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)
11/10/12
Toughman Xtreme Fighting Championships
(Boxing, Kickboxing, XMA, MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
10/20-21/12
NAGA
Hawaii
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Radford H. S. Gym)
10/20/12
King of the Cage: Mana
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
10/7/12
Worlds
Master Senior Championship
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, Long Beach, CA)
9/8/12
Destiny: Na Koa
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
9/1/12
Toughman Hawaii
(Boxing)
(Hilo Civic Ctr)
8/18/12
Warpath to Mayhem:
Rumble at the Resort
(MMA)
(Kauai Beach Resort, Lihue, Kauai)
August
King of the Mat
(Submission Grappling)
8/4/12
Maui Open
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina)
7/21/12
Sera's Kajukenbo Martial Arts Tournament
(Continuous Sparring, MMA (Controlled), and Sub. Grappling)
(War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
**CANCELLED**
7/14/12
King of the Cage
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
6/29/12
Vendetta 5
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
6/16-17/12
State
of Hawaii BJJ Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/16/12
Destiny
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/15/12
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
5/26/12
Toughman Hawaii Presents; King Of The Ring
(Boxing)
(Edith Kanakaole Tennis Stadium, Hilo)
5/19/12
Scrappler's Fest
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Island School, Lihue, Kauai)
The Quest For Champions
Martial Arts Tournament 2012
(Sport-Pankration, Submission Grappling, Continuous Sparring)
(St. Louis High School Gym)
5/18/12
Vendetta 4
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
5/4/12
King of the Ring
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
Just Scrap XVI
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku)
4/28/12
Destiny
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(The Waterfront, Aloha Tower)
4/21/12
Amateur Boxing Event
Smoker Fundraiser
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
4/14/12
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom, Waipahu)
Hawaiian
Open Championship of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
3/29/12 - 4/1/12
Pan
Jiu-Jitsu Championship
(BJJ)
(Irvine, CA)
3/3/12
Warpath to Mayhem:
Rumble at the Resort
(MMA)
(Kauai Beach Resort, Lihue, Kauai)
Vendetta 3
(Kickboxing, Triple Threat)
(Waipahu Filcom, Waipahu)
Toughman Hawaii: Challengers
(Kickboxing)
(Hilo Civic, Hilo)
2/11/12
Amateur Boxing Event
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
2/4/12
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
1/21/12
ProElite
MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
1/15/12
Polynesia
International BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(King Intermediate, Kaneohe)
1/7/12
Toughman Hawaii
(Kickboxing)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
|
|
October
2012 News Part 2
|
O2 Martial Arts Academy
provides 7 days a week training! Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu classes
taught by Black Belts Kaleo Hosaka and Chris & Mike Onzuka
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi.
Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with PJ Dean &
Chris Slavens!
We just started a
Wrestling program in May taught by Cedric Yogi.
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from
the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
Want
to Advertise on Onzuka.com?
Click here for pricing and more
information!
Short term and long term advertising available.
More than
1 million hits and counting!
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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
 |
NAGA
Hawaii Saturday & Sunday
2012 NAGA
HAWAII GRAPPLING CHAMPIONSHIP (2 DAY EVENT)
The North American Grappling Association (NAGA) is the world’s
largest mixed grappling tournament circuit with over 160,000
competitors worldwide. On Saturday & Sunday, October 20 &
21, 2012, NAGA returns to Honolulu, Hawaii with its annual NAGA
Hawaii Grappling Championship No-Gi & Gi tournament. This
is Hawaii's largest grappling tournament with over 800 competitors
in 2011! All Adults and Teens (14-17) compete on Saturday. All
Children (13 & under) compete on Sunday. Come as an individual
or as a team to compete. You do not have to live in Honolulu
or Hawaii to participate in this event.. This event is nationally
RANKED!
Pre-registration
is now closed. For information on registering at the event on
Friday or Saturday.
