ll come back to the US so I can return to the trainings.
Each time I’ll face a tougher opponetn, so I have to be
better trained every time I fight. That’s my job, and that’s
what i Love to do, so I’m going to the United States to
train.
Do
you have in mind a number of fights you might do before getting
a title shot?
Honestly,
I don’t think about it. I want to fight. It doesn’t
matter if I have to fight tem or twenty times more... I want
to fight as much as I can. I’m crazy to test myself against
tougher and more known guys, and I’m ready for it. One thing
I’m sure of: I’m ready. I have my heart and mind at
the right place and I really want it. No one wants it more than
I do, so I can’t wait for it to come, I can’t wait
for the contract to come in so that I can sign it.
It’s
been said you might had a deal with Botafogo (soccer club), but
it never happened and, even though, after the fight you honored
the team. Do you still want to make business with them?
Well,
you don’t know how much. This week I’m hoping to go
to Engenhao (Botafogo’s stadium) and watch Botafogo’s
match so that I can meet the guys of Furia Jovem (Young Fury,
Botafogo’s fan club) and the directors... I hope it happens.
That’s what I’m hoping for, to sign a contract partnership
with them.
Source: Tatame
|
Hawaii's
Eddie Yagin
vs. Junior Assuncao Expected for UFC 135 Undercard
A
featherweight bout is in the works for UFC 135 with Tachi Palace
champion Eddie Yagin making his Octagon debut against the returning
Junior Assuncao.
Sources
close to the match-up confirmed the bout to MMAWeekly.com on
Tuesday with verbal agreements in place for the Sept fight.
Training
alongside UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, former Tachi
Palace champion Eddie Yagin makes his move over to the UFC fresh
off his win over former Bellator champion Joe Soto.
Yagin
submitted Soto at Tachi Palace Fights 10 earlier this month and
now makes the shift to the UFC’s featherweight division
where he brings a 15-4-1 record overall.
Facing
Yagin in his UFC debut will be Junior Assuncao, who makes his
return to the promotion, this time at 145lbs.
It
will be almost 4 years to the day since Assuncao last stepped
foot in the Octagon when he returns at UFC 135. During his previous
tenure with the promotion, Assuncao went 1-2 through three fights,
but has amassed a six fight win streak to earn his way back,
plus he is now at his natural weight class in the featherweight
division.
Assuncao
joins his brother Raphael Assuncao who also fights in the UFC,
and was just successful at last weekend’s UFC 134 event.
The
bout between Yagin and Assuncao is expected to be part of the
preliminary portion of the UFC 135 fight card that will likely
air on Facebook.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Cris
Cyborg Targeted for Strikeforce Fight “Before the End of
the Year”
Cris
“Cyborg” Santos last week announced that she had inked
a new contract that would keep her under the Zuffa umbrella.
She will continue fighting for Strikeforce, where she currently
holds the women’s, newly renamed, featherweight championship
at 145 pounds.
The
only questions now are who, when, and where.
Strikeforce
general manager Scott Coker on Tuesday added little to the equation,
but did say “I know they’re talking about a fight before
the end of the year.” He had nothing to add about and opponent,
date, or location.
There
has been strong speculation that Strikeforce is mapping out a
major show in November or December, which would likely host the
fight.
Another
title bout that is likely targeted for the same event is Strikeforce
lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez defending against Jorge
Masvidal.
If
there were only one more major Strikeforce event this year, it
would also be likely to host the final bout of the Strikeforce
Heavyweight Grand Prix. The semifinals are being contested on
Sept. 10 in Cincinnati with Josh Barnett fighting Sergei Kharitonov
and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva squaring off with Daniel
Cormier.
Santos
has been on the shelf since she KO’d Jan Finney with a crushing
knee to the body last summer. Currently maintaining a 10-1 record,
losing only her professional debut, Santos is widely regarded
as the top female fighter in the world.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
Fighter Jake Shields’ Father Passes Away
UFC
welterweight contender and former Strikeforce middleweight champion
Jake Shields lost his father, friend, and manager on Tuesday.
Jack
Shields reportedly died peacefully in his sleep, passing sometime
during the night. Jack was 67 years of age when he passed at
his home in Sacramento, Calif.
“Lost
my father, manager, and one of my best friends today! R.I.P.
Jack, you will be greatly missed and loved by many,” wrote
Jake Shields on his team’s Gracie Fighter website on Tuesday.
Jack
was a constant supporter of his son’s career from instilling
strong values to encouraging him to managing him to supporting
him. The elder Shields was a staple at Jake’s fights.
“Jack
would often make the long drive from his home to watch Jake practice
and was always at Jake’s fights. He was part of our team
and we will miss him,” read a message from the team at Gracie
Fighter.
There
was no word at the time of publication if Jake had determined
whether or not his father’s passing would alter his decision
to fight Jake Ellenberger at UFC Fight Night 25 on Sept. 17 in
New Orleans.
Those
of us at MMAWeekly.com would like to express our sincere condolences
and best wishes to Jake and his family.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Ninja
Rua on Shogun: “My brother well trained is the best of the
world”
Former
UFC light heavyweight champion, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
showed his conditionin trainings were up to date on his first
fight after losing the belt. The Brazilian fighter ran through
another former champion, Forrest Griffin, in front of over 15
thousand fans present at HSBC Arena, in UFC Rio.
