Upcoming
Events
Do you
want to list an event on Onzuka.com?
Contact
Us
(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2013
2/16/12
Mayhem At The Mansion
Kauai Cage Match 14
(MMA)
(Kilohana Carriage House, Lihue, Kauai)
2012
12/7/12
Australian
Fighting Championship 4
(MMA)
(Melbourne, Australia)
12/1/12
Maui Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
(BJJ)
(Lahaina Civic Center tentatively)
11/24/12
Aloha
State BJJ Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(McKimley H.S. Gym)
11/10-11/12
Eternal Submission Tournament
(Sub Grappling)
(Kauai)
11/10/12
Toughman Xtreme Fighting Championships
(Boxing, Kickboxing, XMA, MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
10/20-21/12
NAGA
Hawaii
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Radford H. S. Gym)
10/20/12
King of the Cage: Mana
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
10/7/12
Worlds
Master Senior Championship
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, Long Beach, CA)
9/8/12
Destiny: Na Koa
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
9/1/12
Toughman Hawaii
(Boxing)
(Hilo Civic Ctr)
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)
|
|
November
2012 News Part 1
|
O2 Martial Arts Academy
provides 7 days a week training! Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu classes
taught by Black Belts Kaleo Hosaka and Chris & Mike Onzuka
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi.
Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with PJ Dean &
Chris Slavens!
We just started a
Wrestling program in May taught by Cedric Yogi.
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from
the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
Want
to Advertise on Onzuka.com?
Click here for pricing and more
information!
Short term and long term advertising available.
More than
1 million hits and counting!
|
O2
Martial Arts Academy
Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Kaleo Hosaka as
well as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
is unmatched. Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA competitor PJ Dean
as well as master boxing instructor Chris Slavens provide incredibly
detailed instruction of the sweet science.
To top it off, Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi heads our Kali-Escrima
classes (Filipino Knife & Stickfighting) who were directly
trained under the legendary Snookie Sanchez.
Our wrestling program is headed by Cedric Yogi who was previously
the head coach of the Pearl City High School Wrestling Team.
Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
the ground up!
Experienced martial artist that wants to fine tune your skill?
Our school is for you!
Mix and match your classes so you can try all the martial arts
classes offered at O2!
If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
a friendly and family environment, O2 Martial Arts Academy is
the place for you!
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Follow O2 Martial Arts news via Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/O2MAA
 |
If
GSP Wins at UFC 154, Anderson Silva Will Likely Step Into the
Octagon to Challenge Him
by Damon
Martin
UFC
middleweight champion Anderson Silva will be cage side at UFC
154 when Georges St-Pierre faces Carlos Condit for the undisputed
welterweight championship.
Silva’s
presence is notable for essentially one reason – because
he plans on calling out St-Pierre if he’s victorious at
UFC 154.
According
to UFC President Dana White, Silva will be making the trip to
Montreal to root St-Pierre on while he fights Carlos Condit,
and then likely step into the Octagon and challenge him when
the fight is over.
“There’s
no doubt Anderson Silva (is) showing up to cheer Georges St-Pierre
on, and he wants him to win this fight. He wants to fight him
after. So I would say yes (he will challenge him in the cage),”
said White on Wednesday.
Silva
last fought at UFC 153 where he toyed with and then dismantled
Stephan Bonnar in his home country of Brazil.
Since
that time there’s been a lot of speculation for what Silva
would do next in his career, and it appears all of his chips
are in the basket of facing St-Pierre in a super fight assuming
he’s victorious in Montreal.
For
his part, St-Pierre could care less that Silva will be lurking
cage side while he’s attempting to defend his belt.
“I
don’t care about Anderson Silva, he can do whatever he wants,
he can go to Florida or stay in Brazil if he wants. I’m
focusing on Carlos Condit. That’s all that matters to me,”
St-Pierre stated.
The
subject of Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre continued to
come up frequently during a media call on Wednesday, but UFC
President Dana White down played the notion that the fight is
a done deal by any means.
Still
with Silva planning on being in Montreal with the idea of calling
out St-Pierre when the fight is over, just about everyone will
be playing the speculation game until the main event takes place
on Nov 17
If
GSP vs. Anderson Silva Happens, All But a Lock to Be First UFC
at Cowboys Stadium
by
Damon Martin
It’s
a superfight that’s been talked about for years, but it
appears closer to reality now than ever before.
UFC
middleweight champion Anderson Silva will travel to Montreal
next week with the hope that welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre
will defeat Carlos Condit, and then he’ll head into the
Octagon to challenge the Canadian to a fight in 2013.
If
the fight becomes reality, it will likely be the biggest fight
in UFC history, and UFC president Dana White knows it.
That’s
why the UFC has targeted three likely destinations for the potential
superfight, although one spot seems to stand out in front of
the others.
“There’s
three great venues that you could do; we could go to Toronto,
huge stadium there, Dallas Texas Stadium, or you could do a soccer
stadium in Brazil. So those are our three options. We’ll
see where it ends up,” White said on Wednesday.
In
Toronto, the Rogers Centre would be the venue that could house
a superfight like Silva vs. St-Pierre, and already held a huge
event when the UFC traveled there in April 2011 for UFC 129.
That event packed more than 55,000 fans into the Rogers Centre
for the card, also headlined by Canada’s own St-Pierre.
Doing
a show in a soccer stadium in Brazil has also been on the radar
for UFC officials for some time, but White has often said that
doing an outdoor show is extremely tough, and not their favorite
idea in the world.
That
leaves Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, affectionately known
as “Jerry World” or “Jerry Jones’ Billion
Dollar Playpen,” after Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
The
UFC has toyed with the idea of doing a show at Cowboys Stadium
for several years, and while the other two venues mentioned could
still happen, it’s almost a lock that if Silva vs. St-Pierre
becomes a reality, the fight is headed to Texas.
“If
Georges St-Pierre vs. Anderson Silva were to happen, that’s
a fight you could do at Cowboys Stadium,” said White.
The
UFC and officials from Cowboys Stadium have already talked in
the past, and the MMA juggernaut knows it would be a welcome
visitor whenever they decide to arrive there.
“We’ve
been talking to them for a while,” White said about ongoing
talks to land at Cowboys Stadium. “Believe me, they’re
pumped and ready for whenever we can bring an event there. They’re
ready for it.”
Now
it’s just a matter of the fight actually happening, and
if it does, look for Silva vs. St-Pierre to be the first UFC
card ever to take place at Cowboys Stadium.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 6 Preview
By Tristen
Critchfield
As
the MMA world eagerly awaits the UFC welterweight title unification
bout between Georges St. Pierre and Carlos Condit at UFC 154
next week, the promotion’s traveling Octagon tour still
has one important stop to make on the way.
On
Saturday, the UFC will plant its flag on Chinese soil for the
first time ever when it invades the CotaiArena in Macau for UFC
on Fuel TV 6.
Headlining
the bill is a middleweight clash between company go-to guy Rich
Franklin and former Strikeforce 185-pound champ Cung Le. While
the card is filled with fighters from surrounding Asian nations,
just one fighter of Chinese descent -- Tiequan Zhang -- will
be competing in Macau. In its never-ending quest for global dominance,
the UFC can only hope that its inaugural visit leads to more
Chinese fighters on the roster and ultimately, more events in
the world’s most populous nation. At the very least, it
figures to be a good way to kill a few hours on a Saturday morning
-- or evening, depending on your time zone. Here is a closer
look at the UFC on Fuel TV 6 card, with analysis and picks.
Middleweights
Rich
Franklin (29-6, 1 NC, 14-5 UFC) vs. Cung Le (8-2, 1-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: After he defeated Wanderlei Silva for the second time
in a catch-weight bout at UFC 147, Franklin suggested that he
would like to make one final title run at 185 pounds before hanging
up his gloves. Now 37 years old, “Ace” has not competed
at middleweight since a victory over Travis Lutter in 2008. While
Franklin has recognized that he is too small to be a serious
contender in the current 205-pound climate, he will have to hope
that Anderson Silva retires before he does -- because no one
is clamoring for a third meeting between “The Spider”
and the former high school math teacher.
Le
was originally scheduled to lock horns with Franklin at UFC 148
before an injury to Vitor Belfort dictated that the Ohioan face
“The Axe Murderer” at UFC 147. Instead, Le earned a
three-round decision over former title challenger Patrick Cote,
landing accurate kicks to the legs, body and head of his opponent
throughout. Additionally, the sanshou specialist was able to
counter Cote effectively and even scored a couple of takedowns
in the bout’s final frame. While it was a positive sign
to see Le go the distance, cardio has always been an issue for
the 40-year-old, and his pace appeared to slow in the third round
versus Cote as well.
Headlining
the UFC’s first-ever event in China is especially significant
for Le, who was born in Vietnam. While it is unclear as to what
type of reception Le will receive from the crowd in Macau, the
fighter has expressed an appreciation for the chance to compete
in a place he considers a hub of martial arts. One point of concern
for Le is a foot injury that has not had time to mend during
his camp. During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on “The
MMA Hour,” Le revealed that the ailment was only about 80
percent healed.
If
the injury significantly affects Le’s ability to kick and
move, he will be in for an especially long night against Franklin.
The former UFC champ has a better gas tank than Le, and Franklin
is a master at adapting an approach best suited to maximize his
strengths on fight night. That usually includes a steady diet
of left hands and body kicks, and Franklin’s 6-inch reach
advantage should allow him to stay away from Le’s flashy
assortment of spinning strikes.
The
advancing age of both fighters increase the chances for a stoppage.
However, Franklin survived somewhere in the neighborhood of 50
unanswered strikes in the second round of his triumph over Silva
in June. The Team Extreme representative is certainly susceptible
to being caught but can also be extremely resourceful under heavy
fire.
Le
has a stellar 89-percent takedown defense rate, but the majority
of his opposition have not been pressure-oriented wrestlers.
Franklin does not fit into this category either, but if anyone
is likely to score a takedown in this matchup, it is “Ace.”
Once on top, Franklin has solid ground-and-pound, which could
become even more of a factor as Le fatigues in later rounds.
The
Pick: The UFC really wanted Le for the China card, but he has
only been impressive in spurts thus far during his promotional
tenure. Franklin has the gas tank, intelligence and skill set
to make life difficult for the former Strikeforce middleweight
champion. Franklin by third-round TKO.
Light Heavyweights
Thiago Silva (14-3, 5-3 UFC, 1 NC) vs. Stanislav Nedkov (12-0,
1-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: After more than a year away from the Octagon, it was
a difficult return to action in April for Silva, who drew rising
light heavyweight prospect Alexander Gustafsson at UFC on Fuel
TV 2. The aggressive Brazilian struggled with the length and
footwork of Gustafsson en route to losing a unanimous decision.
Silva was expected to face Mauricio Rua at UFC 149, but like
many fighters on that ill-fated card, he was forced to withdraw
due to injury.
Excluding
his bout against Brandon Vera at UFC 125, which was ruled a no-contest
after Silva failed a post-fight drug test, the 29-year-old has
lost three of his last four contests, falling to Lyoto Machida,
Rashad Evans and Gustafsson. Consistently faltering against the
division’s best has relegated Silva to gatekeeper status
at this point in his UFC tenure.
He
will face the relatively untested Nedkov, a powerfully built
Bulgarian who stopped Luiz Cane in his promotional debut at UFC
134. Prior to signing with the UFC, “Stucky” earned
somewhat notable victories over Travis Wiuff and Kevin Randleman
during a two-fight stint with Sengoku in Japan. The Bushido Bulgaria
product has gone the distance just twice in 12 professional bouts.
Nedkov
absorbed some decent shots from Cane in his initial UFC outing,
but he remained persistent in throwing heavy right hands throughout
the contest before finding a home for a right hand-left hook
combination that had his opponent in full-fledged retreat mode.
The 30-year-old finished the affair with a flurry of strikes
against the fence.
He
will struggle to defeat Silva with a similar approach, however,
as Nedkov lacks the reach and technique to keep the Sao Paulo
native at a safe distance. Insisting on throwing haymakers will
only allow Silva to get inside, where he can do serious damage
in close quarters. Though it did not surface in his last bout,
Nedkov owns a black belt in jiu-jitsu and is a former Bulgarian
national champion wrestler. He must put those skills to use against
Silva, who is adept at passing guard and holding positions.
The
Pick: If Nedkov can stuff Silva’s takedowns and keep the
action upright, the bout will eventually become a frenetic firefight.
Even then, Silva’s wealth of experience inspires more confidence
if things get hectic, and he will have opportunities to counter
his foe’s wild punches. Silva by KO/TKO in round two.
Welterweights
Dong Hyun Kim (15-2-1, 6-2, 1 NC , UFC) vs. Paulo Thiago (14-4,
4-4 UFC)
The
Matchup: Once known as an unbeaten welterweight and a matchup
nightmare, Kim has suffered traumatic setbacks in two of his
last three outings. A flying knee from Carlos Condit knocked
the Korean from the ranks of the undefeated at UFC 132, and a
bizarre rib injury ended his night in just 47 seconds against
Demian Maia at UFC 148.
Meanwhile,
Thiago suffered a similarly devastating loss to Siyar Bahadurzada
at UFC on Fuel TV 2, when he was caught with a counter right
hand and finished in 42 seconds. That makes three losses in four
bouts for Thiago, who was once a world-ranked 170-pound talent.
With
that in mind, there is plenty of incentive for both fighters
to put forth a good showing in order to avoid sliding further
down the welterweight rankings.
Kim’s
formula for success has been pretty basic, as he uses constant
pressure to force tie-ups and set up takedowns. Before he ran
into Condit, his mix of judo and wrestling allowed him to dictate
the action in many of his fights, most notably a three-round
verdict over Nate Diaz at UFC 125. While “Stun Gun”
displayed little to no standup earlier in his career, he has
improved in that area. Nobody is going to confuse him with a
K-1 level striker, but Kim is capable of countering effectively,
and he can land low kicks and crisp, straight punches to keep
his opponents off balance.
On
the feet, Thiago is better as a counter striker, waiting to step
in with power punches once his foe forces the action. That measured
approach will not work as well against Kim, who will use his
offense to close distance.
Kim’s
judo background makes it difficult to think Thiago will be able
to get the better of tie-ups – the Korean is a big 170 pounder
who can toss him to the mat. Once Kim gets on top, he does a
solid job of limiting his opponent’s offensive options.
Thiago is composed and has an active submission game on the mat,
but he must be opportunistic in creating scrambles and in reversals.
Otherwise, he risks being blanketed by Kim.
The
Pick: Unless either man can land something significant on the
feet, this becomes a chess match on the ground. It won’t
necessarily be thrilling, but a relentless Kim emerges with a
narrow decision.
Lightweights
Takanori Gomi (33-8, 1 NC, 2-3 UFC) vs. Mac Danzig (21-9-1, 5-5
UFC)
The
Matchup: Gomi came back from the brink of defeat against Eiji
Mitsuoka at UFC 144 to score a second-round TKO of his former
Pride Fighting Championships counterpart. While it was a feel-good
moment, especially since it came in Gomi’s homeland, evidence
of his ongoing decline was plentiful in the opening round.
Once
renowned for his numbing knockout power, “The Fireball Kid”
was reluctant to pull the trigger -- a recurring theme of late
-- and often came up short on his punches. He telegraphed many
of his strikes, and he ate his share of shots in the pocket as
he moved forward to engage with Mitsuoka. It is no secret that
Gomi likes to crouch low and throw power punches from his southpaw
stance, but the likelihood of a reprise of the Tyson Griffin
KO becomes less and less likely as the Japanese star’s one-shot
finishing ability fades.
Danzig,
who utilized clinch work, boxing and solid takedown defense to
capture a unanimous decision against Efrain Escudero at UFC 145,
has the type of skill set that can give Gomi problems. “The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 6 alumnus likes to fire off crisp,
multi punch combinations in the pocket or uppercuts in the clinch.
Good footwork and head movement will allow the Californian to
rack up points on the feet while keeping his opponent guessing.
Danzig has struggled against smothering wrestlers in the past,
but the days of Gomi utilizing top control and wicked ground-and-pound
appear to be long gone. If anyone has the edge on the mat it
is Danzig, whose solid jiu-jitsu might be able to exploit Gomi’s
suspect submission defense.
The
Pick: With Gomi, the possibility still remains that he could
catch Danzig during one of their exchanges in the pocket. A more
likely outcome sees the American mixing his strikes to the body
and head and backing his foe up with clinch work before eventually
earning the submission in round three.
Lightweights
Tiequan Zhang (15-3, 1-2 UFC) vs. Jon Tuck (6-0, 0-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: With three losses in his last four appearances, it is
reasonable to question Zhang’s standing as a legitimate
UFC talent. In his last outing, “The Mongolian Wolf”
was underwhelming in suffering a second-round knockout defeat
to Issei Tamura, a fighter who has gone the distance in five
of his seven career victories. However, as the only Chinese citizen
on the UFC roster, Zhang’s presence on this card is essential.
While the promotion has stocked the UFC on Fuel TV 6 card with
plenty of fighters from surrounding Asian nations, Zhang is the
only one who hails from the same place as most of those in attendance.
Tuck
appeared in a preliminary bout on Season 15 of “The Ultimate
Fighter,” but he did not make it into the house. The Guamanian
lightweight had a few interesting moments against eventual “TUF”
finalist Al Iaquinta, attempting an armbar and briefly taking
his opponent’s back, but the bout will be most remembered
for the gruesome broken toe Tuck acquired in losing a unanimous
decision.
That
said, “Super Saiyan” is a decent prospect with six
first-round finishes -- three knockouts and three submissions
-- in six professional bouts. Most notably, he knocked out top
One FC lightweight contender Eduard Folayang in eight seconds
in a November 2009 contest.
Zhang
will want to get this one to the floor as quickly as possible,
especially on the heels of his performance against Tamura. The
China Top Team representative is comfortable in his guard and
has a nifty guillotine choke. He is decent in scrambles and transitions
but is prone to fatiguing against someone who can match and exceed
his pace on the canvas.
Tuck
should be comfortable on the ground with Zhang, as he has plenty
of grappling experience, but his ability to test his adversary’s
chin could prove to be the deciding factor.
The
Pick: Zhang did just enough to make it to the UFC’s first
China card, but Tuck appears to have the greater upside. Tuck
breaks even on the ground and does more damage upright en route
to a unanimous decision.
Bantamweights
Alex
Caceres (7-5, 2-3 UFC) vs. Motonobu Tezuka (19-4-4, 0-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: Caceres, a cast member on Season 12 of “The Ultimate
Fighter,” looked badly overmatched in featherweight losses
to Mackens Semerzier and Jim Hettes to begin his UFC career.
“Bruce Leroy” has been much more competitive since
dropping to 135 pounds, however, besting Cole Escovedo and Damacio
Page while dropping a split verdict to Edwin Figueroa that could
have easily gone his way were it not for a two-point deduction
for groin strikes.
The
24-year-old Floridian does not have knockout power, but flashy
and technical striking from a southpaw stance allows him to keep
opponents guessing. Caceres is not especially powerful, either,
but he compensates for this deficiency with an active guard.
When Page got too careless with his ground-and-pound attack this
past June, Caceres was able to capitalize with a triangle-choke
finish in round two.
A
longtime veteran of Pancrase, Tezuka is stepping in on short
notice for Kyung Ho Kang, who withdrew from the contest due to
a foot injury. The 25-year-old native of Nagano, Japan, has gone
the distance in 13 of his 19 career victories, and has lost just
once in 15 bouts since 2009.
Tezuka
lacks the versatile standup arsenal of Caceres. Instead, he uses
one-two combinations and the occasional leg kick to set up his
shot (Tezuka has one TKO to his credit, and that was the result
of a doctor stoppage). The Japanese fighter looks to consistently
advance position on the ground, and he is fairly aggressive in
transitioning from one submission attempt to another. The downside
of this is that Tezuka is prone to surrendering position as well.
Tezuka
will not want to stand with Caceres for any significant period
of time. He does not disguise his takedowns very well, however,
and he could experience some difficulty getting inside on the
rangy American.
The
Pick: If and when these two go to the canvas, the results could
be very entertaining as both are active but also tend to find
themselves in bad positions. Caceres appears to have matured
since his days on “TUF,” and he will get the win by
late submission or decision.
Flyweights
John Lineker (19-6, 0-1 UFC) vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani (19-5-6,
0-1 UFC)
Urushitani
must be prepared to weather an early storm, as Lineker will be
launching blistering hooks and uppercuts in hopes of the quick
knockout. The more technical the bout becomes, the more it favors
Urushitani. It’s difficult to imagine him holding off Lineker
for 15 minutes and jabbing his way to victory, however. Lineker
by third-round TKO.
Middleweights
Riki Fukuda (18-6, 1-2 UFC) vs. Tom DeBlass (7-1, 0-1 UFC)
Former
Deep middleweight champion Fukuda dropped a unanimous decision
to Constantinos Philippou in his last bout at UFC 148. The Japanese
fighter is at his best when he can control the positioning using
his wrestling. Meanwhile, DeBlass drops from light heavyweight
for his sophomore Octagon effort following a majority decision
loss to Cyrille Diabate at UFC on Fuel TV 2. DeBlass is an accomplished
grappler, but he will have to display a better gas tank at 185
pounds than he did in falling on short notice to Diabate. Fukuda
by decision.
Bantamweights
Takeya Mizugaki (15-7-1, 2-2 UFC) vs. Jeff Hougland (10-5, 1-1
UFC)
Mizugaki’s
defining attribute is toughness, as he will push forward in hopes
of forcing an ugly trench war. The Japanese competitor has fallen
short against the top level of competition, but as long as he
avoids falling into a submission against the resilient Hougland,
he will capture a decision.
Welterweights
David Mitchell (11-2, 0-2 UFC) vs. Hyun Gyu Lim (10-3-1, 0-0
UFC)
A
former Tachi Palace staple, Mitchell has fallen to T.J. Waldburger
and Paulo Thiago in his first two Octagon efforts. Lim has finished
the majority of his victories inside of a round while fighting
for various promotions. Mitchell via first-round submission.
Source:
Sherdog
|
At
the intersection of politics and MMA
By Josh
Gross
ESPN.com
Comments
made about Barack Obama led to Secret Service agents at Jacob
Volkmann's front door.
Jacob
Volkmann takes up space on what must be a very short list. After
all, how many people can claim President Barack Obama smashed
his head into a wall?
Well,
almost.
Following
politically charged on-camera comments early last year in the
wake of a win at UFC 125 -- the lightweight mixed martial artist
said he wanted to fight the president because "someone's
got to knock some sense into that idiot" -- enterprising
editors at "The Tonight Show" worked their magic.
As
the 32-year-old resident of White Bear Lake, Minn., was being
interviewed, the president digitally stepped in behind him and,
smiling wry, remorselessly bounced the fighter’s head off
a glass-framed photo.
"I
couldn't believe they made it look so real," Volkmann said.
The
spot not only earned big laughs from Jay Leno's audience, it
elevated the opinion of a cage fighting chiropractor from Minnesota
onto the national stage.
Life
turned considerably less amusing as threats were hurled at Volkmann
and his family. Zealots had the gall to call his home. Once in
a while he argued, hoping an actual policy discussion would break
out. Rarely did it result in something so satisfying.
"I
didn't think it would be that bad," he said. "Some
of those people are ridiculous in what they're saying. They don't
even know what I'm talking about and they'll call me an idiot
or want to kill me and my family just because I don't like Obama.
I don't understand why."
Police
and Secret Service knocked on his door within days of the comments
to gauge how serious he was. And White Bear Lake High School
suspended him from wrestling coaching duties, granted it was
a week with pay.
The
reaction illustrates perfectly why athletes shy away from publicly
discussing their politics. If a poorly worded statement from
an unranked UFC veteran can spark that kind of reaction, imagine
the possibilities.
Despite
the proven potential for blowback, advocacy for candidates, ballot
measures, political ideologies and even conspiracy theories aren't
shunned or in short supply in MMA circles.
"It's
a sport that has built itself on that edgy, non-politically correct
attitude," said John Fuller, operator of Full Athlete Marketing,
a sports marketing and publicity firm that works with pros in
various sports, including UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson
and interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit. "And that's
what you expect from fighters."
There
could be several explanations, said Edward Sidlow, a political
science professor at Eastern Michigan University who studied
the intersection of politics and sport. Athletes signed to major
sports leagues are often contractually prohibited from speaking
politically, or, at least, mightily dissuaded from doing so by
agents and public relations consultants wary of getting off-message.
Athletes,
Sidlow said, "are cautioned by their agents that it's a
Pandora's box they might be opening if they do become politically
active in a public way. ... Professional sports has become such
a business, and it's bad business to mix politics into your work
if you're in the entertainment industry."
With
revenue tied to jersey sales, endorsements and merchandising,
alienating fans is the last thing pro baseball, football or basketball
players want to do. As Michael Jordan famously noted, Republicans
buy sneakers, too. However Josh Thomson, the former Strikeforce
lightweight champion, also an outspoken critic of President Obama,
disagrees with this way of thinking.
"Honestly,
I kind of criticize other professional athletes that don't really
speak up on issues like this," Thomson said. "They're
just doing what they can to keep their fans and, yeah, maybe
you can do that and build a better reputation, but it's kind
of disturbing. You don't really have your voice. But to me certain
things are very important."
If
Thomson had more on the line financially, perhaps his perspective
would change. For now, hammering away at the president on Twitter,
or walking to the cage on Showtime wearing an anti-Obama shirt
he designed hasn't cost him.
In
fact, Thomson estimated he received nearly 4,000 tweets the night
he wore the shirt, and soon was able to make a few bucks selling
it online. A bit of a boon since most mixed martial artists don't
see much in the way of ancillary rights generated money, let
alone something so lucrative as revenue sharing.
"I
think we're the working class of professional athletes,"
said Thomson, a lifelong conservative. "We're not making
millions to stand in the outfield and try and catch a ball, or
dribble a ball up and down a court. I'm not saying that other
athletes don't work hard, but we're the blue collar of professional
athletes. We do grimy work for our money. It's not like we make
millions. Most of us make decent money, just not millions, so
it's different for us."
The
recently retired Kenny Florian has taken a public political stance
in California regarding food policy.
Said
recently retired Kenny Florian: "I think we're lucky that
whatever fan base we do have we can communicate with them and
share our views and hope to do whatever we can to educate them
on different things we're passionate about, whatever it is. That's
our right as Americans."
Florian
has taken to Twitter to share his thoughts regarding U.S. food
policy with more than 143,000 followers. Believing it would propel
the rest of the country to follow along, he wants a California
ballot proposition to pass that would require labeling genetically
modified food products in the state.
"At
the very least I'm getting some information out there,"
Florian said. "And getting some people to go and do research,
or find out even what GMO is, or what Prop 37 is -- I guess I
did my job."
Politics,
the saying goes, is inherently local.
Florian's
interest in food policy started five years ago, when he read
up on sports science, nutrition, eating and training well. It
hit home when his older brother was diagnosed with diabetes earlier
this year. And after watching a televised advertisement in opposition
of Prop 37, Florian, who lives in California but isn't registered
to vote there, acted on an urge to engage.
"It's
affected my life and I see the importance of it," Florian
said. "I think it's important for people to know about food
and how to eat healthy and what to eat. That's probably one of
the most common questions I got when I first started on Twitter.
It's something my brother and I and a few people in my family
are very passionate about."
Volkmann's
beef is similarly personal.
Entangled
in the housing crisis in 2009, he had serious concerns about
keeping his home. In the end he decided to short sell. Unable
to find relief through the Making Home Affordable Program, Volkmann
holds the president responsible. Without that experience, there's
no statement about wanting to fight Obama, no "Tonight Show"
skit, no visit from the Secret Service. All of which would have
been fine with him.
Volkmann
wants people to know his distaste for politicians is nonpartisan.
Republican congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann
is running for re-election in his district and he promised not
to vote for her, either.
"They
say it's bad for your PR," Volkmann said. "Most fans
want you talking just about fighting and staying out of politics,
because that's one place where fans escape from politics for
a while. They say it's not a good choice, which is fine. I've
already opened Pandora's box. I'm going to have to keep going
with it, right?"
Source:
ESPN
|
War
Machine reflects on nearly two years of life in jail, returning
to MMA
By Luke
Thomas
The
former contestant of season 6 of Spike TV's 'The Ultimate Fighter'
reflects on poor decisions and bad luck that forced him to sacrifice
two years of his life behind bars as he prepares to face his
fellow Bellator welterweights.
It
often seems like the days where Jon Koppenhaver wasn't a controversial
figure in mixed martial arts never happened. Sure, they existed.
Many remember them. 'War Machine' was a noteworthy cast member
on season 6 of 'The Ultimate Fighter'. But since then? It's been
TMZ headlines, run-ins with the law and missed opportunity after
missed opportunity.
And
yet, there appeared to be a brief moment when Koppenhaver was
righting the ship. After earning a year-long jail sentence in
a San Diego jail on felony assault charges as well as three years
of probation in 2010, the former UFC welterweight used the experience
and a 2011 release to begin forging a new, more responsible path
in life.
But
no matter the newfound attitude or lessons learned, he couldn't
outrun all of the many mistakes of his past.
In
an attempt to settle a two-year litigation battle over another
previous physical altercation in Las Vegas, Nev. gone wrong,
Koppenhaver accepted a plea deal with the local district attorney:
in exchange for no jail time and a restitution fine of $60,000,
he'd plead guilty to the charges of assault. Finally, he'd be
done. Everything was finally going right and he was putting the
ugliness behind him. That's precisely where it all went wrong.
After
seven months free, Koppenhaver was unexpectedly sent back to
jail by an angry judge, sentenced to another year in jail.
Released
just last week early for good behavior, the Bellator welterweight
is now telling his story as a cautionary tale of how bad decisions
and bad luck can make for a toxic cocktail.
Here's
what went wrong: as he later found out, plea deals between a
guilty party and a district attorney are not legally binding
for sentencing judges to honor. As a practice they almost always
do, but also have the legal discretion to ignore them. For reasons
that Koppenhaver says are still unclear, the new sentencing judge
threw the book at him. She threw out the terms of the plea agreement
and put him in jail.
Koppenhaver
was gobsmacked and devasted.
"I
signed [the plea deal]. I went in front of the judge," Koppenhaver
told Ariel Helwani Wednesday on The MMA Hour. "She just
looked at me. She was like, 'Look at you! You look like you're
going to pop! I think you're on steroids! She started going after
me. She goes, 'You know what? I'm not going to honor this plea
agreement. You need to go to jail!' I was shocked. I didn't even
think it was possible. I thought there was no chance of that
happening. It hurt a lot. I think it was irresponsible on her
part because I just did a year. I changed my ways. I don't know
what she was doing. She's crazy."
In
Koppenhaver's mind, the punishment wasn't only gratuitous. He
also had no idea how to even begin processing the idea that all
the lessons learned would have to be painfully taught to him
again. For what reason? He believed he'd already turned a corner
in his adult life. He was trying right old wrongs, in this case
proactively settling the previous litigation battle so nothing
would be hanging over his head. Despite his best intentions,
it all blew up in his face.
"It
was devastating. I just did the year. Got out; I was out for
seven months, I was doing very well. I beat [Roger] Huerta. I
had the Bellator tournament coming up. My probation officer,
I had no problems with him. I was just living my life."
The
first stint in jail had a silver lining. It served as a painful
but valuable lesson on how poor decisions in life can impact
a person. As Koppenhaver soon found out, the second term just
inflicted extra pain. He wasn't only missing out on career opportunities;
he also lost people who were the closest to him without ever
having the opportunity to put closure on those key relationships.
"I
had a lot of bad things happen while I was in jail," he
told Helwani. "My wife got deported to Hungary while I was
in there; I couldn't say bye. My grandma died. My grandma lived
10 minutes away, I couldn't say bye. So I had a lot of crappy
things going on. It was depressing. I never came to terms with
the fact that I was back in jail. That's hard to believe maybe,
but it doesn't feel real in there. You don't even realize how
much time really passed until you get out and realize, 'Man,
I was really in there for a year. All these things really did
happen. My grandma's really dead. I'm really alone again.' I
don't know. It's a trip man. It's really like a time warp."
He
did whatever he could to pass the time in administrative segregation.
He didn't have much, but if he had anything it was time. Koppenhaver
spent 23 hours a day in his cell on the weekdays, the entire
day locked up on the weekends. The first go-round in jail taught
him reading could be an engrossing escape, though, so he again
sought that out. Koppenhaver claims he read 117 books in nine
months in the Las Vegas jail. His favorite book from the last
nine months is "Forbidden Science" by Douglas Kenyon,
a conspiracy theorist's take on scientific discoveries and theories.
There
was occasionally time for other things. Even luxuries like television.
