Upcoming
Events
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want to list an event on Onzuka.com?
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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)
11/26/12?
Aloha
State BJJ Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
11/11-12/12
Eternal Submission Tournament
(Sub Grappling)
(Kauai)
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)
|
|
October
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! |
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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
World
Jiu-Jitsu Masters Seniors Championship
Long Beach Walter Pyramid, University of California Long Beach,
Long Beach, CA
October 7, 2012
Team Relson
Gracie's Results
BLUE
- Master - Male
Feather
FIRST Tony Lopez - Gracie Barra
SECOND Zachariah A Karr - BJJ Revolution Team
THIRD Jose Guzman - Cia Paulista USA
THIRD Alika Wong - Relson Gracie
Ultra-Heavy
FIRST zeb Beatty - Testai Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
SECOND Will Zanders - South BJJ
THIRD Christopher Garcia - Relson Gracie
THIRD Jamil Salim Fakhoury - Gracie Barra
BLUE
- Senior 1 - Male
Super-Heavy
FIRST Martijn Robin Gademan - Jiu Jitsu Factory
SECOND Steve Anderson - LCCT Combat Team
THIRD Gregory Reed - Relson Gracie
THIRD Guillaume Pontus - Nova União
BLUE
- Senior 1 - Female
Heavy
FIRST Alexis Carvalho - Relson Gracie
Open
Class
FIRST Magda Khouri Maron - Alliance
SECOND Alexis Carvalho - Relson Gracie
THIRD Monica Monique Holley-Workman - Gracie Barra
THIRD Gina Sanchez - Alliance
BLUE
- Senior 2 - Male
Ultra-Heavy
FIRST John Canestaro - Alliance
SECOND Vince Lane - UFC Gym
THIRD Roy Onomura - Relson Gracie
THIRD Bruce Elliott - Team Quest MMA & Fitness
Open
Class
FIRST Blaine Lacanaria - Alliance
SECOND John Canestaro - Alliance
THIRD Roy Onomura - Relson Gracie
THIRD Nathaniel Darwin McIntyre - Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Pedro Sauer
Team
BLUE
- Senior 3 - Male
Heavy
FIRST Stoney Wright - Drysdale BJJ
SECOND Thomas Pitts - Alliance
THIRD Andres Sepulveda - Relson Gracie
THIRD Richard Fererro - Rodrigo Vaghi BJJ
Open
Class
FIRST Andres Sepulveda - Relson Gracie
SECOND Phillip Lobsinger - UFC Gym
THIRD Tom Richards - Victory BJJ
THIRD Paul Joseph Moriarty - Nova União
PURPLE
- Senior 1 - Male
Super-Heavy
FIRST Gewinner Garrison - Roberto Traven BJJ Brazil
SECOND Chad Fields - Relson Gracie
THIRD Jason Hughes - Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu
THIRD Aaron Cerrone - Rodrigo Vaghi BJJ
Open
Class
FIRST Chad Fields - Relson Gracie
SECOND Aaron Cerrone - Rodrigo Vaghi BJJ
THIRD Angelo sabadin - Carvalho Teixeira BJJ
THIRD Antoine Evans - Carlson Gracie Team
BLACK
- Senior 3 - Male
Middle
FIRST Matthias Meister - South BJJ
SECOND David Meyer - Rigan Machado
THIRD Gregory Allan Holmes - Relson Gracie
THIRD Jose Ricardo Medina - Rigan Machado
Source: IBJJF
|
Kevin
James on filming 'Here Comes the Boom': 'I definitely got my
fair share of getting punched in the face'
By Andy
Samuelson
US PRESSWIRE - Presswire
Actor Kevin James discusses his new movie "Here Comes the
Boom," and the attention that was made to make the fighting
scenes realistic and paint MMA, and specifically the UFC, with
a brush filled with inspiration.
Kevin James' new movie may be a comedy, but the sitcom star from
"The King of Queens" is quite serious about his MMA.
"In
getting the UFC's blessing and using their name, I think their
big concern was they didn't want this goofy guy, this Paul Blart
guy coming in the ring and falling all over and making a mockery
of it," James told host Ariel Helwani on Monday's edition
of "The MMA Hour" of his film, "Here Comes the
Boom," which opens in theatres next Friday, Oct. 12 - the
day before UFC 153.
"I
never wanted to do that. We wanted it to be realistic and wanted
to be able to make it look like we knew what we were doing. They
(UFC) don't need me. They were very reluctant to give that name
out to anybody. (But) they knew the passion I had for the sport
and how emotionally attached I was to it. The Fertitta brothers
were fantastic, as was Dana. They knew that I wanted to do it
justice and be as true to it as I could in the best way possible."
James, who stars alongside Salma Hayek and Henry Winkler, plays
a high school biology teacher who takes up MMA in an effort to
raise money for his struggling school that is being forced to
cut extracurricular activities.
"I
wanted to make it realistic that an every day guy, a teacher
like me in this movie, could enter, after training and training
and training, … the lowest level of an undercard fight due
to a fallout. And take it from there," says James of the
movie he calls an "inspirational comedy."
James
- a longtime MMA fan, who is real-life buddies with former UFC
champ Bas Rutten and UFC commentator Joe Rogan, who both have
roles in the film - says he got the inspiration for the film
several years ago after watching the first few UFC events and
meeting Rutten.
"I've
been a fan from back in the day in 1993 from the first inception
of it all. My love for the sport grew (from there). I also became
a big fan of Bas Rutten back then," James said. "Just
watching this crazy guy with these knee-high boots doing the
splits after knocking people out. When he actually came and fought
in the UFC in America, we said how cool would it be to actually
get to know this guy and maybe even train with him? And that's
exactly what happened.
"We
just became friends and it was an awesome friendship. Through
him we met so many other fighters, and meeting all these fighters
the cool story to me was just about how these guys aren't just
gladiators fighting in a cage like animals, but they're just
everyday people fighting for different causes. Whether it was
fighting to put food on the table for their kids or fighting
for another family member. That's what really inspired me, just
kind of to see how these guys were just regular people and kind
of friendly with each other and in the community too. I thought
that was just really, really cool."
Naturally
James said the fighters in the film, which include Jason "Mayhem"
Miller, Krzysztof Soszynski, Mark Munoz, and Chael Sonnen, were
obviously super cool, but actually better than average actors.
"'Mayhem'
Miller was unbelievable at that (turning from fighter to actor),"
James said. "They all were. Krzysztof was amazing. In the
fight scenes I would hit them, and I would feel horrible about
it. But they didn't even notice it. 'I didn't even feel it, don't
worry about it.'
"They
were all such professionals. Mark Munoz was great and Chael Sonnen
was fantastic. They all played their part and they all got the
comedy of it. There was just no ego in it and I loved it."
But
James admitted there were several occasions where he took a few
shots on the chin from his co-stars.
"I
got tagged a lot in the film. I got to be honest, I got punched
a lot," James joked. "What you're basically trying
to do is teach these guys who have been taught their whole lives
to hit this target, what they've been born to do, and now you're
asking them right before we shoot a scene to miss the target
by a couple of inches.
"I
wanted the fight scenes to be sloppy with me in there, I didn't
want it all (to be about) technique. It's not like that in a
fight. You're plans kind of go awry, you're getting thrown around,
out of breath, not in the same position. (And because of that)
I definitely got my fair share of getting punched in the face."
James
- a decent wrestler growing up in New York, who actually wrestled
on the same high school team as former WWE champ Mick Foley -
said he enjoyed his preparation for the role, which saw him drop
from 285 pounds to 218.
"About
14 months out or right around there, we were just like we got
to change everything," he said. "I started drinking
greens and really getting into shape. I had an organic diet and
was training with all these guys from the UFC. Really started
to working with them and taking it real serious."
So
too did he take his role of making sure hardcore MMA fans would
believe the fight scenes were realistic.
"We
put in endless attention. We wanted to show it as real as we
could, and not only just in the UFC, but building up to the UFC
in these lower-end fights," James said. "These arenas
these guys fight in can be these backyard chicken-wire things.
It's pretty horrible setups, but they all are realistic to what
is out there.
"And
not only do the events get bigger as I progress, but the talent
does. In order to do that we had to make sure that when you're
moving up the ranks and you get in the UFC that the speed and
the power and the intensity of the fighting is amplified. It
was very important for us that I couldn't just walk in there
and be this hero guy and knock people around. It just doesn't
happen. We made it really, really intense."
James
says a similar kind of back-and-forth battle for legitimacy that
still takes place in the modern MMA world would likely occur
with moviegoers.
"It's
still not sanctioned in New York and it's still a battle out
there. And the battle with this film is the actually the fighting,"
James said. "It's obviously an asset with some people: 'Ah
I want to go because it's a fight movie.' That same thing can
hurt, because some people aren't into it because it's a fight
move.
"What
I'm trying to do is a little bit more of putting the aspirin
in the apple sauce for people and show them (MMA) can be inspiring.
What I'm finding out most, which I love, is people who weren't
fans who have seen screenings of the movie are like: 'I thought
it was just going to be two barbarians cockfighting in a cage
going crazy. But it's not. You turned me on to the sport of it
because I got inspired by it.''
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Dana
White Opens Up About His Only Regret - Offensive Tirade from
2009
by Damon
Martin
UFC president Dana White is not a man who lives with regret.
Through more than a decade of building and cultivating the UFC,
White has remained the figurehead and leader of the business
that has seen mixed martial arts hit new heights never before
imagined when the sport first landed on television screens in
1993.
White has had his fair share of tumultuous relationships over
the years: very public feuds with employees like Tito Ortiz and
B.J. Penn, a longstanding pursuit of former Pride champion Fedor
Emelianenko and the inside dealings with his management team,
and even bridges burnt and rebuilt with promotions and several
promoters.
When asked, however, if he had any regrets through his time spent
with the UFC, White could only point to one time where he made
a major mistake and it still haunts him to this day.
In April 2009 in response to a story written by Loretta Hunt
published on Sherdog.com, White went on an expletive filled tirade
aimed at the reporter and her story, which claimed some managers
had been barred from receiving UFC credentials and access to
the backstage area.
White vehemently denied the validity of the story, while attacking
the nameless sources used in the article stating, "Any (expletive)
guy who won't put his name on it, first of all whoever gave you
that quote is a (expletive) and a (expletive) (expletive) and
a (expletive) liar."
Many of those expletives are commonly called the 'F' word, but
on that day, White chose to mix in a homophobic slur, which caused
an immediate backlash from the gay and lesbian community including
a statement from GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)
asking for a public apology from the UFC president.
White quickly responded and apologized for his expletive laced
tirade, but directed his biggest "I'm sorry" towards
the gay community, after using the homophobic and painful remark.
"As far as the gay and lesbian community, my comments were
not directed toward them. I have no problem with the gay and
lesbian community. I'm actually a supporter of many of their
issues," White said after the original video with his rant
was deleted.
"The last thing that I would ever want anybody to think
about me, or think is cool, is to go out and attack somebody
because of their sexual orientation. That was not my intention.
That's not the way I said it. I apologize for anybody that I've
offended or hurt."
Now, more than three years later, in the whole scope of business
dealings, fighter relations and other situations, White still
looks back on that one lapse in judgment as the biggest mistake
he's made since being with the UFC.
"You guys have to understand this, but this is the way I
am. I have no regrets. The only thing that I regret is in that
video blog when I used the F word," White said when speaking
to Fuel TV on Tuesday.
"That's the only thing throughout the 12 years of running
the UFC. The way I came off in that thing, people still think
I'm some kind of homophobe, and I'm not. That still bothers me."
It was uncomfortable and unbelievably poor judgment to use that
language, but White is still paying for it today, and if there
were one thing he could take back or change, it wouldn't be signing
a fighter he missed out on or not having a public feud with a
rival - it would be saying words that cut deeper than any punch,
kick or elbow thrown inside the Octagon.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Jiu-Jitsu
refs not eye to eye on Metamoris rules
Referee Muzio de Angelis prepares to award points during Jiu-Jitsu
Pan.
On the coming 14th all Jiu-Jitsu eyes will be turned to the San
Diego State University gymnasium, where the maiden Metamoris
Pro event will take place. The idea behind Ralek Gracie's brainchild
is to see how some of the gentle art's greatest competitors will
hold up in 20-minute matches without points, advantage points
or judges' decisions. The only way to win is by getting the tapout.
Is this an enticing format for fans? Will it be good for the
athletes? We'll see come October 14 live over the internet, if
we can't make it to the venue.
But what might the other integral and important part of competition
Jiu-Jitsu make of this novelty? We're talking about the referees.
GRACIEMAG.com endeavored to find out what some of the foremost
arbiters of sport Jiu-Jitsu think about Metamoris Pro, and what
we got was a mixed bag of different opinions.
"I feel that, since the match duration is 20 minutes, ten
more than a normal match, technique will prevail and beat out
force," wagers Muzio de Angelis, one of the IBJJF's most
competent referees.
Now Augusto Tanquinho, an elite referee who is also 2011 world
runner-up as a competitor, doesn't see eye to eye with his counterpart.
"Honestly, I'm not big on the rules. If only submissions
count, then to me there shouldn't be a time limit at all. This
20 minutes business will only benefit the one trying to hold
out for a draw, that is, to not tap out. Now seeing as there
won't be that many matches on the card, why not just do it without
time limits, until the finish? That would be cooler to see,"
says Tanquinho.
The two referees thus agreed to put matters to rest and do an
exercise in predicting the outcome of each of the matches on
the card:
ROGER GRACIE VS. MARCUS VINICIUS "BOCHECHA"
TANQUINHO: "It's tough to say. Roger has never been tapped
out. Nor does Bochecha, the current world absolute champion,
ever tap out. At least I don't remember anyone catching him.
I call it a draw."
MUZIO: "Bochecha's a great fighter and has the heart of
a lion. However, in a long match I'll put my money on Roger Gracie."
ANDRÉ GALVÃO VS. RYRON GRACIE
TANQUINHO: "I think Galvão gets the tapout. He'll
likely make it to better positions and, with time, he'll come
up with the submission."
MUZIO: "I've never seen Ryron fight live, though I believe
it'll be an easy fight for André, one of the best competitors
around at the moment."
KRON GRACIE VS. OTÁVIO SOUSA
TANQUINHO: "Great to see. Kron's a finisher and has what
it takes to win it but Otavio's the world champion. I think it'll
be one of the best matches of the night."
MUZIO: "This is just the type of match Kron likes, as he
never worries about points and goes for the submission the whole
time. I think Kron takes it.
KAYRON GRACIE VS. RAFAEL LOVATO JR.
TANQUINHO: "Two excellent athletes on par with each other
technically. I don't think we'll see a submission in this match-I
call a draw."
MUZIO: "Tough and well-matched fight. Either of them can
win it. It could turn out to be a draw but I'll bet on Kayron."
JEFF GLOVER VS. CAIO TERRA
TANQUINHO: "I think Caio Terra has more technical resources
than Jeff Glover does, yet Jeff won their last encounter on points.
Caio could get the finish or it could be a draw."
MUZIO: "I know Jeff won the last time, at the Jiu-Jitsu
Expo, but in a long match, I'd bet on Caio Terra. He's very technical
and dangerous."
DEAN LISTER VS. KEVIN CASEY
TANQUINHO: "I think Dean gets the tapout without too much
ado."
MUZIO: "To be honest, I don't know anything about Kevin
Casey [formerly fighting for the Strikeforce MMA promotion],
but I do know Lister well. He's a super-dangerous ADCC champion
who's even tapped out Rodolfo Vieira without the gi. My money's
on Dean Lister."
JEAN JACQUES MACHADO VS. NELSON MONTEIRO
TANQUINHO: "It should be a great match. I think Jean Jacques
has a bit of an advantage because of everything he's done at
the ADCCs. But Nelson Monteiro has plenty of mileage and may
surprise us."
MUZIO: "Jean Jacques. I pick him because he's one of the
most technical guys I've ever seen fight."
** What about you, loyal Jiu-Jitsu lover, who've you got winning
at Metamoris Pro? What do you make of the rules? Place your bets
now and reap the rewards later.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
on FX 5's Dodson vs. Formiga winner first up for new flyweight
champ Demetrious Johnson
By Mike
Chiappetta
Demetrious
Johnson will only have had about two weeks of enjoying his newly
won UFC flyweight championship belt when he'll be forced to begin
thinking about defending it. On Friday, if Johnson watches UFC
on FX 5, he'll be doing so as more than an interested spectator,
because on that night, he'll be learning the identity of his
first challenger.
The main card flyweight fight pitting Ultimate Fighter season
14 winner John Dodson against promotional newcomer Jussier Formiga
will produce the division's No. 1 contender, according to the
UFC.
According to oddsmakers, Dodson is about a 2-to-1 favorite to
escape with the win. If he does emerge victorious, it would set
up a bout between two blindingly fast athletes, something Dodson
alluded to when discussing the possible title match.
"I want the fight against DJ," he said in a statement
distributed by the UFC. "We are the two fastest fighters
in the UFC and I want to match my speed against his. Some people
say he's the fastest, some people say I am. We got to fight to
see who is the fastest. I really want to match what I got against
what he's got."
Dodson spent the early part of his career competing out of his
weight class in order to get fights, but has won four flyweight
bouts in a row, with back-to-back wins in the UFC over T.J. Dillashaw
and Tim Elliot, respectively.
Clearly a Johnson-Dodson matchup would be the most marketable
flyweight matchup the UFC could hope for, but hoping to spoil
the party is Formiga, a Brazilian who has only lost once in 15
career fights (to current UFC flyweight Ian McCall) and was previously
the Shooto South Americas champion.
Formiga -- Portuguese for "ant," by the way -- enters
the bout riding a five-fight win streak, with four of the victories
coming via submission. A black belt in both judo and jiu-jitsu,
Formiga (formerly known by his given last name of da Silva) is
considered by most a top five flyweight, but will have to overcome
both Dodson and the octagon jitters in a high-stakes UFC debut.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Dana
White Says Australia Will Soon Have its Own TUF Series
by Andrew
Potter
While Australia and the UK are currently being treated to a joint
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Australia vs. Team UK series titled
The Smashes, UFC president Dana White revealed recently that
Australia will have its own series soon enough.
"I just don't see how the series isn't a success,"
White told MMAWeekly.com. "This country was interested in
TUF when it was Americans fighting. Now, it's their home grown
talent against the UK.
"Everywhere we hold the competition it's successful. It
will always be a competition where we cultivate talent."
When asked if an all-Australian series is on the radar, White
replied, "It's going to happen.
"This is a tough country with a lot of tough guys. It's
another outlet for people to become professional athletes and
make millions, hundreds of thousands of dollars or sixty thousand.
Guys that can compete for a living and make money.
"We're still traveling all around Australia first, then
we will figure out New Zealand. I would have to imagine that
once we have explored all of Australia, we will move into New
Zealand."
With the trans-tasman rivalry between the Australian's and Kiwi's,
White also confirmed that a possible series between the two countries
could happen down the track, "definitely could see that."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
When
CSAC's word isn't their ($50k) bond: Department of Consumer Affairs
leaves fighters vulnerable to predatory promoters
By Zach
Arnold
When
Pat Healy saw his opportunity of fighting Gilbert Melendez slip
away due to Melendez getting injured, he like many other fighters
on the 9/29 Arco Arena card in Sacramento were in the red as
far as training expenses were concerned. Given that the fight
was canceled about a week before it was scheduled to take place,
Healy claimed that he had training expenses in the $4,000-to-$5,000
range.
When a promoter runs a show in California, the California State
Athletic Commission requires a $50,000 bond. Amongst the reasons
the commission requires a licensed promoter to have a bond is
to use the bond to cover fighters who are not paid when a show
gets canceled or postponed. The process is relatively simple.
A fighter contacts the commission, asks for the bondholder information
(bond number, address, etc), and then contacts the company that
issued the promoter the bond. In this case, Zuffa is the licensed
promoter. All Pat Healy had to do was get the bond info from
CSAC, contact the bond company, and 'hit the bond' in order to
freeze it. The bond then pays out, on a first-come first-serve
basis, requests to cover the purse for fighters who didn't get
paid because the show was canceled. The one downside to this
request is that once you hit a bond, it means the price of getting
a $50k bond for other California fight promoters can increase.
These types of bonds generally are a year in length. The bigger
fight promoters can get these bonds at a lower cost than small
or mid-sized event promoters.
Of course, the key component here if Pat Healy wanted to hit
the bond is having the cooperation of the California State Athletic
Commission. It's their job and responsibility to provide the
bond information. However, what if the commission decides that
they don't want to help out fighters who lost money due to a
show getting canceled? What if the commission decides not to
give out the bond information to any fighter that asks for it?
Incredibly, this is the situation that fighters are now facing
in the state of California.
The Oxnard debacle - the quick and dirty
On September 24th, we published a detailed report about a canceled
show in Oxnard, California involving two individuals who have
shady track records as event promoters in 2012. The two individuals,
Raul Orozco and Armando Renteria, are involved in operations
for the El Dorado Mexican restaurant in downtown Oxnard, California.
As we painstakingly detailed in our Oxnard event report, these
two individuals had promoted two previous shows in Port Hueneme,
California before scheduling a third show for Pacifica High School
in Oxnard.
In the two shows the men previously promoted, they allegedly
bounced checks to fighters and members of CSAC. Instead of Raul
Orozco, the licensed promoter, having his license suspended or
revoked by CSAC, Che Guevara decided to allow Orozco (and Renteria)
run a third show - on the condition that they pay CSAC officials
with cashier's checks. There were allegedly no protections in
place for the fighter purses on the third card. The cashier's
checks were supposedly in the range of $100.
The fact that neither Orozco nor Renteria were banned from running
further shows by the commission is surprising. What makes the
arrangement between the two men even more question is that Renteria
is reportedly the manager of Jose Aguiniga, the boxer who headlined
the first two shows Orozco & Renteria promoted in Port Hueneme.
Aguiniga was also scheduled for the main event of the Oxnard
show that was canceled.
Under the Ali Act, a manager of a fighter cannot use said fighter
on a show they are promoting. It's a clear conflict of interest
and a violation of Federal law. Under the contractual set-up
with Orozco and Renteria, Orozco was the one with the California
promoter's license even though Renteria went around in media
circles (including the Ventura County Star newspaper) being labeled
as the promoter. Since Orozco was the licensed promoter, Renteria
could go ahead and claim that he wasn't violating the Ali Act
by being Aguiniga's manager.