Former
MMA fighter and Shogun’s brother, Murilo Ninja is confident
for Mauricio’s comeback and analyzed the importance of he
going to the United States, where he did a three-month camp with
Rafael Cordeiro, at Kings MMA.
“He
proved he still can be that Shogun we all know, he’s such
a talented guy, he was doing great and got this wonderful win
with one of his specialties: punching his opponent on the counterattack.
What had a great influence on him going to the US was that he
was more focused there, because he wasn’t worried about
anything else, like his house and family, so that made a great
difference: he was focused on the trainings”, commented
Murilo, who was surprised by the way his brother’s bout
finished.
“I
was hoping for a good win, but somehow this quick knockout caught
me by surprise, because Forrest is such a tough guy, he had great
bouts with many athletes, including my brother, but Shogun was
successful on that strong punch and knocked him out on the first
round. It’s the result of a hard work he’s done with
Rafael Cordeiro on the United States”, affirms Ninja.
Murilo
believes his brother is now among the tops of the division and
wonders about a rematch with the champion Jon Jones.
“My
brother well trained is the best of the world. My brother is
now one of the top contenders again, but I don’t know about
UFC’s plans. I believe he might have to face Rashad or Quinton
Jackson next and then have a rematch with Jon Jones. When he’s
well prepared and in a good shape, like he currently is, he has
plenty conditions to win that belt back on a rematch with Jon
Jones”, concluded.
Source: Tatame
|
Why
was Jiu-Jitsu missing at UFC Rio?
UFC
Rio over, a seasoned Jiu-Jitsu black belt from Rio was impressed.
Not with the dominance exhibited by the Brazilian fighters, but
with the complete lack of grappling moves on display the first
time the promotion touched down in the city known as being the
gentle art’s birthplace for the first time.
Could
it have been happenstance, or has it become the norm in the UFC
these days? “Wouldn’t the strikers have won?”
thought the black belt, a photographer by trade, after seeing
the last five fights on TV – a festival exclusively comprised
of punches and kicks. Worse: there wasn’t a single submission
to award the “submission of the night” bonus to. What
happened?
We
relayed the question to a former UFC champion with talent for
and hardwired to get submissions, who attended UFC Rio. With
the word, Murilo Bustamante, head coach at BTT and Rousimar “Toquinho”
Palhares’s cornerman.
First
I’d like to say that it was a spectacular party. Of all
the UFCs and Prides I’ve been to as a spectator or athlete,
this was perhaps the best event I’ve been to – for
the energy of the crowd and the performances of the fighters.
But ultimately it was mostly banging and not so much Jiu-Jitsu.
It’s not that that’s the norm, the card was put together
that way, full of strikers, which is good for winning over the
uninitiated,” said Bustamante in analysis.
“In
our case, Toquinho was doing good in Jiu-Jitsu, but things unraveled
after the fight was restarted. I think he got angry and just
wanted to hit the guy… At the start he was keeping to plan
and getting takedowns and working on the ground, until the moment
he start celebrating without the ref calling the end of the fight.
I didn’t understand what was going on at the time; he said
the guy yelled. I don’t know if Miller was being slick or
if he got muddled thinking the round had ended but you could
see he took a while to protest. Either way, it was naïve.
“When
the fight was restarted Toquinho had a hard time concentrating
again; I know how hard it is to get back to the same pace, the
same focus. And I attribute him getting knocked down to that.
A jab and an uppercut got through and put him out. It was a good
thing he came to his senses and it all worked out in the end,”
said the former middleweight champion of the UFC, who went through
a similar ordeal when he faced Matt Lindland back in 2002. On
the occasion, Big John erroneously interrupted the title fight
at a moment when Murilo had an armbar in place. Bustamante had
to fight again, this time finishing with a guillotine.
Toquinho
celebrated the craziest fight at UFC Rio twice. Photo: UFC.
“To
me it was the best fight of the night, because in the third round
they were straight up banging,” he said. “Toquinho
proved he’s come a long way in the standup department, both
in attacking and defending, but there’s a lot more to improve
on. And, even so, I want to him to fight more on the ground.
We’ll train him and talk to him about that,” he observed.
On
the other fights, Bustamante had praise for Thiago Tavares, who
dominated the hard-nosed Spencer Fisher on the ground, putting
him away with strikes from back mount. To wrap up, Murilo had
to get in a comment about his former teammate Minotauro (click
here), who swapped gentleness for blunt force trauma and came
out with flying colors.
“Rodrigo
outdid himself, as is his custom. He was still slow but his heart
was in shape. He’s a giant. Even after getting the worst
of the standup early one, with two uppercuts that buckled his
legs, he kept moving forward. He cornered the kid, let his hands
go and they landed,” said Bustamante in summary.
