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2012
November
Aloha
State BJJ Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
10/20-21/12
NAGA
Hawaii
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Radford H. S. Gym)
8/18/12
Warpath to Mayhem:
Rumble at the Resort
(MMA)
(Kauai Beach Resort, Lihue, Kauai)
August
King of the Mat
(Submission Grappling)
8/4/12
Maui Open
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina)
7/21/12
Sera's Kajukenbo Martial Arts Tournament
(Continuous Sparring, MMA (Controlled), and Sub. Grappling)
(War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
**CANCELLED**
7/14/12
King of the Cage
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
6/29/12
Vendetta 5
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
6/16-17/12
State
of Hawaii BJJ Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/16/12
Destiny
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/15/12
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
5/26/12
Toughman Hawaii Presents; King Of The Ring
(Boxing)
(Edith Kanakaole Tennis Stadium, Hilo)
5/19/12
Scrappler's Fest
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Island School, Lihue, Kauai)
The Quest For Champions
Martial Arts Tournament 2012
(Sport-Pankration, Submission Grappling, Continuous Sparring)
(St. Louis High School Gym)
5/18/12
Vendetta 4
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
5/4/12
King of the Ring
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
Just Scrap XVI
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku)
4/28/12
Destiny
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(The Waterfront, Aloha Tower)
4/21/12
Amateur Boxing Event
Smoker Fundraiser
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
4/14/12
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom, Waipahu)
Hawaiian
Open Championship of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
3/29/12 - 4/1/12
Pan
Jiu-Jitsu Championship
(BJJ)
(Irvine, CA)
3/3/12
Warpath to Mayhem:
Rumble at the Resort
(MMA)
(Kauai Beach Resort, Lihue, Kauai)
Vendetta 3
(Kickboxing, Triple Threat)
(Waipahu Filcom, Waipahu)
Toughman Hawaii: Challengers
(Kickboxing)
(Hilo Civic, Hilo)
2/11/12
Amateur Boxing Event
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
2/4/12
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
1/21/12
ProElite
MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
1/15/12
Polynesia
International BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(King Intermediate, Kaneohe)
1/7/12
Toughman Hawaii
(Kickboxing)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
|
|
July
2012 News Part 1
|
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What
did Renzo Gracie tell Chael Sonnen on the phone before UFC 148?
During
the pre-UFC 148 open training session, Chael Sonnen left reporter
Ariel Helwani all the more curious when he said Jiu-Jitsu legend
Renzo Gracie had called him on the phone and set him straight,
telling him, Chael, something that caused him to reflect and
change his ways.
(Refresh
your memory here.)
But
what is it that Renzo told the challenger? GRACIEMAG.com went
after the answer:
“I
just told him that if he kept up that trash talking he would
be taking away from the greatness of the task that he had ahead
of him, he is fighting one of the best fighters of our generation,
and people would lose the chance to know the real Sonnen, a great
athlete who I saw young fighting hard back in the Japan days,
building his career as a fierce fighter, a career that ended
up turning him into one of the amazing people that populate our
great sport,” Renzo said.
“I
just asked him to behave with the greatness of a champion. Many
fighters dream of that opportunity, to fight the best and test
themselves in the toughest sport that existed. Be great, be bold,
be fair, and above all be honest. Some will love you, others
will hate you. But they will know who you really are. Fight this
fight in a way that will be unforgettable to those who had the
privilege to watch. I won’t miss a second of this great
match,”, the Gracie said in conclusion.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
148 Fighter Bonuses: Silva, Griffin and Ortiz Bank $75K
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship handed out $75,000 fighter bonuses
for in-Octagon performances following UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen
II on Saturday. Middleweight champion Anderson Silva, Forrest
Griffin and Tito Ortiz took home bonus checks.
Fight
of the Night honors went to co-main event fighters, Tito Ortiz
and Forrest Griffin. The trilogy between the two former light
heavyweight titleholders ended in a decision. Ortiz secured
an early takedown in opening round and the fight was beginning
to look lie their first meeting at UFC 59 in 2006. Griffin worked
his way back to his feet and out worked Ortiz, throwing double
the volume of strikes than his opponent.
Ortiz
landed a right hand that knocked Griffin down in the second round,
but Griffin again battled back. He won the exchanges and set
a blistering pace with his barrage of kicks and punches. In
the final round, Ortiz rocked Griffin, knocking him down again.
He won his final five minutes inside the famed Octagon but fell
short on the judges’ scorecards. All three judges scored
the bout 29-28 for Griffin.
Knockout
of the Night was awarded to the middleweight champion Anderson
Silva for his second round technical knockout of Chael Sonnen
in the main event. Sonnen shot across the cage at the opening
bell and immediately put Silva on his back. The first round
looked a lot like the first four rounds when they faced off UFC
117 in 2010. Sonnen mounted Silva in the closing moments of
the round clearly winning the first stanza.
Sonnen
secured an early takedown in the second round but Silva worked
his way back to his feet. Sonnen’s next two takedown attempts
were fended off by the champion. In an exchange, Silva knocked
Sonnen down with a right hand. He delivered a knee to the chest
of Sonnen and finished the fight with a series of punches on
the ground that forced the referee to call a stop to the action.
There
wasn’t a Submission of the Night award given following UFC
148. The total sum of bonus cash awarded totaled $225,000.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
148 Results: Griffin Comes Out On Top In Ortiz’s Last Fight
In
the co-main event of the evening, former champions Tito Ortiz
and Forrest Griffin gave it their all in a third epic fight.
Ortiz ended his career with a decision loss, but he gave it
everything he had and hurt Griffin twice in the fight.
The
first round was razor thin. Early on, Griffin wasted no time
throwing kicks. Tito secured the clinch and took Griffin down
early. From there Ortiz landed a hard elbow in Griffin’s
guard. Griffin used the butterfly sweep to get back to his feet
and for the rest of the round, Griffin lit Ortiz up with kicks
to the leg.
Ortiz
landed a big right hand early and the fans at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena started chanting Ortiz. Griffin is able to regain his
composure and gets back on the outside and starts throwing more
leg kicks. Ortiz looked noticeably tired late in the round and
Griffin is able to get the better of the boxing. At the end
of the round Ortiz shot for that Griffin easily sprawled on.
In
the third round, Ortiz knocked Griffin down early again, and
then gets the takedown. Griffin was able to keep his composure
and not let Ortiz mount any offense in his guard and then scrambled
to his feet. Griffin once back on his feet landed a few small
strikes. The two men closed the round swinging for the fences.
Immediately,
after the fight, Griffin walked right out of the Octagon and
UFC officials went and stopped him and brought him back to the
Octagon for the judge’s decision.
All
three judges scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Forrest Griffin
Griffin
went on to take the microphone and interviewed Ortiz after the
bout. The bout was so close, Griffin seemed like he was a little
surprised Ortiz was still retiring.
“I
gave it my all, Ortiz told Griffin. I gave it my all. This
was my last fight tonight. I’ve been doing this for 15
years man.
Griffin
believed that the fight should’ve been scored a draw and
that he’d be happy to go a fourth round. In fact, Griffin
believes that all three fights could’ve been scored a draw.
“I
felt like we had three draws to be honest,” Griffin said
post-fight. “I wish we could go a fourth round tonight.
With
the loss, the former champion Tito Ortiz exits the UFC with a
16-11-1 record and went an overall 1-4 in his last five bouts
in the Octagon.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Anderson
Silva quiets Chael Sonnen, leaving only Jon Jones as a worthy
challenger
LAS
VEGAS – A lot of folks picked Anderson Silva to defeat Chael
Sonnen on Saturday in their rematch for the UFC middleweight
title.
But
not even Steven Seagal, the long-past-his-prime actor who laughably
tries to take credit for the mind-blowing moves the 37-year-old
champion repeatedly pulls off, could have imagined the way that
Silva would have ended this heated rematch before 15,016 rabid
fans at the MGM Grand Garden.
The
trash-talking Sonnen was doing exactly what he said he would
for the second fight in a row. After dominating Silva for four-and-a-half
rounds only to succumb to a triangle choke at UFC 117 on Aug.
7, 2010, Sonnen once again was having his way with Silva.
Anderson
Silva landed a knee that proved to be too much for Chael Sonnen.
(Special to Y! Sports) Sonnen took Silva down just four seconds
into the fight and Silva never left his back. Silva defended
himself much better than he did in their first fight, when he
came out of the round in bad shape. Still, Sonnen landed a number
of punches and did enough that judge Junichiro Kamijo scored
it a 10-8 round for him.
The
second round turned, though, after Sonnen failed on a spinning
back fist, a high-risk, high-reward maneuver. He tripped over
Silva's leg and, for all intents and purposes, the fight was
over. Silva pounced, ripped Sonnen with punches and a perfectly
placed knee to the chest, and stopped him at 1:55 of the second.
"I
worked on my skills, but I was a dufus and I fell down in the
middle of battle," a glum Sonnen said.
Silva
is beatable under the right set of circumstances as Sonnen proved
in both of their fights, but it's not going to happen when his
opponent makes the kind of mistake Sonnen made Saturday.
Had
Sonnen connected with the spinning back fist, the fight likely
would have been over and he would have been celebrating a championship.
Silva, though, capitalizes on just about every miscue his opponent
makes.
[Kevin
Iole: Anderson Silva makes Chael Sonnen pay for his mistake]
Silva
is a brilliant counter puncher, who is lightning quick. He also
has the kind of killer instinct that boxer Mike Tyson showed
in his prime and he pounces when he sees an opportunity to finish.
"It's
amazing what he's been able to accomplish, and what he continues
to accomplish, at his age," UFC president Dana White said.
"That's the thing nobody ever thinks about. Nobody ever
talks about it, but this guy is pushing 40. He's an amazing fighter
and an amazing athlete."
White
called the fight "without question" the biggest in
UFC history. As proof, he noted that the live stream of the news
conference Tuesday set a record for most streams, surpassing
the old mark by 1 million.
Much
of that was fueled by Sonnen's unexpectedly brilliant performance
in 2010, when he came within 1:50 of winning the title. Add on
his non-stop trash talking and it added up to one of the UFC's
biggest nights.
The
UFC 148 card was pretty much a downer until the main event. Even
the co-main, between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin, was hardly
entertaining stuff. White said following the news conference
"both Tito and Forrest looked really old." The fight
seemed to be in slow motion.
But
the anticipation for the rematch was so high that all was forgiven
by the time that Sonnen and Silva hit the cage. Sonnen entered
to a chorus of boos, but Silva was received by the many Brazilians
in the crowd as a conquering hero.
His
stature only figures to rise after scoring yet another dramatic
win, raising his UFC record to 15-0.
There
isn't anyone on the horizon who would appear to have a good chance
to beat Silva other than Jon Jones, which brings up the only
downer of the night for Silva. During the post-fight news conference,
he was asked if he wanted to fight Jones. Silva shook his head
and beamed.
"Nope,"
he said.