WEIGH-IN OPTIONS FOR COMPETITORS
NAGA
is offering all competitors the option of registering and weighing-in
FRIDAY NIGHT at Radford High School. On Friday, weigh-ins and
registration will start at 6 PM and continue until 8 PM sharp.
The Friday weigh-in will be open to all competitors regardless
if you pre-registered or not. Adults please have a photo ID on
hand when weighing-in. If you are not able to weigh-in on Friday,
you can still weigh-in on Saturday (Adults, Teens, and Children)
or Sunday (Children) at the venue. Doors open at 8 AM Sat/Sun
and weigh-in is open throughout the day. Children (13 & under)
competing on Sunday can weigh-in on Saturday.
DIVISION SCHEDULE (Doors open at 8 AM)
SATURDAY
(10/20/12) – TEENS & ADULT COMPETITION (times are just
estimates)
10:00 AM – All Teens Ages 14, 15, 16 & 17 years old
10:00
AM – All Women’s, Executives (50 years +) & Directors
(40 years+) Divisions
11:30
AM –Adult (18 years +) & Master (30 years+) Novice divisions
are called
NAGA has an improved method for bracketing the Adult & Masters
No-Gi & Gi Divisions. The intent is to have all divisions
take place as quickly as possible utilizing all rings at once.
The divisions will be bracketed by skill level in the following
order:
Men’s
& Master’s No-Gi Novice (Estimated Start Time is 11:30
AM)
Men’s and Master’s No-Gi Beginner (Estimated Start
Time is 12 PM)
Men’s & Master’s No-Gi Intermediate (Estimated
Start Time is 12:30 PM)
Men’s & Master’s No-Gi Expert (Estimated Start
Time is 1 PM)
Men’s & Master’s White Belt (Estimated Start Time
is 1:30 PM)
Men’s & Master’s Blue Belt (Estimated Start Time
is 2 PM)
Men’s and Master’s Gi Purple, Brown, Black Belt (Starts
after the Blue Belt Divisions end)
SUNDAY
(10/21/12) – CHILDREN (13 yrs & under) NO-GI & GI
COMPETITION - Opens 8AM
All
children must be weighed-in and be ready to compete by 10 AM.
IMPORTANT:
It is difficult to give the exact start time for each division.
As a general rule, get there early and be prepared to stay late.
There are NO REFUNDS given for those who have to leave early.
For
those registering at the event; you can download the registration
form / waiver, print it, fill it out, then proceed directly to
the payment table. This will save you time filling out forms
at the event. Those under 17, make sure a guardian (18+) signs
the waiver.
ADULT
REGISTRATION FORM
CHILDREN
/ TEENS REGISTRATION FORM
1
Division = $80; 2 Divisions = $100. Spectator passes are $15.
For family rates, download the event flyer/registration form.
Pre-registration closes at 5PM on Friday, October 12.
For
weight classes, age category, and skill level information click
the DIVISIONS tab above.
For
weigh-in and registration location and times click the DIVISIONS
tab above.
2
DAY TOURNAMENT; ADULTS & TEENS COMPETE ON SATURDAY, CHILDREN
ON SUNDAY
Due to the large amount of competitors this NAGA tournament attracts,
this event has been expanded to two days. All adults (both gi
and no-gi) and teens (14-17 years old) will compete on Saturday.
All children 13 yrs. & under (gi & no-gi) will compete
on Sunday. The tremendous benefit of a 2-day event is that competitors
do not have to wait numerous hours to compete. Each day will
end much earlier than in past tournaments.M
100
CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS AWARDED
NAGA is very pleased to be awarding 100 CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS to
all its Children, Teen, Adult, Masters, Directors and Executive
Expert Division Winners.
SAMURAI
SWORDS TO CHILDREN & TEENS WINNERS
NAGA will be awarding custom engraved SAMURAI SWORDS to all Children
& Teen non-expert 1st place winners. Medals will be awarded
to all 2nd & 3rd place children and teen winners along with
adults who place 1st through 3rd. All competitors who win a medal
will have the opportunity to obtain a samurai sword in addition
to their medal at the NAGA T-shirt booth for a nominal fee.