However, this fine line was reportedly pierced when Orozco did
not show up for weigh-ins the day before the scheduled show in
Oxnard. Instead of Orozco, the licensed promoter, showing up
to sign the bout contracts, Armando Renteria showed up and reportedly
signed the bout contracts with CSAC inspector Anthony Olivas
present. Olivas allowed the contracts to be signed by Renteria.
There's a big problem here. If Renteria is a licensed promoter
in California and is a licensed manager on behalf of Aguiniga,
then Renteria signing the bout contracts is a direct violation
of the Ali Act and he should absolutely be prosecuted. If Renteria
isn't a licensed promoter in California and signed the bout contracts
illegally (instead of Orozco signing the contracts), then that
would make the athletic commission (hence the state of California)
legally liable as a third party for the contracts.
Making the situation even dicier is the fact that we found a
newspaper arrest log for Armando Renteria after his second show
of 2012. The arrest log displayed that he was arrested in Lancaster
last June for grand theft at a location near Home Depot.
Despite all of the evidence available at the disposal of the
California State Athletic Commission, Che Guevara decided that
it would OK for Raul Orozco and Armando Renteria to continue
promoting events in the state of California. Why? What on Earth
prompted Guevara to back these deadbeat promoters? It's not as
if their shows are big money makers that fill the coffers of
the state of California. What's in it for Che to blatantly ignore
the rules & regulations of the California State Athletic
Commission in order for criminal behavior to go unpunished?
Fighters left hanging out to dry by Sacramento
When the Oxnard scandal first broke, we were contacted by boxer
Crystal Morales. She presented us a copy of her bout contract
which was signed by Raul Orozco (who was listed as the licensed
promoter). Crystal, like the rest of the fighters on the card,
got stiffed on their show purses.
She, along with the rest of the fighters, were left to fend for
themselves. Instead of the California State Athletic Commission
producing information to the fighters about the $50,000 bond
required by Raul Orozco to have an active promoter's license,
the fighters had to try to figure out their own ways of getting
the purse money that was owed to them by Orozco & Renteria.
The whole point of requiring licensed promoters to carry a $50,000
bond is to ensure that the fighters & officials get paid
in case a show is canceled or postponed. If you are a fighter
and you have a bout scheduled in California, how can you trust
the athletic commission to have your back when they won't give
out bond information to fighters who are victims of predatory
promoters? If a fighter breaks a serious CSAC rule or regulation,
they are suspended and can't fight in other states. California
wants fighters to honor the laws on the books but apparently
Che Guevara and the CSAC front office doesn't care if deadbeat
promoters stiff fighters and customers who can't get a refund
on tickets they purchased to a show that the promoters admit
wasn't going to happen because of bad ticket sales.
As a result of CSAC's intentional & flagrant inaction, Crystal
ended up hiring a lawyer.
The lawyer she hired is Farzad Tabatabai, the same lawyer who
is representing inspector Dwayne Woodard in his age discrimination
& retaliation lawsuit against the California State Athletic
Commission and the Department of Consumer Affairs.
We contacted Mr. Tabatabai to find out if his client was able
to recover the money that was owed to her and whether or not
the athletic commission bothered to cooperate.
"Crystal Morales was on the card for the show in Oxnard
on September 22nd. She met her obligations, made weight, and
was prepared to fight but was not paid her purse. The promoter
had agreed to pay Crystal's (purse) [Monday] at noon but he did
not pay and has not responded to my call or email.
"If the promoter doesn't pay, then we will look at other
options - like the bond. I have asked CSAC several times by e-mail
and even by phone to give me the bond information and let me
know where they stand on this and so far they haven't provided
the information."
The idea that Che Guevara was supposedly more concerned about
cashier's checks for the commission officials instead of supposedly
securing the same financial arrangement for the fighters booked
is, in a depressing way, not unusual or shocking given his past
track record.
"I do not have all of the facts yet, but if it's true that
the promoter has a history of bounced checks before and because
of that CSAC required cashier's checks for its crew but not for
the fighters, then it looks like CSAC cut to the front of the
line to get paid and probably violated the law.
"The law is very clear that fighter purses must be paid
before CSAC officials and judges get paid. The order of payment
is listed right in the statutes and is printed right on CSAC's
own bond form. This is pretty clear-cut stuff.
"I also heard the commission is talking about paying fighters
20% or 50% of their purses, or trying to negotiate so they take
less. No one has approached me on behalf of Crystal to take less,
but in this case I see no legal or other reason why the fighters
should not be paid 100% of their purses. Under CSAC regulations,
poor ticket sales is not a reason for canceling a show. Indoor
shows cannot be canceled for any reason without approval of the
commission.
"The fighters performed their end of the bargain and the
law requires a bond so fighters get paid. The law says fighters
must be paid before CSAC gets paid. Here, it looks like CSAC
got their money, so why shouldn't the fighters get their money?"
As I stated earlier in the article, CSAC handing over the bondholder
information to a fighter or a fighter's representative should
take no more than a couple of minutes. It's supposed to be a
(relatively) painless transaction.
When Tabatabai says that the bond form lists an order for priority,
he's exactly right. From the promoter's bond application form
that must be filled out and processed at CSAC:
This bond guarantees, in order of priority, the payment of all
taxes and fines due and payable to the State, the payment of
contributions for medical insurance and to the pension and disability
fund, the payment of assessments for neurological examinations,
as specified in Business and Professions Code Section 18711(c),
the payment of the purses to the competitors, the repayment to
consumers of purchased tickets, the payment of fees to the referees,
judges, timekeepers and physicians, and in the event of the cancellation
of a contest or match approved by the Commission without good
cause, an amount determined by the Commission which does not
exceed the Commission's actual cost in connection with the approval
of the contest or match.
The bond covers fighters and fans first and then commission officials.
In the Oxnard scenario, Che Guevara allegedly made sure the commission
officials got cashier's checks while the fighters didn't have
secured payments. Plus, the tickets that Raul Orozco and Armando
Renteria sold to fans for the show violated CSAC rules &
regulations by claiming "no refunds or exchanges" in
writing right on the tickets.
Therefore, both the fighters and the fans who bought tickets
to the show but couldn't get a refund are entitled to hitting
the $50,000 promoter bond to recover their lost money.
Why won't CSAC cough up the bond information?
After spending some time trying to figure out why the athletic
commission won't cough up the bond information, I'm left with
one of three options as to why Che Guevara and his staff in the
Sacramento front office won't produce the bond information. It's
not as if the bondholder information is to be treated as a state
secret.
Trying to rationalize the irrational is difficult, but…
Scenario 1: CSAC won't cough up the information because they
don't think it's in the best interest of the parties involved
to know.
This makes the least amount of sense to me. OK, so the price
of bonds for promoters to purchase goes up. You know whose fault
that is? The commission's fault. Why? They allowed the deadbeat
promoters to continue running shows after they reportedly bounced
checks on the first two events. Instead of suspending or revoking
the license of Raul Orozco, CSAC let him continue as a promoter.
Promoters should have every right to be pissed off at CSAC if
their negligence results in the cost of acquiring a bond to increase.
That is CSAC's fault because they created this mess, a mess that
was totally unnecessary and self-inflicted.
Scenario 2: The Sacramento office has lost the bondholder paperwork
for the deadbeat promoters.
This is entirely plausible given how they lose medical records
all the time and attempt to backdate/alter fighter paperwork.
Scenario 3: There is no bond.
This would be a catastrophic development, given that having a
$50,000 bond is a requirement to be licensed. It would open up
the floodgates of liability for the state of California should
they get sued. The Oxnard debacle is the perfect example of why
the state athletic commission asks for a $50,000 bond in the
first place. If the athletic commission allowed Raul Orozco and
sidekick Armando Renteria to run a show in Oxnard without a bond,
this would be the kind of offense that could and should get people
fired. The whole point of an athletic commission, besides generating
cash for the state, is to protect the fighters. If you can't
ensure that a deadbeat promoter has a bond on record, what does
that say about your ability to regulate any show in the state?
If this scenario is true, then everyone in the Sacramento office
should be immediately issued notice of adverse actions and terminated
with cause.
Just who is CSAC defending here?
It truly is amazing to see Sacramento bureaucrats take the side
of cash-strapped deadbeat promoters over fighters who are California
taxpayers. Of all the scenarios to choose, why would these people
risk their job security over a couple of low-rent individuals
who aren't contributing much money to state coffers?
In our September 24th article about Oxnard, we gave you a taste
as to who Armando Renteria really is. He's a flashy, big-mouthed
socialite who likes attention. Except he apparently didn't like
the attention we gave him when we exposed his arrest log from
last June.
So, who exactly are Raul Orozco and Armando Renteria? And why
is the state backing them over fighters who got stiffed on cash?
We started investigating the backgrounds of both Orozco &
Renteria. We have a treasure trove of information. However, we're
streamlining our dossier here in order to give you a basic summary
of how these two are joined at the hip.
Raul Orozco & Armando Ramirez are high school buddies. They
graduated from high school in Hueneme, Class of 1987.
Orozco would go on to create his own construction company called
Trust Builders Construction. It's a sole proprietorship. As this
snapshot from the Contractors State License Board shows, Raul
has a history of acquiring bonds for his construction operation.
So, the idea of him getting a bond for any sort of business operation
is not new for him. In this case, he got a three-month bond for
his construction operation start last July and expiring next
week. Manta estimates he made/makes $80,000 yearly.
As this bulletin notice from the City of Oxnard (December 14th,
2009) shows, Orozco was seeking a permit.
Planning & Zoning Permit No. 09-500-05 (Special Use Permit)
& 09-300-05 (Tentative Subdivision Map): Cabrillo Neighborhood
A request for approval of a Tentative Subdivision Map to subdivide
one acre into four residential parcels and construct a cul-de-sac,
and a Special Use Permit to construct four detached single-family
residences with one house on each lot. The sizes of dwelling
units will vary between 2,502 square-feet and 3,083 square-feet.
The project site is a vacant one-acre property located at the
east terminus of Oneida Place, west of Ventura Road, east of
Oxford Drive, and north of Devonshire Drive. The proposal is
exempt from environmental review pursuant to Section 15315 of
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. Filed
by Raúl B. Orozco, 312 Camarillo Drive, Camarillo CA 93010.
Applicant: Raúl Orozco Phone: (805) 207-4669
City Contact: Brian Foote, Associate Planner Phone: (805) 385-8312
Shortly after this zoning permit request, Orozco ended up in
another business venture. In a November 2010 profile article
for the Ventura County Star newspaper, El Dorado Mexican restaurant
was featured.
For 18 years, it was known as El Dorado. Then, sometime around
2004, it got a new owner and a new name: El Coyote.
And now? After a makeover that introduced pendant lamps in the
booths and a new chef in the kitchen, the space at Oxnard Boulevard
and Sixth Street in downtown Oxnard is once again El Dorado.
"I kept having people asking me to change it back, because
the original restaurant was such a part of Oxnard," said
Raul Orozco, who bought it in May.
Here's Raul Orozco's liquor license record from the California
department of Alcohol Beverage Control. With Raul owning both
a construction company and now El Dorado Mexican restaurant,
enter Armando Renteria into the picture. Armando is your classic
hanger-on around the fight business (he tried promoting MMA in
2009) - and his friend is boxer Jose Aguiniga. Put it all together
and you end up with El Dorado Entertainment, the banner under
which Orozco (as the licensed promoter) and Renteria started
promoting boxing shows in Port Hueneme/Oxnard in 2012 with Aguiniga
as the headliner.
Which led to two shows where both fighters and athletic commission
officials reportedly got bounced checks. And then Armando Renteria
got arrested for grand theft near a Home Depot. And then Che
Guevara decided to let these two individuals promote a third
show instead of suspending their license for violating CSAC rules
& regulations, not to mention violating the Ali Act (a Federal
law).
All of this led to what we saw go down in Oxnard. And instead
of helping the victims get their money back, the California State
Athletic Commission has apparently sided with the deadbeat promoters.
There's a commission meeting in Los Angeles on October 8th and
CSAC has not said any word as to whether or not they will suspend
Raul Orozco's license at all. If the commission won't cough up
the bond information on Orozco, the fighters from the Oxnard
show who got stiffed on their purses should show up to the Los
Angeles CSAC hearing and publicly embarass Che Guevara. They
should make Che Guevara answer this question:
Why is Che Guevara protecting Raul Orozco & Armando Renteria?
A littany of lawbreaking
There are so many maddening elements to this story. However,
the most confusing part about this story is why there is so much
inaction on part of the California State Athletic Commission
to suspend the license of Raul Orozco given the amount of laws
that have been broken by he and Armando Renteria.
Earlier in this article, we noted that Armando Renteria acting
as Jose Aguiniga's manager and claiming to be a promoter of shows
that Aguiniga is headlining is a violation of the Ali Act, which
is Federal law. Look at the text of the Ali Act bill and go to
Section 5, which is about Conflict of Interest.
Section 17 of the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15
U.S.C. 6308) (as redesignated by section 4 of this Act) is amended-
(1) in the first sentence by striking 'No member' and inserting
'(a) REGULATORY PERSONNEL- No member'; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
'(b) FIREWALL BETWEEN PROMOTERS AND MANAGERS-
'(1) IN GENERAL- It is unlawful for-
(A) a promoter to have a direct or indirect financial interest
in the management of a boxer; or
'(B) a manager-
(i) to have a direct or indirect financial interest in the promotion
of a boxer; or
'(ii) to be employed by or receive compensation or other benefits
from a promoter, except for amounts received as consideration
under the manager's contract with the boxer.
Because Armando Renteria is labeled as a manager for Jose Aguiniga,
he can't act as both a manager and a promoter for Aguiniga on
the El Dorado Entertainment shows. However, Aguiniga was the
headliner for the first two El Dorado shows (last February &
May) and was going to be the headliner for the third show in
Oxnard. Section 119 of the Business & Professions Code spells
out clearly the following:
119. Any person who does any of the following is guilty of a
misdemeanor:
(b) Lends his or her license to any other person or knowingly
permits the use thereof by another.
(e) Knowingly permits any unlawful use of a license issued to
him or her.
In the case of the weigh-ins the day before the scheduled show
in Oxnard, the licensed promoter (Raul Orozco) reportedly didn't
show up at the weigh-ins. Instead, Armando Renteria showed up
at the weigh-ins and signed the bout contracts that CSAC inspector
Anthony Olivas approved of.
Sections 18665 through 18674 of the Business & Professions
Code also hammers anyone who doesn't full disclose the business
relationship of someone who has the promoter's license. In this
case, did Raul Orozco disclose to the commission his full business
relationship with Armando Renteria?
18665. (a) All applications for a promoter's license shall contain
a true statement of all persons connected with or having a proprietary
interest in the promoter.
(b) Any person connected with, or having a proprietary interest
in, an applicant for a promoter's license shall provide the commission
with such financial information, or access to such financial
information, as the commission deems necessary in order to determine
whether the applicant is financially responsible.
(c) Any application for a promoter's license shall be signed
under penalty of perjury by the sole proprietor, a general partner,
or an officer of the corporation or association, as the case
may be.
18666. All promoters shall submit in writing for prior approval
by the commission, any change at any time in the persons connected
with or having a proprietary interest in the promoter, including
any change in the shareholders of a corporate entity.
18667. The commission shall not issue any promoter's license
to an applicant unless the commission is satisfied that the applicant
is the real party in interest, and intends to conduct, hold,
or give such contests itself. In no case shall the commission
issue a license to a promoter unless, the promoter will receive
at least 25 percent of the net receipts of any promotion.
18668. Licensed promoters may engage in promotions with other
licensed promoters, so long as each promoter holds a valid, unexpired
license, and receives the written approval of the commission
prior to the promotion. The co-promoters shall file a bond or
bonds sufficient to meet the requirements of Section 18680.
18673. (a) All applications for a manager's license shall contain
a true statement of all persons connected with, or having a proprietary
interest in, the management of the boxer or martial arts fighter.
(b) Any application for a manager's license shall be signed under
penalty of perjury by the sole proprietor, a general partner,
or an officer of the corporation or association, as the case
may be.
18674. All managers shall submit in writing, for prior approval
by the commission, any change at any time in the persons connected
with or having a proprietary interest in the management of the
boxer or martial arts fighter, including any change in the shareholders
of a corporate entity.
In this case, Renteria signing the bout contracts at the weigh-ins
instead of Orozco should have been a huge red flag for both Anthony
Olivas and for the Sacramento CSAC office. If Sacramento gave
Olivas the go-ahead to let Renteria sign the bout contracts,
that means CSAC is now legally liable as a third party to the
deals given that Renteria can't be both a manager to a fighter
on a show that he's also a promoter for. Common sense would tell
you that Orozco should have been forced to sign the bout contracts
at the weigh-ins or the show should have been canceled right
at that moment. Instead, Renteria was reportedly allowed to sign
the bout contracts and the show was canceled hours before it
was scheduled to start. Renteria compounded his comedy of errors
by telling the Ventura County Star newspaper that the show was
canceled due to poor ticket sales, which is a violation of CSAC's
rules & regulations.
Furthermore, take a look at CSAC's rules & regulations page
regarding bout contracts:
§ 230. Contract Provisions.
(a) No verbal agreement or written agreement other than a contract
on the commission's official form shall be accepted by the commission.
(b) No contract between a promoter and manager or boxer shall
be enforced by the commission until all contracts between the
promoter and the contestants for a particular match are filed
with the commission and meet the requirements of these rules
and the provisions of the code applicable to professional boxing.
All contracts for an event shall be filed with the commission
no later than the time periods specified in Rule 240.
(c) Contracts are prohibited wherein a certain sum other than
federal, state or local government taxes is taken by the club
from the gate receipts or, where applicable, receipts from the
sale, lease, transfer, or other exploitation of broadcasting
and television rights, before a boxer is paid a percentage of
the balance of said receipts for his or her services. Deductions
may be allowed only if the amount to be deducted is clearly specified
and itemized in the contract signed by the club with the boxer.
If the commission determines that the deductions are not sufficiently
itemized and specific, it may disallow such deductions.
(d) "Blanket contracts" or options on a boxer's services
shall not be recognized unless written approval is obtained from
the commission.
(e) Contracts wherein a boxer agrees to accept a certain percentage
for his services with the understanding that at the same time
he is to pay his opponent a stipulated amount of this percentage
are not acceptable to the commission unless such a contract is
submitted to the commission for examination and approval.
NOTE: Authority cited: Section 18611, Business and Professions
Code. Reference: Sections 18640, 18641, 18642, 18660, 18661 and
18854, Business and Professions Code.
§ 232. Payment Of Contestants.
All contestants shall be paid in full according to their contracts,
and no part or percentage of their remuneration may be withheld
except by order of an official of the commission, nor shall any
part thereof be returned through arrangement with the boxer or
his manager to any matchmaker, assistant matchmaker, or club
official. The boxer or manager may not assign his respective
share of the purse, or any portion thereof, without the approval
of the commission, upon written request filed with the commission
at least 72 hours before the contest.
NOTE: Authority cited: Section 18611, Business and Professions
Code. Reference: Sections 18640, 18641 and 18854, Business and
Professions Code
We cite these code sections because some of the fighters on the
Oxnard card were 'paid' with tickets. As Crystal Morales claimed
in our September 24th Oxnard report, Raul Orozco & Armando
Renteria allegedly stated they weren't going to pay her the fight
purse unless she had sold all of the tickets they gave her. Her
fight purse on the contract was listed at $1,000.
In an on-the-record conversation Monday night, Crystal claims
that Armando Renteria asked her for the money she sold from tickets.
She was allegedly given 100 tickets with a total face value of
$3,000. She didn't sell all the tickets. After she gave the money
from her ticket sales to Armando Renteria at the weigh-in, she
claims that Renteria turned around and gave the money to a representative
of CSAC.
After the fight was canceled on Saturday, she had not been paid.
On Monday, Crystal claimed that she received a text from Raul
Orozco. To paraphrase what she claims the text message stated,
allegedly the message stated that if she had talked to Armando
Renteria she would have found out that she was not getting paid
her purse because she didn't sell the 100 tickets she was given.
If you combine the violations of law we cite here in this article
along with the violations we cited in the September 24th article,
you have an incredible laundry list of illegal actions by Orozco
& Renteria.
What it all means
Supposedly, the deadbeat promoters claimed they would pay the
fighters they stiffed. Yesterday, they reportedly were nowhere
to be found and could not be reached by several parties who were
looking for their money.
So, given this development, it is absolutely incumbent upon the
California State Athletic Commission to provide the bond information
to the fighters so they can hit the $50,000 bond, freeze it,
and make sure that those who need to get paid get their money.
And if the athletic commission, led by Che Guevara, doesn't cough
up the bond information? They are setting up the Department of
Consumer Affairs for a lawsuit that could cost the Sacramento
CSAC front office workers their jobs.
This whole situation could have been resolved right after the
debacle happened. The solution takes less than a couple of minutes.
The athletic commission simply needed to cough up the bond information
and let the chips fall where they may. Instead, they have incredibly
dug their heels in and have not coughed up the bond info. And
not only that, they apparently have not suspended the promoter's
license of Raul Orozco or the manager's license of Armando Renteria
(if he actually has one and isn't full of $&%! as his track
record indicates he is wont to do).
If you are in management at the Department of Consumer Affairs,
you are political animals. Why would someone like Denise Brown,
Awet Kidane, or head of DCA legal Doreathea Johnson allow their
careers to be damaged by someone like Che Guevara? It makes no
sense as to why anyone in Sacramento is backing this guy. He's
completely incompetent at his job and simply does not care about
the fighters. He can't train inspectors to properly manage a
box office, meaning the state is losing up to 7 figures from
events. Medical paperwork in the front office is constantly missing
and inspectors are being asked to alter the dates on fighter
paperwork. You have inspectors who Che Guevara is supposed to
be supervising who are missing illegal hand-wraps, skinned gloves,
and fighters who have different size gloves on in the ring. Further
adding to the stress level at shows, you have a ridiculous three
inspector policy that is creating havoc at events in terms of
producing an atmosphere for quality supervision. Remember what
Sacramento's solution to the three inspector policy was, the
'ol Volunteer Service Agreements? Yes, those coercive contracts
of adhesion.
It would be one thing if some mistakes were made by the front
office and eventually corrected. However, everything is spiraling
out of control. The promoters are losing patience because the
quality of regulation is down. The fans are losing because promoters
are holding less events in the state and are considering other
states in order to avoid having to deal with CSAC. The fighters
are facing a free-for-all situation in terms of their opponents
flaunting the system by openly cheating because they can get
away with it and know that nothing is going to happen to them.
