|
|
January
2012 News Part 2
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi.
Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with Kaleo Kwan, PJ
Dean, & Chris Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from
the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
Onzuka.com
Hawaii Underground Forum is Online!
Chris, Mark,
and I wanted to start an official Onzuka.com forum for a while
now. We were searching for the best forum to go with and hit
a gold mine! We have known Kirik, who heads the largest and most
popular forum on the net, The Underground for years.
He
offered us our own forum within the matrix know as MMA.tv. The
three of us will be the moderators with of course FCTV808 being
the lead since he is on there all day anyway!
We
encourage everyone from Hawaii and our many readers around world
to contribute to the Hawaii Underground.
If you
do not have a login, it's simple and fast to get one.
Click here to set up an account.
Don't worry about using Pidgin English in the posting. After
all it is the Hawaii Underground and what is a Hawaii Underground
without some Aloha and some Pidgin?
To
go directly to the Onzuka.com Hawaii Underground Forum
click here!
|
Want
to Advertise on Onzuka.com?
Click here for pricing and more
information!
Short term and long term advertising available.
More than
1 million hits and counting!
|
O2
Martial Arts Academy
Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Shane Agena as well
as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
is unmatched. Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA champions Kaleo Kwan
and PJ Dean as well as master boxing instructor Chris Slavens
provide incredibly detailed instruction of the sweet science.
To top it off, Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi heads our Kali-Escrima
classes (Filipino Knife & Stickfighting) who were directly
trained under the legendary Snookie Sanchez.
Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
the ground up!
Experienced martial artist that wants to fine tune your skill?
Our school is for you!
If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
a friendly and family environment, O2 Martial Arts Academy is
the place for you!
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Follow O2 Martial Arts news via Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/O2MAA
UFC
on FX 1: Guillard vs. Miller Today!
Prelims
at 1:00PM Channel 241
Event 4:00PM on Channel 554
Main
Bouts (on FX):
-Melvin Guillard (156) vs. Jim Miller (155)
-Duane Ludwig (170.5) vs. Josh Neer (171)
-Mike Easton (135) vs. Jared Papazian (135.5)
-Pat Barry (242) vs. Christian Morecraft (256)
Preliminary Bouts (on Fuel TV):
-Jorge Rivera (185.5) vs. Eric Schafer (185)
-Kamal Shalorus (155.5) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov (155)
-Charlie Brenneman (170.5) vs. Daniel Roberts (170.5)
-Fabricio Camoes (156) vs. Tommy Hayden (155.5)
-Daniel Pineda (145) vs. Pat Schilling (145)
-Joseph Sandoval (135) vs. Nick Denis (135.5)
(UPDATED – Fabricio Camoes originally weighed in at 157.5
pounds, but later made weight at 156 pounds, according to UFC
officials.)
Source: MMA Weekly
|
ProElite
– Da Spyder vs Minowaman
Tomorrow
Neal Blaisdell Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday, January 21, 2011
Doors open 2PM
Preliminaries start at 2:30PM
Main card starts at 5PM
Get Tickets Now!
PRELIMINARY CARD
3×3, 165 lbs:
Sebastian Mariconda (2-1; Honolulu, Hawaii) vs Dan Ige (1-0;
Honolulu, Hawaii)
3×3,
135 lbs:
Zach Close (2-0; Kalihi, Hawaii) vs Keli’i Valencia (2-1;
Honolulu, Hawaii)
3×3,
155 lbs:
Ray “Braddah Boy” Cooper III (1-0; Waianae, Hawaii)
vs Kyle Foyle (3-1; Haleiwa, Hawaii)
3×5,
170 lbs:
Sean Rush (Debut; Maui, Hawaii) vs Jaymes Schulte (Debut; Honolulu,
Hawaii)
3×5,
170 lbs:
Collin Mansanas (3-2; Kailua, Hawaii) vs Thomas Sedano (2-3;
Kalihi, Hawaii)
3×5,
205 lbs:
Ilima Maiava (3-2; Honolulu, Hawaii) vs Tatsuya Mizuno (10-7;
Tokyo, Japan)
3×5,
145 lbs:
Steven Saito (3-2; Kahuku, Hawaii) vs Toby Misech (Debut; Hilo,
Hawaii)
MAIN CARD
3x5 185 lbs
Brent Schermerhorn (4-1) ) vs. Kaleo Gambill (1-0)
3x5
265 lbs
Tasi Edwards (2-0) vs. Pat Cummins (1-0)
3x5 135 lbs Women’s Match
Sara McMann (6-0) vs. Hitomi Akano (18-8)
3x5
265 lbs
Ryan Martinez (6-1) ) vs. Cody Griffin (5-2)
3x5 265 lbs
Jake Heun (2-1) ) vs. Richard Odoms (6-0)
Main Event
3x5 185 lbs
Kendall Grove (13-9) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa (51-32-8)
Source: ProElite
|
MAN
UP AND STAND UP
WAIPAHU FILCOM CENTER, WAIPAHU
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2012
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00
DEVON MINA 80 SPIKE KAHALEWAI
NYLEN KUKAHIKO 80-90 RADRAJAH BRAZWELL
BRONSON SARDINHA 200 MARLEY
CHEVEZ ANTOQUE 185 MILLER UALESEI
SCOTT ENDO 185 DAMON TURCOIS
SPENCER QUELL 200 JONAH AFOA
LEE HARPER SHW ALBERT CAMBRA
JADA PEREIRA 112 LISA HA
JUSTIN PACARRO 60 AINSLEY
CHANCE CENO 80 KONA
DAMON APPLEBAUM
SHW BRICESON
AIONA
KAI KUNIMOTO 140 OLA
LUM
GAVIN PAGUYO 185 NAINOA LEFLER
BARNAIRE MADALORA 160 JON BURGESS
DONALD PETERS 140 TOFI MIKA
FATS VAISAU 175 LOMBARD MADALORA
JEFF LAGAMAN 145 NEVADA HARRISON
CHANTE STAFFORD 115 NELSON KUKAHIKO
EUGENE
ANGUAY 130
THOMAS REYES
JUSTIN KAHALEWAI 135 ANTHONY REYES
NATHAN WOODE 125 KALAI
KWAN
DARRYL DANO 150 SHAWN MIYAHARA
FREDDY RAMAYLA 145 JORDAN TIMBLE
JENNA GANABAN 135 ALSHADAINE MONTIRA
LAAKEA 160 MATT FISHER
All
matches & participants may be subject to change.
Source: Derrick Bright
|
ProElite
and Dream Form MMA Partnership
PRESS RELEASE:
ProElite MMA and Dream, the largest Japanese MMA organization,
have initiated a promotional partnership and fighter exchange
program, they jointly announced on Tuesday. The alliance will
foster co-promoted events, both in the United States and in Japan
with fighter exchanges featured on the cards of both fight promotions,
respectively.
“Our partnership with Dream forms a promotional bond with
the most prominent Japanese MMA organization,” said Billy
Kelly, President of ProElite and COO of Stratus Media Group Inc.,
parent company of ProElite. “Dream has developed a stable
of great fighters on their roster and a strong team behind the
scenes. With this exchange, the two organizations are building
a cultural and fight-event bridge that our fans are sure to welcome.”
The initial fighter exchange debuts this Saturday, Jan. 21, in
Hawaii when Dream star and Japanese fan favorite Ikuhisa “Minowaman”
Minowa takes on Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove in the ProElite
main event at the Neal Blaisdell Center.
“I’m really honored to join the partnership with ProElite,”
said Dream Event Producer Keiichi Sasahara. “It is important
for us to exploit Asian or Pan-pacific markets by improving relationships
with foreign organizations like ProElite. We would like to make
this fighter exchange program a first step to generate synergistic
success for both organizations.”
Dream light heavyweight tournament runner-up Tatsuya Mizuno will
take on Ilima Maiava, also on the Honolulu fight card, while
the always exciting voice of Japanese MMA, Lenne Hardt, will
be joining the shows as the fighter walk out announcer. The ProElite
main fight card will be televised live on HDNet at 10 p.m. EST.
Tickets are on sale at the Neal Blaisdell Center box office,
all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), www.ticketmaster.com,
and www.proelite.com.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on FX 1 Preview: The Main Card
By Tristen
Critchfield
Guillard
is 10-5 in the UFC.
Friday nights are going to feature plenty of mixed martial arts
action in 2012, including an updated format of “The Ultimate
Fighter” and Season 6 for Bellator Fighting Championships.
Kicking things off, however, is the UFC’s debut on the FX
network, a four-fight main card offering headlined by a key lightweight
showdown between Jim Miller and Melvin Guillard.
Miller
and Guillard saw impressive win streaks come to an end in their
last outings, which means both men desperately need a win to
maintain solid footing in an always-competitive division. Guillard
has tantalizing knockout power but can be hindered by a lack
of consistency. Miller is about as durable as they come, with
his only losses coming by way of decision to the best in the
weight class today: Ben Henderson, Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar.
Emanating
from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., the lineup also
features a pair of potential high-entertainment value fights,
as Pat Barry battles Christian Morecraft at heavyweight and Duane
Ludwig takes on Josh Neer at lightweight.
Here
is a closer look at the UFC on FX 1 “Guillard vs. Miller”
main card, with analysis and picks.
Lightweights
Melvin Guillard (29-9-2, 10-5 UFC) vs. Jim Miller (20-3, 9-2
UFC)
The
Matchup: Both fighters enter this main event with something to
prove, as a second straight loss would push either further down
the ladder in the UFC’s stacked lightweight division.
Miller
saw his seven-fight winning streak come to an end at UFC Live
5 against Ben Henderson. In that bout, the AMA Fight Club product
was dominated from start to finish by the physical ground-and-pound
of Henderson. Was the loss a blip on the radar or evidence Miller
has reached his ceiling against the elite talent of the weight
class?
Guillard
has perhaps the best physical tools of any 155-pounder in the
sport today, but mental mistakes have plagued the Louisianan
throughout his career. He seemed to have rectified those issues
while training at Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts, but his
performance in an upset loss to Joe Lauzon at UFC 136 showed
Guillard is still prone to carelessness. “The Young Assassin”
has drifted away from Jackson’s for his current camp, instead
choosing to train at Imperial Athletics in Florida with the “Blackzilians.”
It will be interesting to see how the change of scenery affects
his approach in the cage.
The
southpaw Miller is comfortable enough on his feet to use his
striking to set up clinches and takedowns, but he will not want
to get into a prolonged standup exchange with Guillard, who has
lightning-fast hands backed by knockout power. Guillard can fall
in love with that power, as he did in hunting for the finish
against Lauzon. He paid dearly for his overconfidence when Lauzon
hurt him with a straight left hand and finished the bout with
a rear-naked choke in just 47 seconds. “The Ultimate Fighter”
2 alumnus needs to rely on his superior speed and footwork here,
moving in and out of striking range while punishing Miller with
combinations. Guillard is adept at working the body, as well,
and has shown in the past that he can finish fights that way.
Miller
is a smart fighter who is aware of his limitations in the standup
game, but he is also aware that he will need to use his punches
to help get Guillard to the mat. Guillard is strong, with good
hips and a solid sprawl. Past opponents have paid for ill-timed
shots in the form of knees and uppercuts from “The Young
Assassin.” Miller is always in good shape, and relentless
pressure will serve him well against Guillard, who thrives when
his foes are intimidated by his knockout power and allow him
to dictate the tempo of the fight. Lauzon showed that even a
fighter with middle-of-the-road striking can bother Guillard
by coming forward, and Miller figures to do the same. Attempting
a takedown from across the cage is a recipe for disaster.
It
becomes a whole different ballgame on the ground, as Miller’s
work rate will allow him to transition to various submission
attempts. Guillard’s ground game has long been a weakness,
as he has tapped in eight of his nine career losses.
The
Pick: Miller has the technique to win this fight, but it remains
to be seen if he can match up with the most athletic fighter
in the division. Speed and strength are going to be Guillard’s
greatest assets, but a lot depends on his frame of mind. If he
cannot get the knockout early, he cannot get frustrated, because
Miller is not going to let up. The thinking here is that Guillard
learned from his last loss. His takedown defense allows him to
keep the fight standing, and his hands do the rest, stopping
Miller by technical knockout in round two.
Heavyweights
Christian Morecraft (7-2, 1-2 UFC) vs. Pat Barry (6-4, 3-4 UFC)
The
Matchup: This is a battle of heavyweights with plenty of aggression
to spare, and the loser risks earning a pink slip from his employer.
Barry has excellent kickboxing skills and a fearless attitude
when it comes to taking on larger heavyweights; at 5-foot-11,
it is a disadvantage to which he has become accustomed. The reach
disparity did not prevent him from attacking Stefan Struve at
UFC Live 6, but, ultimately, the Dutchman’s long limbs allowed
him to secure a submission from which Barry could not escape.
The
6-foot-6, 260-pound Morecraft presents another tall test, only
with a less extensive skill set than Struve. The Team Bombsquad
representative struggled with the superior hand speed and power
of Matt Mitrione at UFC Live 4, while Struve was able to soften
him up with combinations in his Octagon debut in 2010. Morecraft
will provide another substantial target for Barry, who will look
to capitalize by unleashing his powerful leg kicks. “HD”
will not hesitate to stand in the pocket and trade, especially
since Morecraft does not possess the skill and technique to match
him on the feet.
The
most obvious area of disadvantage for Barry is the ground game.
In his brief career, Morecraft has been active in hunting for
submissions, and, if he can get his opponent to the canvas, Barry
is certainly susceptible to getting tapped. While not a great
wrestler, Morecraft can also impose his will with offense from
top position. An effective attack there is his best chance to
beat Barry. In his lone UFC win, Morecraft swept into Sean McCorkle’s
guard and hammered him with strikes from above, knocking out
his opponent’s mouthpiece en route to a second-round submission
triumph.
The
Pick: Barry is dangerous enough to have had Cheick Kongo out
on his feet, and Morecraft is not on that level. The Plymouth,
Mass., native is going to find it difficult to close distance
against Barry when the kickboxer is starching him with leg kicks.
The bout will begin quickly, as both men will attack with bad
intentions. Morecraft will not be able to stop Barry’s offense,
however, and he will eventually succumb to strikes in the third
round.
Welterweights
Duane Ludwig (21-11, 4-2 UFC) vs. Josh Neer (32-10-1, 5-6 UFC)
The
Matchup: Justice was served earlier this month when UFC President
Dana White awarded Ludwig a place in the promotion’s record
book for fastest knockout for his finish of Jonathan Goulet in
2006. Though the actual time of the knockout is still up for
debate, it only affirms the notion that “Bang” is one
of the most dangerous strikers in mixed martial arts today.
In
Neer, he will have an opponent who favors a fast-paced style
and is not afraid of going toe-to-toe. “The Dentist”
made a successful return to the Octagon in October, earning a
TKO via against Keith Wisniewski at UFC Live 6. The Miletich
Fighting Systems export showed dangerous elbows in the clinch
against Wisniewski, opening cuts above both of his opponent’s
eyes to force a doctor stoppage. Ludwig is never one to turn
down a brawl, and when Amir Sadollah elected to stand and trade
with the Colorado native at UFC Live 5, he paid the price, eating
counter left hooks and body shots en route to losing a decision.
Neer
will be the bigger fighter in this encounter, but Ludwig has
made a living fighting larger opponents. The Grudge Training
Center representative is most comfortable fighting at distance,
where his knockout power can more easily show itself. Neer must
force Ludwig to fight in close quarters, where he can do damage
with dirty boxing and elbows while using his size to his advantage.
Neer has a solid defensive guard and active submission game,
but Ludwig is not likely to pursue a takedown. As the stronger
man, Neer could benefit by exposing Ludwig’s mediocre grappling
and takedown defense and forcing the match to the mat.
The
Pick: Ludwig has fashioned a modest two-fight winning streak
in the UFC, with decision wins over Sadollah and Nick Osipczak
in his last two outings, but he remains fairly predictable. If
Neer can neutralize his standup, Ludwig does not have many other
options with which to pull out a victory. Look for Neer to trade
with Ludwig early on, but, as the fight progresses, he will close
the distance, battering his foe against the cage and on the ground
to earn a decision.
Bantamweights
Mike Easton (11-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Jared Papazian (14-6, 0-0 UFC)
|
UFC
on FX: By the Odds
By Ben
Fowlkes
The
UFC heads to Nashville this Friday night for a fight card that
makes up for with easy accessibility what it lacks in star power.
Sure, maybe we're not talking about the biggest names here, and
maybe the big(ger) names on the card are mostly coming off losses,
but what do you expect for a Friday night on FX?
At
least oddsmakers still care enough to handicap the action, and
at least I still care enough to see if I can't make them pay
for it.
Jim
Miller (-180) vs. Melvin Guillard (+150)
When
you talk about this fight, you're going to end up comparing losses.
There's just no way around it. You take two lightweight contenders
who had their respective rises suddenly and violently halted,
and it's only natural that we'd go back and try to sort through
whose loss was worse, and what it means now. Miller had a pretty
thorough beating put him on by Ben Henderson, but now that Henderson's
getting set to challenge for the lightweight title that doesn't
look so bad. Guillard, on the other hand, lost a shocker to Joe
Lauzon after getting dropped and then choked early in the first
round. It's a longer fall, quality of opponent-wise, but it does
have a bit of a fluke-ish quality to it, which you can attribute
to Guillard's reckless overconfidence. You know, if you really
want to.
This
is what makes picking a winner in this fight so difficult. You
can kind of talk yourself into anything. It's a little surprising
to see Miller this much of a favorite, but then you think about
his ground game, his seven-fight win streak prior to the Henderson
loss, and it makes sense. And Guillard? Guillard has the allure
of pure ability. The promise of speed and power and an athletic
ability that even he can't help but overestimate at times. Guillard
seems like the kind of guy who can beat anybody when things fall
his way, but also like the kind of guy who could lose to anybody
and at any given moment. It's not hard to imagine him knocking
Miller out with a flying knee, nor is it difficult to picture
him missing that same flying knee, landing on his end, and getting
submitted seconds later. It all depends on what you want to tell
yourself.
My pick: Miller. Unlike Guillard, he never beats himself. In
a fight like this, don't be surprised if that turns out to be
enough.
Duane
Ludwig (-115) vs Josh Neer (-115)
Right
off I'll say it: I'm surprised at this line. I would have thought
that Ludwig would have been the clear favorite and Neer the obvious
underdog. That's not meant as a knock on Neer, who still does
a few things very well and for whom toughness is never a question.
But Ludwig seems to be undergoing a sort of mini-Renaissance
lately. He seems more at home in the welterweight division than
he ever was in the lightweight class, and he's sharpened his
defensive wrestling skills to the point where his kickboxing
is even more of a problem for opponents. As long as he's fully
healthy, it's hard for me to see how Neer wins this. At one point,
oddsmakers agreed. He was up in the +120 range until the money
started to flow in, but it's not like his chances have really
improved since then. He still deserves to be a slight underdog
against Ludwig. It's just that, if you jump on it now, you won't
get anywhere near the value out of him.
My pick: Ludwig. I wouldn't say it's a lock, but I would say
this is his fight to lose. If he plays it smart, he ought to
pick Neer apart on the feet for as long as it takes.
Mike
Easton (-400) vs. Jared Papazian (+300)
You
can always tell that the odds are going to be heavily in one
guy's favor when his opponent doesn't even have a Wikipedia page
yet. Maybe it was Wednesday's Wikipedia protest blackout, or
maybe the denizens of the internet just don't care enough about
a UFC newcomer until he actually does something in the Octagon.
Either way we're looking at another bantamweight bout that oddsmakers
expect Mike Easton to win and win easily. That makes sense. Easton's
had a pretty charmed career up until this point, while Papazian
has been up and down, winning some and losing some against the
knowns and unknowns alike. Papazian does have a three-fight win
streak going, which has to count for something. Then again, those
are three wins over guys most fans probably never heard of. The
UFC must have seen something in him, even if that something was
a warm body for Easton to throttle on a card so lacking in big
names, Christian Morecraft appears on the poster. Hey, somebody
had to say it.
My pick: Easton. It's a parlay pick for sure, but I can't think
of a single reason to think that Dominick Cruz's personal hype
man won't swarm all over Papazian.
Pat
Barry (-175) vs. Christian Morecraft (+145)
You
never know exactly what you're going to get with Barry. On paper,
he looks like a mediocre heavyweight who's just barely holding
on to a UFC roster spot. But those who've actually seen him in
the cage know that he's probably the best 6-4 fighter in all
of MMA. It's just that, lately, none of the breaks have gone
his way. Morecraft is another of the big, hulking heavyweights
that seem to have popped up like weeds in the UFC recently. He's
in the same mold as guys like Travis Browne and Ben Rothwell,
all towering heavyweights who look like they'd make great extras
in a Viking movie. Morecraft will obviously have a size advantage,
but that's nothing new for Barry. It would probably throw him
off more to fight someone his own height at this point. On a
pure skill level, Barry's on another planet. Morecraft has to
know he can't win a kickboxing match against him. What he has
to do is treat this like a bar fight and take technique out of
the equation. He's the bigger, stronger man, with an edge on
the mat. Again though, if Barry isn't used to that by now, he
never will be.
My pick: Barry. I know, this is usually the point where I talk
myself into taking an underdog, but I can't do it here. Eventually
Barry has to catch a break. He just has to.
Quick
picks:
-
Jorge Rivera (+115) over Eric Schafer (-146). If I have to choose
between two fighters down on their luck, I'll take the guy who
got that way by facing superior opponents.
-
Khabib Nurmagomedov (even) over Kamal Shalorus (-130). First
of all, Nurmagomedov needs a nickname in a bad, bad way. Secondly,
I have yet to be impressed with a full performance by Shalorus,
who tends to look good only in short bursts.
The
'For Entertainment Purposes Only' Parlay: Ludwig + Easton + Barry.
Also throw in Charlie Brenneman, who's at -300 over Daniel Roberts.
Because why not?
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Demian
Maia talks Weidman, Bisping and his new fight at UFC on FOX 2:
“There were two hours of stress”
By Guilherme Cruz
Demian
Maia had a rough night last Tuesday. The BJJ black belt, who
was supposed to fight Michael Bisping, was caught by surprise
as he heard the English would replace the injured Mark Muñoz
at UFC on FOX 2’s main event, against Chael Sonnen. “There
were two hours of stress”, confessed Demian, who will have
the undefeated Chris Weidman as his opponent. Speaking for first
time about the replacement to TATAME, Demian says that the fight
brings different challenges than the confrontation with Bisping,
but he claims to be ready for it. Check it:
How
did it feel not knowing if you would fight or not?
I
thought I would go there and don’t fight. There were two
hours of stress.
Have
you been through something like that: having your opponent replaced
15 days before the fight?
Like
10, 15 days no, but it happened few times. When I was debuting
in the UFC I was fighting Marvin Eastman, but he got his eye
injured and I fought Ryan Jensen. There was a time I would fight
Alan Belcher and he also got his eye injured, and I end up fighting
Mario Miranda.
Dana
White said some name would not accept fighting you, and Rousimar
Palhares is one of them…
Of
course, I wouldn’t take a fight 10 days in advance after
I had just fought. It’s a high risk for your career. He
got the guy who would accept it easily and haven’t fought
for a long time. It’s not easy. He found a tough guy, undefeated,
which will be a great test for me.
Have
you studied Chris yet? Does it change your game plan a lot?
I’ll
have to chance some things. I’m training now, so we’ll
set an emergency plan to get ready for this new fight.
Do
you see it as an easy bout or does it only chance the challenge?
It’s
different… They underestimate Bisping, but who defeated
him so far? Rashad, from other division, Wanderlei and Dan Henderson,
only Henderson knocked him out. The others won by points. And
by points is hard because he’s very strategic. He always
finds a way for the win… The guys say he’s easy, that
he has no punch, but you don’t need “punch”, he
only needs to win the fight.
Chris
doesn’t have the same name of fame of Bisping. Do you think
it doesn’t make sense?
Honestly,
now the fans know more and more about the sport and know he’s
a really tough guy and they’ll worship this fight as much
as if it was Bisping. On the old days they would worry a lot
about a name, but the guy’s undefeated: on a row, seven
fights, a high level wrestler. It doesn’t change much.