But where reading shielded him from the truths of the outside
world, television reinforced it. It brought heartache and a reminder
of all that had happened to him. A chance showing of UFC on FOX
3 caused a moment of reflection about where he was and what it
all meant.
"It's
depressing because I should be fighting," he lamented. "I
knew I was missing the Bellator tournament; missing an opportunity
to make money and further my career. You're locked in there and
you feel worthless. You see these guys out there fighting and
you think 'That should be me out there, man.' It made me depressed
to see it, actually."
Depressed
or not, Koppenhaver kept his head down and stayed out of trouble.
His obsessive reading of books kept him on good terms and nine
months into a year-long sentence, he was released early.
Through
all the tumult, Bellator held onto him. Koppenhaver says they
were sympathetic to his plight, that they agreed with him he'd
been abused by an overzealous judge while trying to do the right
thing in settling a longstanding dispute. As a consequence, he's
still on track to fight for them in January as part of their
season 8 'Vote for the Fight' effort. He - along with fellow
welterweights Paul Daley, Ben Saunders, and Douglas Lima - will
serve as a group fans can pick from as they play matchmaker by
voting for the match-up they want to see.
That
doesn't mean he's completely over the hump. How could he be?
Yes, he spared for the first time Monday and says he did better
than expected, but believes the hardest part about jail is confronting
and picking up the pieces of everything you left when you went
in. As Koppenhaver notes, they're all still waiting for you when
you get out.
"The
first couple of days [free] was tough," he said. "Super
anxiety. Super depressed and just sensory overload. It was pretty
much hard, but now it's been a week and I feel a lot better.
My head's straightened out and I'm back on my medication. I'm
back in the swing of things. Right now I'm training. It feels
good."
"It's
a hard thing to explain," he continued. "Jail is easy,
man. You just sit there and rot. It's not hard. The hardest part
is getting out. You get out and everything is uncertain. You
don't really have anything. Jail kind of insulates you like a
bubble and nothing's real. When you get out, you realize what
really happened. It's just overwhelming."
Overwhelming
as it may be, Koppenhaver has help and friends close to him.
He has the support of Bellator and the opportunity to make up
for lost time. He's also got the experience of nearly two years
behind bars to remind him what the right path looks like. Perhaps
most importantly, he also has the clean slate: all of his previous
legal disputes are settled.
"Now
there's nothing that can come back and haunt me. These two things
that happened, they're gone. They're done. There's no way they
can screw me now. I got my probation. I abide by the terms, whatever
they tell me to do. They can't screw me," he said.
"I'm
not going to go back. There's no way I'm going to do nothing
new. I'm cool. I'm just going to train, get back in shape, lay
low and just do my thing."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Rory
MacDonald Admits VADA Tests are “Annoying” But He Can
Deal With It
by Damon
Martin
For
the first time in UFC history, two fighters will undergo additional
drug testing in addition to those administered by a state athletic
commission.
UFC
on Fox 5 fighters B.J. Penn and Rory MacDonald accepted the offer
of VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency) to undergo random drug
testing as part of their fight scheduled for December in Seattle.
The
two fighters essentially agreed to the testing when going back
and forth on Twitter, and now with their fight just a month away,
both Penn and MacDonald are starting their involvement in the
additional testing.
According
to MacDonald, his first VADA test came just a few days ago while
he was in Montreal training in preparation for his bout with
Penn.
“It
already started. My first test was last week, can’t remember
which day, but I just got a random knock on the door and they
did the test. So it’s from here to the fight, it’s
random testing,” MacDonald told Fuel TV on Monday.
The
testing done by VADA can occur any time between the hours of
6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and the athletes are required to notify the
testing agency where they are located and can be contacted at
all times. A testing agent can randomly test the fighters at
any time and can ask for blood and urine samples.
MacDonald
doesn’t mind participating in the rules and regulations
that are required to be a part of the VADA testing, but admits
it can be nuisance at times.
“It’s
pretty annoying. I don’t like getting woken up in the morning,
and it threw my routine off. I didn’t expect it. I kind
of forgot about it to tell you the truth,” said MacDonald.
“So
it was a bit annoying that day, but if it only happens a couple
of times, a few times, it is what it is. I can deal with it.”
The
VADA testing will continue up until his fight with Penn and all
results collected will be forward to the athletic commission
in Washington state where the UFC on Fox 5 bout will take place.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Who
can stop Keenan Cornelius at brown belt?
There’s
a deadly beast unleashed in the brown belt division. Who can
rein him in?
Recently-decorated
brown belt Keenan Cornelius, a jewel in the Team Lloyd Irvin
crown, put in another sterling performance at the Long Beach
Pyramid, last Sunday in California.
As
has now come to be expected of him, Keenan took home two gold
medals, at the 2012 No-Gi World Championship.
At
medium heavyweight he tapped out all his opponents; at absolute
he again met up with his rival Francisco “Sinistro”
Iturralde of team Alliance, and the only fighter he didn’t
submit was his teammate Wilbur Leonard, his opponent in the final,
another gold medalist, the winner of the ultraheavyweight division.
Once again, the athletes on Lloyd Irvin team refused to close
out, and locked horns for real.
Is
there anyone in the brown belt division who can stop this wizard
of the mats?
Who
would you like to see Keenan facing next season?
Commitment in Belo Horizonte
The
young American has a few commitments on his agenda for next year.
In January, he should be popping by the IBJJF European Championship,
in Lisbon, Portugal. On the 28th of April, Kennan is one of the
attractions at the Copa Pódio event in Belo Horizonte,
Minas Gerais, headlined by the Lightweight Grand Prix. The Lloyd
Irvin athlete is set to take part in one of the supermatches.
Let
us know what you think, Jiu-Jitsu lover: who can stop Keenan
Cornelius?
Watch
the brown belt in the final of his weight group and share your
prediction.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Dan
Henderson says he's fighting Lyoto Machida at UFC 156 on Super
Bowl weekend
By: Jamie
Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The
UFC has discussed putting together a bout between Dan Henderson
and Lyoto Machida for some time, and now the fight might have
a set event.
Henderson
appeared on Thursday's new edition of MMA Uncensored Live on
Spike TV, and said he's been told by the UFC that the bout with
Machida will be a part of the UFC 156 event on Feb. 2 in Las
Vegas. It's a major fight for the UFC's Super Bowl weekend card,
as the winner may be the next to fight UFC Light Heavyweight
Champion Jon Jones after his bout with Chael Sonnen following
The Ultimate Fighter 17.
Of
course, Henderson had already been scheduled to face Jones at
UFC 151, but a knee injury forced him out of the event, and set
off a domino effect for the division from there. Because of waiting
out the title shot and then suffering an injury, he'll miss the
entirety of 2012, having not fought since his epic five-round
win over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 139 last November.
Machida
lost out on a promised title shot after turning down his rematch
with Jones on short notice. Machida was choked out by Jones at
UFC 140 last December, but returned in August with a decisive
stoppage win over Ryan Bader.
UFC
156 will be headlined by a Featherweight Championship bout between
Jose Aldo and former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar,
who will be making his debut at 145 lbs.
Source:
MMA Torch
|
Nate
Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedine targeted for Strikeforce's return
in January
By Ariel
Helwani
Strikeforce's
next event is starting to slowly come together.
According
to sources close to the event, Nate Marquardt will defend his
Strikeforce welterweight title against Tarec Saffiedine at a
planned Jan. 12 event. A host city and venue is still unknown
at this time. The fight is expected to be televised on Showtime.
Strikeforce
has yet to officially announce the fight, which has been verbally
agreed to by all parties involved.
Marquardt
(32-10-2) won the Strikeforce belt in his promotional debut when
he knocked out Tyron Woodley in July. Meanwhile, Saffiedine (13-3)
has won his last three fights in a row, most recently defeating
Roger Bowling via unanimous decision in August.
Strikeforce
hasn't held an event since that August show, headlined by Ronda
Rousey vs. Sarah Kaufman. Since then, the promotion canceled
September and November shows due to injuries.
Showtime
and Strikeforce announced last month that they were planning
a "stacked" show for their return next year.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
TUF
Brazil to gather six Jiu-Jitsu world titles
Via
his Twitter account, Jiu-Jitsu ace Rubens Charles “Cobrinha”
Maciel announced that he will indeed be taking part in the second
season of the TUF Brazil reality show, in 2013. He will be the
grappling coach for the team of Fabricio Werdum, who will take
on Rodrigo Minotauro and his team of newbie welterweights.
With
two-time world champion Werdum and four-time champion Cobrinha
(who also added a fourth world title in No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu to his
ledger last weekend), the expectations of Jiu-Jitsu fans in Brazil
shoot through the stratosphere: could they learn something new
in Jiu-Jitsu on Globo Network next year?
Share
your thoughts in the comments field below, gentle reader.
The TUF teams
Originally
a capoeira stylist and now a black belt with acrobatic maneuvers,
Rubens Cobrinha wields a potent guard game both in and out of
the gi. He hasn’t made his MMA debut yet. He will join forces
with Wanderlei Silva, former Chute Boxe coach Rafael Cordeiro,
Kenny Johnson the wrestling coach, and Felipe Werdum, the capoeira-stylist
brother of the heavyweight.
Minotauro’s picks for coaches
Luiz
Dórea, Everaldo Penco (Jiu-Jitsu), Eric Albarracin (wrestling),
Sheymon Moraes and Vitor Miranda (Thai boxing).
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 6 Prelims: 5 Reasons to Care
By Mike
Whitman
On
Saturday, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will hold an event
on Chinese soil for the very first time, when the Las Vegas-based
promotion hosts UFC on Fuel TV 6.
Headlined
by a middleweight showdown between ex-UFC champion Rich Franklin
and former Strikeforce titlist Cung Le, the Nov. 10 event takes
place at CotaiArena in Macau.
That
means those particularly dedicated fans in North America must
drag their behinds out of bed at 9 a.m. ET in order to catch
the event’s preliminary card on Facebook. West coast people,
enjoy watching that sunrise.
Here
are five reasons to slip on your bathrobe, make a pot of coffee
and tune your Internet box to the UFC on Fuel TV 6 stream:
Another Chance for Urushitani
Yasuhiro
Urushitani needs to do something to make fans forget about his
March knockout loss to Joseph Benavidez.
For
a while, it seemed like I couldn’t go through a single day
without seeing that highlight at some point, meaning that probably
also holds true for many UFC fans. For those folks, watching
Urushitani swallow Benavidez’s right hook is not only their
enduring image of the former Shooto champion, it is their lone
point of reference.
In
the span of just a few months, the UFC has quickly grown its
flyweight division to include more than a dozen fighters, and
the quality of the competitors acquired speaks for itself. Top
to bottom, flyweight might be the most talented division in the
UFC.
To
that end, Urushitani needs to bear down and start fighting for
his professional life right now, or his UFC experience could
quickly morph from a lousy first impression into an unstoppable
chain of painful events, especially when John Lineker is standing
in the on-deck circle.
Hands of Stone
Likely
still flying under the radar for casual observers, Lineker is
a fighter who could quickly become a fan favorite, provided he
tempers his aggression with strategy in the cage and doesn’t
make a habit out of missing weight.
Lineker’s
punching power and eagerness to batter the ribs of his opponents
are rare and exciting qualities for a flyweight to possess, but
they could easily amount to little if the Brazilian continues
to make the same mistakes that he made against Louis Gaudinot
at UFC on Fox 3, the first of which resulted in Lineker coming
in heavy at 127 pounds.
Though
Lineker’s slugfest with Gaudinot proved to be one saucy,
fan-friendly affair, I really believe that Lineker gave that
fight away. Leaving one’s neck exposed against a fighter
as skilled as Gaudinot usually only ends one way, and the American
did not hesitate to cinch up a fight-ending guillotine when the
opportunity arose.
Provided
Lineker can correct the aforementioned errors and keep his chin
down while chucking that heavy leather, I think “Hands of
Stone” could find himself as a member of the top 10 club
for many moons to come. Before that can happen, however, he must
get past Urushitani.
DeBlass Blastoff
On
Saturday, I expect we will all see exactly what Tom DeBlass has
planned for his Octagon run.
Entering
the UFC light heavyweight fray by taking a fight in Stockholm
with Cyrille Diabate on just 12 days’ notice is not what
most would call the most ideal of circumstances. Even so, the
New Yorker managed to plant “The Snake” on his back
in round one. Were it not for DeBlass’ admittedly shallow
gas tank that night, I think he would have won that fight.
The
former Ring of Combat champion may be best known for his skills
on the mat, but DeBlass should also be regarded as a threat standing,
if only because of the power he holds in his overhand right and
left hook.
Perhaps
Diabate was out of DeBlass’ league in the standup department,
but the same should not be true for Riki Fukuda, despite the
Japanese fighter probably being the smoother striker of the two.
I expect that DeBlass’ punching power will be even more
pronounced at 185 pounds, a likelihood that could pay dividends
if he lets his hands go when setting up his takedowns against
the Grabaka representative.
Finding Fukuda
Speaking
of Fukuda, he is one tough guy to judge.
First,
Fukuda got robbed against Nick Ring to kick off 2011. He took
out his aggression from that loss on Steve Cantwell one year
later, after which he nearly speared Costa Philippou’s eyeball
right out of his dome en route to losing a unanimous decision
at July’s UFC 148. Can anybody tell me what any of that
actually means?
Fukuda
seems to be both continually improving and standing still. While
the former Deep champion appears to have bettered all of his
skills since joining the UFC, it seems that he has not yet put
it all together into a single, effective package.
The
middleweight division is no longer the barren wasteland it once
was. If Fukuda does not quickly develop a more dominant, unique
skill set, he could easily burn himself out in the middle of
the UFC’s 185-pound pack.
Uphill for ‘Hellbound’
I
couldn’t forget the beating that Jeff Hougland took at the
hands of Yves Jabouin if I tried.
“Hellbound”
offered virtually no meaningful offense in that UFC on Fuel TV
3 appearance, hitting the canvas in rounds one and three courtesy
of Jabouin’s powerful striking skills. It is unclear what,
if anything, Hougland could have taken from that fight that is
even remotely positive. Nevertheless, I have a feeling the bantamweight
must find a way to improve in short order if he hopes to avoid
catching a pink slip.
In
facing Jabouin, Hougland was dealt no favors by UFC matchmaker
Joe Silva, and I believe the fighter’s path to victory against
Takeya Mizugaki will also be a difficult one. Though the former
WEC title challenger has struggled to find consistency during
his three years under the Zuffa umbrella, Mizugaki should not
be underestimated. He may only hold a 4-5 record in his last
nine fights, but it should be noted that the Japanese standout’s
defeats have come against the likes of Miguel Torres, Scott Jorgensen,
Urijah Faber, Brian Bowles and Chris Cariaso.
Can
Hougland right his ship and avoid a loss that could easily cost
him his job, or will Mizugaki take care of business and show
he is still a relevant contributor to the UFC’s bantamweight
division?
Source
Sherdog
|
Report:
Strikeforce champ Ronda Rousey becomes first female fighter in
UFC history
by Matt
Erickson
In
an historic and groundbreaking moment for mixed martial arts
history, Ronda Rousey will soon be a member of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship.
Rousey,
the Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion, will become the
first female fighter in UFC history, crossing a barrier that
even a year ago seemed to be highly unlikely, if not nearly impossible.
The
news comes from TMZ, though sources with the UFC and Strikeforce
could not immediately confirm the report to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
Though
no official word has come yet from the UFC or Strikeforce, UFC
President Dana White tweeted a smiley-face icon not long after
the social media world was abuzz with talk of TMZ's report. That
smiley face is a White tradition of sorts dating back to Fedor
Emelianenko's first loss in nearly 10 years – though Thursday's
smiley tweet could be mere coincidence.
Rousey
(6-0 MMA, 4-0 SF), according to TMZ, will become the UFC's first
female champion, with her 135-pound Strikeforce title now becoming
the UFC's women's bantamweight title. An opponent for her first
title defense in the UFC will need to be sought, of course, and
will make that opponent the second female UFC signee.
The
hope from fans and Zuffa officials alike has been that Rousey
would fight Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos once Santos returns
from a yearlong steroids suspension. But Santos has been hesitant
to drop from 145 pounds, where she was Strikeforce's champion
before being stripped of the title after her positive test. But
with a spot on a UFC card, likely a pay-per-view and potentially
in a headlining slot, available to drop down to fight Rousey,
her feelings may change.
Rousey,
in just a short window of time, has taken the MMA world by storm.
She ran through three amateur opponents with first-round armbars,
then turned pro and proceeded to submit her first four foes with
the same move, all in the first round.
She
got a title shot this past March against Miesha Tate, and though
Tate lasted longer than all of Rousey's previous opponents combined,
she still was forced to tap to the same now-legendary and feared
armbar.
In
her first title defense this past August in San Diego, Rousey
submitted Sarah Kaufman – by armbar – in less than
a minute.
At
the same time she has been dominating inside the cage, Rousey
has been a force outside of it, as well. She was nominated for
a record four World MMA Awards this year. She has appeared on
the cover of ESPN The Magazine for "The Body Issue."
She's been on with Conan O'Brien, co-hosted with TMZ, had a Showtime
"All Access" special, was called "the greatest
female fighter of all time" by Rolling Stone and is featured
in the current issue of Sports Illustrated.
But
perhaps the biggest barrier Rousey needed to cross was breaking
White of his long-held stance that women never would fight in
the UFC.
White's
stance has been predicated on a belief that there aren't enough
high-level female fighters to build deep enough divisions to
warrant having them in the UFC. But it has been Rousey who has,
as he has admitted, forced him to take another look.
And
recently, White said that new look was enough for him to say
that the UFC would soon cross the gender barrier – though
he wasn't certain how soon it would be.
According
to TMZ, Rousey will debut for the UFC soon. And at the same time,
the site reported the upcoming Jan. 12 Strikeforce show, first
reported by MMAjunkie.com, will be the promotion's last before
folding. So Rousey would be looking for a new home no matter
what.
Now
that new home apparently will come under the banner of the largest
MMA promotion in the world.
For
more on the UFC's upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors
section of the site.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Ryan
Bader Holds Charity Event to Benefit Wounded Warriors Project
UFC
light heavyweight Ryan Bader will hold a charity event this Saturday
in Arizona to benefit the Wounded Warriors Project.
The
Wounded Warriors Project is a non-profit charity that helps veterans
coming back from military service get back to work, helping their
families, and serving their needs after a return to the United
States from active duty.
Bader
and his teammates from Power MMA & Fitness will hold a charity
event at Rawhide at the Wild Horse Pass Casino and Resort in
Chandler, AZ, including a celebrity blackjack tournament and
live band.
Several
top UFC fighters are expected to attend including Bader, UFC
lightweight champion Benson Henderson, Gray Maynard, Chris Weidman,
Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold and more.
Tickets
can be purchased through Power MMA & Fitness in Arizona by
calling 480-632-9662 and more information can also be obtained
by visiting the Facebook page for the event.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Tomorrow
|
Demetrious
Johnson vs. John Dodson Flyweight Title Fight Headlines UFC on
Fox 6
by Damon
Martin
The
next major UFC on Fox show headed to Chicago will feature a flyweight
title fight pitting champion Demetrious Johnson against top contender
John Dodson.
UFC
on Fox 6 will take place on Jan. 26 from the United Center in
Chicago. UFC officials announced the bout via UFC Tonight on
Tuesday.
Demetrious
“Mighty Mouse” Johnson won the inaugural 125-pound
title in September when he picked up a unanimous decision victory
over Joseph Benavidez.
Now
the Washington native will put the flyweight belt on the line
for the first time ever, while also headlining the next major
UFC on Fox card.
Opposing
Johnson in Chicago will be Ultimate Fighter season 14 winner
John Dodson.
The
Team Jackson/Winkeljohn fighter earned the title shot with back-to-back
wins at flyweight including his last victory over former top
ranked 125-pounder Jussier Da Silva.
Now
Dodson will look to become the latest Ultimate Fighter winner
to wrap gold around their waist in the UFC.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
MMA
Paper Trail: Ratings Game
By Jack
Encarnacao
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship and its cable television partner
made bold choices and declarations in announcing plans for the
next season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which has struggled
mightily in ratings in its first two seasons on FX.
It
was announced the show will be moved off Fridays to another weekday,
and that Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen will serve as coaches for
the show’s 17th season, which premieres in January. In making
the announcement, FX fired a shot across the bow at Spike TV,
which will launch a competing MMA reality series when it begins
broadcasting Bellator Fighting Championship events the same month
“TUF 17” premieres.
The
current season of “TUF,” which wraps next month, has
set new viewership lows for the UFC’s trademark show. The
average audience for the Oct. 12 episode was only 624,000, appreciably
lower than the show ever dipped on Spike. UFC President Dana
White has pointed in the past to strong ratings for TUF 16 in
the desirable Male 18-34 demographic to mitigate gloom. For some
episodes this month, however, that case could not be made. The
Oct. 12 show was sixth among Males 18-34 on cable that night;
among viewers 18-49, the episode didn’t rank in the top
100 shows on cable.
One
of the most oft-cited reasons for the low numbers is TUF’s
Friday night timeslot, among the least desirable in television
for the UFC’s core demographic. FX, which like the rest
of the Fox family is in the first of a seven-year contract with
the UFC, has yet to commit to which night of the week the show
will move to, though Tuesday has been strongly rumored.
On
a media teleconference, FX Executive Vice President Chuck Saftler
said the network would be watching to see what night Spike schedules
Bellator before making a decision. Saftler said Spike should
“watch their ass,” referencing the UFC’s former
network partner using its rights to broadcast “TUF”
reruns and past UFC fights to counter-program “TUF”
on FX and create confusion. Spike, for instance, aired “Best
of The Ultimate Fighter” episodes that went against the
first FX season of TUF earlier this year. The verbal heat has
ramped up considerably in recent weeks between the UFC/Fox and
Spike. Dana White has taken to calling his former partner “Spuke
TV,” and saying they’re trying to take credit for being
architects of the UFC’s explosion in popularity when the
promotion had to buy time from Spike to air the first season
of “TUF.”
The
Jones-Sonnen announcement completely shifted attention away from
the spat between UFC brass and the light heavyweight champion
over the cancellation of UFC 151 in September, which prompted
the first attempt to book Sonnen against Jones. In settling the
issue with Jones prior to his Sept. 22 fight, White reportedly
agreed to never again publicly disparage Jones’ head coach,
Greg Jackson. White branded Jackson a “sport killer”
for swaying Jones to turn down Sonnen as a late replacement.
White
said Sonnen’s willingness to step up to save that show played
a key part in why he got the “TUF” coaching gig over
established, top contenders like Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida.
Henderson, who was slated to face Jones at UFC 151 before suffering
a knee injury, grumbled about the pick, but ended up agreeing
to be one of Sonnen’s assistant coaches on the show. The
Wrestling Observer reported the UFC had originally targeted Jones-Henderson
for its Super Bowl weekend pay-per-view, but that it was determined
Jones’ arm injury wouldn’t have healed in time. In
the interim, Quinton Jackson was offered a slot to coach “TUF”
against Sonnen, but turned down the fight. The decision led to
Sonnen being pulled from the UFC 155 card on Dec. 29, where he
was to face Forrest Griffin, who will instead face Phil Davis.
Jones
was initially opposed to fighting Sonnen, an unranked contender
at 205 pounds who is coming off a sound loss to Anderson Silva.
But Jones has also said he was not in favor of another fight
against Lyoto Machida, because their first fight at UFC 140 did
the lowest pay-per-view buys of any of his title defenses. The
fight Jones took instead of Sonnen, against Vitor Belfort at
UFC 152, is estimated to do slightly less buys than UFC 140.
Sonnen, meanwhile, is coming off an estimated 900,000 buys for
his rematch with Anderson Silva on Independence Day weekend.
“The
Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen” went into
production Oct. 29 and will air over 13 weeks in January. Jones
and Sonnen are penciled in to fight on April 27.
The
“TUF” franchise continues to hum along ingternationally.
The U.K. versus Australia edition of the show wraps next month,
and the second season for Brazilian television will go into production
in January. The UFC has designs on annual Australian versions
of “TUF” and, eventually, a New Zealand version. As
for Brazil, it was announced heavyweights Fabricio Werdum and
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira -- known throughout Brazil for his appearance
on a “Dancing with the Stars”-type program -- will
coach on the show before facing off on a June 8, 2013 card in
Brazil. “TUF Brazil 2” will air on the Globo television
network in March. No announcements have been made regarding North
American broadcasts.
•
The cancellation of a second consecutive Strikeforce event led
to yet more predictions that the promotion is not long for the
MMA world. After canceling a September 29 event due to an injury
to lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, Showtime pulled the
plug on a Nov. 3 event after middleweight champion Luke Rockhold
fell off due to injury. Rockhold’s withdrawal came after
Frank Mir pulled out the original featured fight of the show
against Daniel Cormier, for whom Zuffa struggled to find a replacement
opponent. Showtime sought to shift attention from the cancelations
and the questions they raise by promising a jam-packed card in
January. No fights have been announced, nor has a venue or specific
date. It is widely believed there are six months left on the
Showtime/Strikeforce contract, at which point Showtime has an
option to renew. Many read Dana White’s proclamations that
women’s MMA will definitely be coming to the UFC, anchored
by Strikeforce superstar and champion Ronda Rousey, as evidence
that Showtime isn’t interested in renewing. Both sides renewed
their deal last year before a fall out between White and Showtime
Sport head Stephen Espinoza over production control. Espinoza
has said Showtime is interested in not only staying in MMA, which
has grown subscribers and drawn very good ratings for Showtime
since was added in 2007, but wants to add a second MMA promotion.
Showtime is still looking to enforce its rights to Strikeforce
fighters, as evidenced by the network pulling contracted middleweight
Derek Brunson from participating in “The Ultimate Fighter.”
However, Showtime did allow welterweight prospect Jordan Mein
to take a fight on his former stomping grounds, The Score Fighting
Series in Canada, while under Strikeforce contract.
•
After winning the final fight on his contract Oct. 12, top lightweight
Eddie Alvarez entered a negotiation period with longtime employer
Bellator Fighting Championships. Bellator has made an offer,
and has the right to match any competing offer Alvarez receives.
It is likely he will receive a lucrative UFC offer, as Dana White
has publicly expressed his interest in the past and sent Alvarez
a congratulatory tweet after his win. Alvarez won’t be the
first Bellator mainstay for whom the UFC will make a serious
play. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney told MMAFighting.com that the
UFC offered its former middleweight champion Hector Lombard a
$400,000 signing bonus with $300,000 guaranteed per fight and
a certain percentage of each pay-per-view order for events on
which he’s featured. Rebney said the deal was far too lucrative
for Bellator to match. Alvarez is not featured in ads produced
to promote Bellator’s move to Spike in January.
•
Glory Promotions announced it would keep the tradition of fighting
on New Year’s Eve in Japan alive for one more year by staging
an MMA and kickboxing event at Saitama Super Arena. The promotion
has apparently purchased the rights to use the name of the Japanese
MMA league Dream, whose parent company declared bankruptcy and
folded. Glory is tied to the Golden Glory gym in Holland, and
has pipelines to the top European names in kickboxing. The Dec.
31 offering will include 10 MMA fights and three kickboxing matches,
and feature MMA fighters Hiroyuki Takaya, Tatsuya Kawajiri and
Satoru Kitaoka. No television deal, the lynchpin of a successful
New Year’s Eve event in Japan, has been announced.
•
Forbes Magazine’s annual list of the 400 wealthiest men
in the United States saw Lorenzo and Frank Ferttita’s net
worth drop from $1.2 billion to $900 million in the past year.
In addition to owning a combined 81 percent of the UFC -- Dana
White and Flash Entertainment own the remainder -- the brothers
also have equal stakes in the casino company Station Casinos.
•
The annual ESPN Sports Poll, long a way for sports and television
executives to gauge interest in pro sports, showed MMA losing
some ground this year to boxing in some popularity metrics. For
the second consecutive year, the poll showed more people claiming
to be “avid fans” of boxing than MMA. From 2006 to
2010, more people claimed to avidly follow MMA. Lorenzo Ferttita
responded to the poll in an ESPN story, saying the UFC is working
to re-establish the familiarity of where to find the UFC on television
with the move from Spike to Fox/FX, and that injuries took many
bankable stars off the table.
•
The UFC has added new clauses in its contracts that bans talent
from engaging in risky extracurricular activities, clauses common
but often ignored in other professional sports. The terms only
apply to new contracts. The idea stemmed from featherweight champion
Jose Also suffering an injury while riding a motorcycle and having
to pull out of a pay-per-view main event, among other clauses.
Aldo has since said he will no longer ride motorcycles.
•
An article in the Las Vegas Review Journal shed some light on
why the UFC no longer stages events at the city’s Palms
Casino Resort. The story said Dana White, a big-spending gambler
and tipper at restaurants, was angered by the casino cutting
his credit line by 50 percent. White declined to comment for
the article, which said valets would fight over the chance to
serve White because of his reputation for giving massive tips.
The Wrestling Observer reported that the split may also be related
to a change in business arrangements between the UFC and the
casino. The fight company reached a deal to stage events at the
Palms under prior ownership, the Maloofs, who lost it during
the recession. That arrangement, the Observer reported, saw the
Palms agree to buy tickets directly from the UFC to distribute
to casino goers, but new management ended that arrangement. The
UFC, which staged numerous UFC Fight Night and WEC events at
the Palms, has not run at there since June, instead returning
to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
•
The Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation (RUFF), which claims to
be the only company to be sanctioned by the Chinese government
to promote MMA in mainland China, reported a television audience
of nearly 1.3 million viewers for its Sept. 8 event, which it
called the first MMA card to ever air live on Chinese television.
The card, featuring mostly Chinese wushu fighters, airs on the
Jiangsu Sports Channel and the Guangzhou Sports Channel. RUFF
is backed by Joel Resnik, a Shanghai resident from Canada who
is a principal in a company called The Ranik Group that helps
companies integrate into China.
•
The Resurrection Fighting Alliance, helmed by MMA agent Ed Soares,
purchased the Kansas-based Titan Fighting Championships promotion
and took over its television deal with AXS TV, formerly HDNet.
The Las Vegas-based promotion premiered on the network Nov. 2.
UFC
-
T.J. Grant (new four-fight deal)
- Charlie Brenneman (released)
- Dennis Hallman (released)
- DaMarques Johnson (released)
- Shane Roller (released, retired)
- Michihiro Omigawa (released)
- Tommy Hayden (released)
- Eiji Mitsuoka (released)
- Walel Watson (released)
- Luiz Cane (released)
- Aaron Simpson (released)
- Rich Attonito (released)
Strikeforce
-
Kazuo Misaki (retired)
Bellator
-
Cole Konrad (retired)
Other
-
Tyrone Spong (World Series of Fighting, three-fight deal)
- Evangelista Santos (Legacy Fighting Championship)
UFC
on FX: Browne vs. Silva
Oct. 5 (FX) | Target Center, Minneapolis, Minn.
Marquee Fight(s): Travis Brown vs. Antonio Silva
•
7,049: Attendance (est. 6,000 paid)
• $358,000: Gate
• 1,084,000: Average viewers for FX broadcast
• 44,000 viewers: Average viewers for preliminary broadcast
on Fuel TV
• $40,000: Value of performance bonuses, which went to Michael
Johnson (Best Knockout), Justin Edwards (Best Submission), and
Diego Nunes and Bart Palaszewski (Best Fight)
• $84,000: Highest purse payout on the show, to Jake Ellenberger,
who defeated Jay Hieron
• $8,000: Lowest purse payout on the show, to Phil Harris,
who lost to Darren Uyenoyama
Notes:
Television viewership lowest of any UFC card on FX to date, but
second most-watched show that night, a Friday, on cable among
Males 18-34. Live fight lead-in leads to biggest audience by
far – 1.1 million viewers on average – for an episode
of this season’s Ultimate Fighter. Unlike prior FX shows,
the broadcast was tape-delayed so it aired in primetime on West
Coast as well as East Coast. For Fuel, lowest audience to date
for UFC preliminary fights. Late tickets sold at a cut-rate as
UFC worked with a ticket company to move seats after slow sales.
Target Center capacity about 19,400. UFC’s second event
in the arena. The first, UFC 87 in 2008, drew 15,087 fans and
a $2.25 million gate for a card headlined by Georges St. Pierre
v. Jon Fitch and Brock Lesnar v. Heath Herring.
UFC
153 “Silva vs. Bonnar”
Oct. 13 (Pay-Per-View) | HSBC Arena, Rio de Janeiro
Marquee Fight(s): Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar
•
16,844: Attendance (about 100 tickets unsold)
• $2.6 million: Gate
• 410,000: Estimated pay-per-view buys
• 1 million: Average viewers for preliminary fights on FX
• $70,000: Value of performance bonuses, which went to Rony
Jason (Best Knockout); Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Best Submission);
and Jon Fitch and Erick Silva (Best Fight)
• 12 million: Approximate number of viewers for Nogueira-Herman
and Silva-Bonnar on Globo television network in Brazil, which
aired from 12:40 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Notes:
PPV buys the highest to date for a UFC show emanating from Brazil.