UFC
Rio
HSBC Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
August 27, 2011
Anderson
Silva defeated Yushin Okami via TKO at 4:02s of R2;
Mauricio Shogun defeated Forrest Griffin via TKO in R1;
Edson Barboza defeated Ross Pearson via split decision;
Rodrigo Minotauro defeated Brendan Schaub via TKO at 3:09 of
R1;
Stanislav Nedkov defeated Luiz “Banha” Cane via TKO
at 4min of R1;
Thiago Tavares defeated Spencer Fisher via TKO at 2:21 min of
R2;
Rousimar Toquinho defeated Dan Miller via unanimous decision;
Paulo Thiago defeated David Mitchell via unanimous decision;
Raphael Assunção defeated Johnny Eduardo via unanimous
decision;
Erick Silva defeated Luis Beição via TKO at 0.40
min of R1;
Yuri “Marajó” Alcantara defeated Felipe “Sertanejo”
Arantes via unanimous decision;
Yves Jabouin defeated Ian Loveland via split decision.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Ronda
Rousey and Julia Budd Agree to November Strikeforce Bout
Just two weeks after notching a win in her Strikeforce debut,
exciting newcomer Ronda Rousey has already committed to her follow-up
bout.
The
former U.S. judo Olympian has agreed to face striker Julia Budd
in a November event. Strikeforce confirmed that both featherweight
fighters have agreed to the bout, but did not disclose a date
or location for the show, which has yet to be officially announced.
Rousey
made her major promotional debut on August 12's Strikeforce Challengers
show, defeating Sarah D'Alelio by technical submission in just
25 seconds.
Though
Rousey is just 24 and has only three fights in pro MMA, she has
impressed many with her aggressiveness and finishing ability.
All three of her bouts have finished in fight-ending armbars,
and the longest of the three lasted just 49 seconds.
Prior
to her pro career, she fought three times as an amateur, going
3-0 with three armbar submissions, all in less than one minute.
The
28-year-old Budd is 2-1, with all three of her pro fights coming
under the Strikeforce banner. She won her debut against Shana
Nelson via TKO before suffering a TKO loss to Amanda Nunes. In
June, she got back in the victory column by defeating Germaine
de Randamie in a unanimous decision.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
THE
ALOHA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP ** FINAL CONFLICT **
IS NOW OPEN FOR EARLY REGISTRATION!!
Visit
www.hawaiitriplecrown.com to register today!
Kaiser
High School Gym
September 24, 201
Thank
you again for the many years of support! Hope to see you all
soon!
Aloha,
Hawaii Triple Crown
|
Man up and Stand up
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu, Hawaii
Sept 2, 2011
JONAH
AFOA
215
KANOE KAHIKINA
DUSTIN CULLASTRO
230
BEN BOYCE
EVAN QUIZON
130
TONY RODRIGUES
ISAAC HOPPS
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
145
CORY ESTRAD
MIKE MORALES
145
MAURICE PHILIPS
BRYSON AIONA
205
JUDE KAPUA
CHRISTIAN BAUTISTA
175
MICAH ABREU
COLIN MCKENZIE
145
LAA HOOKELE
NALU KAWAILIMA
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
125
KALEI AIWOHI
KEONI CHANG
140
MARK YARCIA
MAKANA WIGGLESWORTH
145
KAI KIWASAKI
KAYLEN STAFFORD
140
DARRYL DANO
JONAH VISTANTE
153
JORDAN ANDUA
AJ DEGUZMAN
125
DENNIS MONTIRA
RODNEY BANIS
170
TOLO SARAGOSA
DAMON APPLEBAUM
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
215
AARON ROSE
MARC KUMAI
185
PELETI FAUMUINA
BRADA
130
BRYAR
BRYSEN
4 REAL LUM (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
150
LANCE BELL
ANGELO
DEAN BONGO (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
105
MAKOA DESANTOS
STANFORD HOKOANA
155
JUSTIN
JUSTIN BURGESS
160
JOSEPH GARCIA
DARIUS
LONDO (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
175
LOMBART MALEDONA
DUSTIN JACOBSEN
125
SHAWN DESANTOS
JEFF LAGAMAN
145
MAKAIO ALVARADO
BRANSON
TADAKI (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
140
NOA KAMELAMELA
All
matches & participants may be subject to change.
Source: Derrick Bright
|
Dana
White Admits It’s Almost Time for Anderson Silva vs. Georges
St-Pierre
It’s
hard to argue with the idea that Anderson Silva is the best pound-for-pound
fighter in the sport. It’s even hard to argue that he’s
not the greatest fighter in mixed martial arts history.
So
with 15 straight victories and nine straight title defenses,
what’s left for the fighter who apparently can’t be
beaten?
According
to UFC President Dana White, that’s something they will
have to sit down with Silva and talk about following his latest
win at UFC 134 over Yushin Okami.
“You’re
out of your mind if you don’t think this guy is pound-for-pound
the best fighter in the world. People will say ‘oh he needs
to be challenged’. The 185lb division has a ton of great
fighters, the reality is this guy is so good he makes it look
like it’s not,” White said following the fights.
“What
happens next is we’ll talk to him, see what he’s thinking
about what he wants to do. Forrest (Griffin) thinks he should
fight two guys at the same time.”
Given
Silva’s ability to go in and not only win but to finish
just about every opponent he faces in the Octagon, having two
fighters face him might not be a bad idea.
All
jokes aside, White understands that with Silva’s current
winning streak and the status of UFC welterweight champion Georges
St-Pierre, it’s hard to ignore that super fight from finally
coming to fruition.