Silva
let loose on Sonnen when given the opportunity. (Special to Y!
Sports) Silva is ranked No. 1 in the Yahoo! Sports ratings and
is generally considered the greatest fighter ever. Jones, however,
is No. 2 and is closing in on the champion.
Silva’s
actions in the cage make him like super human, but he came across
as intimidated with that answer and it was disappointing when
he didn't embrace the challenge.
White,
though, said Silva is different than most fighters and that the
process of lining up his fights is unique.
"He
said he wouldn't fight Chael Sonnen, either," White said.
"He's such a unique individual to deal with. You know me.
I've butted heads with this guy, that guy, we fight and we argue.
But it's such a different process when I'm dealing with this
guy. I respect him so much, and I swear to God, it's like dealing
with an artist or some crazy, talented actor. That's what he's
like."
He's
so far ahead of the field at middleweight, it will almost be
like a showcase when he fights. The Jones fight is the only one
that makes sense, assuming Jones gets past Dan Henderson on Sept.
1 at UFC 151.
He's
so good, he left those watching just about speechless.
"I'm
in awe of this guy," White said, nodding toward Silva. "I've
said it before, but he's the greatest fighter ever, ever to be
involved in mixed martial arts. ... He's awesome."
Source: Yahoo Sports |
UFC
148 Aftermath: Karma Catches Up With Tito Ortiz
Jul
8, 2012 - LAS VEGAS -- Tito Ortiz was right to be upset after
Forrest Griffin hijacked his final moments in the Octagon at
UFC 148 on Saturday night.
But
at the same time, both Ortiz and Dana White displayed selective
memories as they bashed Griffin for his actions, first in storming
out of the cage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and then in stealing
Ortiz's final post-fight interview from Joe Rogan.
Was
Griffin in the wrong? Undoubtedly. But karma waits until the
right moment to strike, and this may have been cosmic payback
for Tito's "Bad Boy" postfight transgressions over
the years.
Ortiz
interrupted Griffin's post-fight interview at UFC 59 in Anaheim,
after Ortiz took a split-decision win. At UFC 106, Ortiz stole
Griffin's shine after the latter's victory by complaining about
his injuries on the mic and claiming a phantom cracked skull.
This came about after weeks of Ortiz saying he had never been
in better shape in his life.
And
those are just the moments from the Griffin trilogy.
That
doesn't even account for earlier incidents in Tito's career,
like when he left the cage and ran through the crowd before the
decision was announced in his UFC 51 split-decision win over
Vitor Belfort. Or when he jumped into the cage to challenge Chuck
Liddell. Or when he made grave-digging motions in center Octagon
after defeating fellow Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock.
While
we're all warm and fuzzy about Ortiz's Hall of Fame induction
and his rightful due in helping build the sport, Ortiz's bad
side is still part of the package, and no fighter disrespected
his opponents in the Octagon after fights as Ortiz did over the
years.
Ortiz's
most legitimate beef in the fight's aftermath was in the bout's
scoring. I personally scored it 29-28 for Ortiz, winning a close
first round, clearly losing round two, and rallying to win round
three. Griffin must not have felt like the winner, either, because
bolting from the cage in a huff is something he only tends to
do after losses.
"Forrest
pitter-pattered," Ortiz said. "I have no respect for
his punches. He threw those punches and nothing hurt. The fans
see the fight. The judges see boxing rounds. This is too big
of a sport to be like that. I fought with my heart, I fought
with my soul. I fought with my heart, I fought with my soul.
I did everything I could. After the fight was over, I had nothing
left."
"I
got fight of the night, I have no regrets. I went out and I fought
with my soul and my heart. Forrest fought a good fight, pitter
patter, I was trying to kill him with every punch. [Expletive]
happens. I thought I won. I thought the fight was over. The fans
fought the fight was over. The judges didn't see it that way.
It is what it is."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Anderson
Silva: 10 Memorable Moments
It
is often hard to appreciate history while it is still happening.
Fans have become so accustomed to Anderson Silva’s dominance
that it is hard to remember the time when he did not tower over
the sport with highlight-reel knockouts and submissions. Silva’s
reign will eventually end, maybe as soon as this Saturday, when
he meets Chael Sonnen in the UFC 148 main event at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Silva
has crafted a legacy so inordinately successful that it will
likely grow even more impressive as time provides historical
context. These are the moments that stand out the most in Silva’s
storied career.
Undefeated
No More
Shooto
“To The Top 7” | Aug. 26, 2001 -- Osaka, Japan
When
Silva fought Hayato Sakurai in 2001, the undefeated Japanese
star was arguably the most highly regarded lighter weight fighter
in the sport. Mixing solid wrestling and submissions with a dangerous
standup game, Sakurai was a complete mixed martial artist at
a time when few others were. The Shooto middleweight champion
was prized by the UFC and Pride Fighting Championships organizations,
and ended up fighting for both. However, his reign as Shooto
champion ended abruptly in the late summer of 2001 against a
then relatively unknown Brazilian.
Silva
had only fought once in Japan prior to his golden opportunity
against Sakurai. His win over Tetsuji Kato was enough to earn
the shot, and Silva took advantage. Still, Sakurai proved to
be a difficult challenge for him. This did not prove to be a
spectacular and one-sided destruction like so many future fights.
Rather, Sakurai hung in the standup with Silva and scored a number
of takedowns over the course of the bout. Silva was active enough
off his back and landed enough shots in the standups to take
a unanimous decision. Sakurai’s long dominance in Japan
was over, and, following a car accident, he never again reached
the same heights.
This
was the fight that announced Silva’s presence on the world
stage. He never fought for Shooto again, instead vacating the
title and joining Pride. The credibility of the win over a fighter
the caliber of “Mach” Sakurai that paved the way for
Silva’s future stellar success, and he was just getting
started.
Silva
flattened Carlos Newton.
The Flying Knee
Pride
25 “Body Blow” | March 16, 2003 -- Yokohama, Japan
Few
weapons are more valuable to a striker in MMA than those which
prevent a grappler from closing the distance. The more hesitant
a wrestler or jiu-jitsu artist is to move in on a kickboxer,
the more likely the fight is to be fought on the striker’s
terms. Silva knows that better than anyone and has made a career
of knocking out opponents with precise counterstrikes when they
look to take him to the ground. Sunday morning quarterbacks will
often question why a fighter did not go for takedowns more aggressively
against a dynamic striker. The answer: fights like Silva-Carlos
Newton.
Newton
had a clear route to victory against Silva, as he needed to get
the then-Chute Boxe fighter to the ground. Newton’s jiu-jitsu
was his forte, and Silva’s strength was known to be in striking.
“The
Ronin” did get Silva to the ground early, but the fight
returned to the feet later in the first round. Newton looked
to take Silva back down, at which point disaster struck for the
former UFC welterweight champion. Silva went to the air at just
about the same moment Newton ducked for a takedown. His knee
collided violently with Newton’s head, and it was lights
out. A split second changed everything, and grapplers were put
on notice: shoot on “The Spider” at your own peril.
Danger
From Below
Pride
“Shockwave 2004” | December 31, 2004 -- Saitama, Japan
His
submission loss to Daiju Takase may have been more surprising
because of how lightly the 4-7-1 Kazushi Sakuraba protégé
was regarded, but the most memorable defeat of Silva’s career
came against the former Deep champion Ryo Chonan. Chonan pulled
out a come-from-behind submission win in the final two minutes
of his fight with Silva -- a strange complement to Silva’s
future come-from-behind submission win in the final two minutes
of his fight with Chael Sonnen. However, unlike the Silva-Sonnen
fight, which ended with a standard triangle armbar, Chonan executed
a submission that has rarely been pulled off, before or after.
The
Japanese fighter knew he needed to do something to pull off a
win over Silva at Pride “Shockwave 2004.” While the
fight was competitive, Silva had generally gotten the better
of the action and was likely to get a decision win in a matter
of moments. Chonan dove forward and scissored Silva’s legs.
Tripping Silva to the ground, Chonan cranked a heel hook and
forced the Brazilian to tap. It was a shocking conclusion to
the fight and the last true loss of Silva’s career.
An
Auspicious Debut
UFC
Fight Night 5 | June 28, 2006 -- Las Vegas
Few
fighters in UFC history have ever debuted as spectacularly as
Silva did in 2006. He was expected to be a contender in the middleweight
division, but his main event against Chris Leben was not considered
a gimme at the time. Leben had won five straight fights in the
UFC and sported a sparkling 15-1 record. Leben, known for his
iron chin and solid striking, vowed to take the fight to Silva.
It
was only a few seconds before the folly of that approach became
readily apparent. Leben charged forward swinging wild punches.
Almost all of them missed. Silva responded with pinpoint counterpunches.
Almost all of them connected. Not only did Silva land at will
right on Leben’s chin, but he connected with power. He dropped
Leben once and then floored him for good with a knee. At the
end of a 49-second massacre, Silva had connected with 85 percent
of his strikes, and Leben had connected with 13 percent of his.
Leben
was simply outclassed. That raised a troubling question: if Silva
could do that against a game UFC contender, what would he do
against the rest of the middleweight division? The answer soon
followed, and it was not good news for everyone else fighting
at 185 pounds.
The
Beginning of a New Era
UFC
64 “Unstoppable” | Oct. 14, 2006 -- Las Vegas
Rich
Franklin was twice a victim.
It is easy to forget that before Silva arrived, Rich Franklin
was firmly planted as the king of the UFC middleweight division.
Only Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Pat Miletich and Matt Hughes
had more successful title defenses to that point in UFC history,
and Franklin had never been bested at 185 pounds.
Franklin’s
nearly 500-day title run came to an abrupt end at the hands of
Silva, thanks in part to a calamitous fight strategy. Franklin
admitted after the fight that he expected the clinch to be his
“sweet spot” against the master of the Thai plum. Sweet
spot it was not. Silva destroyed Franklin with knees from the
clinch before the fight was mercifully stopped three minutes
in. There was almost a feeling of pity for the longtime champion.
The
destruction that Silva wrought against Franklin was evident when
the two rematched for the title in Cincinnati the next year.
“Ace” does not have the best of poker faces. In his
most recent contest against Wanderlei Silva, he came out smiling
like he could not wait to fight. Against “The Spider”
in 2007, Franklin looked like he was coming out for a funeral.
The champion again finished Franklin with strikes and left no
doubt as to who was the better man.
Source: Sherdog
|
UFC
148: Anderson Silva finally hushes Chael Sonnen, invites him
to barbecue
Anderson
takes out Sonnen's guard with a knee and wails on the challenger,
in the final moments of UFC 148. UFC publicity photo.
When
Anderson Silva returned to his corner after the first round of
the UFC 148 main event, facing his arch-rival Chael Sonnen, one
of his seconds said: “You’re going to start now! You’ve
warmed up! He doesn’t have a chance of beating you.”
The
remark referred to the course the fight had taken until then,
when Chael took him down and completely dominated for the entire
round, even mounting Anderson nearing the break, but without
time to do any greater damage.