TEAM
AWARD - HUGE TEAM BANNERS
All top teams: Adult Overall, Adult Gi, Adult No-Gi, and Children
17 yrs. & under, will receive a huge, customized Championship
Banner for their team victory. Do not miss this opportunity to
showcase your academy’s talent.
GET
YOUR GRAPPLING GEAR AT THE TOURNAMENT
NAGA is bringing a load of grappling gear (board shorts, rash
guards, t-shirts, hats, gi hoodies, patches, skull caps, stickers,
dog tags, etc.) in children and adults sizes, for males and females.
Check out the huge selection of gear and apparel at the NAGA
event.
NAGA
ON THE WEB
NAGA has established a presence online through our website and
social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. We
are expanding the material that is offered on these sites outside
of the NAGA website. If you use any of these sites, please join
us and be kept up to date with the latest NAGA news.
- Get the monthly NAGA email by filling out this form. If you
have already competed in NAGA you do not need to fill this out:
http://www.nagafighter.com/index.php?module=joinpage
- "Like" NAGA on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nagafighter.
You will be notified of the latest NAGA news and events.
- Follow NAGA on Twitter: http://twitter.com/naga_fighter or
@NAGA_FIGHTER. We will start to tweet what divisions are coming
up at tournaments to help you as a competitor or fan stay informed.
- Our YouTube page is: http://www.youtube.com/user/nagagrappling
Submit links to YouTube videos of you competing in NAGA to youtube@nagafighter.com
so that we can share your video with the rest of the NAGA community.
NATIONALLY
RANKED EVENT
All NAGA events are part of the nationwide ranking system entitled
RANKED. Our goal is to determine who the best grapplers in the
country are for various age, gender, and skill levels. This tournament
will be nationally ranked so do not miss your opportunity to
gain points towards a true national title. More details can be
found at www.nationallyranked.com.
SANDBAGGERS
BEWARE
NAGA works diligently to prevent "sandbagging", or
the practice of fighting down skill levels to ensure one takes
home an award. NAGA has been working with RANKED to track all
fighters and ranked grappling events to produce true "national
standings." A by-product of these standings is our knowledge
of who has competed and at which level. Front door personnel
will use RANKED data to determine whether or not individuals
who have fought in past events belong in a higher skill level
(i.e. placed 1st at a prior NAGA event).
|
Dan
Henderson Fires Back at Jones-Sonnen Pairing for TUF 17 and Title
Fight
by Damon
Martin
It’s
safe to say former Strikeforce and Pride champion Dan Henderson
isn’t a happy man today after learning that his old friend
Chael Sonnen would be getting the next shot at Jon Jones and
the UFC light heavyweight title instead of him.
Henderson
was in place to face Jones at UFC 151 in early September, but
a late injury to his knee prevented the fight from happening.
Since
that time, Henderson was shifted to a de facto No. 1 contenders
fight against former champion Lyoto Machida, while Jones recovers
from an arm injury that occurred in his last fight against Vitor
Belfort at UFC 152.
The
UFC on Tuesday announced that Jones would not be fighting any
time soon and would instead coach on the 17th season of The Ultimate
Fighter opposite Chael Sonnen.
Sonnen
is moving back to the light heavyweight division in the UFC for
the first time since 2005, and has not won a fight since losing
to Anderson Silva in a middleweight title fight earlier this
year.
But
a very public Twitter war and plenty of talk from Sonnen aimed
directly at Jones made this fight very appealing to the fan base,
and the UFC is taking the shot at putting the two together as
Ultimate Fighter coaches and then opponents in April 2013.
The
formula now seems pretty clear to Dan Henderson, who vented his
frustrations directly at UFC president Dana White when talking
on Twitter late Tuesday evening.