Dana
While complimented you on Twitter for having accepted it at the
last minute. Did you get to talk to him?
I
didn’t talk to them, but it’s alright. I gotta take
advantage of this phase I am where I’m well trained and
I can’t waste it. I would get upset if I would not fight,
especially since it’s a FOX fight, which will be huge for
me and my name.
Source:
Tatame
|
Back
on His Feet
By Tristen
Critchfield
Melvin Guillard is familiar with the feeling of invincibility
that can accompany extended success inside the cage. He is also
well aware of what it is like to come crashing back to earth.
In
2003, a 20-year-old Guillard carried a lengthy winning streak
-- just how lengthy depends on the source -- into Biloxi, Miss.,
for a Freestyle Fighting Championships bout against Carlo Prater.
There was no reason for “The Young Assassin” to believe
that particular December night would turn out any different for
him, until he looked at the corner of his Brazilian opponent.
“Prater
had Yves Edwards in his corner. That was the first time in my
life I was beat before the fight started,” Guillard said
in an interview with the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Rewind”
program. “[I thought], ‘This kid is trained by Yves
Edwards; I don't stand a chance.’ I counted myself out before
the bell even rung, and it showed.”
While
Edwards is someone that Guillard considers a friend and mentor
to this day, he learned a valuable lesson from his first-round
defeat to Prater more than eight years ago.
“That
loss taught me so much,” he said. “I learned I wasn’t
invincible. I learned I wasn’t indestructible. Yes, I still
approach everything like that, but I know I can be beat.”
That
is why when Guillard fell to Joe Lauzon in 47 surprising seconds
in arguably the biggest upset at UFC 136, he did not let it affect
his demeanor. The former Louisiana state wrestling champion from
Bonnabel High School still has the same goals he had before that
fight. Guillard wants to be a world champion someday, and he
remains perpetually upbeat about his chances of achieving that
dream. Losing to Lauzon was but a bump in the road.
“I
respect every guy in my weight class because I know the hard
work it takes to be great at something. A lot of normal people
don’t really understand that,” Guillard said. “Look
at my last fight against Lauzon: something happened that shouldn’t
have, but people take it and they run with it. They’re,
like, 'Oh, Lauzon beat you up.’ No, he just was the better
guy that day.”
Prior
to UFC 136, Guillard had been fighting like a man reborn. A five-fight
winning streak in the Octagon, including back-to-back first round
finishes of Evan Dunham and Shane Roller, had earned Guillard
recognition as one of the top title contenders at 155 pounds.
Little was expected from Lauzon, who entered the bout a pedestrian
2-2 in his last four outings. To some, it appeared Guillard did
not expect much either, and, in his recklessness, he was caught
by a punch and submitted by the Massachusetts native. “Same
old Melvin” seemed to be a popular sentiment in the aftermath,
one that was even expressed by Lauzon.
Miller
holds a 20-3 mark.
“I think it was the same Melvin as before. He was known
before for being really cocky, not training a ton, all this other
stuff ... I just looked at him as a kid that had success in the
past that just didn’t train that hard for this fight, that
was just completely overlooking me,” Lauzon told Sherdog.com
in October.
It
was hard for Guillard to avoid the backlash, especially in an
age in which social media has become so prevalent. When he found
negative comments on his Twitter account -- “Would it not
make more sense for Joe Lauzon to get a shot at a #1 contender
since he just BEAT YOUR ASS?” was what one person wrote
on his page recently -- Guillard simply retweeted them. He used
the comments partly as a source of motivation but also because
he knew there were plenty of loyal fans willing to come to his
defense.
“When
you grow up and you have so much anger and so many setbacks and
you have so many doubters, it drives you. That’s my drive,
when people tell me I won’t be a champion or I can’t
win or I can’t beat this guy. People are so inconsiderate;
they don’t realize everyone’s human,” Guillard
said.
“There
are times when certain things are said and it cuts deep, but
I just move on. When people are being ignorant, I’ll retweet
what they say, and I’ll let my fans go to work and do their
part.”
Guillard
rejects the “cocky” label that seems to be so readily
assigned to him. Since his days as a prep wrestling and football
star in Louisiana, he has been a prototype alpha male athlete,
and self-assuredness goes a long way in that arena.
“I
never thought of myself as ever being a cocky person at any point
in my life,” Guillard said. “I just walk around with
confidence.”
Maturity
has allowed him to realize that setbacks, like the one against
Lauzon, do happen. As he prepares to face Jim Miller in the UFC
on FX 1 main event on Friday in Nashville, Tenn., Guillard is
following a theme he hopes can set the tone for his 2012.
“I
have a quote that I started this year. I put it over my bed:
‘Success is measured by a man’s actions,’”
he said. “I read it when I wake up, and I read it before
I go to bed. You can’t be successful if you don’t try.
Nothing comes easy; you’re gonna get some bumps and bruises
along the way. That’s just part of life. If you give up
on yourself, why should you expect other people to not give up
on you?”
Miller
finds himself in a similar position to Guillard after seeing
a seven-fight unbeaten string come to an end at the hands of
Ben Henderson at UFC Live 5. In the loaded lightweight division,
consecutive losses could severely hinder the title aspirations
of either man. Guillard claims he is approaching the fight from
Miller’s perspective, focusing on what the New Jersey native
would have to do to defeat him.
“When
you grow up and you have so much anger and so many setbacks and
you have so many doubters, it drives you.”-- Melvin Guillard,
lightweight contender
“How would I beat Melvin if I had to fight Melvin? I play
that scenario in my head, and those are the things I work on
and try to stay away from,” Guillard said. “I think
that new train of thought is going to make me a champion and
a good ambassador for this sport.”
While
Guillard says he treats every fight like a title fight, it is
no longer belt or bust for “The Ultimate Fighter 2”
alumnus.
“I
had a life lesson; it came from a friend,” he said. “He
was, like, ‘That belt don’t mean anything. People around
you, fighting to feed your family, that’s what matters.’
I would love to be the champion, and it may happen, but if it
don’t ever happen, at least I'm gonna leave this sport making
a lot of money ... I have something to give to my kids when I
do have kids. That’s what’s important. It’s not
the belt that’s important. This sport’s gonna be long
done with me before I’m done with it.”
Source
Sherdog
|
‘One
Tough Kid’
Fear and Hope
By Joseph
Santoliquito
There
was always that reflexive twinge, the slight moment’s pause
just before he turned the key in the ignition. Dan Miller could
not pull out of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia without
some pangs of guilt coursing through him. Sitting there alone
in his car, he wondered aloud if taking the 120-minute trek up
the New Jersey Turnpike to train was worth it. The same questions
repeatedly stabbed at him: “Am I doing the right thing?
Should I leave her alone? Should I leave him alone?”
Miller
always found himself somewhere else during that time, never in
the moment, never thinking of himself; whether it was alone in
the car staring at the radio grill or bouncing his way toward
the Octagon. His mind invariably wandered somewhere else, back
to his son, back to little Danny and how he was doing.
Those
terrible days were punctuated by constant uncertainty, as Miller
tried convincing himself something better had to come; it was
bound to come. However, the alone times were the most painful
for him, the nadir of what is gradually turning into -- hopefully
-- a remarkable, inspiring, uplifting situation.
Miller
has experienced a tragedy no parent ever wants to endure: losing
his day-old daughter, Alexis. A year after her passing, Miller
found himself clutching strength again he never knew he had,
when his son, Danny Jr., became gravely sick in March 2010 while
battling Polycystic Kidney Disease, a life-threatening disorder
which enlarges the kidneys and affects an estimated 12.5 million
people worldwide. Miller was not about to bend, not to PKD or
the physical demands of his job as a mixed martial artist.
It
did not matter that he had fights coming up against Michael Bisping,
Demian Maia or Chael Sonnen. Miller was not about to make excuses
or let on about what he was going through. It did not matter
that he was a late substitute to fight former middleweight King
of Pancrase Nate Marquardt at UFC 128. He lost all four fights,
yet you never heard a peep from Miller or his team. There was
no way you would, no way he would even consider taking some time
off, not when there were fights to be had and the constant pressure
of paying for little Danny’s exorbitant medical costs looming
over him, screaming at him.
Daniel
James Miller will undergo a kidney transplant on Jan. 25.
It
has all been a testament to the wrought-Iron Will of a strongman.
Miller has been challenged on many different fronts, in the Octagon
and at home. For the last two years, he has battled time constraints
in balancing the unpredictable demands that come with a handicapped
child, with keeping a routine that never seems to work out as
planned.
The
30-year old carries a 13-6 record, with one no-decision; he is
5-5 in the UFC after starting off his promotional campaign at
3-0.
In
the octagon of life, Miller carries an impeccable resume that
cannot be challenged. That said, you do question yourself. You
have to. Miller lost his daughter, Alexis, on March 20, 2009,
a day after she was born. Dan and his wife, Kristin, knew beforehand
that their son, Danny Jr., could experience problems, too, after
a 20-week ultra-sound test revealed a cyst on his kidney.
“You
start to think to yourself, ‘Not again,’” Miller
recalls, upon first hearing the news from doctors that his son
could face kidney issues. “We were told it could be Polycystic
Kidney Disease. Alexis had an infection and was very, very sick
when she was born. Doctors couldn’t save her. She basically
lived seven hours -- seven hours of hell you live going through
it.
“So
you think that this couldn’t happen again with Daniel. It
was tough. You try and stay positive, but it tests you,”
he adds. “Kristin and I were tested, but I’ve been
fortunate. I come from a great family. My brothers, Michael and
Jim, my parents, my sister, Karyn, have all been great. I couldn’t
have gotten through this without them. They’ve kept me going.
The one big difference between Alexis and Daniel is that, at
least this time, we knew something was wrong. Danny would get
the best possible care.”
Little
Danny was born six weeks premature. He was placed in the Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit for precautionary reasons. His kidneys were
enlarged, as expected. Each night, Miller sat with his son --
feeding tubes and monitors connected to him, tape over his eyes
to protect from the glare of the room -- even as he trained for
the Maia fight on Feb. 6, 2010 at UFC 109 “Relentless.”
It was fitting title for the show, as Miller has been relentless
from day one. He would train, head to trainer and manager Mike
Constantino’s home to shower and and go right to the hospital,
where he sat by his son and talked to him.
“I
cried a long time after I lost my daughter; I would basically
do anything to keep Danny alive, and we found out days later
he was positive for the disease,” Miller says. “Doctors
told me eventually a kidney and liver transplant would have to
take place. We were just learning and paid attention to everything,
every medicine that he took and what it did. I had to watch what
I did, because his immunity system was weak. I couldn’t
get sick because I didn’t want to be the reason he got sick.”
As
such, Miller kept pushing and pushing, and since the medical
bills were mounting, he kept taking fights.
“It
gets back down to the type of person Dan is; he’s committed
and dedicated,” says Constantino, who runs the AMA Fight
Club in New Jersey. “There are a lot of naysayers in life,
and Dan is a doer. It’s shown how tough and strong he is
mentally. There was never any excuse when Dan took his first
UFC loss to Chael Sonnen. That came right after the death of
his daughter. No one knew. Dan wasn’t about to make any
excuses. Dan carried a great secret with him.
“He
was recovering from the death of a child, and Dan not only did
it, [but] Dan was fighting [one of] the best in the world and
that was going on during that whole entire process,” he
adds. “It was a delicate situation, and we wanted to make
sure Dan was there and ready mentally to fight. You could tell
at times his mind was other places, and you knew why. He did
a great job of carrying himself well, and he’s definitely
one of the toughest individuals I ever met mentally. He’s
been through so much, but Dan never had any self-doubt.”
Finish
Reading » “I was told a few times that Danny didn’t
have a chance to live. I wasn’t about to watch one of my
children die again. There were a lot of sleepless nights.”
However,
Miller’s support system had its concerns about his continuing
to fight. His brother, UFC lightweight contender Jim Miller,
Miller’s parents and Constantino all sat together and made
sure he was fit to continue. One has to understand Miller’s
internal team dynamic: it is one big grounded family.
There
is younger brother Jim, who Miller introduced to MMA and is more
like a twin. There is Constantino, who is more like a brother
than a trainer or manager. There are his parents, including his
father, Mike, from whom Miller derives his great vigor. He sees
the MMA community as an extended family, including guys like
training partner Charlie Brenneman, another man who has become
more like a brother.
Then
there is his wife, Kristin, who Miller places on a pedestal all
by herself. With little Danny and their daughter, Katie, Kristin
has been Miller’s constant heart and soul. When little Danny
was 6 months old, the real scare came. He became ill, and his
kidneys shut down completely. He was transferred to Children’s
Hospital of Philadelphia. Little Danny did not move for a month-and-a-half;
he barely moved his eyes. While all of this transpired, Miller
was training to fight Bisping at UFC 114 on May 29, 2010. He
absorbed the anguish internally so his family did not have to.
It pounded him with anvil-like thuds, as did the questions.
“Why
him? Why him? We got to experience Danny as a baby,” Miller
recalls thinking. “It wasn’t fair what he went through.
I can take the pain; it’s OK. I am in the pain business.
I didn’t want to see Danny go through that. I was told a
few times that Danny didn’t have a chance to live. I wasn’t
about to watch one of my children die again. There were a lot
of sleepless nights.
“I
spent a lot of time training, driving back and forth from Philly,”
he adds. “My poor wife, Kristin, she stayed there the whole
time by Danny’s side. I had to train, and she had to deal
with a lot of stuff by herself. She’s a very, very strong
person, stronger than me. Thank God I have her.”
Jim
Miller marvels at his older brother.
Little
Danny is scheduled to undergo a kidney transplant on Jan. 25.
He has become a blessing to everyone who sees him: a jolly, happy,
smiling little boy. Miller, with help from Constantino and the
MMA community, held a successful fundraiser on Dec. 3 for the
Daniel James Miller Foundation that helped meet the nearly $100,000
in medical costs.
Miller
and his wife have navigated through this turbulent octagon of
life. He still continues to train, and Kristin has maintained
her position as an elementary special education teacher. Little
Danny undergoes kidney dialysis every night, though it changes
weekly. Last summer, it extended to as long as 17 hours daily.
Hooking up little Danny has become part of Miller’s life.
He still needs 16 hours of home nursing and remains connected
to a feeding tube.
Through
it all, the same responses come from everyone around the UFC
middleweight:
•
“Dan doesn’t give himself enough credit,” Kristin
says. “We enjoy each and every minute with the kids and
love being there for them. We’ve learned to treasure every
moment, but it is amazing that Dan even gets in there when he’s
had a fight planned. He’s never wanted to pull out. He wants
to do his best, and I give him a ton of credit for doing that.
He has to give a full commitment. He loves his job, but juggling
all of this is hard on him. You just won’t hear him say
that.”
•
“I don’t know if I could go through what he’s
gone through,” Brenneman says. “Dan doesn’t really
talk about it. He looks at it as, ‘This is my situation,
and I’m dealing with it and dealing with it the best way
I can.’ It is a panacea for him every time he walks into
the gym or the MMA world. He gets to step into a different place
for a little while. He presses forward, and it’s extremely
hard to do, especially living the lifestyle that he lives. We
do not live normal lifestyles. If there is anyone in the world
that can handle it and handle it well, Dan is that guy.”
•
“I’ve always known Dan can show any man on the planet
how to be a better man,” says his brother, Jim. “There’s
nothing he does that makes me prouder than how he lives and deals
with adversity every day. I still don’t know how Dan does
it. He carries everything on broad shoulders and never complains
about anything. He’s had to step into the Octagon with things
going on his personal life that I don’t know if I could
do. He’s doing what he loves to do without excuses and he
handles it very well.”
•
“I don’t know if I could go through what Dan has,”
Constantino said. “I look at what he does, and I still wonder
how he does it.”
“I
don’t know if I could go through what Dan has. I look at
what he does, and I still wonder how he does it.”
-- Mike Constantino, AMA Fight Club
Little
Danny’s situation has tested Miller’s resolve.
“I
really don’t know what gets me through it. I have great
support from my family, my wife, the people around me,”
Miller says, “but, really, I don’t know. I don’t
see myself as anything special. There are other people that are
dealing with things as bad, if not worse, than I am. I don’t
think I’m that tough. My son, he’s tough. I go to Children’s
Hospital every week in Morristown, [N.J.]. These kids go through
hell, and they’re happy and laughing. They’re playing.
It’s amazing. Danny, by far, is the toughest little kid
that I know. He can take a lot more than I can. He’s one
tough kid.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Demain
Maia Draws Chris Weidman to Mend UFC on Fox Triple Bill
by Ken
Pishna
The
UFC didn’t have much time to find a replacement when Mark
Munoz fell off the UFC on Fox 2 fight card on Tuesday, but they
scrambled, quickly re-shuffling the deck.
Munoz
was supposed to face Chael Sonnen in the second fight of a triple-header
on Fox, but when he dropped out, Michael Bisping was pulled from
his fight with Demian Maia to face Sonnen. The two fastest mouths
in MMA, Sonnen and Bisping, will now square off with a shot at
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
That
left Maia dangling in the wind.
He
was left hanging for long, however, as UFC president Dana White
tweeted late Tuesday afternoon that undefeated Chris Weidman
agreed to step up a week and a half out from the fight to face
the Brazilian submission master.
The
UFC did ask Rousimar Palhares, who is coming off of an impressive
finish of Mike Massenzio at UFC 142 Rio over the weekend, if
he wanted to fight Maia, but he told White that he was “banged
up and can’t do it.”
Weidman
(7-0) enters the fight with three consecutive victories during
his UFC tenure. He recently choked Tom Lawlor unconscious at
UFC 139.
The
UFC on Fox 2 fight card now features Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis,
Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping, and Demian Maia vs. Chris Weidman
on the Fox telecast.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
ProElite
– Da Spyder vs Minowaman
Neal Blaisdell Center
Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday, January 21, 2011
Fights start at 2:30 pm
Get Tickets Now!
ProElite makes its return to the MMA-centric islands of Hawaii,
featuring a fight card loaded with world class talent on January
21, 2012 at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main event
matches Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove against Ikuhisa “The
PUNK” Minowa, and includes the semifinals of the ProElite
Heavyweight Grand Prix.
MAIN
CARD
MIDDLEWEIGHT
MATCH
Kendall
Grove
13-9
6’6?
185 lbs
Age: 28
Maui, Hawaii
Vs.
Ikuhisa
Minowa
51-32-8
5’9
185 lbs
Age: 35
Tokyo, Japan
HEAVYWEIGHT
MATCH
Jake
Heun
2-1
6’2
225 lbs
Age: 24
Anchorage, Alaska
Vs.
Richard
Odoms
6-0
6’5?
252 lbs
Age: 36
San Antonio, Texas
HEAVYWEIGHT
MATCH
Ryan
Martinez
6-1
5’11
265 lbs
Age: 29
Greeley, Colorado
Vs.
Cody
Griffin
5-2
5’10?
257 lbs
Age: 24
Springfield, Illinois
BANTAMWEIGHT
MATCH
Sara
McMann
6-0
5’5
135 lbs
Age: 30
Takoma Park, Maryland
Vs.
Hitomi
Akano
18-8
5’4?
135 lbs
Age: 37
Tokyo, Japan
MIDDLEWEIGHT
MATCH
Brent
Schermerhorn
4-1
185 lbs
Honolulu, Hawaii
Vs
Kaleo
Gambill
1-0
6’3?
185 lbs
Age: 31
Kamuela, Hawaii
Source:
ProElite.com
|
Pay
for UFC fighters under the spotlight
The
subject of the UFC’s pay scale, which seems to be heavily
debated every week or two on Internet message boards when athletic
commissions release the information after UFC events, will make
its way to ESPN this weekend.
The
investigative series “Outside the Lines” will look
at what fighters make on a show that includes an interview with
Zuffa CEO Lorenzo Fertitta on Sunday at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN 2.
Even
though the piece has yet to air, UFC president Dana White pumped
up interest in it with a stream of twitter posts taking issue
with the story.
“I’m
excited to smash and discredit ESPN and the piece they did!!
So pumped,” was one of numerous tweets sent out since Thursday
by White, who is currently in Rio de Janeiro promoting Saturday
night’s UFC 142 event.
John
Barr, the ESPN reporter who put the piece together and narrates
it, sees it as a balanced look at the topic. “We wanted
to look at what the pay scale is presently, it was not our intent
to do the story on how UFC has grown exponentially,” Barr
said. “We feel that piece has been done. We paid some lip
service to that. The main goal is what these guys are making
at a time when the company has its first significant deal with
a broadcast network and pay-per-view shows are as profitable
as ever, what is the reality of fighters’ pay, not the top
5-10 percent of the fighters, but fighters across the board.”
The
actual piece will be about six or seven minutes long followed
by a panel discussion during the 30-minute-long show.
But
there is a challenge inherent in presenting the story, something
Barr readily admits.
When
covering most major sports, athletes’ pay is a matter of
public record due to collective bargaining agreements. Trying
to figure out what fighters make, and what the UFC earns, however,
is more difficult.
UFC
is a private company, and while they do release live gate information
after most of their shows, that is the extent of financial information
the company makes public. The big revenue streams from pay-per-view
earnings to television rights fees – both foreign and domestic
– to merchandising revenue and sponsorship income are all
kept private.
When
it comes to fighters’ salaries, while some athletic commissions
do release the base pay numbers, particularly Nevada, which is
the company’s home base and where they run the most often,
many do not.
Most
importantly, the vast majority of the money UFC pays fighters
is not released. You don’t have to look any farther than
Alistair Overeem, who defeated Brock Lesnar in the main event
of UFC’s last show in Las Vegas.
Overeem’s
publicly listed pay for the show was $264,285.71 as base pay,
plus he received $121,428.57 as his win bonus, according to Nevada
Athletic Commission records. However, a lawsuit filed against
Overeem by Knock Out Investments, the parent company of Golden
Glory, Overeem’s former management, revealed what the Nevada
pay sheets don’t say and what most are in the dark about.
Overeem
received a $1 million signing bonus upon inking his UFC contact,
with the money spread over his first three fights. Therefore,
Overeem received an additional $333,333.33 guaranteed for the
Lesnar fight. But for Overeem, and virtually every UFC main-event
fighter on pay-per-view, the number publicly talked about and
the real number aren’t even close due to pay-per-view percentages,
which vary based on the fighter.
In
the interview that will air Sunday, Fertitta noted that 29 UFC
fighters have deals in which they get a percentage of pay-per-view
revenue. In the case of Overeem, he was to receive $2 per buy
after Zuffa company pay-per-view revenue if the show topped $500,000,
which would be roughly the first 23,000 buys. If the pay-per-view
did 800,000 buys, that would be an additional $1,554,000, putting
his total pay in excess of $2.2 million.
Without
the info revealed by the lawsuit, most would assume Overeem earned
$385,714.28 for headlining a major show. His opponent, Lesnar,
was listed as earning $400,000 for the show, but the reality
is he also had a pay-per-view bonus locked in, and since he was
the more established draw, his bonus percentage would likely
be significantly higher.
Within
the mixed martial arts industry, those who complain about fighter
pay continually throw out numbers, usually claiming that only
10 percent of revenue that UFC brings in trickles its way down
to the fighters. But that figure is ridiculous.
The
real figure is for the most part unknown, because virtually every
revenue stream, as well as the actual pay most fighters receive,
is also unknown.
“What
we did is reach out to fighters, managers, some folks who have
worked for Zuffa, and use that 2010 Standard & Poor’s
report that 75 percent of revenue comes from pay-per-view and
live events,” Barr said. “We tried to understand all
the revenue streams, pay-per-view itself, costs of production,
marketing, all of that stuff. That’s one piece of it. Then,
what the guys get paid. We know what’s reported, but we
know about all that off the books money, so you have to piece
together many parts.
“So
you wound up with ranges. Most people come up with a number that’s
10 percent, some say 6-7 percent, some high teens. Lorenzo is
on the record saying that’s ridiculous, and is closer toward
what the established leagues pay. I didn’t press him on
that, but did ask if they’re paying close to 50 percent
and he said, `Yes.’”