The
corner also told Anderson he couldn’t let Sonnen take him
down again: “You trained that takedown defense a lot. You
can’t let him take you down again. Defend it!”
And
that’s just what the greatest MMA fighter of present times
(and perhaps the best of all times) did. Sonnen again tried for
the takedown, but this time Anderson deftly warded him off, and
all the American could do was press him up against the fencing.
So
at a point where the two fighters separated, Anderson went on
the attack and landed the first big punch of the bout. Stunned,
Sonnen tried for a spinning elbow but fell prey to a move from
Anderson so precise that it dropped him to the ground already
out of sorts. And the most impressive part is that Anderson’s
move was a sensational dodge, so quick that Chael crashed violently
into the cage.
From
that point on, the fight was as good as over. Anderson met a
seated Sonnen with a knee to the midsection, and when his opponent
got up he put a hand on his throat and teed off with fists. Sonnen
again crumbled to the ground, and Spider followed him down.
The
Brazilians were nonplussed the the referee stopped the fight
so quickly, upon seeing Sonnen reactionless in fetal position
against the cage. Even so, Anderson’s compatriots erupted,
filling the Las Vegas’ MGM Arena with applause.
His
belt again safe, following his tenth title defense in six years,
Anderson Silva relaxed: “This is a sport. He disrespected
me, disrespected my country and family, but I fight him and have
nothing against him. We showed that Brazilians are well-mannered
and we’re going to applaud Sonnen,” said Anderson over
the mic.
Still
wanting to get his kicks, though, he called Sonnen to center
octagon and spoke to him in Portuguese: “I’m inviting
you to a barbecue at my house. My wife will cook for us,”
reminding the American of his having said he’d slap Anderson’s
wife on the back side.
After
which he addressed the storm he weathered in the first round,
“He’s been training those takedowns his whole life.
Props to him,” adding some Brazilian clichés from
the current mainstream MMA media, “They never will be! This
is Brazil, and you’ll see that no son of yours will ever
duck a fight.”
At
the press conference the subject of round one reemerged: “Our
strategy was to let him do his game early on, neutralize him
and then let our game go. That’s what we did.”
Met
with boos, Chael looked nothing like the smack talker from before
the fight: “I’m grateful for the opportunity they gave
me. He’s a true champion.”
In
the second most important fight of the evening, Tito Ortiz wrapped
up his 15-year career with a spirited battle against Forrest
Griffin. The Californian, who made his debut back in 1997 at
UFC 13, fought like it was his first time in the cage and gave
the fans the show they hoped to see. At the end of the 15 regulation
minutes, the judges awarded the win to Griffin, but that was
of least importance. Tito summed up the feeling: “I gave
it my all, today and throughout my career. I love the sport and
I’m leaving without any remorse. I fought with my heart,
as always!” Asked whether there was any chance of his returning
to MMA, he was frank: “I don’t think so. I did everything
I wanted to do in this sport and managed to provide for my family.
When I started, I had nothing, and today my kids have everything.”
Demian
Maia made his welterweight debut with a flash win over Korea’s
Dong Hyun Kim by countering a throw with a takedown of his own
that inflicted enough pain on his adversary that it forced him
to give up. The Brazilian spoke of the triumph: “I’m
really happy with this win. I almost gave up with that takedown
attempt, but in the end it all worked out. I managed to bring
my Jiu-Jitsu back to MMA.”
Prior
to Maia’s fight, Fabricio Morango dropped a unanimous decision
to Melvin Guillard. “I messed up in letting it go the judges,”
said Morango in analysis.
Check
out the complete results from the night.
UFC
148
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, USA
July 7, 2012
Anderson
Silva defeated Chael Sonnen via TKO at 1:34 min of R2;
Forrest Griffin defeated Tito Ortiz via unanimous decision;
Cung Le defeated Patrick Côté via unanimous decision;
Demian Maia defeated Dong Hyun Kim via TKO at 0.47 min of 1R;
Chad Mendes defeated Cody McKenzie via TKO at 0.31 minutes of
R1;
Mike Easton defeated Ivan Menjivar via unanimous decision;
Melvin Guillard defeated Fabrício “Morango”
Camões via unanimous decision;
Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Gleison Tibau via unanimous decision;
Costa Philippou defeated Riki Fukuda via unanimous decision;
Shane Roller defeated John Alessio via unanimous decision;
Rafaello Oliveira defeated Yoislandy Izquierdo via unanimous
decision;
Source: Gracie Magazine |
UFC
148 Results: Anderson Silva Silences Chael Sonnen With 2nd Round
TKO
It’s
been called the biggest rivalry in mixed martial arts history.
It
was the UFC’s version of Ohio State vs. Michigan, Yankees
vs. Red Sox, or even Superman vs. Lex Luthor if you will.
For
the past six years, Anderson Silva has ruled the UFC with an
iron fist, but one man came knocking on his door two years ago
and despite a loss in the first go round he continued to bang
away until he got a second chance.
That
man was Chael Sonnen.
Dripping
with bravado and loud talk, Sonnen blasted Silva with ever insult
he could muster of the last 24 months calling the champion everything
from fake to taking shots at his home country of Brazil. On Saturday
night he got the chance to back all of the talk up, but there
was an assassin awaiting him in the Octagon and that’s agent
of the deadly arts was Anderson Silva.
As
the fight started, Sonnen rushed across the cage and immediately
took Silva to the ground and it looked like fans could be in
for a repeat of the first fight. The former All-American from
Oregon pounded away at Silva’s head and body before finally
moving into mount with just seconds to go in the round.
The
Brazilian legend held on as time expired, but he was clearly
down after five minutes with the self proclaimed ‘American
Gangsta’ from West Linn, Oregon.
The
second round saw a much different fight however.
Sonnen
went for a similar quick shot to get Silva down, but this time
the incumbent champion was able to stuff his takedown attempt
and did so in a similar manner again later in the round.
Sonnen
didn’t back off with his tenacious attack, but as fourteen
past opponents have found out with a painful reminder…it
only takes one mistake for Anderson Silva to put you away.
After
backing away from a takedown, Sonnen through his own Jon Jones-esque
spinning back elbow, missing Silva completely and falling down
to the mat. Silva stalked forward and as he sprung into action
he crashed his knee into Sonnen’s midsection.
Try
as he could, Sonnen battled to get back to his feet only to come
under the blazing attack of the best stand-up fighter to ever
hold a UFC title and Silva was not going to let this opportunity
slip away.
Silva
blitzed Sonnen with strikes with one punch slipping through and
dropping the Oregonian back to the mat. Silva followed up with
a few more punches as Sonnen turtled up and covered his head,
but the fight was clearly over.
As
the referee waived the fight off, Anderson Silva stood proud
once again as the reigning, and most successful champion in UFC
history.
The
war of words between Silva and Sonnen made their rematch at UFC
148 the biggest fight in the promotion’s history, and despite
so many harsh things said back and forth over the last few weeks,
the champion was still gracious to the challenger.
“Yeah.
This sport is the best sport in the world, me and Chael working
hard for the show for all the people here,” Silva said.
“Let’s
show Brazil has manners and I want everybody to applaud Chael.”
Silva
then pulled Sonnen over beside him, shaking his hand, and hopefully
putting to bed the biggest feud the UFC has ever known.
“If
you’d like to have a barbecue at my house, I’d love
to have you over for a barbecue,” Silva said to Sonnen.
The
disappointment in Chael Sonnen’s eyes was obvious. This
was a lifetime of work both in and out of the Octagon and in
a flash it was gone. He was the latest in a long line of victims
that Anderson Silva defeated on his path to becoming the greatest
fighter in mixed martial arts history.
“They
gave me the opportunity, nobody owes me anything, I’m very
grateful to be here and to have the chance. He’s a true
champion.”
“He
got me with a good shot it was on the ground, it was a good knee,
and other than that I’m just going to have to look at the
tape.”
A
rivalry has been settled and Chael Sonnen has been silenced for
at least one night.
As
for Anderson Silva, there is no question at this stage of his
career that he is not only the reigning and defending UFC middleweight
champion, but the greatest fighter in current mixed martial arts
history.
When
anyone talks about Silva they say things like he’s the Michael
Jordan of MMA or the Muhammed Ali of the UFC.
There
will be a time one day soon when people look at athletes from
all around the world whether it’s football, basketball,
baseball or any other and say they are the Anderson Silva of
their respective sport.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
148 Gate and Attendance
The
Nevada State Athletic Commission released the official gate receipt
and attendance figures following UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II
on Saturday.
15,016
spectators filled the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to
witness Anderson “The Spider” Siva dispatch of rival
Chael Sonnen in the second round by technical knockout in the
main event.
The
gate receipts from the event totaled $7 million.
The
co-main event of the card featured former light heavyweight titleholders
Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz. Ortiz announced his retirement
prior to the match up. Griffin would defeat Ortiz by unanimous
decision and end their trilogy and Ortiz’ fighting career.
The
eleven-fight card was the most anticipated UFC event in recent
memory.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Anderson
Silva wants to fight for 10 more years
Anderson
Silva ran through Chael Sonnen at UFC 148, defending the middleweight
title for the tenth time. And if it depends on his excitement,
he will have dozen more wins on his record.
At
the post-fight press conference, the Brazilian says he does not
plan to retire any time soon.
“I
love doing it, I’ve been doing it since I was 10. Every
time I set my training camp it pleases me I can be part of this
select group of fighters. While I have the strength physical
and mentally, I’ll do what I love to do, I’ll do it”,
said, revealing the wish of fighting for 10 more years.
“I’m
very motivated. The fact I’m here, doing what I love…
Everybody had the privilege to see at the weigh-n something never
seen in history. My greatest motivation is to be here with this
guys who are part of history, like Tito (Ortiz). Before I even
started Tito was making history”.
Anderson
reinforced the invitation for Chael Sonnen to go for a barbecue
at his place, and complimented his opponent’s performance.
However, he guaranteed to have left the American to play his
game on the first round, when had his guard broke and saw his
opponent getting the mount.
“Chael
came to fight and to do what he does best: take me down. The
difference this time was that I wasn’t injured. My game
plan was letting him do what he does best, lock him on his own
game and then strike”, explains, assuring there are no hard
feelings.
“I
feel great to be able to do my job, being here and give fans
joy like we did today. Chael did his work, just like we did.
Unfortunately, some win and some lose. It’s normal. We’re
here to puto n a geat show for you guys”.
Anderson
still doesn’t know what’s next for him
The
good performance of Anderson Silva over Chael Sonnen impressed,
and UFC organization has no plans for another challenger at the
champion’s title.
“It
was a great fight. Let’s sit and talk about it. There are
still some fights to come and we’ll decide who the next
challenger is. I honestly don’t know”, shoots UFC president
Dana White, at the UFC 148 post-fight press conference.
Questioned
about who would deserve a chance at the title, Anderson answered
straight: “Do you really wanna know the answer to this question?”,
wondered.