“I
think there’s a couple of other fights out there for him
at 85, and it’s clear No. 1 that fans want to see this fight,
and Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre are both getting into
a position here pretty soon, they both only want really big fights,
but they’re getting into a position here where that fight’s
going to make sense,” White stated.
The
challenges at 185lbs may include a rematch with Chael Sonnen,
provided the Team Quest fighter can get past Brian Stann at UFC
136 in October. Another potential bout could be a rematch against
Dan Henderson in the UFC, but it’s unknown at this time
if Strikeforce’s current light heavyweight champion would
opt to drop back down to middleweight for that fight.
The
one thing to take away for sure following the mega event in Brazil
is that Anderson Silva is just happy to be where he’s at
right now. For all the accolades he receives, Silva just likes
to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his victory, and he’s
not calling anybody out or asking anyone to call him the greatest.
“It
was awesome to be able to fight here in Brazil and for the Brazilian
people, and to have so many amazing MMA fighters on the same
card that I was on, and to have my special friend in my corner,
Pedro Rizzo, as my corner so that was extremely special for me,”
Silva said after his win.
It’s
his very humility outside the cage and unbelievable ferociousness
inside the cage that make Anderson Silva the greatest this sport
has ever seen.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Anderson,
Shogun and Nogueira KO in UFC Rio
If
Dana White and the Fertita brothers had any bouts about the strength
of MMA in Brazil, after the historical UFC Rio, that had a full
house this Saturday, at HSBC Arena, this is no longer any reason
of doubts in the minds of the big bosses of the organization.
The fans did a great show off the octagon and went crazy with
the big performance of the “Brazilian team” against
“the rest of the world”. The night wasn’t perfect
only because of Luiz Cane’s loss, but not even the most
optimistic fan would believe that Anderson, Nogueira and Shogun
would knockout their opponents in such a great way. Check below
the details of the fights of UFC Rio
Anderson
Silva “plays” Okami and knocks him out on the second
round
Anderson
Silva had no difficulties to knockout the Japanese Yushin Okami,
on his ninth belt defense, enlarging his record of consecutive
wins in UFC. On the first round, the Brazilian fighter felt the
pressure a bit, and realized what the Japanese guy was capable
of and put on of his big shows on the octagon, with a performance
with many swings and precious coups.
The
difference is that, if in some of Spider’s shows the outcome
wasn’t a KO, this time Anderson played only enough to make
the Japanese dizzy. With his traditional low guard, Anderson
connected great coups in Okami and tested himself where the Japane
is most skilled at, the clinch. After clearly dominating the
first round, Spider returned at his best on the second round,
willing to finish the fight.
After
making Okami dizzy, Anderson fit a short punch on his chin, knocking
the Japanese guy down. With the same patience he finished the
fight against Belfort, Anderson finished this one punishing the
Japanese on the floor until the referee interrupted the fight,
at 2min and 4s of the second round. Hearing the fans yelling
‘champion’, Anderson grabbed the mic and quoted a line
of Capitão Nascimento (character of the film “Tropa
de Elite”).
“I’ll
now immortalize a line from Captain Nascimento: ‘Sirs, you
never will be, never will”, said the champion, referring
to the great performance of the Brazilian fighters against the
“rest of the world”.
Shogun
in the best Pride style runs through Griffin
After
losing the light heavyweight title to Jon Jones, Shogun Rua came
back to his roots and trained with his former master, Rafael
Cordeiro, at Kings MMA, on the United States. The athlete made
his effort to stay away from his family for three years worth
and revenged the loss suffered to the American guy in 2007. Moving
forwards at all times, the Brazilian connected a short hook punch,
which opened the way to a great sequence of coups which knocked
Griffin down, and Shogun put the American to sleep with many
punches. The fans went crazy. “Ohhhhh, Shogun’s back”,
and the Brazilian fighter returned the favor. “Thanks Brazil,
my greatest motivation is to fight for my fucking country”.
Edson
Junior beats Pearson on a tight fight
The
Brazilian, Edson Barboza, and the English, Ross Pearson, who
was the champion of the ninth season of TUF, never went to the
ground during their fight. Three tough and tight fight, a duel
between Edson’s sharp Muay Thai and great Boxing skills
of Pearson. The English was best with his hands and the Brazilian
applied better combinations of kicks and punches. Edson didn’t
do much on the first round and, from the second on, he let it
go and got a quick knockdown after a great sequence of coups.
On a judges’ decision that could have gone to either fighters,
the Brazilian got the win by split decision. It’s the second
win of the athletes who fights out of Nova Friburgo in UFC and
the ninth on a perfect record so far.
Nogueira
returns with a spectacular KO over Schaub
Most
commentators and fans of MMA were worried about the time Nogueira
spent off the rings and the surgeries he had to go through. The
young American Brendan Schaub was coming from good knockouts
over great names of the sport and was full of himself. But Rodrigo
was on his 40th fight and, after earning titles of Pride and
UFC and a great career, the legend of the sport couldn’t
let his fans down on his first fight in Brazil.