That’s
quite a range. In an attempt to use figures based on Zuffa’s
percentage of an 800,000-buy show, which is the rough industry
estimate on UFC 141, the $3.1 million live gate, using listed
fighter pay, announced bonuses, estimates of unannounced bonuses,
and percentages of pay–per-view revenue built into the main
eventers’ contracts, give you a very rough figure of 28
percent going to talent. However, for the Jan. 7, Strikeforce
show in Las Vegas, with a very small gate figure and a full roster
of fighters to pay, that figure could easily have been in the
range of 50 percent.
Attempts
to get White or Fertitta to talk on this subject went unanswered,
although White posted a number of Twitter messages stating that
after the piece airs, they would release their own footage and
give their side of the story.
“In
an attempt by [ESPN.com MMA reporter Josh] Gross and ESPN to
do a hack job on us, we were ready this time!,” White posted.
“We are gonna blast these hacks!” He also wrote, “Trust
me, I have been part of ESPN hack jobs, that’s why I don’t
do those BS shows and why we filmed it.”
Figuring
out what is and isn’t fair is a difficult task. For one,
UFC, as a business, is structured completely differently than
the big four team sports, which pay closer to half of total revenue
to the athletes. It’s also structured differently than boxing,
where the major name fighters earn significantly more than UFC’s
biggest draws. Georges St. Pierre recently said that he earns
$4 million to $5 million per fight, but that figure likely includes
sponsorship revenue. UFC has costs associated with producing
and marketing shows, front-office expenses, and international
expansion costs boxing organizations don’t have.
Additionally,
the UFC’s draw is different than boxing. In boxing, most
pay-per-view shows do fewer than 50,000 buys, but big draws like
Manny Pacquiao can do significantly more than one-million buys,
and at a higher price point than an UFC event. Floyd Mayweather
vs. Victor Ortiz, for example, grossed $78 million just on pay-per-view
revenue. Conversely, if UFC 141 was Zuffa’s biggest show
of the year and did 800,000 buys that would be a gross of closer
to $36 million, and Zuffa only gets a percentage in the range
of half of that.
Virtually
every UFC show will do at least 200,000 buys, but the top ceiling
for the biggest events isn’t as high as in boxing, in part
because there isn’t nearly the level of mainstream media
coverage as there is for a Pacquiao or Mayweather fight. Plus,
as a general rule, UFC pays undercard fighters better, and markets
the shows around the top several matches on a card as opposed
to just one killer main event.
The
closest business model to UFC is that of World Wrestling Entertainment,
which is believed to pay in the range of 13-15 percent of its
total revenue to its performers. While some will argue WWE is
a form of performance art and not a real athletic competition
– and thus the performers don’t deserve as much money
– the dollars WWE derives from its performers, who take
a legitimate physical pounding, is every bit as green as those
which UFC makes.
Both
WWE and UFC employ hundreds of full-time front-office workers,
so contrasting the percentage they pay to, say, an NFL team,
isn’t necessarily a fair comparison. But on the other hand,
like UFC, WWE has been a very profitable business built off the
bodies of its performers for the past several years.
From
2001-04, UFC lost tens of millions of dollars. If you are talking
about what the fighters were earning then, which is a lot less
than now, it was significantly more than the company could afford
and remain in business for the long-term. UFC pays more than
other MMA organizations, but almost every other major MMA company
existing collapsed due to financial issues, from Affliction to
Elite XC, which often paid fighters more than the companies made.
In
fact, UFC nearly collapsed under the weight of the debt. But
the company turned the corner in 2005 thanks to a deal with Spike
TV, and has been running with significantly high EBITDA (earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) based
on regular Standard & Poor’s Credit reports since that
time. However, other operational costs remain, such as getting
legalized nationwide and internationally, which no other professional
sport has had to deal with.
Still,
anyone who has been around fighting at any level knows the stories
of the fighters who aren’t big stars. Whether it’s
the UFC or other organizations, those trying to get established
make little money, sleep on friends’ couches and even go
into debt trying to pursue a fighting career.
“We
fleshed out stories on guys on the low end, who make six and
six [$6,000 guaranteed and a $6,000 winning bonus], eight and
eight or ten and ten, the scale for incoming fighters,”
Barr said. “Even though they wouldn’t attach their
names to it, we heard from enough of them.
“By
the time you pay your trainer, one experienced fighter told me
a training camp costs him close to 10 grand, some 7-10 grand,
and he might fight three times a year. So, low end, that’s
$21,000, and that’s before he’s paid his management
company.”
Barr
noted that no UFC fighters would go on the record, but several
were willing to talk. It’s become accepted when you talk
to fighters these days that, unlike athletes in other sports,
what they get paid, at least for attribution, is not something
many will discuss in detail.
“The
reality is that nobody wanted to talk for attribution,”
Barr said. “We talked to everyone. We talked to guys who
made millions of dollars, guys in between, and guys at the bottom
end of the pay scale.”
UFC
is not a monopoly, as there are untold numbers of smaller promotions
around the country. One competitor, Bellator, is owned by media
giant Viacom, which will have a very significant television deal
with Spike starting in 2013. But UFC is the controlling major
league and with Zuffa’s purchase of Strikeforce in March,
fighters’ ability to leverage two competitors against each
other was gone.
On
Dec. 30, the three lowest-paid fighters were listed at earning
$8,000, although virtually every fighter on a UFC pay-per-view
show gets a bonus of some sorts, usually a minimum of $5,000
that the public doesn’t hear about. Of the 22 fighters on
the show, 14 earned in excess of $25,000 disclosed.
Most
UFC fighters fight three times a year and usually have to pay
a significant percentage to a manager and to trainers that most
people looking at those numbers don’t realize.
Barr
also noted that hesitance to speak on the record wasn’t
limited to UFC fighters, and that even Bjorn Rebney, the CEO
of Bellator, wouldn’t talk with them on the subject.
“We
actually had every intention of going to a Bellator event in
Atlantic City, and Rebney backed out at the 11th hour,”
Barr said. “He didn’t want to pick a fight. He didn’t
even want to come across appearing to pick a fight. We felt it
was interesting. They have a different business model, a tournament
model, and they pay guys differently. Even this competitor was
afraid to take on the UFC establishment.”
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Source:
UFC 142 Watched by 23 Million on Brazilian TV
Without
the pomp or star power of the company’s August outing in
Rio de Janeiro, UFC 142 managed to fly largely under the radar.
When last Saturday night rolled around, however, that action
inside Rio’s HSBC Arena came as a surprise to many.
“I
have to congratulate Mr. Joe Silva for making up such an amazing
card,” 72-year-old Oswaldo Paqueta, former vale tudo fighter
and friend of the late Carlson Gracie, told Sherdog.com after
the show. “It was one of the most exciting UFCs I’ve
seen since the first edition.”
Also
strong were the domestic television ratings for the event on
Brazilian mega-network Rede Globo. With daily advertisement from
Globo, the tape-delayed broadcast -- which began at 1:50 a.m.
local time -- nearly doubled the station’s Saturday average.
According
to commentator Galvao Bueno, who called the action with UFC middleweight
champ Anderson Silva, approximately 23 million people watched
UFC 142 across Brazil, making for an average 14.6 rating and
a 70-percent share. For comparison, youth-oriented channel Sistema
Brasileiro de Televisao (SBT) took second place with just a 3.7
rating, while Rede Bandeirantes came in third with a 1.6 average.
Rede Record, the channel which Globo beat out for the right to
broadcast the UFC, placed fourth with a 1.0 rating.
Though
the venue did not sell out as it did in August, the live crowd
was also stunning. Even without a fully packed HSBC Arena, there
were few empty seats and the audience was just as vociferous
as last year.
“Just
like in the first show, the energy that comes from the audience
was impressive,” UFC President Dana White said at the post-fight
press conference. “The noise they made while Vitor [Belfort]
was entering was something really impressive.”
White
guaranteed during the presser that the UFC will visit Sao Paulo
in June, but stopped short of confirming a third Brazilian edition
for 2012.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Pederneiras:
No Lightweight for Aldo Unless It’s a Title Bout
In
the minutes and hours since Jose Aldo trounced Chad Mendes at
UFC 142, the question has returned to the lips and fingertips
of MMA fans and pundits. It’s a proposition the featherweight
ace has heard before, and one which has been asked of many dominant
prizefighting champions: What could he do at the next weight
class up?
According
to Andre Pederneiras, Aldo’s trainer and the leader of Brazilian
squad Nova Uniao, the question won’t be answered anytime
soon.
“If
it depends on me, it won’t happen. Unless he leaves the
team to train somewhere else and someone agrees with that, because
I will not,” the coach joked in an interview with Sherdog.com.
“It won’t happen for now, unless he goes straight for
a title shot. Not, ‘Oh no, he left the featherweight belt,
moved up to lightweight and started from the beginning,’
no way.”
At
Saturday’s post-fight press conference in Rio de Janeiro,
UFC President Dana White left open the possibility of Aldo moving
up to challenge current lightweight titleholder Frankie Edgar,
but ultimately left the call to “Scarface” and his
team.
“I
would have no problem with him staying at his weight now and
defending his title there or moving to 155 pounds, whatever he
feels like he wants to do,” said White.
Talk
of Aldo shifting weights got new legs after his rousing finish
of Mendes, a previously unbeaten stud wrestler from Urijah Faber’s
Team Alpha Male who many viewed as Aldo’s toughest remaining
test. The next obvious contender, former Shooto and Sengoku titleholder
Hatsu Hioki, saw his prospects cool after a lukewarm win over
George Roop in his October UFC debut.
Crucial
to Aldo’s victory was takedown defense, which the champ
used to shut down seven Mendes takedown attempts. While Aldo
spent time sharpening his wrestling with lightweight contender
Gray Maynard during his most recent training camp, Pederneiras
asserts that the complete fighter on display Saturday was a result
of much more than three months’ work.
“The
staff of the academy trains every day for this, and Aldo has
been training since he came to MMA,” he said. “This
training wasn’t done in three months, but over five years.
So, he put into practice what he has done in these three months,
the physical, and that was it.”
In
the end, Aldo’s ability to stay vertical and escape from
Mendes’ grasps set up a blistering, highlight-reel finish.
But while his in-cage skills may be rapidly maturing, the 25-year-old
from Manaus showed after the win that he still has plenty of
youthful exuberance. In a repeat of his celebration at WEC 38
in San Diego, Aldo sped out of the cage as soon as the fight
was stopped and dashed into the crowd at Rio’s HSBC Arena,
where he was engulfed by a sea of his ecstatic countrymen.
“I
expected him to do something stupid, especially here,” Pederneiras
laughed, producing from his pocket the Flamengo soccer jersey
which Aldo was supposed to wear after the win. “He did [the
same thing] in San Diego and he had to hear a lot from the commission
staff. But here, with all that crowd, I knew.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Greg
Jackson ‘Happy’ Guillard is Comfortable with New Camp
When
Melvin Guillard became of a member of Jackson’s Mixed Martial
Arts prior to facing Ronys Torres at UFC 109, his career took
off. Now, the UFC lightweight standout is hoping that another
change in scenery will have a similar effect.
Guillard,
who faces Jim Miller in the UFC on FX main event in Nashville,
Tenn., this Friday, split from the renowned Albuquerque, N.M,
gym and trained exclusively at Imperial Athletics in Boca Raton,
Fla., for his most recent fight camp.
“It’s
nothing to hide. Technically, I’m permanently with the ‘Blackzilians’
now,” Guillard said in a recent interview on the Sherdog
Radio Network’s “Rewind” program. “I still
feel I’m a part of Jackson’s; those guys are family
to me. A lot of those guys mean a lot to me, even the coaches,
and I hope that’s a door that I can one day go back through.
If those guys need me, I’ll be here for those guys.”
The
move initially came as a surprise to Jackson, who says he didn’t
meet with Guillard before the decision was made.
“I
heard about it the same way everybody else did, that he just
kind of said it on the Internet,” the trainer told Sherdog.com
on Monday. “That’s fine. We’re just happy he found
a place that fits him well. Our team isn’t for everybody,
and we’re happy that he found a place that he feels comfortable
and fits in.”
Guillard
won his first five fights under Jackson, beating Torres, Waylon
Lowe, Jeremy Stephens, Evan Dunham and Shane Roller to insert
himself into the UFC’s lightweight title discussion. Prior
to facing Joe Lauzon at UFC 136, Guillard split time between
Imperial Athletics and Jackson’s MMA for his training. After
suffering a first-round loss to Lauzon, “The Young Assassin”
decided to relocate to Florida on a full-time basis.
Notable
members of the team at Imperial Athletics include former UFC
light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, Anthony Johnson, Strikeforce
lightweight Gesias Cavalcante and onetime Sengoku titleholder
Jorge Santiago, among others. Guillard also said he has been
working extensively with former Bellator 155-pound king Eddie
Alvarez.
“My
training camps are a lot tougher, the practices are more structured,”
Guillard said. “I have personal jiu-jitsu trainers that
my agent brought in to work with me around the clock. My agent
also brings in wrestlers, strikers -- so it’s not just guys
on the team, but they actually bring in guys of different calibers,
world champions.
“If
I had to compare the two [gyms], at Jackson’s, I was in
the room with champions, guys like Jon Jones, but I needed that
extra push,” he explained. “A lot of other guys were
getting attention that I needed, but I wasn’t getting it.
I’m not gonna compare which one is better than the other.
Both gyms are great gyms. It’s just a decision I had to
make on my own.”
Should
Guillard choose to return to New Mexico sometime in the future,
the door to the dojo will be open to him.
“Yeah
of course,” Jackson said. “We just want him to be happy
and have the best career he can have. If that means he needs
to be there, then that’s what that means. We don’t
hold any grudges.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Georges
St-Pierre Targets November 2012 Return
November
seems so far away right now, but that’s when UFC welterweight
champion Georges St-Pierre is targeting his return to action.
St-Pierre
is currently sidelined after tearing his ACL in training and
having surgery to repair the damage. The champion appeared on
HDNet’s Inside MMA on Monday where he gave an update on
his recovery and estimated time for a return to the Octagon.
“Hard
training will be in July, and fighting again for the timing to
get back I would say in November, I can come back in November,”
St-Pierre stated.
St-Pierre
is currently undergoing rehabilitation in Los Angeles, where
he also had the surgery to repair the knee.
If
November is the time for St-Pierre to return, it will have been
approximately 18 months from the last time he stepped foot in
the Octagon at UFC 129 where he defeated Jake Shields.
In
the mean time, the UFC will crown an interim welterweight champion
on Feb. 4 when former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz meets current
top UFC contender Carlos Condit.
UFC
president Dana White has already stated that it’s likely
that the winner of that fight will defend the title at least
once before St-Pierre is back healthy to unify the belts.
While
it may be late into 2012 before the Canadian returns, GSP is
more than hopeful to get at least one fight in this year.
“Oh
yeah, of course, I hope so,” said St-Pierre. “Please
give it to me.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Jon
Anik Paired with Kenny Florian for UFC on FX 1 Broadcast
Former ESPN host Jon Anik will see his first official commentating
duties for the UFC this weekend, and he’ll have an old friend
to help with his debut.
Anik
will be paired with former MMA Live co-host Kenny Florian for
this weekend’s UFC on FX 1 show in Nashville.
UFC
officials confirmed the broadcast booth with MMAWeekly.com on
Monday.
The
two worked together for a couple of years while doing the ESPN
show, and as of last year, Anik left ESPN to sign on exclusively
with the UFC.
Florian,
who has commentated several UFC shows in the past, will once
again put on the headphones as he joins Anik in the commentary
booth.
The
former lightweight and featherweight contender is currently healing
up from a serious back injury that could be career threatening.
This
weekend however it will be all about Florian handling color commentary
while Anik takes the play-by-play for this weekend’s UFC
on FX show in Nashville airing on Friday night.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on FX 1 Line-Up Complete with Fabricio Camoes vs. Tommy Hayden
Fabricio
Camoes, just days away from the fight, has a new opponent for
Friday’s UFC on FX 1 event in Nashville.
UFC
officials on Monday announced that Tommy Hayden will make his
Octagon debut against Camoes at Bridgestone Arena.
Camoes
(13-6-1) begins his second tour through the UFC with this bout.
He went 0-1-1 the first time around, losing to Kurt Pellegrino
and drawing with Caol Uno, then won back-to-back bouts at Tachi
Palace Fights.
Camoes
was actually a replacement for Raphael Oliveira, who was slated
to face Reza Medadi. The UFC on Friday announced an injury to
Medadi, so in comes Hayden.
Hayden
holds a perfect 8-0 professional record, training under UFC and
Strikeforce veteran Jorge Gurgel. He has been working his way
up the ladder of the Midwest regional scene, finishing all but
one of his opponents.
A
lightweight tilt between Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller heads
Friday’s UFC on FX 1 fight card, the promotion’s first
FX branded event.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Dana
White Calls ESPN Report 'Piece of Trash' as UFC Releases Its
Own Report
Dana White and the UFC 141 fighters will answer questions from
the media at the UFC 141 post-fight press conference.UFC President
Dana White promised before ESPN's Outside the Lines reported
on fighter pay that the UFC would release a video of Lorenzo
Fertitta's full, uncut interview with ESPN. But what the UFC
actually posted online on Monday was something more than that
-- it was a full-on rebuttal of the Outside the Lines report
that featured not only Fertitta's comments but also comments
from White and some of the UFC's fighters.
White
introduced the UFC's video by referring to the Outside the Lines
report as a "piece of trash" and "one-sided."
And while Outside the Lines is generally well-respected for producing
high-quality sports journalism, White also said he doesn't respect
the kind of journalism that ESPN does.
"They're
dirty, they lie, and they never really give you all the facts,"
White said.
The
UFC's response makes the case that the pay scale in the UFC is
better than the ESPN report would have had viewers believe, noting
that many UFC fighters have become rich for what they did inside
the Octagon. However, the Outside the Lines report didn't dispute
that -- Outside the Lines acknowledged that the UFC's best draws
are doing well financially. Outside the Lines was more concerned
with how much the entry-level fighters are making.
Where
the UFC's rebuttal report is lacking is in offering any specifics
about how much money the low-tiered fighters are making. Fighters
like Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin and Matt Serra are featured
saying they're satisfied with their pay, but those three guys
are popular former champions. There still isn't a lot of information
available about how much entry-level fighters are making. Fertitta
says specific payroll numbers are not something the UFC is interested
in revealing.
"We're
not hiding anything from anybody, it's just that we don't publish
it for everybody to see," Fertitta says. "We're not
a public company. There's no reason for us to do that."
The
strongest part of the UFC's response comes at the very end, where
Ken Shamrock is shown after his final UFC fight talking about
how much money he made in the UFC. Shamrock was featured on ESPN
talking about how fighters don't get paid enough by the UFC,
so that quote from Shamrock is a strong rebuttal.
But
featuring Shamrock is something of a distraction from the real
issue at hand. The issue isn't whether well-known fighters like
Shamrock are making good money, it's whether the undercard fighters
are making good money.
The
UFC has also chosen not to release information about how much
fighters are making from sources like sponsorships and pay-per-view
bonuses. For some fighters, those sources of income represent
more than what they make in their purses. But we don't know for
sure which fighters are getting those kinds of bonuses because
the UFC has chosen to keep that information private.
Ultimately,
Outside the Lines and the ESPN response offered two sides of
a story. And neither side has told the whole story.
UPDATE:
Later on Monday the UFC posted the entire 47-minute interview
with Fertitta on YouTube. That video is below.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Aldo
stakes claim with memorable KO
Jose
Aldo Jr. hasn’t had a long reign at the top like UFC middleweight
champion Anderson Silva. He hasn’t had the one spectacular
year, with wins over star after star, like light heavyweight
champion Jon Jones. And he hasn’t been nearly perfect like
welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.
UFC champ Jose Aldo left an impression on his hometown Rio crowd
with a spectacular knockout of Chad Mendes.
But
when you’re considering the best mixed martial arts fighters
in the world, Aldo’s name deserves mention right alongside
with the UFC’s Big Three.
After
Aldo destroyed previously unbeaten Chad Mendes on Saturday in
the main event of UFC 142 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
to retain his featherweight championship, it’s time for
the MMA version of the Fab Four: Silva, Jones, St. Pierre and
Aldo.
It’s
a spectacularly talented group with diverse skills and the ability
to make fast, fight-ending moves.
Aldo
showed why he belongs in the club by almost instantly turning
a sequence in which Mendes had the advantage into a fight-ending
finish.
Mendes
had Aldo tied up against the cage and was kneeing him in the
thigh, a critical move if he wanted to slow Aldo’s kicks.
After taking a few knees to the hamstring, Aldo pirouetted, cracked
Mendes in the face with a knee and then landed a massive right
hand to the face as Mendes was flat on his back.
Referee
Mario Yamasaki halted it with a second left in the first round,
sending Aldo sprinting into the deliriously happy Brazilian crowd.
Security guards had to battle to pull Aldo out of the mess, then
had to fight with him to keep him from trying it on the other
side of the cage.
Brave
men, they must be, because anyone who messes with Aldo has to
know he’s in for a lot of punishment.
“He’s
a tough dude,” Mendes (11-1) said in tribute. “I felt
the best I have for any fight, any camp that I’ve gone through.
I was very prepared and he still got me. [I wanted to] keep the
pressure on him, obviously close the distance to where I could
get my hands on him and wear him out. Jose is tough. He’s
got great takedown defense.
“Watching
a lot of his fights, I knew it was going to be tough to take
him down. He’s very athletic, he’s very fast and he
has great footwork. It’s obviously something we worked on,
but he was the better man.”
Aldo,
who is No. 5 in the Yahoo! Sports MMA rankings behind Silva,
Jones, St. Pierre and lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, was
coming off a win over Kenny Florian at UFC 136 in which he, perhaps
for the first time, looked vulnerable.
He
was primed to defend his belt in his home country, though, and
he did everything well at warp speed. He hit Mendes with thudding
kicks that were so powerful, they almost knocked Mendes’
legs out from underneath him.
He
easily shrugged off a number of takedown attempts from Mendes,
the NCAA runner-up at 141 pounds in 2008 when he was an All-American
wrestler at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. And when Mendes did, however
briefly, slow him down and push him against the cage, Aldo figured
a brilliant way to get out of it.
With
Silva and St. Pierre sidelined by injury and with Jones sitting
a few feet away at cageside, the 25-year-old one-time homeless
teenager staked his claim for a spot among the sport’s royalty.
He
ran his record to 21-1 with his 14th win in a row. He won his
title in the World Extreme Cagefighting and has kept it as the
WEC was folded into the UFC. He’s now 6-0 in championship
fights and has made five successful title defenses. That ties
him with UFC legends Tito Ortiz and Matt Hughes for the third-most
in Zuffa history, behind only Silva (9) and St. Pierre (6).
On
the undercard:
Vitor
Belfort sustained an early onslaught from Anthony Johnson and
scored a first-round submission via rear-naked choke in a middleweight
bout, his first match in his homeland since 1998. Belfort was
thinking of a finish the entire way.
“I
didn’t stop the entire fight,” Belfort said. “He
kept trying to take me down and I kept fighting it. ‘Make
him quit.’ That was my goal and I did just that. I had the
whole country [of Brazil] behind me and I could feel it in there
tonight.”
Rousimar
Palhares showed why he’s the most feared leg lock specialist
in the UFC, catching Mike Massenzio with a heel hook and forcing
a tap just 1:03 of the first round.
The
controversy of the night came in a welterweight bout between
Brazilians Erick Silva and Carlo Prater. Silva roared out of
his corner and hit Prater with a knee that decked him. As Silva
was firing punches and going for the finish, he hit Prater on
the back of the head.
Yamasaki
stopped the bout and disqualified Silva, giving Prater the win
at just 29 seconds of the first.
And
in the pay-per-view opener, Edson Barboza caught Terry Etim with
a spinning heel kick, landing right on the chin. Etim did a dead
fall backward as Barboza took the victory at 2:02 of the third
round. It is believed to be the first time in UFC history a fighter
finished a bout with the spinning heel kick.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Iuri
Alcantara says he gassed after “early celebration”
at UFC Rio
Iuri
Alcantara punched, squeezed, twisted, but failed to finish Michihiro
Omigawa at UFC Rio, event that happened last weekend. Pleased
with the win on points, the featherweight talked to TATAME and
explained what made him slow down on the third round.