Even
Dana White got curious, asking the champion who his next opponent
might be.
“My
clone”, answered the number one of the world, with a smile
on his face.
“Oh,
this clone thing again (laughs)”, joked the bos.
Hector
Lombard, former Bellator champion, seems like a possible candidate,
just like Mark Munoz, Chris Weidman, Michael Bisping and Vitor
Belfort.
UFC
will not force Anderson x Jones
Number
one at the middlewight division, Anderson Silva tried to fight
on the light heavyweight division for a couple of times, knocking
out James Irvin and Forrest Griffin, but made it clear his next
fight will be at the middleweight class. At 148 post-fight press
conference, Dana White seemed to have gotten that message.
“I
never tell the guys to go down or up. Anderson is the best in
the sport. I guess he’s the best MMA fighter ever”,
highlights the boss.
Many
fans dream about seeing a bout between Anderson Silva and Jon
Jones, current light heavyweight division, but it might never
happen.
“Unless
someone calls me saying they want to change… He doesn’t
want to. He fought there a couple of times. He never had problems
cutting weight. He likes this division and he dominates it”.
Source: Tatame |
Renzo
Gracie Black Belt Gunnar Nelson Signs with the UFC
Renzo
Gracie black belt and undefeated MMA prodigy Gunnar Nelson has
officially signed with the UFC and will be begin competing there
later this year.
Nelson,
who is managed by his father Heraldur Dean Nelson and Ali Abdel-Aziz
of Dominance MMA, has signed a multi-fight contract with the
UFC after amassing an impressive 9-0-1 record in his career.
Fighting
out of Iceland, Nelson earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
under famed trainer Renzo Gracie and has taken home medals multiple
times in grappling competitions like the Pan-American championships.
Nelson
also holds a black belt in karate as well to add to his striking
resume.
While
Nelson trains both out of his home country in Iceland and at
Gracie’s academy in New York City, the grappling wiz kid
has yet to compete in the United States for his fight career.
He
has however looked extremely impressive against the competitors
he’s faced in Europe where he’s competed in England
and Ireland primarily.
With
a fan base in those areas it seems a natural that Nelson will
likely debut at the UFC on Fuel TV 5 show currently dubbed UFC:
Nottingham taking place in Sept in England.
Nelson
will look to keep his record unblemished when he makes his Octagon
debut later this year and MMAWeekly.com will have more information
on his opponent when the information becomes available.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Mark
Munoz Will Call for Title Shot With Win Over Chris Weidman at
UFC on Fuel 4
If
there’s one thing that you can say about UFC middleweight
contender Mark Munoz outside of the cage is that he’s a
nice guy.
Rarely
will you see the coach and father of four not walking around
without a smile on his face, ready to greet fans or anybody with
a handshake or a hug.
But
in the tough guy world of mixed martial arts, the nice guy isn’t
always the one that gets the most attention despite their accomplishments
inside the Octagon. Sometimes it takes a little something extra
to push you to that next level.
Take
for instance fellow UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen, who for years
was a mid tier fighter who routinely bounced between wins and
losses, but once he started to put a string of victories together
he also found the gift of gab. Sonnne’s mic skills took
him to a whole other stratosphere when it came to promoting fights.
Now,
make no mistake about it Mark Munoz isn’t looking to become
Chael Sonnen when it comes to pre-fight trash talk, but he is
ready to be very vocal about a subject he’s become quite
passionate about.
Fighting
for the UFC middleweight title.
“I
think that’s setting it up to where should I win that fight,
I should be getting a title shot. I’m looking to win the
fight, I’m looking to win it with flying colors, and I’m
definitely going to be requesting after the fight a title shot,”
Munoz told MMAWeekly Radio recently.
“The
thing is I’ve always said that I’m going to let my
fighting do the talking, and my fighting has done the talking,
but now I’m going to do both. I’m going to state my
case. I’m going to let the fighting do the talking and I’m
also going to verbalize it and say I deserve a title shot.”
Currently
on a four-fight win streak, Munoz faces Chris Weidman in the
main event of the upcoming UFC on Fuel TV 4 show headed to San
Jose on Wednesday night.
Over
the last few months fighters like Michael Bisping and Hector
Lombard have been very vocal in their desire to get to the top
contender’s spot, but Munoz has kept his head down and just
tried to earn it.
Now
he’s ready to do both and it starts with his fight on Wednesday.
Munoz
has been an NCAA champion and at 34-years of age he believes
that there is no better time than the present for him to show
what it takes to be the man to next challenge Anderson Silva
for the UFC middleweight title.
“I
do feel that this is my time. I do feel that all the events leading
up to this point have actually culminated up to this point of
my career. After having the career that I have had, it’s
a lot of ups and downs and I think a career’s going to go
through that. Mine is no different,” said Munoz.
“I’ve
been through the ups and downs and the times when I was down
are the times where I had to get back up and climb again. Those
are the times that actually made me tougher and those times are
the times that are going to help me get to the top. I truly believe
this is my time.”
He’ll
go a long way to proving that if he can take out Weidman at UFC
on Fuel 4 and then if he is victorious expect Munoz to take the
time to tell UFC commentator Kenny Florian exactly what he wants
next.
Munoz
will call for a fight with Anderson Silva with the UFC middleweight
title on the line, and if he’s victorious he’ll have
gone an awful long way to proving he’s the man destined
for the challenge.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Maui
Open
Saturday, Auguest 4, 2012
Lahaina Civic Ctr
 |
Toughman
Hawaii
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Hilo Civic Center
 |
UFC:
Nottingham Adds Tom ‘Kong’ Watson vs. Hawaii's Brad Tavares, John Maguire vs.
John Hathaway
The UFC has added some local talent to the upcoming UFC: Nottingham
show including former BAMMA champion Tom ‘Kong’ Watson.
UFC
officials announced on Thursday that Watson has signed a multi-fight
deal with the promotion after being one of the top prospects
in the world not fighting in the Octagon.
Watson
will face former Ultimate Fighter competitor Brad Tavares in
his UFC debut coming up on Sept 29 as part of the UFC’s
return to England.
A
strong striker with big knockout power, Watson has picked up
several big wins in his career including Murilo ‘Ninja’
Rua and current UFC welterweight John Maguire.
Speaking
of Maguire he now has a fight at UFC: Nottingham as well as he
faces fellow Brit John Hathaway in a battle of home country favorites.
Maguire
has gone 2-0 thus far in his UFC career with two impressive performances
and has a seven-fight win streak overall.
Meanwhile,
John Hathaway will make his eighth appearance in the UFC, this
time in his home country of England. The welterweight prospect
is riding a two-fight win streak and has some impressive wins
on his resume including victories over Diego Sanchez and Rick
Story.
Hathaway
faces Maguire as the two welterweight contenders try to take
one step closer towards entering the top ten discussion.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Searching
for Jeff Curran
There’s an old saying in MMA that no fighter goes into a
fight at 100-percent of their physical health.
Bumps
and bruises accumulate, injuries happen, and that’s just
part of what it takes to get into the cage.
But
there’s a lot more to what it actually takes for a fighter
to be truly ready for a fight that goes far beyond training and
physically preparing for a bout. To hear Jeff Curran tell it,
as he approached his last fight in the UFC against Johnny Eduardo,
he had no business being in the Octagon that night, but it had
nothing to do with his physical state.
Over
the last few years to the casual observer, Curran was a veteran
fighter trying to find his footing in the WEC before exiting
for a few fights and then being brought back to the UFC. At one
time Curran was a top ranked featherweight and then dropped to
bantamweight where expectations were high.
What
no one knew however outside of his closest friends and family
was that Curran was going through the ringer mentally, and the
strain was bringing his fighting career to a crashing halt.
“I
was going through all of it. I had financial stress like I don’t
ever want to have again in my life and I’ll be digging out
of it for the next 20 years of my life and I’ve accepted
that. Then I had two kids, no money, my gym’s suffering
financially but it’s blowing up with students. I had a hard
time paying bills, had a hard time paying staff, I mean I had
no life,” Curran said in an exclusive interview with MMAWeekly.com.
$3
million dollars. That’s how much Curran was in debt after
building his gym and putting in the necessary renovations to
make it a top notch facility.
This
was all during a time when he was competing at the highest level
in the WEC against the top names in the sport like Urijah Faber,
but Curran was able to put the mental strain away for the longest
time, but eventually it caught up to him when he returned to
the UFC last year.
“When
I fought Urijah Faber and lost the fight, and then right after
that I wanted the next best guy they could give me and I was
really motivated for everybody they fed me so I have no regrets,”
Curran said.
Beyond
the financial stresses that were hammering down on Curran, he
was also wrestling with the decision to drop down to 125lbs while
also considering the idea of retiring from fighting all together.
Curran
has been active in MMA since 1997 so the thought did cross his
mind if he was successful in his last bout against Eduardo.
“I
considered retiring off of a win. I wasn’t going to retire
but the conversation had come up with my wife and some of my
coaches and my team. It might have been a great time to do it.
It wouldn’t have been a world championship, but it would
have been my world championship,” said Curran.
Two
months before the fight with Eduardo ever happened at UFC on
Fuel TV 3, Curran was struggling with the idea of even taking
the fight. The idea of moving down to 125lbs was looming and
as he walked around on fight week at 140lbs, it crept even further
into the crevasses of his mind.
“There
was a point a couple of months before the fight where I was like
maybe I don’t want to do this, I have a bad feeling. I don’t
trust my gut enough when it comes to me cause I get caught up
too much in being a fighter and I’ve stepped it up my whole
life so I might as well step up one more time. Kind of wish I
had listened to myself and not taken the fight,” Curran
stated.
On
fight night, all of those premonitions came true.
Curran
couldn’t get inside on the taller Eduardo and after three
somewhat lackluster rounds he walked to the back with a loss,
his second one in a row, and the knowledge that he was probably
going to be cut from the UFC yet again.
But
the problems that mounted in the Eduardo fight didn’t discourage
Curran – it actually motivated him. Gone were the thoughts
of retirement because he wasn’t going to slink away into
the shadows to go coach his team without giving it one more try
because that he instills in all of his students.
“As
soon as I was in the locker room I was like (expletive) that.
It’s not even a question. I’m not even near that mindset
now. I’m going to get back,” Curran stated.
The
goal for Curran now is to learn how to turn the animal that he
unleashes in the training room loose in the cage. On a daily
basis, Curran hangs with his cousin, top ten ranked featherweight
and Bellator champion Pat Curran, but he hasn’t been able
to translate that into his own performances in the Octagon.
So
now the goal is to take the Jeff Curran from the gym and make
that the Jeff Curran we all see on fight night. The key, according
to Curran, is to get the right kind of momentum behind him and
then like Newton’s law says ‘an object in motion will
stay in motion’.
“What’s
the difference between him and me? I don’t know. He’s
got some physical attributes that I don’t, he’s not
tainted by a string of losses like I have been, or just too much
time. Just being in the sport where I’ve been here so long,
so he’s had an edge there mentally,” Curran described
about working with his cousin Pat.