Drop from 900,000 estimated buys for Silva’s last fight
against Chael Sonnen at UFC 148. More buys than many of Silva’s
title defenses, including Yushin Okami (335K). Globo viewership
said to be higher for the Silva v. Bonnar fight than the Silva
v. Sonnen fight. Bonnar retires after bout, tests positive for
steroid. UFC plans to return to Brazil for five to seven events
in 2013.
The
Ultimate Fighter 16: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson (FX)
- Oct. 5: 1.1 million average viewers (Bristol Marunde vs. Julian
Lane; preceded by live fight card headlined by Travis Browne
vs. Antonio Silva)
- Oct. 12: 624,000 average viewers (Igor Arujo vs. Nic Heron-Webb;
lowest audience ever for an episode of TUF)
- Oct. 19: 811,000 average viewers (Colton Smith vs. Eddy Ellis)
- Oct. 26: 676,000 average viewers (Michael Hill vs. Matt Secor)
Bellator
Fighting Championships: Season Seven (MTV2)
- Oct. 5: 145,000 average viewers (heavyweight quarterfinals;
drop of 26 percent from prior week, season opener)
- Oct. 12: 175,000 average viewers (Eddie Alvarez vs. Patricky
Freire)
- Oct. 19: 149,000 average viewers (lightweight quarterfinals)
- Oct. 26: 154,000 average viewers (welterweight semifinals)
ONE
Fighting Championship: Rise of Kings
Oct. 6 | Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore
Marquee Fight(s): Shinya Aoki vs. Arnaud Lepont
•
8,000: Estimated attendance
Notes:
OneFC’s debut on domestic pay-per-view providers (iN DEMAND,
DirecTV, Dish). Buy rate estimates not available. OneFC’s
third event at the stadium. Promotion goes on to cancel scheduled
December event in Kuala Lumpur and promises to return in February
2013.
Invicta
FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama
Oct. 6 | Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kan.
Marquee Fight(s): Jessica Penne vs. Naho Sugiyama; Shayna Baszler
vs. Sarah D'Alelio
•
600: Attendance (380 paid)
• $1,500: Value of Fight of the Night bonus, to Michelle
Waterson and Lacey Shuckman
• $1,000: Value of Best Knockout bonus (Joanne Calderwood)
and Best Submission Bonus (split between Jassamyn Dyke and Stephanie
Frausto)
Source:
Sherdog
|
Overanalyzing
the overanalyzing of the World Series of Fighting debut event
By Zach
Arnold
There’s
some good… and curious… developments that came out
of the first World Series of Fighting show from Las Vegas that
aired on NBC Sports Network/Versus this past weekend.
First,
the skinny. Ray Sefo’s name is on the MMAWC LLC along with
Sig Rogich, who’s an establishment Republican backer but
is also an ally to Harry Reid in Las Vegas. In other words, a
long-time political player with some juice. But, as we know from
the history of money marks in the fight business, even rich people
hate losing money and don’t always have the strongest of
stomachs to burn cash long-term. There were murmurs behind the
scenes before the first show on Saturday that Rogich & company
were contacting some big sponsors to put up some cash in exchange
for joint ventureship. Whether WSOF got anyone to bite on that,
I don’t know. The sales pitch allegedly was that WSOF had
a year-long deal with NBCSN, but as we all know that deal is
basically a per-show contract in regards to whether or not NBCSN
will push events long-term. You could tell some bets were hedged
based on the fact that the second show date for WSOF wasn’t
pushed hard on the television broadcast.
The
show itself came across as an upgraded, cage version of the IFL.
They ran Planet Hollywood and had a different kind of crowd than
a typical MMA show. Tim Hughes and Keith Evans from the IFL are
involved. The set-up was kind of weird — the crowd looked
real small for the fighter introductions but then they had some
cut-away shots during Andrei Arlovski’s win and it looked
like an entirely different crowd for a different show. Don’t
ask me.
Every
time a new start-up emerges, there’s always a rush to judgment
as far as whether or not to push the next league as a potential
rival to UFC. It’s not going to happen here at all. The
matchmaking gave us a clue as to why. There were three routes:
1) book fights with exciting finishes (i.e. mismatches), 2) book
the most competitive & even fights (UFC philosophy), 3) book
some cornerstones and build for the future. In the case of the
first WSOF show, we got more of option 1 but it wasn’t the
prettiest thing in the world to watch. Tyrone Spong basically
had a sparring match with an easy target in the cage. Anthony
Johnson had his KO moment. Miguel Torres lost in excruciating
fashion. Andrei Arlovski fought Devin Cole. Seriously, Devin
Cole, a guy with a legal record who isn’t a great fighter.
Who on Earth thought that it would be a good idea to put Devin
Cole in a main event of a debut show in order to attract sponsors
to buy into the promotion for future shows? Why don’t we
have a Gilles Arsene cameo while we’re at it.
Does
anyone consider Arlovski or Rumble Johnson to be ‘cornerstone’
fighters for an upstart promotion? If that’s the plan, then
this isn’t going to go far. Plus, if the second show goes
head-to-head against a UFC show on Fox broadcast TV, it will
get zero coverage. The fact that people were excited about Devin
Cole trending on Twitter is alarming. Every Monday night, Vince
McMahon & WWE are trying to trend on Twitter and look where
that has led their business. Business for him now is as rough
as it was during the Ludwig Borga (Tony Halme) days. Feed me?
No, don’t feed me… any more Twitter crap to try to
claim that because something is trending on Twitter that it somehow
computes into being a big deal.
So,
I’m just like you when it comes to WSOF. I have no idea
what the future is and I don’t think the promoters involved
are sure, either.
Andrei Arlovski tops WSOF payroll at 60 large
Remember
back in 2008 when Affliction came around and put together all-star
cards by offering huge paydays, then folded after only two shows?
“Banned” was first and had a staggering payroll of
over $3.3 million, of which Andrei Arlovski pocketed a handsome
$750K. Shit even Paul Buentello made off with $80k on the undercard.
Then “Day of Reckoning” came along and had about the
same payroll, this time Arlovski made a boner-inducing $1.5 million,
and Little Nog took in $150k on the undercard…THE UNDERCARD.
Incredibly,
they folded up shop after that. Sure, Josh Barnett was blamed
for ruining the show with yet another failed drug test, but I’d
bet my right testi Tom Atencio and Co. were happy as shit they
had a plausible excuse to dump the show and the company. Payroll
is the major expense of most companies, and Affliction was simply
paying fighters too much. Well, World Series of Fighting is apparently
run by people much smarter than that because they took the exact
opposite approach for their first event.
Total
payroll for the night: $352k. That’s less than the third
fight on Affliction’s first show – a fairly meaningless
scrap between Josh Barnett and Pedro Rizzo, which clocked in
at a cool $370k. Granted, Affliction was broadcast on PPV while
WSOF is going on straight cable, but still paying that kind of
loot, while sweet for the beneficiaries, is no way to run a business.
That being said, I sincerely hope Arlovski invested that Affliction
money wisely, because those big non-UFC paydays are a thing of
the past.
Here
are the figures released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission,
and while they aren’t huge paydays, they’re not too
shabby for a brand new promotion that probably pulled in decent-at-best
ratings for their inaugural event.
Andrei Arlovski: $60k ($30k win bonus) vs Devin Cole: $10k
Anthony Johnson: $55k ($25k win bonus) vs D.J. Linderman:
$10k
Marlon Moraes: $12k ($6k win bonus) vs Miguel Torres: $18k
Tyrone Spong: $27k ($7k win bonus) vs Travis Bartlett: $4k
Tyson Steele: $10k ($5k win bonus) vs Gregor Gracie: $25k
Brian Cobb: $12k ($6k win bonus) vs Ronnys Torres: $12k
Steve Carl: $16k ($8k win bonus) vs Ramico Blackmon: $10k
Josh Burkman: $16k ($8k win bonus) vs Gerald Harris: $15k
Gesias Cavalcante: $14k ($7k win bonus) vs T.J O’Brien:
$5k
David Branch: $16k ($8k win bonus) vs Dustin Jacoby: $5k
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Safe
from Hurricane Sandy, Frankie Edgar not blaming Jose Aldo for
motorcycle injury
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE
Hurricane
Sandy may only be a memory, however the destruction it unleashed
is still a stark reality to many residents of the northeastern
United States. New Jersey native and former UFC lightweight champion
Frankie Edgar is among those affected, and though his home suffered
minimal damages, the neighboring borough of Seaside Heights --
famous for it's boardwalk and having been the setting for the
TV show Jersey Shore -- was not so lucky.
"The
whole boardwalk literally, if it's not torn up, it needs to be
replaced," Edgar sighed on Wednesday's edition of The MMA
Hour. "I don't know what they're going to do, how they're
going to resituate it, because they're going to have to do something.
"It's
real sad. I grew in these places. Just beside the fact that Seaside,
that's where I used to go in the summer, every summer, this past
summer I hung out there all the time; it's more so, just the
people who lost their homes. You want to see them bounce back.
It's just real tough."
Despite
continual aid efforts, including extensive local work from Edgar,
much of the mid-Atlantic remains in disarray more than a week
after Hurricane Sandy touched ground. But while the leftover
ruins have become an inviting target for looters, the sadness
shared by so many has also served as a uniting force for the
community.
"I
always say, I've got my town on my back," Edgar vowed. "Where
I'm from on my back. And now it's just tenfold going through
this tragedy.
"I
was watching the [New York] Giants' game this past weekend, and
they're talking about how this gets people's minds off of the
story, off of the devastation. Anytime we can do that in the
cage, it's just that much better."
Unlike
fellow northeasterner Chris Weidman, who's scheduled to fight
in December, Edgar is lucky enough that the stress of the current
situation won't bleed over into training camp. "The Answer"
is roughly 12 weeks out from his heavily anticipated superfight
against UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 156, and
the way he puts it, his preparation "shouldn't be too affected."
Still,
it's hard not to think that the fight would have already been
in the books had Aldo not recklessly injured his foot while riding
his motorcycle in Brazil last September. Edgar, though, isn't
holding any grudges.
"I'm
not going to knock the dude for that," he said. "You
could hurt yourself walking down the stairs. I'm sure he's going
to learn his lesson and hopefully not ride motorcycles during
his training camp, or maybe wait until he's done with his fighting
career."
According
to Edgar, the match-up with Aldo was up in the air for about
a "half a day" following the injury, until a conversation
with UFC President Dana White led to his removal from UFC 153
and Anderson Silva subsequently saving the event.
"I
was looking forward to fighting October 13th," Edgar admitted.
"I still had a bad taste in my mouth from my last fight.
I figured the best way to get over that was to jump back in there
right away. That would have been cool. Plus the fact that you
only had five weeks to prepare. You only had five weeks to be
in your head. That would've been nice too.
"But
I feel things happen for a reason. [It's] a blessing in disguise."
In
the time since, the normally reserved Aldo surprised some by
lobbing a few shots across the border, confidently declaring
Edgar can move up in weight all he wants but he'll always only
be the No. 2 featherweight in the world. Edgar is well aware
of his opponent's dismissiveness, but he's been in this game
for far too long and been counted out far too many times to let
something so snippy get to him.
"Everyone
is going to say something, man," Edgar finished. "If
I got too hyped up about everybody that I fought these past years,
this ain't the sport for me. This is my seventh title fight in
a row. My feathers don't get ruffled anymore. I got a job, and
that's what I'm going to do come February 2nd."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Will
Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre Come to a Head at UFC 154?
by Ken
Pishna
The
past couple years of chatter about a potential Anderson Silva
vs. Georges St-Pierre superfight in the UFC could come to a head
at UFC 154 on Nov. 17 in Montreal.
While
St-Pierre has hedged on whether or not he wants to step into
a superfight with Silva, even if the Canadian defeats Carlos
Condit at UFC 154, Silva and his camp have been actively campaigning
for the fight.
Silva
may take that campaign one step further should St-Pierre defend
his UFC welterweight championship in November. Silva’s manager,
Jorge Guimaraes, told UFC Tonight that the middleweight champ
will be sitting Octagonside and may have something to say come
fight night.
Should
St-Pierre win, Silva may force the Canadian’s hand on his
home turf by doing something that Silva doesn’t often do,
call him out.
Just
attending the fight in the first place is something out of character
for Silva. He doesn’t make it a habit of attending lots
of UFC events, so the fact of him being there says volumes about
his desire to make the fight with St-Pierre happen.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
The
5 match-ups at UFC China that Jiu-Jitsu fans can’t miss
This
Saturday the UFC makes its first incursion into Chinese territory,
pitching tent in Macau. What follows is GRACIEMAG.com’s
list of the five fights on the card that are bound to get the
Jiu-Jitsu crew out of their seats. The main event doesn’t
even figure in the equation, to give you an idea of how potent
a mix there is to come.
Which
is the one you’ll make a point not to miss?
1.
Thiago Silva vs. Stanislav Nedkov
It’s
no easy task that he’s got ahead of him, but Thiago Silva
has to win to keep in the UFC top brass’ good graces. After
all, three failures in a row would have anyone nervous about
their job security. Now, while the Bulgarian beast Stanislav
Nedkov boasts a Jiu-Jitsu black belt of his own, it’s the
perfect fight for the light heavyweight Silva to use his sweep-
and submission-heavy ground game. Might the Brazilian soften
the undefeated Nedkov up on the feet before finishing him off
on the ground? Or will he wear the Bulgarian out on the ground
to knock him out on the feet? Either way, we’re bracing
for a barnburner, standing or on the ground.
Prediction:
Thiago Silva
2.
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Paulo Thiago
Dong
“Stun Gun” Kim and the policeman from Brasilia are
in the same boat: they’re both coming off a loss and need
a win to stay relevant in the welterweight division. Kim will
have the crowd on his side, and he will be looking for all-out
standup exchanges, using his characteristic long-range kicks
and punches. Officer Paulo Thiago will need to curb the Korean’s
enthusiasm, and Jiu-Jitsu may be the way.
Prediction:
Paulo Thiago
3.
Takanori Gomi vs. Mac Danzig
A
beast from back in the days of Pride FC, Takanori Gomi will be
looking to take his American foe down and work him over with
ground and pound. Gomi will likely try to steer clear of the
striking game, as Mac Danzig is proven in the Thai boxing department.
Who falls first? Who wins?
Prediction:
Mac Danzig
4.
Zhang Tie Quan vs. Jon Tuck
Chinese
lightweight Zhang Tie (15w, 3l) is a brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu
and has 12 submission wins to brag of. The coolest part is that
he likes keeping the fight standing at the start, throwing potent
punches and counter-attacking with his takedown game. That’s
the style undefeated UFC first-timer Jon “Super Saiyan”
Tuck of Guam will need to decipher. Tuck is a well-rounded fighter
himself, so the odds are the match-up will make for a great fight.
Prediction:
Zhang Tie
5.
Riki Fukuda vs. Tom DeBlass
An
experienced New Jersey-based Ricardo Cachorrão black belt,
Tom DeBlass has held heavyweight and light heavyweight titles
from other promotions. Now a middleweight in the UFC, Tom is
hoping to get back to his winning ways, since failing to take
down and finish the lanky Cyrille Diabete losing via split decision.
Now he’s set to face Riki Fukuda, a Japanese fighter who
has been around the block himself, having fought in the Shooto,
Pancrase, K-1 and Deep promotions. The Chinese crowd probably
won’t be too keen on a Japanese fighter, so Tom’s task
is to win them over, sidestep Fukuda’s fists and go for
the finish.
Prediction:
Tom DeBlass
Check
out the full card for the Saturday event in Macau.
UFC on Fuel TV
Cotai Arena, Cotai, Macau
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Rich
Franklin vs Cung Le
Thiago Silva vs Stanislav Nedkov
Takanori Gomi vs Mac Danzig
Alex Caceres vs Montonobu Tezuka
Zhang Tie Quan vs Jon Tuck
Under
card
Yusuhiro
Urushitani vs John Lineker
Riki Fukada vs Tom DeBlass
Takeyda Mizugaki vs Jeff Hougland
David Mitchell vs Hyun Gyu Lim
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Bellator
80: What to Watch For
By Mike
Whitman
On
Friday, Bellator Fighting Championships returns to Seminole Hard
Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., bringing with it several
intriguing storylines woven into the fabric of Bellator 80.
Here
is what to watch for at the Nov. 9 event, which airs live on
MTV2 -- unless you happen to be a cable subscriber on the West
Coast, in which case you will need to sit through three hours
of super excellent MTV2 programming before you can watch these
fights on tape delay.
Still Bad?
For
those worrying that perhaps Joe Warren has lost a bit of confidence,
allow me to squash your fears. I spoke to him last Friday, and
he absolutely still believes he is “The Baddest Man on the
Planet.”
Reemerging
for the first time since suffering a brutal March 9 knockout
at the hands of Pat Curran that cost him the Bellator featherweight
title, Warren will now attempt to regain a measure of swagger
as a bantamweight.
The
significance of his knockout defeats to Alexis Vila and, more
importantly, Curran, cannot be understated. The sheer volume
of strikes that referee Jeff Malott allowed Warren to absorb
in that Bellator 60 title defense was staggering. Following a
loss like that, I think just about any fair-minded observer would
approach Warren’s return to the cage with concern for the
fighter’s well-being. However, Warren says he has fully
recovered from the concussion he sustained in March and is now
good to go, both physically and mentally.
Granted,
the Greco-Roman wrestling specialist isn’t exactly climbing
in there with Renan Barao. Owen Evinger has yet to record a knockout
in 10 pro fights, and I imagine Bellator booked him against Warren
for that exact reason. While Warren said he has no plans to abandon
the type of heart-on-his-sleeve aggressiveness that made him
the promotion’s inaugural featherweight champion, he also
hopes to let his technique shine while placing greater emphasis
on his defense. Exactly what will that look like? Tune in and
find out.-2.
Rad’s Run
Rad
Martinez stands just two wins away from penning a nice little
storybook ending in Season 7 and earning a crack at Bellator’s
featherweight crown.
Unfortunately
for Martinez, it is only going to get more difficult from here
on out. While Nazareno Malegarie proved to be a formidable first-round
opponent for Martinez, the Argentinian simply does not possess
the raw punching power of a Mike Richman or Shahbulat Shamhalaev,
nor can he match Wagnney Fabiano’s level of submission expertise
once the fight hits the floor.
Malegarie
is a game competitor, no doubt, and his grittiness should not
be swept under the rug. This is a man who has yet to be finished
in 25 pro fights, after all. Even so, the fact that he went toe-to-toe
with Martinez for 15 minutes and managed to hang tough with the
exhausted American makes me think twice about picking Martinez
to win this thing.
The
good news for Martinez: stylistically, he should match up well
with Fabiano, provided he uses his strength and wrestling advantages
to avoid the jiu-jitsu ace’s attempts to put him on his
back.
Fabiano’s Last Waltz?
Just
as Martinez could end up tied into knots on the floor, so too
could Fabiano wind up unconscious if the American keeps this
fight standing and lets his hands fly.
Fabiano
probably isn’t going to beat anyone with his quickness or
athleticism, but the veteran nevertheless still owns some decent
takedowns, as exhibited in his quarterfinal victory over Akop
Stepanyan. While Martinez need not worry about the low-single
coming at high speeds from kicking range, he should take care
to avoid Fabiano’s level-changes and trips from the clinch,
both of which have proved to be sneakily effective in the past.
A
37-year-old veteran, Fabiano returned to the cage for the first
time in nearly two years to enter this Season 7 tournament. Can
the former IFL champion punch his ticket to the finals and prove
his decision to resume his fighting career was well-founded?
‘Drago’
While
I normally try to make at least one unnecessary Ivan Drago reference
in each of these previews that I write, this week the pleasure
proved unavoidable. With that unmistakably long torso, pale skin
and blond head of hair, Alexander Volkov’s nickname is a
fitting one. Though he is admittedly much skinnier than the hulking
“Rocky IV” antagonist, I think we can all agree that
the Russian has Pete Sell beat by a country mile.
Volkov
made mincemeat of hard-hitting Brett Rogers in the quarterfinals,
sending a clear statement to the rest of the tournament field.
Though the prospect was unable to secure a stoppage win over
the former Strikeforce heavyweight, Volkov did manage to break
Rogers’ arm and batter him standing for a full 15 minutes.
In
Vinicius Kappke de Queiroz, Volkov faces another power puncher.
Like Volkov, “Spartan” prefers to do his work standing
but also possesses some decent submission skills, as he displayed
against Mark Holata in the quarterfinal round. Much like Volkov’s
fight with Rogers, I think this contest will also be dictated
by distance. If the Russian can keep Queiroz on the end of his
reach, it should be a long night for the Brazilian.
Will
Volkov throw punches down the pipe early and often to discourage
his foe from closing that all-important gap, or can Queiroz find
his way inside and attack Volkov’s chin in an attempt to
hand “Drago” his first-ever knockout loss?
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
Macao & UFC 154 Montreal cards
By Zach
Arnold
Event:
UFC Macao (11/10 CotaiArena at The Venetian)
TV: Fuel TV
Undercard
Welterweights: David Mitchell vs. Hyun Gyu Lim
Bantamweights: Takeya Mizugaki vs. Jeff Hougland
Middleweights: Riki Fukuda vs. Tom DeBlass
Flyweights: Yasuhiro Urushitani vs. John Lineker
Lightweights: Tiequan Zhang vs. Jon Tuck
Bantamweights: Alex Caceres vs. Motonobu Tezuka
Main
card
Lightweights: Takanori Gomi (+175) vs. Mac Danzig (-220, 11
to 5 favorite)
Welterweights: Dong Hyun Kim (-220, 11 to 5 favorite) vs.
Paulo Thiago (+180)
Light Heavyweights: Thiago Silva (-300, 3 to 1 favorite)
vs. Stanislav Nedkov (+250)
Middleweights: Rich Franklin (-300, 3 to 1 favorite) vs.
Cung Le (+250)
Event:
UFC 154 (11/17 Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
TV: FX/PPV
Undercard
Featherweights: Darren Elkins vs. Steven Siler
Welterweights: Stephen Thompson vs. Besam Yousef
Bantamweights: Ivan Menjivar vs. Azamat Gashimov
Featherweights: Antonio Carvalho vs. Rodrigo Damm
Lightweights: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Mark Bocek
Lightweights: Sam Stout vs. John Makdessi
Middleweights: Constantinos Philippou vs. Nick Ring
Middleweights: Patrick Cote vs. Alessio Sakara
Main
card
Featherweights: Mark Hominick vs. Pablo Garza
Light Heavyweights: Cyrille Diabate vs. Chad Griggs
Middleweights: Francis Carmont vs. Tom Lawlor
Welterweights: Martin Kampmann (+120) vs. Johny Hendricks
(-140, 7 to 5 favorite)
UFC Welterweight title match: Georges St. Pierre (-360, 18
to 5 favorite) vs. Carlos Condit (+300)
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Rampage
Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira officially added to UFC on FOX 6
By Ariel
Helwani
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
The
UFC's sixth offering on FOX is quickly filling up, and it's shaping
up to be a very strong card.
A
day after Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson for the UFC flyweight
title and Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis were officially announced
for the Jan. 26 card, a light heavyweight bout between Quinton
"Rampage" Jackson (32-10) and Glover Teixeira (19-2)
has been added to the bill, as well. UFC.com reported the news
Wednesday night.
This
fight marks the final one on Jackson's current UFC contract.
The former light heavyweight champion hasn't fought since he
lost a unanimous decision to Ryan Bader at UFC 144 in February.
The
light heavyweights were supposed to fight at UFC 153, but Jackson
pulled out of the fight due to an injured elbow. Instead, Teixeira
fought and defeated Fabio Maldonado on the Oct. 13 card via TKO.
Jackson
enters the fight stuck in a two-fight losing streak, while Teixeira
has won his last 17 fights in a row.
Below
is a look at the updated UFC on FOX 6 card, which will be held
at the United Center in Chicago.
Demetrious
Johnson (c) vs. John Dodson -- UFC flyweight title fight
Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis
Quinton Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira
T.J. Grant vs. Matt Wiman
Clay Guida vs. Hatsu Hioki
Erik Koch vs. Ricardo Lamas
Shawn Jordan vs. Mike Russow
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 6 Notebook: Forging a Legacy
By Brian
Knapp
Only
seven men have tasted victory more often inside the Ultimate
Fighting Championship’s famed Octagon than Rich Franklin.
Four of them -- Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and
Tito Ortiz -- are already enshrined in the UFC hall of fame,
and two others, Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre, seem destined
to join them.
Franklin
has built quite a resume for himself since he made his promotional
debut at UFC 42 in 2003, as he has compiled a 14-5 record within
the company, with a staggering 11 of those 19 appearances coming
against current or former champions. As the 38-year-old onetime
middleweight titleholder traverses the twilight of his career,
he can focus on forging a legacy.
Seeking
back-to-back wins for the first time since 2008, Franklin will
collide with former Strikeforce champion Cung Le in the UFC on
Fuel TV 6 headliner on Saturday at the CotaiArena in Macau, China.
While Le remains his central focus, Franklin admits to having
his sights set on another potential title run at 185 pounds,
despite the fact that he has lost twice in convincing fashion
to reigning champion Silva. The bout with Le will serve as his
return to the 185-pound division. Franklin has not competed at
the weight since he defeated Travis Lutter at UFC 83 in April
2008, bouncing between various catchweights and light heavyweight.
“I
always hate getting asked about title fights and all that kind
of stuff when I’m getting ready for a fight because, right
now, I’ve got Cung on my radar,” Franklin said at a
pre-fight press conference. “That’s my primary goal,
but, ultimately, dropping down to 185 was about possibly making
another title run before I retire.”
Known
for his flashy, heavy-on-kicks style, Le last appeared at UFC
148 in July, when he captured a unanimous decision from Patrick
Cote at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The 40-year-old
sanshou stylist has secured seven of his eight career victories
by knockout or technical knockout. Franklin holds Le in high
esteem, personally and professionally, which adds a unique dynamic
to a main event through which the UFC hopes to crack open a new
market.
“It’s
interesting because [with] Cung and I, you have two fighters
on the card here who are actually friends outside the Octagon,
and this isn’t the first time that this has happened in
my career,” Franklin said. “I think what people are
going to understand is that it doesn’t take two people to
hate each other to actually get in the Octagon and put on a good
show. People are going to leave happy.”
In
order to prepare for the bout, Franklin spent time honing his
skills in Singapore.
“Preparation
has gone really well; camp’s gone great,” he said.
“I’m ahead of schedule on weight cut, as to where I
would normally be at this point in time. I’m just at the
point now where it’s pretty much time to fight. It’s
a waiting game putting on the finishing touches.”
Potential Springboard for ‘Stun Gun’
Dong
Hyun Kim views his welterweight showdown with Paulo Thiago as
a potential springboard to a UFC appearance in his homeland.
“Really
this is the first time for me to ever fight in Asia [outside
of Korea], so it really means a lot to me,” the 30-year-old
South Korean said through a translator. “I think going into
this match ... if I do well, I’m hoping this will kind of
ride into potentially doing a UFC match in Korea next year.”
First,
Kim must clear a substantial hurdle. An awkward but potent striker
with a polished ground game, Thiago already owns victories over
former welterweight title contender Josh Koscheck and the American
Kickboxing Academy’s Mike Swick. The 31-year-old Constrictor
Team representative finds himself backed into a corner following
his 42-second knockout loss to Siyar Bahadurzada at UFC on Fuel
TV 2 in April. It was Thiago’s third defeat in four fights.
“He’s
going to really have an uphill battle because I think for him
to be fighting in Asia for the first time, he has to overcome
jetlag and the time differences,” Kim said. “I’ve
really prepared myself to put on a good show.”
Kim
has questions of his own to answer. His last outing was far from
memorable, as a rib injury resulted in an anticlimactic technical
knockout loss to 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling
World Championships gold medalist Demian Maia at UFC 148 in July.
“Unfortunately,
I didn’t have the opportunity to complete the match,”
Kim said. “I’d like to add the disappointments into
this particular match, and I have the added incentive to really
prepare well. I don’t really have to adjust to the time
difference like I do when I go to Las Vegas. I’m sleeping
well. I’m preparing well. I’m really looking forward
to this.”
Kim
feels a sense of pride when discussing his body of work in the
UFC, which includes victories against “The Ultimate Fighter”
winners Nate Diaz and Amir Sadollah.
“The
UFC is where the fittest survive,” he said. “For me
to be able to fight a 10th match in the UFC, that really means
a lot.”
This & That
Only
two fighters on the UFC on Fuel TV 6 roster will enter the cage
undefeated: Stanislav Nedkov (12-0) and newcomer Jon Tuck (6-0).
Nedkov faces Thiago Silva at 205 pounds, while Tuck locks horns
with Tiequan Zhang at 155 ... Former Pride Fighting Championships
lightweight kingpin Takanori Gomi owns a mediocre 6-5 mark since
his February 2007 encounter with Nick Diaz resulted in a no contest
... “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 quarterfinalist
Alex Caceres has won four fights by submission and lost four
fights by submission ... Japanese flyweight Yasuhiro Urushitani
has never suffered back-to-back defeats in his 11-year career
... Tom DeBlass was a two-division champion inside the Ring of
Combat promotion, holding titles as a light heavyweight and heavyweight
... World Extreme Cagefighting import Takeya Mizugaki has alternated
between wins and losses in each of his past nine appearances
... Korean Top Team standout Hyun Gyu Lim sports seven first-round
finishes on his resume. The 27-year-old has put away his last
two foes in 72 seconds or less.
Source
Sherdog
|
Strikeforce
will die, but Showtime’s MMA dream will live on?
By Zach
Arnold
So,
the announcement of Ronda Rousey going to UFC was made…
on TMZ. The focus now is on Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg.
As
MMA Weekly’s Damon Martin puts it, “Just because Strikeforce
is exiting Showtime, don’t think they are getting completely
out of the MMA game.”
Given
Showtime’s history, they will want to work with a turnkey
operation rather than build their own promotion. Do they figure
out a way to cut a deal with World Series of Fighting if NBC
Sports Network/Versus cuts bait after the ratings the first show
drew last weekend? I guess there’s always King of the Cage…
The
last Strikeforce event on Showtime will be in January. Out with
a whimper, not a bang.
The
big loser? California’s fight scene (again).
Press
release:
STRIKEFORCE®
heads to the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla.,
on Saturday, Jan. 12 with three championship fights, plus the
return of Oklahoma State University star Daniel Cormier, all
televised live on SHOWTIME®. With a collection of some of
the best fighters in the world today, STRIKEFORCE has put together
a memorable and historic card for the fans in the Sooner State.
The
action-packed night includes the following bouts:
Gilbert
“El Niño” Melendez (champion) vs. Pat Healy
for the STRIKEFORCE lightweight title
Luke Rockhold (champion) vs. Lorenz Larkin for the STRIKEFORCE
middleweight title
Nate Marquardt (champion) vs. Tarec Saffiedine for the STRIKEFORCE
welterweight title
Daniel Cormier (Grand Prix champion, OSU All-American) vs. Dion
Staring
“We’ve
built an absolutely stacked card for Oklahoma City and the SHOWTIME
viewers,” STRIKEFORCE CEO Scott Coker said. “We have
three awesome title fights featuring some of the best fighters
to ever grace the STRIKEFORCE cage. Plus, we have Daniel Cormier,
one of the fastest-rising heavyweight stars today, returning
to his roots in Oklahoma to fight Dion Staring. January 12 is
going to be a really special night.”
“The
biggest stars in STRIKEFORCE are putting their titles on the
line in competitive fights,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive
Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports®, “and
that is precisely what fans of STRIKEFORCE on SHOWTIME have come
to expect. We are excited to be part of the event.”
STRIKEFORCE®
will air live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the
West Coast), while preliminary fights will be shown live on SHOWTIME
EXTREME® at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on West Coast). Additional
fights scheduled for the event are expected to be released shortly.
Tickets
for STRIKEFORCE® go on sale to the public on Friday, November
16 at 12 p.m. CT and are priced at $150, $100, $70 and $50. Tickets
are available at the Chesapeake Energy Arena box office, all
Ticketmaster locations, at Ticketmaster.com or 1-800-745-3000.
Ticket prices will be announced in the coming days. Applicable
service charges may apply.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Following
Two Surgeries in 2012, Thiago Alves 2.0 Will Return in Mid-2013
by Damon
Martin
It’s
been more than three years since Thiago Alves truly believes
he stepped into a fight feeling at his very best.
Following
a 2009 loss to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 100, Alves suffered a
knee injury affecting his PCL (posterior cruciate ligament).