And, yet, there is something about the situation in Oxnard that
apparently the Sacramento CSAC front office thinks is worth covering
up. Of all the problems with the California State Athletic Commission,
why would you set up a situation where you are on the side of
two deadbeat promoters (Raul Orozco and Armando Renteria) who
don't produce significant revenue for the state of California?
Why would you, as an athletic commission, set yourselves up to
get destroyed in the press and (potentially) in court because
you don't want to lift a finger to to help fighters who were
completely taken advantage of thanks to your negligence in not
suspending the promoter's license of Raul Orozco in the first
place?
What CSAC is really focused on
You remember the phrase about Nero fiddling while Rome burned?
When you read the following internal office memo, keep that phrase
in mind as you read it. Understand that this memo was sent a
few days after the Oxnard show was abruptly canceled and the
fighters were stiffed on their purses.
Hello Inspectors/Commission Staff:
I don't believe that all of you have noticed that on the bottom
of my e-mails there is a "confidentiality notice."
This notice tells you that my e-mails are for the sole use of
the intended recipient(s). This means that my e-mails are not
to be shared with others outside the recipient list. If you wish
to share one of my e-mails with, let's just say for the fun of
it, a media source, you must get my permission first or you will
be violating my and the commission's confidentiality which could
result in an employee action. Now, many e-mails are disclosable
via a Public Records Act request; however, all those requests
must be directed to the Commission headquarters.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Kathi Burns
Interim Executive Officer
California State Athletic Commission
2005 Evergreen Street, Ste. 2010
Sacramento, CA 95815
(916) 263-2195
*** Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any
attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s)
and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any
unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited.
If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender
by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
***
This is a perfect reflection of who the individuals at the California
State Athletic Commission (and DCA) really are. While the state's
combat sports climate is burning to a crisp, they're fiddling
around on their keyboards doing nothing productive. These people
are hazardous to the health & safety of the fighters who
compete in California. File the notices of adverse actions with
the State Personnel Board, fire their asses, and send these clowns
to the unemployment line.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
The
Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale Fight Card Rumors
The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale
Date: December 15, 2012
Venue: The Joint at the Hard Rock
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
-Shane Carwin (12-2) vs. Roy Nelson (17-7; #10 Heavyweight)
-TUF 16 Welterweight Finals
-Mike Pyle (23-8-1) vs. James Head (9-2)
-Nick Catone (9-3) vs. TJ Waldburger (15-7)
-Rustam Khabilov (14-1) vs. Vinc Pichel (6-0)
-Reuben Duran (8-3-1) vs. Hugo Viana (6-0)
-Johnny Bedford (18-9-1) vs. Marcos Vinicius (6-0)
TUF 16 Finale Start Times:
Main Card on FX: 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m PT
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Viewpoint:
An Oddity No Longer
By Tristen
Critchfield
Sometime
between May and September, Stefan Struve officially joined the
ranks of the 7-foot club.
It
is a fairly exclusive group, with membership generally reserved
for men with lucrative shoe contracts and solid back-to-the-basket
skills. In the MMA world, however, width, not height, is the
most respected currency. That is why massive, thickly muscled
heavyweights such as Alistair Overeem and Brock Lesnar have been
so easily able to capture the fight fan's imagination.
When
a lanky athlete such as Struve enters the arena, he is often
quickly labeled as little more than a sideshow. Early on in the
Dutchman's career, he did little to dispel the notion. Junior
dos Santos, Roy Nelson and Travis Browne added Struve to their
personal highlight reels, and even in victory he often absorbed
tremendous amounts of punishment. Rarely was Struve in a boring
fight, but rarely did he win convincingly enough to inspire confidence
that a future contender was lurking inside his beanpole frame.
It
became easy to dismiss Struve against any foe with dangerous
power, and in the heavyweight division, that type of opposition
is plentiful. The man with the moniker of "Skyscraper"
worked diligently to shift perceptions. Wins over Pat Barry,
Dave Herman and Lavar Johnson showed Struve was resourceful and
tough, but he still took his share of licks. Despite incremental
improvements, it appeared that Struve's best game plan was to
eat strikes, pull guard and hope for a Hail Mary submission.
When he was paired with the up-and-coming Stipe Miocic at UFC
on Fuel TV 5 on Saturday in Nottingham, England, it looked like
the Team Schrijber member's modest winning streak had reached
its end.
Miocic
could box and wrestle, and besides, was not Struve long overdue
to hit the canvas in spectacular fashion once again? This was
supposed to be the bout where Struve resumed his role as entertaining
gatekeeper and paved the way for Miocic's arrival into the division's
Top 10. Someone forgot to alert the Dutchman that this was the
plan, as Struve gave arguably the finest performance of his career
in a second-round stoppage of Miocic.
"I
heard some complaints about my power in the past, but I think
they might change their opinion right now," Struve said.
"I need to work on using my reach better. Some moments were
pretty good, some weren't so good, but I think I showed I have
a good chin. I've got four wins in a row with four finishes,
and [UFC President] Dana [White] said I'm about Top 5 in the
world now, so I'm pretty proud as a 24-year-old."
When
Struve approached the Octagon at the Capital FM Arena, Fuel TV
analyst Kenny Florian remarked that the young heavyweight added
something new to his game each time out. I chuckled to myself,
wondering if Florian had ever heard Struve say he needed to learn
how to better use his reach before, oh, practically every one
of his fights. I smugly sat through round one, nodding knowingly
as Miocic consistently got inside of Struve's considerable range,
landing multiple punches to the head and body of his opponent.
"Same
old Struve," I thought to myself, as I awaited the inevitable
knockout. Well, it came, but it was Struve who delivered it.
Buoyed by a far more aggressive approach than he demonstrated
in the opening period, Struve had Miocic reeling with uppercuts
and hooks in round two.
There
would be no need for a white-knuckle comeback on this night,
as referee Herb Dean rushed in to save Miocic before Struve could
inflict any more damage at the 3:50 mark. It was not Struve's
first knockout victory, but it was his most significant. On the
very same week that "Skyscraper" revealed that he is
indeed seven feet tall, he also showed the world that he is much
more than a curiosity. Calling him a Top 5 contender is a stretch
at this point, but give Struve credit for shining on the grandest
stage of his career to date.
"You
know, I think I showed that I am still getting better, stronger
in every fight. I am getting more powerful in every shot,"
he said.
Struve
may never have Jon Jones' mastery of reach and distance -- few
do -- but maybe he can remain relevant without it. Since he is
not yet 25 years old, there is still plenty of time for development.
After Saturday's victory, Struve planted the seed for a potential
showdown with Fabricio Werdum.
"I
think it would be an awesome fight, and he is one of the best
fighters in the world," Struve said. "I think I can
rock him on the ground and I can beat him."
The
general consensus is that, in some order, dos Santos, Cain Velasquez,
Overeem, Werdum and Daniel Cormier are the five best heavyweights
on the planet. After that, the picture becomes murkier, with
veterans like Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Josh Barnett
dotting the landscape.
At
the moment, it is hard to put Struve above any of those men,
but at least he is in the discussion. That is better than the
position he was in a little more than a year ago, when "Travis
Browne" and "Superman punch" were the words most
commonly associated with his name.
A
little bit wiser. A little bit stronger. A little bit taller.
It finally looks as though Struve is ready to reach new heights
in his MMA career.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Dave
Bautista will face Vince Lucero in MMA debut
By Dave
Meltzer
Former pro wrestling headliner Dave Bautista went from being
slated to fight a series of men, who like him, had no pro fights.
Instead, he ended up at the last minute with a 13-year-veteran
with 45 bouts.
Former World Wrestling Entertainment headliner Dave Bautista
has a new official opponent just five days before his scheduled
MMA debut on pay-per-view.
The 43-year-old former bodybuilder and WrestleMania headliner
will face a legitimate experienced fighter, Vince Lucero (22-22-1)
at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. Given the name
"Real Pain," the show will air nationally in the U.S.
on DirecTV pay-per-view, and stream for $29.95 worldwide at www.bautistamma.com
The search for an opponent of Bautista, better known as "The
Animal" Batista by pro wrestling fans over the past decade,
took a number of twists and turns in the past few days.
Rashid Evans, not to be confused to Rashad Evans, a 230-pound
heavyweight with a number of amateur fights, but no professional
bouts, had been scheduled and announced for weeks, even though
he wasn't training and was in jail at one point when being promoted.
However, Evans was able to get a release to get in some training
for the fight, until a probation violation after being pulled
over by police and not having a valid license, landed him back
in jail.
Bruno McKee, a New Jersey based fighter who had fought at both
heavyweight and super heavyweight, with three amateur bouts and
no professional experience, was slated as the replacement. But
late last week, McKee pulled out of the fight, citing a lack
of time to prepare.
Promoters were scrambling. Sources said that a number of inexperienced
heavyweights in the Massachusetts area were asked as late as
the weekend about taking the fight, but all turned it down, due
to a lack of training time.
Promoters on Monday night announced Lucero, 40, as Bautista's
new opponent. The bulky fighter who cuts to make the 265-pound
top limit of the heavyweight division, has fought twice this
year on Rage in the Cage show. His most recent fight was a win
on April 13 over Mike Martinez via split decision.
Lucero, in 2007 was a member of the International Fight League's
San Jose Razorclaws. He trained under Frank Shamrock, but was
stopped in 1:55 by Ken Shamrock's heavyweight Roy Nelson, during
the battle of the brothers show in Oakland. He was then cut by
the team.
Lucero has been fighting for 13 years. The closest thing to a
notable win would have been a 2004 win over future Ultimate Fighter
participant Josh Haynes.
Besides Nelson, he has lost to a number of name fightes including
Christian Wellisch, Travis Fulton, Justin Eilers, Soa Palelei,
Ruben "Warpath" Villareal, Eric Pele, Brad Imes Devin
Cole, Lavar Johnson, Tim Sylvia and Tim Hague.
Bautista was one of the biggest stars in the pro wrestling world
from 2003 to 2010, due to his impressive look at 6-foot-3 and
weighing between 280 and 310 pounds of muscle. He's cut down
on the size significantly and has for years wanted to do MMA,
with an attitude very similar to Herschel Walker. He has no illusions
of championships, but has trained seriously with Cesar Gracie's
team and, of late, has admitted taken his lumps in training from
Stephan Bonnar.
He left pro wrestling in 2010, saying he wasn't having fun and
didn't like the direction the business was going. Bautista as
a pro wrestler was a significantly bigger drawing card than Brock
Lesnar or Ken Shamrock. He has since done a number of action
and martial arts movies, including working with UFC fighter Cung
Le. He talked about doing MMA as soon as he was free from his
WWE contract. Negotiations for a fight in Strikeforce, and on
Showtime, fell through when Zuffa purchased the organization
and had no interest in using him.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Forrest
Griffin Served 30-Day Suspension, Paid Fine After Positive Drug
Test at UFC 101
by Damon
Martin
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin revealed
on Monday that following his 2009 fight against Anderson Silva,
he tested positive for the use of Xanax by the Pennsylvania State
Athletic Commission.
Griffin fought in Philadelphia for the bout against Silva, and
stated when speaking to MMAFighting.com that he took the drug
to help combat nerves and lack of sleep leading up to the fight.
According to Greg Sirb, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania
State Athletic Commission, Griffin did indeed test positive,
he was suspended for 30 days and all of the information was listed
in the ABC (Association of Boxing Commissions) database.
"On August 8 of 2009 he got a suspension, he had to take
a re-test, he got a fine, everything was satisfied and it states
specifically in the database 'must contact PA commission before
next bout'," Sirb told MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday.
"It's just how we list our drug tests. We have very strong
HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws
here just like the (Nate) Marquardt situation. I can't make these
public declarations, but he was clearly in the database the day
he was suspended."
Medical laws in some states prevent the athletic commissions
from revealing sensitive information even something like drug
test results. The state of New Jersey follows similar rules,
and are unable to disclose medical information for competitors
unless they choose to release the information themselves.
Like in the situation with Nate Marquardt from 2011 when he was
forced off a UFC card set to be held in Pittsburgh after testing
positive for elevated levels of testosterone. The commission
was unable to confirm the specifics of his case, but Marquardt
was able to disclose the situation himself.
The suspension that Griffin faced was lifted on Sept 7, and for
his next scheduled bout in which he faced Tito Ortiz at UFC 106
in November 2009. At that point the suspension had been lifted
and it was the Nevada State Athletic Commision who then had to
contact the Pennsylvania Commission to clarify the drug test
results.
Sirb states that Griffin followed through all the necessary protocols
to satisfy their requirements after the drug test and suspension.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Who's
going to coach TUF Brazil 2?
by Vitor
Freitas
This week the second season of the Brazilian version of "The
Ultimate Fighter" reality show was confirmed to comprise
lightweight and welterweight divisions. Tryouts for the program
are scheduled to begin on October 14, a Sunday, in Rio de Janeiro.
All the TUF Brazil candidates should be between the ages of 18
and 35 and have at least three fights on their records, with
two professional MMA fights verifiable on the MixedMartialArts.com
and Sherdog.com websites.
Former UFC fighters will not be allowed to take part. Candidates
should bring their original documents with them.
Fighters will undergo testing in grappling and hitting the mitts,
and they should bring the appropriate equipment-MMA gloves, wraps,
mouth guard, cup and shin guards. At the end of training the
candidates will be told whether they will continue in the selection
process. The criteria for chosen athletes is reserved by the
UFC and will not be revealed.
The first TUF Brazil tryout will be held at 5 PM at Windsor Hotel
on Avenida Lúcio Costa 2630, Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro.
Chosen athletes should be prepared to remain in Rio de Janeiro
until October 17 to undergo medical testing. Should their stay
be prolonged, the program's producers will pay for their
accommodations. The return trip, however, will be paid for by
the candidate.
So far, the UFC has not decided who will be coaching the reality
show. But you can already start speculating and requesting your
favorites. Rogério Minotouro and Mauricio Shogun? Lyoto
Machida and Shogun? Who do you think they should call up?
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Morning
Report: Dana White would 'absolutely, positively' bring Ronda
Rousey to UFC for one-off fights
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
22 months ago, Dana White, clad in a tight, black long-sleeved
t-shirt, was greeted outside of a nightclub by dim streetlights
and an inquiring TMZ paparazzo hoping to squeeze out enough banter
from the UFC President to warrant a successful payday.
After a fumbling, clumsy question about Cain Velasquez's health,
a jet-black SUV rolled up to whisk White away. Time was running
short and the guy had to get something worthwhile, so he blurted
out one last-ditch attempt.
"When are we going to see women in the UFC, dude?"
he asked in the most professional way someone can ask and still
end their sentence with 'dude.'
"Never." White said flatly, before chuckling to himself
at the thought and climbing into the back of the vehicle.
Well, how quickly things can change.
It's no secret that White has taken a liking to Strikeforce superstar
Ronda Rousey, appearing with the champion at red carpets and
events across the country. Now, through a combination of dazzling
performances and savvy self-marketing, "The Rowdy One"
has somehow accomplished the impossible.
"I absolutely, positively would bring Ronda Rousey into
the UFC," White declared over the weekend.
"I think she's f--king awesome. I think she's mean. I think
she's nasty. She's a real fighter and I like watching her fight.
I think there can be some fun fights with Ronda ... and some
of the other women too. But you'd have to do some one-offs."
White went on to clarify that it wasn't as if he'd actually changed
his position on women's MMA, saying "it's not deep enough
to have a complete weight division and put on fights all the
time." But still, given the increasingly rocky relationship
between Zuffa and Showtime, and the potential impending demise
of Strikeforce, it suddenly doesn't seem too far-fetched to see
a Rousey vs. Cyborg superfight adorning a UFC event poster.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Ray
Sefo presents WSF on NBC, with Miguel Torres, Gregor, Ronys &
Co.
Contributor:
Junior Samurai
The
UFC's not the only promotion bringing in big MMA stars. World
Series of Fighting, the new event on the block, has announced
the signing of two fighters formerly under the employ of Dana
White and Co.: Anthony "Rumble" Johnson and Miguel
Angel Torres, who round out a worthy card to air on US broadcasting
giant NBC.
The new event on network television also brings some new rules,
like a ban on elbows, something MMA fans have been calling for
for some time. The date for the maiden show is November 3, direct
from Las Vegas. Johnson takes on DJ Linderman, while Miguel faces
Marlon Moraes.
And the promoters aren't relying only on those two matchups to
win an audience. There's further star power on the card, with:
Andrei Arlovski vs. Devin Cole, Gregor Gracie vs. Tyson Steele,
Ronys Torres vs. Brian "The Bandit" Cobb an d Gesias
Cavalcante vs. TJ O'Brien
"We put together a complete card, with some of the greatest
talent presently in the MMA scene," said WSF president and
former K-1 kickboxer Ray Sefo. "MMA has a chance to expand
its reach this November 3, thanks to the NBC Sports Network and
World Series of Fighting platform. We'll make the most of this
opportunity, to bring our great sport to new heights," he
added.
"When I found out that Ray Sefo, who I've been a fan of
ever since K-1 first started, was involved with the event, I
signed on right away," said Gregor. "My brother Rolles
will be on the same card, and it'll be exciting."
World Series of Fighting
Las Vegas, USA
November 3, 2012
Andrei Arlovski vs Devin Cole
Anthony Johnson vs DJ Linderman
Miguel Torres vs Marlon Moraes
Gregor Gracie vs Tyson Steele
Ronys Torres vs Brian "The Bandit" Cobb
JZ Cavalcante vs TJ O'Brien
Tyrone Spong vs Travis Bartlett
Gerald Harris vs Josh Burkman
David Branch vs Dustin Jacoby
Steve Carl vs Ramico Blackmon
Waylon Lowe vs Fabio Mello
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Bellator
74 TV Ratings Show Improvement as Season 7 Opens
Bellator 74 on Friday night kicked off the promotion's seventh
season with TV ratings drawing an audience of 190,000 viewers,
according to industry sources.
That's up from the 163,000 that watched Bellator 73. It is also
an improvement over Season 6's opener, which drew 169,000 viewers.
Bellator 74 took place in Atlantic City, N.J., and featured all
four quarterfinal bouts for the promotion's new welterweight
tournament. The opening round winners included former Bellator
champion Lyman Good, former Dream champion Marius Zaromskis,
Michail Tsarev and Andrey Koreshkov.
Bellator is looking to build as much momentum as possible as
it prepares to leave its current television home on MTV2. Beginning
in 2013, Bellator will air on Spike TV and begin cross-promoting
with TNA's Impact Wrestling.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Soa
Palalei vs Sean McCorckle Confirmed for AFC 4 in Australia
by Andrew
Potter
After having a fight with Andrei Arlovski at One FC 5 cancelled
due to the fact he wasn't willing to sign a four-fight contract,
Australian heavyweight Soa "The Hulk" Palelei will
continue his charge towards another UFC contract when he fights
former UFC fighter Sean "Big Sexy" McCorkle on Dec.
7 at Australian Fighting Championships (AFC) 4 in Melbourne,
Australia.
The promotion confirmed the match-up via their social media account
for the main event, which will take place at the Melbourne Pavillion
in a ring.
Palelei has had one previous UFC fight back in 2007, where he
was on the wrong side of a TKO to Eddie Sanchez. Since the UFC
loss, Palelei's record sits at 9-1 with his only recent loss
being to now Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel
Cormier.
His opponent, Sean McCorckle, was cut from the UFC roster in
2011 after back-to-back losses against Stefan Struve and Christian
Morecraft. The 36-year-old signed with Bellator, where he won
his debut fight earlier this year before losing via knockout
to Brian Heden in a performance labelled as "embarrassing."
He since tried his hand at pro wrestling, but will return to
MMA when he fights Palelei.
Australian welterweight Nick Patterson will fight on the card,
but his opponent is yet to be announced.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Cub
Swanson: '10 Out of 10 Times' Comment in Reference to Jens Pulver
Rematch, Not Jose Aldo
By Mike
Whitman
Cub
Swanson wants to set the record straight.
Last
Friday, Swanson appeared on the Sherdog Radio Network's "Beatdown"
program opposite co-hosts T.J. De Santis and Jeff Sherwood, the
latter of which asked Swanson if the oft-replayed nature of his
2009 knockout defeat to Jose Aldo made the featherweight yearn
more intensely for another crack at "Scarface."
"It
does, but it's been a while. I've put it past me," Swanson
replied. "I know that I could win that fight 10 out of 10
times if we did it again. It's not even an issue to me anymore.
I would actually love for my brother to fight him. [My brother]
is more of an up-and-comer, which I feel is more of a fair fight."
Swanson
returned to "Beatdown" on Wednesday to clarify that
comment, which Swanson says was made in reference to a potential
rematch with former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver, who
submitted Swanson with a guillotine choke nearly five years ago
at WEC 31.
"We
were going back and forth about different past opponents, and
that was a mental error on my side," Swanson said of his
previous "Beatdown" appearance. "I was talking
about Jens Pulver, and I thought you guys had asked me about
a rematch with him. That's why I said that was a long time ago
and that I had put it past me.
"No,
[I don't want my brother to fight Aldo.] My brother is a [flyweight],
and he fights at 135 [pounds] as well, but that's the fight that
I would love for my brother to have -- with Jens. Jose Aldo is
the fight that I want."
Swanson
then further elaborated on a hypothetical return bout with Aldo.
While he may have misspoken in regard to the "10 out of
10 times" comment, that does not mean the Jackson's MMA
representative would back down if he were given another opportunity
to fight the UFC featherweight king.
"I
don't feel that [a rematch with Aldo] would play out like it
did that time," said Swanson. "I feel like that was
a once-in-a-longtime type of thing, and it's not going to happen
again. If we fought again, I'm very confident, and I think it
would be a hell of a fight.
"Personally,
I've grown up a lot mentally [since the first bout]. I don't
get nerves like I used to. I feel that the key for me is just
being calm and confident," Swanson continued. "In that
fight, I was very one-track-minded, and I just felt like I had
to do one thing right off the bat. It was too close-minded for
me and not really my usual game plan, and it backfired."
Swanson
admits that the fallout from his initial comment has been frustrating.
Though the featherweight feels sure of his abilities as a potential
challenger to Aldo's throne, he does not want that confidence
to be mistaken for arrogance.
"People
want to be quick to remind you of what happened, but I feel like
I've earned the respect to get another shot," said Swanson.
"It sucks getting people talking crap to you for something
you didn't say or didn't mean to say. I just don't want to be
seen as somebody who's a cocky jerk. I'm going to say that I'm
confident in my ability, but I'm not ignorant [enough] to say
that I'm going to demolish every fighter out there and that nobody
has a chance against me. That's not me."