“I
go into fights feeling like I did everything right to get ready,
in sparring I feel great, in grappling I do great, I’ve
got a personal wrestling coach, my strength and conditioning
coach is on point, I mean I’m doing more now than when I
was tearing it up. A lot of it has to do with momentum and that
works both ways. It can work positively and it can work against
you negatively and right now I have some negative momentum. I
just need to get that right momentum going. Get the right momentum
outside the UFC and then carry it into the UFC and make the right
statement before I get there, I think I can carry it over.”
Curran
is already working on putting the new plan into effect. The problems
at his gym have been solved and with a new facility up and running,
he’s got his mind free from the stresses he’s been
carrying like luggage for the last five years.
“I
got through that, I moved my gym, I simplified my life. It’s
just a lot of things you don’t see what a fighter’s
going through and why a fighter is performing the way he does.
Excuses aren’t worth making,” Curran stated.
He
returns on August 18 to face former Tachi Palace Fights contender
Dustin Ortiz in his flyweight debut and the goal is to go out
there and remember the Jeff Curran that was once a top ranked
fighter.
The
Jeff Curran that just didn’t get by with a decision win.
He was dominant and he was putting guys away.
“I
was told if I can go out there and be dominant at 125 and not
just squeaking by on decisions and being quote ‘typical
Jeff Curran fight’, if I can go out there and be the Jeff
Curran from six or seven years ago, I was finishing a lot of
fights, and I had an 80-percent win ratio by submission,”
said Curran.
“There
was a time where I was on fire and doing what I do best.”
Now
it’s time for Jeff Curran to show what the best really looks
like.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Who
Could Be the Next Tito Ortiz for the UFC?
In the realm of UFC history, Tito Ortiz certainly was original.
No
he wasn’t around during the time of the first UFC events
that Royce Gracie ruled with an iron grip, but Ortiz was without
question the first “rock star” of the Octagon.
A
fighter who knew how to combine his aggressive and attacking
style in the cage with persona and charisma outside of it, Ortiz
was the original star of mixed martial arts long before pay-per-views
reached one million buys.
But
now just days away from his final fight at UFC 148, Ortiz is
about to step into the UFC Hall of Fame, retire and pass the
torch he helped light on to the next generation of competitors.
While
you can point to names like Georges St-Pierre as fighters who
may be as popular or wrestlers like Mark Munoz who have taken
ground and pound to another level, it’s the combination
of fighting ability and star power that may make one fighter
the next Tito Ortiz.
“I
guess Jon Jones would be that guy just because he’s young.
I know he has a lot to learn, he makes mistakes as all of us
humans do, make mistakes, and hopefully he can learn from those
mistakes,” Ortiz said about the UFC’s reigning light
heavyweight champion when speaking to MMAWeekly Radio.
“But
he’s a really good guy. I spoke to him on a few occasions
and he’s just like all my friends, very cool, very collected,
an awesome athlete and if I did want to see someone beat my record
I would want to see Jon Jones doing it.”
The
record Ortiz is speaking about is his consecutive title defense
streak in the UFC light heavyweight division. It currently stands
at five defenses and Jon Jones has already defended his belt
a total of three times in less than a year’s time.
While
there can never be another Tito Ortiz, he believes that Jones
is the fighter that will help carry the UFC into the next 10
years and beyond.
It’s
certainly a daunting task for the current champion, but if he’s
able to have the same type of success or even surpass Ortiz,
Jon Jones will truly be something special for the UFC and the
world of mixed martial arts.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Wand
about Sonnen: ‘He deserved to be spanked’
The
awaited rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen is coming
close. And, among millions of people who don’t want to miss
the bout, is Wanderlei Silva. “The Axe Murderer”, who
lives in Las Vegas, will be in town for watching UFC 148, next
Saturday (7th).
Not
measuring any words, Wanderlei Silva, who has cornered Chael
Sonnen in a van, affirmed, on an interview with TATAME, that
he’s excited to see Spider beating him up with spices of
cruelty.
“I
hope Anderson does a great job representing us and I actually
wish he doesn’t knock him out fast. I’d like him to
punish Sonnen and smash him out for me and for all Brazilians.
I guess he went too far and he deserves to be punished. I hope
that Anderson not only wins, but punches him a lot”.
Last
week, Wanderlei Silva followed Anderson’s statements about
breaking Sonnen’s teeth and complimented the performance
of the middleweight title holder.
“I
guess the champ’s star is going to shine. He’s very
prepared and one of Anderson’s best skills is to train.
He trains a lot. I guess he’s one great example for new
fighters. He’s doing fine, he’s the champion, he’s
rich and he’s training more than ever. He’s a perseverance
example for everybody and I hope he smashes Sonnen on the behalf
of all of us”.
Source: Tatame |
Believe
and Achieve is their motto, pure Jiu-Jitsu is their game
The
Mendes Bros were on point July 1, 2012, when they introduced
their new studio “The Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy” to
the public at their grand opening gala in Costa Mesa, California,
last Sunday afternoon. Jiu-Jitsu superstars Rafael and Guilherme
Mendes, along with their sponsor, RVCA founder Pat Tenore, unveiled
their new school with some serious flash and flair. Not only
did the Mendes Bros offer a free seminar that had the giant mat
area packed with students, but they had a number of celebrities
wandering around the party, like first American Worlds gold medal-winner
and current UFC legend, BJ Penn, André Galvão,
Allan Goes, Joel Tudor, and Kid Peligro to name a few. Outside
of that, many pro surfers were hanging out, including big wave
surfer Makua Rothman who brought his band, The Skains, with him
and put on a free show for the crowd. With an endless supply
of açaí and Brazilian BBQ, the Mendes Bros had
a huge hit on their hands.
The
Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy’s facilities are pure class. With
its white walls and ceilings and clean lines, it comes off as
more of an art gallery or museum, than a Jiu-Jitsu school and
the guys had it designed this way on purpose. “We wanted
to get away from the typical blue and black walls and the MMA
cage in the corner,” Rafael says, “We wanted this place
to look pure because we are offering pure Jiu-Jitsu here.”
Add to that, walls showcasing Rafa and Gui’s vast supply
of gold medals from tournaments around the world and an array
of pictures of the two black belts, two mat areas for rolling,
his and hers showers, and a laundry service that ensures your
gi is clean every time you come to class, and it’s clear
they’ve thought through every aspect of running an academy
efficiently and effectively.
The
Mendes Bros are pouring their “all” into this school
and say, although they have had a very busy traveling lifestyle
of late because of competitions, seminars, traveling back and
forth to Brazil and so forth, they are now rearranging their
schedules and lives to make sure they are home in Southern California
every week. “We will be teaching all the Jiu-Jitsu classes,”
Gui says. “We live here now and will be at the school Monday
through Friday teaching classes.” Rafael adds, “We
will be flying out for seminars and things like that Friday nights
and getting back Monday mornings in time for class. We will always
be here.” That’s quite a commitment for these two “rock
star” brothers who are quite in demand in the Jiu-Jitsu
world these days because of their consistent world-class showings,
dynamic style of Jiu-Jitsu and their charismatic personalities.
“We aren’t opening this school as a hobby,” Gui
says; “this is our business and our life now. We will be
here to make it grow and be successful.”
What
may be a little surprising to some is that, yes, the Mendes Bros
are looking to pack in the students at their school, but their
target audience might not be what you’d expect coming from
two multi-time world champions. “We want to have the biggest
kids program in Orange County,” Rafael says. “Then
we want to have the biggest kids program in California. And eventually,
we want to have the biggest kids program in the whole United
States.” Rafa says that the kids are the future of Jiu-Jitsu
and he and Gui want to have a hand in building them up and creating
a sense of self-esteem and confidence in today’s youth.
“I started doing Jiu-Jitsu when I was young,” Rafa
says, “and it changed my life. It made me confident. I want
to help be the one to bring that to other kids. I want to change
their lives and help make them confident so they can live happy
lives. Jiu-Jitsu does that.” Gui concurs, “We are going
to be offering anti-bullying classes as well. We really want
to be a part of the future through a big, successful kids program.”
Kids
classes are the priority at the Mendes brothers' new school.
Rafael
and Gui want to show everyone that Americans can be just as successful
at Jiu-Jitsu as their Brazilian counterparts. “Just because
I’m Brazilian, it doesn’t make me better at Jiu-Jitsu,”
Rafael says, “It’s because I train hard. There will
be no secrets here in our academy. We will be showing all of
our Jiu-Jitsu to our students. I would be so happy if my students
were better than me! That would mean I was really successful
at teaching!” Gui continues, “We also understand that
people have to work and so, not everyone is going to want to
be a world champion. But Jiu-Jitsu is more than competition.
Mostly, it’s a lifestyle that we want to share with our
students. And everyone can benefit from that.”
The
founder of RVCA, Pat Tenore, has sponsored the Mendes Bros ever
since they were purple belts. He laid a challenge on them years
ago and finally had to pay up on the wager. “We always had
a running joke that if they ever won the Worlds as black belts
we’d open a school two blocks from my house,” Pat laughs.
“They’ve won it three times now, so I guess I had to
step up to the plate. I live two blocks from here and my neighbor
owns the building so we really couldn’t pass it up. I really
care for these kids. They’re like family members. They’ve
been staying at my house since they were teenagers. They help
my kids with their homework; I’ve watched them grow up.
This has always been a dream to open up a Jiu-Jitsu academy.
I thought it would be great for the community to learn the art.
That’s why it’s called The Art of Jiu-Jitsu, because
it’s pure Jiu-Jitsu here and nothing else.” Pat says
that their motto is “Believe and Achieve,” and he is
on board with the concept of making their kids program the biggest
in the nation. “We want to have a positive impact in the
community,” he says. “The future of Jiu-Jitsu is the
kids.”
Source: Gracie Magazine |
Undefeated
British Prospect Jimi Manuwa Signs with the UFC
The UFC has continued to add local talent to the upcoming UFC:
Nottingham card with undefeated prospect Jimi Manuwa now being
added to the roster.
Manuwa
confirmed the signing via Twitter on Thursday. The signing was
first reported by Fighter’s Only.
With
a perfect record of 11-0, JImi Manuwa maybe most infamously popped
on everyone’s radar when he turned down two separate offers
to sign with the UFC previously.
Manuwa
stated in several interviews including his Dec, 2011 stop on
MMAWeekly Radio where he explained that he wanted to feel truly
ready to sign with the UFC before jumping at the opportunity.
Now
just over six months later, Manuwa must believe he’s ready
because he’s now signed with the UFC and set to debute later
this year.
No
opponent has been determined for Manuwa as of yet, but he’s
expected to debut at the UFC: Nottingham card coming up in September.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Mike
Brown Decides Against Retirement
Former
WEC champion Mike Brown has had a rough go of it the last couple
of years in MMA and was considering walking away and retiring.
Following
his win over Daniel Pineda at UFC 146, Brown hinted at his possible
retirement from the sport after competing for the last 11 years.