“I
guess I should just quit training to win fights and to be exciting
for the fans and just go to (expletive) talking school,”
said Henderson with the message aimed at Dana White’s Twitter
handle.
Henderson
and Sonnen are longtime friends, but it obviously doesn’t
cushion the blow that Sonnen will be getting the next crack at
the UFC light heavyweight title without a single win in the division,
while Henderson has to now face Lyoto Machida with no guarantee
he’ll get the next crack at the belt even with a win.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
153: Post-Mortem Q&A
By Chris
Nelson
Before
UFC 153 “Silva vs. Bonnar” on Saturday at the HSBC
Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, there were questions like, “Why
is this event happening?” and “Who is going to buy
this?” Still no clearer on those points, the show’s
aftermath has left us with more pressing queries.
We’ll
attempt to untangle things below, with questions posed by Sherdog.com
features editor Brian Knapp.
Question:
Will Anderson Silva retire with an undefeated record in the UFC?
Answer: As tough as it is to imagine Silva losing, it will probably
take a loss to get him to hang up his gloves. The middleweight
champ has said that his ultimate goal is to retire unbeaten in
the Octagon, but what UFC champion has ever moved on before his
time? Silva has bandied about the idea of retirement for years
now; remember when he wanted to box Roy Jones Jr.? However, with
each year, his target date gets pushed back a little more. After
UFC 153, he stated that he’d like to fight for five more
years, which would bring him to age 42. While he seems to be
selecting his super fights carefully, he also has a belt to defend,
and five years is plenty of time for a middleweight Jon Jones
to arrive on the scene.
Question:
Did the people questioning whether or not Stephan Bonnar took
a dive actually watch the fight?
Answer: They probably watched the fight, but they also probably
have never taken a Silva knee to the solar plexus. The other
problem is that the intersection of Zuffa Haters Boulevard and
Conspiracy Theorists Lane is a high-traffic area. This is not
to say everyone needs to drink UFC President Dana White’s
Kool-Aid or even that the outcome of a bout should never be called
into question, but maybe, just maybe, it’s possible that
the world’s greatest fighter beat up a semi-retired veteran
without the fix being in.
Question:
Which fight is more interesting, Silva-Georges St. Pierre or
Silva-Jon Jones?
Answer: Jones, and it’s not even close. Aside from the fact
that St. Pierre has been away for more than a year and has plenty
of business to attend to in his own division, the Silva-GSP fight
has just lost its luster since Jones became a dominant force.
St. Pierre would be moving up 15 pounds to fight at 185 against
a guy who has demolished every 205-pounder he’s faced, and
the French Canadian would have one clear path to victory: wrestling.
On the other hand, the bigger, stronger and more dynamic Jones
could present Silva with problems previously not encountered
by “The Spider.” Who wouldn’t want to see that?.
Question:
Should Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira retire?
Answer: No. Except in extreme cases, I’m fully against fans
and media trying to induce retirement, and this is not one of
those cases. Yes, Nogueira is shopworn and is now apparently
being held together by pins and rods, but the fact remains that
he beat a much younger -- if also much less talented -- man at
UFC 153. Maybe it would be nice for Nogueira to go out on a high
note, having scored that win in front of his hometown crowd,
but he’s not ready to go and he’s earned the right
to not be forced out the cage door. He might never be champ again,
but “Big Nog” clearly still has some fights left in
him.
Question:
Does Dave Herman belong in the UFC?
Answer: Not right now, and it’s likely he won’t be
there long after three straight losses. Sparse as the heavyweight
division is, there’s a chance he won’t be cut, although
his against Nogueira didn’t show much to look forward to.
Herman got outclassed by an aging great at UFC 153, but he’s
also dropped fights to Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve -- good fighters
but not title contenders. Heavy hands, wrestling and pure athleticism
carried Herman to the Octagon; now, maybe it’s time to work
on that jiu-jitsu.
Question:
Was the beating Glover Teixeira put on Fabio Maldonado the worst
in UFC history?