“I
lacked gas in the end, even because I thought it was over on
that submission. I was celebrating but then they told me it would
go on. I didn’t event pull myself together (on the time
out) and my mind went crazy, I just poured my heart out”,
tells Iuri, who hoped for a knockout. “I had great Boxing
and Muay Thai and I wanted to knock him out, but I couldn’t”.
Chanted
by over 15 thousand fans at HSBC Arena, same place where he defeated
Felipe Arantes, on August of 2011, the Brazilian is looking forwards
to fight again. “We’re waiting for the next fight,
and I want to be on a main card”, asks. “My dream is
to fight the bests and show why I’m here for. I wanna reach
the top, I’ll work for that”.
While
the UFC does not say when he will be back, Iuri rests. “I’m
in Belen, but Wednesday I’ll travel to my hometown and then
I’ll return to the trainings”. To make it perfect he
wished to get those US$ 65 thousand he did not. “I wanted
the bonus for the submission if it happened, but I couldn’t
get it. But what matters is the win, is that we represented Brazil
up there”.
Source:
Tatame
|
UFC
142 Rio Results: Erick Silva Disqualified, Referee Criticized
Erick
Silva was disqualified for hitting Carlo Prater in the back of
the head in their main card fight at UFC 142. Silva looked to
have won the fight by technical knockout in the first round,
but referee Mario Yamasaki saw it differently.
Prater
ate a hard knee from his opponent before falling to the ground.
Silva continued striking on the ground, landing hammer fists
in an effort to finish. The referee stepped in to stop the action
and Silva raised his hands, assuming he won the fight.
A
short while later, it was announced that Yamasaki disqualified
Silva for landing strikes to the back of Prater’s head.
Replays showed several shots to the side of Prater’s head,
but Yamasaki advised that he had to make a call in the moment
and saw strikes to the rear of Prater’s skull.
Even
UFC color commentator Joe Rogan felt that Yamasaki’s call
was wrong and expressed that opinion in his post fight interview
with the referee.
“I
was telling him, ‘don’t hit the back of the head,’”
Yamasaki said following the disqualification. “I have to
decide right then and there. There’s nothing else I can
do.”
With
the disqualification being dealt out, Silva advised he respects
Yamasaki as a referee, but disagrees with his decision.
“I
have great respect for the referee,” he said. “I don’t
think I hit the back of the head.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
142: Palhares Heel Hooks Another One
It’s safe to say that Rousimar Palhares is a fan of finishing
fights with the heel hook.
The
submission machine through 7 wins in the UFC has five by submission,
and four of those came by heel hook. The fourth was on Saturday
night as he put away New Jersey fighter Mike Massenzio at UFC
142.
The
fight got off to a rocky start with Palhares tagging Massenzio
a little low that brought a pause to the fight. The time it took
Massenzio to recover almost matched how much the clock passed
after the restart as Palhares snatched the submission.
Palhares
looked for a takedown and ended up pulling Massenzio to the ground,
and with absolutely fluid movement, the Brazilian had a hold
of his opponent’s leg and the end was just moments away.
Palhares
grabbed Massenzio’s heel under his arm and torqued hard,
and it only took a second for the American to tap his opponent’s
back signifying the end of the fight.
As
he literally locked up his third straight win, Palhares was emotional
in victory paying tribute to a fallen friend he lost before the
fight.
“This
is to my great partner who unfortunately passed away, but he’s
right here with us. So thank you brother, thank you for this,”
Palhares said.
No
matter how many times he gets the submission, opponents just
can’t seem to stop Palhares when he grabs a leg and looks
for the heel hook. Just count Mike Massenzio as the latest victim.
“This
is a strong point of mine and if I’m able to do it well,
I do it well,” Palhares commented about his ability to get
heel hook submissions. “I like submissions and I got another
one tonight.”
The
submission wizard will now have to hope the UFC gives him a top
ten opponent following three straight dominant wins in the Octagon.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
142 Rio Results: Vitor Belfor Chokes Out Anthony Johnson
Vitor
Belfort defeated Anthony Johnson in their co-main event at UFC
142. The Brazilian submitted Johnson late in the first round
of fight card in Rio de Janeiro
Johnson
got Belfort down early and tried to work in guard, but it was
stood up a short while later due to inactivity. On the feet,
Belfort’s hands looked quick and he kept the heat on while
there. The fight went to the ground again, but Belfort obtained
his opponent’s back.
Belfort
sunk in the choke and finished the fight at 4:45 of the opening
frame.
There
was a lot of controversy leading into this fight due to Johnson
coming in 11 pounds overweight, but Belfort didn’t see it
as a problem.
“I’ve
fought big guys… I’m not scared of them,” he said
following the victory. “I cut 35 pounds before this, so
I (have to) be professional, sacrifice… that’s how
it is.”
Moving
forward, Belfort will coach the Ultimate Fighter’s first
stint in a foreign country with TUF Brazil. Johnson loses his
first UFC fight above middleweight.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
142 Rio Quick Results
Main
Card (on Pay-Per-View):
-Jose Aldo def. Chad Mendes by KO at 4:59, R1
-Vitor Belfort def. Anthony Johnson by submission (rear naked
choke) at 4:49, R1
-Rousimar Palhares def. Mike Massenzio by submission (heel hook)
at 1:03, R1
-Carlo Prater def. Erick Silva by disqualification (strikes to
the back of the head) at, :29, R1
-Edson Barboza, Jr. def. Terry Etim by KO (wheel kick) at 2:02,
R3
Preliminary
Bouts (on FX):
-Thiago Tavares def. Sam Stout by unanimous decision (no scores
were read)
-Gabriel Gonzaga def. Edinaldo Oliveira by submission (rear naked
choke) at 3:22, R1
-Yuri Alcantara def. Michihiro Omigawa by unanimous decision
(30-27, 29-29, 30-27)
-Mike Pyle def. Ricardo Funch by TKO at 1:22, R1
Preliminary
Bout (on Facebook):
-Felipe Arantes def. Antonio Carvalho by unanimous decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
142 Rio Fighter Bonuses; Barboza the Runaway Winner
The
UFC’s return to Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night was chalk
full of stunning finishes and tremendous battles, so whittling
down the UFC 142 Rio: Aldo vs. Mendes post-fight award winners
couldn’t have been easy.
The
one award that no one doubted was Knockout of the Night.
Edson
Barboza, Jr. landed a knockout kick that had UFC broadcasters
Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg, as well as the Twitterverse proclaiming
that they’d never seen such a thing in mixed martial arts.
After
a back-and-forth battle that edged into the third round, Barboza
launching a spinning heel kick that connected flush on opponent
Terry Etim, sending him down and out.
Barboza
was the runaway winner of the $65,000 bonus for the knockout,
but he wasn’t done there. He and Etim also scored the Fight
of the Night bonuses for their efforts, sending Barboza home
a very happy man indeed with an extra $130,000 in his pocket.
There
were three submissions to choose from on Saturday night, but
there was no denying Rousimar Palhares. He once again attacked
the legs, wrapping up the limbs of Mike Massenzio and locking
on a fight-finishing heel hook that also scored him the $65,000
Submission of the Night.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
142 Rio Results: Gabriel Gonzaga, Thiago Tavares Claim Prelim
Wins
UFC
142 had its share of exciting preliminary fights in Rio de Janeiro.
Thiago Tavares and Gabriel Gonzaga led the prelim charge, snagging
wins in the UFC’s return to the South American country,
but not without a little controversy.
Thiago
Tavares vs. Sam Stout
Thiago
Tavares won a unanimous decision in Rio, beating Sam Stout in
the final prelim bout of the evening.
The
early action saw Tavares controlling the fight with grappling.
Later on, Stout began to turn up the striking, scoring points
in the process. From the looks of it, Stout landed enough shots
to win the fight on the cards, but the judges saw Tavares winning
the decision. Oddly, no scores were read when the decision was
announced.
Gabriel
Gonzaga vs. Ednaldo Oliveira
Gabriel
Gonzaga was successful in his UFC return, finishing Ednaldo Oliveira
in the first round of their preliminary fight in Rio de Janeiro.
Gonzaga
stayed very patient on the feet in this one. Oliveira looked
to use his reach, but Gonzaga got his opponent down and controlled
him on the ground. Eventually, Gonzaga got Oliveira’s back
and choked him out in the first round. The finish came at 3:22.
Yuri
Alcantara vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Yuri
Alcantara punished Michihiro Omigawa in their preliminary fight,
winning a unanimous decision in Brazil.
Omigawa
was hit with a hard shot early and nearly had the fight called
due to an armbar late in the first round. Alcantara continued
with a stand-up onslaught throughout the three round affair and
ended up grabbing the unanimous decision.
Judges
saw it in his favor with scores of 30-27, 29-28, and 30-27.
Mike
Pyle vs. Ricardo Funch
Mike
Pyle made quick work of Ricardo Funch in their preliminary fight,
getting the technical knockout in the first round.
Funch
ate a right hand that stunned and backed him against the cage.
Thereafter, Pyle got the clinch and lifted a knee directly into
his opponent’s chin, putting him down on the mat. Pyle pounded
Funch and got the TKO at 1:22 of first round.
Felipe
Arantes vs. Antonio Carvalho
Felipe
Arantes and Antonio Carvalho put on a good opening fight in Brazil,
but it was Arantes that earned the win in Rio.
Carvalho
had the advantage on the ground early, but Arantes kept the edge
standing, out-pointing the Canadian fighter for a majority of
the fight. Late in the contest, Arantes worked from within his
opponent’s guard and cut Carvalho open before returning
to the feet and going the full three rounds.
Judges
gave the unanimous decision to Arantes with scores of 29-28 across
the board.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Rousimar
Palhares: “I fight whoever they tell me to”
Rousimar
Palhares proved at UFC Rio he has the most dangerous Jiu-Jitsu
in MMA nowadays. In one minute, he took Mike Massenzio down and
fit his so feared heel-hook, getting to his seventh win in Ultimate,
all according to his game plan.
“At
the first UFC Rio I wasn’t looking for the submission, I
wanted to win the fight. This time I wanted to finish”,
tells Palhares to TATAME, explaining what have changed. “15
days before the fight I had a cut in my face, and it was really
big, so I couldn’t stand-up much because it could get worse.
There was no other way, I would have to grapple”.
Despite
of 13 stitches on his face, Rousimar guarantees he did not fear
that a bleeding would stop the contest. “Let me tell you
this: I wanted that fight so badly he could take a piece off
my face and I wouldn’t stop”.
To
the future, he warns he would fight anybody. “I don’t
worry about it. I just worry about my trainings”, tells.
His managers Murilo Bustamante and Alex Davis want a title shot
after one or two more wins, and the athlete claims to be ready
for it. “When they give me the chance, I’ll take it…
I’ll fight whoever they tell me to”.
The
middleweight fighter’s night was so great that he earned
US$ 65 thousand for the best submission of the night, but he
still does not plans for the extra cash.
“I
haven’t visited my family yet, I want to check them all
out. It came on a good moment, thank God”, tells Toquinho,
who bought a house for his mother and started an apartment financing
with the purse he got from the UFC. “Now I can buy my own
stuff, I’m living in my own apartment”, celebrates.
Source:
Tatame
|
UFC
142's Three Stars: Aldo, Barboza and Palhares
Brazil provided another picturesque setting for a UFC card dominated
by Brazilian favorites. Even our Three Stars is filled with fighters
from a country so important to MMA. Who are your Three Stars
from UFC 142? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.
No.
1 star -- Jose Aldo: With a swift, well-deployed knee, Aldo showed
again that he is the cream of the the featherweight crop. He
then brought the celebration to the jubilant crowd in Rio de
Janeiro, creating a memorable moment for every fan at UFC 142
and a headache for UFC security. Can you blame him for the euphoria?
Starting with the WEC featherweight championship, Aldo has held
his belt for 26 months and five title defenses. A man that dominant
in his division is allowed to celebrate with his fans.
No.
2 star -- Edson Barboza: From his three previous fights in the
UFC, we knew that Barboza was capable of debilitating kicks.
No one -- particularly Terry Etim -- expected him to throw a
spinning wheel kick, executed so perfectly that Etim was out
well before he hit the canvas. He won both Knockout of the Night
and Fight of the Night bonuses for that performance, and something
tells me that he's an early favorite for Knockout of the Year
awards.
No.
3 star -- Rousimar Palhares: Any fighter preparing for Palhares
knows that he is a heel hook master, with the majority of his
submission wins coming that one hold. Mike Massenzio knew the
heel hook was looming, but couldn't stay out of Palhares' grip.
For submitting Massenzio in just over a minute, Palhares won
Submission of the Night.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Falling
Action: Best and Worst of UFC 142
UFC 142 is in the books and another Brazilian event has ended
without any rioting or bludgeoning of referees. Now it's time
to sort through the action for the biggest winners, losers, and
everything in between.
Biggest
Winner: Jose Aldo
There's the human highlight reel we remember from the WEC days.
Even with an opponent intent on dragging him down and holding
him there, Aldo created just enough space to work his magic,
spinning away and firing off a perfectly timed, perfectly placed
knee that showed off both his explosive athleticism and his powers
of anticipation. After the first-round knockout, Aldo charged
into the crowd to celebrate with his countrymen -- and to give
UFC president Dana White a heart attack. Like something out of
a sentimental sports film, the mob hoisted Aldo on its shoulders
and showered him with love. In fact, the roughest treatment Aldo
received was from the security team that tried to wrangle him
back into the Octagon for the post-fight festivities. Maybe Aldo
wasn't a star in Brazil before UFC 142, but after treating the
singing, chanting throng of fans to such a memorable ending on
Sunday morning in Rio, you've got to think he's improved his
standing in his home country. Clearly, Aldo is a man worth knowing.
What's less clear is how the UFC is going to keep digging up
interesting new challengers for a champ this dominant.
Biggest
Loser: Anthony Johnson
It's not just that he missed weight (again), or that he quickly
ran out of gas and got submitted (thanks to a little help from
some quick, though not egregious stand-ups by referee Dan Miragliotta).
It's also about his attitude. I understand that, on the eve of
a fight, a fighter isn't eager to revel in his own failures and
humble himself before fans and management. At the same time,
c'mon son, Anthony Johnson. How are you going to come in waaaay
overweight for your first fight at middleweight, then get on
Facebook and brag that you don't care what anybody thinks about
it? Who thought that was a good idea? Even at the weigh-ins,
where Belfort showed up looking like a man who had done his share
of suffering, Johnson was smiling and waving, apparently oblivious
to the fact that his UFC career was now in jeopardy. I understand
the desire to stay positive, but at some point you have to admit
to yourself that you've screwed up. If you don't, how are you
ever going to stop screwing up? How are you going to take responsibility
for the mistakes you are habitually making, so that you can stop
making them in the future? Clearly, Johnson hasn't figured that
part out yet. Until he does, the UFC is no place for him.
Best
Response to a Bad Situation: Erick Silva
I'd like to think that I would have handled that disqualification
loss with as much class and grace as Silva did, but I know it
isn't true. I know that because I was once disqualified from
a beer pong tournament at a bar in New Jersey for some perceived
violation of etiquette, and, well, let's just say that because
of my response to the DQ I'm no longer welcome in that establishment.
The point is, Silva had every reason to be upset. We've seen
many fighters get away with far more egregious strikes to the
back of the head. He might have thrown one or two hammerfists
that drifted into illegal territory, but they clearly weren't
intentional and weren't responsible for ending the fight. I don't
know if Carlo Prater talked referee Mario Yamasaki into believing
otherwise or if Yamasaki still has residual back-of-the-head
guilt from the Belfort-Akiyama fight. Regardless, he got it wrong
and Silva got cheated out of a win as a result. That Silva took
the news so well is a credit to his character. I know I wouldn't
have been so nice about it.
Chuck
Norris Award for Kicking Excellence: Edson Barboza
His spinning wheel kick knockout of Terry Etim was so fantastically
flashy that I keep expecting Steven Seagal to somehow claim credit
for it. It's the kind of kick that makes every martial arts nerd
instantly geek out, and yet it's also a kick that, according
to the most ardent Taekwondo supporter I know, "even Taekwondo
guys admit will almost never work." Somehow Barboza made
it work, and for that he was handsomely rewarded with a $65,000
Knockout of the Night bonus. To even have the confidence to try
something like that against a fighter of Terry Etim's caliber
is impressive. To pull it off in such effective fashion is damn
near amazing. Barboza will be seeing that moment of his life
replayed in highlight reels for years to come. Unfortunately,
so will Etim.
Worst
One-Trick Pony: Chad Mendes
He had to know he was in trouble when Aldo easily shrugged off
his first few takedown attempts. He kept after it because, hey,
what else was he going to do? It's not like Mendes was going
to outstrike Aldo, and he knew it. His only hope was to get the
takedown and grind away, which put him in a very vulnerable position.
The problem with putting too much stock into your own wrestling
ability is that your opponent usually knows where your head is
going to be. Even with his back to Mendes as he broke his grip,
Aldo knew the challenger would come diving in for his legs at
the end of the round, and that allowed him to spin and throw
the knee with confidence. It may have been Mendes' inability
to get that takedown that got him in trouble, but it was his
own predictability that sealed his fate.
Best
One-Trick Pony: Rousimar Palhares
You know how you can tell when someone is very, very good at
what they do? They keep doing it to people who know it's coming.
Mike Massenzio had months to prepare for Palhares' leg locks,
and he still got heel-hooked in the first minute of the fight.
That's the fifth submission victory of Palhares' UFC career,
and four of those were leg and/or foot-based submissions. I still
doubt that you can heel hook your way to a title in today's UFC,
especially when the middleweight champ is a man who does so many
things so very well, but who knows? Maybe if Palhares can get
Ryo Chonan to show him that unique method of entry, he could
shock the world.
Most
Awkward Moment: Joe Rogan's Interrogation of Mario Yamasaki
Give credit to Rogan for taking us right to the source and getting
Yamasaki's explanation for why he disqualified Erick Silva, but
that's where it should have stopped. It's perfectly fair for
a commentator to ask the ref to explain himself after a controversial
call, but trying to cajole him into admitting he made the wrong
decision just minutes after he made it is perhaps not terribly
helpful. Rogan clearly had his opinion on Yamasaki's call, and
it's an opinion I agreed with. Even so, that doesn't mean I want
to watch him trying to talk Yamasaki into it on live TV. Not
only is it uncomfortable to watch, it serves no purpose. Rogan
normally does an excellent job of bringing clarity to the chaos
in moments like those, but that's a time when he needs to content
himself with getting the opinions of others rather than forcefully
applying his own.
What
MMA Needs Most: Rules Clarity
If you inadvertently hit an opponent on the back of the head
during a frantic punch flurry, as Erick Silva did, maybe nothing
will happen. Or maybe you'll get a warning. Maybe you'll lose
a point. Maybe you'll even be disqualified. There's really no
telling. The same holds true when you grab the fence to avoid
a takedown, as Jose Aldo blatantly did just moments before knocking
out Chad Mendes. That's cheating, and there's never anything
inadvertent about it, and yet Aldo suffered absolutely no consequences
for the illegal advantage he obtained. So why wouldn't he do
it? With the fence grab, fighters know they'll almost never be
punished the first time they do it. At most, they'll get a verbal
warning, which essentially means that they can cheat at least
once with no consequences whatsoever. If you chose your cheating
moment wisely, as Aldo did, it can change the complexion of the
fight in minor or major ways [ed. note: for more on that, I recommend
reading Chad Dundas' explanation of why you should always cheat
in an MMA fight]. How can this be? How can something that is
clearly illegal and never accidental go completely unpunished?
I don't doubt that refereeing an MMA bout is a difficult, stressful
job, but it seems as though we only make it more difficult and
stressful by leaving so much to the individual referee's discretion.
Figuring out how the ref is going to respond to an illegal blow
or a quick grab of the fence is like figuring out where an umpire's
strike zone is. The difference is, if your opponent knows when
and how to game that system, you don't get another at bat in
MMA. The fight's over, you're out a bunch of money, and there's
no guarantee that you can even bring these lessons into your
next fight, since the next ref might interpret the rules differently.
At the risk of handcuffing referees, MMA needs more clarity on
what offense constitutes which punishment. Currently, fighters
don't know what will happen to them until it's already happened
-- or hasn't. The whole point of having "unified" rules
is so they're the same everywhere. But as long as referees are
allowed to enforce their own take on where the back of the head
begins and what an illegal fence grab is worth, it's always going
to be a shifting landscape from one fight to the next.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
142 Aldo vs. Mendes (UFC Rio 2) Today
Date: January
14, 2012
Venue: HSBC Arean
Location: Brazil
Hawaii
Air Times
UFC Prelims 3:00-4:00PM Channel 554 (FX)
UFC 142 5:00-8:00PM Channel 701
Main
Card (on Pay-Per-View):
-Jose Aldo (21-1; #1 Featherweight) vs. Chad Mendes (11-0; #2
Featherweight)
-Vitor Belfort (20-9; #8 Middleweight) vs. Anthony Johnson (10-3)
-Rousimar Palhares (13-3) vs. Mike Massenzio (13-5)
-Erick Silva (13-1) vs. Carlo Prater (29-10-1)
-Edson Barboza, Jr. (9-0) vs. Terry Etim (15-3)
Preliminary
Bouts (on FX):
-Thiago Tavares (16-4-1) vs. Sam Stout (17-6-1)
-Gabriel Gonzaga (12-6) vs. Edinaldo Oliveira (13-0-1)
-Yuri Alcantara (26-3) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (13-10-1)
-Ricardo Funch (8-2) vs. Mike Pyle (21-8-1)
Preliminary
Bout (on Facebook):
-Felipe Arantes (13-4) vs. Antonio Carvalho (13-4)
*Based
on the MMAWeekly.com World MMA Rankings
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
142 Preview: The Main Card
By Tristen
Critchfield
Mendes is unbeaten as a pro.
Prior to UFC 134 in August, the Ultimate Fighting Championship
had not hosted an event in Brazil in 13 years. Its return --
featuring frenzied fans, compelling matchups and thrilling finishes
-- was electric. Now, just five months later, the UFC is back
in the MMA hotbed with an offering that features the explosive
talents of featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
In
his first time as the headliner on a UFC card, “Scarface”
will attempt to defend his crown against the wrestling-oriented
attack of Team Alpha Male product Chad Mendes. On paper, it looks
like the classic striker-versus-wrestler matchup, and there is
little doubt Aldo will be amped to put on a show after going
the distance in his previous two fights.
An
emphatic finish of Mendes would not only delight the home folks
but further solidify the Nova Uniao representative’s place
among the sport’s pound-for-pound greatest.
The
card also features a potentially explosive middleweight showdown
between Vitor Belfort and Anthony Johnson, as “Rumble”
looks to test the waters at 185 pounds for the first time in
his career. With at least one fighter competing for the home
team in every bout, fans at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro
should have plenty of reasons to cheer on Saturday.
A
look at the UFC 142 “Aldo vs. Mendes” main card, with
analysis and picks:
UFC
Featherweight Championship
Jose Aldo (20-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. Chad Mendes (11-0, 2-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: Without an explosive finish to his name in 2011, is
it possible that one of the world’s best pound-for-pound
fighters has become slightly underappreciated? A pair of five-round
victories over Mark Hominick and Kenny Florian might be disappointing
to those who were spoiled Aldo’s dominance in the WEC, where
the Brazilian stopped all but one of his eight opponents, but
such travails are part of a champion’s journey. A fighter
who can persevere through multiple 25-minute battles is capable
of an extended title reign, and with Aldo’s considerable
skills, the next highlight-reel knockout could be just around
the corner.
Mendes
is an interesting case in that he is a number one contender who
has yet to appear on the main card of a UFC pay-per-view. Some
of that can be attributed to the relative youth of the featherweight
division in the promotion, but five decisions in six UFC and
WEC appearances have played a role, as well. The Team Alpha Male
product is big and strong with good conditioning, assets that
will aid him immensely if he is to upset Aldo.
The
champion’s standup is fearsome, as he can stand in the pocket
and punish foes with powerful kicks and counters. The speed and
accuracy of Aldo’s striking is unmatched at 145 pounds,
and his uncanny ability to control distance allows him to keep
the action upright for extended periods of time. Mendes began
his career as a wrestler with rudimentary skills in other areas,
but his standup has improved enough to become a viable weapon.