Typically that kind of injury is treated with rest and rehab
and not surgery, so Alves followed his doctor’s advice and
moved on with his fight career.
The
problem was the nagging knee injury never completely healed,
and it continued to haunt him in training camps as he got ready
for other fights after the loss to St-Pierre.
Earlier
this year, however, Alves suffered a whole other kind of injury
when he tore his pectoral muscle. That did require surgery on
his chest. It put Alves out of action for the biggest part of
2012, but on his way back from that surgery, he suffered another
setback in training.
“I
just went through another surgery. I had to do my PCL and my
ACL on my left knee and I was excited to do that because it’s
an old injury; I’ve had it since 2009. After my fight with
GSP and before I was supposed to fight Jon Fitch, when it got
cancelled for the first time. Then I hurt it again like 10 days
before the John Howard fight, and then the last time I was getting
back in shape, I hurt it again in training against (Jorge) Masvidal.
I kicked him in the back of the leg and I just felt something
pop,” Alves told MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday.
“At
this point, I knew the PCL was gone, but the ACL was damaged
too. I could probably rehab it again, try to make it stronger,
but at some point I would need to get surgery to make it better.”
The
additional injury to his knee forced Alves to re-evaluate his
plans for the rest of this year and heading into 2013.
“I
already took half of the year off because of the chest surgery
and I haven’t been 100-percent since 2009 because of the
knee. I’ve got a few years ahead, I’m still just 29,
so we’re going to do this right. That’s why we decided
to get everything done, get it out of the way. So I can come
back at 100-percent,” said Alves.
Now
that Alves has undergone the additional surgery to repair the
damage to his knee, including the earlier PCL injury, he’s
on the road to recovery with a targeted return date in mid-2013.
“I’m
shooting for June of next year, hopefully by the middle of the
year I’ll be ready to go. I’m thinking about four to
five months of rehab, and three months to get in shape. So I’m
shooting for June, July,” said Alves.
Since
the loss to St-Pierre in 2009 and the subsequent knee injury,
Alves has gone 2-3 in his last five fights. He doesn’t blame
the losses on the injury, but it certainly didn’t help things
much.
The
time off will admittedly be rough on Alves, but he says it will
give him time to not only rehab his knee, but get his mind right
for his return to the Octagon next year.
“It
makes you really put in perspective why you do what we do. Why
do we start fighting? It’s because I love the competition,
I love the whole martial arts learning process, and becoming
a better fighter. The time off, I’ve been reading a lot,
I’ve been on the mats as much as I can, helping my teammates.
So I’m getting technical in a lot of areas I was never able
to do because I was always training for a fight,” Alves
stated.
“It
definitely makes me re-focus and find myself in a way that I
know exactly what I’m capable of, what I should do, to become
a world champion. I have all the tools. It’s up to me now.”
When
he returns next year, Alves promises not only a healthier and
readier version, but also a much more dangerous fighter. He’s
not sitting around and doing nothing while he’s waiting
to come back.
Alves
is drilling his ground game, working on his wrestling, and as
always becoming a more dangerous and efficient striker. When
the entire package comes together next year, Alves expects the
best when he returns.
“It’s
going to be a very new, improved version of Thiago Alves. It’s
not just with the striking, it’s with the wrestling and
the jiu-jitsu, so I’m very excited to mix everything up
and see how it goes,” said Alves.
“I
know my fighting style’s going to change a lot. I’m
not going to be as cautious as I was the last few fights. I’m
going for the kill more than ever now.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
Announces Partial 2013 Schedule; Including UFC on Fox in Chicago
& Jones vs. Sonnen in NJ
The
UFC has released a major portion of its 2013 schedule including
all of the UFC on Fox events and the location UFC: Jones vs.
Sonnen.
Starting
in January, the UFC will first head to Brazil on Jan. 19 for
the UFC on FX 7 card headlined by former light heavyweight champion
Vitor Belfort as he faces Michael Bisping in a middleweight showdown.
From
there, UFC on Fox 6 will land back in Chicago at the United Center
on Jan. 26. The UFC held its second ever Fox show in Chicago
last January as well, and they will return to the Midwest with
another card as the first month of the year closes out.
UFC
156 will then land in Las Vegas for Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar,
which takes place Feb. 2 during Super Bowl weekend at Mandalay
Bay Events Center.
On
Feb. 16, the UFC will hold an international show, currently slated
as a UFC on Fuel TV event, although no location has been announced
as of yet. All that is known currently is that it will take place
outside the United States.
In Jon Jones’ Position, Chuck Liddell Would Have Taken the
Fight with Chael Sonnen
Jon Jones Says Chael Sonnen’s Time Will Come to Answer for
His Verbal Attacks
Moving on to April 20, the next UFC on Fox show will take place
at that time, with a location to be determined.
That
leads directly to April 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark,
N.J., where UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones faces Chael
Sonnen. The two will first serve as coaches on the newest season
of The Ultimate Fighter and then square off in New Jersey as
part of a UFC pay-per-view headed to the east coast.
The
two final dates announced on Monday are the other UFC on Fox
cards set to go down on July 27 and Dec. 14, respectively. Both
dates are set, but again locations are to be determined at a
later date.
“2013
is shaping up to be a huge year for the UFC and we can’t
wait to bring more great fights to FOX!” said UFC president
Dana White. “We’re going to continue to take the UFC
all over the world, putting on the biggest and best fights. FOX
is an amazing broadcast partner and we’re going to do some
big things next year.”
Additional
dates and cards will be announced in the coming months, as well,
but this will serve as a beginning outline for the UFC cards
landing on Fox, along with a location for what promises to be
one of the biggest shows of the year.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
TUF
16 TV Ratings Match Season High with the Snake Bite
The
Ultimate Fighter Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson TV ratings for Friday
night’s episode 8 matched this season’s high mark of
1,100,000 viewers.
That’s
good news for the series, as it had struggled immensely over
the past three weeks. Week 5 even hit an all-time series low
of 624,000.
Scratching
and clawing – or should we say biting – back up over
the one million mark has to be a source of relief for UFC and
FX executives, who are already gearing up for numerous changes
in 2013.
While
seasons 15 and 16 have floundered on Friday night’s on FX,
Season 17 will emerge in January on a weeknight slot that is
yet to be determined. Not only that, TUF 17 will also bring out
the big guns, pitting UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones
as a coach opposite the undisputed champion of the gift of gab,
Chael Sonnen.
TUF 16, however, got a new shot of life itself with the improved
week 7 ratings.
TUF
16 TV Ratings:
Episode
1: 947,000
Episode 2: 872,000
Episode 3: 775,000
Episode 4: 1,100,000
Episode 5: 624,000
Episode 6: 811,000
Episode 7: 676,000
Episode 8: 1,100,000
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Anthony
Pettis Becomes Co-Owner of Roufusport in Wisconson
It’s
a dream that many fighters share to one day start their own gym,
but sometimes it’s an even greater honor to become an owner
of a gym you already work at on a daily basis.
UFC
lightweight Anthony Pettis now knows that feeling because he’s
become a full partner and owner at Roufusport, the gym he trains
out of in Wisconsin.
Pettis joins owner and trainer Duke Roufus as well as general
manager Scott Joffe as a co-owner and operator of Roufusport
MMA Academy, and the NAFC (North American Fighting Championships)
promotion.
“For
me to become part owner of the gym that started my career in
the UFC means the world to me. I get to give other fighters the
opportunity that Duke’s gym gave me. I’m sure there
will be a lot of new responsibilities, but I’ve been running
gyms since the age of 16, so it will be nothing new. I’m
looking forward to new challenges, including the television show,”
said Pettis in a press release.
“I
would like to thank Duke Roufus and Scott Joffe for the opportunity,
and my family and friends for supporting me while I achieve my
goals.”
In
addition to his co-ownership of the gym and fight promotion,
Pettis will also work on a new local television show put together
by Roufusport titled “WI MMA Today”, which will focus
on the local fight scene and competitors coming out of Wisconsin.
The
show will begin airing on Saturday night, Nov 10 at 10:30pm on
WCGF My 24 in Wisconson.
Pettis
joins other fighters like UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson,
who has taken the step from fighter to gym owner, investing in
the team that helped them reach the top of the sport.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Anthony
Johnson Open to Heavyweight Super Fight Against Andrei Arlovski
Anthony
Johnson is a man who enjoys challenges.
Just
days after his highlight reel knockout over D.J. Linderman at
World Series of Fighting 1 in Las Vegas, he’s already got
a few ideas for what he’d like to do next.
Throughout
his career, Johnson has tested the limits of his body and skill
set bouncing from welterweight all the way to light heavyweight,
and now he has a new weight class in mind.
“I’ve
tried 170, I’ve tried 185, now I’m at 205, and actually
I can’t lie, I want to go up to heavyweight one time, just
to test it out,” Johnson told MMAWeekly Radio on Monday.
“I
want to be the first guy, I don’t know if anybody’s
ever done it, but I want to be the first guy to fight four weight
classes at one time.”
Johnson
has had a lot of success thus far in his light heavyweight career,
picking up 3 victories in 3 tries, winning all of them by knockout
or TKO. While he’s still awaiting word from World Series
of Fighting about his next bout with the promotion, he’s
open to offers at heavyweight as well.
“I’d
accept it if they offered it to me,” said Johnsona about
fighting at heavyweight. “There are some big guys out there,
obviously they get up to 265 cause that’s the limit, but
if they offered me a fight against a guy that was 250, I’d
fight him. It’s just a fight.”
One name that pops to mind when looking at the roster of competitors
under the World Series of Fighting banner is former UFC heavyweight
champion Andrei Arlovksi.
Arlovski
fought in the main event where he knocked out Devin Cole in the
first round to pick up his third win in his last four fights.
Even Johnson admits, that’s a fight he’s been thinking
about.
“I
thought about that fight too, I’d take it if they offered
it to me. I was actually thinking about it today. I was thinking
about it today whenever I watched the fights, I watched the whole
card today, and I was like it would be crazy if I got to fight
Andrei Arlovski,” said Johnson.
“If
it happened, I would accept it. Andrei’s a great athlete.
I remember when he won the title, I remember when he lost the
title, I’ve followed his career. He’s a great fighter,
a real athlete, a real fighter too, so it would be an honor to
fight him. If it happens it happens, if it doesn’t it doesn’t.
That’s just something that popped in my head this morning,
what if it did happen? That would be crazy.”
Johnson
vs. Arlovski certainly seems like an intriguing match-up that
would get the MMA world buzzing for the second ever World Series
of Fighting event. Now it’s just up to the promotion to
find the same kind of interest in that level of super fight.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Dan
Hardy helping Georges St-Pierre train for Carlos Condit
Monday's episode of "Training Day: Inside Tristar Gym Live"
on FUEL TV was an inside look at how the Montreal gym operates
on a typical afternoon. Of course, Tristar's most famous fighters,
Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald, were featured as they prepare
for upcoming fights.
But
in the middle of the show, a familiar Mohawk unexpectedly popped
up. It belonged to UFC welterweight Dan Hardy, who, according
to Tristar head coach Firas Zahabi, is helping St-Pierre for
his upcoming title fight against Carlos Condit.
"He's
a special guest this week to spar with Georges," Zahabi
said. "He fought Condit. When he was fighting Condit, it
was neck-and-neck. Yes, he got stopped by Condit, but I think
it was one inch away from being the other way around. It was
very close -- extremely close fight -- and I think he's a very
good look for us to see what it's going to like when Georges
fights Condit."
Condit
knocked out Hardy in the first round of their UFC 120 fight two
years ago.
"The
Outlaw" actually visited Tristar last year to help GSP prepare
for a Condit fight scheduled for UFC 137, however, that fight
never happened due to GSP's knee injury. Seeing Hardy train at
Tristar was interesting considering he lost to St-Pierre in a
welterweight title fight at UFC 111 over two years ago.
"We
click," Zahabi said. "He's a great guy. We get along
very well personally."
Zahabi
told host Kenny Florian that other notable fighters in town to
help St-Pierre prepare for Condit's striking were Tom "Kong"
Watson and rising prospect Brandon Thatch.
St-Pierre
meets Condit in the main event of UFC 154 on Nov. 17, in Montreal,
to determine the promotion's undisputed welterweight champion.
Source:
MMA Fighting |
Morning
Report: Nick Diaz still wants GSP; Anderson Silva would fight
Jon Jones for 50-percent stake in the UFC
Rarely do we see a 72-hour stretch as overabundant as the past
weekend was in combat sports -- especially with the UFC winding
down the final moments of it's annual winter vacation.
From
Las Vegas to India, we witnessed everything from the ferocious
debut of a new major MMA promotion, to the return of the best
British Anderson Silva impersonator in the game. Throw in major
events for both kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, plus the
latest nugget on a potential Silva-Jones superfight, and with
so much going on, it'd be easy for something to slip under the
cracks. So without further ado, let's get to it and catch up
on everything we might've missed.
6
MUST-READ STORIES
Silva
talks Jones superfight. Likely speaking tongue in cheek, UFC
middleweight champion Anderson Silva told Brazilian outlet Tatame
he'd be willing to fight Jon Jones for an outlandish 50-percent
stake in the UFC, explaining, "I have personal projects
outside of the UFC and want to put them in practice. I'm opening
my own martial arts academy in LA. I want to do my thing, take
some air, spend time with the family. I have more to do than
take punches to the face."
WSOF
debuts. Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski knocked
out Devin Cole in three minutes, Anthony Johnson destroyed D.J.
Linderman, and former WEC bantamweight champ Miguel Torres was
upset by Marlon Moraes in World Series of Fighting's debut event.
The reported payroll for the show totaled $352,000.
Diaz
still wants St-Pierre. Speaking to FightHub, Nick Diaz's trainer,
Cesar Gracie, said of Diaz's impending return: "Worst case
scenario, we're looking at the first quarter of 2013. He's ready
to fight. I think everyone knows who he wants to fight. He wants
GSP. If something happens, Nick can jump right in."
Weekend
results. Catch up with the rest of another busy combat sports
weekend with fight results for GLORY Final 8, RFA 4, SFL 7, RUFF
6, the 2012 No Gi Worlds and Bellator 79.
Belfort
vs. Bisping. As expected, middleweight contenders Vitor Belfort
and Michael Bisping are slated to meet on January 19, 2013. The
bout is expected to take place in Brazil and will be the main
event of a UFC on FX show.
Bonnar,
Herman fail drug tests. UFC 153 participants Stephan Bonnar and
Dave Herman each failed drug tests in the wake of October's event.
Bonnar tested positive for the anabolic steroid Drostanolone,
while Herman tested positive for marijuana metabolites. According
to a statement released by Zuffa, "Both fighters have admitted
taking the banned substances and have orally agreed to suspensions."
MEDIA
STEW
Just
go ahead and pencil "Rumble" Johnson in on the short-list
for 'Knockouts of the Year.'
Source:
MMA Fighting |
Bruce
Lee's impact on mixed martial arts felt nearly 40 years after
his death
More
than a quarter century before the UFC, the late martial artist
and film star Bruce Lee described in great detail what ultimately
would become the sport of mixed martial arts.
The UFC was founded in 1993, partly in an effort to determine
which fighting style is best. But as Lee had pointed out years
before, it is a mixture of styles, not simply one, that is the
most effective fighting form.
"The best fighter is not a boxer, karate or judo man,"
Lee once said. "The best fighter is someone who can adapt
to any style. He kicks too good for a boxer, throws too good
for a karate man, and punches too good for a judo man."
Nearly 40 years after his untimely death at 32 in 1973, Lee's
fighting philosophies are on display in cages around the world.
Fighters who were born many years after his death idolize him
nonetheless and credit him with shaping them as athletes.
UFC president Dana White calls Lee the father of modern MMA.
While there are others who deserve to be in that conversation,
there is no question Lee's impact upon the sport is still being
felt.
The UFC will host its first card on Chinese soil on Nov. 10 at
UFC on Fuel 6 in Macao, a gaming mecca near Hong Kong where Lee
grew up.
To honor Lee, White had an image of the martial arts icon included
on the official promotional poster for the event.
"It's pretty amazing when you look back at 'Enter the Dragon,'
" said Lee's daughter, Shannon. "There he is in the
opening sequence in the shorts and the fingerless gloves, ending
it in an arm bar. It's almost as if he knew what was coming.
But that all sprung from his belief about what it meant to be
a complete fighter. He really believed fully that in order to
be a complete fighter, you had to have many different things
in your arsenal and be able to defend against and attack in whatever
situation may present itself."
White said that though racism toward Chinese people was rampant
in the U.S. during Lee's lifetime, Lee was such a special athlete
that people of disparate cultures came to idolize him regardless.
"If you weren't white, there was some serious racism in
this country [during Lee’s lifetime],” White said.
“It was happening in Hollywood, too. It was hard to get
parts. But not only did he break through and bring martial arts
to another level on a worldwide basis, he made it the thing to
do. Everybody wanted to do it, all races. It broke through because
of what he was doing. Look at the way Asians were portrayed back
then. They were portrayed as kind of goofy, and weak.
"And then here comes this Asian guy that every person of
every color in every country around the world worshipped as the
baddest dude in the world. He changed people's way of thinking
about Chinese people. Do you know how powerful that is? At a
time of serious racism and the way Chinese people were looked
at, he became a worldwide hero. And it wasn't just to white kids
in suburbia. White kids in the south were hanging pictures of
this Chinese guy on the walls in their bedrooms. That is amazing."
Lee became a hero to White and to generations of fighters who
followed him. Fighters routinely quote him and one, Alex Caceres,
adopted the nickname of "Bruce Leeroy" in homage to
his idol. White first dubbed Caceres "Bruce Leeroy"
during the filming of the reality series, "The Ultimate
Fighter," and Caceres quickly took it as his own.
Caceres is 24 and was born in 1988, almost 15 years after Lee
died. He was bullied when he was six years old and his father
showed him the Lee film, "The Chinese Connection,"
as part of a way to teach him how to defend himself.
Caceres became one of those who idolized Lee, to the point he
even wears the style of clothes that Lee wore.
Many believe Caceres did it as a gimmick to capture attention
while on "The Ultimate Fighter," but he said he was
doing that long before.
"I believe fully, totally, in a lot of his philosophies
of being creative while adding yourself to everything and adding
everything to yourself, being that interchangeable," Caceres
said. "… At the age of 14, I was walking around at
school, outside at the malls, I always had the Bruce Lee gi on.
I never had an eye toward designer fashion. He had a very humble
persona about himself and that's what I've been trying to get
to."
[Also from Kevin Iole: UFC hurting itself by tolerating cheaters
like Stephan Bonnar]
The UFC’s biggest stars have raved about Lee and his impact.
UFC champions Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre regularly quote
Lee.
On his Twitter feed, St-Pierre posted one of Lee's most famous
quotes: "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks
once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."
Even boxer Manny Pacquiao grew up idolizing Lee. Pacquiao said
he's tried to adapt his fighting style to Lee's philosophies.
"Bruce Lee was a big influence on me," Pacquiao said.
"The first movie I saw was 'Enter the Dragon,' when I was
8. Every time we'd leave the movie theater after one of his movies,
we'd all jump around and kick. In my early years [as a fighter],
I tried to emulate his style in terms of speed and quickness.
And I still do a little now."
Shannon Lee was four years old when her father died. Now, she
runs the Bruce Lee Foundation and handles his licensing deals.
She constantly talks about him and knows his history intimately,
but her personal memories of her father only come in what she
describes as "brief glimpses."
"He was very playful and energetic," she said. "He
had a camera and he was always filming my brother [Brandon] and
I. Of course, he was always teaching martial arts and there was
a lot of punching and kicking going on."
White worshipped her father, but she said she believes her father
would hold White in high regard as well.
She has gotten to be friends with White in recent years and said
her father admired many of the traits she sees in White.
"My dad would have liked Dana a lot, I really think so,"
she said. "With Dana, what you see is what you get. Dana's
a funny guy and a personable guy, but he's also a tough guy and
a very opinionated, forthright guy. My father admired people
who were honest and who portrayed themselves as they were.
"My father was a huge boxing fan and Dana has roots back
to boxing… One of the other reasons I think my father would
have liked Dana is that Dana is really, really smart and my father
would have appreciated that. I'm amazed when I'm around Dana
and see how his brain works and how smart he is. His powers of
perception are spot on and I think my father would have greatly
respected him in that regard."
[Also: Mark Hominick doesn't sound desperate entering UFC 154
on a losing skid]
White said he doesn't know anyone in the UFC who doesn't hold
Lee in high regard. He said that will be proven next month, when
UFC on Fox 5 is held in Seattle, where Lee is buried.
"I guarantee you, every one of the guys on that card are
going to go visit his grave that week," White said. "You
watch, you'll see on their Twitter, they'll be Tweeting pictures
from Bruce's gravesite. You want to talk about impact? The greatest
fighters in the world adore this guy. He inspired generations
of people, and not just fighters."
Source:
Yahoo Sports |
Anderson
Silva-Jon Jones superfight drawing much more interest than potential
Silva-GSP fight
With
one short sentence, middleweight champion Anderson Silva essentially
rendered meaningless a fight mixed martial arts fans have drooled
over for years. Silva also provided UFC president Dana White
with his biggest headache since White was tasked with finding
a way out of a $44 million hole in 2005.
How could anyone care whether Silva fights welterweight champion
Georges St-Pierre when Silva is so obviously running from light
heavyweight champion Jon Jones?
Before Jones burst into prominence last year by going on the
most dominant 18-month run in the company's history, MMA fans
were salivating about a potential Silva-St-Pierre superfight.
Buying the fight would have required a leap of faith, though,
because St-Pierre is a far smaller man who has yet to show the
ability to compete with opponents Silva's size. Silva is naturally
about 30 pounds heavier than St-Pierre and fights at middleweight,
where the limit is 185 pounds, 15 pounds higher than the welterweight
limit of 170.
Such, though, is not the case with a potential Jones-Silva match.
Jones holds the UFC's 205-pound belt, and Silva proved yet again
at UFC 153 on Saturday at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
that he has no issues making light heavyweights look as ridiculous
as he does middleweights.
In the cage after knocking Stephan Bonnar out with a knee to
the solar plexus, Silva doused ice water on the building momentum
for a fight with Jones.
"No," he said, "I am not going to fight at 205
again."
And with those 10 simple words, he presented White with an extraordinarily
large problem.
[Dan Wetzel: Silva dismantles Bonnar, stokes fire for superfight
with Jones]
It won't be much longer before White begins to hear the two words
that should frighten the bejabbers out of any fight promoter
who wants to put on the matches the public most wants to see:
Mayweather-Pacquiao.
Anyone who has followed the completely ridiculous three-year
saga involving boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao
is, unquestionably, sick of it now. They still haven't fought
and, from all indications, they're no closer to a match now than
they've ever been.
Worse, the idiocy of the negotiations has extended to the fans
of both sides, who have taken to debating what percentage of
the revenues each fighter should be paid.
It's beyond moronic to argue that point. If someone is a fight
fan and wants to see the Nos. 1 and 2 fighters in the world meet
to determine which of them is truly the best, who cares what
they are paid? Boxing fans should simply want to see them fight,
whether the split is 50-50, 99-1 or, as Pacquiao recently offered,
55-45 in favor of Mayweather.
The likelihood exists, though, that the Jones-Silva saga could
devolve into MMA's version of Mayweather-Pacquiao very quickly.
Silva has never said directly why he won't fight Jones, though
it's apparently some bizarre ethos about not wanting to get in
the way of a shot for one of his teammates.
He's teammates with Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante, who
A) is signed with Strikeforce and thus isn't eligible to fight
Jones; B) is on a suspension for having tested positive for steroids
and is out until at least May 2013; and C) has done nothing to
earn a shot at Jones even if he were to sign a UFC contract and
the suspension were lifted today.
One of Silva's other teammates is Lyoto Machida, who will likely
get a rematch against Jones in the first half of 2013, assuming
he beats Dan Henderson when they meet in a yet-to-be scheduled
bout.
Far more damaging to Silva and the UFC, though, is the perception
growing by the minute that Silva is somehow afraid of Jones.
Silva is the greatest MMA fighter of all-time, but he hasn't
faced a challenger anywhere near as gifted or as dangerous as
Jones.
Silva isn't afraid of Jones; no elite fighter is afraid of another
man. It's sure the perception that Silva is creating, however,
and that diminishes his legacy.
Those who believe Silva is afraid of Jones would point out that
Silva's been vulnerable to fighters with good wrestling and strong
takedowns. Though Silva has the second-best takedown defense
among UFC middleweights, neither Henderson nor Chael Sonnen had
problems taking him down. Henderson is a former Olympic wrestler
and Sonnen was an Olympic alternate.
It doesn't figure that Jones would have difficulty getting Silva
down. And if he did, Silva would have to find a way to counter
Jones' devastating elbows. No one Jones has fought has done much
about it yet.
Stylistically, the match favors Jones.
[Related: Jon Jones reconsiders fight against Chael Sonnen for
'the fans']
Silva's genius is in figuring out plans and using his vast assortment
of skills to win. It's hardly out of the question that he could
defeat Jones, though Jones should be the favorite.
Jones has shown no more interest in fighting Silva than Silva
has shown in fighting him, but Jones at least has an excuse.
It's in his best interest not to be chasing smaller fighters.
Just like a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao boxing match, a Jones-Silva
superfight would be the richest MMA fight ever as well as a bout
matching the two greatest fighters in the world, and perhaps
in the sport's history.
One of White's strong suits is putting together the fights the
fans want to see, though he doesn't have a perfect record in
achieving it. He was unable to sign legendary heavyweight Fedor
Emelianenko, which meant he wasn't able to make Emelianenko against
either Randy Couture or Brock Lesnar. Both were fights the public
was desperate to see.
White needs to get on it, and fast, and make Silva-Jones happen.
The worst thing that could happen to the UFC would be for the
fan base to begin using those two awful words when debating whether
Jones and Silva will ever fight:
Mayweather-Pacquiao.
White's goal over the next few months should be to excise those
words from the lips of MMA fans everywhere.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Stephen
Bonnar and Dave Herman Admit to Taking Banned Substances in Relation
to UFC 153
Stephen
Bonnar and Dave Herman, following their participation at UFC
153 in Brazil, on Friday were the latest athletes snagged by
drug testing. Bonnar tested positive for steroids, while Herman
popped hot for marijuana.
When
the UFC makes the trek down to Brazil, as in many other locations
outside of the U.S. and Canada, there is often no athletic commission
to oversee the event or drug testing. In such cases, the UFC
regulates itself under the eye of former Nevada Athletic Commission
executive director Marc Ratner, and contracts a third party,
accredited drug testing company.
Bonnar
and Herman tested positive as a result of such procedures, and
the UFC on Saturday issued the following statement that includes
in admission of guilt by Bonnar and Herman:
“Stephan Bonnar and Dave Herman tested positive for banned
substances following their bouts at UFC 153. The UFC has a strict,
consistent policy against the use of any illegal and/or performance-enhancing
drugs, stimulants or masking agents. Both fighters have admitted
taking the banned substances and have orally agreed to suspensions.
Once the suspensions have been reduced to written agreements,
the results of their tests and the agreed upon suspensions will
be sent to the Association of Boxing Commissions official record-keeper
so other jurisdictions will be on notice.”
Stephan
Bonnar retired following the bout, while Dave Herman has lost
his last three fights for the UFC.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on FX 7 in Brazil: Belfort vs. Bisping Fight Card Rumors
UFC
on FX 7 in Brazil: Belfort vs. Bisping
Date: January 19, 2013
Venue: TBA
Location: TBA, Brazil
Main
Card
-Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping
-CB Dollaway vs. Daniel Sarafian
-Ben Rothwell vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
-Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Thiago Tavares
Preliminary
card
-Godofredo Pepey vs. Milton Vieira
-Andrew Craig vs. Ronny Markes
-Nik Lentz vs. Diego Nunes
-Justin Salas vs. Edson Barboza
-Michael Kuiper vs. Thiago Bodão
-George Roop vs. Yuri Marajó
-Roger Hollett vs. Wagner Cauldron
-CJ Keith vs. Francisco Massaranduba
UFC
Brazil Belfort vs. Bisping Start Times:
Preliminary Card: TBD
Main Card: TBD
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
RFA
4 Results: Tyson Griffin Back on Track in His Post-UFC Debut
Tyson
Griffin and Efrain Escudero headline RFA 4 on Friday night at
Texas Station in Las Vegas, both UFC veterans trying to get their
careers back on track.
Griffin
weathered early and late armbar attempts by Escudero, but outside
of that, he was in control for the majority of the fight.
Griffin,
just 1-4 upon leaving the UFC, needed the victory and he got
it. He took the center of the cage and outdid Escudero with a
much sharper striking game on the feet, and maintained top position
when they hit the mat, punishing Escudero with his patented ground
and pound attack.
Escudero
hung in the fight, constantly attacking, but he couldn’t
mounted much of a threatening offense due to Griffin’s smothering
style.
Griffin
walked away with a unanimous decision victory, finally getting
back on track after more than a year out of action.
“The
game plan was really to fight my fight, push the pace more than
I did, mix it up more than I did, so that’s why you see
me a little bit head down,” said Griffin after the fight,
a bit of a sour look on his face. “I wanted to take him
down more. I wanted to impose my will more. And I really wanted
to get the finish.
“I
learn as much from my wins as I do from my losses and I’ve
got a lot to learn from this.”
Chidi
Njokuani, another UFC sibling being the brother of Anthony Njokuani,
weathered a couple early first-round low blows to answer strong,
punishing Phil Dace on the feet throughout their fight.
Njokuani,
taking a third low blow in the second round, brutalized Dace
in round two, ultimately setting up the finish early in round
three. Njokuani dropped Dace with a right hand, dropped several
more from standing on a downed Dace until the fight was stopped.
“It
went exactly how we thought it would,” said Njokuani after
the fight. “I knew it was gonna last a long time; he’s
tough. I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy fight and it
wasn’t.”
Failing
to make waves in the UFC several years ago, Marcio “Pé
de Pano” Cruz continued his reformation at RFA 4 with a
second-round submission victory over Joe Yager.
Cruz
went 5-1 at heavyweight following his UFC exodus, but after a
loss to Glover Teixeira last year, he took the necessary steps
to get down to light heavyweight.
The
34-year-old still struggled on his feet, but once he got the
fight to his comfort zone on the mat, Pé de Pano secured
an inverted triangle choke submission for the victory in his
205-pound debut.
Former
Ohio State All-American wrestler turned MMA fighter Lance Palmer
on Friday night took the biggest step in his career since deciding
to lace up the gloves. The Team Alpha Male fighter went the distance
with a vastly more experienced Fredson Paixao, a UFC and WEC
veteran and one of the top grapplers in the world.
Not only did Urijah Faber’s teammate go the distance, Palmer
also recorded a split decision victory over Paixao, impressively
outperforming him on the feet, deftly defending his submission
attempts, and doing a good job scoring takedowns and maintaining
top control on the mat.
Following
a two-year stretch of that saw him go 2-4, WEC veteran and TUF
alum James Krause kept his official unbeaten streak alive at
five consecutive bouts with a brutal knockout of Guilherme Trindade
in just 31 seconds of the first round.
Dakota
Cochrane continued his rebound since failing to get into the
UFC via The Ultimate Fighter Live, scoring a late first-round
submission over Derrick Burnsed. Now 13-3 overall, Cochrane has
won his last two bouts for RFA, including a submission of UFC
vet Joe Stevenson at RFA 3.
It
took Sergio Pettis all three rounds, but the younger brother
of UFC lightweight contender Anthony Pettis, got the job done.
A little quicker on the draw and more composed than Jimmy Jones
throughout the fight, he scored a unanimous decision victory
to move his record to 6-0 as a professional.
RFA
4 Full Results:
Main
Card:
-Tyson Griffin def. Efrain Escudero by Unanimous Decision (29-28,
30-27, 30-27), R3
-Chidi Njokuani def. Phil Dace by TKO (Strikes) at 0:41, R3
-Marcio Cruz def. Joe Yager by Submission (Inverted Triangle
Choke) at 4:16, R2
-Lance Palmer def. Fredson Paixao by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29,
29-28), R3
-James Krause def. Guilherme Trindade by KO at 0:31, R1
-Dakota Cochrane def. Derrick Burnsed by Submission (Armbar)
at 4:38, R1
-Sergio Pettis def. Jimmy Jones by Unanimous Decision (30-27,
29-28, 29-28), R3
Preliminary
Bouts:
-Chris Holdsworth def. Tyler Shinn by Submission (Triangle Choke)
at 1:32, R2
-Steve Mocco def. Tyler Perry by Submission (Kimura) at 1:34,
R2
-Cory Galloway def. Jerry Shapiro by TKO (Punches) at 3:15, R2
-Jordan Isordia def. Joey Angelo by Unanimous Decision
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Compared
to other startups, WSOF debut card was a winner
LAS VEGAS -- When it was all over, Ray Sefo could finally exhale.