Answer: If it wasn’t the worst, it’s certainly in the
Top 3. For anyone who missed it, the numbers from FightMetric.com
say it all: Teixeira landed 117 strikes to Maldonado’s 14,
scored three takedowns and passed guard five times. The only
similar thumping that comes to mind was dealt out by a man who
I suspect Teixeira will square off with in 2013, Jon Jones. He
laid a severe beating on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in March
of last year. Still, it didn’t have the same embarrassment
factor as Silva’s clowning of Forrest Griffin, if only because
Teixeira’s opponent refused to give up. Maldonado is a tough
man -- too tough for his own good, clearly -- but hopefully this
loss prompts a drop to middleweight.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Strikeforce
11/3 Oklahoma City show canceled; next show January?
By Zach
Arnold
Press
release
LAS
VEGAS– STRIKEFORCE® announced today it is planning its
next card set to air live on SHOWTIME in January 2013. Further
information on the fight card and location will be announced
shortly.
STRIKEFORCE
also announced the cancellation of its Nov. 3 event at the Chesapeake
Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla., due to injuries sustained
by main event star Frank Mir and co-main event star Luke Rockhold.
Refunds for tickets purchased are available at point of sale.
“Due
to a series of injuries, we were forced to cancel the upcoming
card on Nov. 3, but are already working to put together a stacked
card in January,” STRIKEFORCE CEO Scott Coker said.
“While
we’re disappointed with the cancellation, we are looking
forward to an even bigger STRIKEFORCE event on SHOWTIME early
next year,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President
& General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports®
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Jon
Jones vs. Chael Sonnen betting odds have champ as significant
favorite
By Luke
Thomas
The
betting odds for Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen are in and while
they have the light heavyweight champion as the clear favorite,
they're also nearly identical to the betting odds for Jones'
April 2012 title defense against Rashad Evans.
The
betting odds for the impending Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen bout
are in and the light heavyweight UFC champion is an clear favorite.
According
to oddsmakers Bovada, Jones opens as a -650 favorite. Sonnen,
meanwhile, opens as a significant underdog at +425.
Jones
is not unaccustomed to being the overwhelming favorite even in
his title bouts. At UFC 152 in September, Jones entered that
contest as a -925 favorite to Vitor Belfort's +625 underdog odds.
It should be noted, however, that Belfort entered that bout as
a late replacement and hadn't fought at light heavyweight since
2005.
Jones
was a more modest favorite in his UFC 140 title defense against
Lyoto Machida in December of 2011. He entered that bout as a
-375 to Lyoto Machida's +275. Against Mauricio Rua in March of
2011, Jones was a -155 favorite to Shogun's +125.
Jones
vs. Sonnen odds are, however, nearly identical to odds for Jones
vs. Rashad Evans from April of 2012. Jones was a -625 favorite
to Evans' +425.
Jones
has only been an underdog twice in his UFC career. Notably, those
were his first two UFC bouts. He was at +285 before his August
2008 fight with Andre Gusmao and +155 against Stephan Bonnar
in January of 2009.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Rashad
Evans’ Return Pushed Back to 2013, Wants to Fight Lyoto
Machida “Bad”
by Damon
Martin
Former
UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans was hoping to fight
again in 2012, but now it appears his return will have to wait
until next year.
Evans
was a guest on Tuesday night’s edition of UFC Tonight where
he divulged that despite his best efforts to get a fight before
the close of 2012, he’s more likely to return in “February
or March” next year instead.
“I
was hoping in December, by the end of the year, but it looks
like it’s not going to happen until maybe February or March.
Who am I going to fight is the main question?” said Evans
on Tuesday.
When
Evans does return, he will be fighting at light heavyweight unless
a tremendous offer comes across his plate at a different weight
class. Evans has talked for some time about possibly moving down
to 185 pounds for the chance to face middleweight king Anderson
Silva, but the fight was never offered and he still has business
to conduct at light heavyweight.