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
10/13 Rio fight cards
By Zach
Arnold
Event: UFC 153 (Saturday, October 13th)
Location: HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
TV: FX for undercard, PPV for main card
Undercard
" Lightweights: Cristiano Marcello vs. Reza Madadi
" Middleweights: Luiz Cane vs. Chris Camozzi
" Middleweights: Sergio Moraes vs. Renee Forte
" Featherweights: Diego Brandao vs. Joey Gambino
" Lightweights: Gleison Tibau vs. Francisco Trinaldo
" Heavyweights: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Geronimo Dos Santos
" Lightweights: Rony Jason vs. Sam Sicilia
" Welterweights: Demian Maia (-130) vs. Rick Story (EVEN)
Main card
" Light Heavyweights: Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado
" Welterweights: Erick Silva vs. Jon Fitch (PICK 'EM)
" Light Heavyweights: Glover Teixeira vs. Fabio Maldonado
" Heavyweights: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Dave Herman
" Middleweights: Anderson Silva (-1300, 13 to 1 favorite)
vs. Stephan Bonnar (+700)
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
10/5 Minneapolis
By Zach
Arnold
Event: UFC on FX 5 (Friday, October 5th)
Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV: FX
Undercard
" Welterweights: Mike Pierce vs. Aaron Simpson
" Lightweights: Marcus Levesseur vs. Carlo Prater
" Bantamweights: Darren Uyenoyama vs. Phil Harris
" Featherweights: Diego Nunes vs. Bart Palaszewski
" Lightweights: Shane Roller vs. Jacob Volkmann
" Lightweights: Dennis Hallman vs. Thiago Tavares
" Lightweights: Danny Castillo vs. Michael Johnson
Main card
" Lightweights: Jeremy Stephens vs. Yves Edwards
" Welterweights: Josh Neer vs. Justin Edwards
" Bantamweights: Jussier Formiga vs. John Dodson
" Welterweights: Jake Ellenberger (-350, 7 to 2 favorite)
vs. Jay Hieron (+300)
" Heavyweights: Travis Browne (-220, 11 to 5 favorite) vs.
Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (+180)
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
on FX 5 Preview
By Tristen Critchfield
Travis
Browne, an unbeaten big man with plenty of potential, is looking
for a little more recognition. Antonio Silva, with consecutive
blowout losses to Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez on his ledger,
wants a measure of redemption. Put both men into the Octagon
together and you get a pair of hungry heavyweights going for
broke on Friday in the UFC on FX 5 main event.
While
neither Browne nor Silva is ready to be included in title discussions,
the man that emerges victorious from the Target Center in Minneapolis,
will have raised his stock considerably in a rapidly improving
division. In addition to the conflict between Browne and Silva,
UFC on FX 5 also features the displaced UFC 151 co-feature pitting
Jake Ellenberger against Jay Hieron, as well as a potential flyweight
title eliminator between John Dodson and Jussier da Silva.
Here
is a closer look at the card, with analysis and picks:
Heavyweights
Travis
Browne (13-0-1, 4-0-1 UFC) vs. Antonio Silva (16-4, 0-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: As an undefeated fighter with considerable potential
in a division still hungry for talent, Browne has not yet generated
the buzz it seems like he should. Perhaps it is because he has
demonstrated a tendency to follow the spectacular with the pedestrian
-- not unusual for a mixed martial artist who is still relatively
new to the sport.
"Hapa"
is probably best known for his Superman-punch knockout of Stefan
Struve at UFC 130 -- a victory that holds up to this day because
the towering Dutchman remains a solid contender at heavyweight.
The execution of such a move flashed a pair of tantalizing attributes:
athleticism and power.
The
Hawaiian is still learning the game, however, as a draw against
Cheick Kongo taught him that he will not be able to bully more
talented foes using size and strength alone; a tepid outing versus
Rob Broughton in the high altitude of Denver demonstrated the
need for better conditioning. Most recently, he quickly took
care of business against Chad Griggs, submitting the former Strikeforce
talent in the opening frame at UFC 145. Browne's ability to piece
everything together will determine how quickly he ascends the
heavyweight ranks.
For
Silva, it must feel as though his career-defining victory over
Fedor Emelianenko happened decades ago. A subsequent Strikeforce
heavyweight tournament bout against Daniel Cormier resulted in
a knockout loss, and Silva was battered into a bloody mess by
Cain Velasquez in his Octagon debut in May. While losses to the
likes of Cormier and Velasquez are nothing to be ashamed of,
it is clear that "Bigfoot" cannot rely on sheer size
alone against upper-echelon talents. Browne does not have the
wrestling credentials or resume of a Velasquez or Cormier, but
he certainly possesses the skillset to make the Brazilian look
like a plodding big man again.
A
former junior college basketball player, Browne has surprising
agility and quickness for a man carrying a 6-foot-7, 250-pound
frame. His standup remains a work in progress, but his athleticism
allows him to carry out techniques like the punch that felled
Struve or the flying knee that dazed Griggs early in their encounter.
Silva,
meanwhile, is at his best when he can fight big. The former EliteXC
heavyweight king likes to wear down his opponents by suffocating
them from top position. The thought of a series of massive Silva
hammerfists landing in succession is an unpleasant prospect for
virtually anyone. Additionally, "Bigfoot" is a Brazilian
jiu-jitsu black belt who is adept at working for submissions
as he pressures his opponent with strikes from above.
Getting
the fight where he wants it is another matter entirely. Browne
figures to have a distinct speed edge here, and he can slow the
Silva's advances with a steady diet of low kicks. It is worth
noting that Browne began his combat sports career as a grappler,
so he will not be afraid to go to the mat with "Bigfoot,"
especially considering the Brazilian's vulnerability to quick
level changes.
The
Pick: Silva once outstruck Andrei Arlovski for the majority of
three rounds, but attempting to do that consistently is not a
recipe for success for the Strikeforce veteran. Silva is better
off pressuring and attempting to grind Browne against the fence.
Browne must be wary of letting his opponent get a hold of him,
because one takedown could mean spending an entire frame on his
back. It would be unwise to completely dismiss Silva on the basis
of his last two performances, but he will not be able to keep
up with Browne for a full 25 minutes. The Hawaiian will battle
through a couple tough spots, find his rhythm and stop Silva
via technical knockout in round three.
Welterweights
Jake
Ellenberger (27-6, 6-2 UFC) vs. Jay Hieron (23-5, 0-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: Once upon a time, Ellenberger was scheduled to face
Josh Koscheck, but the "The Ultimate Fighter" Season
1 competitor was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a bulging
disc in his back. In his place steps Hieron, who has not competed
in the UFC since a 2005 loss to Jonathan Goulet.
A
former International Fight League welterweight titlist, Hieron
has done well for himself in recent years, winning 11 of his
past 12 bouts, with his only defeat coming against current Bellator
Fighting Championships 170-pound kingpin Ben Askren last October.
In addition to notable victories against the likes of Delson
Heleno, Pat Healy, Jason High, Jesse Taylor, Rick Hawn and Joe
Riggs, Hieron also defeated Ellenberger in an IFL bout in 2006.
There
are serious questions about Ellenberger's conditioning coming
into this matchup. In February, "The Juggernaut" faded
badly but survived the final frame of a decision triumph over
Diego Sanchez. He was not nearly as fortunate at "The Ultimate
Fighter 15" Finale, where Martin Kampmann rallied from an
early Ellenberger barrage to TKO the Nebraskan in round two.
Again, Ellenberger started quickly, but his output began to diminish
significantly in the second frame.
Hieron
has been involved in a number of close bouts of late and has
gone the distance in five of his last seven outings. Conditioning
should not be an issue for the Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts
representative, but avoiding the powerful counterpunches of Ellenberger
will. Look for the 36-year-old to attempt to keep Ellenberger
at bay with a steady diet of leg kicks on the outside. Hieron
will have to keep moving to avoid the heavy hands of his opponent
while looking for opportunities to land counters of his own.
He will have to be wary of Ellenberger's left hook, however,
as it almost finished Kampmann in June.
Hieron
has solid boxing, but he was badly outwrestled by Askren. Ellenberger
is a strong welterweight who is capable planting Hieron on his
back and punishing him with ground-and-pound. The Reign MMA product's
base is strong enough that he should be able to dictate the location
of the fight, and he should have the advantage in clinch situations,
where he can land punishing knees against the fence.
The
Pick: Hieron's chances depend on his ability to frustrate Ellenberger
by extending the fight. At 36, time is not on his side, and Ellenberger
will be primed and motivated to rebound from a disappointing
loss to Kampmann. Ellenberger wins by second-round TKO.
Flyweights
John
Dodson (13-5, 2-0 UFC) vs. Jussier da Silva (14-1, 0-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: If the rumblings following UFC 152 are to be believed,
this a No. 1 contender's bout, with two of the Top 10 flyweights
in the world going at it for a shot at newly crowned 125-pound
champion Demetrious Johnson.
Once
regarded as the No. 1 fighter in the world at his weight class,
da Silva has been on a tear of late, winning his last five bouts
-- including four straight via submission. The reigning Shooto
South America 123-pound champion, da Silva's only loss in 14
career outings came to current UFC talent Ian McCall in 2011.
After
an impressive run on Season 14 of "The Ultimate Fighter,"
Dodson earned victories over T.J. Dillashaw and Tim Elliott in
his first two Octagon appearances. The win over Elliott -- Dodson's
first UFC outing at flyweight -- was not a vintage performance,
but the Jackson's Mixed Martial Arts representative did well
considering he appeared to be hampered by an injured left hand.
Without being able to fully unveil his entire arsenal, Dodson's
precision trumped Elliot's wild aggression for a unanimous decision
triumph.
There
is little mystery as to the intentions of da Silva, who looks
to take his opponent's back with relentless persistence. "Formiga"
has serviceable standup, but his striking skills often remain
dormant as the Natal, Brazil, native looks to close distance
quickly in hopes of forcing an extended grappling battle. Even
McCall found himself fending off a rear-naked choke attempt from
da Silva for the majority of the first round in their encounter
at Tachi Palace Fights 8. While McCall survived -- and ultimately
prevailed -- most da Silva foes who surrender such a position
are not nearly as fortunate.
Thanks
to a muscular frame, solid wrestling base and good balance, Dodson
has a chance to duplicate McCall's feat. While da Silva is not
particularly large for a flyweight, Dodson cuts from around 160
pounds to make weight. Despite being big for his weight class,
Dodson throws punches, kicks and combinations with lightning
speed. He will have to be careful not to overextend himself when
striking, however, or he will risk giving da Silva the opening
he needs to secure a takedown. The Nova Uniao Kimura export has
good instincts and timing on the feet, and he is more than capable
of catching a Dodson kick and dumping him to the floor.
The
Pick: If Dodson finds himself in the clutches of "Formiga"
at any point in the fight -- and it is quite possible he will
-- poise and patience are paramount. Becoming careless in a series
of scrambles and transitions on the canvas is a sure recipe for
disaster. However, da Silva's power will not scare Dodson, and
the "The Ultimate Fighter 14" winner has the tools
necessary to keep the majority of the bout upright. Dodson wins
by decision.
Welterweights
Josh
Neer (33-11-1, 6-7 UFC) vs. Justin Edwards (7-2, 1-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: At first glance, it seems strange that Neer and Edwards
would occupy the fight poster of an event that includes plenty
of established veterans, but when you consider the level of violence
that Neer unfailingly delivers, the main-card placement makes
more sense.
To
find the last time a bout involving "The Dentist" went
the distance, one has to go back to his second Octagon stint,
when he dropped a unanimous decision to Gleison Tibau at UFC
104. In his 10 bouts since, Neer has finished eight of them via
knockout or submission, while he has been stopped twice, most
recently by Mike Pyle at UFC on FX 3. None of the aforementioned
contests has seen a third round.
With
losses in two of his three UFC appearances, Edwards likely finds
himself on the promotional chopping block. In his last fight,
Edwards was worn down by the grappling and wrestling of John
Maguire en route to dropping at unanimous verdict to the Englishman
at UFC 138. "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 13 competitor
is limited on the feet and would prefer to set the tone through
takedowns and ground-and-pound.
He
will find the going difficult against the bullying style of Neer,
who likes to test his foes from the opening bell. Neer is plenty
durable, as evidenced by only two knockout losses in 45 professional
fights. That solid chin gives him plenty of confidence to pressure
and attack. The Iowan will punish Edwards with punches and short
elbows as he backs him against the fence. Edwards' best chance
lies with his ability to set up shots with combinations, but
he does not have the firepower to threaten Neer on the feet.
If he does get a takedown, he will have to combat Neer's underrated
guard.
The
Pick: Neer will make this a firefight from the outset, and Edwards
is going to struggle to keep up. Neer wins by first-round TKO.
Lightweights
Jeremy
Stephens (20-8, 7-7 UFC) vs. Yves Edwards (41-18-1, 9-6 UFC):
A pair of all-action veterans looking to get back on the winning
track square off here; Stephens was picked apart by Donald Cerrone
in May, while Edwards was outpointed by Tony Ferguson at the
"The Ultimate Fighter 14" Finale in December. Stephens
has the greater kill-shot potential. Look for him to counter
the "Thugjitsu Master" with a big right hand late for
a third-round TKO triumph.
Lightweights
Jacob
Volkman (14-3, 5-3 UFC) vs. Shane Roller (11-6, 2-3 UFC): Volkman
showed no fear of Paul Sass' guard at UFC 146, and the University
of Minnesota All-American wrestler paid the price, submitting
to a triangle armbar in less than two minutes. He will be facing
a fellow three-time All-American in Roller, who captured his
honors at Oklahoma State University. Roller probably has the
slight edge on the feet, but Volkman is bigger and more durable.
Volkman wins by decision.
Lightweights
Thiago
Tavares (17-4-1, 7-4-1 UFC) vs. Dennis Hallman (51-14-2, 4-5
UFC): This has the look of a grappling stalemate. Neither man
has been submitted in his MMA career, so the fight could come
down to who can land the most significant offense on the feet.
That would be Tavares, who can land kicks and counter effectively
as Hallman attempts to close the gap. On the mat, look for Tavares
to land just enough offense to get the edge there, as well. Tavares
wins by decision.
Lightweights
Michael
Johnson (11-6, 3-2 UFC) vs. Danny Castillo (14-4, 4-1 UFC): Johnson
has been progressing nicely, as he earned the most significant
victory of his career to date by taking a three-round verdict
from "The Ultimate Fighter 13" winner Tony Ferguson
at UFC on Fox 3. Castillo will need to slow the tempo against
the more athletic Johnson, forcing tie-ups and controlling his
opponent with body locks against the fence. In the end, Johnson's
southpaw stance and quickness will prove too vexing for "Last
Call," as Johnson lands successful combinations and sprawls
his way to a decision victory.
Featherweights
Diego
Nunes (17-3, 2-2 UFC) vs. Bart Palaszewski (36-15, 1-1 UFC):
This is a sneaky good matchup on the undercard, as neither man
is far removed from 145-pound title hopes. Nunes could not find
a rhythm in his last outing against Dennis Siver, as the Russian-born
German was able to do damage with a variety of kicks. Meanwhile,
Palaszewski could not overcome the top game of Hatsu Hioki at
UFC 144. Palaszewski would like to stand and trade, but Nunes
might want to force the International Fight League veteran to
work from his back, where his defense can be suspect. Nunes takes
a decision.
Flyweights
Darren
Uyenoyama (7-3, 1-0 UFC) vs. Phil Harris (21-9, 0-0 UFC): Originally
slated to face Louis Gaudinot, Uyenoyama instead gets promotional
newcomer Harris, a veteran of the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship
and British Association of Mixed Martial Arts promotions. With
13 submission victories to his credit, Harris figures to engage
his opponent on the mat. It will not end well for him, as Uyenoyama
will be rewarded for his constant pressure with a submission
triumph in round two.
Lightweights
Carlo
Prater (30-11-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. Marcus LeVesseur (21-6, 0-1 UFC):
Prater has plenty of experience but has looked overwhelmed in
UFC bouts against T.J. Grant and Erick Silva. LeVesseur performed
fairly well in his Octagon debut against Cody McKenzie, controlling
much of the contest with his wrestling and power punches, only
to leave his neck exposed for his foe's signature move. LeVesseur
can dictate the location of the fight with his wrestling, and
he will do just that to capture a close, three-round verdict.
Welterweights
Mike
Pierce (14-5, 6-3 UFC) vs. Aaron Simpson (12-3, 7-3 UFC): Pierce
remains one of the toughest outs in the sport today. While his
style is not especially fan friendly, his ability to turn any
fight into a grinding affair makes him an opponent few want to
face. Simpson favors a similar approach, so this fight will likely
come down to who can gain a slight advantage in tie-ups and exchanges.
It seems like Pierce has been in these types of fights for his
whole career. He wins via split decision.
Source
Sherdog
|
Who's
Next for Jon Jones? That's a Good Question
by Damon
Martin
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones may be nursing an ailing
arm, but it's giving him some time off as the promotion tries
to find the next contender to face him.
Jones defeated Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 by fourth-round submission,
but suffered the ill effects of a first-round armbar attempt
by the Brazilian. While Belfort didn't finish the submission,
Jones still has the lingering injury that is awaiting a final
diagnosis from a doctor.
All signs are pointing towards no major injury, but Jones is
resting right now while the rest of the light heavyweight division
sorts itself out.
"The arm hurts and he's waiting for the doctor to see it
and give him some news on it. As soon as we get some information,
hopefully we'll be able to share it with everybody," Jones'
manager Malki Kawa told MMAWeekly Radio recently.
As Jones awaits the final word on his arm, he's still curious
about who he might be facing next. The logical choice would seem
to be Dan Henderson, who he was supposed to fight at UFC 151
before Henderson fell off the card due to injury.
But UFC president Dana White has stated that current plans are
for Henderson to meet former light heavyweight champion Lyoto
Machida next instead. If that's the case then it leaves Jones
without a clear cut No. 1 contender that would be ready in the
next six months.
"Jon actually asked me yesterday, he said 'who's next?'
and I was like 'you know what, I really don't have the answer
either. I don't know.' Henderson was the guy. I guess he was
the No. 1 contender before all this and then obviously he got
hurt," said Kawa.
"It's not frustrating. You know what it is? When you fight
that much, that frequent, he did fight a lot last year. He took
out four guys all top contenders, and then this year he took
our Rashad (Evans), who I think is a top five pound-for-pound
fighter in the world. He beats him and then he goes off and beats
another legend in Vitor. I just think there are going to be some
new contenders coming up. There's going to be that little gap
right now and then you'll see three or four guys be in line."
The top of the prospect list would appear to be Alexander Gustafsson,
who has a chance to solidify his name as a contender when he
faces Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC on Fox 5 in early
December. There's also Brazilian phenom Glover Teixeira, but
with only his second UFC fight approaching, he would still seem
to be a few fights away from challenging somebody like Jon Jones.
For now, Jones' life will be making sure his arm gets back to
100-percent, and playing the "wa
it and see" game as the UFC tries to find a viable contender
for his return in 2013.
"He kind of cleared it out and now there's this second wave
of guys coming through and it brings up some interesting prospects,"
Kawa stated.
When Jones fights next, he will look to tie Tito Ortiz's record
for UFC light heavyweight title defenses, which currently stands
at five in a row.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Matches
to Make After UFC on Fuel TV 5
By Brian
Knapp
Stefan
Struve now owns nine wins inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Only Frank Mir (14), Cheick Kongo (11) and Andrei Arlovski (10)
have amassed more as full-time heavyweights.
Struve's
latest victory came at the expense of the previously unbeaten
Stipe Miocic in the UFC on Fuel TV 5 headliner on Saturday at
the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England. The towering 24-year-old
Dutchman recovered from a tepid first round and swept away Miocic
with strikes in the second, extending his current winning streak
to four fights.
A
mainstay in the heavyweight division since joining the promotion
at UFC 95 in February 2009, Struve has built a reputation as
one of the sport's most entertaining fighters. Only one of his
12 UFC fights has gone the distance and six of them -- including
all three of his defeats -- have ended inside one round.
Struve
has put himself in position to make a run into the Top 10 at
heavyweight. Some, including Struve himself, have called for
a matchup with two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling
World Championships gold medalist Fabricio Werdum, and while
such a pairing would not draw anyone's ire at this point, it
might be more beneficial for the UFC to bring along the 7-footer
at his current pace. Strange as it sounds, he still has room
to grow.
Other
options are out there. Former Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight
titleholder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira returns from a horrific
arm injury to face the talented but enigmatic Dave Herman at
UFC 153 in two weeks. If "Minotauro" emerges unscathed,
he would serve as a logical next step in Struve's development.
In
the wake of UFC on Fuel TV 5, here are six other matchups that
need to be made:
Stipe
Miocic vs. Antonio Silva-Travis Browne loser: Fed a cold dose
of reality by Struve, Miocic must head back to the drawing board.
How the 30-year-old Strong Style Fight Team representative responds
to his first career defeat will tell the MMA world a lot about
his future. Silva and Browne will toe the line against one another
in the UFC on Fox 5 main event this Friday in Minneapolis. Browne
enters the cage undefeated in 14 professional appearances. "Bigfoot"
was mauled by former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez
in his promotional debut four months ago.
Dan Hardy vs. Siyar Bahadurzada: Hardy ran circles around "The
Ultimate Fighter" Season 7 winner Amir Sadollah, adding
unexpected takedowns to his trusted standup attack. He let the
left hook fly, but elbows on the ground were his most productive
weapons against Sadollah. Hardy has done much to rehabilitate
his image in wake of a four-fight losing streak that nearly resulted
in his being cut by the UFC. Bahadurzada dazzled in his Octagon
debut in April, as he knocked out Paulo Thiago in 42 seconds.
Injuries have kept the Afghan knockout artist on the shelf ever
since.
Brad
Pickett vs. Michael McDonald: Pickett lived up to his "One
Punch" moniker, as he wiped Yves Jabouin with a right uppercut
in the first round of their bantamweight showcase. The 34-year-old
American Top Team representative has won 12 of his last 14 fights,
losing only to current interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao
and perennial contender Scott Jorgensen. Still just 21 years
of age, McDonald has emerged as one of MMA's most promising fighters
at any weight. On an eight fight winning streak, he has not competed
since he knocked out Miguel Torres at UFC 145 in April.
Matt
Wiman vs. Mark Bocek-Rafael dos Anjos winner: Is there a lightweight
on the UFC roster more underrated than Wiman? The 29-year-old
Oklahoman won for the fifth time in his past six outings, submitting
the previously undefeated Paul Sass with a first-round armbar
in Nottingham. Wiman, who competed on Season 5 of "The Ultimate
Fighter," has quietly compiled a 9-4 mark within what many
consider to be the UFC's deepest division. Bocek will lock horns
with fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt dos Anjos at UFC 154
in November in a bout between two men on two-fight winning streaks.