The
former kickboxing superstar is the public face of the upstart
World Series of Fighting promotion, holding the title of company
president. But while the personable 41-year-old New Zealander
usually boasts a sunny disposition, he couldn't help but fear
the worst as the company's debut event at Planet Hollywood approached.
"You
have to understand, I spent the whole week picturing a worst-case
scenario," Sefo said backstage at PH Live on Saturday, moments
after Andrei Arlovski knocked out Devin Cole in the evening's
main event. "In my nightmare, there would be no one in the
stands, the lighting rig wouldn't work, everything would go wrong.
You've got to be prepared for anything."
But
after a live event which had a few of the sort opening-night
glitches expected from a debut event -- for example, opening-match
fighter Dustin Jacoby actually had to unlock the cage door on
his own to let himself in since he was sent out before Nevada
officials were in place -- but nothing major, Sefo was able to
smile.
"Once
I saw that by about the third fight, the building was really
starting to fill up, I knew it was on," Sefo said. "I
knew it would be good. Hey, I'm not going to pretend like there
aren't things we can't do better. We'll work on them. But all
in all the whole night went better than I ever could have imagined."
You
can't blame Sefo for expecting the worst going into Saturday
night's card. The mixed martial arts landscape is littered with
debut events and upstart fight promotions which have at best
been mixed bags and at worst unmitigated disasters.
Take
Affliction's first event in the summer of 2008. The company drew
a solid crowd of 11,242 to the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
And while the fight card itself was good, there were enough distractions
and gimmicks, from a performance by Megadeth to a ring which
was roughly the size of a football field, to call the overall
evening a mixed bag.
Either
way, the company took in $2M in gate revenue, but paid $3.3M
in fighter salary alone (and lord knows what Megadeth made for
their gig). With a balance sheet like that, the real miracle
was that Affliction lasted through a second show and was attempting
a third before the bills came due.
Then
there was the grandaddy of all misfires, K-1's attempt to break
into the U.S. MMA market. The company booked the 100,000-seat
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in June, 2007. The main event was
scheduled to feature Brock Lesnar, in his professional debut,
against Hong Man Choi. Choi had to drop out when his pre-fight
tests showed a tumor in his pituitary gland. The substitute main
event was Lesnar vs. Min Soo Kim, who entered the bout with a
2-5 record.
It
gets better. The company sold fewer than 1,000 advance tickets,
so it flooded Los Angeles with comps, particularly in the Koreatown
neighborhood, still advertising the Korean Choi long after he
was removed from the card. Maybe 15,000 people actually showed
up for the event, though that didn't stop K-1 from proclaiming
that 54,000 people passed through the turnstiles.
As
for the fights that night? For one, former USC football star
Johnnie Morton, woefully underprepared for his MMA debut, was
stretchered off his college field after suffering an all-time
brutal knockout against Bernard Ackah. Then there was the sad
display that was Royce Gracie vs. Kazushi Sakuraba. The comp
fans spent most of the bout booing the legends, whereupon an
annoying DJ who spun tunes all night got on the mic and told
the crowd to stop booing Royce (with a hard "R") Gracie.
Oh, and Lesnar needed roughly a minute to run over his human
punching bag opponent.
And
of course, there was the three-ring circus which was Elite XC
throughout its existence. From the "Kimbo and the Exploding
Ear Show" to Jason Miller's network-TV brawl with the 209
Crew to the night in Honolulu where a judge spent the bulk of
the Nick Diaz-Mike Aina fight with his back turned to the cage
as he chatted up a girl sitting at ringside, it was always something.
Keep
all this in mind as you judge whether WSOF, as a fight card,
was a success or failure. While there was plenty to nitpick on
Saturday night if one so chooses, when push came the shove, the
company simply delivered a solid fight card for fight fans. Nothing
more, nothing less.
The
company didn't distract fans with fireworks and ridiculous stage
setups. There was no IFL-style "team fighting" gimmick.
Mercifully, there was no platform for washed-up heavy metal acts.
And you won't hear Sefo make any delusional proclamations that
the WSOF is going to come in and overtake the UFC, as so many
of his predecessors have done.
"That
would be crazy," Sefo said. "There would be no point
in trying to compete with the UFC. They're the best in the business
for a reason. They're good at what they do. There's room for
more than one promotion in the industry and we just want to put
on events that the fans will enjoy."
Saturday
night's disclosed fighter payroll was $352,000, but the most
important numbers will come when paid attendance figures are
released. There appeared to be roughly 5,000 people in attendance
at the 7,000-seat PH Live, but the fans reacted like a heavily
comped crowd: Sitting in stone silence through an outstanding
fight between Tyson Steele and Gregor Gracie, booing Marlon Moraes'
well-contested win over Miguel Torres, and generally only reacting
to fighters with previous UFC exposure, like Arlovski and Anthony
Johnson.
Where
this is all leading, whether WSOF pays off in the long run as
a business proposition, and what the company will have to do
to get there, though, is for later. For now, Sefo and his cohorts
are happy to have the first event, which wasn't a home run but
certainly wasn't a strikeout, behind them.
"This
week's been crazy, but never mind this week, this has been building
for two years," said Sefo. "It was so much work just
getting here. That's just the starting point, we still have so
much work to do. But after playing it out in my head all week
and worrying what could go wrong, to have this night go the way
it did, I couldn't be happier."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
World
Series of Fighting Results: Arlovski Wins, Rumble Johnson Steals
the Show with KO
World
Series of Fighting finished its first show with two impressive
knockouts, including a show stealer from Anthony “Rumble”
Johnson, while Miguel Torres’ struggles continued on Saturday
night at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
Andrei
Arlovski vs. Devin Cole
It’s
been a few years since Andrei Arlovski held the UFC heavyweight
title, but his promise of returning to top form has always loomed
overhead when he fights. Arlovski looked to recapture that magic
when he faced Devin Cole in the main event of the inaugural World
Series of Fighting show Saturday night.
Always
quick on his feet, Arlovski clearly had a speed advantage over
Cole, who seemed to lumber forward looking for big power shots
without putting together much by way of combinations.
As
Cole stepped forward just moments into the fight, Arlovski countered
with a big overhand right that clipped his opponent on the top
of the head, and he immediately dropped to the mat.
Arlovski
jumped down to land a few hammer fists, but as Cole rolled to
his side, it was clear that he wanted no more.
Following
a very rough four-fight losing streak between 2009 and 2011,
Arlovski has bounced back with three wins in his last four fights,
with one no-contest in between. Now working full-time with Greg
Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn in New Mexico, Arlovski will look
to continue his path back to relevancy with his next scheduled
bout.
Anthony
Johnson vs. D.J. Linderman
If
the World Series of Fighting was in need of a highlight finish
for its first card, Anthony Johnson certainly did his part to
proved it.
The
former welterweight who now competes at 205 pounds, Johnson was
looking for his third win since moving to the weight class earlier
this year facing former super-heavyweight D.J. Linderman. An
early foul brought a pause to the fight when Johnson’s low
kick ended up going right up the middle between Linderman’s
legs like a field goal.
The
brief break didn’t stop Johnson, however, who continued
to launch big strikes at Linderman, but the fight seemingly shifted
when Johnson paused to turn and complain of an eye poke to referee
Herb Dean.
Dean
didn’t see the eye poke and urged the fighters to continue,
so Linderman, thinking he had an opening, rushed forward with
strikes.
That
was a big mistake.
Johnson
threw a single, straight right hand and Linderman continued moving
forward, except it was falling flat on his face, crashing on
the canvas. Prior to the fight, Linderman had prodded at Johnson,
talking about his power, but it was the former welterweight that
showed him what power was all about.
“He
just kept talking about all this power and what he can do cause
he came down from heavyweight. I just showed him what a 170-pounder
could do,” Johnson said after some pre-fight trash talk
from his opponent.
Johnson,
now 3-0 as a light heavyweight with three knockouts, looks like
he will have plenty of offers coming his way as 2013 fast approaches.
Miguel
Torres vs. Marlon Moraes
It
wasn’t long ago that Miguel Torres was sitting on top of
the bantamweight world and considered one of the top pound-for-pound
fighters on the planet. But following a loss to Brian Bowles
in 2009, Torres has struggled mightily to put any kind of winning
streak together, going just 3-3 before exiting the UFC earlier
this year.
Torres
hoped to get back on track facing Brazilian Marlon Moraes at
the debut card for World Series of Fighting, but he once again
couldn’t quite put the right ingredients together for a
winning recipe.
Moraes
was quicker to the punch at virtually every point in the fight,
landing power shots to the head, and snapping kicks to Torres’
legs. As the fight wore on, Torres started to put together more
offense, including his signature long jab, but it was never enough
to put Moraes off balance for more than a moment or two.
The
final judges’ tally scored the fight a split decision for
Moraes, who picks up an upset win over the former WEC champion.
Now, Moraes will face Tyson Nam at the second World Series of
Fighting event in early 2013, while Torres goes back to the drawing
board once again.
Tyrone
Spong vs. Travis Bartlett
“As
advertised.”
The
hype around kickboxing phenom Tyrone Spong making his move into
MMA was nothing if not at a fever pitch, and he certainly did
his part to prove everyone right about him.
For
more than the past year, Spong has been working tirelessly with
the team at the Blackzilians in Florida, honing his complete
mixed martial arts game to make the transition from kickboxing.
His
first MMA opponent, Travis Bartlett, certainly didn’t offer
up much resistance to test Spong’s ground game, but he did
a noble job of taking some devastating shots from the Dutchman
early on without dropping to the mat.
Spong fired off high kicks, knees and punches as Bartlett stared
back at him like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming semi-truck.
Mercifully, after a half a round, Spong dropped Bartlett with
a straight right.
Spong
walked away as referee Steve Mazzagatti came in to stop the action.
Following the fight, even Spong admitted he should have followed
up with more strikes until the referee pulled him away, but that’s
an adjustment he still needs to make from his days as a kickboxer.
“I
have to get used to finishing the guys,” said Spong. “I
was waiting on an 8-count.”
It
would appear MMA has a new bright star to keep an eye on as Tyrone
Spong continues his journey from kickboxer to mixed martial artist.
World
Series of Fighting 1 Full Results:
MAIN
CARD:
-Andrei Arlovski def. Devin Cole by TKO (strikes) at 2:37, R1
-Anthony Johnson def. D.J. Linderman by KO at 3:58, R1
-Marlon Moraes def. Miguel Torres by split decision (30-27, 29-28,
28-29)
-Tyrone Spong def. Travis Bartlett by KO at 3:15, R1
PRELIMINARY
CARD:
-Tyson Steele def. Gregor Gracie by TKO (strikes) at 4:52, R1
-Brian Cobb def. Ronys Torres by split decision (29-28, 29-28,
28-29)
-Josh Burkman def. Gerald Harris by unanimous decision (30-27,
29-28, 29-28)
-Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante def. T.J. O’Brien by submission
(heel hook) at 1:03, R1
-David Branch def. Dustin Jacoby by unanimous decision (29-28
on all cards)
-Steve Carl def. Ramico Blackmon by submission (rear naked choke)
at 2:11, R1
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Anderson
Silva reveals the 'price' of fighting Jon Jones: UFC '50%
A possible fight against Jon Jones has attracted attention in
the interviews Anderson Silva, who has been questioned about
it. In the UAE, the middleweight champion, who attended the Formula
1 on Sunday, said in an interview with CQC program, which would
fight the U.S. in exchange for 50% of the UFC.
"That
question (about facing Jones) has to be made to Dana White. Let's
ask if he will give me 50% of the UFC. If he goes, who knows
rolls this fight, "said the Brazilian, responding continues
his career after ending his contract with the organization, which
provides two additional duels.
"I
have my projects out of the UFC and I want to put them into practice.
To open my school (martial arts) in Los Angeles. I do my thing,
take a breath a little, take time with my family. I have better
things to do (than just taking punch in the face). I am already
tiozão. "
Anderson
Silva has fought for the last time in the third edition of the
UFC in Rio de Janeiro. With another great performance, he knocked
out Stephan Bonnar and remained unbeaten as the athlete of the
organization.
Source:
Tatame |
UFC
155 Adds Leonard Garcia vs. Cody McKenzie
A
featherweight bout between Leonard Garcia and Cody McKenzie has
been added to the year-end UFC 155 fight card in Las Vegas.
Ultimate
Fighting Championship officials announced the bout on Saturday.
Garcia
(15-9-1) is trying to rebound having lost three consecutive bouts.
He most recently lost to Matt Grice at UFC on FX 3 in June.
McKenzie
(13-3) is also trying to get back on track, having lost three
of his last four bouts. He suffered a knockout loss due to a
body shot from Chad Mendes at the UFC 148 fight card in Las Vegas
in July.
The
two will clash in support of a UFC 155 main event that sees heavyweight
champion Junior dos Santos put his belt on the line against Cain
Velasquez.
UFC
155 takes place on Dec. 29 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las
Vegas.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Alex
Caceres Draws New Opponent for UFC on Fuel TV 6
UFC
on Fuel TV 6 has undergone a recent change.
Alex
Caceres on Saturday drew new opponent Motonobu Tezuka, as his
original opposition, Kyung Ho Kang, had to withdraw from the
card.
Caceres
(7-5) will be looking to build some momentum as he enters this
fight in Macao on the heels of a victory over Damacio Page at
UFC on Fuel TV 4 over the summer.
He’ll
now be facing Tezuka instead of Kang, however.
Tezuka
(19-4-4) will be making his Octagon debut after working his way
up the ladder in Japan. He is 12-1 in his last 13 bouts, fighting
primarily for Pancrase and DEEP over the past several years.
Rich
Franklin vs. Cung Le heads UFC on Fuel TV 6 on Nov. 10 in Macao,
China.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
MIKE
PIERCE: WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION COULD SHAKE UP IN 2013
Mike
Pierce has been grinding out wins in the UFC for three years.
Last
month he scored his first knockout in the Octagon, though, when
he rallied to finish Aaron Simpson. Next up is Seth Baczynski
at UFC on FX 6 on Dec. 14, but before that bout Pierce joined
the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show to
discuss the Simpson fight, the state of the welterweight division
and more.
On
getting stunned by Simpson early: “He hits pretty hard,
I have to say. I’ve been hit by some pretty tough guys before,
but he was the first one that really kind of wobbled me and put
me in danger. I knew once I got hit, I had to go into a defensive
mode and try and recover as best I could. I was able to stay
alive and was coherent enough to fight off a rear-naked choke
as well and then made it to the bell. It was quite an experience,
one I hadn’t had before, but walking back to the corner,
I knew what I had to do and readjust and gather myself and come
out and fight my fight in the second round.”
On
countering Simpson in the second: “I’d watched enough
film on this guy to know that he had power in his right hand,
and that was kind of his go-to thing. He had knocked some guys
out with it. Why not throw it, right? I saw it coming there in
the first round. I just didn’t get out of the way of it
enough, and he still clipped me with it, wobbled me. In the second
round -- I had gathered myself in between, but I knew if I was
in his shoes, I would have thrown the right hand again. Why not?
It worked in the first round. Do it again. I kind of felt him
-- I just had this weird sense that he was getting ready to load
it up again and fire it. I finally got out of the way of it and
threw a short counter right of my own and it landed just perfectly.”
On
when the counter landed: “As soon as I hit him, I was like,
‘Wow, that felt really solid.’ I started to turn and
look to throw my hook, to follow it up, but as soon as I hit
him, he just kind of hunched over and was just barely standing
up on his feet. I saw his eyes roll into the back of his head.
I grabbed him by the neck with my left and just put a couple
of more punches on him on the way down, and the ref called the
fight right there.”
On
upcoming opponent Seth Baczynski: “He seems to be pretty
decent in all areas. He’s got a couple of good submissions
in his last few fights and a TKO to his credit. He’s definitely
a tall guy. He’s probably the tallest guy that I’ve
ever fought. He’s going to have some reach, so it’s
just a matter of getting inside and pressing the action on him
to take away his power.”
On
the welterweight division: “It’s really anybody’s
game, I think. I think a big question is how healthy is GSP?
He’s kind of getting -- I personally think -- maybe towards
the ladder part of his career. He’s had a bunch of injuries
that he’s had to sit out and rehab and heal up. His durability,
I think, is in question. We’ll definitely see in this upcoming
fight of his with [Carlos] Condit, but I think there’s a
lot of guys right there in the mix that could maybe knock GSP
off now since he’s had some injuries or maybe GSP just wants
to retire. Who knows? It’s really anybody’s game, but
there’s a lot of guys in the welterweight division that
I think could shake things up for 2013.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Glory
3 Results: Giorgio Petrosyan Remains On Top of the Kickboxing
World
Rome,
Italy, was the site of Glory 3 where number one ranked 70kg fighter
Giorgio Petrosyan continued his dominance in the kickboxing world.
Petrosyan
defeated Robin Van Roosmalen, Davit Kiria, and Ky Hollenbeck
to become the Glory 70kg tournament champion. With the win, Petrosyan
earns $300,000 American and maintains his status as the best
70kg kickboxer in the world.
In
the main event of Glory 3, Petrosyan defeated Robin Van Roosmalen
via unanimous decision. The Italian never let Roosmalen find
his rhythm, by constantly circling away from his powerful right
hand and never letting Roosmalen back him up against the ropes.
Petrosyan landed the far cleaner punches, teep kicks and round
kicks to the body. In the third round, Petrosyan coasted a little
bit and Roosmalen connected with a few short punches to the body
and a grazing uppercut but nothing damaging.
Roosmalen
was on a tear before losing to Petrosyan in the finals and put
his powerful right hand on display. Earlier that night, Roosmalen
finished impressive youngster Sanny Dahlbeck and Tim Thomas via
TKO. Roosmalen put away Dahlbeck with a body shot in round 3
after knocking him down twice and overwhelmed Thomas with a flurry
of punches in the second round.
At
the end of the show, it was announced that both Roosmalen and
Petrosyan would be competing at the Dream New Year’s Eve
event. Roosmalen will make his MMA debut and Petrosyan will compete
in a kickboxing bout.
The
youngest fighter in the tourney, 21-year-old Sanny Dahlbeck upset
late replacement and K-1 veteran Yoshihiro Sato in the quarterfinals.
Sato had no answer for Dahlbeck’s straight left in the first
round. In the second round, Dahlbeck dropped Sato with a straight
right and then later dropped Sato with a hard knee to the body.
Sato had trouble getting back to his feet and the ref called
off the fight.
Main
Card:
-Giorgio Petrosyan defeated Robin van Roosmalen by Unanimous
Decision
Semifinals
-Giorgio Petrosyan def. Davit Kiria by Unanimous Decision
-Robin van Roosmalen def. SannyDahlbeck via TKO (Ref Stoppage),
R3
Superfights
-73kg Alka Matewa def. Marco re by Unanimous Decision
-70kg Jordan Watson def. Mustapha Haida by Unanimous Decision
Quarterfinals
-Sanny Dahlbeck vs. Yoshihiro Sato by TKO (Ref Stoppage), R2
-Robin van Roosmalen def. Tim Thomas TKO (Ref Stoppage), R2
-Davit Kiria defeated Shemsi Beqiri via Unanimous Decision
-Giorgio Petrosyan def. Ky Hollenbeck TKO (Injury), R2
Tournament
Reserve Fights 70kg
-Alessandro Campagna def. Fabio Pinca by Unanimous Decision
-Warren Stevelmans def. Dzhabar Askerov by Unanimous Decision
Preliminary
Card:
-MMA: Cesario Di Domenico def. Davide Dolce by submission (rear-naked-choke)
at 1:08, R1
-72.5g Catchweight: Ricardo Lecca def. Giuseppe D’Amuri
by KO, R1
-70kg: Julian Imeri def. Emannuele Raini via Unanimous Decision
-MMA: Ivan Musardo def. Giorgio Belsanti by submission (rear-naked
choke) at 3:00, R1
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
World
Series of Fighting 1 Fighter Salaries: Andrei Arlovski and Anthony
Johnson Top Payroll
The
World Series of Fight 1: Arlovski vs. Cole fighter salaries were
released by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
World
Series of Fighting made its promotional debut on Saturday, Nov.
3, at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
Andrei
Arlovski capped off the fight card with a first-round knockout
of Devin Cole, while Anthony “Rumble” Johnson continued
to impress at 205 pounds with a brutal one-punch knockout of
D.J. Linderman.
The
following figures are based on the fighter salary information
that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic
commissions, including the winners’ bonuses.
Although
mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining
or a union, the fighters’ salaries are still public record,
just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any
undisclosed bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but
does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically,
pay-per-view bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are
not included in the figures below.
World
Series of Fighting 1 Fighter Salaries
Andrei
Arlovski: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Devin Cole: $10,000
Anthony
Johnson: $55,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
def. D.J. Linderman: $10,000
Marlon
Moraes: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
def. Miguel Torres: $18,000
Tyrone
Spong: $27,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus)
def. Travis Bartlett: $4,000
Tyson
Steele: $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
def. Gregor Gracie: $25,000
Brian
Cobb: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
def. Ronys Torres: $12,000
Steve Carl: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Ramico Blackmon: $10,000
Josh
Burkman: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Gerald Harris: $15,000
Gesias
“JZ” Cavalcante: $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus)
def. T.J. O’Brien: $5,000
David
Branch: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Dustin Jacoby: $5,000
World
Series of Fighting 1 Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $352,000
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
RFA
4 Fighter Salaries: Back on Track, Tyson Griffin Tops the Payroll
The
Resurrection Fighting Alliance 4 fighter salaries were released
by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
RFA
4, which took place on Friday, Nov. 2, marked the promotion’s
first foray to Las Vegas at Texas Station and also its first
broadcast on AXS TV.
Tyson
Griffin, after more than a year out of the cage, returned to
his winning ways and topped the RFA 4 payouts in the process.
Fredson
Paixao failed to make weight for his fight with Lance Palmer.
He was penalized 20-percent of his show money, or $400, which
was paid directly to Palmer. The penalty is reflected in the
figures below.
The
following figures are based on the fighter salary information
that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic
commissions, including the winners’ bonuses.
Although
mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining
or a union, the fighters’ salaries are still public record,
just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any
undisclosed bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but
does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically,
pay-per-view bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are
not included in the figures below.
Resurrection
Fighting Alliance 4 Fighter Salaries
Tyson
Griffin: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Efrain Escudero: $5,000
Chidi
Njokuani: $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus)
def. Phil Dace: $2,000
Marcio
“Pe de Pano” Cruz: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
def. Joe Yager: $2,000
Lance
Palmer: $3,400 (includes $1,500 win bonus)
def. Fredson Paixao: $1,600
James
Krause: $8,000 (includes $4,000 win bonus)
def. Guilherme Trindade: $1,500
Dakota
Cochrane: $4,000 (no win bonus)
def. Derrick Burnsed: $2,000
Sergio Pettis: $5,000 (includes $2,500 win bonus)
def. Jimmy Jones: $1,000
Chris
Holdsworth: $3,000 (includes $1,500 win bonus)
def. Tyler Shinn: $1,500
Steve
Mocco: $3,000 (includes $1,500 win bonus)
def. Tyler Perry: $1,500
Cory
Galloway: $1,000 (includes $500 win bonus)
def. Jerry Shapiro: $750
Jordan
Isordia: $1,350 (includes $600 win bonus)
def. Joey Angelo: $750
RFA
4 Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $82,350
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Hang
Tight Puerto Rico, UFC is On the Way
Everybody
across the globe wants to know when the UFC is coming to their
city, country or region. And if the UFC has already been there,
when are they coming back?
One
of the locals that UFC president Dana White is asked about over
and over again is Puerto Rico.
In
a recent online chat presented by Metro PCS, White had a little
bit more information on Puerto Rico, saying that it’s still
a work in progress, but that they are making headway and the
Octagon will be there soon.
“We’ve
been focused on Puerto Rico,” said White. “We’ve
been doing some work down there.”
Puerto
Rico has a population of more than 3.7 million people, so the
UFC isn’t taking the U.S. territory lightly.
“We
want to do a pay-per-view down there,” added White. “We
know it’s a big market for us. I will say that we’ll
probably do an event there in 2014.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
|
Xande
Ribeiro's weight and absolute at World No Kimono 2012
The
Jiu-Jitsu Kimono without which happened on 3 and 4 November in
California, won the grand champion Xande Ribeiro and absolute
weight of the competition.
Check
below as were the adult black belt finals of the 2012 World No
Kimono and know who shone beyond Xande.
Check
out how the finals were:
Super
Heavy: Joao Assis defeated Xande Ribeiro in the judges' decision
Xande
Ribeiro Alberto Villanova finished with a beautiful armbar, and
defeated Paul Tarcisio Jardim points to ensure the final. Already
João Assis, overcame Bernardo Faria and reissued in semifinal
fight of the ADCC 2011, when he won Xande Ribeiro.
Up
to 3 minutes, tied with fighting follows Xande guard sitting
doing. At 4 minutes, Xande is with the closed guard attacks and
works in John Assisi. At 5 minutes of fighting, winning Xande
an advantage but John wins to 8 minutes to half guard and ties
into advantages. Missing 1 minute, Ribeiro is one more advantage
and stands in front of the disputed match, but John fits in the
American leg ties Xande and the battle at the last second. With
two advantages for each side, champion Xande is the judges' decision!
Take
Female: Bia Mesquita Thayssa Ramos wins the advantages
Thayssa
Ramos opened the scoring and made 2-0 on Bia Mesquita, who attacked
going against the arm of the opponent. Judges Thayssa punished
for being too passive and athlete Gracie Humaita sagrando ended
up champions in advantages.
Heavy
Female: Fernanda Mazzelli Tammy Griego wins in tight battle
Athlete
Strike Team Jiu-Jitsu world champion and current on cloth, Fernanda
Mazzelli Tammy defeated by 4-2 and won the world heavyweight
champion.
Rooster:
Caio Terra takes Fabbio Steps in 31 seconds
To
ensure the end, Caio Terra Levy Oliveira finished with a choke
from the back. Fabio Passos defeated Raul Marcello to ensure
the decision.
Caio
Terra grabbed the back of Fabbio Steps and finished in just 31
seconds.
Female
Featherweight: Sofia Amarante shaves Oceane Marie and invoice
title
At
7 minutes of combat, Sofia opens the scoring with a sweep and
keep the result 2-0 until the end to earn the title in the women's
featherweight upon Marie.
Plume:
Henrique Costa outweighs the advantages Rafael Barata
Rafael
Freitas "Cockroach" passed Laertius Fernandes, while
Henrique Costa Gabriel Moraes finished with a choke from the
back.
Within
5 minutes of combat, Henrique Costa wins Cockroach by 3 advantages
for trying to pass his guard. At 7 minutes of fighting, Henry
wins by 4 to 1 advantage and the score remained that way until
the end.
Pena
Female: Ana Carolina Vidal defeat Sayaka Shioda by 15-0
Within
5 minutes of battle, the Brazilian is mounted and with the score
at 7-0 in his favor. At 7 minutes, Ana grabs the back of Japanese
and opens 11-0, to extend to 15 seconds to 0 and set the score.
Penalty:
Rubens Cobrinha wins Justin Rader calmly
Justin
Rader eliminated Ed Ramos and Samir Chantre to ensure the final
of the featherweight. Already Rubens Charles Mayko Girotto finished
with a beautiful armbar in the semifinal.
At
3 minutes of fighting, the American Cobrinha wins by two advantages.
At 8 minutes, Cobrinha Arrocha a fair leg lock and start bombarding
the American. The Alliance shaved black belt, and has got your
back, closing the match at 13-0 and earning the title of feathers.
Average
Female: Luiza Monteiro concludes Penny Thomas at the end of battle
The
battle raged tied at 2-2 until 9 minutes, but at the very end
of the battle, the Brazilian managed to end the South African
with a kneebar and just won the middleweight title.
Lightweight:
Augusto Tanquinho JT Torres wins in detail
Augusto
Tanquinho passed finalist absolute leandro Lo, in a thrilling
fight, set at the end when Tanquinho managed to pass the guard
and mount on him, turning the score ((7-2) and guaranteeing the
decision against JT Torres, Mota ended that Marcello and Dustin
Akbari.
JT
tries to overthrow Tanquinho in single-leg and gain an advantage
at the start of the race, repeating the feat in the middle of
combat, but Augustus is very difficult to topple. Two advantages
for JT to 7 minutes of fighting. At the last minute, Tanquinho
attacks a leg lock and get an advantage. When the battle seemed
set, the athlete Soul Fighters gets the advantage he needed to
fit a triangle. Combat ends tied at 2 v for each side, but JT
had as a punishment, if Tanquinho sacred lightweight champion.
Medium:
DJ Jackson is 5-0 in Clark Gracie
Clark
Gracie went through and finished Murilo Santana Marcus Vinicius
is in final weight. DJ Jackson passed Vitor Henrique to ensure
the decision.
In
the end, the American DJ Jackson can do 5-0 on Clark Gracie is
sacred and middleweight champion.
Heavyweight:
Pablo Popovitch wins Romulo Barral in exciting fight
Romulo
Barral Meirelles Philip finished in the semifinals of the heavyweight
and awaits definition of the adversary's decision. Pablo Popovitch
surpassed the semifinal, Ezra Lenon, who had defeated him in
the Pan NoGi and Romulo Barral faces in the final light heavyweight.
In
the end, Romulo pulls closed after a few minutes tries an armbar,
but defends well Pabo and exits from inside his guard. At 5 minutes
or so, Pablo passes the guard of Barral and opens 3-0. Romulo
get a scraping missing 30 seconds for the final, but the response
came late and Popovitch became champion light heavyweight by
3-2.
Heavy:
Cough defeat Roberto Lovato on Rafael decision
Rafael
Lovato was outnumbered but managed to fall, assembled and finished
by Nivaldo Oliveira, with a kata-gatame by heavyweight semifinal.
Cough Roberto Eduardo Telles passed and defeated Diego Herzog
on another semi, after achieving mounted on his opponent.
In
the end, lovato pulls Cough soon to open guard, and at 4 minutes
of combat, get an advantage by having almost shaved Cough, which
returns the advantage three minutes later. The fight ends in
a tie, but Cough leads to better decision of the arbitrators.
Ultraheavyweight:
Roberto Cyborg Gustavo Elias wins by 6-0
Three
sweeps in favor of Roberto Cyborg did be the Ultra heavyweight
champion Gustavo upon Elijah. Excellent Champion closed guard.
Absolute
Women: Tammy Griego wins Bia Mesquita in big fight
Athlete
of Gracie Humaita, Bia leaves behind on the scoreboard, but four
minutes, caught the back of his opponent and turn the score to
4-2. Tammy Griego shaves Bia, empath and fight at the very end
is the absolute champion in the decision in an upset unbelievable!
Absolute:
Xande Ribeiro wins by a Lo advantage
In
just over one minute of combat, Lo Xande tries to shave, but
it is not enough to gain an advantage. At 3 minutes, fight ensues
with Xande trying to pass guard and making Him. At 4 minutes,
Ribeiro comes close to passing the guard Leandro, but the Brazilian
does an excellent job. Missing 1 minute and a half, Xande almost
passes the guard, forces him to turn to all fours and, with the
advantage, also sacred to the absolute champion.
Source:
Tatame |
Worlds
No-Gi: black belt finalists
The
first black belt finals have materialized this Sunday in Long
Beach. Check out who’ll be squaring off for the gold at
the 2012 Worlds No-Gi:
ROOSTERWEIGHT
FINAL:
Caio Terra vs Fabbio Passos
Caio
Terra and Fabbio only had one match apiece in making it to the
final. Caio tapped out Levy Oliveira from back mount, and Fabbio
had a closely contested match with Brazilian national No-Gi champion
Raul Marcello (Gracie Humaitá).
LIGHT
FEATHERWEIGHT
FINAL:
Rafael Barata vs Henrique Costa e Silva
Rafael
Freitas, known as “Barata” around Gracie Barra, had
to overcome Laércio Fernandes (Lotus) to make it through
to the final with Henrique Costa e Silva. The Alliance black
belt came up with a splendid finish from the back in the semifinal
against Gabriel Moraes (CheckMat).
FEATHERWEIGHT
FINAL:
Justin Rader vs Rubens Cobrinha
Justin
Rader eliminated Ed Ramos and Samir Chantre in two excellent
matches. At the other end of the bracket, Rubens Cobrinha overcame
Mayco Girotto (CheckMat) with his characteristic moves. Cobra
took the back and snagged an arm in style.