“I
want to be at light heavyweight because there is unfinished business.
I can’t go down unless something really beckons for my calling.
I like to fight at 205 and I have done fairly well there,”
Evans stated.
As
far as potential opponents, Evans wants to face another top contender
in the division, but in a perfect world he would love the chance
to avenge the first loss of his career.
“The
guy who I really want to fight is a guy I lost my first fight
to. I would like to fight Lyoto Machida again. He looked good
against Bader. I want to get that one back, bad,” said Evans.
Sometimes
wishes do not get granted and unless something drastic changes,
Machida is currently expected to face Dan Henderson in his next
bout, although that fight has not been signed yet.
Evans
will continue training and working at home in Florida, while
he waits for the call from the UFC with his next fight offering.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Rickson
and his MMA event combatting sharp weight cuts and ills of dehydration
The
maiden event set for November 22, Mestre do Combate will feature
a novel weigh-in scheme meant to make things easier on fighters’
bodies.
Unlike
at other MMA events, at the Rickson Gracie-founded show, weigh-ins
will be held on the night of the fight, in an attempt by the
promoters to protect the athletes from sharp weight drops in
the days leading up to their fights.
“Losing
weight so abruptly causes a number of problems, from dehydration
to high blood pressure to cardiovascular complications. What’s
more, repeating the process over the course of a career can cause
psychological problems, give the fighters depression,” says
Gisele Lemos, a nutritionist at the Brazilian Judo Confederation.
“Losing weight all of a sudden is very damaging. By weighing
in on the same night, the athlete has to be conscious, attentive
and store enough energy for the fight,” she says in analysis.
And
the day the scale is put to use isn’t the only change. The
promoters have banned elbows and shortened the number of rounds
to two, although the fight duration remains the same as at most
events: the first round will last ten minutes, while the second
will last five. Another difference is that fighters will not
have the luxury of being saved by the bell: if a submission hold
is in place when the bell sounds, they will have to defend or
tap out first for the fight to end.
“The
way we see it, the ten-minute round will force the fighter to
draw up a smarter game plan, one that will let them balance energy
and technique,” says Rickson Gracie.
Another
aspect of Mestre do Combate that sets it apart is that it is
a blend of individual and collective sports. When the world famous
“Big” John McCarthy bellows the traditional “Let’s
get it on!” the individual aspect of the sport remains intact
and the fighter will have to give his all on his own. Overall,
though, the competition will be comprised of teams, and each
team member will enter the ring to fight for his teammates. An
event founded by a master who always valued family and collective
spirit could be no different.
In
the event of a fight ending without a submission or knockout,
the decision-making system is a curious one: the referee “Big”
John McCarthy has one vote, Master Rickson has another, and the
audience watching at the venue or over television has a tie-breaking
vote.
The
Master of Combate calendar counts nine events, the first of which
already has a time and place: November 22 at the Vivo Rio concert
hall in Rio de Janeiro. Each event will feature a team contest,
the winner of which will have been successful in three out of
five of the fights its representatives are in. The winning team
goes through to the next event, and the fight purses go up with
each time a fighter overcomes his opponents.
According
to the promoters, in all BRL 700,000 in purses and prizes will
be paid out over the 2012/2013 season. The athletes will also
be fighting for the “Fighter of the Night” award.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Deadbeats:
California State Athletic Commission stiffing Association of
Boxing Commissions on money over MMA information access
By Zach Arnold
When
Che Guevara’s California State Athletic Commission decided
to protect deadbeat promoters in Oxnard last month, no one could
understand why the commission wouldn’t produce the $50,000
bondholder information so that fighters who got stiffed on money
could recover their purses.
It
turns out that Denise Brown, Doreathea Johnson, and Awet Kidane
at the Department of Consumer Affairs in Sacramento can sympathize
with the deadbeats… because they’re being accused of
being deadbeats as well.
Last
night, we posted this teaser online about the Association of
Boxing Commissions getting fed up with Che Guevara & DCA
over the athletic commission not paying fees that they owe.