But
now the long time American Top Team fighter has opted to give
his all to fighting for one more deal with the UFC as he has
signed a five-fight extension with the promotion.
“The
last couple of years were kind of rough on me. I had lots of
injuries and I was feeling fatigued during training and fights.
When you feel like this it takes all the fun out of being in
the cage. I was starting to think that was going to continue.
Going in to the last fight with Pineda I was pretty certain that
was going to be my last fight. I talked to my friends, family,
and coaches. I told them how I was feeling and i told them I
would make up my decision about retirement after the fight,”
Brown wrote on his website on Wednesday.
“This
fight felt different, I felt great and I felt no fatigue. I felt
like I did when I won the belt in 2008/2009. I felt like I could
of easily went 5 rounds and I had a lot of fun being out there.
Last week I signed a new 5-fight deal with UFC and plan to continue
on and finish up my new contract.”
Brown
has faced some of the stiffest competition at 145lbs, and it
appears that the former champion will stick around to compete
against more of the best featherweights in the UFC for at least
five more fights.
There’s
been no word yet on when Brown will next appear in the Octagon.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Patrick
Cote Calls Cung Le ‘Tricky’ but Says He Does the Same
Things in Every Fight
Following
his fourth win in a row, Patrick Cote started to get the feeling
that maybe he’d soon get a call from the UFC welcoming him
back into the fold.
The
former middleweight title contender exited the UFC after three
consecutive losses ending with his UFC 121 defeat at the hands
of Tom Lawlor in October of 2010.
With
a new commitment to his training, Cote started to fight his way
back and after four wins he thought it might be time for him
return. He didn’t care when, he didn’t care against
who and he didn’t mind if it was the first fight of the
night, as long as he was back.
What
he didn’t expect, however, was for the UFC to call and offer
him a main card fight at UFC 148 against former Strikeforce middleweight
champion Cung Le.
“I’d
be lying if I said I was expecting to be back in a big fight
like that, a part of the biggest card of the year. So I’m
just happy right now,” Cote admitted when speaking to MMAWeekly
Radio.
Cote’s
reputation has always been a fighter that puts on exciting match-ups
and swings for the fences, usually resulting in a finish. So
it was a natural fit when the UFC pulled Le’s original opponent
Rich Franklin to fight at injury riddled UFC 147 and put Cote
in his place.
“They
gave me this fight because they know I’m going to bring
it. I’m hungry, I won my last four fights, and I think they
did that because they wanted to see a good show and that’s
what I’m going to do,” said Cote.
Any
fight on short notice is going to be tricky. You don’t have
as much time to prepare, cut weight, break down video and techniques
on your opponent, and let’s face it, Cung Le’s style
isn’t the easiest to get ready for even with a full training
camp.
Le
has marked his MMA career with spectacular kicks that come from
every direction and angle, and still stands as one of the most
unique fighters in the sport when it comes to his style of fighting.
Cote
gives Le his credit for being creative, but does put the brakes
on the idea that he is always innovating new moves that could
throw a late notice opponent into disarray.
“It’s
very tricky with his legs, very unorthodox and he’s very
powerful. I brought two guys into my training camp on short notice.
They came to Montreal to help me a lot. Two southpaw kickers
and they can do the style of Cung Le,” said Cote.
“Yes
he’s tricky, he’s very agile with his legs, but he’s
not doing anything new in his fights. He’s going to do the
same thing in this fight as he did in his fight against (Frank)
Shamrock, and in his fight against Wanderlei (Silva) in the first
round. It’s not going to be any surprise.”
Some
would point at Cote and say much the same thing – he’s
a boxer with very powerful hands and a granite chin. If that’s
how you want to define Patrick Cote, go right ahead because he
believes he has a few surprises in store.
“My
game all around is 10 times better than when I fought at UFC
121, my last fight in the UFC. I wrestled for a year and a half,
four times a week with the national team, I pushed a lot to upgrade
my weakness and I knew that was my wrestling,” Cote stated.
“It
gives me more confidence in my hands and in my stand-up game
because I’m not scared to throw some more power punches
because I know I’m going to be able to defend if he tries
to take me down. I think I’m more dangerous on my feet than
I was before.”
Now
the key for Cote is to show why the UFC brought him back when
he faces Cung Le at UFC 148.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
‘It’s
Now or Never’ – Anthony Johnson Decides to Move to
Light Heavyweight
Anthony
Johnson is making some long overdue changes to his life and career
starting with his next fight in 2012.
For
years the former UFC fighter had been struggling and fighting
to make weight, originally cutting down to 170 pounds, but missing
the limit on several occasions.
Even
a move to 185 pounds didn’t help, as he struggled mightily
once again before exiting the UFC, and then again when he debuted
for Titan Fighting Championships earlier this year.
The
battle to cut the weight has done massive damage to Johnson’s
image in the fight world, but maybe the biggest war he’s
been losing this whole time is the toll its taken on his body.
“I
was trying to cut the weight the day before the fight, water
was coming out and everything was working, then the day of the
fight stuff just stopped working. My body just pretty much shut
down again,” Johnson explained to MMAWeekly.com when speaking
about cutting weight for his last fight against David Branch.
“I
think it’s from me cutting so much to 170 that my body’s
like I can’t do this tremendous amount of weight cutting
anymore. That’s why I just have to move up.”
After
two unsuccessful tries to get his body to cut weight down to
185 pounds, Johnson is done playing the dangerous game of sucking
his body dry each and every time he fights and he’s making
the move to light heavyweight.
At
six-foot-two, Johnson’s frame already seemed suited for
the bigger weight class, but like most fighters it was always
his belief that the more weight you could cut the better. Now
that philosophy has taken its toll on him mentally and more importantly
physically and he just can’t go through it anymore.
“I
try not to let it bother me, I just try to think of the fight
itself and then when something like this happens and my body
just starts acting up I just wait till after to really think
about what’s going on. I just tell myself to keep pushing
and keep trying and if I don’t succeed then hopefully I
get another chance, another day to try again,” Johnson said
about the sheer mental strain that happened with each fight.
“I
sat down with my coaches and we just decided that 205 would be
best for me. That way I can perform even better and I don’t
have much to worry about, if anything. We’re excited about
it and I feel good about it already. I already feel like I have
more energy, more strength, and I’m excited about it.”
Johnson
admits that half of the battles he fought in training camp were
surrounding his constant need to try and keep his weight down.
As each fight drew closer, the strain ate away at him. Just making
weight on the scales became as important as actually preparing
for the battle ahead.
“It
makes a huge difference. I look forward to training now and doing
everything and the fact that I can be pretty much where I want
and be like hey I’ve only got 15 pounds to go. I’m
two months away from a fight possibly, so it takes a lot of stress
off my mind and I won’t be letting other people down and
letting myself down. It makes me want to fight again,” said
Johnson.
“Before
I was like, this just isn’t working. Now I’m like,
I can handle this.”
Over
the course of the last few years, while Johnson has faced his
struggles with the weight cuts, he’s also heard the criticism
from fans, media and promoters. He’s not oblivious to the
fact that missing weight is seen as an unprofessional slap in
the face to other fighters and the promotions themselves.
But
don’t take Anthony Johnson as an uncaring individual who
just couldn’t put down the fattening foods and opted not
to try to cut the weight. It was a mind warping battle each and
every time, but eventually Johnson had to concede.
Now
with the decision to move to light heavyweight, Johnson feels
renewed and reborn and ready to focus on fighting, not on making
weight.
“It’s
like it’s either now or never. Now’s the time and I’ve
just got to run with it. Each camp I feel a little bit better,
I keep improving, doing better things inside the gym, and outside
of the gym. Everything is progressing more and more even though
I’ve had my ups and downs,” Johnson said.
“I
know I can fight at 205, that won’t be a problem. Cause
I have the size, speed and the strength for it. I probably should
have been fighting 205 a long time ago, but just being me thinking
I can do it all, making dumb decisions, maturing, it’s going
to work out.”
Now
that Johnson is committed to fighting at 205 pounds, he’s
just waiting on the official call to get back in the cage again.
No fight has been set right now, but he’s anxious to accept
a bout, sign on the dotted line and show the world what he looks
like at light heavyweight.
“Hell,
I’m here to fight,” said Johnson. “Put somebody
in there and let’s do it.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Michael
Bisping: ‘Alan Belcher If Your Balls Are Big Enough Call
Joe Silva and Let’s Do It’
There
are a lot of fighters when you ask them who they want to fight
next, they answer with the standard ‘whoever the UFC puts
in front of me’.
Now
that might sound generic or somewhat manufactured, but for the
most part it’s true.
Matchmaker
Joe Silva calls and offers a fight and more often times than
not a fighter accepts, but when two fighters both seem to ask
for the same fight that can help speed along the process.
Well,
Michael Bisping is hoping to make Joe Silva’s job a lot
easier as he comes back after his recent knee surgery.
Bisping
appeared as an analyst on Tuesday night’s edition of UFC
Tonight where he first revealed his timeline for a return.
“Hopefully,
pretty soon. The knee is healing nicely and it has been three
weeks since the operation and I just started training. I just
spoke to Joe Silva not too long ago and I am hoping to fight
at UFC 152 in Toronto,” Bisping revealed.
Now
as far as his fight plans, Bisping is gunning for a title shot
but more importantly right now he wants to stay active and get
back in the cage.
There
appear to be two names on his hit list and he’s happy to
challenge either one for his possible return to action in September.
“I
would like to fight Brian Stann, he is a good fighter. A second
one is Alan Belcher. Alan Belcher’s somebody that’s
been calling me out for seems like forever now. To be quite frank
I’m sick of it. So, Alan Belcher if your balls are big enough
call Joe Silva and let’s do it,” said Bisping with
conviction.
Belcher
has long sought a fight with Bisping and following his impressive
performance defeating Rousimar Palhares in May, that might just
be a fight worth making.
The
Mississippi native has been out of action since that time nursing
a hand injury, but if the timing works out a fight with Bisping
could be just what the doctor ordered.
Currently,
UFC 152 only has one confirmed main card fight with former welterweight
and lightweight champion B.J. Penn returning to action to face
Canadian upstart Rory MacDonald.
The
addition of Bisping could be a big boost to the UFC’s return
to Toronto come September.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Cormier
waits for opponent and comments on Dos Santos VS. Cain
Daniel
Cormier conquered the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament but
the going of all the division fighters to the UFC left him off
action for a while. Stuck on the contract with the Strikeforce,
the fighter still has one bout before merging to the UFC, but
still doesn’t know how he is fighting next.
“I
don’t know how many guys there are standing in line to be
in Strikeforce’s fights, especially if it’s a guy who’s
fought in the UFC because it’s almost like stepping down,
but it’s a big fight”, said Cormier, on an exclusive
interview with TATAME. “I’d like to fight again before
the end of the year, somewhere around October, November would
be perfect for me”.