John
Hathaway vs. Aaron Simpson-Mike Pierce winner: Hathaway may lack
the pure physical ability one looks for in a star, but he makes
up for it with hard-nosed determination. Now 7-1 in the UFC,
the 25-year-old London Shootfighters export has responded to
his disappointing defeat to Mike Pyle at UFC 120 with three consecutive
wins. John Maguire was his latest victim. Hathaway figures to
soon see an increase in the level of competition. Simpson and
Pierce, two brutish and experienced wrestlers, will do battle
at UFC on FX 5 on Friday.
Che
Mills vs. Seth Baczynski: Mills dominated Duane Ludwig during
their brief encounter, which closed in anticlimactic fashion
when "Bang" suffered an apparent knee injury. It was
the sixth win in seven appearances for the 30-year-old Mills,
who showed no ill effects from his technical knockout loss to
Rory MacDonald in April. Baczynski, meanwhile, has been posturing
for higher-profile bouts. He has won his past six fights, including
a first-round knockout against Simeon Thoresen at UFC 152 on
Sept. 22.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Forrest
Griffin didn't take Dana White's call for his retirement personally
By Dave
Doyle
Back
in August, UFC president Dana White had pointed words for two
former world champions, as he said Matt Hughes and Forrest Griffin
should consider retirement. At least one of the ex-titleholders
isn't taking his boss's words personally. On Monday's edition
of The MMA Hour, Griffin, the former light heavyweight champion,
told MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani that he saw White's words
as a motivational tool.
"I took it as my own personal 'Do you want to be a f----
fighter?' speech," Griffin said.
The way Griffin figures it, his knack for straight talk has been
misinterpreted.
Since defeating Quinton "Rampage" Jackson for the title
at UFC 86, the Las Vegas resident is 3-3 in the Octagon. Rather
than sugarcoat things and say he plans on another run at the
title, Griffin is more comfortable calling it like he sees it:
Another title run might not be in his future, but he can still
fight.
"That's the problem with being a realist," Griffin
said. "People don't want that s---. They want you to say
'I'm the best ever.' My wife summed it up best for me. She said,
'You ever hear one of those movie stars on the late night say
'It's a pretty good movie. It's not the best movie out there
right now, but it's a pretty good movie.' You know? Nobody goes,
'I'm a top 10 fighter. Well, maybe Top 15. I can beat a lot of
guys.' ... Nobody ever says that. That's the thing with having
a grasp on reality. I know I'm not the best."
Indeed, just weeks after White blurted out his desire to see
Griffin retire, the UFC came to Griffin and offered him a bout
against Chael Sonnen, which is expected to go down on Dec. 29
but hasn't yet been officially announced.
"Chael asked for it, from my understanding," Griffin
said. "He asked for it. I think I was the first one to pop
and and say 'sure.' I didn't even say 'sure,' I said 'When. When
and where?'"
The bout with Sonnen is a rematch. The two first met in 2003,
in the first round of a one-night tournament in Colorado ultimately
won by Renato Sobral. Griffin defeated Sonnen via first-round
triangle choke, though he claimed not to understand what it meant
when Sonnen was billed as a wrestler.
"I thought wrestling was the stuff where people jumped off
ropes," Griffin said. "So that was my experience with
wrestling. He's a wrestler. Is he going to, like, flying elbow
me? Is he going to do an atomic bomb drop or something?"
Nine years later, Griffin thinks Sonnen's style remains a solid
matchup.
"I think its stylistically a good matchup for me,"
he said. "I honestly, the thing that's been getting me in
trouble are guys that are quicker than me and beating me to the
punch with something I don't see coming. That's the problem I've
had recently."
Of course, Sonnen knows a lot can happen between now and fight
day. He nearly lost out on the fight date when Sonnen was offered
a short-notice bout against Jon Jones, one which Jones turned
down.
"He kind of runs around saying, 'Hey, I want to fight you,
I want to fight you, I want to fight you,'" Griffin said.
"If something comes up, I'll fight whoever on Dec. 29. That's
not true, I won't fight whoever. I'm actually keeping a laundry
list of people I want to fight and people I don't want to fight."
Griffin quickly added "I'm not going to divulge who's on
what list."
So as Griffin gets down to business -- Monday marked the start
of his 12 weeks of fight prep -- he's back to doing the only
thing he knows how, whether or not White still wants him around.
"I just love fighting," Griffin said. "I know
I'm not the best, but I'm still pretty good, there's a lot of
people I can still beat. What do you do. What else am I supposed
to do? I have no other skills. I enjoy doing this. There's nothing
I'd really rather do, you know?"
Source: MMA Fighting
|
How
a Renzo Gracie Student Grew Up to Be the Newest Big Bad on Sons
of Anarchy
by Damon
Martin
Sons of Anarchy actor Harold Perrineau and the world of mixed
martial arts go back a long, long way.
Years before Perrineau made it on hit TV shows like the FX outlaw
biker drama, or his turn as Michael Dawson on the ABC series
'Lost', he was a dancer making his way through musicals after
growing up in Brooklyn.
It was through that medium that he first discovered martial arts.
"Many, many years ago I studied Kung-Fu. I used to be a
dancer and then an easy transition for me was studying martial
arts, and I studied Kung-Fu. I kind of liked the fluidity of
it. Then back in the day I started reading magazines about this
MMA thing and I was like what's that?" Perrineau told MMAWeekly
Radio in a recent interview.
"I would read like Inside Kung-Fu and all these other things
and it just started growing and growing and growing. Then the
first UFC came on with Royce Gracie, and I was like 'oh snap
what's that?' so while I didn't follow all the UFC's, I certainly
did watch the first couple of years."
From the dance world, Perrineau then transitioned into acting
where he scored roles in the The Matrix sequels as well as a
turn on the popular HBO prison drama 'Oz'.
While he wasn't following along with every UFC event that happened,
he did manage to mix in some training along the way that included
a stop at Renzo Gracie's academy in New York City. Once Perrineau
moved to Los Angeles to further pursue his acting career, his
ties to the Gracie family didn't stop however.
Perrineau began working with Renzo Gracie black belt Shawn Williams,
who was at the time only the fifth American to receive a black
belt from the famous trainer and instructor.
"I trained over at Renzo Gracie's school for a little while
in New York City doing jiu-jitsu. He is great and I started training
with one of his first black belts, Shawn Williams, here in Los
Angeles until I messed up my knee and I couldn't keep doing it,"
Perrineau stated.
The injury prevented him from going back to grappling full-time,
but despite his busy work schedule which now includes a turn
as the new villain on the popular FX show 'Sons of Anarchy',
he still finds time to go back to his martial arts roots.
"I bought myself a grappling dummy, a submission dummy,
so I have it in my back house and I go out there and I work with
it all the time," said Perrineau.
The long time grappling and MMA fan got an even bigger surprise
a few weeks ago at the Sons of Anarchy premiere. Without even
realizing it, Perrineau discovered that he was now part of the
FX family, which also hosts the UFC for shows like the Ultimate
Fighter.
His fanhood has now been reignited after rubbing elbows with
some of the UFC's best and brightest.
"At the opening of Sons of Anarchy, Dana White was there
with a bunch of people, Big Country Roy Nelson, Brendan Schaub,
Shane Carwin was there, Ronda Rousey was there, I was having
a great time. I forgot I was on an FX show so I could probably
have access some of those fights. I forgot about it until that
night and then I was like I'm going to a fight!" said Perrineau.
Beyond his own love of MMA, Perrineau joins a cast of actors
who are already becoming mainstays at UFC events. Fellow co-star
Theo Rossi has become one of the biggest UFC supporters of the
last year, as well as 'Sons of Anarchy' bad boy Kim Coates.
"It's turned out to be a great role for me and they're really
accepting there at Sons of Anarchy about me stepping in and being
new to the cast. They've been really, really great," said
Perrineau.
His role on Sons of Anarchy has already gotten critical acclaim
with Perrineau being the main antagonist for the rebel motorcycle
club in season five of the show. In his debut performance, Perrineau's
character Damon Pope set fire to someone, and by the third episode
he was the cause of the death of one of the major characters
on the show.
Perrineau promises that his chilling role will continue as season
5 rolls on, and it's only going to worse from here.
"Without giving away anything, he's definitely a different
character. It was really interesting when I got the gig, and
people asked me if I knew how to ride bikes, and if I looked
really cool on a bike, and I said 'you won't see Damon Pope on
a bike'. When you do see Damon Pope you'll know why," said
Perrineau.
"So this is a different kind of monster for SAMCRO and it's
going to be tough for them to deal with him. All I can say after
the first episode is it just gets worse."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Peter
Dabbene (guest op-ed): Jon Jones and the Troubles of "Adversity"
By Zach
Arnold
Peter
Dabbene is a writer of short stories, novels, graphic novels,
and plays; he is a reviewer and a columnist, and yes, a poet
(but a tough one). His website is http://www.peterdabbene.com.
I once liked Jon Jones. Really. Back during his first fights,
it was exciting to project how far the UFC's next rising star
might go. But of course, I felt the same way about Brandon Vera
early in his career, so I tried to temper my expectations. As
we all know, Jones continued to win, eventually earning the UFC
Light Heavyweight Championship.
There were flashes of trouble along the way, though-what often
seemed like false and ingratiating humbleness, combined with
behind the scenes issues, notably the supposed promise not to
fight Rashad Evans. Whether the blame for that fiasco ultimately
lay with Jones, or MMA puppeteer Greg Jackson, it didn't look
good. Then there was the simple fact that Jones's raw physical
advantages made him difficult for any fighter in his category.
Yes, he trained hard, but when your reach is longer than anyone
else in your division, you should be an effective striker.
At this point, Jones simply became a fighter I rooted against.
Then came the DWI. Regrettably, DWIs and athletes have become
a common pairing, but there's a big difference between someone
faltering after clearly presenting himself as a role model, like
Jones, and someone like Chael Sonnen, who, with his history of
performance-enhancing drugs, money laundering, and perjury, is
clearly known as a dirt bag. Let's not forget that Jones himself
set up his own fall in April 2012 by saying, "You never
have to worry about me with a DWI or doing something crazy."
After his skills as a prophet were disproven, Jones made the
obligatory apologies, but there were also hints of a persecution
complex when he told the media, "It has literally been sickening
to have so many people try to kick me while I'm down."
Sorry, Jon. We'll try to do better for you.
On the heels of the DWI came UFC 151. Or rather, the absence
of UFC 151. Jones refused to face Sonnen as a last-minute replacement,
using every excuse available, starting with "it wasn't enough
time to prepare," which was later modified to a self-serving
speech about his responsibilities to his family and his camp,
and then, finally, an obvious attempt to rewrite history, claiming
that he had decided that Chael Sonnen simply didn't deserve a
shot at the title, in large part because of the comments he had
made about Brazilians, which, Jones said, reminded him of his
own experiences with racial discrimination growing up in a predominantly
white neighborhood.
What?
If Sonnen offended Jones that much, why not go beat him up in
the Octagon? Compare Jones's behavior with Anderson Silva, who,
aside from shutting Sonnen's mouth by defeating him, later volunteered
to step up and fight another UFC light heavyweight on eight days'
notice to fill the UFC 151 main event void. (Apparently Silva
didn't want to fight Jones because Silva respects him too much…
hopefully Anderson sees this column and changes his mind soon.)
After wiggling out of a sure P.R. guillotine by playing the race
card, Jones wasn't done trying to control every who, what, where,
when, and how of his career. He tried to distract fans from the
UFC 151 debacle by blaming the UFC for not giving fans "full
cards"… but it would have been a pretty full card if
one of the fights was for the Light Heavyweight Championship,
wouldn't it, Jon?
Jones also rejected the idea of a rematch with Lyoto Machida
because, quote:
"Lyoto was my lowest draw. Why would I want to fight someone
where it's a lose-lose situation? I won't make money on it. And
he's a tricky fighter."
Even if Jones wouldn't make as much money fighting Machida, if
he's the top contender, what's the excuse? Would Jones prefer
the UFC bring back 49 year old (but still popular) Randy Couture
for a title fight, thus giving Jones an acceptable low-fight
risk/high-financial reward combination? Or is he also too "tricky"?
Even after all of that, Jones's UFC 152 pre-fight interviews
were truly amazing-and not in a good way. Jones put such a positive
spin on his DWI, you'd almost think he was endorsing drinking
and driving as a fun, easy way to clean the slate of a troubled
past. Jones said that it's "freed" him from UFC fan
expectations, and that all of this "adversity" has
made him a better person.
Really, Jon? A better person, for ducking fights and relishing
your screw-ups? Jones has obviously drunk too much of Greg Jackson's
special brand of Kool-Aid; "adversity" implies bad
luck, things happening beyond your control-injuries, a death
in the family. What's happened to Jon Jones isn't "adversity"…
it's called "making bad decisions." I figured that
at least now, UFC fans would let Jones hear their disapproval
when he finally faced Vitor Belfort, who apparently is enough
of a good, moral guy for Jones to agree to fight him.
The final pre-fight interviews feature a constipated look on
Dana White's face whenever the champ is mentioned. Then, finally,
the moment arrives-Jones emerges at UFC 152. There is a scattering
of boos, but not as much as I expected. I enjoy Jones' chastisement
by referee John McCarthy, after Jones complains about Belfort's
attempted kick during Jones' ridiculous gorilla-crawl into the
center of the Octagon. The fight goes on, Belfort comes close,
but Jones is better, and wins. The crowd mostly cheers. Then,
at the end of the broadcast, Mike Goldberg refers to the two
fighters and actually says, "If you want a role model for
your son or daughter, those aren't bad choices." I have
no problem saying that about Belfort, but Jon Jones?
Unfortunately, it looks like Jones's P.R. game is working-either
that, or Greg Jackson's been spiking the drinks of UFC fans everywhere.
Maybe there's still hope that fans see through the illusion.
Of the 16,800 attendees at Air Canada Centre for UFC 152, 40%
of them didn't pay for the privilege. How many will pay next
time? Unless he fights someone like Silva or a heavyweight who
can challenge him physically, this could be an indicator of future
Jones cards. If Jon Jones does go the way of Alex Rodriguez and
other athletes we love to hate, could we see a battle for most
disliked fighter between Jones and Sonnen? Or better yet, some
WWE-style reversals, with Jones embracing his inner jerk and
Sonnen turning over a new leaf? It's starting to look like Sonnen's
big mouth will get him the next fight against Jones-and I, for
one, will be rooting for the dirtbag.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Vinny
explains armbar, calls for Hamill and absolves Belfort: "Talking
from the sidelines is easy"
Having
gotten cut from the UFC after back-to-back losses in 2009, Vinny
"Pezão" Magalhães filtered through a
few smaller events before arriving at M-1 Global, where he settled
in as the promotion's light heavyweight champion. Making his
return to the major league at UFC 152 on the 22nd of last month,
the Jiu-Jitsu black belt tapped out Croatia's Igor Porkrajac
with an armbar 1:14 minutes into the second round. In an exclusive
interview with GRACIEMAG.com, Vinny takes a look at the fight,
explains what his next step in the UFC will be, discusses his
training partner Chael Sonnen, and much more.
GRACIEMAG.com: How would you classify your UFC return?
VINNY MAGALHÃES: Everything went just as I'd expected
it would. My coaches and I put together a good game plan and
did a good job of studying my opponent. When I entered the octagon,
at no point was I nervous. After all, I already knew what I had
to do to win. The fight went in my favor the whole time. I didn't
run into any trouble at all. The only moment that was perhaps
rough was when I lost that attempted armbar, because I could
have ended the fight sooner.
Describe that armbar in detail.
When he took me down, I started working on a triangle as soon
as we hit the canvas. However, as he was pressing me up against
the fencing, I couldn't find the room to sink the triangle. So
I decided to transition to the armbar. I do that move a lot,
especially when I'm pressed up against the cage.
What was your training for Igor Pokrajac like?
I did my training in group at Xtreme Couture but did the intensive
part of my training with Mark Beecher, who's my Thai boxing coach,
and I also had the help of Vini Aieta, my Jiu-Jitsu teacher,
closer to fight time. Vini was important in that he kept me calm
when the fight went to the ground. After all, he's coached me
since I was 15. I have faith in his instructions.
Do you maintain contact with Chael Sonnen?
Yes, he gave me plenty of support throughout the entire week
of the fight. He was concerned about my making weight, asked
how my head was for the fight, and he totally encouraged me.
We also spoke after the fight.
You watched the main event of the evening. What did you think
Vitor Belfort needed to do to tap out Jon Jones?
Hard to say. It's easy to point out mistakes from the sidelines,
but only Vitor can say what was missing for him to finish. I
myself, in my fight, made a technical mistake that cost me going
another round. So I don't feel I should judge or nitpick about
what he might have done. Were I in his place, I'd probably have
gone for the same type of spinning armbar I did in my fight,
since it would break Jon Jones's posture and I'd have more hip
pressure. But like I said, it's always a lot easier to have opinions
when you're on the outside.
What's your goal in the UFC now?
To win more fights. That's all I'm concerned about at the moment.
My overall record isn't the best, but at least I've got a good
winning streak going. My UFC record's still in the red [1w, 2l],
so my primary goal is to change the numbers. I have another three
fights on this contract. I hope to win them all; that way my
UFC record will be 4w, 2l. After that I'll look at loftier objectives.
One fight I think would be interesting at the moment would be
with Matt Hamill, since both of us are coming off wins, we've
got similar records, plus our last fights were at the same UFC.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
The
rise and fall and rise of Frank Shamrock
By Mike
Chiappetta
When Frank Shamrock puts his life in perspective, he does it
by saying that he lives "in a very special world,"
an expression that sums up his fascinating 39-year existence
on the earth. His childhood was so bad that he hardly remembers
any of it. One point of his life saw him so hard on his luck
that he was literally eating food out of garbage cans. But when
he had the opportunity for a better life, he embraced it and
never let go. Mixed martial arts was partly his salvation, and
Shamrock rode the sport to riches and success, becoming one of
the sport's early pioneers and best known names.
Because
of MMA's role in turning his life around, Shamrock holds the
sport dear, even when it doesn't love him the same way he loves
it. And recently, he hasn't quite been feeling his affection
returned. When the UFC's parent company bought Strikeforce in
March 2011, it marked a depressing time for Shamrock, who had
invested time and energy in helping to build the brand.
In
fact, that simple business transaction between the two companies
turned out to be at least one factor in Shamrock's recent struggle
with alcoholism. Even though he acknowledges that it's not fair
to lay the blame on two sides doing business, he can't deny its
role as a contributing factor.
Shamrock made the admission in his new book, "Uncaged: My
Life as a Champion MMA Fighter," released on Monday, and
in a Monday interview on The MMA Hour, he discussed it further.
"I
can't pin my drinking issues on the sale of Strikeforce,"
he said. "It's a genetic disease I've been fighting my whole
life. But that was certainly the pinnacle of coming to the realization
I shouldn't be out drinking. But I think it's because I fought
so hard, and we had fought so hard against the unbeatable adversary,
the UFC. I had so much personally invested in the vision or the
dream or the chance of Strikeforce. It was my whole life. I didn't
have another life. That's all that I did. This whole experience
and journey saved my life. It was a dark day. It was honestly
a dark day when it was sold."
While
at that time, Shamrock was best known as a Strikeforce commentator
on the Showtime broadcasts, he said he was much more deeply invested
in the promotion than that surface role. He was a spokesman,
a brand consultant, and previously, he was a main event headliner.
Because
of that hard work and his long-strained relationship with the
UFC, he took pride in the small promotion's quick rise as some
of their individual events began to rival those of their Las
Vegas-based rival. Yet on one surprising day, that was all gone,
leaving him in a new, unfamiliar situation.
"The
intention was right," he said. "The sport came together
to create Strikeforce. Scott [Coker] provided the opportunity
and I had a few years left to throw in the cage. But it will
never happen again. That moment is gone. I think that's the toughest
thing for me to accept, that the moment is gone."
Shamrock
says that after the company changed hands, he found himself with
more time. And where he was once involved in business meetings
and charting the future, he was suddenly out "golfing and
drinking all day."
"I
always thought that the barrier of me not being an alcoholic
or having problems was not wrecking a car, killing somebody or
drunk driving, " he said. "I thought if you weren't
doing that, you were just fine. It turns out, I had a problem
for years."
Shamrock
has since addressed the problem through sobriety meetings, and
while he still works for Showtime as an analyst, he admits that
it's not easy for him to look at a company he helped build struggling
under new management. But it's not because of who's running it,
but because of what they have done to it.
"Strikeforce
is alive. It has a great soul but they've been picking the soul
out of it and taking the talent out if it, and now it's a shell,"
he said. "It could definitely be rebuilt. Strikeforce was
amazing. The idea of it still has value but the way it's being
treated, they're plucking all the value out of it."
The
likely outcome in his opinion is that all of Strikeforce's talent
will be swallowed up by the UFC and the brand will disappear.
That,
of course, would lead to a situation where his place in the MMA
landscape would be undetermined. Because the first-ever UFC light-heavyweight
champion still has a strained relationship with the management
at Zuffa, it's unlikely that he has a future there. Regardless,
he says he still "absolutely loves" MMA and hopes to
continue on in some role.
For
now though, he is exploring different opportunities. Aside from
writing the book, he is immersing himself in studying acting
and working on a screenplay about his life story. He's taking
on other commentating gigs, and has other business ventures completely
outside of sports and entertainment.
The
up-and-down life of Frank Shamrock made it through its last valley,
and regardless of what the MMA world has in store for him, he
says that life is looking back up.
"I
used to live on the streets," he said. "I ended up
in a prison. I've had the worst life you could ever imagine,
and now I'm living the best life you could ever imagine. I mean,
I rarely leave my house unless a limo pulls up. The world I live
in is vastly different than what other people are living in.
It's a dream."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
10
October Tussles Worth Watching
By Tim
Leidecker
Age
is the name of the game in October.
Ever
since the ageless Randy Couture taught us age was just a number,
more and more athletes seem willing to compete into their late
30s and early 40s. 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 -- shines its spotlight
on a number of bouts between martial artists in their primes
and grizzled warhorses. What will prevail, youth or experience,
athleticism or tactical skill, vigor or sophistication?
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.
Ultimate Fighting Championship , Strikeforce and Bellator Fighting
Championships cards are excluded by design.