LIGHTWEIGHT
FINAL:
Augusto Tanquinho vs JT Torres
Leandro
Lo kicked off his venture into the lightweight division by scoring
45 to nil on Raymond Ayala, but that wasn’t enough to impress
Augusto Tanquinho. The gentle-art professor at Soul Fighters
turned the tables in the waning moments to make it 6-2 by latching
on to Lo’s foot and then passing and mounting. Hopefully,
Lo won’t be in any pain for the absolute final later on,
when he takes on Xande Ribeiro. Now, JT Torres got the tapout
in both his matches and is in fine shape for the final. Lucas
Lepri, one of the favorites in the division, didn’t compete,
losing his match by WO.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
FINAL:
DJ Jackson vs. Clark Gracie
The
two American black belts had dazzling campaigns. Clark Gracie
showed his Kimura’s are up to speed, but will he have what
it takes to deal with a bulldozer like DJ?
MEDIUM
HEAVYWEIGHT
FINAL:
Rômulo Barral vs Pablo Popovitch
Rômulo
tapped out Filipe Meirelles from back-control in the semifinal,
and now he will be entering a heavily anticipated match with
Pablo Popovitch, who outpointed Ezra Lenon, who had beaten the
Brazilian at the Pan No-Gi.
HEAVYWEIGHT
Final:
Rafael Lovato Jr. vs. Roberto Tussa
A
guaranteed barnburner. Tussa showed his armdrags are up to speed,
beating Eduardo Telles and Diego Nosferatu. Now, Lovato was rampant
in tapping out Nivaldo Oliveira with an arm-and-neck choke and
Mixmiliano Freitas via Kimura.
SUPER
HEAVYWEIGHT
FINAL:
Xande Ribeiro vs. João Assis
Xande
secured a spot in a final yet again, and against an old acquaintance
of his, João Assis, a CheckMat black belt who outduelled
Xande in a riveting match at ADCC 2011. Xande tapped out Alberto
Villanova and outpointed Paulo Tarcísio, while João
eliminated Bernardo Faria in the semifinal.
ULTRAHEAVYWEIGHT
FINAL:
Roberto Cyborg vs. Gustavo Elias
Cyborg
warmed up with a rear-naked choke and is now ready to take on
another big fellow with slick Jiu-Jitsu: the game Gustavo Elias.
Meet the
black belt No-Gi world champions
Here’s
how the black belt contest at the 2012 World No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu
Championship played out in Long Beach, California, this Sunday.
ABSOLUTE
FINAL: Xande Ribeiro defeated Leandro Lo by a single advantage
point after 0-0 score.
Lo pulled open guard and was actively trying to reposition the
whole time, but Xande wouldn’t let him. The 0-0 scoreline
remained until the ninth minute, when Xande grabbed one of Lo’s
leg and tried passing bull-fighter style. The pressure was so
great that Lo was forced to turn on all fours. The resulting
advantage point turned out to be decisive. Xande’s “old
school” Jiu-Jitsu prevailed.
SUPERHEAVYWEIGHT
FINAL: Xande Ribeiro defeated João Assis via judges’
decision.
Xande Ribeiro and João Assis were the first to compete
in an adult black belt final at the tournament. Xande pulled
guard and took an advantage-point lead, but Assis drew even with
a sweep. Xande then broke ahead with another advantage point,
and Assis, knowing he didn’t have much time left, pulled
half-guard and attacked Xande’s foot, tying the score in
the final second. The three judges scoring the match deemed Xande
the champion.
ROOSTERWEIGHT
FINAL: Caio Terra defeated Fabbio Passos via choke from the back.
Caio swiftly took Fabbio’s back and sunk a choke, forcing
the Alliance black belt to tap out in just 31 seconds. Could
this be the kind of thing Caio’s teaching Carlos Condit?
LIGHT
FEATHERWEIGHT
FINAL: Henrique Costa e Silva defeated Rafael “Barata”
Freitas by 4-1 on advantage points.
The Alliance black belt brought on topside pressure, took a three-advantage-points
lead and won.
FEATHERWEIGHT
FINAL: Rubens Cobrinha outpointed Justin Rader by 13 to 0.
Rubens Cobrinha started out trying to sweep and scored on advantages.
The Alliance ace calmly drew Rader to his sting. Towards the
end of the match Cobrinha finally struck, sinking a leglock,
sweeping and moving to back control. Justin refused to tap out.
Cobrinha scored another two points when the pair rolled out of
the match area while he had a choke in place as time ran out.
LIGHTWEIGHT
FINAL: Augusto Tanquinho defeated JT Torres on advantage points
With eight minutes of standup action, JT and Augusto Tanquinho
put on a show. JT opened the scoring with two advantages from
a takedown but got penalized for being passive. Towards the end,
Augusto pulled open guard and scored an advantage for sinking
a triangle with leverage on the arm, which JT escaped from without
worry, but the referees saw it as having been dangerous. Tanquinho
won in the final seconds yet again. Dramatic!
MIDDLEWEIGHT
FINAL: DJ Jackson defeated Clark Gracie by 5 to 0.
The pass-savvy DJ Jackson didn’t fall for any of guard-player
Clark’s tricks, winning by 5 to 0, while showcasing a sharp
pass.
MEDIUM
HEAVYWEIGHT
FINAL: Pablo Popovitch defeated Romulo Barral by 3 to 0
The greatly awaited final was prodding along, until Pablo Popovitch
woke up halfway through the match and passed Barral’s guard
in impressive fashion.
HEAVYWEIGHT
Final: Roberto Tussa defeated Rafael Lovato Jr. via judges’
decision (1-1 on advantage points)
Lovato offered danger the whole time with his guard, but Tussa
didn’t quit until making it past his American counterpart’s
guard. With one advantage point apiece, the judges gave it to
Tussa. Highly technical bout!
ULTRAHEAVYWEIGHT
Final: Roberto Cyborg defeated Gustavo Elias by 6 to 0
Cyborg swept the giant from Gracie Humaitá three times,
making good use of his tornado guard.
BROWN
BELT ABSOLUTE
FINAL: Keenan Cornelius (Lloyd Irvin) defeated his teammate Wilbur
Leonard on points after getting the tapout in all his
other matches.
ABSOLUTE:
FINAL: Tammy Griego defeated Bia Mesquita via judges’ decision.
After beating Luzia Monteiro, Bia took on Tammy, who earlier
outpointed Michelle Nicolini. The open weight final was electrifying.
Bia took the back to make it 4-2. The Gracie Barra black belt
went for all or nothing towards the end, sweeping and drawing
even. Tammy was handed the win by the judges for her frenetic
flurry late in the match.
FEMALE:
LIGHTWEIGHT: Beatriz Mesquita beat Thayssa Ramos by 3 advantage
points to 1 after a 2-2 draw.
Thayssa, a team Avengers rep, swept Bia in the early action,
to which the Gracie Humaitá black belt responded with
an attempted kneebar, footlock and then armbar to turn the tides
on the scoreboard. Thayssa proved she’s a tough nut to crack
and withstood till the very end. With 15 seconds left, however,
the three judges saw Thayssa to be too passive and docked her
two points. With the draw, Bia won on advantage points.
HEAVYWEIGHT
FINAL: Fernanda Mazzelli defeated Tammy Griego by 4-2.
Fernanda swept Tammy early on, but the Gracie Barra black belt
didn’t fold. Upon landing on top, Griego pressured for the
pass, nearly getting it. Fernanda regrouped, swept and won. Tammy
scored two points, but it was too little too late.
LIGHT
FEATHERWEIGHT
FINAL: Sofia Amarante defeated Oceane Marie by 2-0.
Sofia swept Oceane seven minutes in and won.
FEATHERWEIGHT
FINAL: Ana Carolina Vidal outpointed Sayaka Shioda by 15 to 0.
For being a bracket of three, Carol had to beat Shida twice this
Sunday to become champion. The first time was a drubbing. Shioda
got past Jennifer Petrina and went through to the final but lost
again, this time by 15 to 0. Ana passed and mounted but did have
to endure a sinister leglock from the Japanese fighter.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
FINAL: Luiza Monteiro tapped out Penny Thomas via kneebar
The all-blond bombshell match turned out to be a lesson in defense.
Luiza tried an armbar on Penny, who deftly escaped. Penny countered
with a takedown, but Luiza tied the score and, with 30 seconds
left on the clock, freed herself of Penny’s attack and caught
her knee.
ABSOLUTE:
FINAL:
Bia Mesquita vs. Tammy Griego
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
10
November Tussles Worth Watching
By Tim
Leidecker
Mixed
martial arts has established itself on network television in
2012, as the Ultimate Fighting Championship spread its content
across multiple Fox platforms. At the same time, Strikeforce
struggled to build on perhaps the strongest stretch of its existence;
Bellator Fighting Championships underwent a transition, as it
prepares for a move from MTV 2 to Spike TV in 2013; and, on the
regional circuits, fans have been treated to a number of spectacular
fights, as new stars continue to rise around the globe.
Our
monthly “Tussles” feature -- which takes readers around
the globe in an effort to broaden their MMA horizons and showcase
the best fights and fighters that might not draw much attention
otherwise -- turns its attention to the lower weight classes.
Las Vegas-based promotions World Series of Fighting and Resurrection
Fighting Alliance feature a pair of highly intriguing lightweight
clashes, while venerable Japanese organization Pancrase puts
its flyweight crown up for grabs. Lastly, two featherweight studs
collide in the Philippines within the scope of an interesting
country-versus-country storyline.
As
always, the list does not focus on the well-promoted main event
bouts from major organizations you already know to watch but
rather on fights from all over the planet that are worth seeing.
The UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator cards are excluded by design.
Ronys
Torres vs. Brian Cobb
World Series of Fighting 1 | Nov. 3 -- Las Vegas
Arguably
the top Brazilian and American lightweights not under Zuffa contract
will square off as part of the World Series of Fighting 1 prelims
streaming live to Sherdog.com. “Jungle Boy” Torres
has been on an absolute tear ever since he received what many
felt was a premature release from the UFC after two close decision
losses. Cobb went 4-0 in 2010-11, only to suffer a setback at
the hands of Antonio McKee in January. The winner of this fight
could find himself back on the sport’s brightest stage in
2013.
Mitsuhisa
Sunabe vs. Masakazu Utsugi
Pancrase Progress Tour 12 | Nov. 10 -- Tokyo
For
the first time since winning the title in December, veteran redhead
Sunabe will defend his 120-pound strap. Challenging the 33-year-old
all-rounder will be Paraestra knockout artist Utsugi. The 27-year-old
Ibaraki native literally punched his ticket to the No. 1 contender’s
slot with back-to-back knockouts over Yoshihiro Matsunaga and
Takuya Eizumi. Even though Utsugi has a couple of good wins on
his resume, the title fight against Sunabe represents a huge
step up in competition for him.
Carina
Damm vs. Kalindra Carvalho Faria
Warriors Fighting Championship 1 | Nov. 14 -- Sao Paulo, Brazil
Three
years ago, a then 23-year-old Faria fought the already established
international MMA veteran Damm in only her fourth professional
fight. After an even first round, she was mounted and grounded-and-pounded
until her corner threw in the towel. Now, the two ladies get
to dance again on Warriors Fighting Championship’s inaugural
event. Faria has developed into a serious flyweight contender
and is riding a four-fight winning streak, while Damm is coming
off a tough knockout at the hands of Munah Holland in July.
Tyson
Griffin vs. Efrain Escudero
RFA 4 “Griffin vs. Escudero” | Nov. 2 -- Las Vegas
Due
to a recent stretch of bad results, five-time UFC “Fight
of the Night” winner Griffin and “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 8 winner Escudero find themselves in the primes of their
careers but on the outside of the Octagon looking in. Both men
made virtue out of necessity and are now fighting each other
in the headliner of Resurrection Fighting Alliance’s latest
event.
Griffin
competed at featherweight in his past two bouts but will return
to 155 pounds for the scrap with Escudero, who has never been
knocked out in his 23-fight career.
Forrest
Petz vs. Jordan Mein
Score Fighting Series 7 | Nov. 23 -- Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Although
he was not one of the headliners, rising Canadian star Mein was
one of the fighters affected by Strikeforce’s Nov. 3 cancellation.
One man’s sorrow is another man’s joy, as his previous
employer, the Score Fighting Series, gladly welcomed the “Young
Gun” back and put him in the main event slot against grizzled
veteran Petz. “The Meat Cleaver” has already proven
to be a stumbling block for many other promising talents throughout
his career. In 2006, he won a five-round decision over Dan Hardy.
Rashid
Magomedov vs. Alexander Yakovlev
M-1 Challenge 35 | Nov. 15 -- St. Petersburg, Russia
The
M-1 Global welterweight title picture has been a four-way dance
the last couple of years. The current champion, Magomedov, came
out on top of a hard-fought five-rounder against Switzerland’s
Yasubey Enomoto in March. The Dagestani knockout artist also
holds a split decision win over previous titleholder Shamil Zavurov.
Now, he gets a fresh foe in Yakovlev. The versatile St. Petersburg
native fought to a draw with Zavurov in March and was awarded
the title shot in his hometown.
Dave
Castillo vs. Justin Buchholz
Showdown Fights 9 | Nov. 16 -- Orem, Utah
Utah
may not seem like a hotbed for mixed martial arts, but the Showdown
Fights promotion is certainly raising the flag for the Beehive
State. In its latest installment, the organization’s vacant
lightweight title is up for grabs. One of the challengers is
Salt Lake City’s own Castillo, who has gone 3-0 under the
Showdown Fights banner. Across the cage from him will be Team
Alpha Male’s Buchholz. The 29-year-old has won four of his
last five fights and is coming off an assistant coaching stint
on Season 15 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Guy
Delumeau vs. Dustin Kimura
Pacific Xtreme Combat 34 | Nov. 17 -- Quezon City, Philippines
Leading
Filipino promotion Pacific Xtreme Combat is becoming more and
more of a player due to its good eye for up-and-coming talent
and rock-solid matchmaking. This month, PXC will delight the
fans in the Philippines with a battle between Hawaii and Japan.
Representing Japan, ironically, will be Shooto and Pancrase veteran
Delumeau, who originally hails from Honolulu but currently resides
in Tokyo. He will square off against undefeated submission specialist
Kimura, who, despite his name, prefers to win fights with various
chokes.
Jesse
Taylor vs. Steven Kennedy
K-Oz Entertainment “Bragging Rights 4” | Nov. 16 --
Perth, Australia
Taylor,
a finalist on Season 7 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” has
become an MMA globetrotter. Since appearing on the UFC reality
series, the 28-year-old wrestler has competed in Mexico, Japan,
Australia, Panama, Poland and Bahrain. “JT Money” has
especially fallen for the land Down Under and will appear there
for the fourth time when he faces Australian standout “Steamroller”
Kennedy for the K-Oz Entertainment middleweight title. Kennedy
has enjoyed a stellar 2012 campaign, winning four of his five
fights, with three finishes.
Deividas
Taurosevicius vs. Frank Caraballo
Ring of Combat 43 | Nov. 16 -- Atlantic City, N.J.
Some
fighters remain underrated for their entire career. Case in point:
Lithuania’s Taurosevicius. After rising to fame during his
run in the International Fight League, “Taurus” earned
a WEC contract when the IFL went out of business. Despite going
2-1, his services were deemed expendable. A regular attraction
for Ring of Combat since 2011, the 35-year-old Taurosevicius
will make his fourth appearance for the New Jersey promotion
when he squares off with Bellator veteran Caraballo. “The
Tank” will ride a six-fight winning streak into this matchup.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Junior
dos Santos close to signing Nike sponsorship deal
By Ariel
Helwani
UFC
heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos could become the latest
MMA fighter to be sponsored in some capacity by Nike.
According
to sources with knowledge of the situation, dos Santos is close
to signing a deal with Nike, however, the deal isn't finalized
and its terms are unknown.
The
news was first reported on Tuesday's episode of "UFC Tonight"
on FUEL TV. In fact, dos Santos was seen wearing a T-shirt with
a large Nike logo on it during the interview.
The
Brazilian champion would become the third UFC title holder to
sign a deal with Nike recently. Light heavyweight champion Jon
Jones and middleweight champion Anderson Silva are the others.
Dos
Santos will defend his title against former champion Cain Velasquez
at UFC 155 on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
How
‘bout a Gracie Diet juice to ward off cramps?
Vitor Freitas
For
more than 10 years now, GRACIEMAG has been publishing recipes
based on the renowned diet developed by Carlos Gracie. The dietary
method prevents disease and enhances well-being and quality of
life, regardless of where you live or what type of routine you
practice. The secret is to go heavy on the fruit, whatever they
may be.
If
you’re going to train today, GRACIEMAG.com recommends a
juice for alleviating cramps and fending off muscle fatigue suggested
by Adriana Gracie. And try to always stick with a diet that gets
you enough calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium.
Anti-cramp
juice recipe
1
green coconut
2 spoonfuls of brewers’ yeast
100g Tofu
2 ripe bananas
Beat it all in the blender, and toast to your health!
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Boxing:
Trainer Emanuel Steward dies at 68
by Damian
Calhoun
Legendary
boxing trainer Emanuel Steward passed away Thursday at the age
of 68.
Steward,
started working at Kronk Gym in Detorit in 1971. He worked with
the likes of Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Thomas Hearns,
Wladimir Klitschko, Miguel Cotto, Naseem Hamed, Jermain Taylor,
Oscar De La Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., Michael Moorer and
Aaron Pryor just to name a few.
It
was reported Wednesday that Steward underwent surgery for diverticulosis.
Steward
also worked as an analyst for HBO Boxing. Ken Hershman, the president
of HBO Sports, released the following statement:
“There
are no adequate words to describe the enormous degree of sadness
and loss we feel at HBO Sports with the tragic passing of Manny
Steward.
“For
more than a decade, Manny was a respected colleague who taught
us so much not only about the sweet science but also about friendship
and loyalty. His energy, enthusiasm and bright smile were a constant
presence. Ten bells do not seem enough to mourn his passing.
His contributions to the sport and to HBO will never be forgotten.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Steward
started working at HBO in 2001.
Top
Rank’s Bob Arum released the following statement:
“We
are all grieving the passing of our friend Emanuel Steward. His
founding and leadership of the Kronk Gym in Detroit was outstanding.
His efforts produced many world class fighters and champions
including Tommy Hearns, Milt McCrory, Michael Moorer and many
more.
“Emanuel
Steward always stood for the best that boxing could offer. He
will be missed by all of us.”
Heavyweight
champion Wladimir Klitschko, who is scheduled to defend his titles
next month against Mariusz Wach, has been trained by Steward
since 2004, released the following statement:
“Boxing
has suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of Emanuel Steward.
Vitali and I, along with the entire Team Klitschko, send our
deepest and most heartfelt condolences to Emanuel’s family
and friends.
“It
is not often that a person in any line of work gets a chance
to work with a legend, well I was privileged enough to work with
one for almost a decade. I will miss our time together. The long
talks about boxing, the world, and life itself. Most of all I
will miss our friendship.
My
team and I will carry on with the goals we had set while Emanuel
was with us because that is exactly what Emanuel would have wanted.
I know he will be with us in spirit along the way and we will
accomplish these goals in his honor.
Rest
in peace Emanuel. You will be greatly missed. Until we meet again
my friend.
Trainer
Freddie Roach said via Twitter: “Emanuel Steward passing
today is biggest loss to boxing in long time. He’ll be greatly
missed. My thoughts prayers are w his family.”
Golden
Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya said: “It brings
me great grief and sadness to hear of the passing of one of the
best and most respected trainers of this era, Emanuel Steward.
I learned a lot from him during our professional relationship
and I will be forever grateful for his help during that time.
We were also friends and I know I am going to miss him as so
many others will too. He was an important part of our boxing
community.”
De
La Hoya trained under Steward in 1997.
Source:
OC Register
|
Derek
Brunson on TUF fiasco: 'It's a nightmare'
By Dave
Doyle
This
hasn't been an easy year to be a Strikeforce fighter. But few
fighters on the roster had it tougher than Derek Brunson.
Brunson,
the 28-year old middleweight whose last fight was an August loss
to Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, thought he was free to appear
on The Ultimate Fighter 17.
But
this week, the Jackson's MMA fighter found out at the absolute
last minute that he wasn't cleared to participate in the show.
"It's
Halloween, it's like perfect, it's a nightmare," Brunson
said on Wednesday's edition of The MMA Hour. "Throughout
the day I'm like, man, that was the worst-case scenario that
actually happened."
When
the former NCAA Division II All-American wrestler realized that
due to the cancellation of the planned September and November
Strikeforce shows, he wouldn't be able to fight again in Strikeforce
any time soon, Brunson asked Strikeforce matchmaker Sean Shelby
about the possibility of being released from his contract in
order to appear on the next edition of TUF, which features coaches
Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen.
"I
felt I wasn't a priority anymore, you know?," Brunson said.
"I lost two in a row under the Strikeforce banner. I lost
to Kendall Grove [in a bout outside of Strikeforce] and 'Jacare.'
It took a long time to get me a fight, they wanted to make the
fight between me and 'Jacare,' so pretty much I had to sit out
until Jacare's hand was healed just so we could get that going
and that was in August. I had that fight, lost to Jacare, that
was two in a row under Strikeforce. I was trying to get another
fight in before the end of year, and I asked them about September
and November."
When
that didn't work out, Brunson continued, "I said, ‘is
there any way I can try out for The Ultimate Fighter?' Sean said
‘let me get back to you on that.' I talked to my manager,
he was talking to Sean also, eventually we get the OK for Ultimate
Fighter. Everything went through, I went out to Vegas, did the
interviews, did all the medicals, signed the contract, was there
ready to weigh in."
Brunson
was literally in line for the weigh-ins with the rest of the
TUF cast when the bad news came down.
"I
go to Jackson's for five weeks to get in real good shape, work
with the coaches and work with my teammates," Brunson said,
"Then they fly me out to Vegas and I sign contract, and
everything was, like, good to go. I got on weight, photo shoot,
and right before weigh-in, its like, I'm actually in the order
of the fighters, about to weigh-in and do my physical, and one
of the guys pulled me out and took me to the hall."
"I'm
like dang, this has not been my year. What can happen? Nothing
nothing good at this point can happen. I'm thinking all the things
that could go possibly be going on at this point. Finally the
producer came out, she was pretty much in tears, she was like,
‘I'm so sorry, this is one of worst situations I ever had
to deal with, I really loved you for this show, but, you know,
at this point you haven't been released so you can't do the show.'
As
of now, Brunson doesn't have a straight answer as to why he was
pulled from the show. His best guess is that he got caught up
in the flow of the ongoing tug-of-war between Strikeforce, which
is owned by Zuffa, and Showtime, which broadcasts the company's
events.
"What
I'm hearing recently is that maybe my issue might have gotten
caught up in the mix of Showtime and Strikeforce, what they have
going on," Brunson said. "Like, the shows being cancelled,
just what I'm hearing from the media, they're not wanting to
air the shows. I'm hearing I pretty much just got caught in the
mix. ... These are big corporations, these guys are multi-million
dollar corporations, for me, who am I?"
All
Brunson can do from here, like the rest of the Strikeforce roster,
is wait and see what happens. But as the father of two with bills
to pay, that's easier said than done.
"It's
still tough to find fights, nobody in Strikeforce is exactly
raising their hand to fight me in the first place," Brunson
said. "That's why I had to sit out so long to get the 'Jacare'
fight. I've lost so much money this year on training camps and
not having fights. ... I'm heading up to North Carolina, got
to re-evaluate what's in my best interest. I've got two little
girls, I've gotta do my best by them."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Source:
‘TUF 16’ Episode 7 Averages 676,000 Viewers on FX;
Bellator 78 Nets 154,000 on MTV2
By Mike
Whitman
Episode
7 of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 16 averaged 676,000
viewers during its Friday night broadcast on FX, and Bellator
78 earned 154,000 observers the same night on MTV2.
Sherdog.com
confirmed the numbers on Tuesday with an industry source. The
“TUF” viewership figure marks the second-worst showing
of Season 16, surpassing only the 624,000 observers that tuned
in two weeks ago. The figure also represents a downturn when
compared to last week’s Episode 6, which pulled 811,000
observers. The “TUF 16” season high was set in week
four, with 1.1 million viewers.
The
seventh episode of Season 16 saw Team Nelson’s Michael Hill
take a curious split decision over Team Carwin’s Matt Secor,
despite Secor putting forth a strong effort in the second frame
of their two-round exhibition bout. Nevertheless, the team score
now stands at three victories apiece.
Meanwhile,
Bellator’s 154,000 viewers represent a slight increase from
last week’s Bellator 77, which attracted 149,000. Now five
shows into its seventh iteration, Bellator set its season high
during the Sept. 28 premiere, as Bellator 74 earned 190,000 viewers
on MTV2.
Bellator
78 took place at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, and was highlighted
by the Season 7 welterweight tournament semifinals. Lyman Good
and Andrey Koreshkov will square off for a guaranteed title shot
after taking out Michail Tsarev and Marius Zaromskis, respectively.
Source
Sherdog
|
Playing
catch-up with (partial) one-liners
By Zach
Arnold
Jon
Jones is considering a move to Heavyweight in 2013.
Frankie
Edgar vs. Jose Aldo is now set for Super Bowl weekend.
Stephan
Bonnar is retiring.
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Fabricio Werdum is on the horizon for next
Summer after they coach a Brazilian edition of The Ultimate Fighter.
The
Ultimate Fighter continues to tank horribly in the ratings in
the States.
Rampage
Jackson wanted to fight Glover Teixeira, then didn’t want
to fight him after Teixeira got a lengthy medical suspension
coming out of his Brazil fight… and now may want to fight
Teixeira again. I may have more about this debacle later on…
Anthony
Pettis vs. Donald Cerrone is still going to happen, with January
as the target time frame…
The
mess involving the Florida DBPR (Department of Business &
Regulation) with the Florida athletic commission is turning out
to be a mini-clone of the disastrous situation that California’s
athletic commission has turned into thanks to the Department
of Consumer Affairs.
Cesar
Gracie wants you to know that Nate Diaz will never fight Gilbert
Melendez.
There’s
little heat for the upcoming Cung Le/Rich Franklin UFC show in
Macao (at least in terms of domestic interest) and the heat so
far for St. Pierre vs. Condit in Montreal is tepid, though the
PPV buys should be relatively decent given that St. Pierre hasn’t
fought for a while now.
Karyn
Bryant was nominated in the World MMA awards for her journalistic
work… maybe she’ll motorboat her way to a win.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Jose
Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar Official for UFC 156 on Super Bowl Weekend
2013
by Damon
Martin
Frankie Edgar will get the next crack at the UFC featherweight
title and he faces champion Jose Aldo on Super Bowl weekend at
UFC 156.
The news was revealed via UFC Tonight on Tuesday evening from
UFC President Dana White.
The card will be Feb 2, 2013 and is expected to take place in
Las Vegas.
Aldo returns to action following a motorcycle accident that sidelined
him from his scheduled bout in October at UFC 153. The featherweight
champion last competed in January with a knockout win over Chad
Mendes at UFC 142.
By the time he returns in February, it will have been more than
a year since the champion has competed and he has a tough test
ahead of him.
Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will drop down
to 145lbs and get an immediate shot at Aldo in his first fight
at featherweight.
Edgar dropped back-to-back fights to Benson Henderson in 2012
as he lost his UFC lightweight title, and the subsequent rematch
despite outcries of bad judging costing him at least the second
fight.
Now the New Jersey native will look to add another gold belt
to his resume when he faces Jose Aldo in February at UFC 156.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
World
Series of Fighting Preview
By Tristen
Critchfield
When
it comes to personal hygiene and brand new mixed martial arts
promotions, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Recognizing that people tend to remember what they see first,
upstart World Series of Fighting has signed a collection of former
talents from promotions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship,
Strikeforce and Bellator Fighting Championships. Combine that
with an NBC Sports Network deal and the fledgling organization
would seem to have a promising foundation in place.
The
narrative for many of the fighters on the card is a familiar
one; with a couple of key wins Athlete X hopes to return to past
glories. Of course, if all goes well, perhaps the Andrei Arlovskis
and Miguel Torreses of the world become WSOF staples. At least
one thing is clear: with Strikeforce canceling its event on the
same night, the inaugural show will no longer be vying for attention
against more established competition. Taking place at the Planet
Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, World Series of Fighting
1 features a total of 11 bouts. The five main card attractions
air on the NBC Sports Network; the six prelims stream live on
Sherdog.com.
Here
is a look at the card, with analysis and picks.
Heavyweights
Andrei
Arlovski (17-9) vs. Devin Cole (20-9-1)
The
Matchup: By hitching its wagon to Arlovski as the headliner of
its first-ever event, the World Series of Fighting is hoping
that it gets something that resembles the menacing former UFC
heavyweight champion of years past. It has been a long time since
the bearded Belarusian has showcased that form, but he has been
trending upward slightly since a humbling four-fight losing streak
concluded with a loss to Sergei Kharitonov in February 2011.
Since
then, “The Pit Bull” scored stoppages against Ray Lopez
and Travis Fulton under the ProElite banner before battling to
a frustrating no contest with longtime rival Tim Sylvia at One
Fighting Championship 5 on Aug. 31. Of those bouts, his fourth
encounter with Sylvia was the most encouraging; the two former
champions went back-and-forth in round one, and Arlovski picked
up the pace in the second frame, dropping his foe with a three-punch
combination before apparently ending the contest with a pair
of soccer kicks. The bout was ruled a no contest because the
referee had not given the OK for the kicks; One FC has since
adopted Pride Fighting Championships rules for soccer kicks.
Most of the physical gifts are still there for Arlovski; his
mentality is key to his success going forward.
An
eight-time veteran of the now-defunct International Fight League,
Cole has bested current UFC talent Shawn Jordan and Gabriel Salinas-Jones
in his last two outings. The Oregonian was rumored to have been
offered a spot on the UFC on Fox 4 card opposite Travis Browne
when Ben Rothwell withdrew from the fight, but concerns regarding
a 2008 rape allegation -- the charges were later reduced -- against
Cole ultimately led to the offer being rescinded. Now 36 years
old, Cole does not figure to have many more opportunities to
take center stage, and a win over a recognizable name such as
Arlovski would bolster his resume significantly.
On
the feet, Arlovski has the advantage. The Jackson’s Mixed
Martial Arts representative is a good athlete who can keep Cole
guessing by consistently utilizing movement and angles throughout
the contest. Though he does not necessarily have a go-to punch,
Arlovksi has finishing power in his hands when he feels confident
enough to pull the trigger. In recent years, Arlovski has been
more hesitant to open up, even against marginal fighters such
as Fulton. For much of their bout, “The Pit Bull” was
content to stay on the outside and land leg kicks and jabs. When
he finally made a serious move, the results -- a left head kick
knockout at 4:59 of round three -- were spectacular.
Unless
he can somehow lure Arlovksi into standing directly in front
of him, which is not entirely out of the realm of possibility,
Cole should strive to make this a clinch-and-takedown affair.
Cole is durable, with enough of a gas tank to maintain a consistent
work rate on the mat.
Arlovski’s
sambo background will make him difficult to take down, however,
and his own grappling and submission skills tend to be underrated.
While the temptation is to attempt to test Arlovski’s chin,
Cole is simply not technical enough to go toe-to-toe with his
opponent on the feet. By remaining persistent with shots and
tie-ups, Cole might be able to wear down Arlovski and force him
into more of a careless, brawling approach.
The
Pick: Arlovski’s takedown defense is stout enough to resist
Cole’s best efforts, and his speed will allow him to avoid
serious danger in exchanges. Arlovski wins via late TKO stoppage
or decision.
Light
Heavyweights
Anthony
Johnson (13-4) vs. D.J. Linderman (13-3)
The
Matchup: Remember when Johnson patrolled the Octagon as a bloated
welterweight, battling the likes of Josh Koscheck, Dan Hardy
and Charlie Brenneman? Or when his body nearly shut down as he
tried -- and eventually failed -- to make the 185-pound limit
for his middleweight clash with Vitor Belfort at UFC 142? In
hindsight, it seems amazing that the massive “Rumble”
ever made weight at all. Without the burden of a draining weight
cut, perhaps the Georgia native can finally realize his potential
as a fairly normal-sized light heavyweight.
Johnson
has already made two successful appearances in his new division,
knocking out Esteves Jones in August and stopping Jake Rosholt
with a head kick in September. If the Blackzilians member can
continue to pile up the wins in impressive fashion, it is not
farfetched to think that the UFC could come calling again.
First,
Johnson must get through Linderman, the Cage Warriors Fighting
Championship heavyweight titleholder. The 28-year-old Bellator
veteran is 3-1 in 2012, with triumphs over Bobby Brents, Mike
Hayes and Dale Mitchell to his credit. Linderman mixes solid
wrestling with a willingness to mix it up on the feet, but it
is unlikely that he has faced an athlete as dynamic as Johnson.
Though recent performances indicate that he is not uncomfortable
against larger, heavier opponents, “Da Protege” is
best suited for 205 pounds.