Rodrigo
Nogueira wen’t against what people told him, that was to
take his opponent down at any cost and showed he’s also
an amazing knockout power. After a tight fight on the beginning
of the first round, the Brazilian idol responded well to the
coups the American guy fit and surprised when connected great
coups on Schaub’s face, who felt unconscious. On the floor,
Nogueira only had to fit two punches to confirm his great comeback
and got the win by TKO at 3min and 9s of the first round. The
idol thanked and dedicated his triumph return to his fans.
“I
came from three surgeries, I’ve spent a year and four months
off and using the crutches to walk. I accepted this fight three
months ago, at the last minute, so that I could fight for you.
Thank you so much for being here”, said Nogueira.
Bulgarian
stop Brazil from scoring another point and knockouts Luiz Cane
The
first fight of the main card didn’t happen like the Brazilian
fans were hoping to. The light heavyweight Luiz Cane started
well, dominating the distance against Stanislav Nedkov, who responded
with some swing coups on his face of the Brazilian. The Bulgarian
fit a tough punch on Luiz’s chin, who ran away trying to
defend himself, but couldn’t take the pressure he was put
under while on the fence, and Nedkov didn’t stop punching
him until got the win by TKO at 4min and 40 of the first round.
3x1 is the score so far for Brazil VS. “the whole world”.
Palhares
stars unprecedented scene, but beats Miller in a great fight
On
the last fight of the preliminary card, Thiago Tavares was perfect
against Spencer Fisher. Bringing up a clear strategy of taking
his opponent down and working on his Jiu-Jitsu, the guy who fights
out of Florianopolis showed great skills at the gentle art and,
on the second round, took Spencer down, broke into his guard,
grabbed his backs and got an amazing TKO at 2min and 51s of the
second round.
On
the last fight of the preliminary card, Thiago Tavares was perfect
against Spencer Fisher. Bringing up a clear strategy of taking
his opponent down and working on his Jiu-Jitsu, the guy who fights
out of Florianopolis showed great skills at the gentle art and,
on the second round, took Spencer down, broke into his guard,
grabbed his backs and got an amazing TKO at 2min and 51s of the
second round.
Rousimar
Palhares and Dan Miller had an amazing meeting. Right on the
beginning of the first round, the Brazilian pulled his opponent
to his guard and from an omoplata choke, he tried to fit an armbar,
which was successfully defended by the American fighter. On an
unprecedented scene in MMA, Roquinho got knocked Miller down
and punished him hardly and, even without Herb Dean, the referee
in charge, called the TKO, the Brazilian fighter stopped punching
him and climbed the fence to celebrate a supposed win. And he
almost had to pay a high price for being so naïve, just
like he did against Nate Marquardt, getting knocked down and
survived the first round.
Toquinho
won the first round and returned determined, scoring points with
great takedowns and punishing Miller with a tough ground and
pound game, hurting his face a lot. On the last round of this
awesome fight, the Brazilian was tired and traded dangerous punches
with the American guy, making things a little dramatic, but he
won on a unanimous decision of the judges. The tough guy explained,
while still on the octagon, why he stopped punching and went
celebrating. “He started yelling and I thought it was over”.
While
the fans yelled “Caveira”, Paulo Thiago defeated Mitchell
Under
the screams of “Caveira”, Paulo Thiago did what he
pleased on the first round, and better on the trade of punches,
he broke his opponent’s guard, tried to submit him and made
the Brazilian fans start singing: “I’m Brazilian and
I’m proud and love it”. On the second round, the Brazilian’s
superiority over David Mitchell continued, despite the officer
of BOPE slowed things down a little. On the final round, the
Brazilian fighter was again better until the final seconds, when
he tried to finish the fight at all cost and was trying to fit
a rear naked choke when the referee stopped the fight. Paulo
heat up HSBC Arena and had no troubles winning on a unanimous
decision of the judges after two consecutive losses on the organization.
Called
in with one month in advance, Johnny couldn’t impose his
game over Raphael Assuncao. The athlete who fights out of Recife
got a tiny advantage and got good takedowns and was more effective
while using his ground and pound game. Assuncao slowed things
down a bit, but couldn’t make a good round against the athlete
of Nova Uniao. On the last round, Johnny tried to recover from
the failure of the previous rounds and connected good coups,
but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome of the fight,
and the judges pointed out Raphael as the winner on a unanimous
decision.
Erick
Silva KO quickly Luis Ramos
Two
more debutants entered UFC’s cage and Erick Silva proved
that his trainings with Anderson Silva worked out. The athlete
of X-Gym brought his best and punched Ramos with a jab and a
powerful right hand that knocked down the athlete of Nova Uniao.
On the floor, Erick Silva finished the fight with dreadful punches,
finishing the fight at 40 seconds of the very first round.
On
the second bout of UFC Rio, the Brazilians Iuri Alcantara and
Felipe Arantes debuted on the event. Marajo was better on the
first round, better while striking and dominated the center of
the octagon, taking his opponent down with good elbows and working
on the ground and pound. On the second round, Marajo was again
better and took Felipe down when he felt more comfortable, broke
his guard and got the mount, but didn’t bring any danger.
On the third round, Marajo got a knockdown and grabbed his opponent’s
back, but lost the position and Felipe broke his guard but couldn’t
take advantage of his position. Marajo won on a unanimous decision
of the judges.