In his most recent victory over Rani Yahya, he displayed an attack
that included leg kicks, body punches and a flying knee. Still,
wrestling is Mendes’ bread and butter, and he has a powerful
right hand that allows him to transition to takedowns.
Kenny
Florian experienced brief success against Aldo by moving forward
and pressing the Nova Uniao representative against the cage in
the clinch. Mendes would be wise to do the same and hope that
he can drain Aldo’s gas tank as the contest advances into
the championship rounds. Hominick absorbed a tremendous amount
of punishment for four rounds against Aldo but mounted a rally
in the final frame as the champion became fatigued. Drawing Aldo
into a cardio-draining wrestling match is easier said than done,
however, because he has excellent takedown defense and is known
for throwing knees as opponents press forward. Aldo can limit
the threat of a Mendes takedown by starching him with thudding
inside leg kicks, many of which are preceded by punches to the
body.
Aldo
has an explosive shot himself and has proven capable of passing
guard with ease to set up short elbows and punches from the mount.
Mendes
is most dangerous when his opponent does not have the tools to
keep the fight standing. Neither Michihiro Omigawa nor Yahya
could threaten the 26-year-old Californian enough to prevent
him from dictating the location of the action. Aldo is a whole
different ballgame. If Urijah Faber had trouble closing the distance
against the Brazilian, it is hard to imagine his teammate having
much more success.
The
Pick: The X-factor in this bout revolves around how Aldo will
react if he is planted on his back. His underrated grappling
and submission game is rarely seen, but it could prove useful
against Mendes, who is as strong and physical as anyone Aldo
has faced. Mendes’ best chance is to tire out Aldo with
takedowns and ground-and-pound, but the Brazilian’s precise
striking is more than enough to deter that approach. Fighting
in his homeland will give Aldo added incentive to put on a show,
and he will deliver the finish that has been lacking in his last
two appearances. As Mendes’ takedown shots become less crisp,
Aldo will capitalize for a technical knockout in round three.
Middleweights
Vitor Belfort (20-9, 9-5 UFC) vs. Anthony Johnson (10-3, 7-3
UFC)
The
Matchup: Belfort is in the unique position of already having
his next six months planned out. Barring significant injury against
Johnson, “The Phenom” will coach opposite Wanderlei
Silva on “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” and face off
with “The Axe Murderer” at the show’s finale in
June. Belfort has lobbied for another shot at middleweight champion
Anderson Silva, but a rematch is unlikely without two victories
in the first half of 2012, beginning with Johnson.
Long
one of the largest fighters in the UFC at welterweight, Johnson
finally makes his middleweight debut. Normally well north of
200 pounds, “Rumble” faced one of the most difficult
weight cuts in the sport today to get to 170 pounds, which often
had adverse effects on his conditioning come fight night. The
tradeoff now is that, while he will not have quite the size advantage
he once did, improved stamina should make him that much more
dangerous.
The
term most often associated with Belfort and his striking seems
to be “blitz,” as the Brazilian’s hand speed allows
him to unleash blistering combinations before an opponent can
recover. Since his return to the UFC, Belfort has shown his frightening
standup in first-round finishes of both Rich Franklin and Yoshihiro
Akiyama. The 34-year-old southpaw is especially effective when
he connects with his powerful left hook.
While
Belfort possesses the significant edge in speed, Johnson presents
problems of his own with a four-inch reach advantage, as well
as knockout power. In recent bouts, “Rumble” has shown
a penchant for the head kick, including a finish of Charlie Brenneman
at UFC Live 6. Rather than trade with the explosive Belfort,
Johnson will want to try and mimic his performance against Dan
Hardy in March. There, Johnson used a wrestling-based attack
to control Hardy for three rounds to take home a decision.
Belfort
will be markedly more difficult to take down, but his wrestling
skills are modest at best. The Brazilian has struggled against
ground-and-pound attacks in the past, and Johnson, a former junior
college national champion wrestler, could plant seeds of doubt
in his mind with a similar approach. Belfort likes to lay back
and create angles to set up his punches, but this will be more
difficult to do against the rangy Johnson. He will have to come
forward with purpose and connect to avoid the takedowns of the
powerful American.
The
Pick: Belfort has a great jiu-jitsu background, and his ability
to pull off a submission could save him here. Expect Johnson
to be conservative from top position, however, attacking just
enough to avoid a restart. Positional control, combined with
his reach advantage, will be enough for Johnson to take a decision.
Middleweights
Rousimar Palhares (13-3, 6-2 UFC) vs. Mike Massenzio (13-5, 2-3
UFC)
The
Matchup: If he can overcome the mental lapses that sometimes
plague him in the cage, the physical tools are there for Palhares
to become a Top 10 middleweight.
In
his most recent appearance, “Toquinho” blasted Dan
Miller with a head kick and follow-up punches in the opening
round of their encounter at UFC 134, only to allow his opponent
a reprieve by prematurely celebrating a stoppage that did not
happen. Though Palhares ultimately won the decision, things would
have been easier if he had maintained his focus. It was not the
first questionable instance of the Brazilian’s career, either.
At UFC Fight Night 22, Palhares chose to protest to the referee
that Nate Marquardt was allegedly greasing, allowing his foe
to catch him off-guard with a punch and finish the fight.
Palhares
is a physically imposing 185-pounder who can finish a fight with
any number of leg locks. Heel hooks have been the method of choice
in the Octagon, and Massenzio would be wise to protect his legs
at all times. The Team Bombsquad product is a decorated wrestler
with solid conditioning, but he is going to find it difficult
to impose his will on Palhares in any area of the fight. Krzysztof
Soszynski stuffed multiple takedowns from Massenzio and overpowered
him on the ground. Though that bout was contested at light heavyweight,
Palhares possesses great upper body strength and figures to be
able to do the same.
The
Brazilian has more to his arsenal than just jiu-jitsu, as his
ground-and-pound from top position can be overwhelming, and he
is more than willing to exchange on the feet. Palhares does not
always strike with variety, but he hits harder than his opponent
here. Massenzio will need to demonstrate solid defensive wrestling
technique to stay alive, utilizing movement and under hooks to
frustrate Palhares. On the canvas, the Brazilian Top Team product
can hit one of his vaunted submissions in transitions and scrambles
and can sweep to get back to his feet if taken down.
If
Massenzio can survive the early onslaught and drag the bout to
the third round, he might be able to pull the upset, as Palhares
has been known to tire in the later stages of a fight.
The
Pick: Expect a more focused Palhares, who will be extremely aggressive
from the outset. He will batter Massenzio enough on the feet
early before forcing the action to the ground to earn a first-round
submission.
Lightweights
Edson Barboza (9-0, 3-0 UFC) vs. Terry Etim (15-3, 6-3 UFC)
The
Matchup: Barboza recently expressed an interest in dropping to
featherweight, but, for now, he remains one of the most promising
talents in the 155-pound division. The Brazilian has been tested
in recent bouts, prevailing against Anthony Njoukani and Ross
Pearson in competitive three-round battles. Those types of fights,
not one-sided blowouts, will aid him in his progression as his
skills continue to evolve.
Etim
made a spectacular return to the Octagon at UFC 138, submitting
Edward Faaloloto in just 17 seconds after an 18-month layoff.
The lanky Englishman combines aggressive standup with a well-rounded
submission game and has won five of his last six in the UFC.
In
most of his fights, the 6-foot-1 Etim can keep his opponents
at a safe distance, but that will not be the case against Barboza,
who possesses the reach advantage. This is a scary prospect for
Etim, whose long legs figure to be an easy target for the numbing
kicks of the Brazilian. The former Ring of Combat competitor
is more than capable of leg kicking an opponent into oblivion,
as Mike Lullo can attest. Barboza can land kicks from all angles
without telegraphing their arrival and will follow up with fast
and accurate punches. Both Pearson and Njoukani experienced their
greatest success against Barboza when they attacked aggressively
and disrupted his rhythm.
Etim
has a good chin, but he will want to initiate offense, as well,
or risk gradually being picked apart. It has not shown itself
in previous fights, but Barboza says he has been working on his
jiu-jitsu. That should prove useful against Etim, who has good
instincts for finishing with submissions. Etim struggles when
forced to work from his back, however, and while not known for
his wrestling, Barboza is strong enough to put him there.
The
Pick: The fun should start early in this one, as both men figure
to be willing to engage and exchange on the feet. It is hard
to go against Barboza’s power there, and the Brazilian should
be crafty and strong enough to avoid falling into the clutches
of one of Etim’s dangerous submissions. Barboza punishes
Etim standing en route to winning a unanimous decision.
Welterweights
Erick Silva (13-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Carlo Prater (29-10-1, 0-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: For the second time in two UFC appearances, Silva will
be facing a short-notice opponent. Originally scheduled to face
Mike Swick at UFC 134, the Brazilian prospect instead made short
work of countryman Luis Ramos. Silva displayed dangerous striking
in the brief outing, dropping Ramos with an overhand right before
finishing the contest on the ground with a flurry of strikes
in just 40 seconds.
Now,
he gets Carlo Prater, a former challenger for the World Extreme
Cagefighting 170-pound strap. The 30-year-old Prater had a productive
2011, winning four bouts in various promotions to earn his first
shot at the UFC. With wins over the likes of Melvin Guillard,
Carlos Condit and Spencer Fisher early in his career, Prater
has plenty of experience against top-notch competition and should
be able to test Silva in ways that Ramos could not.
A
Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Prater is not likely end a fight
with a highlight-reel knockout, but his transitions and slick
submissions on the ground have finished many a fight. While Silva
has earned seven of his 13 career victories via tapout, as well,
he will likely want to utilize his nearly five-inch reach advantage
to keep the fight standing. Prater is plenty durable, however,
and will be a tough out there.
The
Pick: Training with Team Nogueira is bound to keep a fighter’s
ground game sharp, and that will be the greatest threat Silva
faces from Prater. If he negates Prater’s skills there,
his striking will be enough to get the nod from the judges after
three competitive rounds.
Source
Sherdog
|
MMA
Link Club: Fan logic – Cyborg = bad woman, Sonnen = good
guy
By Zach
Arnold
Josh
Gross: Zuffa needs to step up and stomp out cheats
Many
will ask: Should it be on Zuffa to do this when the sport it
promotes is regulated by state governments, and when it is but
one of many promoters?
I’d
argue the answer is yes, and for the same reason UFC recently
and rightly awarded Duane Ludwig the distinction of owning the
19-year-old organization’s fastest knockout, even though
the Nevada Athletic Commission refused to correct an error that
“officially” said it wasn’t. Zuffa is more important
than any regulator, and has a vested interest in making sure
the sport continues forward, which also means that among young
fighters it’s considered the place to be. Why do they see
it that way now? The spoils. Money, prestige and fame of it all.
As
long as Sheldon Silver is in power, no legislation will pass
the state House.
And
I have serious reservations about the lawsuit going forward.
White
loves to brag that he never gave in to the siren’s song
of freak show fights, even when his company was struggling. And
while matching Santos up against one undersized opponent after
another isn’t exactly a freak show, neither is it indicative
of a genuine interest in women’s MMA. It’s a sideshow.
It’s the scary lady with the muscles against whichever brave
soul would take the fight. Now that that option has been eliminated,
at least for the time being, White and his crew would be smart
to move the spotlight further down the scale, where there’s
an actual division taking shape.
So,
everyone on Friday had a good laugh at Cyborg’s misfortune
of failing an IQ test (aka a California drug test). There were
the prerequisite ’she has balls’ jokes and even Kevin
Iole got into the swing of things by saying Cyborg failing a
drug test is as unsurprising as Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao
not happening.
I
get it. People got bored with her and some fans are still upset
that she knocked around Gina Carano, The Prettiest Girl In The
Gym. Congratulations. But, once again, what does it say about
MMA fans (who claim to be very serious about the integrity of
drug testing and of the sport) that there is only selective outrage
or glee when someone tests positive? So, Convict Chael Sonnen
gets rewarded with a big push and a rinky dink TV segment on
Fuel (the likes of which we haven’t seen since Andy Kaufman
appeared on The Jerry Lawler Show on WMC-TV). He also then gets
a continual pass from sycophantic supporters who merely say that
he’s a good liar and, hey, this is a business first and
sport second so the critics should therefore shut up. And, yet,
when some outrageously outrageous clean cut person fails a drug
test, time to unload the bombs and commence with the ball-cutting.
If
you’re duplicitous about the drug testing issue in MMA,
here’s some advice: keep quiet. I get the fact that this
is the fight game and that trying to argue stringent drug testing
protocols in MMA is a losing battle because fans don’t want
to spend any sort of time thinking about serious issues outside
of watching two people beat each other up. And if you are argue
for better drug testing based on health & safety reasons,
people roll their eyes when some pencil-pusher tries to make
the case using standard boilerplate e-mail lawyer-approved lingo.
The spin’s not going to work.
So,
how do you make the case that fans should treat the drug testing
issue with equal weight for each fighter? Easy. The same way
those fans throw the issue back at your face in the first place.
It’s two men or women punching each other or breaking bones
with ruthless aggression. Many fighters struggle to control themselves
from being consumed by destructive behavior. That’s why
referees exist. It’s why fighters get licensed. So, if you
agree that those elements need to exist in the first place, why
do you slack on fighters getting tested for substances that can
physically alter the impact of a fight and lead to serious head
trauma or serious damage to the fighter’s own body?
I
give the ‘let’s legalize all drugs’ crowd in MMA,
as much of a minority as they are, some credit. Sure, it’s
like a 20% segment of the fan base and they often come across
as enthusiastic, energized, and loud as Ron Paul supporters.
I respect that. At least they are willing to stand up to their
convictions, say what they mean and mean what they say. I don’t
agree with their take, but I respect it. At least there’s
clarity to the conviction.
Fair-weather
fight fans who laugh at Cyborg, give a pass to Sonnen, and ignore
Royce Gracie testing positive? You’re as popular as Jim
Rome’s new CBS Sports Network show is going to be. Welcome
to the Jungle of irrelevancy.
This
is why grown-ups like Dr. Margaret Goodman with the Voluntary
Anti-Doping Agency should be commended for their efforts to clean
up the fight game because there’s too many people who lack
the sack to go on the attack against doping.
Memo
to the fair-weather, duplicitous fans: When it comes to doping
in MMA, you’re entitled to your opinion but don’t expect
to have the God given right to turn around and ask why the media
in other parts of the sports world don’t take your opinion
seriously. Throwing a party and yucking it up when one fighter
gets caught doping while you switch into your F. Lee Bailey mode
when your favorite fighter gets caught cheating doesn’t
make you a winner, it makes you a loser.
Oh,
and by the way, if you’re still listening to Scott Coker
and think that he has any sort of power over Dana White’s
decision making, that makes you a professional loser as well.
It
was with Carano’s departure from the sport that we saw one
of the main problems facing women’s MMA, that of our need
for a Xena-like champion who is as dominant as she is beautiful.
Despite the fact that Cyborg displayed a supremacy unmatched
by any female figure in the sport, not one website, magazine,
or other publication mentioned her when discussing this whole
“face of women’s MMA” nonsense. Even in a sport
in which the competitors put their physical appearance on the
line with every fight, we simply didn’t want to accept the
fact that someone as…let’s say, homely, as Cyborg would
be its representative.
What
would be good for women’s MMA is if Dana White was serious
about actually promoting it the way he promotes male fighters.
He doesn’t have a legal responsibility to do so, but women’s
MMA right now faces the chicken & egg dilemma. Dana can let
the current crop of female fighters wither in the wind and if
female fighters go extinct, he couldn’t care less. So, there’s
that issue.
The
other issue is that Gina Carano decided to take the ‘out’
and get out of the business once she reached a point of no return.
That’s her choice and it’s a sound business decision…
for her. For women’s MMA? The impact of her leaving women’s
MMA on a mainstream level is on par with just how dependent Japanese
promoters were on Satoshi Ishii becoming successful and becoming
their native hero & savior to take the place of Hidehiko
Yoshida for the Japanese MMA scene.
I
have great respect and admiration for women’s MMA. However,
I’m not the kind of person in the target audience that the
sport needs to attract. They need casual MMA fans (the kind that
jack up Twitter when Gina is dancing) and only one promoter is
left in the business who can bring those fans… and that
promoter is not a fan of women’s MMA.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
UFC
142 Predictions
By Michael
David Smith
Will
Jose Aldo continue to run roughshod over the featherweight division?
Or will Chad Mendes pull off a huge upset in Aldo's homeland?
Will Anthony Johnson look even more powerful now that he's not
killing himself to cut down to welterweight? Or will Vitor Belfort's
patented power punches put Johnson to sleep? Will any of the
favored Brazilians lose in front of the fans in Rio?
I'll
attempt to answer those questions and more as I predict the winners
at UFC 142 below.
What:
UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes
When:
Saturday, the FX preliminary card begins at 8 p.m. ET and the
main card begins on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET.
Where:
HSBC Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Predictions
on the five pay-per-view fights below.
José
Aldo vs. Chad Mendes
The undefeated Mendes has talked in recent weeks about how he's
sure he has the right game plan for Aldo, and about how he has
the best wrestling credentials of anyone Aldo has ever fought,
and he's coming into this fight with a lot of confidence. And
if you look at the fight from a certain point of view, you can
see where that confidence comes from: Mendes has, after all,
used that superior wrestling to take decisions from some pretty
good opponents, and even though this will be Mendes' first five-round
fight, he may have a cardio edge over Aldo.
But
that's my analysis when I'm trying to look for a reason to think
Mendes could win. The hard truth for Mendes is that while he's
a better wrestler than anyone Aldo has ever fought before, Aldo
is a much, much, much better striker than anyone Mendes has ever
fought before. Aldo has become more cautious and tentative in
recent fights, and so I'm not expecting to see the kind of devastating
knockout that the Aldo of 2008-2009 could be counted on to provide.
But I am expecting Aldo to employ leg kicks to keep Mendes at
distance, perhaps some knees when Mendes shoots for takedowns,
and enough punches to bloody Mendes's face. This fight should
be another good opportunity for Aldo to show that he's hands
down the best featherweight in MMA.
Pick: Aldo
Vitor
Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson
Johnson's decision to move up to middleweight is long overdue
-- while fighting at welterweight he twice came in more than
five pounds over. So will he look better now that he's fighting
in a division where he can actually make weight comfortably?
I think he will, but I'm not sure how much of a difference that
makes because I see this fight as being more about Belfort's
power than Johnson's.
Belfort
has had five fights since moving down to middleweight in 2008,
and in four of them he knocked his opponent cold with punches.
In the fifth, he got knocked cold himself by Anderson Silva's
front kick. Johnson certainly has the ability to land a head
kick and knock Belfort out with it, but I see Belfort catching
Johnson with his hands down and knocking him out.
Pick: Belfort
Rousimar
Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio
Massenzio is a good wrestler and a Brazilian jiu jitsu black
belt, and he's coming off a solid win over Steve Cantwell at
UFC 136. But he's not even close to Palhares' level on the ground,
and I'll be surprised if this fight doesn't end with Palhares
cranking on Massenzio's leg, and Massenzio tapping.
Pick: Palhares
Erick
Silva vs. Carlo Prater
Silva made his UFC debut at the last Rio show and needed just
40 seconds to knock out Luis Ramos. Prater, who's finally making
his UFC debut 40 fights into his MMA career, has a good chin
and won't be knocked out as quickly as Ramos was. But Prater
took this fight on short notice and really isn't on the same
level as Silva, and it would be shocking if Silva doesn't win
this fight handily.
Pick: Silva
Edson
Barboza vs. Terry Etim
Barboza has built up a 9-0 record without ever really being tested
on the ground, and Etim has a very dangerous submission game
(he's won the Submission of the Night bonus in each of his last
three wins). So if he can get this fight to the ground, Etim
may just be the first person to beat Barboza. But Barboza is
such a lethal striker that I expect him to hurt Etim badly standing
up.
Pick: Barboza
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Dana
White Says Silva vs. Sonnen 2 Would be in a Soccer Stadium
It’s
no secret that a soccer stadium is on the UFC’s radar. The
promotion has been rumored to be scouting locations in Sao Paulo,
Brazil for early summer, which is coincidentally the time frame
for injured middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s return
to the Octagon.
UFC
president Dana White hasn’t exactly taken a hard stance
in deflecting the rumors of a record-breaking show in Brazil.
“What
happens is you guys get all this sneaky information and then
I say stuff at the press conference and my whole crew says, ‘What
are you doing?’” White commented following UFC 139,
before adding, “I don’t know if we’re going to
Sao Paulo in June and if Anderson Silva is headlining the card.
I have no clue. That would be awesome though,” a coy grin
plastered across his face.
In
a recent outtake from the new UFC Tonight series on Fuel TV,
White all but confirmed that if Chael Sonnen is victorious over
Mark Munoz this month at UFC on Fox 2, a rematch with Silva is
on tap for a soccer stadium in South America.
“Obviously
if Sonnen faces Anderson Silva, that’ll be a hot ticket.
People all over the world will want to see that fight,”
said the UFC boss. “If that fight goes down, it will probably
be in Brazil and it will probably be in a soccer stadium.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Sherdog’s
2011 Story of the Year: UFC, Fox’s 7-Year Hitch
By Jack
Encarnacao
It
was an idle Thursday afternoon in August. UFC President Dana
White, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, Georges St. Pierre, Rashad Evans,
Frankie Edgar and Chuck Liddell gathered in a Beverly Hills television
studio. A sports producer who was two months away from winning
a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmys was also there. Only
the media was invited. Joe Rogan was wearing a blazer.
This
had to be something big.
The
parties stood on the sleek set of Fox Sports and announced a
new television deal for the Ultimate Fighting Championship that
seemed a lifetime away just 10 years ago, when the Fertittas
bought the ailing fight league for $2 million and got it back
on cable pay-per-view.
It
was announced that UFC fight cards would air four times a year,
in primetime, on what most years is the most-watched network
in America among men ages 18 to 34. The same network that broadcasts
the Super Bowl and the World Series unveiled a promotional video
that branded UFC fighters “The Heroes of a New Generation.”
It
was heady stuff, almost too much to process without the benefit
of hindsight. For all that the UFC signing with Fox means, and
all that it could mean, the deal is Sherdog.com’s “Story
of the Year” for 2011. It could easily end up the story
of the decade.
“What
we’ve done the last 10 years means nothing compared to the
next two years,” White said on the debut of “UFC Tonight”
on Fuel TV, part of a slew of new UFC programming that comes
with the Fox deal. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.
A lot of people are going to be watching now that have never
seen the UFC before.”
The
UFC coming to Fox was the biggest story in a year that seemed
to have a disproportionately large pool of candidates. The UFC
blindsided the MMA world with its purchase of competitor Strikeforce
in the spring, leading to several fighters jumping ship to the
Octagon. Media giant Viacom purchased a majority share in the
fledgling Bellator Fighting Championships, an eyebrow-raising
investment in the sport. The MMA scene in Japan, once the sport’s
center of gravity, depressed considerably, including the apparent
end of K-1 after 28 years in business. The UFC hired an attorney
to sue New York State in an attempt to overturn the ban on MMA
there. Fedor Emelianenko fell from his perch, Dan Henderson climbed
back atop his and Jon Jones had the most remarkable 12 months
any mixed martial artist ever has.
The
UFC’s landmark Fox deal
sent shockwaves through the sport.
None
of these developments, though, represent the game-changing promise
of the television deal that began on Jan. 1, 2012. Worth a reported
$90-100 million per year, the arrangement moves “The Ultimate
Fighter” and some hype specials to FX and morphs Fuel TV
into a quasi-UFC network. Most importantly, the quarterly events
on Fox give the UFC nothing short of the optimal platform to
promote its stars and make new ones.
“Creating
stars that people care about -- and not just one star at a time
but multiple stars that people actually care about -- that’s
what sustains the interest in the sport first and foremost,”
Fox Sports President Eric Shanks told the Sherdog Radio Network’s
“Rewind” program shortly after the deal was
announced.
Then
the fact that you put on really consistent, really upscale matches
and performances and fights from all those stars.”