Wrestler,
Daniel analyzed this Saturday’s fight between Anderson Silva
and Chael Sonnen and fingered the details that might make a difference
on the awaited rematch.
“I
think it’s a good fight, I think it all depends on how far
Anderson’s coming along on his takedown defenses. If he
can’t stop the takedowns again he’s gonna be in trouble
again. Chael Sonnen by decision or Anderson Silva by knockout
or finish”.
Check
below the exclusive interview with the Strikeforce champ, who
commented on Cain Velasquez’s training for his rematch with
Junior dos Santos.
When
are you going to fight again?
No,
I don’t have a date yet. I’d like to fight again before
the end of the year, somewhere around October, November would
be perfect for me, I think. I don’t know exactly. They’ll
tell me soon, I hope.
Is
there somebody you want to fight against?
I
don’t care. I don’t know how many guys there are standing
in line to be in Strikeforce’s fights, especially if it’s
a guy who’s fought in the UFC because it’s almost like
stepping down, but it’s a big fight, and a chance to fight
on this division is always a big thing no matter where it is.
I have no idea.
There
is a rumor about you having already signed with the UFC. Is that
truth?
No.
I haven’t signed with the UFC yet.
But
is that something you would like for your future?
Well,
they own the company, so obviously if I don’t have my Strikeforce
fights done I have to go to the UFC, but they own the company
so when it’s time for me to stop and get my contract and
figure it out, it’s gonna be with the guys from the UFC
and everybody else.
You
have one more fight on your Strikeforce contract?
I
do. That’s all I’ve been told: after I win the tournament
I have another fight. Until I’m told differently, that’s
how I’m gonna approach it. I have no problem with it. Strikeforce,
Showtime… They’ve been great to me. My first fight
was on national television, so… If one more fight from the
guy I won the tournament puts the cap on the division, I’m
glad I can be the guy to do it.
Everybody
left to the UFC. Who you might fight next?
I
don’t know. Everybody’s gone except for Josh Barnett
and myself, so I don’t know. There’re tons of guys
that are outside of the UFC and Strikeforce that would jump at
the opportunity to fight on Showtime.
Do
you consider dropping to the light heavyweight division?
No.
I’m a heavyweight, I wanna fight at the heavyweight and
see how it’s plays out and see where we go from there.
What
do you think about the fight at Saturday night?
It’s
a good fight. I think it’s a good fight, I think it all
depends on how far Anderson’s coming along on his takedown
defenses. If he can’t stop the takedowns again he’s
gonna be in trouble again. Chael Sonnen by decision or Anderson
Silva by knockout or finish.
Is
Velasquez at his best on the trainings against Junior dos Santos?
He’s
doing good. He’s just waiting, really excited to be the
UFC champion again. He’s excited to get that belt back so
he’s in the gym working out, but he has no date, he has
nothing set, so it’s it’s kinda still played by it.
What
are you doing different for this second fight against Dos Santos?
We
have to do something different obviously. The last time wasn’t
what we intended to be and we have to do something different
because he has established himself as the best heavyweight in
the world. It’s gonna be a tough puzzle to crack in but
we got to get together as a team and put together a game plan
that’s going to be effective and is going get Cain’s
belt back.
Source:
Tatame
|
Renzo
talks Silva-Sonnen 2: “Provocation without class smells
of blood”
Never
one to bottle up what he’s thinking, Renzo Gracie voiced
his opinion on the events leading up to the impending title rematch
between middleweight king Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. While
giving Sonnen credit for being slick and get what he wants, the
Gracie wouldn’t take the same route Chael did if he were
in his shoes. Here’s some of what Renzo says in a video
interview in Portuguese by the website Sexto Round:
“I
never liked smack talk because, to provoke others, you end up
losing that mutual respect. Where I come from that would smell
of blood. Back where I come from, if you say something like he
did, you’d better put up your dukes; you’re going to
have to throw down no matter where you are. That’s why I’d
never do that kind of stuff. I’d always treat my adversaries
with respect.
Now
honestly, I feel he [Chael] was smart in what he did, because
he got tapped out by Anderson Silva, lost the fight, and then
he got caught using steroids. And if you take a good look, nobody’s
talking about it. So all this taunting he’s been doing ended
up serving as an eraser. This provocation he’s been doing
became something so big that it overshadowed all the problems
he’d been having. And now all you hear is people talking
about the rematch with Anderson Silva. …
There’s
also humor, a higher form of intelligence. Not everyone has good
humor. You might want to be Mohammed Ali, but here’s why
there is only one of him: he had the ability to provoke without
offending you.
Chael
has already lost that line of thinking. He lost his class. He
was funny up until that point. If someone says the things he
said about Anderson’s wife to me, wherever I may be, get
ready, because I’m going to lay a beating on the poor sucker.
Now
that’s why I’ve never been into that kind of provocation.
It can end up taking a completely different direction from what
it was meant to.”
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Alistair
Overeem Institutes Independent Testing to Prove He’s a Clean
Fighter
by Damon
Martin
Alistair
Overeem is going to have to sit out until December 2012 for what
he’s called an error in judgment after receiving a prescribed
medical treatment that caused a spike in his testosterone levels
prior to his scheduled bout with Junior Dos Santos at UFC 146.
Overeem
tested positive for elevated testosterone and was effectively
suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for 9 months
for the transgression.
As
he explained previously to the commission, Overeem says he had
no idea that he was being injected with a substance that would
increase his testosterone and so now he’s taking the necessary
steps to make sure it never happens again.
“Well
like I explained in front of the commission, the spike was due
to medication that I received from a licensed doctor to help
my injury. I did it. I took responsibility and stepped away from
the title fight. And now, I am doing random testing with the
commission to prove I am a legit fighter,” said Overeem
on Tuesday night’s edition of UFC Tonight.
“Since
I have joined ASM [Authentic Sports Management], we have a far
better medical staff that advises me on treatments. I didn’t
have that before. I am sure that this cannot happen again.”
While
Overeem will continue to undergo random testing from the Nevada
State Athletic Commission, he will also partake in testing of
his own to hopefully help prove that he is a clean fighter once
and for all.
“I
want to show the world that I am a clean fighter. One test doesn’t
say anything. But if you do the test every three to four weeks,
than you prove to people that you are clean. You are being observed,
and it is by different people who I don’t know every time,
so there is no foul play. I am hoping that I can prove to the
world that I am a clean fighter. I am also doing this for myself,
my fans, and the commission to show that I am a clean fighter
and ready to come back and fight for a title in the UFC,”
said Overeem.
Overeem
says he’s embracing the testing required while also undergoing
testing of his own choice to help clear his name.
According
to Overeem’s manager Glenn Robinson of Authentic Sports
Management who spoke with MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday, Overeem’s
test results will be sent directly to the Nevada State Athletic
Commission for verification.
The
hope is for Overeem to help clear his name after the allegations
that landed squarely on his shoulders from the tests administered
prior to his fight at UFC 146.
If
everything goes well, Overeem is hopeful for a return to the
UFC later this year to begin his quest for the heavyweight title
once again.
“The
commission told me at the hearing that it shouldn’t be a
problem for me to get licensed when the nine months is over.
I am pretty sure I will get licensed and I will fight,”
said Overeem.
“Well,
for me it doesn’t matter who I fight. I want to fight for
the title. The title is my goal. Then I will have all the titles
in the world. I’m hoping for (Junior) dos Santos because
I think it would be an excellent fight.”
Overeem
will just have to wait and see what the UFC will do with him
once he returns, but one thing that still hasn’t been settled
since his exit from the UFC 146 fight card is his strained relationship
with UFC President Dana White.
White
was visibly upset about Overeem’s positive test, going as
far as calling the Dutch heavyweight a ‘liar’ and vowing
that any future dealings would go through co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta.
At
this time, Overeem admits he has not been in contact with White,
but he’s out to prove his legitimacy after the situation
arose with the commission a few months ago.
“I
have not spoken to Dana personally. But he is a busy man, has
a company to run and fans to take care of,” Overeem stated.
“I respect Dana and I want to convince Dana through my actions
that I am a legit fighter and through tests.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
BIBIANO
FERNANDES SPURNS UFC OFFER TO SIGN WITH ASIAN PROMOTION ONE FC
By Mike
Chiappetta - Senior Writer
World-ranked
bantamweight Bibiano Fernandes apparently has a new home, and
it's not in the octagon. The 32-year-old Brazilian who was briefly
announced as a UFC fighter before saying he'd never officially
signed, has now reportedly inked a deal with fast-growing Asian
promotion One FC.
One
FC said that he has officially signed with them and will debut
at an August 31 show in Manila, Philippines.
An
opponent, however, was not specified.
In
early June, the UFC thought they had reached a deal to bring
Fernandes into the fold, and even announced a date and opponent
for his first match, which was set to be UFC 149 against Roland
Delorme.
Within days, though, Fernandes said that while he had been negotiating
with the UFC, the two sides had never signed a contract, and
he had instead decided to weigh multiple offers. At the time,
sources told MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani that he had verbally
agreed to a deal before backing out when One FC offered him a
more lucrative pact.
The
One FC announcement ends the speculation about where he's headed.
Fernandes
(11-3) has won 10 of his last 11 fights dating back to 2008,
including victories over Joachim Hansen, Joe Warren and Masakazu
Imanari. The last DREAM bantamweight champion, he is ranked by
most inside the division's top 10.
One
FC, which was formed in 2011, has to date produced four events.
The most recent took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last weekend,
with Renato "Babalu" Sobral defeating Tatsuya Mizuno
in the main event.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Pepey
accepts critics and hopes to get a spot on the UFC
Story by
Marcelo Barone
Godofredo
Pepey was defeated by Rony Jason on the first TUF Brazil Finale,
at UFC 147, in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. However, despite
the loss, the featherweight highlights the importance of the
work done in the house and remembers that he got there without
sponsors or manager.
Questions
about the fans booing him, both on the event and at the open
training, Pepey affirmed the image people had of him during the
reality show explains this reaction and the rejection.
“I
guess the reality show showed an image of me on which I seemed
a little cocky, something I completely am not, not at all”,
said, accepting Dana White’s critics. “I guess it wasn’t
one of the best fights but next time I’ll put on a big show”.
The
featherweight revealed having received propositions to train
in teams in Brazil and abroad, but preferred not to release names
since he’s currently in negotiation. But he revealed that
he will probably train in Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo.
Check
below the complete interview with the TUF finalist:
Tell
us all about your performance against Rony Jason.
I
guess I had more initiative. It wasn’t according to the
plan, of course… The judge raised Rony’s arm at the
end of the fight, but I did many things. I played according to
my fighting style, I didn’t run from striking, not at all.
We started trading punches but when we went to the ground he
ran away. It’s ok. I’m not going to lay my head down.
I’ll come more focused next time, I’ll be stronger
too.
Dana
White criticized the fight right after it ended. Do you agree
with him when he says it wasn’t a good fight?
No,
I don’t agree with him. I did my best, I tried to submit
him, trade punches and knockout. I guess it wasn’t one of
the best fights but next time I’ll put on a big show and
I’ll be more focused.