Opening
the card of UFC Rio, the Canadian Yves Jabouin and the American
Ian Loveland had a warm fight, but Jabouin went for it more than
his opponent and imposed his game during the fight, winning on
a split decision of the judges, under some boos of the fans on
the arena.
COMPLETE
RESULTS:
UFC
134: Rio
HSBC
Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Saturday,
August 27th of 2011
Main
card:
-
Anderson Silva deffeated Yushin Okami by TKO at 2min04s of R2;
-
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua defeated Forrest Griffin by TKO
at 1min53s of R1;
-
Edson Barboza Junior defeated Ross Pearson on a split decision
of the judges;
-
Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Brendan Schaub at 3min09s of R1;
-
Stanislav Nedkov defeated Luiz “Banha” Cane by TKO
at 4min13s of R1;
Preliminary
card:
-
Thiago Tavares defeated Spencer Fisher by TKO at 2min51s of R2;
-
Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares defeated Dan Miller on
a unanimous decision of the judges;
-
Paulo Thiago defeated David Mitchell on a unanimous decision
of the judges;
-
Raphael Assuncao defeated Johnny Eduardo on a unanimous decision
of the judges;
-
Erick Silva defeated Luis “Beicao” Ramos by TKO at
40s of R1;
-
Iuri “Marajo” Alcantara defeated Felipe “Sertanejo”
Arantes on a unanimous decision of the judges;
-
Yves Jabouin defeated Ian Loveland on a split decision of the
judges.
Source: Tatame
|
Outside
the octagon, at least, Schaub keeps his promise
Brendan
Schaub wants to beat Rodrigo Mintotauro this Saturday night at
UFC Rio. What’s more, he wants to beat Mino using the Brazilian’s
main weapon: Jiu-Jitsu.
So
if that ends up happening, we’ll see soon. So far, at least,
Schaub has made good on his promises – a really significant
one.
On
a recent trip to Rio when he attended a conference announcing
the official card for UFC Rio, Brendan visited an outreach project
run by fight Eduardo Pachu at the Tijuquinha favela. He promised
that upon his return he would bring equipment for the kids to
use in training. According to Schaub’s coach, our GMA Amal
Easton, it would all be delivered last Thursday.
“Every
American should get to know these kids who have nothing. I learned
a lot,” was one of the statements Schaub told GRACIEMAG.com.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Renzo
and Zé Mario cross paths in Rio de Janeiro
Thursday,
late night in Barra da Tijuca, and the two opponents in the unprecedented
supermatch set for the September ADCC in England are near each
other, but they don’t even know it.
At
a restaurant in the neighborhood, Renzo Gracie, 44, just had
dinner with Kyra Gracie and family, catching up with old fans
in the neighborhood and other old acquaintances. Zé Mario
Sperry, also 44, is right nearby, hanging out with Breno Sivak
and crew, the organizers of the black belt surfing tournament
that’s set to shake things up on Prainha Beach this Sunday
following UFC Rio.
“I
ran smack dab into Zé Mario,” recounts Renzo over
the phone early this morning, at GRACIEMAG.com’s request.
“It was funny. I still won’t miss a chance to make
fun of him, of course.”
They
greeted each other, and the Gracie let out:
–
Dude, we’re the same age and here I am with black hair and
yours is all white. Explain that to me!
–
Renzo, I work so much I can’t even train right… That’s
why my hair is so white. You’re living large, training every
day, you don’t have to stress about anything – retorted
Sperry.
–
Following an amicable farewell, two questions were left hanging:
Which of the two aces will win their No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu supermatch
come September 25 in Nottingham? And might Renzo and Sperry first
face off in Rio, in the surf at Prainha Beach?
–
“I was invited, but I’m really not sure if I’ll
go,” said the Gracie in doubt. “Man, I think it’s
been more than ten years since I last stepped on a board. I’m
afraid I’ll put in a shamfeful performance.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
White
berates Arum for disparaging comments
Outspoken
UFC president Dana White is a big Manny Pacquiao fan, but he’s
not so keen on Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum.
White
reacted angrily Monday to comments Arum made in an ESPN.com story
about the head-to-head competition on Nov. 12 between a UFC show
and Arum’s pay-per-view card featuring the rubber match
between Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.
The
UFC will make its highly anticipated network television debut
on Fox that night in a show from Anaheim, Calif. The UFC on Fox
shows are supposed to be two-hour broadcasts, but because the
Pacquiao fight was already scheduled for that night, the UFC
opted to go for just one hour on Fox so that its card would end
about a half-hour before Pacquiao walks to the ring.
Bob
Arum said a movie would give the Pacquiao-Marquez trilogy fight
more competition than a UFC event.
That
would give the fans an opportunity to see both shows live.
Arum,
though, told ESPN.com he thought the decision to go on the same
night was intentional. He took a dig at the UFC by saying he’d
have more competition if Fox opted to air a movie.
“There
is no competition,” Arum said. “If Fox was to put on
a top movie that night, it might be more competition. If Fox
put on Manchester United that night, it would be more competition.”
White
and Arum have always had a contentious relationship. Arum in
the past has compared ground fighting in mixed martial arts to
homosexual sex, while White has repeatedly mocked him for his
age and referred to him as a dinosaur.