The
first fighter to seize the spotlight was Junior dos Santos, who,
on Nov. 12, knocked out Cain Velasquez in 64 seconds to become
heavyweight champion in the inaugural fight on Fox. It was the
most-viewed bout and overall broadcast in the history of MMA
on American television, peaking at 8.8 million viewers during
the title fight. Boxing has not done a bigger audience since
2003. Among Men 18-34, a key demographic to advertisers and networks,
the one-fight event finished second behind a college football
game as the most watched show on all of television that Saturday.
The broadcast also did tremendous numbers on Fox Sports Deportes
and on network television in Brazil.
While
the main event was truncated, the broadcast, which also harped
on the fight between heavyweight contenders Alistair Overeem
and Brock Lesnar, provided a glimpse of the UFC’s philosophy
for the Fox specials: use the unprecedented exposure to introduce
or establish challengers who will go for gold on pay-per-view,
the UFC’s bread-and-butter source of cash. The next FOX
special, on Jan. 28 in Chicago, will feature Rashad Evans vs.
Phil Davis to likely decide a challenger for Jones on pay-per-view
and Chael Sonnen vs. Mark Munoz and Michael Bisping vs. Demian
Maia to decide a challenger for a pay-per-view crack at Anderson
Silva.
Dos
Santos seized the Fox spotlight.
The
pressure on UFC brass was clear before, during and after the
Nov. 12 broadcast, which left a lot of pay-per-view money on
the table in an effort to make a favorable impression. The short
main event was largely considered a disappointment, and the decision
to only broadcast that fight and not a “Fight of the Year”
candidate between Ben Henderson and Clay Guida was roundly criticized.
All
was right in Zuffaland, however, when the ratings came in and
showed the UFC had eclipsed any other MMA fight that had been
on network television, including the record-holding Kimbo Slice
vs. James Thompson fight on CBS in 2008.
The
Fox deal promises to put the UFC on par with other major sports,
not only from a television platform perspective but also from
a revenue perspective. While an improvement over the reported
$35 million the UFC was receiving annually from Spike TV, the
$90-100 million from Fox is still a far cry from the kind of
cash that allows other pro sports leagues to thrive solely off
television licensing. If the UFC can grow its ratings appreciably
on Fox over the next seven years, it could be in a position to
command rights fees on the order of Major League Baseball ($702
million) or the National Basketball Association ($930 million)
for fights that are free to the public.
It
may sound like a tall order, but consider how much the UFC grew
the value of its product in just six years on Spike. The company
had to pay all the production costs for the first season of “The
Ultimate Fighter” just to get on the air. By the time Season
10 hit just four years later, the thought was that Spike would
not be able to afford the UFC anymore, as Spike TV President
Kevin Kay explained in an interview on the Sherdog Radio Network
“Rewind.”
“I
think, to be realistic, we’ve always thought that there
might be a time that we wouldn’t be in the UFC business
anymore, just because the rights fees might become astronomical,”
Kay said. “I think if you look back at ‘The Ultimate
Fighter 10,’ the Kimbo [Slice] year when the ratings kind
of skyrocketed, that was the moment where I thought, like, this
is good news and bad news. The good news is we’d love to
have these ratings all the time. The bad news is it’s not
likely that it’s going to repeat at that level any time;
it was kind of an anomaly. And the other part of the bad news
is it’s just going to raise the price again. That’s
the way the business runs.”
While
the UFC will not ever outgrow Fox’s financial reserve, it
has a chance over the next seven years to foster a bidding war
for its content and as much as quadruple its money. If it plays
out that way, we will look back on the August 2011 press conference
in Beverly Hills as the day the sport took the definitive step
in carving a permanent spot in the U.S. sports culture.
Source:
Sherdog
|
120
different ways of pushing up, by Martin Rooney
Luca Atalla
GRACIEMAG’s
resident fitness expert Martin Rooney is an exercise collector.
Over the last decade traveling the globe, he has discovered over
120 versions of the pushup and has created his first app to challenge
you with his entire collection called Pushup Warrior. If you
have an iPhone, iPod or iPad, enjoy body weight training or are
looking for a new variety of workouts, Pushup Warrior has what
you need. For added incentive to check out this best-selling
app, here are the top 5 reasons you should get Pushup Warrior:
1.
Relative body strength is critical for success on the mat.
2. The pushup is a fantastic way to develop upper body and core
strength.
3. The app records all your pushups and rates your progress for
continued motivation in 2012.
4. With over 60 different workouts, you will not run out of training
ideas.
5. At .99 cents the app cost less than the amount of change in
your couch cushions.
If
those reasons don’t grab you, here are a couple more that
might work:
6.
Pushup Warrior will help you get so strong you will eventually
view the pushup as an Earth Down.
7. Chuck Norris will have a poster of you in his room when you
reach Pushup Warrior red belt.
8. You can finally stop buying schmedium shirts and go for the
large.
Pushup
Warrior is available on iTunes and in the App Store or at www.pushupwarrior.com.
Start 2012 off strong and train to take your Jiu Jitsu game to
the next level!
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Edson
Barboza confident he can surprise you and Terry Etim on the ground
By Guilherme
Cruz
Edson
Barboza Junior did the best fight of UFC Rio, on August of 2011,
as he defeated Ross Pearson, and returns to the cage at UFC 142,
again on the Wonderful City, next Saturday (14), with the goal
of overcoming the English Terry Etim.
The
Brazilian athlete guarantees to be on his best shape ever to
remain undefeated in MMA. “The trainings were perfect for
this fight”, he says.
Terry
Etim told TATAME he believes on his ground game to overcome Edson,
but Barboza, a blue belt at Jiu-Jitsu with Pablo Popovitch, Roberto
Cyborg and Vagner Rocha as his training partners, warns it won’t
be that easy to do.
"I’m
glad because each day that goes by I can see how I’ve evolved,
my training partners are getting better and better and that builds
up my confidence. People who don’t believe it that much
can get surprised”, guarantees, keeping his hopes high.
“My goal is to be a UFC champion”.
Source:
Tatame
|
Dana
White: Rashad Evans Wins and Remains Injury Free, He Gets Bones
Jones Next
by Damon
Martin
When
Rashad Evans faces Phil Davis at UFC on Fox 2 on Jan. 28 in Chicago,
he will control his own destiny and his goal of facing former
friend and training partner Jon “Bones” Jones next.
Speculation
began to swirl last week after UFC president Dana White said
in an interview that Jones was already done with his vacation
and looking to get back in action sooner rather than later. He
mentioned that Jones could potentially face former Strikeforce
light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson next, with most pointing
at the UFC 145 fight card in Montreal as a possible landing spot.
While
anything is still possible, on Tuesday when speaking with the
Jim Rome Show, White said that Jones is indeed ready to get back
in the cage, but if Evans wins on Jan. 28 and comes out unscathed,
he’ll get his chance to face the champion.
“We’re
working on it now. We’re going to obviously see what happens
in this Rashad fight at the end of the month. The next fight
on Fox, Rashad is fighting (Phil) Davis, so we’ll see what
happens there,” White said on Tuesday.
“If
Rashad wins, if Rashad comes out injury free, we’ll get
the Jon ‘Bones’ Jones/Rashad Evans fight going.”
That’s
obviously good news for Evans, who had to be curious what the
next course of action would be should he defeat Davis.
Evans
was always assured of a title shot with a win, but now that Jones
is ready to return and the UFC 145 card in Montreal needs a main
event, it just seemed to make sense to put the UFC light heavyweight
champion at the top of that card.
As
for Dan Henderson, he may have just become the biggest Phil Davis
fan in the sport, because if Davis upsets Evans, then the longtime
UFC and former Pride fighter will most likely get the next shot
at Jones.
The
UFC on Fox 2 main event will tell the tale however. If Evans
wins and comes out injury free, he may finally get his chance
to settle the score with Jon Jones in the Octagon.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
142 Aldo vs. Mendes (UFC Rio 2) Tomorrow
Date: January
14, 2012
Venue: HSBC Arean
Location: Brazil
Hawaii
Air Times
UFC Prelims 3:00-4:00PM Channel 554 (FX)
UFC 142 5:00-8:00PM Channel 701
Main
Card (on Pay-Per-View):
-Jose Aldo (21-1; #1 Featherweight) vs. Chad Mendes (11-0; #2
Featherweight)
-Vitor Belfort (20-9; #8 Middleweight) vs. Anthony Johnson (10-3)
-Rousimar Palhares (13-3) vs. Mike Massenzio (13-5)
-Erick Silva (13-1) vs. Carlo Prater (29-10-1)
-Edson Barboza, Jr. (9-0) vs. Terry Etim (15-3)
Preliminary
Bouts (on FX):
-Thiago Tavares (16-4-1) vs. Sam Stout (17-6-1)
-Gabriel Gonzaga (12-6) vs. Edinaldo Oliveira (13-0-1)
-Yuri Alcantara (26-3) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (13-10-1)
-Ricardo Funch (8-2) vs. Mike Pyle (21-8-1)
Preliminary
Bout (on Facebook):
-Felipe Arantes (13-4) vs. Antonio Carvalho (13-4)
*Based
on the MMAWeekly.com World MMA Rankings
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
141 Drug Tests Clean; Overeem Has Two Left
by Ken
Pishna
The
UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem drug test results are in, and despite
the numerous assumptions about both Brock Lesnar and Alistair
Overeem, neither tested positive for any prohibited substances.
Every
fighter on the UFC 141 fight card, save for Jon Fitch, was tested
for both drugs of abuse and performance enhancing substances,
such as steroids. The 19 fighters tested all came back clean.
Fitch
was not tested, according to Nevada State Athletic Commission
executive director Keith Kizer, because “he lost.”
Overeem
and Lesnar were both tested well ahead of the event as well,
as required by the NSAC. Overeem did go through some turmoil,
however, and had to meet several special stipulations because
of how he and his camp responded to the commission’s initial
drug test requirement.
Overeem
was drug tested twice prior to UFC 141, again on fight night,
and must undergo two more post-fight tests over the next six
months to satisfy the conditions set forth by the Nevada commission.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Closing
the Distance
By Brian
Knapp
The HSBC Arena, a 15,000-seat multi-purpose facility in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, sits roughly 6,500 miles away from Hanford,
Calif., the hometown of Chad Mendes.
The
unbeaten Mendes (11-0, 2-0 UFC) on Saturday will set out to prove
not nearly as much distance separates his skills from those of
reigning featherweight king Jose Aldo, as the 26-year-old challenges
the dynamic Brazilian champion for his 145-pound crown in the
UFC 142 main event. The chance to unseat Aldo in his homeland
intrigues Mendes, who secured the opportunity to do so with back-to-back
wins over 2009 Sengoku Raiden Championship featherweight grand
prix finalist Michihiro Omigawa and 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club
Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist Rani Yahya.
“For
me, it’s a great experience. Brazil is the birthplace of
MMA,” Mendes said during a pre-fight teleconference. “Going
over there and beating a champion in his own backyard ... to
me, there’s no better way to prove that I’m the best
145-pound [fighter]. Overall, I’m feeling great. This camp
has gone very, very smooth [and] maybe [has me in] the best shape
that I’ve ever been in, and I’m excited to get in there
and showcase it.”
Perfect
and virtually unscathed through 11 professional appearances,
Mendes has not fought since he defeated Yahya by unanimous decision
at UFC 133 in August. The gravity of his situation and the opportunity
being placed before him finally registered on New Year’s
Eve, two weeks to the day before his scheduled encounter with
Aldo.
“I
had a surreal moment the other night,” Mendes said. “On
New Year’s, I was in my living room watching Times Square,
you know, watching the ball drop. Behind one of the guys performing
on stage, there was a big poster of me and Jose in the background
-- in Times Square. It’s just crazy to think, a little under
three and a half years ago, I was still in college.
“This
trip into MMA: it’s been a very fast ride,” he added.
“It’s just been an awesome, awesome experience for
me. Just sitting there realizing that was kind of surreal. I
knew that I would be good at the sport, but, to me, fighting
as a main event and for the title with 11 fights, it’s awesome.”
One-sided
wins over Mendes’ Team Alpha Male mentor Urijah Faber and
American Top Team’s Mike Thomas Brown notwithstanding, it
could be argued that Aldo has never faced a wrestler the caliber
of his current foe. A two-time Pac-10 Conference champion and
NCAA All-American at California Polytechnic State University,
Mendes went 30-1 as a senior and reached the national final at
141 pounds.
“I
think Jose’s takedown defense is great, especially up against
the cage, but the only difference with guys [like] Urijah and
Mike Brown is neither of those guys really have an explosive
shot,” he said. “My style of shot is more of an explosive,
kind of just blast-you-off-your-feet takedown, and a lot of the
time those are harder to defend. I believe what I have and what
I can do is going to work.”
Much
has been made of Aldo’s decision to train with UFC lightweight
contender Gray Maynard, himself a decorated amateur wrestler,
in the weeks leading up to the matchup. Mendes shrugs off the
alliance.
“I
don’t care who he trains with,” he said. “I train
with some of the best guys in the world. I’ve been wrestling
since I was 5 years old. It’s what I’ve done my entire
life. I haven’t taken a year off -- ever. For wrestling,
I don’t care who he works with. He can work with the best
wrestler in the entire world for his camp. [Aldo’s] wrestling
is not going to be anywhere near as good as mine. I’m sure
he understands that.”
Aldo
(20-1, 2-0 UFC) has long established himself as one of the sport’s
pound-for-pound greats, first through his historic tear in World
Extreme Cagefighting and now in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The 25-year-old Nova Uniao ace will enter the cage on a 13-fight
winning streak, having defeated three-time UFC title contender
Kenny Florian by unanimous decision in October. A world-class
Brazilian jiu-jitsu player and explosive standup fighter with
thunder in his hands, knees and feet, Aldo has delivered more
than half (14) of his 20 professional victories by knockout,
technical knockout or submission. However, he has been forced
to go the distance in three of his last four appearances.
Aldo
has won 13 straight.
“I definitely have seen things that give me confidence,”
Mendes said. “I don’t think Jose has any holes or any
cracks in his game. I think, if anything, he has some areas that
aren’t quite as strong as others, but I don’t see any
holes. I feel the same way about my game. I don’t feel like
I have any holes. I’m young in the sport, but I’m learning
fast and I feel great about every part of my game.
“The
last two [Aldo] fights are fights I’ve watched a lot and
sat down and picked apart,” he added. “It’s something
that’s helped us put together a great game plan for this
fight. I’m feeling confident coming into this fight that
I’m going to be able to do it.”
Still,
Mendes has watched, along with the rest of the MMA world, as
one challenger after another has fallen short of the mark against
Aldo: Florian, Brown, Mark Hominick, Manny Gamburyan, Cub Swanson
and Jonathan Brookins, to name but a few.
“I
think a lot of fighters get in there and try and stand in front
of him too much,” Mendes said. “You’ve got to
keep the pressure on Jose. He’s the type of fighter that
will take you apart. He’s very explosive with his standup,
and he has pinpoint accuracy. I think guys need to get in there
and get their hands on him more. I don’t think any of the
guys who have fought him have the wrestling credentials or the
wrestling abilities to be able to get a hold of Jose and get
him down and hold him there.”
Aldo’s
list of victims includes Faber, whom he battered with ferocious
leg kicks en route to a one-sided unanimous decision at WEC 48
in April 2010. Mendes believes he can learn from his teammate’s
mistakes.
“Going
into that fight, we knew Jose had leg kicks, but it wasn’t
something that was a red flag,” he said. “Sitting down
with Urijah and talking to him about his experience in there
with Jose, we’ve figured out where he’s stronger and
where he’s a little bit more weak. We’ve gone over
situations and set up something that’s really going to be
great.”
Despite
the golden opportunity in front of him, Mendes thinks the pressure
to perform falls squarely upon the champion.
“I’m
in the best spot possible. I think Jose has all the pressure
on his shoulders.”
-- Chad Mendes, UFC title contender
“I think that definitely it’s the biggest fight and
going to be the biggest night of my career, but I’m super
excited,” he said. “I’m in the best spot possible.
I think Jose has all the pressure on his shoulders. He’s
the one fighting in front of his home crowd. He has the belt.
He’s the one that has to deal with all the pressure. I’m
the up-and-comer. I’m the underdog. I’m the one coming
into this fight that everyone’s kind of overlooking. I feel
confident that my skills, the things that I’m good at, are
going to be able to beat him.”
Mendes
sounds like a man prepared to seize the moment.
“I’ve
just been living the dream. I’m out here in Sacramento getting
to train with all my buddies every day, getting to travel all
over the world. It’s just something I’m definitely
soaking up,” he said. “I’m taking every day one
at a time and just loving life. I know that I only have a short
window in my life to do this kind of stuff, and this is that
time. I realize that.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Five
big items of fallout from the two NYE shows
By Zach
Arnold
Very
sad & discouraging to hear the news about 30-year old DEEP
fighter Tomoya Miyashita dying on New Year’s Eve. He had
fought one round of cancer (seminoma) and then was diagnosed
with leukemia and lost the battle. He had a personal blog online
at Ameba where he commented on his struggles and also posted
pictures of those in the fight community who came to visit with
him.
Steve
Cofield & Cagewriter.com/Yahoo Sports team discuss Brock’s
UFC retirement
1.
Expect a legal war between UFC & WWE over Brock Lesnar
Dave
Meltzer claims that the Brock ‘retirement’ rumors were
floating around all week long. If that’s the case, I find
it kind of odd that Dana White wouldn’t know it was coming.
Nevertheless, I’m sure UFC had an inkling in their back
of their minds that this was a possibility.
WWE
right now is desperate to bring back an old name and Brock fits
the bill. The problem? He’s not going to generate the same
kind of buzz that The Rock did and if Rock can’t heavily
move the PPV needle for WWE, Brock won’t either. Which means
we could easily see Vince McMahon overvalue Brock and pay him
more than he’s worth. It also means that UFC, not wanting
to lose any of their PPV customer base, will fight tooth and
nail in court to prevent Brock from going back to WWE.
From
UFC’s perspective, it’s totally understandable why
they don’t want Brock heading back to Vinceworld. If Brock
averages 1M PPV buys at $55USD versus Jon Jones drawing 400,000
buys at $55USD, that gap is $33 million dollars. Even if UFC
only gets half of that after distributors take their cut, that’s
$16.5M USD. That money pays some real bills.
Ask
yourself this — if UFC goes to Vince and asks for, say,
$10M or $15M in order to allow him to go back to WWE, is Brock
worth it? The idea, of course, is that Brock would be a Wrestlemania
headliner. If WWE goes ahead and puts their ‘PPV big shows’
on their WWE network in 2012, then the move does not make much
financial sense. At that point, it’s likely that we would
see Brock and WWE go to court to try to get out of the UFC deal.
What
makes the situation so ironic is that WWE is now likely going
to be Brock’s legal tag team partner. Brock was able to
pry loose away from WWE because he wanted to wrestle in a different
country. He doesn’t have that legal out this time around.
It helps to have WWE legal on your side but UFC is quite a strong
court opponent as well.
2.
Alistair Overeem is on his way to becoming the biggest global
MMA star
He
is, by far, the biggest non-Japanese name UFC has on their roster
that they could draw a substantial house with in Japan given
his K-1 background. In Europe, Overeem is also well-known. With
a win over Brock Lesnar, the US mainstream media tried their
best to ignore him after his win over Brock and instead focus
on Brock retiring. That will work for a couple more days, at
best.
Overeem
is the perfect guy to be an ace for UFC in a lot of ways. If
he can beat Junior dos Santos (a challenge indeed), Zuffa will
hand someone as their ace a fighter who is experienced, confident,
extremely talented, and very articulate when doing the media
rounds. It’s unfortunate that K-1 is dead because I would
have loved to have seen him continue his kickboxing career on
a high level. Nonetheless, I’m pleased to see him faring
well in MMA and silencing his critics.
3.
Fedor is as beloved in Japan in 2012 as he was in 2005
The
most remarkable, yet predictable development this week between
the UFC & Inoki NYE shows was the revival of Fedor’s
star power. On a fight card that was literally promoted as a
one-match show, it ended up becoming a one-man show and that
man was Fedor. I’m not just talking about his fight performance
against Satoshi Ishii, either. In the press and amongst the fans,
the Inoki NYE show was all about Fedor’s return to Japan.
He got an incredibly positive reaction from the fans who still
romanticize about the PRIDE days. While nostalgia acts tend to
fade quickly, Fedor has a few advantages in his favor that will
allow him to be a headliner in Japan for as long as he wants
to be one.
Japanese
matchmaking usually breaks down into three categories: native
vs. foreigner (always been most successful formula), native vs.
native, and foreigner vs. foreigner. Because the purses in Japan
have gotten smaller, much of the top flight foreign talent is
with the UFC. Native vs. native fights tend to have a high burnout
ratio and they can be more damaging for promoters in Japan than
other formulas. Foreigner vs. foreigner is the worst scenario.
What
made Fedor/Ishii so intriguing is that the fans treated it for
what it was — foreigner vs. foreigner. However, they decided
to consider Fedor as a native hero coming back home, so it became
native vs. foreigner with Ishii being the outsider (and rightfully
so). I didn’t see numbers for the gate released on the newspaper
sites, but I know on TV the number 25,000 was claimed. Yeah,
OK. Nonetheless, the Inoki 2011 NYE show will go down as the
show where Fedor made his triumphant return back home to where
he made his bones. Good for him for finding the perfect landing
place for the end of his career.
M-1
is quoted as saying that Fedor will fight in Russia either in
March or April and then have a fight in Monaco.
Read
the comments section where I address criticism towards Fedor
for the Inoki show not drawing well.
4.
Satoshi Ishii’s career prospects as a high-level MMA fighter
have been neutered
Satoshi
Ishii says that his fight with Fedor yesterday was his last match
in Japan and that he will aim his sights to emigrating to the
States in order to fight in the UFC. Delusional.
Ishii
got promptly hammered in the daily newspapers for his showing
against Fedor. Words like ‘humiliating,’ ‘crushing,’
and ‘rock bottom’ were used. I wouldn’t say it
was bad as the beating he took last year in the press when he
got booed loud by the fans against Jerome Le Banner… but
it’s close. If Inoki wanted to protect Ishii, the press
would have held back some of their fire. For the second year
in the row, they haven’t held anything back.
The
Japanese MMA game desperately needed someone to fill the void
as the ace that the country could rely upon to enter the real
world of MMA. Ishii’s career failure has consequences far
beyond just his own financial situation. Fairly or unfairly,
his demise impacts a lot of people.
5.
Antonio Inoki’s shadow war on NYE and the results it produced
On
Christmas Eve, I talked about Inoki’s shadow war on NYE
and the annual 1/4 Tokyo Dome show that New Japan has produced
for many years. While DREAM did not get Tokyo Broadcasting Support
for the Saitama Super Arena event, you would have to classify
the show as a win for Inoki’s vision of blending MMA &
wrestling fights together.
Don’t
get me wrong — I’m not saying that I approve of the
vision. I’d be just fine separating the MMA & wrestling
fights from each other. However, I’m not offended by the
mixture of the bouts on a single card, either. The anger &
frustration from both foreign MMA fans online & the hardcore
Japanese DREAM fans was brutally palpable, almost borderline
hysterical. I get it. MMA is a sport, pro-wrestling is not. Newsflash:
in 2012, pro-wrestling is still covered as a sport in the sports
section of media outlets in Japan. The fans may know what’s
up in regards to the differences between MMA & pro-wrestling
but it’s still all a ‘fantasy fight’ to them just
like it always has been to Antonio Inoki. Plus, the numbers are
against the hardcore fans. For casual Japanese fight fans, hardcore/casual
pro-wrestling fans, and a decent portion of Japanese MMA fans…
they didn’t mind the mixed matchmaking concept at all.
In
many ways, Inoki won the NYE battle in terms of the creative
direction that the Japanese fight industry is headed towards.
None of the DREAM guys (Aoki, Kawajiri, Takaya) got any serious
media play in the newspapers or on TV. They simply don’t
draw heavy fan support and that’s not because they’re
MMA fighters, it’s because they just don’t appeal to
the masses. The wrestling bouts on the NYE card drew solid headlines
in the press. A smiling Sakuraba and an excellent Josh Barnett
showing drew way more attention than Aoki got for making his
friend Satoru Kitaoka gurgle on his own blood.