Shinya
Aoki vs. Arnaud Lepont
One FC 6 "Rise of Kings" | Oct. 6 -- Kallang, Singapore
Aoki
has finally arrived under the One Fighting Championship banner.
"Tobikan Judan" recognized the signs of the times and
in 2011 joined Evolve MMA, which has close ties to One FC. With
his longtime home promotion Dream closing up shop in June, his
move to the current superpower of Asian MMA became a formality.
In true Japanese matchmaking fashion, he gets to debut in a huge
mismatch against little-known Frenchman Lepont.
Jessica
Penne vs. Naho Sugiyama
Invicta FC 3 "Penne vs. Sugiyama" | Oct. 6 -- Kansas
City, Kan.
MMA's
premier female promotion, Invicta Fighting Championships, has
done it again and produced another remarkable main event. California's
Penne looks to take the tag of world's number one atomweight
fighter from Japan's Sugiyama. The undefeated "Sugi Rock"
has ruled the Jewels promotion, winning its 2011 grand prix by
beating Kikuyo Ishikawa and Misaki Takimoto on the same night.
Penne, meanwhile, aims to build on a third-round stoppage of
fellow Bellator veteran Lisa Ellis at Invicta's inaugural event
in April.
Ilir
Latifi vs. Jorge Oliveira
Superior Challenge 8 "Malmo" | Oct. 6 -- Malmo, Sweden
It
was not easy being Latifi over the past couple weeks. Ever since
the powerful Swedish wrestler was chosen to headline the next
Superior Challenge event, he saw one opponent after another bow
out. Originally, he was supposed to meet two-time Abu Dhabi Combat
Club Submission World Championships gold medalist Jeff Monson.
Then Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder D.J. Linderman
stepped in. Finally, Oliveira took the fight. "Van Damme"
has been away from the game for 20 months, but whenever the Chute
Boxe export has fought, he has been highly competitive.
Katsunori Kikuno vs. Yasuaki Kishimoto
Deep 60 Impact | Oct. 19 -- Tokyo
MMA
in Japan is not dead; it continues to exist, just without the
bright lights and jumbo screens. The main refuge for most ex-Dream
talent has been busy Nagoya promotion Deep. Already arriving
at its 60th numbered event -- in addition to more than 120 others
-- its eccentric boss, Shigeru Saeki, remains one of the main
pacemakers for the sport in the "Land of the Rising Sun."
It may not be the main event, but the marquee matchup of Deep's
anniversary show pits the organization's former lightweight champion,
Kikuno, against hungry challenger Kishimoto.
Joseph
Henle vs. Elvis Mutapcic
MFC 35 "Explosive Encounter" | Oct. 26 -- Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada
"The
Ultimate Fighter" Season 11 participant Henle has enjoyed
some success since his appearance on the reality show, reeling
off five straight wins with one draw. Most recently, he stopped
Canadian warhorse Luke Harris' 10-fight undefeated streak with
a barrage of punches in less than two minutes. His next opponent,
Mutapcic, promises to be an even tougher challenge. "The
King," a Sarajevo, Bosnia, native who now trains and fights
out of Des Moines, Iowa, has put on one dominant performance
after the next throughout his career. In 2011, he knocked out
"The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil" winner Cezar "Mutante"
Ferreira in just 25 seconds.
Rosi
Sexton vs. Sheila Gaff
Cage Warriors FC 49 | Oct. 27 -- Cardiff, Wales
It
looks to be a great month for female MMA enthusiasts, with Invicta
FC's latest event, an all-female Brace for War show in Southport,
Australia, and this battle for the vacant Cage Warriors Fighting
Championship super flyweight title. Young German Gaff has drawn
comparisons to former Strikeforce champion Cristiane "Cyborg"
Santos in wake of her violent demolitions of Hanna Sillen, Aisling
Daly and Jennifer Maia. The results prompted Sexton, the elder
stateswoman of mixed martial arts in the United Kingdom, to request
testing for their bout. For the first time in MMA history, a
non-UFC fight will be overseen by the independent Voluntary Anti-Doping
Association.
Ricky
Shivers vs. Tony Lopez
King of the Cage "Gun Show" | Oct. 25 -- Highland,
Calif.
After
dispatching Cody East and Jason Walraven in the first two defenses
of his King of the Cage heavyweight title, Lopez gets to dance
with the last opponent to stop him: Shivers. The 27-year-old
Texan has been in outstanding form lately, winning five of his
last six fights; Shivers even traveled to Moscow for his international
debut in December. Both fighters possess great size and mobility
as heavyweights, and they have proven proficient at ending their
fights by knockout and submission.
David
Aranda vs. Olivier Pastor
On Top 6 "Aranda vs. Pastor" | Oct. 6 -- Glasgow, Scotland
Scottish
promotion On Top continues to churn out quality events for a
passionate Glasgow crowd, featuring some of the best domestic
fighters, as well as top European imports. This month, European
Top 10 bantamweight Aranda will battle Cage Warriors veteran
Pastor. Aranda originally comes from a kickboxing background
but has developed a nice submission game in recent years. Pastor
can only be described as an athlete who is super durable, dedicated
and dangerous at all distances.
Marcus
Aurelio vs. Valdir Araujo
CFA 8 "Araujo vs. Aurelio" | Oct. 6 -- Coral Gables,
Fla.
Florida's
Championship Fighting Alliance has seen a number of known fighters
pass through its doors, including Yoislandy Izquierdo, Efrain
Escudero and Gesias Cavalcante. The promotion's eighth event
will feature an all-Brazilian main event between UFC castaway
Aurelio and Bellator veteran Araujo. "Maximus" remains
best known for being the first man to submit Takanori Gomi during
his heyday, while "BBMonster" has become feared as
a dangerous puncher who has stopped several solid opponents with
strikes.
Joe
Muir vs. Chris Lokteff
Nitro MMA 7 | Oct. 20 -- Brisbane, Australia
At
the other end of the world, talented Australian knockout artist
Muir will try to bounce back from the first back-to-back defeats
of his career when he takes on undefeated slugger Lokteff. Although
"Massacre" Muir has faced tougher and more experienced
competition, one has to notice "Igor" Lokteff's impressive
streak of finishing all of his fights by knockout, seven of them
inside the first round. The winner of this light heavyweight
battle seems destined to challenge Priscus Fogagnolo for the
right to be considered the top 205-pound Australian not currently
signed by the UFC.
Source
Sherdog
|
TUF
Brasil 2 Tryouts on October 14; Season Debuts on TV in March
in Brazil
by Press
Release
The Ultimate Fighting Championship will be hosting a casting
call for the second Brazilian edition of its long-running reality
series, The Ultimate Fighter, on Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, in Rio
de Janeiro. Season 2 will feature lightweight (155 pounds) and
welterweight (170 pounds) fighters.
All TUF Brasil 2 candidates must be between the ages of 18 and
35 and have a minimum of three professional mixed martial arts
fights - holding a winning record (with verifiable records on
mixedmartialarts.com and sherdog.com). Former UFC fighters are
not eligible. Any and all costs associated with attending the
tryouts are the sole responsibility of the candidate.
Applications may be completed online at http://br.ufc.com/tuf-application-brasil
prior to the tryouts or printed and brought to the event. Event
details are provided below:
Where:
Hotel Windsor, Av. Lucio Costa, 2630 - Barra da Tijuca
When:
Sunday, October 14, 2012*
Registration begins at 7:00 AM BRT
Fighters will be required to grapple and hit pads and must bring
appropriate gear - MMA gloves, hand wraps, mouth guard, athletic
supporter (cup) and shin guards.
*Applicants will be notified at the end of the tryouts if they
have been selected to continue on in the casting process. If
selected, applicants must be prepared to stay in Rio de Janeiro
until October 17 to undergo medical and toxicology tests. Accommodations
for the extended stay will be paid for by the UFC.
Lightweights were most recently featured on TUF Live, where Michael
Chiesa emerged as season winner; while welterweights were last
featured on TUF season 13, the title captured by Tony Ferguson.
TUF, which debuted in 2005, has launched the careers of more
than 100 UFC fighters and has produced past champions such as
Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, Michael Bisping and Nate Diaz.
TUF Brasil 2 is expected to debut on Globo in March 2013. Coaches
have not yet been announced.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
 |
Dan
Hardy credits Carlos Condit loss for improvement as a fighter
Dan Hardy didn't rely on his striking to get by Amir Sadollah
in Nottingham, England. He demonstrated a personal and professional
growth by incorporating a well-rounded offensive skill set to
earn a unanimous decision win over the season 7 'The Ultimate
Fighter' winner.
Dan Hardy relished the opportunity to compete in his hometown
of Nottingham, England. But he didn't bring home the Hardy that
earned fame from wild brawls or the 'kill or be killed attitude'
of reckless striking exchanges. According to Hardy himself, that
version of himself is gone. He hasn't been seen since losing
to Carlos Condit at UFC 120 in October of 2010.
"The
old Dan Hardy got knocked out by Carlos Condit," Hardy said
at the post-fight press conference for UFC on FUEL TV 5.
And
the new Hardy? He doesn't engage in dangerous striking exchanges
for the sake of entertaining the crowd or to offer opponents
a dance partner in the tango of senseless brawling.
Sure,
he still feels the urge to do those things and admitted as much
to the media on Saturday. He heard his name being chanted by
the crwod in the first round of his bout with Amir Sadollah.
That got his adrenaline pumping and ignited his old instincts
to sit down on his punches to prove he was the 'better' man.
But
something else told him not to. A new instinct, maybe.
Call
it maturity. Call it a new attitude. Call it a fresh perspective.
Whatever you call it, it helped guide Hardy to a unanimous decision
win over Sadollah. More importantly, the win came from a performance
that saw Hardy use his striking as well as newly developed offensive
wrestling and ground and pound skills honed since training in
Las Vegas, Nev., with Roy Nelson and Frank Mir.
The
win over Sadollah brings Hardy's UFC win streak to two. But the
numbers are irrelevant. It's the complexion of the fight that
matters and it what says about the new Hardy. No longer one to
complain about the perils of those who hold wrestling advantages
in MMA, Hardy now recognizes how vital a complete offensive arsenal
is to his future.
Everyone
seemed to notice just how radical the departure was for Hardy
on Saturday, not least of which was the head of the organization
he is fighting for.
"Dan
Hardy looked like a mixed martial artist tonight," said
UFC President Dana White at the post-fight press conference.
"He didn't look like a kickboxer."
While
less so in the first frame, Hardy paraded his new abilities in
the second and third rounds. Using double leg takedowns against
the cage and in the center of the Octagon, Hardy routinely took
Sadollah to the mat. From there he avoided Sadollah's submissions
while battering him with elbows and punches from top position.
In fact, it was these moments that presented Hardy as his most
dominant throughout the contest. He won a unanimous decision,
earning a 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 mark from the evening's judges.
As
for what's next, Hardy himself is non-committal. The old Hardy
would hold a focus on the grandeur of what's possible too down
the line, causing him to not fail against his most present challenges.
"It's a deep division," Hardy said. "I made the
mistake of looking too far ahead in the past. Now I'm just focused
on my journey."
He
told those in attendance at the press conference he is happy
to take whoever the UFC gives him as he worried more about fixing
his own issues and developing his own progress than challenging
any particular fighter in the hopes of some grandiose future
prize that may never come.
Whatever
one thinks of his internal focus, it seems to have finally righted
his once flagging career. After four consecutive losses that
had some fans and pundits calling for Hardy to be released from
the UFC, the Brit seems to understand not simply what skills
are required for success at the highest level but the accompanying
attitude as well.
"He
seems like his head is in a good place. He's with a good camp,"
White said. "We'll see what happens."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Stefan
Struve Feels He’s a Win or Two Away From Title Shot; Wants
to Fight Fabricio Werdum
Heavyweights
Stefan Struve and Stipe Miocic took the center stage on Saturday
at UFC on Fuel TV 5 in Nottingham, England. On this night, Struve
waited patiently for the right opening and capitalized on Miocic
slowing down.
Struve
scored his fourth win in a row by way of stoppage since losing
to Travis Browne. He has now collected wins over the likes of
Lavar Johnson, Pat Barry, Dave Herman and Stipe Miocic.
After
Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez takes place at UFC 155 in
December, there just aren’t a lot of heavyweights in line
for a shot at the title, and with a four-fight winning streak,
Struve makes a strong argument for a shot down the road.
“There’s
not a lot of other guys in the heavyweight division on a four-fight
win streak right now,” Struve said at the UFC on Fuel TV
5 post-fight press conference.
“Four finishes in my last four fights. I believe I won six
of my last seven. I’m not even sure. I think I got 29 pro
wins now, but I think I’m closing in on that, but still,
there’s no rush. I’m 24, imagine what I can do in four
years, but I think I’m a couple of wins away.”
At
24 years old, Struve remains patient amongst the top of the division
because he knows that one day his time will come. Even with standing
in the upper echelon of heavyweights, Struve believes that he’ll
be an even more dominant force as time progresses.
Although
he’s not impatient, Fabricio Werdum is a big name that stands
out in Struve’s mind. He feels that if he did get a shot
at Werdum and defeat him, he’d undoubtedly become next in
line for a title shot.
“I
think for example, Werdum would be an awesome fight for me next
fight. You know, I think I can cope with him on the ground and
I think I can rough him up on the feet.”
UFC
president Dana White, while brimming with compliments for Struve,
wasn’t yet prepared to say what’s next for the tallest
fighter in the Octagon.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Stefan
Struve Battled in the Octagon, While His Father Battles Cancer
“I
think I showed that I am still getting better, stronger in every
fight,” said UFC heavyweight Stefan Struve on Saturday night
following his second-round TKO stoppage of Stipe Miocic.
That’s
true, and it showed in the Octagon at UFC on Fuel TV 5 in Nottingham,
England. Struve, however, has grown a lot stronger, and in a
much deeper way, than most of us watching the fight knew at the
time.
In his post-fight interview on Fuel TV, Struve talked about his
father, who has been stricken by cancer and is fighting a whole
different type of fight.
Fighters
often talk about fighting for their lives in the Octagon, but
Struve’s father truly is in a fight for his life. At seven
feet tall, Struve is a big man, but at 24 years of age, he’s
facing something that will age him well beyond any adversity
he faces in the Octagon.
“My
dad has been dying of cancer for about two months, so this was
for him tonight,” Struve said on Fuel TV. “He is in
his therapy for four weeks now and I heard he is doing well,
but still.”
Anyone
that has faced the harsh reality of cancer or other life-threatening
illnesses is keenly aware of just how difficult being a close
family member or friend can be, but now imagine sequestering
yourself in a fight camp, preparing for the biggest opportunity
of your life while doing so.
“Yeah
it was really tough man,” he said, before adding, “It
was great to get the win, (but) it is good to go home and focus
on that now.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Dana
White Makes Agreement with Jon Jones – No More Talk About
Greg Jackson
Just
a month ago when UFC 151 was cancelled, UFC President Dana White
made his opinion of trainer Greg Jackson known in a very loud
manner.
White
revealed that it was Jackson who advised UFC light heavyweight
champion Jon Jones not to take a fight on short notice against
Chael Sonnen after original opponent Dan Henderson fell out of
the bout due to injury.
Once
the news trickled down to White that Jones wasn’t taking
the fight, and they had no other options, the entire UFC 151
show was cancelled.
Hours
later White called Jackson a ‘sport killer’ and later
stated that UFC 151 would be remembered as the event that Jones
and Jackson ‘murdered’.
Now
weeks later with the aftermath of the UFC 151 cancellation in
the rear view mirror, White has buried the hatchet with his 205lb
champion Jon Jones. The two met prior to Jones’ title defense
at UFC 152, which he won by defeating Vitor Belfort by key lock
just last weekend in Toronto.
White
now says ‘we’re cool’ when speaking about Jones,
but part of their meeting involved the UFC President’s outburst
on his coach Greg Jackson.
While White’s opinion about Jackson’s methods and objectives
may never change, there’s one thing that won’t happen
any longer –you will no longer hear the UFC President say
anything about the guru trainer from New Mexico.
“When
I sat down with Jon Jones and we talked I made a deal with Jon
– so I’m not going to say anything about Greg Jackson,”
said White when speaking to a group of reporters after the UFC
on Fuel 5 show ended.
“I
will keep my big mouth shut about Greg Jackson. That’s part
of my deal with Jones.”
Despite
the deal, don’t expect White to start the ‘Greg Jackson
Fan Club’ any time soon, but the negative comments about
the coach and trainer are over.
“I
think you guys know my opinion and how I feel, it hasn’t
changed,” said White. “I’m just not going to talk
about Greg Jackson.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Matt
Mitrione Turns Down Fight with Daniel Cormier; Rashad Evans Passes
on Glover Teixeira
Short
notice fights are nothing new in the UFC and while some fighters
seize the moment to step up and help out the promotion, other
times the wiser decision if somebody truly isn’t ready is
just to pass and wait for another opportunity.
For
all the fighters that accept short notice fights, there has always
been a laundry list of fighters that pass on those last minute
bouts that we rarely hear about.
With
fighters falling by the wayside almost daily due to injury, more
and more fighters are being asked to step up and fill those vacant
slots.
Recently
former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir fell out of his scheduled
crossover fight to Strikeforce where he was set to face recent
heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier.
The
UFC thought they found a viable replacement in former Ultimate
Fighter competitor Matt Mitrione, but according to UFC President
Dana White he said ‘thanks, but no thanks’.
“I
guess he doesn’t want big opportunities, I get it,”
White said about Mitrione passing on the fight with Cormier in
Strikeforce.
Mitrione
is currently preparing for a bout against Phil De Fries at UFC
155 in December, and recently had been campaigning for a fight
against Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson as well. Unfortunately
White was none too happy that he turned down the fight against
Cormier while openly discussing a fight against a light heavyweight
instead.
“Mitrione’s
not getting any younger,” White said about the heavyweight
fighter.
White
did promise however they would continue to search for a suitable
replacement to step in and face Cormier on the Nov 3 card in
Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, it was also revealed on Saturday that former UFC light
heavyweight champion Rashad Evans was the first call officials
made when they needed a replacement for UFC 153 in Brazil.
According
to Evans, when Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson dropped out
of his scheduled bout against Glover Teixeira due to injury,
the UFC came calling asking him to step in to take the fight.
While
Evans has recently been in the gym coaching fighters like Vitor
Belfort, he hasn’t been in full training mode himself and
he opted to pass on the fight and wait for a chance to return
when he’s back in camp and back in shape.
“They
offered me a fight, but it was against Glover Teixeira and I
only had three weeks to fight and I haven’t been training.
I was like, ‘no way, not with that notice in Brazil.’,”
said Evans.
Evans
said his hope is to return to action later this year, possibly
in December but more likely in January or February.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Dana
White: “I Absolutely, Positively Would Bring Ronda Rousey
Into the UFC”
If
there’s one thing you can say about Strikeforce women’s
bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey it’s that beyond her
undeniable skills inside the cage, she’s becoming quite
the rock star outside of it.
The
one time Olympic medalist has now hit the mainstream with appearances
on shows like Conan O’Brien, and being featured as one of
the most popular covers for this year’s ESPN the Body Issue.
At
the recent Sons of Anarchy premiere for FX, Rousey blended in
well with the celebrities in attendance, and the photographers
just couldn’t enough as she walked the red carpet.
Her
star power is beyond question but it is outshone only by her
devastating ability to put opponents away when she straps on
the gloves and steps inside the cage.
UFC
President Dana White has made no bones about it over the past
year or so – he is a huge fan of Ronda Rousey. White was
actually with Rousey at the Sons of Anarchy premiere and he saw
first hand just how much people are clamoring to get even a few
seconds of time with the Strikeforce women’s champion.
When
it comes to her in cage performances, Rousey is still a contracted
Strikeforce fighter, and in the past White has stated that if
women’s fighting ever comes to the Octagon, it would be
Rousey’s name on the marquee.
Now
he’s making an even stronger statement regarding Rousey’s
future, if the time was ever right for her to make the move into
the Octagon.
“I absolutely, positively would bring Ronda Rousey into
the UFC,” White said when speaking to reporters following
the UFC on Fuel 5 show in England.
The
issue that White has always had with women’s fighting continues
to be a thorn in his side which is his belief that there just
isn’t enough talent to create full fledged divisions in
the UFC for things to stay competitive.
But
White has always kept the door open to ‘super fight’
situations, such as a potential mega-bout between Rousey and
former Strikeforce champion Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos.
“There’s
still some fun fights for Ronda and some of the other women too,
but you’d have to do some one offs,” said White.
If
the timing ever works out and White has his wish, Ronda Rousey
will be in the UFC, and will make history as the first woman
ever to compete inside the Octagon.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 5 Draws Strong Attendance and Live Gate in England
UFC
on Fuel TV 5 marked the promotion’s first time in Nottingham,
England, drawing an attendance of 7,241 fans amounting to a live
gate of $970,000, according to UFC officials at the post-fight
press conference.
It
wasn’t a sellout, but it was a fairly full house in an arena
that holds in the neighborhood of 8,000.
Those
aren’t staggering numbers, but they are very solid of a
UFC on Fuel TV card.
UFC
president Dana White held up the comparison of the Jon Jones
headlined UFC 152 fight card, which drew $1.92 million with 16,900
fans. Those are much larger numbers, but the Fuel TV card in
Nottingham drew well in a new location and with no title fights,
so White was happy.
“We did almost a million-dollar gate (in American dollars),”
said the UFC boss. “It’s a good market over here. There’s
a lot of crazy fans over here. Everywhere we go, the places are
packed.”
The
only UFC on Fuel TV fight card that has drawn pay-per-view type
numbers was UFC on Fuel TV 2 in Sweden. With Swiss fighter Alexander
Gustafsson headlining, that card drew an attendance of 15,428
for a live gate of $2.23 million.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 5 Fighter Bonuses: Brad Pickett Leads the Way with
Knockout of the Night
UFC
president Dana White was very proud of the fight card leading
up to UFC on Fuel TV 5 on Saturday in Nottinham, England.
As
his fighters delivered at Capital FM Arena, White delivered with
his checkbook – to the tune of $40,000 each – for the
athletes that won the UFC on Fuel TV 5 fighter bonuses.
Robert
Peralta probably thought for a while that he may have wrapped
up the Knockout of the Night, but those hopes were most certainly
dashed when Brad Pickett laid Georges St-Pierre teammate Yves
Jabouin out cold.
Jabouin
had been looking good in the fight, landing several hard shots
of his own, but when Pickett struck, one well-timed uppercut
was all it took to lay out Jabouin and collect the $40,000 bonus.
With
several to choose from, the Submission of the Night wasn’t
so clear-cut.