But
after learning of Arum’s comments on Monday, the ante was
raised. White took full aim at Arum and his stepson, Todd duBoef,
who is president of Top Rank. One of duBoef’s closest friends
is Ike Lawrence Epstein, the executive vice president and general
counsel for Zuffa, the company that owns the UFC.
White
disparagingly referred to duBoef as “Todd Arum” and
assailed Arum and duBoef for being greedy and not investing in
their product.
“Let
me tell you what: Todd Arum went crazy when he found out that
we were going the same night as them,” White told Yahoo!
Sports. “He went crazy and called everyone in the industry
flipping out. And Bob Arum is a jealous moron. Bob Arum had the
ability to do great things for the sport of boxing. I don’t
know if he wasn’t smart enough to do what we did or whatever,
but when we first came out with this thing, this guy laughed
at us. He said how stupid the Fertittas were and that this thing
was ridiculous and it would never be a sport.
“Now,
all he does is run around [expletive] and complaining about it.
You had the ability, Bob Arum, to make boxing great. But the
problem was, you were greedy. You’re a greedy pig, just
like all the other guys who were involved in boxing. All you
ever did was try to rip money out of it. You never invested a
dime into the sport of boxing to make it great, to make it last,
to create a future for boxing. He’s nothing but a greedy
pig and his jealousy shows non-stop.”
White
said he found Arum’s comments to ESPN that a movie would
be more competition curious because he said duBoef called numerous
television executives complaining that the UFC was going head-to-head
with him.
In
a conversation with Yahoo! Sports, Arum bit his tongue and said
he had nothing bad to say about White or the UFC. He said he’s
considering buying an ad for the Pacquiao fight that would air
on Fox during the UFC show.
Arum
did reiterate his position that he believed a “high-quality,
first-run movie would be more competition for us. That’s
true.”
But
he said that since the UFC show won’t extend into the time
when Pacquiao is fighting, it’s even less worrisome to him
that the MMA show is going the same night as the boxing card.
“I
wasn’t worried in the least, ever, but particularly not
now, since we found out they’re going just one hour and
won’t be on when Manny’s fighting,” Arum said.
“Dana White and the UFC are of no consequence to me. I don’t
worry about him. I don’t worry about the UFC. I don’t
think of him for a second of a day. I have nothing against them,
but they’re just not part of my world.”
White
said Nov. 12 isn’t an ideal night for the UFC but also said
there are few nights on the crowded sports landscape where there
is no competition.
“The
fact of the matter is, I love the sport of boxing and it isn’t
the greatest night in the world for me, either,” White said.
“But it is what it is. There are so many events out there
that we have to compete with, from the NFL, Major League Baseball,
the NBA, college football, college basketball, boxing. The list
goes on and on. I mean, if we tried to tiptoe around dates, we’d
never put on an event.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Who
will be next to crack the Top 10 rankings?
A
mixed martial artist’s time at the top is fleeting.
For
proof, take a look at the most recent Yahoo! Sports Top 10 pound-for-pound
poll. Then contrast it to the rankings which ran just 12 months
ago.
Sure,
there are some constants. The same three fighters atop last August’s
poll – Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, and Jose Aldo
– remain there, though Silva and GSP have flip-flopped at
No. 1. Also, Frank Edgar has moved up a spot from six to five;
and Dominick Cruz from 10 to six.
But
half the Top 10 has turned over. Out are Mauricio Rua, Fedor
Emelianenko. B.J. Penn, Lyoto Machida and Jake Shields. Taking
their place were Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez, Jon Fitch, Gilbert
Melendez and Gray Maynard.
Go
back another 12 months and the list becomes almost unrecognizable.
In Aug. 2009, Silva and St. Pierre were perched at 1-2, but no
one else from two years ago is currently ranked, including Mike
Brown, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Miguel Torres, Dan
Henderson and Brian Bowles.
So
what will the Top 10 look like in Aug. 2012? Silva and St. Pierre
would have to embark on precipitous declines in order to drop
out of the Top 10, and it’s really tough to imagine Jon
Jones not being a part of the mix. But if the past two years
serve as an indication, we should be in for a turbulent ratings
ride.
Who
might find their way into the Top 10 between now and next summer?
Here are 10 candidates who could reach the elite. They vary from
former Top 10 fighters who find themselves a win or two away
from a return; those who have perennially lurked in the “votes
for others” category without quite reaching the promised
land, and up-and-comers eager to crash the party.
A
look at fighters with serious Top-10 potential:
Top
tier
Nick
Diaz
Weight class: Welterweight
Record: 25-7, 1 no contest
Streak: Won past 10
Next fight: vs. No. 2 Georges St. Pierre, Oct. 29
The
Edge Element Diaz’s current win streak is in part due to
the fact he’s been the biggest beneficiary of Showtime’s
boxing-style promotional model, which at times puts bouts designed
to make certain fighters look good ahead of top-flight, even-strength
matchups. But there’s also no doubt Diaz is winning with
flair, as he boasts a down-and-dirty brawling style, resilience,
and a sublime submission game. For these reasons, he’s St.
Pierre’s most intriguing opponent in quite some time.