Aoki
is a very interesting character for a lot pf reasons. No matter
how violent he gets on New Year’s Eve, the masses in Japan
largely ignore him. He can break someone’s arm in a disgusting
manner, he can make his friend taste his own blood… and
nobody cares. Aoki was teamed with Inoki for the last two weeks
to do the media rounds to promote the NYE show… and Inoki
got all the attention. Fedor got all the attention. Aoki? Largely
meaningless to the public. In many regards, Aoki is viewed with
much more respect by the world MMA community than he is in Japan.
It’s quite a remarkable situation. Only a few Japanese fighters
have experienced that. The one that comes to mind is Tsuyoshi
Kohsaka. He was in RINGS early, he went to UFC, he came back
to RINGS and still was second dog to Kiyoshi Tamura.
Back
to Inoki for a second… The fans yesterday popped as much
for the wrestling fights as they did for the MMA bouts and the
wrestling matches Inoki often books are nowhere near the same
in quality as NOAH or New Japan matches are. In many ways, I
felt like the fans cheering for Sakuraba in a tag match and Josh
Barnett pulling off what he did to Hideki Suzuki was a sentimental
tribute to the days of UWF. I’m not ready to predict that
the Japanese MMA scene will transform back to the days of the
UWF in the 1980s but there’s a strong possibility that we
could end up seeing Inoki pushing a UWF-style product to come
on a large scale to fill that void between traditional Japanese
pro-wrestling and pure MMA. In that sense, he may have very well
gotten the last laugh yesterday.
As
for Inoki celebrating himself yearly on the big NYE stage…
I
totally understand the mass confusion he creates. A lot of times,
nobody else in Japan knows what he’s doing either. I remember
several years ago when Brock Lesnar headlined the worst-drawing
Tokyo Dome event for a wrestling card (October 2003), Antonio
Inoki had someone come out during his ring introduction as a
character from the Edo period with a basket on their head. Inoki
loves to celebrate history, he loves obscure references, and
he loves to talk about history that revolves around his whole
life & career. HDNet should be embarrassed that they called
Tiger Jeet Singh a terrorist but… it is what it is. Jeet
Singh and his son were brought in for the Inoki segment because
Tiger was Inoki’s top gaijin rival and Tiger’s tag
partner, the late Umanosuke Ueda, died last week at the age of
71. Ueda’s photo was the one they focused on during the
interview. Ueda brought ‘weapons’ into the fold in
Japanese wrestling with the sword and the bamboo stick. So, when
all this crazy talk starts happening during an Inoki skit, I
sympathize with the legions of people who have zero clue what
the hell he is talking about. Maybe 20 people on the planet could
watch that skit and put 2 + 2 together. Scarily, I’m one
of those people and it makes feel really, really old as a human
being… even when I’m not. Inoki talks about his past
days in the Showa era as if it yesterday and not, say, 40 or
50 years ago.
Inoki
is Inoki, Japan is Japan, and the prospects of a pure MMA product
working again on a consistent basis in the post-PRIDE era without
any sort of network TV support is dead on arrival.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
UFC
142: By the Odds
By Ben
Fowlkes
The
last time the UFC went to Rio de Janeiro, it was a learning experience
for everyone -- particularly those of us in the media who needed
a solid hour to find our way into the arena.
Among
the other lessons we learned that night was: bet against a Brazilian
in Brazil, and you'd better be prepared never to see that money
again.
Of
the eight foreigners who faced Brazilians at UFC 134, only one
-- Stanislav Nedkov -- left Rio a winner. Granted, it's a small
sample size from which to form broad conclusions, but it does
give us something to think about heading into UFC 142 on Saturday
night. All four foreigners on the main card come in as underdogs
to one degree or another. Surely there must be at least one Stanislav
Nedkov in the bunch, but who's it going to be?
Jose
Aldo (-250) vs. Chad Mendes (+200)
The
tough part about analyzing two fighters who have 32 fights and
only one loss between them is that there's not much of a blueprint
for defeat on either man. Mendes has about half as many fights,
but he's never been beaten. Aldo's lost once, but I think we
can all agree that he's come a long way since "Jungle Fight
5," which was more than six years ago. While it's possible
that Mendes could be knocked out or Aldo could be totally outwrestled,
we haven't seen either scenario play out in the cage before.
So why do oddsmakers favor Aldo so heavily?
For
starters, Aldo's been tested. He's beaten the likes of Kenny
Florian, Mark Hominick, and Urijah Faber, which, let's be honest,
is far more impressive than Mendes' list of victims. Aldo's win
over Faber alone -- who seems like a more experienced and well-rounded
version of Mendes -- is probably enough to justify the line all
by itself. You factor in the home country advantage, which could
really make a difference in the very likely event that the fight
goes the distance, and suddenly the numbers start to make a lot
of sense. It's not at all far-fetched to think that Mendes could
wear Aldo out over the course of five rounds. After all, we saw
how Aldo faded in the Hominick fight. But if Aldo is of sound
mind and body here, it seems more likely that he'll purée
Mendes' legs with kicks the same way he did to Faber's.
My pick: Aldo. I'll admit that I had to talk myself down from
the underdog pick, and I still think Mendes might be worth small
action if the line creeps past +250. But it's hard for me to
go against the champ in his own backyard.
Vitor
Belfort (-120) vs. Anthony Johnson (-110)
This
one is basically a pick-em that oddsmakers have cleverly skewed
in their favor, and why not? It's the kind of fight that derelict
sports gamblers love, because you can talk yourself into believing
almost anything about it. Belfort fans will convince themselves
that this is another blitzkrieg knockout in the making, while
"Rumble" supporters can be certain that their man will
be an unstoppable juggernaut in his new weight class. So who's
right? I'd put my money on the Johnson camp, but not by much.
Belfort is always a danger in the first few minutes of any fight,
but the threat-level diminishes significantly as soon as he hears
the words 'round two.' Johnson's never been knocked out in his
MMA career, and you have to think he'll only be better at tiring
out and breaking down opponents now that he's gone up a weight
class. Both these guys hit hard enough to reduce any reasoned
analysis to an unpredictable game of drunken rock-paper-scissors
in the end, but Johnson has more ways to win and fewer ways to
lose.
My pick: Johnson. Who knows if he'll make it out of the arena
in one piece if he beats a Brazilian MMA icon like Belfort, but
I like his chances to take this into the later rounds and win
a decision or a late stoppage.
Rousimar
Palhares (-485) vs. Mike Massenzio (+385)
On
skill alone, sure, Palhares deserves to be this big of a favorite.
But as we've seen in the past, when Palhares fights it's not
always that simple. To put it gently, the guy's a bit of a head
case. Remember when he decided to try and call a mid-fight timeout
against Nate Marquardt? How about when he leapt on top of the
cage in celebration of a victory that he hadn't yet achieved
in his fight with Dan Miller? Then there's the other end of the
spectrum, like when he refused to release Tomasz Drwal from a
heel hook even after the fight was clearly over. One bizarre
incident might be a fluke, but Palhares has established a habit
of weirdo happenings. Is it worth the risk that one such mental
mishap could hand a victory to the major underdog Massenzio?
If Massenzio were just a little better, and maybe not so dependent
on his wrestling, I might say yes. Against Palhares, however,
I fear he has the exact wrong style to take advantage of a guy
whose brain isn't always operating in perfect harmony with his
body.
My pick: Palhares. But you know what? He's so mercurial I don't
even want him in my parlay. There's just too great a chance that
he'll screw everything up by deciding to quit in the middle of
the fight and go work a concession stand instead.
Erick
Silva (-485) vs. Carlo Prater (+385)
We
still haven't seen enough of Erick Silva to have a great handle
on what he's capable of, but what we have seen has been pretty
impressive. He starched Luis Ramos in his Octagon debut the last
time the UFC was in Rio. This time he'll get a tougher opponent,
but not necessarily an overwhelming one. Prater's a replacement
for Siyar Bahadurzada, who would have likely been a much stiffer
test for the young Brazilian. Not that Prater's an easy mark,
mind you. He's been around, has fought some recognizable names,
but doesn't have much to show for it. His willingness to step
up here will earn him a UFC roster spot for the first time in
a nearly ten-year career, but I don't even like his odds to hang
on to that for very long, much less pull out a win on relatively
short notice.
My pick: Silva. I still think he's overvalued at almost 5-1,
but I'm willing to take the bait and put it in my parlay out
of a lack of better ideas.
Edson
Barboza (-280) vs. Terry Etim (+220)
Can
we cut the crap and be real with each other for a minute, fellow
derelicts? Don't tell anyone, but I'm starting to suspect that
Barboza might be just the tiniest bit overrated. I know, I know:
he looked great in his UFC debut against Mike Lullo. And he also
looked sharp against Anthony Njokuani. And then he did just enough
to get a decision over Ross Pearson. But have you noticed that
as the competition gets better, he seems to stay more or less
the same? It makes me wonder if he's like one of those pitchers
who strikes out everyone when he first gets called up to the
majors, but gets steadily shelled as hitters start to figure
him out. Granted, Barboza's still undefeated, so it's not like
he's giving up grand slams (to stick with this already troublesome
mixed sports metaphor), but I can't help but feel like this line
is a reflection of his hype more than his skills. Etim is better
than many people realize, and this style match-up is right in
his wheelhouse. I understand why he's the underdog, but he could
surprise some people. I just wouldn't want to go to the judges
in this fight if I were him.
My pick: Etim. Is this another instance of me talking myself
into an underdog pick just to avoid looking like a jerk who takes
all the favorites? Maybe. But still...
Quick
picks:
-
Michihiro Omigawa (+110) over Yuri Alcantara (-140). I'm not
sold on Alcantara, and Omigawa is better than his record in the
UFC reflects.
-
Ednaldo Oliveira (+120) over Gabriel Gonzaga (-150). Most have
never heard his name, but word is that Oliveira has acquitted
himself well as Junior dos Santos' sparring partner. Meanwhile,
Gonzaga hasn't had a truly significant win since 2007.
The
'For Entertainment Purposes Only' Parlay: Aldo + Johnson + Silva
+ Omigawa.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
MMA
Life: Metal Band Biohazard Links to Gracies
by Mick
Hammond
In
the 90’s, New York hardcore metal band Biohazard broke through
into the mainstream, becoming MTV’s “Headbanger’s
Ball” most played video artist with their song “Punishment”
off their second album, Urban Discipline.
At
the same time they were experiencing their biggest success, guitarist
and vocalist Billy Graziadei was becoming passionate about jiu-jitsu.
Recently,
Graziadei had an opportunity to bring his love of music and jiu-jitsu
together by making an appearance as a fighter in Ralek Gracie’s
“Ginagi” music video.
“I
started out with the Gracies in ’95, and I moved out to
L.A. in ‘08 and have been training at the Torrance academy,”
said Graziadei. “I became friends with Ralek, and when he
finished his record, he asked if I wanted to be in a video and
I was down (for it).
“We
ended up working with (former Strikeforce fighter) Kevin Casey
and went up to Kron (Gracie’s) place and came up with some
moves and planned it out a little bit. It was pretty cool to
break up the monotony of the studio and change the pace up a
little bit. I think the video turned out great. I’ve done
a lot of videos in my time, and especially with what they had
to work with, they made a phenomenal video.”
Graziadei
originally was introduced to Brazilian jiu-jitsu through the
band’s drummer, Danny Schuler, who had read about the Gracies
in a magazine article. Having heard the Gracies were to be associated
with a no-holds-barred competition in Colorado, Graziadei immediately
jumped on it.
“When
the first UFC came on, we were young and were such fans of fighting
and anything like that because of who we were and where we came
from,” he said. “I didn’t see it live, but I had
it on video tape like a week after it aired and I remember watching
it and being blown away.
“We
did a record in L.A., and Rickson (Gracie) had a place in Chico
– a small little place like in the back of a garage or something
– and it was awesome. We made a lot of good friends, and
that was the beginning of my (pursuit of) jiu-jitsu.
Having
started out small and worked their way towards mainstream success,
Graziadei told MMAWeekly.com he sees comparisons to Biohazard’s
journey with that of MMA and the UFC in particular.
“I
think like with everything it is perseverance,” he said.
“If you really believe in it, you stick with it. When Rorion
(Gracie) brought in the UFC it was kind of a catalyst and it
blew up from there. It has had its ups and downs, but it has
grown immensely and very quickly outside the martial arts world.
It is very similar and a parallel with what happened with Biohazard.”
Speaking
of perseverance, after a five-year hiatus, Biohazard reformed
in 2008 with all four original band members and is set to release
a brand new album, Reborn in Defiance, on Jan. 20 on Nuclear
Blast Records everywhere minus North America (where it will be
released shortly thereafter by a to-be-named label with bonus
materials).
“The
thing about Biohazard is we always survive,” he said. “Our
backs may be to the wall and you think it’s over, but we
come out swinging and win. We got back together and did a reunion
tour and got along and had a great time. We started sharing music
and ideas back and forth and that turned into the record that
comes out (on Jan. 20) and we’re going to tour for.
“When
you have a fight, you’ve got to be ready; if you’re
not ready, you’ve lost. Every battle is won before you fight
it. For us, that was the mindset. Let’s stay focused and
we’ll end up with something that we’re really proud
of, and we did.”
The
band is scheduled for rehearsals in New York over the coming
weeks to be followed by a worldwide tour in support of Reborn
in Defiance, and Graziadei hopes everyone comes out and shows
their support.
“Biohazard
has always been a band about last man standing, so we’ve
been fans of MMA for years and love the sport and all the styles,”
he said. “Check out our new record, our Facebook, or my
personal Facebook, and keep up with us. Catch us while we’re
on tour. If you want to hit us up and invite us to your academy,
we’d love to come train with you.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
5
reasons Cigano should fear Overeem’s Jiu-Jitsu
Contributor:
Junior Samurai
Just
after Alistair Overeem pummeled Brock Lesnar into retirement
in the first round of their encounter at UF 141, there were hordes
of reporters on Junior Cigano’s tailcoats with a simple
and inevitable question: “What now, champ?”
Cigano,
as calloused as his right fist, remarked that he wasn’t
impressed by the Dutchman’s Muay Thai or the liver kick
that crumpled the monstrous-proportioned Lesnar to the ground
and opened the way to the technical knockout.
“Overeem
is a great fighter; he hits hard but I have faith in my boxing,”
said the heavyweight champion in summary.
Where
fists are concerned, it’s hard to argue against the Brazilian
heavyweight holding his own when the two square off midway through
the year. On the ground, though—should it go there—,
that’s where the danger lies. Cigano knows it.
On
paper, Overeem, who hasn’t lost a fight since 2007, has
put away 17 opponents using his Jiu-Jitsu, eight of them with
his notorious guillotine choke. But his game is more well-rounded
than that, as GRACIEMAG.com will paint a picture of below, with
five of Alistair Overeem gentle art highlights.
1.
OVEREEM NABS BELFORT’S NECK
Vitor
Belfort and the Dutchman tangled at the Saitama Super Arena for
the opening stage of the Pride middleweight GP of 2005. Already
dazed on his feet, Vitor was easy pray for “The Reem’s”
Jiu-Jitsu.
2.
BEST GRAPPLER IN EUROPE
At
the European tryouts for the 2005 ADCC, Overeem was a cut above
the rest, choking every one of his opponents out for the win.
In the final he took on Mikael Grothe and spent most of the match
in the Swede’s half-guard. He made a few unsuccessful attack
attempts; they were important in that they diverted his opponent’s
attention, though. Until the final attack came, from side-control
Overeem allowed Grothe enough room to turn on all fours; that’s
when the guillotine showed up in Overeem’s cross-hairs.
3.
OVEREEM’S GOT GUARD TOO
In
the year 2000, Alistair the rookie was just the promising brother
of Valentijn Overeem, the man who the following year would submit
Randy Couture. Alistair took on local boy Yasuhito Namekawa in
Japan and showed that his guard was more than just a shield;
it was a lethal weapon.
4.
REVERSE JIU-JITSU
At
Dream 5 in 2008, facing the heavy-handed Mark Hunt, Overeem put
all his chips on his ground game, sinking a reverse americana
armbar, which the Kiwi tried defending by flipping over. Watch
how it ended.
5.
STRANGLING THE GEORGIAN GOOSE WITH JIU-JITSU
In
2000, Overeem again proved Helio Gracie’s Law: “There
isn’t a tough guy out there who can hold out against oncoming
sleep.” Against Vladimer Tchanturia at Rings 2000, Overeem
faked a lunge at an arm, but what he really wanted was a neck.
With his enemy’s throat exposed, the Dutchman sunk a goose-strangler,
the nickname for a rear-naked choke without the arm behind the
head.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Shogun
says Jose Aldo is the Anderson Silva of the featherweight division
By Guilherme
Cruz
Jose
Aldo rules his weight class, collecting 13 consecutive triumphs,
and he will face the undefeated Chad Mendes at UFC Rio, next
Saturday (14th). Former heavyweight champion, Shogun Rua believes
Aldo will get the win, reaching Anderson Silva’s level,
biggest champion in all UFC history.
“Jose
Aldo is the man to be defeated on his division, like Anderson”,
highlights Shogun, while talking to TATAME.
After
experimenting fighting on the Wonderful City for Ultimate, Mauricio
warn that Aldo, like all other Brazilians on the card, will have
a wonderful night ahead of them.
“There’s
nothing more motivating than fighting for your fans. I was really
glad with their support and affection. Fans are good all over
the world, but here in Brazil it’s special”, tells
Shogun, excited about the show. “There’ll be great
fights, great MMA names”, concludes.
Source:
Tatame
|
Man
Who Defeated Aldo Cheers for Champion, Identifies Weakness
By Gleidson
Venga
Even the greatest of mixed martial artists suffer through their
share of adversity. The once-unbeatable Fedor Emelianenko recently
lost three fights in a row. Anderson Silva has left the ring
four times on the wrong side of the ledger. Not even reigning
UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has escaped this reality.
Aldo
can thank Luciano Azevedo.
A
Luta Livre black belt, Azevedo remains the only man to beat Aldo,
having done so at Jungle Fight 5 in November 2005. Luciano, who
submitted Aldo with a rear-naked choke in the second round, won
the fight on the mat, an area which he believes to be the weakest
point for the Nova Uniao representative.
“When
we fought, he was as good and as aggressive as he is today,”
Azevedo told Sherdog.com. “I traded some strikes with Aldo
and managed to win in the area that, to me, is his weakness:
the ground. I think if someone wants to beat Aldo, they’re
going to have to try and do it on the ground because he’s
too good in the standup.”
Aldo
will defend his 145-pound title against the unbeaten Chad Mendes
in the UFC 142 main event on Saturday at the HSBC Arena in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil. For what it is worth, Azevedo does not believe
Aldo will suffer his second defeat against the Team Alpha Male
representative.
“I’ll
root a lot for Aldo,” Azevedo said. “Chad is very dangerous
and undefeated, but I don’t bet on him against Aldo.”
As
time has passed, Aldo and Azevedo have taken dramatically different
paths. The former became a UFC champion and one of the sport’s
pound-for-pound greats; the latter finds himself returning to
training after should surgery, eager to restart a career that
resulted in other notable victories over Rodrigo Damm, Luis Ramos
and Din Thomas.
Azevedo
would jump at the opportunity to face Aldo again but does not
foresee a rematch materializing.
“Many
ask if I want to give a rematch to Aldo, but I already won. I
don’t have to look for it,” he said. “It’s
something that has to come from him, but, of course, I’d
accept it [if it happened].”
Source Sherdog
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Gina
Carano Undecided on Return to MMA
by Damon
Martin
As
the release date for the Hollywood action film ‘Haywire’
draws closer and closer, everyone’s eyes are on the star
of the film, Gina Carano.
For
MMA fans however the biggest question hasn’t been how will
she do as an actor in a major motion picture?
The
question on fight fans’ minds remains will Gina Carano ever
return to mixed martial arts as a fighter?
The
last time Carano stepped foot in a MMA cage was in 2009 when
she lost in a featherweight title fight to Cris ‘Cyborg’
Santos. Since then, Carano has been focusing on projects outside
of the MMA world, in particular a starring role in award winning
director Steven Soderbergh’s latest film.
Carano
stopped by G4's ‘Attack of the Show’ on Monday to hype
up the new film that gets released on Jan 20, and the million
dollar question came up of whether or not she will return to
fighting or not.
“I
don’t know actually,” Carano answered. “I’m
somewhere floating around in the world between acting and fighting.”
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker has said on several occasions that he believes
Carano would one day return to fighting. Stephen Espinoza, the
new head of Showtime Sports who used to represent Carano as an
attorney, has also said he thinks his former client would strap
on the gloves and compete again.
Carano
however sounds much more unsure than her former boss and attorney.
Right
now, ‘Haywire’ is her main focus and she won’t
decide if fighting is in her future until it truly feels right.
“I
don’t feel like you have to make a decision right now,”
said Carano. “So I’m waiting till I definitely know
the right answer in my heart.”
If
‘Haywire’ opens to critical and financial success,
it would be hard to imagine that Carano won’t have other
acting roles offered or afforded to her in the future. Whether
the pull of fighting is strong enough to bring her back to MMA
remains to be seen.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Strikeforce
Morning After: Luke Rockhold Says UFC Fighters Are Needed
Luke RockholdSaturday's Strikeforce card, headlined by a main
event of Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine was a perfectly good
night of fights. And yet something was missing -- something that
Rockhold himself put his finger on in his post-fight interview.
What's
missing from Strikeforce these days is enough talented, recognizable
fighters to fill up a full fight card, and enough talented, recognizable
fighters to put together a complete weight class. And so it was
no surprise that when Rockhold was asked after the fight who
he'd like to defend his middleweight title against next, Rockhold
said he'd like to fight someone from the UFC.
"I
like fighting, I like getting paid, but I love competition and
striving to be the best," Rockhold said. "Right now
all the best guys are in the UFC, at least the Top 10 ranked
-- besides myself, maybe, in some rankings. Those are the guys
I want. I want to climb to the top, I want to fight the best
in the world, and I think they should bring over some top contenders.
Let's see who the true No. 1 contender is, because I believe
I am, and I'd love the chance to prove it."
Showtime
executives probably gulped hard when they heard those words --
here's the guy who just won the main event on the first card
of the new Showtime-Strikeforce partnership, and he's basically
saying Strikeforce isn't good enough.
More Coverage: Rockhold vs. Jardine Results | Latest Strikeforce
News
But
Rockhold is largely correct: The best guys are in the UFC, and
if Rockhold wants to prove that he's one of the best guys, there's
really no way for him to do it until he's fighting opponents
from the UFC. If Zuffa won't either move Rockhold into the UFC
or move UFC fighters into Strikeforce, there's just no way for
Rockhold to show where he stacks up.
Unfortunately
for Rockhold, all indications are that it's simply not going
to happen: The UFC is going to keep its best fighters in the
Octagon, and Strikeforce will have to make do with what it has.
Don't expect a Top 10 fighter from the UFC to be challenging
for Rockhold's Strikeforce belt.
That's
too bad for Rockhold, but that's the reality: Strikeforce is
capable of putting together entertaining fight cards, but if
you want to see the best you have to watch the UFC.
Strikeforce
Notes
-- Starting with this card, all of Strikeforce's preliminary
card fights will air on Showtime Extreme, which is a welcome
development -- at least for people who get Showtime Extreme.
Unfortunately, the level of talent on display in some of the
undercard fights was lacking. About the only thing Alonzo Martinez
showed in his unanimous decision loss to Estevan Payan is that
he can take a punch, and Martinez took a whole lot of punches
for 15 solid minutes. Martinez really didn't look like he belonged
in a televised fight. And Ricky Legere's unanimous decision victory
over Chris Spang was a ho-hum affair. I realize Strikeforce preliminary
cards aren't exactly going to have Top 10 fighters, but they
need to improve the matchmaking on the prelims to give the fans
a reason to tune in a couple hours before the main card starts.
--
Seeing UFC President Dana White interviewed during a Strikeforce
broadcast was a surprise, and another indication that the UFC's
ownership of Strikeforce is not, contrary to what White says,
"business as usual." White looked a little uncomfortable
in the role, but the bottom line is that White -- not Scott Coker
-- is the promoter the fans want to hear from, and it just makes
sense that White would be the promoter to appear on television
during a Strikeforce show.