Heading
into UFC on Fuel TV 5, Paul Sass was a favorite to earn the submission
bonus, but it was his opponent, Matt Wiman, that turned the tables.
Not only did Wiman end Sass’ undefeated streak, but he also
pulled off the armbar victory to earn the Submission of the Night.
UFC
heavyweights usually pack a lot of power in their punches, just
by the nature of the mass behind them. That held true in the
main event with seven-foot-tall Stefan Struve and six-foot-four
Stipe Miocic going at each other.
Each
had his moments, landing some heavy punches on the other, but
it was Struve in the second round that finally caught Miocic
with an uppercut that started the dominoes falling. Struve followed
up with several more shots to finish the fight and get the win.
Both
men were impressive enough that UFC officials declared their
bout the Fight of the Night, each going home with a wallet that
was $40,000 fatter.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
New
and Improved, Dan Hardy Says He Still Has a Lot to Work On
Following
a four-fight skid in the UFC and going winless in 2010 and 2011,
Dan Hardy took time off from completion to sharpen his tools.
He has since reeled off back-to-back wins inside the famed Octagon.
We
didn’t see much difference in his knockout win over Duane
Ludwig at UFC 146 in May, but the British brawler is no longer
just a brawler, as he showed in his UFC on Fuel TV 5 win over
Amir Sadollah on Saturday in Nottingham, England.
Hardy
paced himself through the opening round, finding his range and
trying to keep the emotions of fighting in front of his hometown
in check. As the second round began to play out, we saw a new
and improved Hardy. He displayed improved takedown ability, game
planning and a new skillset on the ground.
“I’ve
got these skills now and I’ve been working on them for a
year. I didn’t get to use them in my last fight unfortunately,
so they were a surprise in this one,” said Hardy following
the fight on Fuel TV’s post-show. “I’ve got a
long way to go, though. I’ve got a lot to improve upon.
A lot of the things we’ve been working on in training, I
didn’t get to work tonight. So we’ve got some things
to work on, but a little bit of progress tonight I think.”
The
pressure of fighting at home has its benefits and drawbacks,
but there is no place Hardy enjoys fighting more than Nottingham.
Dan Hardy Gets Call to Duty for UFC: Nottingham
“There are pros and cons to it. If you’re in the hotel,
you feel like you’re at work all week, whereas, obviously,
if you’re at home you have to remind yourself to switch
up when it’s time,” he said.
“It
was great. I’ve been wanting to come back to the U.K. for
a while and fight and obviously Nottingham is the ideal venue
for me. I’ve got a lot of support here and the fans are
so passionate and this arena has a lot of good memories for me.”
Many
fighters who drop four fights in a row in the UFC get served
their walking papers, but the organization took a chance on the
popular and exciting fighter and no one appreciates it more than
Hardy.
“First
and foremost, I’m a huge UFC fan. I love this organization
and to come out and fight for the UFC fans is at least just an
honor. It’s something that I’ll remember for the rest
of my life and I’ll always dig my heels in and fight my
best for them,” he said.
And
that’s why Hardy remained when so many others haven’t…
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Vitor
Belfort lost a week’s training in preparing for Jon Jones
Vitor
Belfort slipped onto the UFC 152 card at the last minute to give
champion Jon Jones a worthy opponent after the ill-fated UFC
151 was a no-go.
It
was by a hair, though, that the fight that fell from the heavens
into Vitor’s lap didn’t end up nosediving to hell.
Vitor
by no means wanted put his fans and bosses through any more frustrations.
And after the fight, he tried to keep mum about it to not sound
like he was coming up with excuses. But it happened nonetheless:
About
two weeks before the fight, Belfort was at his Florida training
camp at Blackzilians team, working with some wrestlers to get
him up to speed to handle the light heavyweight king’s takedowns.
So
Vitor got clutched around the waist, tried defending but succumbed
to a picture-perfect supplex. The Brazilian tried landing as
best he could but felt something pop out of place. The pain that
followed signaled something was amiss.
Following
immediate medical attention, the verdict: Vitor had cracked a
rib.
It’s
nothing unusual, as his nemesis Wanderlei Silva tends to say,
for a UFC fighter to do combat while nursing some injury or another.
The main issue wasn’t the damaged rib, which happened to
get worse when he tried for the armbar and when Jon Jones landed
a foot to his abdomen.
What
really made it rough on Victor was that he had to go seven days
without training. The challenger, who only had three weeks of
preparations to begin with, had to sit out the second week of
his training camp. So he winged it. He started shadow boxing
all the time and sweating it up on the stationary bike. A little
over a week later, once his body let him, he went back to hitting
the mitts but avoided doing much contact training. And he never
got back to the Jiu-Jitsu and guard attacks he’d been practicing
before getting hurt (and which he put to use in the first round,
with the now famous armbar).
In
no way does any of this take any credit from Jon Jones, who put
away the valiant challenger in the fourth round—despite
the damage to his arm. But it does show that Victor, who earned
points with his boss Dana White, deserves his fair share of credit
too.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Fox
could help UFC develop fighters
Movies
sell more tickets if a big name like Samuel L. Jackson, Will
Smith, Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise is headlining. Golf tournaments
attract bigger galleries when Tiger Woods plays.
A
former Golden Gloves boxer, Stipe Miocic gets a chance to headline
an MMA card. (AP)
And it's no different in the UFC. The biggest fights are the
ones involving its biggest stars, like Anderson Silva and Georges
St-Pierre.
Fighters, though, typically have far shorter shelf lives as top
attractions than actors do. And that makes it incumbent upon
the promoter to find ways to develop new stars.
For years, that vehicle for the UFC was its reality series, "The
Ultimate Fighter." The show developed fighters like Rashad
Evans, Forrest Griffin and others, who went on to become some
of the company's biggest attractions.
But with the company's dramatic growth and worldwide expansion,
TUF by itself can't produce the drawing cards the UFC needs.
And that's where its deal with Fox comes in. It's a perfect vehicle
for the UFC to use to give its fighters exposure and get them
used to headlining a show.
There has been a lot of debate about the UFC's TV ratings on
Fox, FX and Fuel. UFC president Dana White is extraordinarily
defensive about it, and went on a lengthy tirade about a Toronto
newspaper columnist for saying the ratings were tepid.
Put aside for a moment, though, the issue of ratings, because
as Mark Twain once said, there are lies, damned lies and statistics.
White will look at the same set of ratings as a UFC critic and
each will massage them differently. White inevitably comes to
the conclusion that the ratings are outstanding and delivering
as expected. The critics look at them and see them as abject
failures. The truth is somewhere in the middle.
The ratings debate is an argument for another day. What is not
a debate, though, is the kind of impact that fighting on FX and
Fuel can have on the fighters.
On Saturday, Fuel will broadcast a UFC show from Nottingham,
England, in which Stipe Miocic takes on Stefan Struve in a heavyweight
fight.
It doesn't have the buzz that, say, UFC 154 has with St-Pierre
returning from injury to defend his title on Nov. 17 against
interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit.
But it's a main event and provides kind of a dry run as a headliner
for two guys the UFC believes might one day become stars.
"Being the main event of a small card is great," UFC
light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar said. "I've done both,
the big ones and the small ones. Whatever it is, when you're
the main event, your face is on the billboards, you're doing
the interviews, and you're just the guy. Whether it's 5,000 at
the Palms or 20,000 at the MGM, it's not that much of a difference;
you're still headlining.
"It's a great experience to go through. This show [on Fuel
Saturday] is not on pay-per-view, but they're still fighting
in front of millions of people."
One of the misnomers of pay-per-view is that because the biggest
fights go to PPV, the audience is greatest. There is, though,
a wider audience on television.
Fuel is only in 36 million homes, a fraction of what Fox and
FX bring. Both of those are in more than 100 million homes.
But by comparison to HBO (29 million subscribers) and Showtime
(21 million), Fuel offers a bigger audience. And while the UFC
is using Fox to help grow its audience, Fuel is using the UFC
to hopefully increase its own.
Fuel can be a farm system of sorts for the UFC. While guys like
Struve and Miocic have been around for awhile, they still don't
have the widespread name recognition beyond the hard-core fans.
[Also: Timothy Bradley to defend welterweight title in Miami]
Fighting on Fuel and FX can help solve that issue. If the deals
help the UFC create a star, it would be a huge bonus.
"I'm obviously a boxing fan and Dana and I both used to
watch those 'Tuesday Night Fights' on USA Network," UFC
CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said. "It was very cool to watch, because
they put on guys who would become some of the sport's biggest
stars [such as Roy Jones, James Toney, Lennox Lewis and others].
"We're putting a great product on Fuel. These are top-level
fighters. We look back now and talk about the [boxers] we saw
on 'Tuesday Night Fights' and I think there are a lot of similarities
in that regard with Fuel. We're going to see a lot of guys come
out of these fights who go on to do great things in this sport."
Struve is hoping to vault himself into title contention with
a win. He's had his share of ups and downs in the UFC, having
been thrashed by Junior dos Santos, Roy Nelson and Travis Browne.
He's also won eight bouts in the UFC and seems to have been progressing
well.
A win over Miocic, a one-time Golden Gloves boxer, would probably
be his most significant UFC win.
As a main event, it's set for five rounds, but Struve doesn't
think there's a chance it goes five. He wants to put on a show.
"Five-round fight? It’s not a five-round fight,"
Struve said. "This isn’t going five. It is a one- or
two-round fight, depending on when I finish him. I am not worried
about going five rounds if it happens, because I hit pads for
an hour at a time and every Thursday at my gym, it is pretty
much fight night. We do 15 five-minute rounds. I've changed nothing
in my training. If it goes longer, OK, but I think this is a
quick fight.
"A win here puts me in the top five in the world. There's
a lot of hype on this guy and he's also coming off a big win.
I'm only 24, but this is my 12th fight in the UFC. I am going
to do my business. I've been in the UFC for five years and I
am really putting it together now as a mixed martial artist.
I think this fight is a great showcase of what I can now do as
a fighter."
In that last regard, he's 100 percent correct. The UFC needs
someone to take the place of guys like Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture,
Tito Ortiz and Brock Lesnar, who recently retired, and those
like Silva, who probably won't be around much longer.
A platform like Fuel allows men like Struve and Miocic to get
a feel for what it is like to headline a show while selling themselves
to the public.
Regardless of the ratings, not much could be better than that
for an aspiring fighter.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Dana
White: Anderson Silva vs. Michael Bisping title fight in U.K.
would be 'awesome'
UFC on FUEL 5 marked Zuffa's first trip back to England in nearly
a year, so it was inevitable the topic would eventually turn
to England's favorite son, Michael Bisping.
Surprisingly,
however, UFC President Dana White was the first man to do so.
Speaking to reporters at the post-fight press conference, White
was asked about the prospects of the UFC bringing a championship
fight to Europe.
"I
hope so," White responded, before saying out of the blue.
"It would be awesome to bring [Michael] Bisping over here
if Bisping gets a shot at the title. We'll see what happens.
I know you guys want it.
"Anything
is possible. It absolutely could happen."
Bisping,
who has long campaigned for at shot at UFC middleweight champion
Anderson Silva, recently called for his opportunity after defeating
top contender Brian Stann at UFC 152. Later that night, White
said of Silva-Bisping, "it would be an interesting fight,"
though he refused to commit one way or the other.
After
thinking it over for a week, White clearly remains interested
in the drawing power of the match-up, given that he mentioned
it unprovoked. However, he said there could be one giant stumbling
block towards ultimately booking the fight in Bisping's homeland.
"The
biggest problem with coming to the U.K. is the time difference,"
White explained. "When you're trying to show this thing
all over the world, the time difference is the hardest thing
here. Even when we go to Brazil, it's only a few hours off from
the Unites States. But here, it's eight or nine [hours]."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 5 Results: Dan Hardy Wouldn’t Be Denied in Front
of Hometown Fans
Heading
into Saturday’s UFC on Fuel TV 5 in Nottingham, England,
everyone expected fireworks from hometown hero Dan Hardy and
The Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah… and they didn’t
disappoint.
Sadollah,
although he looked a little bit stiff, was the more aggressive
fighter early on, coming straight at hardy with a mix of punches
and kicks. A bit surprisingly, Hardy was the one to hang back
and look more for counters in the early going.
After
getting the opening round out of the way, however, it was Hardy’s
fight to lose. He showed a renewed aggression in the final two
round, stalking Sadollah, beating him to the punch, and showing
a new wrinkle to his game… takedowns.
Hardy
put Sadollah on his back several times in rounds two and three.
In the third, he did some really strong work on the mat, opening
some cuts below the eyes of Sadollah and mounting up some damage,
taking the fight away from the former TUF winner.
Hardy
said before the fight that there was no way he was losing on
his home turf – he is in fact from Nottingham – and
he didn’t.
Despite the slow start, Hardy earned a unanimous nod from the
judges.
“I
have a tendency to go out and start trading punches, but I’ve
got to be smart and I’ve got to be sensible,” explained
Hardy of why he didn’t go toe-to-toe from the opening bell.
Hardy
was full of emotion fighting in front of his hometown fans and
could think of only one thing that could top the feeling of getting
the victory at home.
“Just
go out and get the belt for you guys is the only thing that could
be better than this. “
The
victory was Hardy’s second in a row after finally kicking
a four-fight skid to the curb.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
The
day a young Rômulo Barral pulled a “Karate Kid”
The
current medium heavyweight champion of the world, Rômulo
Barral has won pretty much all there is to win in the gi.
However,
before all the rolling, leverage and submissions, the Gracie
Barra BH black belt was proficient in another style, taekwondo.
A dusty old photo recently posted on Facebook brought up memories
of Barral’s beginnings.
“I
started out in taekwondo really young. I don’t even remember
how old I was. But that just proves that I always liked martial
arts. I trained in my city of birth, Diamantina, until I was
15 years old. I’ve had great masters, like Professor Ulisses
and Master João Andrade Batista, who’s also a master
of Jiu-Jitsu. I was in some competitions and even won some (laughs),”
Barral told GRACIEMAG.com.
“So
I totally stopped taekwondo when I was 17, when I started taking
Jiu-Jitsu more seriously and was having trouble practicing both.
The standup fighting gave me good base for Jiu-Jitsu. Now, of
course, when I do MMA I’ll be sure to throw some high kicks
like I used to,” he quipped.
After
holding a series of seminars in Brazil, Mexico and the USA, Rômulo
will carry on teaching in Europe.
“I’m
doing a seminar tour here. I’m going to Poland, Greece,
Spain, Ireland and England. I’m happy that my work is being
recognized. In Brazil I was even awarded Comenda JK, a medal
given by the town of Diamantina to natives of Minas Gerais State
who stand out,” said the fighter, who confirmed that he’ll
be competing at the IBJJ Pro League, a new event paying out cash
prizes in California next December.
“I’ll
be there for sure, fighting the tough gang there. First, if I
get to train, I’ll also do the No-Gi Worlds,” he said
in finishing.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Deciphering
Nick Diaz’s Nevada court petition
You
know the gist of the story regarding Nick Diaz’s predicament
in Nevada. Keith Kizer, one of the most detestable human beings
in combat sports, doesn’t mind having his non-endocrinologist
doctor Timothy Trainor giving out hall passes to fighters for
testosterone… but use marijuana outside of a fight and have
it show up on a urine test? That’s when the sledgehammer
comes down.
Way to promote an anti-doping agenda in combat sports.
We also know that Kizer comes from the Nevada AG’s office,
meaning the hack is politically & legally connected. So,
the question is — can Nick Diaz, even with Ross Goodman
as his attorney, find a judge willing to hear his court petition
to review/overturn the NSAC’s suspension of Diaz (12 months,
$79,000 fine) or will the request be tossed aside?
The introduction
Here’s how Diaz’s court petition filing starts out:
This is an application for judicial review of the Decision and
Order of the Nevada State Athletic Commission made in Findings
of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order Regarding First Amended
Complaint dated June 26, 2012, suspending Petitioner’s license
as mixed martial artist for 12 months and fining Petitioner in
the amount of $79,500 in respect of allegations that Petitioner
violated NAC 467.850 and NAC 467.885(3) by:
a) providing a urine sample that tested positive for inactive
marijuana metabolites following his participation in a mixed
martial arts contest on February 4, 2012; and
b) providing false or misleading information to the NSAC by his
answers to questions on his
Pre-Fight Medical Questionnaire dated February 3, 2012 (the “Questionnaire”).
Fundamentally, Petitioner’s position is that:
a) Inactive marijuana metabolites do not constitute a ‘prohibited
substance’ under NAC 467.850 and the NSAC erred in law by
treating them as such; and
b) The information Petitioner provided on the Questionnaire was
accurate and correct, and the NSAC erred in law by finding a
violation of NAC 467.885(3) where the Petitioner had properly
and correctly answered the questions the NSAC had elected to
include on the Questionnaire. The NSAC further erred by mistakenly
conceiving of the allegation as determined the issue of ‘credibility’,
the findings made in respect of which are clearly erroneous –
but which issue does not even arise given the accuracy of Petitioner’s
answers given on the Questionnaire.
Filing translation: Kizer and company are a bunch of biased,
hack liars who didn’t give Nick Diaz a fair hearing in front
of the athletic commission and didn’t follow the letter
of the law.
Rather than copy the text of the 29-page filing, we’ll just
note some snippets from the filing that advance the argument
that Ross Goodman is making here.
“Errors Under Review”
Here’s the core argument from the filing:
It is Petitioner’s position that:
a) The NSAC’s conclusion that Petitioner violated NAC 467.850
was premised on a misinterpretation of NAC 467.850 and, specifically,
its error in treating inactive marijuana metabolites as a prohibited
substance under NAC 467.850; and
b) The NSAC’s conclusion that Petitioner provided false
and misleading information was premised on (i) an error of law
in finding a violation under NAC 467.885(3) where the information
given by Petitioner on the Questionnaire was factually correct;
and (ii) credibility findings that were clearly erroneous, arbitrary
or capricious.
Based on this argument, this is what Ross Goodman is now asking
for:
Accordingly, it is open to this Court to review the factual findings
made by the NSAC on the basis that the findings should only be
upheld if the evidence before the NSAC reasonable satisfies the
more stringent “more convince force” standard.
Regardless, this petition should be resolved in the Petitioner’s
favor solely on the basis of correcting the errors of law made
by the NSAC. Insofar as there may be limited findings of fact
that are directly engaged by the issues raised by this petition,
such findings cannot withstand review under either the general
or the specifically applicable standard as set forth above.
If Ross Goodman is able to get a court hearing to overturn/throw
out the NSAC suspension ruling against Nick Diaz, this is the
argument used as case law for future suspensions regarding marijuana
usage by fighters.
However, marijuana metabolite is not a prohibited drug or injection
under the NSAC’s regulations.
‘Inactive marijuana metabolites’ are neither an enumerated
‘prohibited substance’ under NAC 467.850 nor are they
incorporated by reference at NAC 467.850(2)(f). Inactive marijuana
metabolites are not identified on the most current edition of
the Prohibited List published by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
(later on…)
The NSAC’s conclusion is therefore premised on its misconception
that medical marijuana is a “prescription medication”
which constitutes an error of law — or a finding that is
clearly erroneous or arbitrary and capricious given the absence
of evidence that Petitioner used any prescription medication
in the two weeks before the Contest.
(later on…)
Medical marijuana is not such an over the counter medication/product.
Retail stores and pharmacies do not stock medical marijuana on
their shelves. The NSAC made no finding that medical marijuana
constituted an “over the counter medication/product.”
This certainly isn’t a legal fight that I think Kizer and
the AG’s office could have ever expected to have on their
plate. Even if you are pessimistic about Goodman being able to
get his client a court hearing to overturn the suspension, it
is going to be very interesting to see if Kizer shows up in court
and gets pressed on this matter because this is not a man that
handles criticism or pressure well at all. He becomes very whiny
in quick fashion and exudes petulance. Even if most of the factors
here (political & legal in terms of connections) are on his
side, Kizer himself is not a great witness or figurehead when
it comes to credibility. It’s probably a safe bet that the
AG’s office will try to keep Kizer as far away as they possibly
can from this hearing.
Given all of that that, I’m not surprised at all that Ross
Goodman is pushing the issue against Kizer here. It’s just
too tempting of an opportunity to pass up.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 5 Results: Struve Scores Huge TKO Win Over Stipe Miocic
At
UFC on Fuel TV 5 on Saturday, Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve
continued his climb to the top of the UFC’s heavyweight
division in Nottingham, England. After a slow first round, Struve
scored a huge TKO victory over Stipe Miocic.
Miocic
took control of the first round with multiple shots to the body.
Struve appeared slow out of the gate, but managed to land a roundhouse
that grazed the head of Miocic. Miocic also scored with a brief
takedown in the round, but wanted no part of Struve’s ground
game.
Struve
found his rhythm in round two once he started utilizing an effective
jab. Early in the round, Struve landed two huge uppercuts on
the inside that hurt Miocic. Miocic returned fire with a big
right hook that moved Struve’s head back. But Struve took
the fight back landing a right cross followed by a series of
uppercuts that put Miocic to sleep.
Referee
Herb Dean stepped in and stopped the fight at 3:50 in the second
round.
With the win over Miocic, Struve believes he’s in the upper
echelon of the heavyweight division. After going 4-1 in his last
five fights, and finishing all four of his opponents, it’s
hard to argue against the 24-year-old.
“It
was part of the game plan,” Struve said post-fight. “We
knew we had to go five hard full rounds and I knew I had it in
me. I saw him slow down in the second round and caught him with
that uppercut. I always want to finish, so if I got him rocked,
I’m going in for that kill.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on Fuel 5: Stefan Struve delivers emphatic knockout win against
Stipe Miocic
Until
Saturday, each time Stefan Struve took a step up in competition,
he was sent thudding back to reality. He made another grab for
the elite level Saturday and, this time, passed the test in a
big way.
Struve took over his fight against unbeaten Stipe Miocic with
his jab. And he finished it in a violent and ruthless manner,
landing a pair of straight rights and a crushing uppercut that
sent Miocic staggering away.
That was all referee Herb Dean needed to see, as he jumped in
to stop it at 3:50 of the second round at Capital FM Arena in
Nottingham, England.
Struve was knocked out in less than a minute by future heavyweight
champion Junior dos Santos in his UFC debut in 2009. He was KO’d
by Roy Nelson in 2010 and by Travis Browne last year.
He now appears to be a different fighter and has won four in
a row.
Struve took the best that Miocic could give in a highly entertaining
first, but managed to take it and keep coming. Once he got untracked,
it was no contest.