At
the end you and Rony Jason had a disagreement in there. What
happened?
It
was the moment he tried to take me down, but I wanted to be on
top and he took his leg off and didn’t mind for anything
else and I guess it’s not the way to do it.
It
was at the end of the fight, right?
Right.
But it was not a misunderstanding, it was the adrenaline. He’s
a professional and so am I. respect him way too much actually.
The
fans at the gym booed you a few times. Why do you think it happened?
I
guess it was because of the show. On the show people made an
image of me that ain’t true, but it’s ok. We are always
going to be criticized, but we evolve and people follow us. Many
people root for me too.
What
is this image you said that people made out of you? And how you
really are?
I
guess the reality show showed an image of me on which I seemed
a little cocky, something I completely am not, not at all.
Do
you believe that’s why people booed you?
Yeah,
absolutely.
What
are your plans for the future? What comes next?
I’ll
keep focused, training hard and my life ain’t over. Life
goes on and I’ll keep dedicating myself to the sport. I
thanked God as I walked off the octagon and asked for His wisdom
at that moment because it’s not easy getting to the finale.
If God wanted it that way it’s because it’s not my
time and I’m sure my time will come and I’ll fight
in the UFC. I hope I’m hired. It wasn’t a good fight
but people don’t stop talking about it.
Have
you got propositions from other events?
I
don’t know if they’re signing me up or not. I’ll
wait for an answer from the UFC and then I’ll decide what
I’m going to do.
Are
you back to Fortaleza already?
Yeah,
I’m back.
Will
you keep training there or will you change to a big team?
I’ve
got some propositions here in Brazil and abroad. I’ll study
them all, I’ll hire a manager because I didn’t have
a manager nor sponsors and I guess it made a little difference.
Do
you have propositions for training in other teams, is that it?
Yes.
I have propositions to train in other teams, manager propositions
too. I’ll analyze it and see what’s best for me.
Do
you think about training in Rio or Sao Paulo?
Yeah.
There’re great chances I’ll go to one of those places.
Can
you tell us the name of the team?
No.
I’d rather not quote names now because I have many propositions.
Of course I’ll keep training and focusing to do my best
in my fights.
About
the show, what lessons did you learn from it?
The
reality show was a big step for me. I’ve grown a lot. The
recognition is amazing in my city, in my country and over the
world. Even without sponsors or manager I got to the finale,
did a good fight and fought until the third round. I’m sure
I could fight like five more rounds. Everybody could see I was
trying. I can’t complain, I can only thank Jesus Christ,
who was my only manager and sponsor and got me through.
Source:
Tatame
|
The
day Chuck Norris introduced the Gracies to the world, in 1988
Chuck
Norris paid a visit to the Gracie family in Rio de Janeiro back
in 1980, and after a training session was impressed by Jiu-Jitsu.
The star of “Braddock” liked the gentle art so much
that he encouraged his students to learn the system.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Nate
Marquardt Sick of Questions about TRT, Wants to Focus on Strikeforce
Title Fight
by Damon
Martin
Nate
Marquardt has had one of the longest years a professional athlete
could endure.
Sure,
a lot of the turmoil that Marquardt has undergone over the last
12 months is self inflicted after his treatments for testosterone
replacement therapy (TRT) caused a spike in his testosterone
levels prior to his scheduled fight at UFC on Versus 4 last June,
and he was subsequently pulled from the fight by the Pennsylvania
State Athletic Commission.
Moments
after that, Marquardt was released from his UFC contract.
At
the time, UFC president Dana White was adamant that Marquardt
would never fight in the UFC again.
Marquardt
then took to the airwaves to explain the treatments that he had
been undergoing to help some vicious mood swings, as well as
his body not reacting the same way in training as it had done
for years, and the need for TRT.
Fast
forward to almost exactly one year past the date where he was
released from the UFC and Marquardt is back in the good graces
of the owners at Zuffa, although this time he’s fighting
under the Strikeforce banner instead.
During
the year off, Marquardt was never able to take a fight, but he
was able to curb himself away from the controversial TRT treatments,
and according to the Colorado fighter he’s adjusting to
life without the therapy he needed to get by just over a year
ago.
“It’s
been challenging, I’ve had to find a lot of ways to combat
it and I’ve had to change my training schedule, but bottom
line is I’m training hard, I feel great. I’ve felt
like this before in training and done awesome,” said Marquardt
during a media conference call recently.
Unfortunately
for Marquardt, he was one of the first fighters to come out and
openly admit use of the TRT, so his name has become synonymous
with the controversial treatment.
He
also admitted recently that he has stopped using TRT, and so
the questions still come at him about how his body is reacting
a year after he said he so desperately needed the treatments
to combat fatigue and other issues he was having at the time.
The
subject remains a sore one for Marquardt, however, as he just
wants to move on and focus only on the matter at hand and that’s
his welterweight title shot against Tyron Woodley in Strikeforce
on July 14.
“I
really want to just move past that point in my life. I’m
so sick of answering TRT questions to be honest. You’d think
the media would want to talk about something new anyways, it’s
kind of like old news,” Marquardt said.
“I’ve
got a title fight coming up and I feel great and that’s
the bottom line.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
AHEAD
OF UFC 148, RANDY COUTURE BELIEVES TACTICAL ROLES REVERSED FOR
SILVA VS. SONNEN 2
By Luke Thomas - Senior Editor
When
two high-level fighters rematch, who has the responsibility to
anticipate changes in their opponents tactics and techniques
to ensure victory the second time around? According to former
UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture,
it's typically the winner of the first fight. Obviously the complexion
of the first fight can change that balance, but the logic is
this: the winner already knew what it took to win the first time.
They dug a path to victory. They know the loser of the first
bout is going to change, but how? Yet, in Couture's mind, Chael
Sonnen and Anderson Silva have the roles backwards ahead of their
rematch at UFC 148.
"It's kind of odd," Couture told MMA Fighting at his
Xtreme Couture facility recently in Las Vegas, Nevada. "Normally
I would say that the onus is on the guy who won the first fight
to anticipate the changes the loser is going to make and get
the same outcome."
"If
you look at Anderson and Chael, Anderson won by triangle choke
with two minutes left. He didn't really win the fight. He got
his ass whooped - literally - for four-plus rounds," Couture
continued, "but it's almost like he was the guy that won.
He wants it to go the same minus the triangle."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Here
Comes The Boom! UFC Goes Hollywood with Kevin James
Here
Comes The Boom starring Kevin James, Salma Hayek and a slew of
other notable names from both Hollywood and the sport of mixed
martial arts is starting to build a buzz in the MMA community,
as well as the overall entertainment media.
Expected
for release on Oct. 12, 2012, Here Comes The Boom follows former
collegiate wrestler and 42-year-old high school biology teacher
Scott Voss (played by MMA fan and active training participant
Kevin James) as he competes in MMA to help raise money for his
fledgling high school and the potential cancellation of the school’s
music program. The high school music director is played by Henry
Winkler (aka “The Fonz” for those of you old enough
to remember Happy Days).
The
trailer for Here Comes The Boom includes footage from Mark DellaGrotte’s
Sityodong, features Bas Rutten as James’ friend and also
a large role for UFC commentator and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner
Joe Rogan.
Jason
“Mayhem” Miller, Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen, and
Arianny Celeste, as well as other notables from the sport of
MMA are featured throughout the movie.
The
addition of Salma Hayek as the object of James’ affection
adds some additional credibility to the film. It should also
be noted – and it’s visible in the trailer – that
this is the first time in the Zuffa era of the UFC that the promotion
has allowed anyone to use its brand name since purchasing the
company in 2001.
“I
like Kevin and he called me up and he’s passionate about
the sport, he wanted to do this movie. We haven’t given
the rights to anybody (before),” explained UFC president
Dana White. “(In the movie) it’s UFC, we gave him the
rights to it.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
CALIFORNIA
STATE ATHLETIC COMMISSION IN DISARRAY, WITH BOSS CENSURED, AGENCY
INSOLVENT
By Mike
Chiappetta - Senior Writer
The
California state athletic commission is one of the largest combat
sports sanctioning bodies in the nation, overseeing 190 events
during its 2011 fiscal year, but it is also in chaos, a fact
highlighted by a Tuesday meeting in which it was revealed that
the agency is insolvent, with expenditures far outpacing revenue.
CSAC
is already in the red, and according to numbers released in a
memorandum from Department of Consumer Affairs budget officer
Taylor Schick, if the commission continues its current projections,
it would face a deficit of nearly $700,000 by the end of fiscal
year 2013, a shortfall that could have a catastrophic effect
on MMA and boxing in the state, because it could cause the commission
to halt its programs, thereby denying regulation for combat sports.
"Without
the ability to pay for even basic services, the Commission will
have no choice but to cease operation immediately and cancel
or postpone indefinitely all Commission regulated events,"
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) director Denise Brown wrote
in a recent letter to CSAC's executive director George Dodd.
Dodd
-- who has been the commission's executive officer since February
2010 -- came under fire in Tuesday's meeting, during which his
continued employment was a subject of debate behind closed doors.
He ultimately emerged with his job, although he was censured
for "not adequately informing the commission about the insolvency
of the athletic commission fund," according to The Los Angeles
Times.
That was not enough for one commissioner, Linda Forster, who
on Thursday resigned, saying she was "shocked" to learn
of the financial crisis.
Under this duress, California is still tasked with regulating
the upcoming July 11 UFC on FUEL 4 show, which emanates from
HP Pavilion in San Jose, as well as August 4's UFC on FOX 4 event,
which will be held at Los Angeles'' Staples Center. The UFC also
ran two events in the state in 2012 and three in 2011.
During
the open portion of the meeting held in South El Monte, Dodd
said that revenue has decreased because the state has failed
to attract as many major events as in years past.
In
fiscal 2011, he said, the commission regulated 12 shows which
generated over $25,000 of revenue apiece. In 2012, that number
dipped to seven, partly he said, due to taxing issues that deterred
promoters from going there, and partly due to the loss of Strikeforce
as a standalone promotion.
Schick's
numbers show that CSAC began the 2011-'12 fiscal year with $467,000,
and is projected to collect $1,284,000 in revenue while spending
$1,786,000. That means the fiscal year, which ends on June 30,
is likely to leave the fund with a deficit of $35,000.
Dodd,
who was famously Chael Sonnen's foil at a hearing related to
Sonnen's UFC 117 drug test that came back with an elevated T/E
ratio, said that he had attempted to slash costs, including those
related to inspectors' fees, but had been told nothing more could
be done. While he maintained his position, he has been asked
to provide a plan to address the budget shortfall and be subjected
to another job evaluation within 90 days, according to the Times.
As
of now, no scheduled fights have been affected, but given the
economic difficulties faced by state governments and regulatory
agencies across the country, this is a situation that bears watching
as a possible harbinger of trouble elsewhere.
Source:
MMA Fighting
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