When
things are going well, Linderman can rack up points with a crisp
jab backed by a lead uppercut. If his opponent is the more skilled
striker, Linderman has no trouble changing levels and looking
for takedowns, which is what he did in capturing the CWFC crown
from Hayes.
Early
returns suggest Johnson has not lost too much of his power at
light heavyweight, and he remains capable of starching opponents
with punching combinations. He has also has shown an affinity
for the head kick, having used the maneuver to finish off Rosholt
and Brenneman in recent fights. Stamina has been an issue for
Johnson in the past, as grueling weight cuts took their toll
in the latter stages of his bouts at lighter weight classes.
While the pronounced size edge will be gone, Johnson should benefit
from having a deeper gas tank.
The
Pick: Linderman is durable, but he will struggle to keep Johnson
from imposing his will. Mixing powerful striking with timely
takedowns and ground-and-pound, “Rumble” captures a
unanimous verdict.
Bantamweights
Miguel
Torres (40-5) vs. Marlon Moraes (8-4-1)
The
Matchup: Once the owner of a 17-fight winning streak and the
World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight strap, Torres was the
unquestioned ruler of the 135-pound world from 2004 to early
2009. With four of his five career losses coming in his last
seven bouts, Torres is no longer king of the hill. However, the
Indiana native has lost to nothing but championship-caliber competition
and remains a handful for most fighters in the division.
Regardless
of Torres’ recent slide, this fight represents a huge opportunity
for Moraes, who recently notched victories over Chris Manuel
and Jarrod Card with the Florida-based Xtreme Fighting Championships
promotion. A former Brazilian muay Thai champion, Moraes possesses
a varied arsenal of strikes that include spinning kicks and punches
to the liver. The Armory product starts quickly and will explode
with rapid-fire flurries when he senses an opening. The Brazilian
has a good understanding of how to use angles and when to change
levels with his strikes, and he uses his jab particularly well
to establish range. The 24-year-old, who recently dropped from
145 pounds, also has a solid submission game; he nearly tapped
Deividas Taurosevicius with a rear-naked choke before succumbing
to a reversal and an arm-triangle from his opponent at Ring of
Combat 38 last year. Moraes will want to avoid spending too much
time on the ground with Torres, who has one of the most active
guards in the sport.
The
rangy Torres likes to use his reach advantage to control distance
on the feet. Moraes needs to be creative when finding ways to
collapse the pocket; consistently landing chopping leg kicks
will slow Torres’ movement and aid him in this endeavor.
There
is no substitute for experience, and Torres has a career filled
with battles against the likes of Joseph Benavidez, Demetrious
Johnson, Brian Bowles, Michael McDonald, Antonio Banuelos and
Takeya Mizugaki, to name a few. He will not lose composure as
the bout reaches the deep waters of the later rounds, and Moraes
will struggle to match his pace throughout.
The
Pick: Moraes has a real chance of rocking Torres and getting
the quick finish, but the 45-fight veteran will prove to be just
a little too crafty here. He will find a way to get the fight
where he wants it and submit Moraes in round two to set up a
potential showdown with recent WSOF signee Tyson Nam.
Welterweights
Gregor
Gracie (7-2) vs. Tyson Steele (9-1)
The
Matchup: Gracie enters this contest as the more well-known commodity,
thanks in large part to his family’s decorated history in
MMA. Gracie has competed three times, with varying results, for
the fledgling One Fighting Championship promotion. Most recently,
he dropped Nicholas Mann with punches and then mounted and armbarred
him for a first-round triumph at One FC 5. It was a nice recovery
for Gracie from his previous outing in which he fatigued and
faded down the stretch in a three-round loss to Adam Shahir Kayoom
at One FC 4.
He
will be facing a like-minded opponent in Tyson Steele, a jiu-jitsu
specialist who has earned seven of his nine career victories
by submission. The Alliance Martial Art System representative
is especially adept at finding openings for the rear-naked choke,
as six of his triumphs have come via that maneuver. Steele will
find positional dominance hard to come by against Gracie, a 2009
Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships
bronze medalist. The 25-year-old is extremely sticky from top
position, and he can land punishing elbows from mount in order
to create openings for submissions.
Gracie
has decent power in his hands, though he normally uses his striking
to set up takedowns. He is also adept at changing levels when
an opponent becomes careless on his feet. While Gracie is skilled
at advancing position on the floor, he does not always achieve
maximum results. He failed to put away Kayoom despite securing
back mount in the first round, and he achieved full mount multiple
times without earning a finish in his One FC debut against Seok
Mo Kim. Still, Steele does not want to find himself on his back,
or he will quickly find himself losing rounds.
The
Pick: Steele does not appear to offer enough in the way of striking
to bother Gracie, but if he can remain persistent by making his
foe consistently defend his shots, he will have a chance to do
damage in the later frames. In a close battle, Gracie holds on
for a decision.
Light
Heavyweights
Tyrone
Spong (0-0) vs. Travis Bartlett (7-2)
The
Matchup: Spong enters his MMA debut with the moniker “King
of the Ring,” and for good reason. As the owner of a 68-6-1
record -- with one no contest -- in professional kickboxing,
Spong has proven that he can stand with some of the world’s
best while capturing multiple international titles. Most recently,
the 27-year-old knocked out the highly respected Peter Aerts
at an It’s Showtime event in Belgium on June 30. He also
owns a K-1 triumph over World Series of Fighting President Ray
Sefo in 2010.
Spong
figures to have far more skill in his hands and feet than most
any opponent he will meet in the cage, but he must also prove
that he can blend his striking with the other elements of MMA.
The Suriname-born muay Thai practitioner is building a solid
foundation by training with the Blackzilians in Florida, where
he can learn from the likes of Rashad Evans and Alistair Overeem,
who defeated him at the K-1 World Grand Prix Finals in 2010.
The
WSOF is not attempting to set up Spong for failure by pairing
him with Bartlett, a staple of the Massachusetts-based Full Force
Productions promotion who has earned five of his seven victories
via knockout or technical knockout. “The Showstopper”
has decent hands and a good finishing instinct, but his resume
includes wins over three MMA debutantes, as well as a fighter
nicknamed “The Punching Bag.” Bartlett has no chance
if he chooses to stand and trade with Spong, but he lacks the
technique necessary to effectively disguise his takedown shots.
Attempting to close the distance on Spong, who can land kicks,
punches and knees from various angles, will lead to a quick demise
for the Maine native.
The
Pick: Spong has not abandoned kickboxing completely, as he is
expected to face Remy Bonjasky in December. He will not be any
worse for wear as a result of his initial MMA foray, as he stops
Bartlett with strikes in the opening frame.
Lightweights
Ronys
Torres (25-4) vs. Brian Cobb (19-7): Since his exit from the
UFC in 2010, Torres has been on a tear. Starting with a triumph
over Anderson Smith on Oct. 30, 2010, the 26-year-old Brazilian
has reeled off 11 straight victories, all of them in his home
country. Beware the fighter who accumulates a gaudy record competing
exclusively in the South American nation, however. Cobb is a
seasoned veteran who will use his wrestling and grappling skills
to earn a hard-fought decision.
Welterweights
Gerald
Harris (21-4) vs. Josh Burkman (23-9): Harris, who was released
from the UFC after a loss to Maiquel Jose Falcao Goncalves despite
a 3-1 record within the promotion, has compiled a four-fight
winning streak while competing for various promotions since his
ouster. Burkman, meanwhile, has not fought for the world’s
largest MMA promotion since 2008; he has been victorious in five
of his six outings since then. Both men will attempt to impose
their will through wrestling, but look for Harris to emerge from
a grinder with a three-round verdict in hand.
Middleweights
David
Branch (10-3) vs. Dustin Jacoby (8-2): The parade of UFC alums
continues as Branch, who was 2-2 during his tenure with the promotion,
locks horns with Jacoby, who fell to Clifford Starks and Chris
Camozzi in two Octagon outings. Branch, a Renzo Gracie pupil,
is a talented grappler with solid athleticism, while Jacoby has
struggled when planted on his back. Branch wins by submission
in round three.
Welterweights
Steve
Carl (18-3) vs. Ramico Blackmon (8-1): A four-time Bellator veteran,
Carl has notched 13 of his career triumphs by way of submission.
Blackmon, meanwhile, has gone the distance five times in victory.
Carl, who trains at Hard Drive MMA, forces a tap from the 40-year-old
Colorado Fight Factory export in round one.
Lightweights
Gesias
Cavalcante (16-6-1) vs. T.J. O’Brien (18-5): After back-to-back
upset defeats in his last two outings, Cavalcante is beginning
to sport the look of a faded fighter. Known as a durable and
resilient competitor, the Brazilian was knocked out for the first
time in his career by Luis Palomino in June. Losses to Paul Kelly
and Cole Miller resulted in O’Brien’s exit from the
UFC last year, but the Iowan has rebounded with consecutive wins
under the Midwest Cage Championship banner. O’Brien will
not be able to submit Cavalcante, and he will get busted up on
the feet en route to a late stoppage or decision victory for
“JZ.”
Featherweights
Waylon
Lowe (13-4) vs. Fabio Mello (11-6): Lowe, an American Top Team
product, enters this bout on a three-fight winning streak, with
all three victories coming via KO or TKO. Mello has not lost
since 2008, and he once went the distance with current UFC featherweight
ruler Jose Aldo at a Top Fighting Championships card in Brazil.
The 37-year-old Mello is sturdy, with plenty of solid experience
under his belt. He wins via decision or late submission.
Source
Sherdog
|
Florida
state audit accuses Tom Molloy’s commission of (criminal?)
negligence; Christa Patterson still employed at the commission?
By Zach
Arnold
Update
(6:45 PM EST): A source on background indicates that Christa
Patterson, the #2 person during Tom Molloy’s stint at the
Florida Boxing Commission, is still around at the commission
office. In other words, despite the OIG’s audit findings,
she still is hanging around (for now). Last week, The Florida
Department of Business and Professional Regulation claimed the
following in a press release:
Hefren
currently serves the Department as the Director of Auditing for
the Inspector General’s Office. Her appointment follows
the resignation of former Executive Director Thomas Molloy and
the reassignment of the Commission’s current assistant executive
director as a result of an ongoing audit by the Department’s
Inspector General. The audit was launched to evaluate and recommend
changes to the Commission’s business practices after the
2012 Legislative Session. A full report of the findings is expected
within the next 30 days.
A
Florida state worker since 1985. Looks like she has some tenure.
****
When
Tom Molloy left his post as the figure-head at the Florida boxing
commission, it was only his second worst boxing lowlight. His
first was losing to Tony Danza as a fighter.
However,
little did we know that things would get worse for him. This
comment gives you a clue:
Former
Florida Boxing Commission Executive Director, Tom Molloy is hiding
from a process server in Tallahassee with a WITNESS subpoena
for him. If you have seen Molloy between 10-19-12 & 11-5-12,
call in your anonymous tip to (850) 429-7431. All calls confidential.
You will not have to testify or identify yourself.
Melissa
And
now, the other shoe is about to drop on Molloy.
In
a preliminary report written by Florida’s Office of Inspector
General regarding their audit of the Florida State Boxing Commission
(which was ran by Tom Molloy until he left last week), several
charges with different degrees of seriousness (in terms of criminal
negligence) were made against Molloy’s commission in the
OIG report.
The
audit report starts out this way:
Commission
revenue is under-reported by promoters and not appropriately
reconciled by Commission staff, contributing to the Commission’s
current budget deficit.
Inadequate
controls over the licensure process of officials, resulting in
unlicensed activity.
Non-compliance
with state regulations regarding the protecting of personal and
confidential information, putting the Department at risk.
Procedures
not properly designed or effectively implemented, yielding improper
oversight of Commission activities.
Molloy’s
commission was budgeted $621,598 for Fiscal year 2011-2012 (four
full-time employees). The commission regulated 51 shows (25 boxing,
26 MMA events) and generated $364,982 in revenue. 51 shows for
a year in Florida sounds awfully low, given that the state has
10 different media markets and always was a hotbed of activity
for many years.
The
audit characterizes the commission’s deficit in this manner:
During
the fiscal year, the Commission expenses totaled $710,281, which
resulted in an account balance deficit of $295,266. The Commission
was provided with $200,000 in general revenue from the Legislature
in FY 2012-2013 to address this deficit. The Legislature further
directed the Department to streamline activities and create efficiencies
within the Boxing Commission.
The
audit report then broke down their findings in four categories,
all of which make Molloy look awful.
1.
Revenue collection and reconciliation.
We
found that revenue submitted by promoters is under-reported and
not appropriately reconciled by the Commission. This under-reported
avenue is likely a significant contributor to the Commission’s
current budget deficit.
Given
the 51 total events sanctioned by the Commission in FY 2011-2012
and the $1,800 permit fee, our office would expect at least $91,800
in life-event permit application fees in FY 2011-2012. However,
the Commission reported only $78,335 in permit fees. Audit testing
revealed that the Commission could not provide assurance that
permit application fees were paid for 6 of the 51 Commission-sanctioned
events in FY 2011-2012.
Further,
some fees — a required component of the application —
were not received until the date of the live event or even later.
Consequently, the live-event permit application was incomplete
and these events should not have been sanctioned by the Commission.
It
gets worse… much worse.
“Section
548.06, F.S., requires that promoters holding a match in Florida
file a post-event tax report including the number of tickets
sold, the amount of gross receipts, and any other facts the Commission
may require. Gross receipts include the amount paid for sale
or lease of broadcasting, television, or motion picture rights;
the amount received from the sale of souvenirs, programs, and
other concessions received by the promoter; and, the fact value
of all tickets sold and complimentary tickets issued, provided,
or given.”
At
the end of the 548.06 Florida Statute, here are the criminal
penalties listed on the books:
(6)(a)?Any
promoter who willfully makes a false and fraudulent report under
this section is guilty of perjury and, upon conviction, is subject
to punishment as provided by law. Such penalty shall be in addition
to any other penalties imposed by this chapter.
(b)?Any
promoter who willfully fails, neglects, or refuses to make a
report or to pay the taxes as prescribed or who refuses to allow
the commission to examine the books, papers, and records of any
promotion is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable
as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
This
is used in the audit as the set-up for the following…
A
post-event tax report was received by the Commission in only
30 of the 51 Commission-sanctioned events. It is unclear whether
any tax revenue was received for the 21 events without a post-event
tax report.
5
of 30 post-event tax reports received reported revenue received
from internet sales. We cannot provide assurance that this information
was accurately reported.
3
of 30 post-event tax reports received reported revenue from souvenirs,
programs, and concessions. The Commission indicated that they
rarely collect concession revenue even though they are statutorily
authorized to do so.
8
of the 30 post-event tax reports showed the number of complimentary
tickets issued was greater than the number of tickets sold.
1
of 30 post-event tax reports received was supported by a copy
of the ticket manifest to provide assurance of the accuracy of
the number of tickets sold. Commission staff did not reconcile
this information to the tax report. Audit testing revealed significant
under-reporting.
This
right here is huge. Only 30 of the 51 shows reportedly had a
post-tax report… and only 1 of those 30 shows had a ticket
manifest. This would mean that the other 50 shows that Florida
regulated had no lead inspectors producing a ticket manifest?
This is a holy @&$! moment that would make California’s
commission blush. At least they try to do a ticket manifest even
if few can actually do it in a proper fashion. The Florida state
audit insinuates that Molloy didn’t bother following the
statutes on the books.
6
of 30 post-event tax reports received reported reasonable amounts
for complimentary-tickets issued based upon the reported value
of tickets sold.
23
of 30 post-event tax reports received were not filed timely.
Authorized late filing penalties were not collected.
We
were only able to verify tax collections for tickets sales for
one event because only one post-event tax report included a ticket
manifest. This tax report reflected no internet or concessions
sales. Specifically, the promoter reported complimentary ticket
face values of $2 when the actual face value of the tickets ranged
from $40 to $175. The tax reported for comp tickets for this
event was only $612.50; properly calculated it should have been
$31,696.75. Consequently, the total amount of revenue that was
not accurately remitted to the Commission was over $31,000.
We
have a situation where the show report claims $612.50 in comp
tickets that had a face value of over $31,000. If the audit’s
claims are accurate & correct, then this is fraudulent accounting
at its worst. Florida’s tax payers should be furious.
2.
Licensing of officials at Commission-sanctioned events.
We
found that some of the officials assigned by the Commission are
not properly licensed. Using the official Single Licensing System
of the Department, LicenseEase, testing determined the following
for Fiscal Year 2011-2012 activities:
Three
judges used at sanctioned events were not on the licensed judge
list. These potentially unlicensed judges worked at 11 of 51
events.
One
referee used at sanctioned events was not on the licensed referee
list. This unlicensed referee worked at six of 51 events.
Two
timekeepers utilized by the Commission were not on the licensed
timekeeper list. These timekeepers worked at two events.
Seven
trailing judges worked at 8 Commission-sanctioned events throughout
the year and were not on the licensed trailing judge list.
3.
Security of personal and confidential information.
As
part of the application review and licensing process of participants,
the Commission receives medical information and other personal
and confidential information. Personal and confidential information
is exempt from public records requests by Florida statutes and
special protections are required by Admin Rule 71A-1.006, Florida
Administrative Code.
We
determined that personal and confidential information was not
properly safeguarded. Specifically, we reviewed selected OnBase
files, Commission master-event records known as ‘fight-folders,’
and Commission email to determine whether personal and confidential
information was adequately secured. OnBase documents, fight-folders,
and Commission email all included medical records and other personal
and confidential information.
Commission
staff reported that they focused on physical security of paper
medical records and were unaware of additional security criteria
related to electronic transactions and images in OnBase and email.
Commission forms require the submission of personal and confidential
information including medical information and social security
information for reasons that are unclear.
Ignorance
of the law is not a successful defense in a court room. Especially
when it comes to missing cash and mishandling of medical records.
4.
Adoption of recommendation made in previous internal audit reports.
In
June 2009, our office issued an audit report that cited deficiencies
with respect to Commission policies and procedures. Recommendations
included the creation and review of Commission policies and procedures
and the adoption of checklists and other control documents to
demonstrate compliance with Commission duties before, during,
and after the event.
We
found that Commission procedures were not properly designed or
effectively implemented. Although most of these policies and
procedures were revised by the Commission in August 2012, we
found they were inadequately designed because they did not address
all Commission processes and activities or identify specific
responsibilities of staff. In addition, we determined that the
Commission does not always follow the policies they do have.
As a result, we concluded that the controls to ensure the objectives
of the Commission are achieved are inadequate.
Even
with more detailed and complete policies and procedures, our
office has reservations as to whether the Commission can adequately
accomplish oversight of their processes.
Florida
sounds like a mini-version of California at this point. The difference
is that Tom Molloy is gone from Florida’s commission while
Che Guevara continues to gain political power in Sacramento.
If
you’re wondering who the enablers of Tom Molloy & Christa
Patterson were/are, it’s Ken Lawson & Tim Vaccaro at
the Florida DBPR.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Dana
White: Michael Bisping vs. Vitor Belfort 'not a done deal'
By Ariel
Helwani
Hold
the phone on the Michael Bisping-Vitor Belfort fight for now.
That's
the word from UFC president, who confirmed with FUEL TV's "UFC
Tonight" on Tuesday that the fight "is not a done deal."
The
fight has been seriously talked about as a potential main event
for a Jan. 19 card in Brazil. It would not headline UFC 156,
which has also been reported, because UFC 156 is slated for Feb.
2 in Las Vegas. That means the Bisping-Belfort fight, if it happens,
could air on free television.
Bisping
(23-4) is coming off a unanimous decision win over Brian Stann
at UFC 152 in September, while Belfort (21-10) lost to Jon Jones
via submission in a light heavyweight title fight in the main
event of the same card.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Jon
Jones Reveals TUF 17 Coaching Staff Includes Former UFC Champ
Frank Mir
by Ken
Pishna
Filming
for The Ultimate Fighter 17: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen got underway
this week. UFC light heavyweight champion and TUF 17 coach Jon
Jones, during a Metro PCS chat on Tuesday night, finally revealed
his coaching staff to the world.
Jones’
coaching staff on TUF, which may come as a surprise to many,
is short on talent from his Team Jackson-Winkeljohn coaches in
Albuquerque, N.M.
One
of the biggest surprises, however, is the inclusion of former
UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.
“I
have a great training staff,” Jones proclaimed. “I
have Frank Mir; he’s going to be our jiu-jitsu coach.”
Besides
his jiu-jitsu expertise, Mir also brings some TUF experience
to the table for Team Jones. Mir coached opposite Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira during season eight of The Ultimate Fighter.
“I
have Stonehorse Goeman, who is my original Muay Thai teacher,”
Jones continued. “I have John Woods from Las Vegas (on Greg
Jackson’s suggestion); the guy is a well rounded martial
artist, a little bit of jiu-jitsu, a little bit of everything.
He’s going to be one of our overseeing type coaches. Then
I have Bubba Jenkins. The guy is an NCAA national wrestling champion.”
Chael
Sonnen has yet to reveal any details as to the makeup of his
coaching staff.
Jones
and Sonnen will fight at an April 27, 2013, event, following
the TUF 17 season’s conclusion.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Rickson
Gracie: “In today’s MMA, anything’s an excuse
to stand it up”
Marcelo
Dunlop
Red-and-black
belt Rickson Gracie was at Equipe 1, a gym in Rio de Janeiro’s
Copacabana neighborhood, this Monday for the launch of his MMA
event, Mestre do Combate, of which the inaugural event is set
for November 22 and for which tickets are already on sale.
Rickson,
wearing a gi and quite at ease on the blue mat at Ricardo de
la Riva’s gym, chatted with the Carlson Gracie black belt,
posed for dozens of photos and handed out autographs. “It’s
nice to soak up this positive energy here,” he said, to
de la Riva, with a smile.
Given
the mass of attention concentrated on the master, the GRACIEMAG.com
reporter used the Jiu-Jitsu mantra of “maximum efficiency
with minimum effort” to good effect: he skirted the hordes
of people and waited for Rickson at the exit.
Showered
up and sporting a white T-shirt, he paused on the sidewalk at
Nossa Senhora de Copacabana Ave. to discuss the event, before,
smooth as a cat, he leapt into a taxi and departed.
The
Mestre do Combate event
“I’m
truly excited about what the new event brings to the table. Our
aim is to create a new paradigm and recover the martial arts
values that were lost over time, during MMA’s long journey
in becoming what it is today. In today’s MMA, anything’s
an excuse to stand the fight back up; the ground action hardly
begins and the referee already steps in and the fighters start
kicking and punching again. Our rules were created to appreciate
ground fighting; no one will get saved by the bell, for example.
If a submission hold is in place, the victim will have to escape
it first before the bell can ring.”
Does
Jiu-Jitsu benefit from the event?
“Yes,
the art benefits too. This rule has nothing to do with Jiu-Jitsu;
it’s a rule for MMA. But the ground game does regain appreciation,
and with that, the effectiveness of the technique is more likely
to be tested and refined. It’s what we’ve seen ever
since the early days of the sport: real fights tend to end up
on the ground. We just don’t want to see athletes getting
interrupted the whole time when they’re pursuing positions
of advantage from which to win. I’m motivated and confident
it’ll be a great show. I hope the fighters go for the idea
and give their all to try and win.”
His
son Kron Gracie
“I’m
really pleased with his performance at Metamoris Pro. He did
awesome [tapping out Otávio Sousa]. All I can say is that
he’s making me really proud.”
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
World
Series of Fighting Prelims: 5 Reasons to Care
By Mike
Whitman
Roughly
one year after Sherdog.com first brought word that a new mixed
martial arts promotion was coming to the Las Vegas Strip, the
World Series of Fighting will hold its inaugural event on Saturday
at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.
The
show will be headlined by a heavyweight showdown between former
UFC champion Andrei Arlovski and ex-International Fight League
talent Devin Cole. The NBC Sports-broadcast main draw will also
see former Octagon combatant Anthony Johnson do battle with Bellator
Fighting Championships veteran D.J. Linderman, while onetime
WEC pacesetter Miguel Torres locks horns with Marlon Moraes.
That
is not why we are here, however. We, the dregs of MMA society,
have come together to discuss what unearthed jewels may lie buried
within the preliminary draw, which streams live on Sherdog.com.
Here are five reasons to peep the World Series of Fighting undercard:
99
Problems for ‘JZ’
Five
years ago, Gesias Cavalcante was considered by many to be a Top
5 lightweight, but as of late, the Brazilian has been nowhere
near the Top 10.
After
beginning his career 14-1-1, “JZ” has gone 2-5 with
two no-contests in his last nine fights, most recently losing
to Isaac Vallie-Flagg and Luis Palomino. Still, through all of
Cavalcante’s injuries, some have still held out hope that
he would return to his previous form and string together some
wins stateside, despite there being little evidence that a career
turnaround would come anytime soon.
Things
will not get any easier for the Brazilian when he squares off
against T.J. O'Brien. The lanky submission specialist has won
back-to-back fights since departing the UFC on the heels of stoppage
losses to Cole Miller and Paul Kelly.
If
I were a betting man, I would wager that Cavalcante will have
fits with O’Brien’s length, both standing and on the
ground. However, there is always a chance that the old “JZ”
will wade in with a ferocious overhand, dump the American on
his back and start dropping those startlingly violent Donkey
Kong punches he used to love so much. The question: somewhere
down deep, does that Cavalcante still exist?
‘Hurricane’
Warning
I
think Gerald Harris could do some good work at welterweight.
Now
nearly two years removed from his UFC exodus as a middleweight,
“Hurricane” made his debut at 170 pounds on just one
week’s notice against Mike Bronzoulis at Legacy Fighting
Championship 11 back in May, clearly besting the Texan but nonetheless
walking away with a curious split decision from the cageside
judges.
Despite
the short-notice nature of his appearance, Harris looked comfortable
in his first trip to 170 pounds -- a trend that his fans no doubt
hope continues as he becomes more accustomed to cutting the additional
poundage. The 32-year-old put a variety of skills on display
in his bout with Bronzoulis, and I especially enjoyed Harris’
commitment to throwing his jab-cross-uppercut combination before
using his knees to either transition into a double-leg or do
damage from the Thai plum.
More
troubling was Harris’ difficulty in hoisting Bronzoulis
high into the air for one of his patented slams, as well as Harris’
inability to capitalize when he did manage to put “The Greek”
on his back. Harris will undoubtedly need to take advantage of
that type of top position in his fight with Josh Burkman, who
should prove to be quite a stiff test for Harris in his sophomore
welterweight effort.
Burkman’s
World
As
for Burkman, I look at him as fighter with little to lose, and
that makes him a dangerous commodity.
One
year ago, the veteran was forced to withdraw from a scheduled
appearance at Amazon Forest Combat in Brazil after tearing his
patellar tendon and bursting a bursa sac in his knee during training.
Through rest and rehabilitation, “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 2 veteran managed to avoid surgery and returned to action
this spring, outpointing Koffi Adzitso before submitting fellow
“Ultimate Fighter” veteran Jamie Yager with a guillotine
choke on Aug. 25.
Many
may have forgotten that most of Burkman’s losses have come
to solid competition, and he has never before been knocked out.
Add to this Burkman’s recent admission that he has rededicated
himself to training hard full-time, and I think “The People’s
Warrior” could surprise some people.
Show
Stealer
I
doubt the World Series of Fighting is going to hand out a “Fight
of the Night” bonus, but if it did, I would bet on Ronys
Torres and Brian Cobb to bring home those extra bucks. Honestly,
as soon as I saw this card, this was the fight that initially
caught my eye as a potential fan favorite. Nobody seems to be
talking about this one, but do not be surprised if it steals
the show.
In
Torres, fans find a 26-year-old with 29 professional fights to
his credit. Since stumbling twice during an ill-fated stint with
the UFC, the Brazilian has gone 11-1, finishing eight of his
opponents in that span.
Meanwhile,
Cobb has won four of his last six but nevertheless enters the
cage coming off a Jan. 27 defeat to Antonio McKee. Known for
his grappling ability, the veteran should find himself more closely
matched with Torres on the mat. It is in the standup department
that Cobb faces more significant danger, as Torres has been known
to wing punches with reckless abandon.
The
bottom line: these men own 35 career finishes between them. Unless
you have a hot date, you would be a fool to miss this one.
High
On Lowe
I
think Waylon Lowe deserves another look.
The
man was bounced from the UFC after just a single loss, after
all. Even worse, that loss happened to be arguably the most action-packed
bout Lowe was involved in during his time in the Octagon, and
he was getting the better of Nik Lentz before the Minnesotan
sunk a deep guillotine to end their UFC Fight Night 24 confrontation
in round three.
I
attended the show in person, and I can honestly tell you that
people were going pretty nuts during that bout. Stocky and powerful,
Lowe can be quite the exciting fighter when he avoids camping
in his opponent’s guard for extended periods while making
little effort to pass. Since his departure as a UFC lightweight,
Lowe has slimmed down to 145 pounds and picked up three straight
wins by way of knockout, most recently earning a second-round
TKO over Mike Diggs on May 12.
However,
the American Top Team rep has been given no easy opponent for
his WSOF debut. Not only has Fabio Mello been in this game for
more than a decade, but he has also faced some of the sport’s
biggest names, including Takanori Gomi, Masakazu Imanari and
Jose Aldo. Also, it would be a mistake to allow the 37-year-old’s
submission game to fool you into thinking he is one-dimensional,
because this dude throws blows like his opponents stole something
from him.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Anthony
Pettis back to full strength, gunning for January fight against
Donald Cerrone
By Ariel
Helwani
Anthony
Pettis was hospitalized last week after a bout with cellulitis,
which according to WebMD, "is a skin infection caused by
bacteria."
Pettis
was released from a Milwaukee hospital after a three-day stay.
He said on Monday that he was "feeling a lot better."
The
news of his release was first reported on Tuesday's episode of
"UFC Tonight" on FUEL TV, while AXS TV first reported
his hospitalization last week.
As
for his ongoing feud with Donald Cerrone, Pettis said his plan
is still to fight Cerrone on Jan. 26. The UFC has yet to officially
announce the lightweight fight or a card on that date.
He
called Cerrone's recent talk of being tired of waiting for him
"funny" and was looking forward to fighting the former
WEC star.
"I'm
not going to fight unhealthy," Pettis said.
Of
course, the Pettis-Cerrone tilt was delayed after Pettis underwent
shoulder surgery over the summer. His recent hospitalization
had nothing to do with the surgery.
Pettis
also dismissed any talk of the Cerrone fight being for a No.
1 contender spot in the lightweight division.
"I
don't even care anymore," he said. "Until the contract
is signed, I'm not thinking about that."
Pettis
pointed to the fact that he has been offered title shots in the
past but those never materialized, so now he is focused solely
on Cerrone.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Stephan
Bonnar Retiring from MMA
by Damon
Martin
It
appears Stephan Bonnar‘s days in the UFC Octagon have come
to an end.
According
to UFC President Dana White, following his last fight at UFC
153 in Brazil, Bonnar has decided to call it a career.
Speaking
to fans during a Metro PCS chat, White revealed that the former
Ultimate Fighter season 1 finalist has decided to retire after
his loss to Anderson Silva in October.
“Yes,
Bonnar will be retiring now,” said White.
If
Bonnar’s days in the UFC are indeed done he walks away with
an 8-7 record inside the Octagon, including his iconic fight
against Forrest Griffin at the Ultimate Fighter 1 finale that
is still regarded as one of the greatest fights in MMA history.
Bonnar
had been contemplating retirement prior to his last bout as he
was only gunning for a major fight if he returned. He got that
chance facing Anderson Silva at UFC 153, but the fight ended
with Bonnar defeated by TKO in the opening round.
Following
the fight, Bonnar flew home with UFC President Dana White to
get home in time for the birth of his first child.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Report:
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum Set as TUF Brasil
2 Coaches
The next pair of Ultimate Fighter Brasil coaches are reportedly
set for the show with two top heavyweights taking over the reigns
this season.
According to Globo SporTV in Brazil, former heavyweight champion
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and top ten contender Fabricio Werdum
have agreed to coach the next season of the reality show in their
native Brazil.
While UFC officials have not announced the pairing yet, verbal
agreements are in place for the coaching match-up.
The show is expected to begin airing in Brazil in March 2013.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is no stranger to The Ultimate Fighter,
having coached opposite Frank Mir during the eighth season of
the reality show in the United States.
Now the former champion will try to coach another team to success,
while awaiting a showdown against another top heavyweight contender
in Fabricio Werdum.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Saying
All the Right Things
By Tristen
Critchfield
A
Las Vegas-based mixed martial arts organization will hold an
event featuring former champions, potential stars and a host
of other recognizable names on Saturday, all in front of a cable
television audience on a prominent network.
Sounds
promising, right? World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo
seems to think so.