"I heard complaints about my power in the past, but I think
this might change some opinions now," Struve said of his
finish of Miocic.
Miocic had a good first round, circling the cage and ripping
combinations that cleanly landed, many to the midsection of the
7-footer.
Struve seemed to have difficulty getting his distance correct,
but he made an adjustment in the second. His jab was clearly
bothering Miocic, and as his opponent tied to slip underneath
it, Struve made him pay by blistering him with an uppercut.
"The uppercut is my favorite," Struve said.
And it was the uppercut that helped him get the victory, his
sixth win in his last seven fights.
He was regularly hurting Miocic in the second, but when he landed
a clean straight right near the cage, it was obvious the end
was near.
Struve fired off two straight rights to the head, and then came
back with a pair of uppercuts to show the finishing ability that
UFC president Dana White loves.
"I really wanted to finish," Struve said. "I knew
I had him rocked and I'm going in for the kill when I have someone
rocked."
In the co-main event, hometown hero Dan Hardy put on perhaps
the best performance of his career in scoring a unanimous decision
over Amir Sadollah. Hardy won by scores of 29-28 twice and 30-27
after showing vastly improved wrestling.
Bantamweight Brad Pickett had the punch of the night, a right
uppercut that put Yves Jabouin to sleep at 3:40 of the first
round.
Matt Wiman handed submission specialist Paul Sass his first defeat,
catching Sass in an arm bar and forcing the tap at 3:48 of the
first. It was a sensational fight in which the two traded submission
attempts before Wiman got the finish.
John Hathaway outworked John Maguire to win a welterweight match
via unanimous decision.
In the main card's opener, Che Mills repeatedly took Duane Ludwig
to the ground and pounded the American with punches and elbows,
until Ludwig injured his left knee and verbally submitted.
As the fighters were going to the canvas again, Ludwig immediately
pointed to his left knee and submitted at 2:28 of the first.
He was able to get up with assistance, but was clearly having
difficulty with it.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
STEFAN
STRUVE STOPS STIPE MIOCIC ON SECOND-ROUND STRIKES AT UFC ON FUEL
TV 5
Perfect
records tend not to last inside the Octagon.
Stefan
Struve stopped the previously undefeated Stipe Miocic on second-round
punches in the UFC on Fuel TV 5 headliner on Saturday at the
Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England. The first 7-footer ever
to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Struve closed
it out 3:50 into round two.
Miocic
(9-1, 3-1 UFC) did some excellent work in the first round, as
he ripped rights and lefts to the head and body of the 24-year-old
Dutchman. The blows to Struve’s midsection might have paid
serious dividends had the fight lasted longer. However, momentum
abandoned Miocic in round two.
Struve
(25-5, 9-3 UFC) looked like a different fighter, as he assumed
a far more aggressive approach, with the right uppercut as his
chief weapon. He had Miocic on the run more than once. After
the Strong Style Fight Team member slipped near the cage, Struve
unleashed two hellacious right crosses that permanently altered
the direction of the bout. A series of uppercuts followed, and
one final left hook was enough to force referee Herb Dean’s
hand. Miocic slumped.
“I
trained for five rounds, and I knew I had it in me,” Struve
said. “I saw he really slowed down in that second round,
and I landed a good uppercut. I always want to finish, so you
know if I’ve got him rocked that I’m going in for the
kill.”
Struve
has stopped his last four opponents.
“I
heard some complaints about my power in the past, but I think
they might change their opinion right now,” he added. “I
need to work on using my reach better. Some moments were pretty
good, some weren’t so good, but I think I showed I have
a good chin. I’ve got four wins in a row with four finishes,
and [UFC President] Dana [White] said I’m about Top 5 in
the world now, so I’m pretty proud as a 24-year-old.”
Resurgent
Hardy Overwhelms Sadollah
A
multi-pronged standup attack coupled with a series of well-disguised
takedowns and ground-and-pound carried former welterweight title
contender Dan Hardy to a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate
Fighter” Season 7 winner Amir Sadollah in the co-main event.
Hardy
(25-10, 6-4 UFC) swept the scorecards by 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27
counts.
After
a competitive first round, Hardy unveiled some new wrinkles,
and Sadollah (6-4, 6-4 UFC) did not appear to be prepared for
them. His trademark left hook remained in play, but “The
Outlaw” made his most significant moves on the ground. He
secured multiple takedowns and consolidated them with punishment,
slicing into Sadollah with short elbows from the top. It resulted
in cuts around both eyes. Hardy punctuated his latest triumph
with a beautiful combination on the feet in the closing seconds
of round three, following a standing elbow with a crisp left
hook.
“I’ve
always dreamed of fighting here for the UFC,” said Hardy,
a Nottingham native who had not fought in his hometown since
2008. “I’ve fought here at smaller shows before, but
nothing compares to the big event. I thought I might have the
tendency to go out and start trading punches. I like a war as
much as you guys, but I’ve got to be smart and sensible
and pick my shots. I had a good time tonight. I enjoyed it.”
Pickett
Uppercut KOs Jabouin
American Top Team’s Brad Pickett knocked out Yves Jabouin
with a ringing right uppercut 3:40 into the opening round of
their featured bantamweight matchup.
Pickett
(22-6, 2-1 UFC) waded through heavy fire to get what he wanted.
Jabouin tagged him with high-velocity kicks to the leg and body,
knees to the head and multi-punch combinations. Still, the man
they call “One Punch” pressed forward undaunted. The
uppercut sent Jabouin to the canvas in a dazed state, and a pair
of right hands on the ground sealed his fate.
The
34-year-old Pickett has won 12 of his past 14 bouts.
Wiman
Armbar Submits Sass
“The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 alum Matt Wiman submitted the
previously unbeaten Paul Sass in a lightweight showcase. Wiman
(15-6, 9-4 UFC) finished it 3:48 into round one.
Sass
(13-1, 3-1 UFC) fired the first salvo, as the 24-year-old Team
Kaobon representative delivered a takedown inside the first 10
seconds and attacked from top position with a few well-placed
elbows. Sass tried for an ill-advised heel hook, briefly surrendering
the high ground. He then swept into top position, avoided an
attempted triangle choke and belted Wiman with right hands.
Moments
later, the back-and-forth battle took its decisive turn. Wiman
isolated the Brit’s arm from the bottom, rolled into a more
advantageous position and, with Sass pinned hopelessly against
the cage, extended the hold for the tapout.
“I
just feel so humble,” said Wiman, who had not competed since
Oct. 1. “I don’t know why. Maybe it was the year off,
or maybe I just expect more of myself and just got more nervous.
I just had a lot of respect for a guy who had never lost before.
He’s never tasted that defeat. You have to take it from
him. You can’t just go in there and try to break him. You
have to beat him. I knew Sass was going to bring it, and I just
feel lucky and blessed to be on the winning side.”
‘The
Hitman’ Moves to 17-1
London
Shootfighters standout John Hathaway utilized his sizeable reach
advantage and some stellar topside grappling en route to a unanimous
decision against John Maguire in a featured welterweight attraction.
All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Hathaway
(17-1, 7-1 UFC).
The
once-beaten Hathaway pressed the fight from the start and kept
his crafty opponent at a safe distance, on the end of his punches
and kicks. The 25-year-old struck for a takedown from the body
lock position in the second round, passed the Maguire guard and
racked up points with ground-and-pound.
Maguire
made a late bid for victory, scoring with a takedown of his own
in round three. He advanced to side control but could not capitalize
on the opportunity. Hathaway ultimately reclaimed guard and freed
himself from danger, short circuiting any potential for a Hail
Mary submission from Maguire.
Ludwig
Injury Gives Mills TKO
An
apparent knee injury suffered by Duane Ludwig resulted in a premature
technical knockout by Che Mills in a featherweight showcase.
Ludwig (21-14, 4-5 UFC) collapsed to the canvas in visible pain
2:28 into round one, necessitating an immediate stoppage. “Bang”
has lost three consecutive fights for the first time as a professional.
Mills
(15-5, 2-1 UFC) dominated the match up until the injury. The
30-year-old former Cage Rage champion cut Ludwig underneath the
right eye during an early exchange, took down the Grudge Training
Center veteran with ease and grinded on him with elbows from
side control.
“To
be honest, there wasn’t really a set game plan,” said
Mills, who won for the sixth time in seven appearances. “I’ve
just been training so hard in all the areas, so I was [going
to gauge] where I felt comfortable. The takedown was there, so
I took it.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 5 Quick Results
Main
Bouts (on Fuel TV):
-Stefan Struve def. Stipe Miocic by TKO at 3:50, R2
-Dan Hardy def. Amir Sadollah by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28,
30-27)
-Brad Pickett def. Yves Jabouin by KO at 3:40, R1
-Matt Wiman def. Paul Sass by submission (arm bar) at 3:48, R1
-John Hathaway def. John Maguire by unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)
-Che Mills def. Duane Ludwig by TKO (knee injury) at 2:28, R1
Preliminary
Bouts (on Facebook):
-Jimi Manuwa def. Kyle Kingsbury by TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage)
at 5:00, R2
-Akira Corassani def. Andy Ogle by Split Decision (29-28, 27-30,
29-28), R3
-Brad Tavares def. Tom Watson by
Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28), R3
-Gunnar Nelson def. DaMarques Johnson by Submission (Rear Naked
Choke) at 3:34, R1
-Robert Peralta def. Jason Young by KO (Punches) at 0:23, R1
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Peter
Dabbene (guest op-ed): Jon Jones and the Troubles of “Adversity”
Peter
Dabbene is a writer of short stories, novels, graphic novels,
and plays; he is a reviewer and a columnist, and yes, a poet
(but a tough one). His website is http://www.peterdabbene.com.
I once liked Jon Jones. Really. Back during his first fights,
it was exciting to project how far the UFC’s next rising
star might go. But of course, I felt the same way about Brandon
Vera early in his career, so I tried to temper my expectations.
As we all know, Jones continued to win, eventually earning the
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
There were flashes of trouble along the way, though—what
often seemed like false and ingratiating humbleness, combined
with behind the scenes issues, notably the supposed promise not
to fight Rashad Evans. Whether the blame for that fiasco ultimately
lay with Jones, or MMA puppeteer Greg Jackson, it didn’t
look good. Then there was the simple fact that Jones’s raw
physical advantages made him difficult for any fighter in his
category. Yes, he trained hard, but when your reach is longer
than anyone else in your division, you should be an effective
striker.
At this point, Jones simply became a fighter I rooted against.
Then came the DWI. Regrettably, DWIs and athletes have become
a common pairing, but there’s a big difference between someone
faltering after clearly presenting himself as a role model, like
Jones, and someone like Chael Sonnen, who, with his history of
performance-enhancing drugs, money laundering, and perjury, is
clearly known as a dirt bag. Let’s not forget that Jones
himself set up his own fall in April 2012 by saying, “You
never have to worry about me with a DWI or doing something crazy.”
After his skills as a prophet were disproven, Jones made the
obligatory apologies, but there were also hints of a persecution
complex when he told the media, “It has literally been sickening
to have so many people try to kick me while I’m down.”
Sorry, Jon. We’ll try to do better for you.
On the heels of the DWI came UFC 151. Or rather, the absence
of UFC 151. Jones refused to face Sonnen as a last-minute replacement,
using every excuse available, starting with “it wasn’t
enough time to prepare,” which was later modified to a self-serving
speech about his responsibilities to his family and his camp,
and then, finally, an obvious attempt to rewrite history, claiming
that he had decided that Chael Sonnen simply didn’t deserve
a shot at the title, in large part because of the comments he
had made about Brazilians, which, Jones said, reminded him of
his own experiences with racial discrimination growing up in
a predominantly white neighborhood.
What?
If Sonnen offended Jones that much, why not go beat him up in
the Octagon? Compare Jones’s behavior with Anderson Silva,
who, aside from shutting Sonnen’s mouth by defeating him,
later volunteered to step up and fight another UFC light heavyweight
on eight days’ notice to fill the UFC 151 main event void.
(Apparently Silva didn’t want to fight Jones because Silva
respects him too much… hopefully Anderson sees this column
and changes his mind soon.)
After wiggling out of a sure P.R. guillotine by playing the race
card, Jones wasn’t done trying to control every who, what,
where, when, and how of his career. He tried to distract fans
from the UFC 151 debacle by blaming the UFC for not giving fans
“full cards”… but it would have been a pretty
full card if one of the fights was for the Light Heavyweight
Championship, wouldn’t it, Jon?
Jones also rejected the idea of a rematch with Lyoto Machida
because, quote:
“Lyoto was my lowest draw. Why would I want to fight someone
where it’s a lose-lose situation? I won’t make money
on it. And he’s a tricky fighter.”
Even if Jones wouldn’t make as much money fighting Machida,
if he’s the top contender, what’s the excuse? Would
Jones prefer the UFC bring back 49 year old (but still popular)
Randy Couture for a title fight, thus giving Jones an acceptable
low-fight risk/high-financial reward combination? Or is he also
too “tricky”?
Even after all of that, Jones’s UFC 152 pre-fight interviews
were truly amazing—and not in a good way. Jones put such
a positive spin on his DWI, you’d almost think he was endorsing
drinking and driving as a fun, easy way to clean the slate of
a troubled past. Jones said that it’s “freed”
him from UFC fan expectations, and that all of this “adversity”
has made him a better person.
Really, Jon? A better person, for ducking fights and relishing
your screw-ups? Jones has obviously drunk too much of Greg Jackson’s
special brand of Kool-Aid; “adversity” implies bad
luck, things happening beyond your control—injuries, a death
in the family. What’s happened to Jon Jones isn’t “adversity”…
it’s called “making bad decisions.” I figured
that at least now, UFC fans would let Jones hear their disapproval
when he finally faced Vitor Belfort, who apparently is enough
of a good, moral guy for Jones to agree to fight him.
The final pre-fight interviews feature a constipated look on
Dana White’s face whenever the champ is mentioned. Then,
finally, the moment arrives—Jones emerges at UFC 152. There
is a scattering of boos, but not as much as I expected. I enjoy
Jones’ chastisement by referee John McCarthy, after Jones
complains about Belfort’s attempted kick during Jones’
ridiculous gorilla-crawl into the center of the Octagon. The
fight goes on, Belfort comes close, but Jones is better, and
wins. The crowd mostly cheers. Then, at the end of the broadcast,
Mike Goldberg refers to the two fighters and actually says, “If
you want a role model for your son or daughter, those aren’t
bad choices.” I have no problem saying that about Belfort,
but Jon Jones?
Unfortunately, it looks like Jones’s P.R. game is working—either
that, or Greg Jackson’s been spiking the drinks of UFC fans
everywhere.
Maybe there’s still hope that fans see through the illusion.
Of the 16,800 attendees at Air Canada Centre for UFC 152, 40%
of them didn’t pay for the privilege. How many will pay
next time? Unless he fights someone like Silva or a heavyweight
who can challenge him physically, this could be an indicator
of future Jones cards. If Jon Jones does go the way of Alex Rodriguez
and other athletes we love to hate, could we see a battle for
most disliked fighter between Jones and Sonnen? Or better yet,
some WWE-style reversals, with Jones embracing his inner jerk
and Sonnen turning over a new leaf? It’s starting to look
like Sonnen’s big mouth will get him the next fight against
Jones—and I, for one, will be rooting for the dirtbag.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 5 Results: Matt Wiman, John Hathaway, and Che Mills
Score Victories
UFC
on Fuel TV 5: Struve vs. Miocic opened on Fuel TV on Saturday
from Nottingham, England, with everything from disappointment,
to a scrappy decision, to an exciting, if improbable submission
finish.
Paul
Sass vs. Matt Wiman
Just
when it appeared Paul Sass was going to submit his way to a UFC
lightweight title shot, the Brit ran into a roadblock by the
name of Matt Wiman.
Sass
was 13-0 coming into the fight, submitting 12 of his opponents,
but Wiman has a reputation as a tough and gritty fighter, which
he showed on Saturday.
Sass
immediately put Wiman on the mat and tried to work his submission
magic, attempting various leglocks. Wiman, however, turned the
tables on Sass, snatching up one of Sass’s arms and never
letting go.
Sass
defended for a time, trying to find an escape route, but Wiman
hung tough and eventually extended the arm, putting an end to
the British fighter’s undefeated streak.
“He’s
never tasted that defeat and you have to go in there and beat
him, you can’t just go in there and break him,” said
a highly emotional Wiman after the fight. “I gave it my
all and luckily got it.”
Wiman
has now won two fights in a row and five of his last six.
John
Hathaway vs. John Maguire
Hathaway
started off very aggressive, immediately taking control of the
fight. Although he pressed the action throughout the opening
round and landed a few good punches and kicks, neither he nor
Maguire could get a lot of offense going.
The
second round was even more dominant for Hathaway. He put Maguire
on the mat early in the round and worked a non-stop ground and
pound attack, chipping away at his fellow Brit throughout the
second stanza.
Hathaway
was en route to a repeat of the opening round to close out the
fight, taking control, not doing a lot of damage, but pushing
Maguire around the Octagon. That was until Maguire finally secured
a takedown in the final couple minutes of the fight. It was too
little, too late, however, as Maguire couldn’t do anything
with the takedown, leaving the fight in the hands of the judges.
Hathaway
walked away with the unanimous decision victory, putting an end
to Maguire’s seven-fight winning streak, while extending
his own unbeaten string to three-consecutive fights.
Che
Mills vs. Duane Ludwig
The
fight between Mills and Ludwig was over almost as soon as it
started.
Mills
did a good job from the opening bell, rushing and taking Ludwig
to the mat, putting him at the weakest point of his game. Mills
kept him there for the first couple minutes of the fight, peppering
Ludwig with elbows and knees from side control.
Ludwig
eventually regained his feet, but as he and Mills locked up,
Ludwig was tossed to the mat, but immediately expressing to Mills
and the referee that something was wrong with his left knee.
Mills
got the win, if not in a fashion that he had likely hoped for,
with a TKO stoppage just 2:28 into the fight.
UFC
on Fuel TV 5 Results:
Main
Bouts (on Fuel TV):
-Matt Wiman def. Paul Sass by Submission (Armbar) at 3:48, R1
-John Hathaway def. John Maguire by Unanimous Decision
-Che Mills def. Duane Ludwig by TKO (Knee Injury) at 2:28, R1
Preliminary
Bouts (on Facebook):
-Jimi Manuwa def. Kyle Kingsbury by TKO (Dr.’s Stoppage)
at 5:00, R2
-Akira Corassani def. Andy Ogle by Split Decision
-Brad Tavares def. Tom Watson by Split Decision
-Gunnar Nelson def. DaMarques Johnson by Submission (Rear Naked
Choke) at 3:34, R1
-Robert Peralta def. Jason Young by KO (Punches) at 0:23, R1
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 5 Results: Brad Pickett Knocks Out Yves Jabouin
At
UFC on Fuel TV 5, bantamweight Brad “One Punch” Pickett
lived up to his nickname in his home country. After a back-and-forth
start, Pickett picked up a devastating knockout victory over
Yves Jabouin in Nottingham, England.
Early
on, Pickett was looking sharp with his boxing and got inside,
but Jabouin countered with some solid knees. Pickett later landed
a huge uppercut and followed with two hard shots on the ground.
The
official time for the knockout came at 3:40 into the first round.
Now, with the knockout win over Jabouin, Pickett moves his record
to 2-1 in the UFC with an impressive 22-6 record overall. The
Brit knew going into this fight that he had a nickname to live
up to and holds his head up high that he lived up to the name
against such a technical striker.
“With
a name like One Punch, there’s some added pressure on me,
especially since that’s my first stoppage in a long time,”
Pickett said post-fight. “I’d get chokes and submissions
and stuff, but to get a knockout against to be honest technically
the best striker in our division is phenomenal.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 5 Results: Dan Hardy Wouldn’t Be Denied in Front
of Hometown Fans
Heading
into Saturday’s UFC on Fuel TV 5 in Nottingham, England,
everyone expected fireworks from hometown hero Dan Hardy and
The Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah… and they didn’t
disappoint.
Sadollah,
although he looked a little bit stiff, was the more aggressive
fighter early on, coming straight at hardy with a mix of punches
and kicks. A bit surprisingly, Hardy was the one to hang back
and look more for counters in the early going.
After
getting the opening round out of the way, however, it was Hardy’s
fight to lose. He showed a renewed aggression in the final two
round, stalking Sadollah, beating him to the punch, and showing
a new wrinkle to his game… takedowns.
Hardy
put Sadollah on his back several times in rounds two and three.
In the third, he did some really strong work on the mat, opening
some cuts below the eyes of Sadollah and mounting up some damage,
taking the fight away from the former TUF winner.
Hardy
said before the fight that there was no way he was losing on
his home turf – he is in fact from Nottingham – and
he didn’t.
“I
have a tendency to go out and start trading punches, but I’ve
got to be smart and I’ve got to be sensible,” explained
Hardy of why he didn’t go toe-to-toe from the opening bell.
Hardy
was full of emotion fighting in front of his hometown fans and
could think of only one thing that could top the feeling of getting
the victory at home.
“Just
go out and get the belt for you guys is the only thing that could
be better than this. “
The
victory was Hardy’s second in a row after finally kicking
a four-fight skid to the curb.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
|
The
most impactful Jiu-Jitsu and MMA statements of the week
“These
days we see blue and purple belts who think Jiu-Jitsu’s
all about grabbing the sleeve and trying those little sweeps…
The sport is getting worse with that kind of game. But no one
can control that.”
Kron
Gracie
“This
business of booing to me has to do with alcohol in the stands.
In Japan, for example, nobody’s there drinking during the
fight. They’re sitting there admiring the fight and the
athletes who sacrifice their bodies to entertain them. Not the
American fans—they’re there drunk, aggressive. We can’t
please everybody”
Demetrious
Johnson, after turning flyweight champion while being booed at
UFC 152
“Vitor
gave me a hard time and made me rethink how I train. I realized
there’s room for improvement. I need to be comfortable in
the octagon. I train a lot of wrestling and striking, but I need
to embrace Jiu-Jitsu more. It’s a question of practicing
what I preach: to be a true MMA artist you have to train in all
the martial arts”
Jon
Jones, after his arm nearly got taken home by Vitor Belfort
“I
messed up when I heard the popping (elbow) and lost the hold
for a second. After that Jones escaped. Props to Jones and bummer
for me”
Vitor
Belfort
“There
are a lot of people who I want to face, but the fight I really
want to do is that one with Belfort. I’m trying to move
up to light heavyweight. We could do the fight in that division”
Wanderlei
Silva, showing he has recovered from the loss of his father
Source:
Gracie Magazine |
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