Rashad
Evans
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Record: 16-1-1
Streak: Won past 3
Next fight: Evans has been promised a bout against the winner
of the Sept. 24 Jon Jones-Quinton Jackson fight.
The
Edge Element With just one loss in a seven-and-a-half year career,
a UFC light heavyweight title reign to his credit, and victories
over four men who have held the 205-lb. title (Chuck Liddell,
Forrest Griffin, Quinton Jackson and Tito Ortiz), no fighter
currently outside the Top 10 boasts Evans’ credentials.
A win over Jones would likely vault him into the top five.
Junior
Dos Santos
Weight class: Heavyweight
Record: 13-1
Streak: Won past 8
Next fight: vs. No. 7 Cain Velasquez, Nov. 19
The
Edge Element Remember when Dos Santos’ knockout win over
Fabricio Werdum was considered a major upset? If the memory of
that 2008 battle is distant, it’s for good reason. The Werdum
KO was Dos Santos’ American debut and the springboard to
seven straight UFC victories. Up next is a title shot against
Cain Velasquez. Dos Santos is the heavyweight division’s
hardest hitter and he’ll be facing a champ who has been
away an entire year with an injury. A win and he’s a no-brainer
Top-10 pick.
Solid
prospects
Jake
Shields
Weight class: Welterweight
Record: 26-5-1
Streak:Lost past 1
Next fight: vs. Jake Ellenberger, Sept. 17
The
Edge Element Shields was ranked in the Top 10 for much of the
past year. He sits at No. 11 after a lackluster April loss to
St. Pierre, which snapped his 15-fight win streak. The UFC has
matched Shields against another methodical fighter in Ellenberger.
While that suggests the company will put him on the long road
back to a title shot, an impressive win in that bout coupled
with a No. 10 Gray Maynard loss to Frank Edgar in October would
likely put Shields back in.
Dan
Henderson
Weight class: Middleweight/light heavyweight
Record: 28-8
Streak:Won 3
Next fight: None scheduled
The
Edge Element While his contemporaries fall by the wayside, the
Strikeforce light heavyweight champ keeps on motoring. Henderson
has lost just once in the past three years, scored a high-profile
KO over Fedor Emelianenko in July, and as a contractual free
agent could end up back in the UFC. In that case, he may be only
a win or two away from Top-10 contention.
Kenny
Florian
Weight class: Featherweight
Record: 14-5
Streak:Won past 1
Next fight: vs. No. 3 Jose Aldo, Oct. 8
The
Edge Element The knock on Florian, and not without merit, is
that he has come up short each time he’s been placed on
the biggest stage, including two losses in lightweight title
matches. But can “KenFlo” be denied a spot if he takes
the featherweight title from the world’s No. 3 fighter in
October?
Wild
cards
Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Record: 32-8
Streak: Won 2
Next fight: vs. No. 4 Jon Jones, Sept. 24
The
Edge Element Yeah, I can hear you scoffing at the notion “Rampage”
will ever see the Top 10 again. But the fact is, since losing
the UFC light heavyweight title via decision to Forrest Griffin
three years ago, Jackson’s only defeat in five fights has
been a decision to Evans, hardly a loss worthy of scorn. Jackson
will no doubt be an underdog to Jon Jones next month, but “Rampage”
still has thunder in his fists, and all it could take to vault
Jackson back into the Top 10 is one well-timed punch.
Ben
Henderson
Weight class: Lightweight
Record: 14-2
Streak: Won past 2
Next fight: None scheduled
The
Edge Element The former WEC lightweight champ, known for his
varied offense and otherworldly ability to resist opponents’
submission attempts, has adapted as well as any ex-WECer to the
UFC merger. At UFC 129, he beat Torontonian Mark Bocek in front
of 55,000 hometown fans. Then on Aug. 14 he defeated Jim Miller,
who previously appeared to be on the fast track to a title shot.
Henderson might be best known for being on the wrong end of “The
Showtime Kick” last December against Anthony Pettis, but
the Pettis loss was Henderson’s only defeat in four years,
a span of 13 fights.
Urijah
Faber
Weight class: Bantamweight
Record: 25-5
Streak: Lost past 1
Next fight: vs. Brian Bowles, Nov. 19
The
Edge Element Faber is closer to Top 10 consideration than he
might at first glance appear. The former WEC featherweight champ
hung with UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz for five rounds
in one of the year’s finest bouts at UFC 132. A Faber-Cruz
trilogy fight is by far the most marketable bantamweight bout
to be made. A win over Bowles would very likely lead to a Cruz
rematch, and a win there would no doubt vault Faber back into
the Top 10.
Hatsu
Hioki
Weight class: Featherweight
Record: 24-4-2
Streak:Won 4
Next fight: vs. George Roop, Oct. 29
The
Edge Element No class of MMA fighter seems more overhyped by
people who should know better than Japanese fighters who are
about to debut in the United States. Remember when we were told
Shinya Aoki was going to take America by storm? Or Kid Yamamoto?
In this case, though, there actually may be something to all
the noise. Hioki has long been Japan’s best featherweight
and boasts a pair of wins over Mark Hominick. With a UFC win
or two, starting with October’s debut against Roop, he could
be in line for a title shot.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
|