“Putting
this whole product together, I think we’ve done a lot of
learning along the way,” Sefo said during a pre-fight media
call. “We’re very confident, especially with all the
guys [on the card]. We’re thankful for the guys we have.
I’m very confident we’re going to do a great job. It’s
like stepping into the cage; there’s a bit of nerves, but
that’s what keeps you sharp.”
The
WSOF’s inaugural event takes place at the Planet Hollywood
Hotel and Casino in Sin City and boasts a lineup that includes
ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titlist Andrei
Arlovski, former UFC welterweight contender Anthony Johnson and
onetime World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight ruler Miguel
Torres, to name a few. The main card airs on the NBC Sports Network
-- the channel formerly known as Versus -- while the preliminary
card streams live on Sherdog.com.
All
the ingredients appear to be in place for a successful debut,
and the forecast grew even brighter when Strikeforce, the WSOF’s
competition for the date, canceled its Nov. 3 event after a series
of injuries decimated its own fight card. As a still-active fighter
himself, Sefo is not reveling in the misfortune of others, particularly
when the cancellation caused a number of his combat sports brethren
to lose a paycheck. However, the fact that his promotion is essentially
the only game in town on Saturday is not lost on the K-1 standout.
“We
want everybody to tune in. The ratings are something that is
really important to us,” he said. “With the card that
we have, I have no doubt in my mind that all of these guys are
going to come to perform.”
With
that said, Sefo is not interested in developing a rivalry with
the Zuffa, LLC brand. Instead, the WSOF figurehead wants the
company to be measured on its own merits. Anything more than
that would be premature.
“We’re
really happy with where we are today,” Sefo said. “We’re
not in competition with anybody; we’re in competition with
ourselves to be the best that we can be. It’s obvious the
UFC is the best at what they do, and they’ve done an amazing
job to be where they are. At the end of the day, without them
doing so well, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
That
happy-to-be-here vibe was evident throughout an Oct. 24 teleconference.
The three most prominent names on the WSOF marquee -- Arlovski,
Johnson and Torres -- all have something to prove, and each is
looking forward to capitalizing on the opportunity the upstart
promotion provides.
“I’m
still young. I have energy. I want to be a champion again,”
said Arlovski, who faces International Fight League veteran Devin
Cole in the main event. “I want to climb back on top. This
is a great opportunity to prove to everyone that I’m not
done yet.”
More
than six years removed from the last time he stepped into the
Octagon as heavyweight champion, Arlovski is looking to build
upon a strong showing against Tim Sylvia at One FC 5 in August.
Though the bout was ultimately ruled a no contest, the Belarusian
appeared to have his longtime rival in peril before landing a
pair of illegal soccer kicks to his opponent’s head. One
Fighting Championship has since adopted Pride Fighting Championships
rules, which allow soccer kicks at all times.
“I
thought for some reason the referee gave me permission to [use
the] soccer kick,” Arlovski said. “What happened happened.
I’m not complaining about the result; it’s OK. I shut
many, many mouths that said Arlovski has a weak chin, a glass
chin. Sylvia landed a couple of good right hands and actually
hurt me at the end of the first round.”
Meanwhile,
the imposing Johnson is building momentum as a light heavyweight
after spending the majority of his UFC career at welterweight.
Well north of 200 pounds, “Rumble” often struggled
to make the 170-pound limit. His transition to middleweight was
no better, however, as the Blackzilians member missed weight
again prior to a UFC 142 showdown with Vitor Belfort. Johnson
was released by the promotion following a first-round submission
loss to “The Phenom.”
With
a pair of 205-pound victories already under his belt in 2012,
Johnson feels revitalized at his new weight class. His third
appearance at light heavyweight will come against Cage Warriors
Fighting Championship heavyweight king D.J. Linderman in the
WSOF decagon.
“I’ve
had my ups and downs, but I don’t take anything back,”
Johnson said. “It’s just a learning process. Fighting
at 205 has been a blessing. You never see me smiling the day
of weigh-ins. I’m usually mad at the world and don’t
want to talk to anybody. I just want to step on the scale and
just start eating, but now I’m more calm and relaxed. I
just go with the flow and make weight.”
Regardless
of how he performs in the coming months, a return to the UFC
is not likely to be in the immediate future for Johnson. The
Georgia native has signed an exclusive deal with WSOF, and he
is content with the decision.
“I
just think this is gonna be the next best thing around right
now, and I’m just glad to be a part of it,” he said.
“I think things [in my career] are really starting to kick
off like they should have a while ago, but things happen when
they’re supposed to happen. I’m not worried about anything,
and I’m just happy to be in the position where I am now.”
While
Torres was not part of the media call, the former WEC champion
expressed enthusiasm mirroring that of Arlovski and Johnson during
the promotion’s initial press conference in September. The
East Chicago, Ind., native has lost four of his last seven fights
while competing under the Zuffa umbrella. A win over Marlon Moraes
would set up a meeting with Tyson Nam, who upset Bellator Fighting
Championships bantamweight titleholder Eduardo Dantas via first-round
knockout at Shooto Brazil 33 in August.
“The
biggest thing for me is that it’s a new company, a new beginning,”
Torres said in September. “Being on NBC Sports is a huge
thing. Me and my manager and my trainer talked, and it was the
best decision for me to come here. I’m happy with the deal
we worked out.”
Sefo
hopes the debut event will only be the beginning of an extended
run in the MMA business. Eventually title belts, tournaments
and fight cards outside of Vegas will become part of the WSOF
equation, but those will have to wait. For now, the man known
as “Sugarfoot” is happy to be in his current position,
and he anticipates that the WSOF brand will continue to grow
and prosper in the coming year.
“We’re
taking one step at a time. You’ve got to crawl before you
walk,” he said. “Our goal is to try to be one of the
forces in the world of mixed martial arts.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
What
UFC didn’t tell the public about Jeremy Stephens (who knew
what?)
By Zach
Arnold
When
Dana White made his public plea about trying to get Jeremy Stephens
out of a Minnesota jail cell for extradition to Iowa, it was
one of the more bizarre scenes in the history of White’s
tenure with the UFC. He was fighting on behalf of a guy who was
not even fighting on the main card of an FX show, a show that
drew lousy ratings. He was also sticking up for a guy in Stephens
who used the n-word when trash talking Floyd Mayweather on Twitter
in the past.
Judge
Moisan in Polk County, Iowa signed off on an Order of Protection
on October 12th against Jeremy Stephens, ordering him to stay
away from Shane & Jennifer Schreck on the following grounds:
On
the basis of the complaint or affidavit(s) submitted to the court
at the time of the defendant’s appearance, the court finds
there is probable cause that the Defendant committed the offense
of WILLFUL INJURY (SHANE SCHRECK0; ASSAULT CAUSING BODILY INJURY
(JENNIFER SCHRECK) and believes that the presence of the defendant
in the alleged victim’s residence poses a threat to the
safety of the alleged victim, persons residing with the alleged
victim, or members of the alleged victim’s immediate family.
The
State of Iowa also went after Stephens for an increase in his
bond. Read carefully and you will see why they were playing hardball
with Dana:
1.
The defendant was charged by complaint with Willful Injury and
Serious Assault on October 20, 2011. Bond was set at $20,000
cash and $1,000 cash, respectively, pending the service of the
arrest warrant.
2.
The Des Moines Police Department has been notified that the defendant
has been arrested on the warrant in the above-captioned case
in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
3.
The defendant is a professional mixed martial artist who travels
the country to participate in mixed martial arts competitions.
4.
The undersigned was contacted by attorney Matt Boles several
months ago about the above-captioned case, which would indicate
that the defendant is aware of the warrant. The defendant has
not turned himself in on these charges prior to being arrested
in Minneapolis.
5.
Considering the nature of the charges, the defendant’s inclinations
towards travel, and the length of time since the underlying incident
occurred, the State requests that the bond be increased to protect
the public and to insure the defendant’s presence at future
court hearings.
So,
now we know why Dana and company went silent about Stephens’
predicament a few days after making a fool out of himself at
the FX show in Minneapolis.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Cung
Le: Rich Franklin fight is biggest of my career
By Luke
Thomas
The Hollywood martial arts actor, former Strikeforce middleweight
champion credits his UFC run for extending his participation
in mixed martial arts. With a main event bout against Rich Franklin
just weeks away, Le says this is as big and good as it gets.
Cung Le has had a lot of high points in his athletic career.
He's won amateur wrestling titles, earned an absolute slew of
kickboxing titles and held a title in Strikeforce's middleweight
division. Despite all of that, Le believes the best is yet to
come.
Le is scheduled to face former UFC middleweight champion Rich
Franklin at UFC on FUEL TV 6 in Macau, China on November 10th.
It's something of a surprising match-up. Franklin was openly
lobbying for a last run at a title at light heavyweight as recently
as UFC 147, but will now face Le at middleweight instead. And
Le, age 40, could quit fighting altogether while focusing solely
on acting.
According to the Vietnamese-American, he could leave MMA, but
his UFC experience has kept his competitive fire alive. He lost
a fight to Wanderlei SIlva in his UFC debut at UFC 139, but controlled
most of the contest prior to that. Le also followed up that commendable
performance with a win over Patrick Cote at UFC 148. In Le's
mind, his fighting career is still building after some thought
he'd be retired by now and on November 10th, it'll reach the
highest point in his fight career.
"A lot of people thought after I fought Wanderlei [Silva]
I was going to be done," Le told Ariel Helwani on Monday's
The MMA Hour. "But look at me now: two fights into my contract
and I'm getting ready to fight the biggest fight of my life against
Rich Franklin. It doesn't get any better than this. It's like
a dream come true for me."
That could be a surprising statement to some. Le fought a high-profile,
co-promoted bout by EliteXC and Strikeforce against then-Strikeforce
middleweight champion Frank Shamrock. The bout aired on Showtime
and took place in the hometown of both fighters: San Jose, California.
Le had hype, but plenty of doubters. He was also a fairly heavy
betting underdog.
Rather than fold under the pressure, Le shined. In front of more
than 16,000 mixed martial arts fans at the HP Pavilion, Le broke
Shamrock's arm with a thunderous kick, forcing the bout to be
called to a halt after the third round. He became the Strikeforce
middleweight champion in the process.
Le admits that fight was important and still reserves the right
to change his mind about how big it is depending on the outcome,
but says there are too many factors that make this Franklin fight
special. "For me in my career right now fighting someone
like Rich as a main event - fighting Shamrock was the biggest
fight of my career at the time - but right now this is the biggest
fight of my career," he said.
To the AKA-trained fighter, he can't overlook the fact that he's
never headlined a UFC show. He also recognizes he's never faced
a fighter this good before. And while things are going well in
his acting career (he has a role in the new movie 'The Man With
the Iron Fists'), this main event bout in China is the culmination
of not jus his late-career push, but everything he's done up
until now.
He also couldn't pass up the opportunity to compete in China.
Le told Helwani he's only '80 percent' as he hasn't had proper
time to heal a foot injury. But the card taking place in China
- where Le has previously competed in kickboxing - made the idea
of missing the event a non-starter. "Definitely if this
fight wasn't in Macau, China, even if I was in a main event somewhere
else, I'd give myself the right amount of time so my foot could
really heal."
So why go forward with it? For the honor of competing in a place
where Le feels it all began. "I feel like martial arts basically
started from China and my roots are the Chinese martial arts,"
he said.
This is why Le got into MMA: the big fight, the big opponent,
the big stage. No one was really sure how long he'd be able to
compete in MMA between his acting career and his age. But here
he is, doing well and arguably better than ever. "This is
why I do it," he said. "I could just be doing movies,
but I love to compete. I love to train martial arts. This is
what I love to do. Here's my opportunity. To do it in China,
it's awesome."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Shane
Carwin Motivated by Dislike of Roy Nelson, “Can’t Wait
to Punch Him in the Face”
by Ken
Pishna
Former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin has always
been able to get up for his fights, if solely for the athletic
challenge that a fight provides.
When he steps in the Octagon across from fellow Ultimate Fighter
16 coach Roy Nelson, there is still that challenge, but also
the added factor that Carwin just plain doesn’t like Nelson.
“Roy is one to talk behind your back a lot or when you’re
not there,” said Carwin in a recent interview on AXS TV’s
Inside MMA. “As soon as you’re away, there he is talking
about you again or talking behind your back.”
Having a dislike for your opponent when your sport is mixed martial
arts can be healthy. Most fighters, like Carwin, are motivated
by the challenge of competition, but not wanting to be shown
up by someone that you have disdain for makes it a little easier
to go that extra round of sparring at practice.
And especially when the person you hold that disdain for is someone
like Nelson, whom Carwin still regards as a talented opponent,
whether he likes the man or not.
“Roy and I may be polar opposites in our personalities and
things, but he’s a talented fighter,” Carwin told reporter
Ron Kruck. “There’s been a lot of animosity between
us and I can’t wait to punch the guy in the face.”
That’s actually extra good news for fight fans, as they
suffered a scare in September, when Carwin had to skip a promotional
trip to the U.K. after suffering a knee injury in training.
Alarm bells immediately went off, but Carwin’s manager,
Jason Genet of Ingrained Media, told MMAWeekly.com that he injured
the knee while in wrestling practice, but he suffered no major
tears or damage to the knee. A little rehab and working with
his strength and conditioning coach should keep Carwin on track
for the fight.
Carwin
reinforced those hopes in the Inside MMA interview, acknowledging
some “partially torn ligaments and tendons,” but adding
that he full intends to be ready come fight time at the TUF 16
Finale slated for Dec. 15 in Las Vegas.
It’s somewhat rare that a fighter nursing an injury reveals
the nature of said injury, especially leading up to a bout, but
Carwin – who is now 37 years of age – has a different
perspective at this point in his career than many other fighters.
He still holds down a day job as an engineer, so Carwin has never
fully relied on fighting as the sole focal point of his professional
life. So when coming off of back-to-back losses, into a headlining
bout on FX, a knee injury in tow, he doesn’t care if Nelson
targets his injury. In fact, he welcomes it.
“If he goes for my knee, good for him, I hope he does, because
I’ll knock him out then.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Nick
Diaz vs. Josh Koscheck fight makes sense, both sides say
By Mike
Chiappetta
Josh Koscheck is always up for a fight, so when the camp of one
of the UFC's best welterweights comes calling, it's no surprise
that Koscheck is interested. In this case, it's a call from the
209 that has Koscheck ready to go.
Over
the weekend, Diaz's trainer and manager Cesar Gracie told Brazil's
Tatame that when Diaz is reinstated from his suspension, a fight
with either Koscheck or Demian Maia makes the most sense. But
he clearly stated a preference for the former No. 1 contender.
"Personally,
I like the option of him fighting Koscheck, a guy who is very
popular here in the United States, has great public recognition,"
he said. "Everyone knows who he is, especially here. Demian
Maia is a great fighter, I think [he] would also be a great opponent,
but here in America, [he] is not as popular as Koscheck. So I
think Nick probably will face Josh Koscheck in his return to
the octagon."
The
fight makes sense on several levels. Both are still consensus
top 10 welterweights, both are coming off losses, and of course,
both have the reputation of fighting anyone, anytime.
Koscheck
quickly took to Twitter to verbally accept the fight, writing
"I am down! Don't be scared Homie!" while adding a
preference to fight on February's traditional Super Bowl weekend
show, a major event on the UFC calendar.
If
Koscheck does want to face Diaz, however, he'll likely have to
wait a little bit longer than that. That's because the Super
Bowl weekend show will take place on Feb. 2, and Diaz will still
be on suspension from a positive drug test stemming from his
UFC 143 fight against Carlos Condit.
Diaz's
suspension expires on Feb. 3. There is a possibility that could
change as last month, Diaz filed a petition for judicial review
of his suspension, with the hope that it would be overturned,
allowing him to compete immediately. That petition is still winding
its way through the court system, however.
The
UFC typically does not book fighters who are currently under
suspension.
If
the fight was put together, both men would be attempting to avoid
two-fight losing streaks which would put a serious dent in the
loser's title hopes.
Koscheck
(17-6) dropped a split-decision to Johny Hendricks last time
out. Diaz (26-8, 1 no contest) is 1-1 since returning to the
UFC, but his narrow loss to Condit scuttled a title fight with
Georges St. Pierre, whom he has said is his ultimate target.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Inside
story: Amaury Bitetti and the iguana’s wake
Amaury Bitetti is a rare breed of champion, the kind that can
make an opponent suffer in training and then kill them with laughter
telling stories right after.
The world’s first absolute world champion, as well as the
first two-time absolute world champion, the pioneer black belt
is still sharp, which he made clear on a tour teaching seminars
around Brazil, in such cities as Vitória, Recife and Fortaleza.
To find out where in the country you can get to learn from Bitetti,
send an email to assessorial@bitetticombat.com.
Fans of the veteran fighter, GRACIEMAG decided to revisit one
of his priceless sagas, a tragicomedy that played out on Ipanema
Beach and was originally printed in issue #53, back in 2001.
Amaury tells the story:
“I was with a friend of mine, running on the promenade,
when another buddy of ours came our way, wearing a dark green
T-shirt. I went to talk to him and gave a slap on the back in
greeting. I suddenly realized he was looking at me in shock…
That’s when he pulled an iguana from his neck. It looked
like in the cartoons, when the creature dies and there’s
an X in its eyes.
“The thing was totally rigid. At first I couldn’t move.
Then I tried bringing the animal back to life, but there was
nothing I could do; the slap had killed the iguana. Not knowing
what to say, I suggested we go have a symbolic burial for it
in the sand…
“The guy didn’t understand. He said in despair: ‘What
are you talking about burial?! What am I going to tell my girlfriend?
She gave me the creature this morning!’ I tiptoed out of
there. There was nothing left to do. Dang, more karma for me
to pay back!”
That is Amaury Bitetti, a rare breed of champion who has taken
on Don Frye, Maurice Travis, Dennis Hallman and… a poor
iguana.
Want to always get the inside scoop on the Jiu-Jitsu and UFC
world?
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Chris
Weidman's home hit hard by Hurricane Sandy (updated)
By Ariel
Helwani
Among the millions of people affected by Hurricane Sandy were
UFC fighter Chris Weidman and his family.
According
to Ryan Bader, who is managed by Dave Martin and the Martin Advisory
Group along with Weidman, the middleweight contender "lost
his home" during the storm. Bader tweeted the unfortunate
news Tuesday afternoon. The Weidmans live on Long Island, N.Y.
Weidman
told MMAFighting.com on Tuesday evening that he is safe, and
according to Martin, so are his wife and kids.
Martin
confirmed with MMAFighting.com that Weidman's house was hit "pretty
bad" but did not know the extent of the damages. He said
he spoke to Weidman Tuesday morning but their conversation was
cut short, and he has been unable to reach out to him since.
As
of Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of thousands of Long Island homes
were without power.
Update: Weidman spoke to to MMAFighting.com via text message
about his situation Tuesday evening.
"Everyone is good," he wrote. "My family was out,
and I stayed back to manage the damage going on. First floor,
garage, backyard, [and] deck all pretty much destroyed.
"We lost a lot of stuff but as long as we are healthy that's
all that matters. I actually documented a lot through video and
pics. We had water up to my chest in some parts of my house."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Bellator
78 TV Ratings Remain Consistent
Five events into its seventh season and Bellator seems to have
hit a fairly consistent groove in its TV ratings on MTV2.
Friday night’s Bellator 78 drew an average of 154,000 viewers,
according to MMAWeekly.com’s industry sources.
Season 7 has ranged from a high of 190,000 viewers for Bellator
74, the season’s premier, down to 145,000 for Bellator 75.
Bellator 78 featured the semifinals of this season’s welterweight
tournament with former champion Lyman Good and undefeated Russian
fighter Andrey Koreshkov winning and now set to square off in
the finals.
Following season 7, Bellator moves from MTV2 over to the greater
reach and more MMA friendly Spike TV in January 2013.
Bellator Season 7 TV Ratings:
Bellator 74: 190,000 viewers
Bellator 75: 145,000 viewers
Bellator 76: 175,000 viewers
Bellator 77: 149,000 viewers
Bellator 78: 154,000 viewers
Source: MMA Weekly
|
O2
Martial Arts Academy on Hawaii News Now!
Stephanie
Lum will be doing a story on nasty ears tonight on the 10:00
pm news on Hawaii News Now. Check it out. I think Kyle may steal
the show!
|
Dana
White: Fedor Emelianenko One of the Greatest Heavyweights Ever
There’s
not much UFC President Dana White will concede when talking about
former Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko.
It’s
no secret that for years, White pursued the Russian to try and
sign him to fight inside the UFC Octagon. It’s also no secret
that Emelianenko retired without ever fighting for the UFC, and
the questions about the former champion are sometimes a thorn
in the side of White who hasn’t missed out on too many pursuits
in his time as the UFC’s head honcho.
Over
the years, White has been critical of Emelianenko’s regard
as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time.
Now that Emelianenko has walked away from competition, White
can look back at his career with a little more honest reflection,
and he gives him his due when it comes to the heavyweight division.
“Do
I think that Fedor is one of the greatest heavyweights ever?
Yes, he’s one of the greatest heavyweights ever. I’ll
give you that,” White stated on Tuesday.
Bending
isn’t breaking however, and while White will give Emelianenko
his due in the heavyweight division, he’s not ready to place
his name among the all time greats to ever compete in the sport.
White
looks at UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva as the greatest
fighter who has ever stepped foot into the MMA arena, and while
he didn’t name any other names, he doesn’t believe
Fedor Emelianenko is among them.
“Is
he one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time? You’re
out of your minds,” said White.
Emelianenko
retired from MMA earlier this year and finished his career with
an impressive 34-4-1 record overall.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Jon
Jones Says Daniel Cormier is “Probably A Little Better”
At Wrestling But MMA Isn’t Wrestling
On
the surface it may seem like UFC light heavyweight champion Jon
Jones has virtually wiped out the top contenders at 205lbs, but
there are a few challengers still waiting in the wings.
Beyond
his April 2013 fight against Chael Sonnen, the reigning and defending
light heavyweight king still has a potential fight against Dan
Henderson looming, and maybe the most intriguing fight of all
– a showdown with Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion
Daniel Cormier.
Cormier
has mentioned on more than a couple of occasions that he would
like to get a shot against Jones at some point in the future,
and revealed that the two even chatted about it earlier this
year.
For
his part, Jones has since played off Cormier’s challenges
to coach against him on the Ultimate Fighter and said he was
“relatively unknown”.
On
Tuesday, Jones was again asked about Cormier but this time it
related to his wrestling skills. Cormier is a former Olympian
and NCAA champion wrestler, but Jones didn’t seem to their
skill sets were all that far apart nowadays.
Where Jones knows he’s better however is at fighting, and
that’s where he’d beat Cormier if they ever come face
to face in the cage.
“Cormier’s
probably a little bit better than me (at wrestling), but it’s
not a wrestling match at all. When you talk about knees and submissions
and punching and kicking him in the face, and upkicks, it’s
just not a wrestling match,” Jones said.
Jones
has no problem saying that Cormier’s collegiate and amateur
wrestling career was more impressive than his, but he wouldn’t
be the first fighter he’s faced with more awards in that
category.
“When
it comes to credentials he definitely had a better wrestling
career than me, but half the guys I fought have had better wrestling
careers,” Jones stated.
The
only credentials Jones is worried about when facing Cormier is
his standing as the best 205lb fighter on the planet.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Chael
Sonnen Talked His Way Into Title Fight with One Word – “Yes”
Chael
Sonnen received more than his fair share of criticism after he
was placed in the next UFC light heavyweight title fight despite
not competing in the weight class in more than seven years.
Sonnen
is currently filming the 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter
opposite UFC champion Jon Jones, and once the show is completed
he will face him in the Octagon with the 205-pound title on the
line.
One
person that Sonnen probably didn’t expect to criticize him
for receiving the shot at the belt was longtime friend and training
partner Dan Henderson.
Henderson
was originally slated to face Jones at UFC 151 in September before
suffering a knee injury that forced him out of the bout. When
the news about Jones vs. Sonnen was first announced, Henderson
sounded none too pleased and voiced his opinion on Twitter saying,
“I guess I should just quit training to win fights and to
be exciting for the fans and just go to (expletive) talking school.”
He
later stated that he had nothing against Sonnen, but that him
receiving the title shot “degrades the sport of MMA.”
Sonnen
apparently hasn’t had a chance to catch up with Henderson
since the comments were made, and didn’t have a lot to say
about his old teammate when the subject came up on Tuesday.
“I
haven’t spoke to him. I haven’t spoke to Dan. I’ll
leave it at that,” Sonnen stated.
The question about Sonnen “talking his way” into a
title shot has become the standard for criticism about the former
middleweight title contender getting a crack at Jones without
a single fight since losing to Anderson Silva at UFC 148.
Sonnen
has no problem with anyone who says he talked his way into the
fight, because it’s absolutely true, but it only took one
word for him to get the shot.
“I
keep hearing that I talked my way into the fight, and guys, it’s
true; but the word that I used was ‘yes.’ When the
chance came and they said do you want to fight? I said yes,”
Sonnen stated.
“Contrary
to what it may look like on TV, this guy’s pretty darn good,
and there’s not a lot of guys that want to fight him. Contrary
to what the oddsmakers may say, (I’m) pretty good too and
there’s not a lot of guys that want to fight me. A lot of
guys complaining about me getting the fight with Jon, but not
one of those guys said, ‘I want to fight Jon,’ not
one of them.”
No
matter what is said now, Sonnen did get the fight and the chance
to coach on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Jones. The end result
is expected to be higher ratings for the reality show and probably
one of the biggest pay-per-view draws for all of 2013.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
MMA
World Series of Fighting 1 Fight Card Rumors
MMA
World Series of Fighting 1: Arlovski vs. Cole
Date: November 3, 2012
Venue: Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Main
Card (on NBC Sports Network):
-Andrei Arlovski vs. Devin Cole
-Anthony Johnson vs. D.J. Linderman
-Miguel Torres vs. Marlon Moraes
-Gregor Gracie vs. Tyson Steele
-Tyrone Spong vs. Travis Bartlett
Preliminary
Card:
-Ronys Torres vs. Brian Cobb
-Gerald Harris vs. Josh Burkman
-Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante vs. TJ O’Brien
-Dave Branch vs. Dustin Jacoby
-Waylon Lowe vs. Fabio Mello
-Steve Carl vs. Ramiro Blackmon
Source:
MMA Weekly |
UFC
154 Tickets Moving Slower than Expected
This
UFC 154 report is courtesy of MMAWeekly.com official content
partner Bleacher Report:
A
year ago, before his knee injury, Georges St-Pierre was the biggest
draw on the UFC’s roster. But today, after his long-awaited
return to action, the Montreal native seems to be struggling
to sell tickets for his fight against Carlos Condit at UFC 154
in his home city.
As
the Calgary Herald is reporting, despite the fact that tickets
have been on sale since September for the November 17 bout, large
groups of seats can be found dotted around the Bell Centre stadium.
UFC director of Canadian operations Tom Wright believes the promotion’s
plague of injuries is one reason tickets haven’t sold as
expected:
There’s
been many examples over the last several fights—UFC 151
and 149 in Calgary is a good example of it—where fighters
got injured and there were changes to the card…I think there
are fans who are saying, ‘You know what? I’m really
excited about GSP’s return and I love the fact that we’ve
got [Martin] Kampmann versus [Johny] Hendricks in the co-main
event, and we’ve got a bunch of Canadians on the card. But
you know what? I bought my tickets 12 weeks out for Calgary and
a whole bunch of things happened. I’m going to wait until
it’s a little closer.’
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Jones-Sonnen
may be a financial windfall, but it denigrates the UFC light
heavyweight belt
Chael
Sonnen was on the phone, a hopeful sound in his voice.
"Please," he asked, "please, please tell me that
I'm fighting Jones. Please."
When the answer was yes, that he would indeed be coaching opposite
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones on the 17th season of
"The Ultimate Fighter" and then fighting him in a pay-per-view
bout on April 27, Sonnen unleashed a long, sustained roar.
"Oh thank you," he said, as he cheered his own good
fortune. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And let me call
you back. I've got to call my Mom and tell her."
And with that, what should be one of the biggest pay-per-view
cards in UFC history, first reported by the Los Angeles Times,
officially kicked off.
You don't have to like it. I sure don't. I'd much rather have
seen Jones fight middleweight champion Anderson Silva in his
next bout in a match that would have pitted far and away the
two best fighters in the world. The reality, though, is that
there are 800,000 or so out there, maybe even a million, who
will pay the $50 the UFC asks to see Jones and Sonnen fight.
The match came about, UFC president Dana White said, because
of yet another injury. The company has been plagued by major,
long-term injuries to its biggest stars and top fighters throughout
2012.
This time, it was an injury to Jones himself that led to the
coaching stint on TUF and the fight with Sonnen being made.
Jones injured his right arm when he was arm barred by Vitor Belfort
in the first round of his Sept. 22 title defense at UFC 152 in
Toronto. Doctors told White that Jones couldn't fight again until
April.
White said Tuesday the plan had been for Jones to defend the
belt against Dan Henderson at the company's annual Super Bowl
weekend card in February in Las Vegas. Henderson was injured
in August, which forced the cancelation of UFC 151 when Jones
declined to face Sonnen with just eight days notice. As a result,
that put Jones onto the UFC 152 card against Belfort.
Now, with Jones unable to go until April and thus, not available
to fight Henderson on Feb. 2, White had to adjust. The irony
of the situation is that if Jones had taken the fight against
Sonnen at UFC 151 when it was offered, he likely wouldn't have
injured his arm and wouldn't be hurt now.
"This wasn't where I was going," White said. "But
when this happened and Jones was going to be out for so long,
it made sense. I understand completely [about Sonnen not having
won a fight at light heavyweight], but it's a fight people want
to see."
The UFC is in the business of making fights people want to see.
People want to see the fight because of Sonnen's incessant trash
talking and the way Sonnen has tweaked Jones publicly, particularly
on Twitter.
Sonnen trashed Silva and wound up getting two fights against
the man most consider the greatest mixed martial arts fighter
of all-time. Those fights, and particularly his performance at
UFC 117 in 2010, helped make Sonnen one of the company's five
biggest pay-per-view stars.
White said at the postfight news conference at UFC 152 that Jones,
Sonnen, Silva, welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and former
light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans are its biggest pay-per-view
attractions.
Putting two of them together is almost a slam-dunk megafight.
That, though, doesn't make it right.
Sonnen was knocked out in devastating fashion by Silva in the
second round at UFC 148. That dropped him to 0-2 in his two bouts
with Silva. Whether or not he won five of the seven rounds against
Silva, he didn't win the fights. He lost.
One of the things that White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta did
in taking control of the company in 2001 was to try to structure
the titles in a way that they meant something.
There has been a path to a championship that is transparent and
understandable. No one was given title shots just because of
their name or who their manager happened to be, as has been the
case far too long in boxing.
By adhering to that rule as strictly as possible, White and Fertitta
gave the UFC title belts meaning. Not many boxing fans care much
for the WBO, the WBA, the IBF or the WBC. Very few can name all
of their champions or their top contenders.
In the UFC, with some exceptions, it's clear. One must win his
way to a title shot.
Sonnen, though, is getting a title shot simply because he's outspoken
and because there is no better self-promoter in the sport.
He didn't earn this shot. He was given it. And that demeans the
belt.
It will, though, make Jones, Sonnen and the UFC a lot of money
and figures to immeasurably help the ratings on TUF. The reality
series created by White and Fertitta, and that helped turn the
UFC into a multibillion dollar business, has been listing recently.
Ratings are down and interest seems to be waning.
White, though, insisted he was not asked by Fox officials to
put Jones and Sonnen on the show and that it wasn't done as a
means to boost ratings. He said the show is doing what it is
supposed to do.
"That's what the word is, that TUF needs the help?"
White asked in response to a question whether the decision was
driven by a desire to give the show a boost. "People love
to speculate and talk [expletive], but the truth of it is, they
don't know what the [expletive] they're talking about. I have
all the answers. The Internet does not. We built this company
and we know what we're doing. That had nothing to do with it."
White also said having Jones and Sonnen coach on "The Ultimate
Fighter," did nothing to interfere in a potential Jones-Silva
superfight. He said Jones-Silva "was never going to happen
that soon," and said Silva will face St-Pierre long before
he fights Jones.
Thus, White was able to put Jones and Sonnen on TUF, where the
exposure on FX each week will undoubtedly make the pay-per-view
bigger.
It's hard to argue with the business logic of the decision, but
from a purely sporting angle, it sucks.
A guy who did nothing to qualify for a title shot is getting
one for no reason other than that he's quick with a quip.
The UFC bills itself "as real as it gets," but this
time, it's nothing but a fairy tale.
Source:
Yahoo Sports |
Source:
Romolo Barros
|
|