Strikeforce
Quotes
"She explained to me that she wants to give us a fair chance
to keep continuing, and I respect that. Because if that was me,
I would rather be put to sleep than her jump in and me still
be awake." -- King Mo Lawal, saying he understood why referee
Kim Winslow stopped his win over Lorenz Larkin when she did.
It's to Lawal's credit that he was concerned enough about his
opponent that he wanted the fight stopped sooner, and it's also
to Lawal's credit that he acknowledged that the referee has a
hard job knowing exactly when to step in.
Having
said that, I thought the stoppage was a little slow -- Winslow
let Larkin take a couple punches too many.
Good
Call
The judges for that Payan-Martinez fight all got the scores right
-- 30-27 for Payan -- which gave me some hope that we'd see a
night of good judging. Unfortunately, there were some highly
questionable scorecards in the three split decisions later in
the night, including ...
Bad
Call
The scores were all over the map on the Tarec Saffiedine-Tyler
Stinson fight. Only one judge got it right, 29-28 for Saffiedine.
One judge scored it 30-27 for Saffiedine, which was highly questionable
given Stinson's performance in the first round, and another scored
it 29-28 for Stinson, which was highly questionable given Saffiedine's
performance in the second and third rounds.
Stock
Up
Gian Villante is an athletic young light heavyweight with potential,
and it was good to see him turn in an impressive first-round
TKO win over Trevor Smith. Villante did a phenomenal job of ground
and pound, grabbing Smith's leg with one hand and battering Smith
in the face with his other hand.
Stock
Down
Keith Jardine is a fighter I've always liked, but it's hard to
see why he should keep fighting. Jardine is just 2-6-1 in his
last nine fights, and he's now been brutally knocked out several
times in his career. For the sake of his long-term health, Jardine
needs to seriously consider hanging up the gloves.
Fight
I Want to See Next
Luke Rockhold vs. Tim Kennedy. Bringing in a middleweight from
the UFC would be great for Rockhold, but the reality is that
it's not going to happen. Kennedy is the Strikeforce middleweight
who makes the most sense for Rockhold.
Source: MMA Fighting |
King
Mo Says Rampage Is More B-Team Than A-Team These Days
Muhammed
‘King Mo’ Lawal may be one of the most dangerous combinations
in all of MMA. Devastating skills in the cage and on the microphone.
No
one will ever accuse King Mo of holding his tongue when any subject
is brought up, including future opponents.
With
his TKO win over previously undefeated Lorenz Larkin on Saturday,
Lawal moves into position to challenge once again for the Strikeforce
light heavyweight title.
One
thing is for sure however…he has no desire to face the fighter
he beat for the belt the last time in a rematch.
“Don’t
say (Gegard) Mousasi’s name or I’m going to fall asleep,”
Lawal said. “He’s the most boring person in MMA. If
they want me to beat Mousasi, or ‘Kermit’, up, I’ll
do it.”
Lawal
dominated Mousasi for five rounds to win the Strikeforce light
heavyweight title in April 2010, but it’s unknown if they’ll
ever get back together for a rematch.
Another
name that came up after his win was old foe Quinton ‘Rampage’
Jackson. Lawal and Jackson have been engaged in a war of words
for quite some time now, and the back and forth heated up again
during fight week between the two fighters on Twitter.
Needless
to say, Lawal is not a Rampage fan, in or out of the cage.
“It’s
like this, if he wants to come to Strikeforce and get beat, he
can,” Lawal said about Rampage. “He needs to stick
to acting and doing movies, cause to me in my mind and in my
eyes, he ain’t got it no more. He can hit me up on Twitter
and talk trash, try to get me off my game, but we all know the
truth.
“He’s
a actor, a subpar actor. He should be on the B-team not the A-Team.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Lil’
Nog wants a striker next in the UFC
Rogerio
Nogueira is tired of fighting wrestlers. The Brazilian who debuted
in the UFC knocking out the striker Luiz Cane had faced four
wrestlers in a row, getting only two wins out of it. After a
quick knockout over Tito Ortiz, Rogerio talked to TATAME and,
indirectly, asked UFC for something. “Who knows they offer
me a striker now, right? I’ve fought many wrestlers (laughs)”,
jokes Rogerio, who talked about the importance of the triumph
for his career in Ultimate, the game plan for his next bout and
much more. Check it:
Are
you back to the trainings already?
I
came back on Monday. On the last few days I was resting, but
I already was working out. Two weeks ago UFC people called me
and thanked for the fight, I was really pleased. . I was really
excited about it, really. It was a great win, a big one. Now
I gotta keep it up and try to focus again, get better and start
a good phase.
You’ve
only fought tough guys. Who might come next?
I
don’t know who they will offer me. They haven’t talked
about opponents, they only talked about possibilities so that
they can match it up. They’ll match it up, so I’m waiting.
We’re talking, something should come up on the next days.
How
does it feel having knocked out again and this new victorious
journey you have ahead of you now in the UFC?
First
time, I fought Cane, I knocked him out. The second time, I fought
Jason Brilz and it was not an easy fight, but it was the best
of the night. The first one was the knockout of the night. Then
I had two tough fights, they guys got really stuck, like Ryan
Bader, and I guess I was wronged that time… He ran a lot,
took me down but didn’t hit me. He was there, wasting time.
Phil Davis did the same: ran, ran and didn’t hit me. There
were two stucked bouts and I couldn’t show my skills. Now
I came determined to win right on the beginning, knock him out.
Let’s set a game plan like this one for the next bout so
that I can guarantee the KO.
Is
there somebody in particular you would like to fight against?
I
don’t know... Who knows they offer me a striker now, right?
I’ve fought many wrestlers (laughs). The first was against
a striker and then I fought four wrestlers in a row.
Independently
of whom you fight against, is the idea to go for it and try to
get the KO to prevent it to go for the judges?
Yeah,
I don’t wanna let it for the judges of the rules to decide.
Sometimes the guy holds you, takes you down and wins the first
round. They try to take you down once per round. So you can hit
them for five minutes and still lose in case they take you down.
You gotta really hit them because the takedowns really count.
You gotta go forward, block the takedowns and keep punching.
Source: Tatame
|
Cyborg’
Santos blames dietary supplement for failed drug test
Cristiane
Santos, who was suspended Friday by the California State Athletic
Commission for testing positive for an anabolic steroid and subsequently
stripped of her Strikeforce featherweight title, blamed a tainted
dietary supplement for her failed test.
Santos,
better known as “Cyborg,” released a statement Saturday
saying she took a dietary aid because she was having trouble
getting her weight down to the 145-pound featherweight limit.
“I
am ultimately responsible for everything I put in my body, and
at the end of the day, there is no excuse for having a prohibited
substance in my system,” she wrote. “I do not condone
the use of any performance-enhancing drugs by myself or any other
professional athlete and willingly accept the penalties and fines
that have been handed down to me by the California State Athletic
Commission and those of the Strikeforce/Zuffa organization.”
The
length of Santos’ suspension was not specified on Friday,
and CSAC executive director George Dodd could not be reached
for comment. The usual protocol for a steroid test failure in
California is a one-year suspension, although in some cases an
appeal process can reduce the length. The time frame of Santos’
ban would begin Dec. 16, the day of the test she failed and the
day before she defeated Japan’s Hiroko Yamanaka in just
16 seconds in a championship defense at San Diego.
“While
I was preparing myself for my last fight, I was having a difficult
time cutting weight, and used a dietary supplement that I was
assured was safe and not prohibited from use in sports competition,”
Santos wrote.
“It
was never my intention to obtain an unfair advantage over Hiroko,
mislead Strikeforce, the commission or my fans. I train harder
than any fighter in MMA and do not need drugs to win in the cage,
and I have proven this time and time again! My only mistake is
not verifying the diet aid with my doctor beforehand and understanding
that it was not approved for use in the ring. Unfortunately in
the end I suffer the consequences and must accept the responsibility
for my actions.”
Santos
tested positive for Stanozolol, also known as Winstrol V, a veterinary
steroid used mainly on cattle. It is popular for use in sports
with weight classes because it allows one to keep strength and
muscle size while dropping weight. Many popular steroids that
retain water aren’t as effective in the final phase of fight
training because they make it difficult to shed the water necessary
when fighters routinely drop 15 or 20 pounds of water in the
last week in order to make a weight class.
Santos,
in particular, walks around significantly heavier than 145 pounds
and frequently has been much larger than her opponent once the
match starts.
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker said his organization would let the process with
the commission reach a conclusion before making a decision.
“Strikeforce
has not seen the test results regarding Ms. Santos,” Coker
said in a release. “However, we have a consistent and strong
stance against any use of performance-enhancing drugs. We also
have a long history of supporting effective drug testing of athletes
by authorized regulatory bodies. Therefore, we will closely monitor
the matter, and will work with the California State Athletic
Commission regarding any information we may be asked to provide.
We also recognize that Ms. Santos has administrative process
rights under California law, and we hope that she is not prejudged
before she has the opportunity to exercise such rights.”
But
on Friday, UFC president Dana White texted Yahoo! Sports that
the 26-year-old Santos was being stripped of her championship.
In a Friday radio interview on the MMA Insiders radio show in
Las Vegas, White also said the women’s featherweight division
likely will be dropped.
“We
were going to hold that division and just do fights with Cyborg
whenever there was a new contender,” White said on the show.
“She’s getting stripped of the belt. This pretty much
kills the division.”
The
other top female fighters under contract with Strikeforce are
bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, former champion Sarah Kaufman
and former Olympic judoka Ronda Rousey, who all now compete at
135 pounds.
Rousey
had fought at 145 and won a 2008 Olympic bronze medal at 154
pounds, but she was dropping to 135 as a tactical move for a
company-desired fight with Tate for the championship. The ultimate
goal was to set up a champion vs. champion potential showdown
with Santos, considered the premier women’s fighter in the
world.
However,
Gina Carano’s return could bring the division back. Carano
(7-1) remains the most popular name in women’s fighting
though she hasn’t competed in nearly 2½ years. She
was scheduled to fight last summer until a medical condition
forced the fight’s cancellation. Carano, 29, competes at
145 pounds, and her lone career loss was to Santos. She has struggled
with making weight, particularly at a weight lighter than 145.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Strikeforce
Ohio Adds Daley vs. Misaki, Noons vs. Thomson
The
Strikeforce main card appears almost set for March 3 in Columbus,
Ohio after the promotion announced two more major bouts on Saturday
night.
First
up a lightweight clash between two former champions as Josh Thomson
looks to get back in the title race as he faces K.J. Noons.
Also
former title contender Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley battles
Japanese veteran Kazuo Misaki in a pivotal welterweight showdown.
It’s
been over a year since Josh Thomson stepped into the cage or
ring, but he’ll finally make his return to action in March.
Thomson last fought when he took a bout on short notice in Japan
against Tatsuya Kawajiri at New Year’s Eve 2010.
Thomson
lost by unanimous decision and then as injuries mounted, his
return date got pushed further and further back.
Now
he is returning and will face former Elite XC champion K.J. Noons
on the March 3 card in Ohio. Noons most recently defeated Billy
Evangelista in a hard fought battle in Dec 2011, and hopes to
reclaim contender’s status with a win over Thomson.
Paul
‘Semtex’ Daley will make his long awaited return to
the Strikeforce cage in March as well. Daley last fought in Strikeforce
in July 2011, losing a close decision to current welterweight
title contender Tyron Woodley.
Since
that time, Daley has gone 2-0 over two UFC veterans in Jordan
Radev and Luigi Fioravanti.
Daley
will serve as the welcoming committee to Kazuo Misaki, who makes
his long awaited welterweight debut in Strikeforce.
Misaki
first signed with Strikeforce as reported by MMAWeekly.com in
July 2011, but his return to the promotion won’t happen
until nearly a year later. Now he gets a shot at one of the most
dangerous strikers in the sport when he comes back in March.
The
two new bouts announced go alongside the bantamweight women’s
title fight between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey, as well as
a potential No. 1 contender’s bout between Sarah Kaufman
and Alexis Davis.
The
headliner is expected to be the finals of the Strikeforce heavyweight
Grand Prix between Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier. The card
takes place at The Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Strikeforce
Confirms Tate vs. Rousey for Ohio
It will be a grudge match in Ohio when Strikeforce bantamweight
champion Miesha Tate faces Ronda Rousey on March 3rd at the promotion’s
next major event.
MMAWeekly.com
first reported the match-up earlier this week and on Saturday
night, Strikeforce officials confirmed the booking.
It’s
been several months since Tate took the title from previous champion
Marloes Coenen, and she’s just been awaiting her first title
defense.
Now
she has it despite not believing that Ronda Rousey truly deserves
to be there.
It
was after a bone crunching submission over Julia Budd that moved
Rousey to 4-0 that the former Olympic medalist in Judo called
Tate out and said they needed to meet in the near future. A media
frenzy ensued and in short order, Rousey gets her wish.
Despite
the fact that she doesn’t believe Rousey earned the shot,
Tate is happy to give her a loss and send her packing for her
troubles.
‘She
kind of talked herself into a title fight. I’m going to
be very excited to send her back to where she belongs,”
said Tate emphatically. “The back of the line.”
The
bout between Tate and Rousey will likely garner co-main event
status for the card, assuming the other major fight will be the
finals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix between Josh
Barnett and Daniel Cormier.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Strikeforce
Results: King Mo Crowns Larkin With Vicious Ground and Pound
They
call Mark Coleman the ‘Godfather of Ground and Pound’.
Tito Ortiz helped redefine ground and pound with his work in
the UFC.
Muhammed
‘King Mo’ Lawal may soon get his own ‘ground and
pound’ nickname after battering and eventually knockout
out previously undefeated Lorenz Larkin with a slew of hard and
heavy punches to finish their fight in Strikeforce.
Coming
from Oklahoma State’s wrestling program, it’s no secret
that Lawal had the chops to put Larkin on his back, but his real
domination started once the fight was on the canvas.
Lawal
peppered away at Larkin’s head and body throughout the first
round, as the striker simply could not find any way to get back
to his feet.
As
the second round started, Larkin tried to land a bomb while Lawal
again looked for the takedown, but it was a futile effort because
a few seconds later he was on his back again.
It
was there that Lawal unloaded with an absolutely, unrelenting
attack of right hands that started to slip through Larkin’s
defense. With each punch, Larkin started to defend less and less,
and Lawal just punished him with shots.
One
final punch landed and Larkin went limp and referee Kim Winslow
mercifully stopped the fight. Lawal seemed perturbed after the
fight that maybe it went on too long, but after a brief conversation
with Winslow, he agreed with the referee’s decision.
“She
explained to me that she wants to give us a fair chance to keep
on continuing, and I respect that,” Lawal said. “Cause
if that was me, I’d rather be put to sleep than her jump
in and me still be awake.”
Now
with back to back wins in devastating fashion, it would appear
Lawal is on the verge of possibly fighting for a title he once
held. Fights are out there with Gegard Mousasi or Rafael ‘Feijao’
Cavalcante, both of which Lawal has faced in the past.
It
doesn’t matter much to the King, he just knows whoever it
is, they’re going to be hurting.
“That’s the next stop,” Lawal commented about
getting a title shot. “Next person is taking a beating like
this too.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
Robbie
Lawler Wasn’t Actually Throwing a Flying Knee
You
wouldn’t know it by how it ended, but Robbie Lawler wasn’t
actually throwing a flying knee when he knocked out Adlan Amagov.
Lawler,
who is very well known as a knockout artist, was actually going
for a different strike all together.
“I
thought he was going to dip out to his right and throw his right
hand, so I was actually trying to kick him in the face,”
said Lawler after his win.
Obviously
it worked out pretty well either way.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Fabio
Maldonado injured, out of UFC Rio
One
week before UFC’s return to Rio de Janeiro, the fight card
suffered another change. Fabio Maldonado, who was set to fight
undefeated newcomer Caio Magalhães, suffered a rib injury
and was forced to cancel the bout.
The
news was confirmed to TATAME by Maldonado’s manager Alex
Davis. “He hurt his ribs yesterday on trainings and unfortunately
won’t be able to recover in time for the fight”, Davis
told TATAME.
No
news on Caio’s opponent was available at the moment.
Source: Tatame
|
Gesias
Cavalcante wants to stay active at Strikeforce
The
lightweight Gesias Cavalcante got back to the right track as
he overcame Bobby Green in Strikeforce, in July of 2011, but
he’s “unpleased”. The reason: he wants more fights.
While talking to TATAME, “JZ” explained he rather fight
three or four times a year, something he hasn’t done.
“They
couldn’t include me on this event (of Saturday, 7th) because
there were no vacancies left on the main card, so I might fight
on the next, but there’s nothing set in stone. I want to
fight as soon as possible”, tells. “I want to fight
like four times a year so I can get on the right track. On the
beginning of my career I fought eight times within a year, and
now I’m fighting with eight months apart”.
While
it’s not time to fight, Gesias celebrates for having remained
in Strikeforce after getting his first triumph on the event and
seeing his bosses announcing new plans for the organization,
which almost got extinct after UFC’s purchase.
“The
most important thing is being safe, I didn’t know what would
happen, if the event would be closed or not. Not knowing is the
worst. Now I know I can dedicate and do my best. There’re
good fights for me on this division”, analyzes.
Happy
in Strikeforce, the lightweight launched a quick campaign on
Twitter eyeing a spot on UFC Japan. Despite being too close and
the card already completed, the Brazilian doesn’t let himself
down.
“It’s
a dream”, said “JZ” about a possible return to
the Rising Sun Land. “If they want to lend me to UFC Japan,
I’m in. It’s a chance I wouldn’t miss. It’s
not because it’s the UFC, but because it’s in Japan
and I have a history there. It’d motivate me a lot”,
explains.
Source: Tatame
|
Rockhold
demeans win, Strikeforce with UFC talk
LAS
VEGAS – In the last three months, a trio of Strikeforce
champions have left the promotion, joined the UFC and scored
exceptionally impressive victories.
And
yet, when a Strikeforce fighter wins or successfully defends
a title, almost as if on cue, they call out their brethren in
the UFC. In December, lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez did
it after taking apart Jorge Masvidal. And on Saturday at the
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Luke Rockhold did it again after
stopping Keith Jardine at 4:26 of the first round to make the
first defense of his Strikeforce middleweight title.
It’s
almost as if the Strikeforce fighters, despite the wins in the
UFC by guys like Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson and Alistair Overeem,
have an inferiority complex.
Rockhold
had few problems with Jardine, a six-year UFC veteran who had
victories over ex-champions Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin.
Rockhold landed 37 of 50 strikes, finishing Jardine on the ground
after knocking him down.
His
next challenge is likely going to be Tim Kennedy, but Rockhold’s
first comments in the ring were about taking on UFC fighters.
A
half hour later at the post-fight news conference, he didn’t
seem particularly enthralled by the prospect of a bout with Kennedy.
And Rockhold never mentioned the possibility of a fight with
Robbie Lawler, a winner earlier on Saturday’s card who was
seated only a few feet away from him.
“If
that’s the plan, then that’s the plan and I’ll
make the most of what we’ve got here,” Rockhold said.
“Me and Tim Kennedy, the fight was supposed to happen quite
a few times, but the fight just hasn’t seemed to come [together].
I always look to bigger and better things, and so if the UFC
wants to bring in some top contenders, I’m more than happy
to welcome them to our hexagon, like Gilbert [Melendez] would
say.”
When
the plan was finalized last month for Strikeforce to return in
2012, the idea was to run it as a separate and distinct league.
That, though, hasn’t stopped its biggest stars from eyeing
bouts against those signed to UFC contracts.
On
the one hand, it’s understandable, because the UFC is the
best-promoted MMA company in the world and its fighters are far
better known as a result than a comparable fighter elsewhere.
That results in more money, in terms of purses and sponsorships,
along with the recognition that goes along with being associated
with those three letters.
Unfortunately,
it’s not good for the Strikeforce brand. If it’s going
to be viable long-term, the Strikeforce fighters are going to
have to want to go up against the best in their league. Otherwise,
they make it look like nothing more than a developmental league
with the UFC as the Promised Land.
“They’d
just like to be in a position where they can fight anybody in
any other league,” Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said following
the news conference. “But you know, it’s already been
decided that these are going to be separate leagues. We’re
going to provide them great fights and we’ll still have
some great fights ahead of them. But these guys have a lot to
prove.”
Rockhold’s
close buddy and training partner, Muhammed Lawal, seems to get
it. He’s gotten into a Twitter-inspired feud with former
UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
and has begun to take heat from fans for not making an effort
to fight Jackson.
Lawal,
though, recently signed a contract extension with Strikeforce
and isn’t going to be available for that fight. And so he
did the right thing on Saturday by trying to quash talk of it
for fear it would diminish his upcoming Strikeforce bouts.
Luke Rockhold (right) and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker might have
some things to talk about after Saturday's events.
“Why’d
you bring up that bum’s name?” Lawal said when asked
about Jackson. “It’s like this: If he wants to come
to Strikeforce and get beat, he can. To me, he should stick to
acting and doing movies. To me, in my mind, in my eyes, he ain’t
got it no more. He can hit me up on Twitter and talk trash and
try to get me off my game, but we all know the truth. He’s
an actor; a sub-par actor. He should be on ‘The B-Team,’
not ‘The A-Team’.”
Pressed
more on it, Lawal didn’t bite.
“I’m
in Strikeforce,” Lawal said. “The fans who are asking
me about the UFC, they’re stupid, man. I’m in Strikeforce.
What can I say about the UFC? I’m in Strikeforce. The UFC
has their own thing and Strikeforce has their own thing. I can’t
be concerned with what they’re saying.”
As
long as Lawal’s peers keep bringing up fights against UFC
opponents as a means of validating themselves, though, the Strikeforce
fighters are never going to get the respect they crave, or deserve,
for what they’ve done.
Strikeforce
is putting on major league-caliber fights and Showtime puts on
first-rate broadcasts, but until the fighters accept that Strikeforce
is a destination and not a steppingstone, they’ll never
fully earn the respect of the public.
Coker
insists it doesn’t bother him – “I want guys who
want to be the best and who want to fight the best guys in the
world,” he said – but it’s making his job that
much easier.
As
Diaz, Henderson and Overeem have shown in the last three months,
being a Strikeforce champion is a pretty significant achievement
in and of itself.
It’s
about time guys like Rockhold and Melendez learn to appreciate
that.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Jon
Jones Itching to Fight, So Dan Henderson May Be Next
Dan Henderson may have leapfrogged Rashad Evans as the No. 1
contender in the UFC light heavyweight division.
With
champion Jon Jones now saying that he wants to fight as soon
as he can -- changing his mind after previously saying he needed
some time off following a very busy 2011 -- it appears likely
that Henderson will get the next crack at the champion, and Evans'
quest for the belt will have to wait.
UFC
President Dana White said on ESPN 1100 in Las Vegas that Jones
had called him and said he's hoping to get back into the Octagon
as soon as possible. Evans is already booked for a January 28
fight on Fox against Phil Davis, so Henderson may get the next
title fight.
"He
had said he wanted to take some time off (but) he called about
four days ago and said, 'OK, let's go. ... Let's get back to
work. I'm ready to get productive again,'" White said of
Jones. "He wants to fight as soon as possible."
Based
on the UFC's calendar, as soon as possible would likely be UFC
145, on March 24 in Montreal. That fight still needs a main event,
and Jones vs. Henderson would be a big one.
"We've
got to see how this thing plays out but what could end up happening
is Dan Henderson fights Jon Jones first," White said.
But
some would say it would be unfair to Evans: A former light heavyweight
champion, Evans has been waiting for a title shot and wants to
fight Jones, his former friend and teammate. The UFC has promoted
Evans vs. Davis as the opportunity for Evans to earn his shot
at Jones, but if the UFC wants to book Jones in the first quarter
of 2012, then Evans is going to have to wait.
One
way or another, White said, the light heavyweight division has
plenty of challengers who can contend for Jones's belt. If Henderson
gets the next shot, that just means the winner of the Evans vs.
Davis fight would be first in line to face the winner of Jones
vs. Henderson.
"I
think we have a ton of guys," White said. "It's not
like everything depends on one guy or two guys. The great thing
about us is we've got 10 of 15 guys so it's never like we have
to depend on one person."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
|