On
background, we talked with a source that has knowledge of a letter
that ABC is sending to Sacramento regarding Che Guevara being
a deadbeat to ABC in paying the bills. If you don’t pay
your water bill, your water service gets cut off. If you don’t
pay your electrical bill, the power gets cut off to your residence.
Same deal here.
The
source claims that ABC is fed up with CSAC not paying for the
use of the MMA database (to check for suspensions and other sorts
of information). ABC is also going after commissions who are
not requiring promoters to register their events and pay the
fee owed to ABC. This fits right in with everything we know about
how Che Guevara & DCA operate CSAC. So, ABC is giving CSAC
an ultimatum — pay your bills or get cut off from the database
and have your state be considered as the wild west.
Our
source claims that other athletic commissions, who are timely
in paying the fees, are pissed off at Che Guevara & DCA because
they are using the database without paying for access to it.
Freeloaders.
“The
commissions who pay their fees on a regular basis, rightfully
so, are disappointed that [California] continues to use the database
free while other pay for the service,” the source opined.
“MMA, LLC the owners of the database, have invested many
dollars to develop and maintain this database for the betterment
of the sport and to be used as a tool not only to track fighters
and approve fights, but protect the health, safety and welfare
of each contestant.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Jon
Jones' injury suffered at UFC 152 was strained elbow ligament
By Dave
Doyle
When
Vitor Belfort trapped Jon Jones in a first-round arm bar, and
nearly pulled off a major upset in the main event of UFC 152
on Sept. 22, it quickly became apparent Belfort did some damage
to the UFC light heavyweight champion.
And
while Jones managed to get out of the submission attempt and
went on to pull off the victory that night, he showed up at the
post-fight press conference with his right arm in a sling.
Nearly
a month later, Jones knows the extent of his injury: A strained
ligament in his right elbow. That was the diagnosis of a Los
Angeles doctor who checked Jones out last week, according to
Malki Kawa, Jones' agent.
MMAFighting.com's
Ariel Helwani reported the news on Tuesday night's edition of
UFC Tonight on Fuel TV.
Jones
will undergo physical therapy on the arm while he tapes the next
season of "The Ultimate Fighter," which he'll coach
opposite Chael Sonnen. According to Kawa, the time Jones will
have to spend on the sidelines helped influence his decision
to coach on "TUF" opposite Sonnen.
If
all goes according to plan, the two will fight on April 27. That
will mean Jones, who fought five times between Feb. 2011 and
April of this year, will have just one fight, Belfort, in a one-year
span.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Eddie
Alvarez on Free Agency: I’m Going to the Highest Bidder
After
finishing the final fight on his Bellator contract last Friday
with a knockout of Patricky “Pitbull” Freire, Eddie
Alvarez will soon be entertaining offers from multiple promotions.
He
doesn’t know yet where he’ll sign, but he does know
what he’ll base his decision on.
“I’ve
got to be honest with you,” Alvarez told the Sherdog Radio
Network’s “Beatdown” show Wednesday. “I’m
going to go to the highest bidder. That’s how it’s
going to go. If anybody judges me or tells me I’m wrong
because of that, I’m sorry. I have a different situation
than maybe whoever’s judging me, but my services are going
100-percent to the highest bidder.”
Alvarez
has been with Bellator since its first event in April 2009. He
was the promotion’s first lightweight champion and also
has a good relationship with Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. While
the UFC figures to be a major player in negotiations, if not
the favorite to land Alvarez, it doesn’t hurt Bellator’s
chances that partner Viacom will be involved in talks.
“I
already spoke with Bjorn Rebney,” Alvarez said. “I
actually spoke with him the night of the fight. He was really
excited and pretty pumped up. He was basically telling me that
the next move is to sit down with him and some of the people
at Viacom and see where their heads are at and where they want
to move to. Then after that, I believe, in the contract it says
you can start getting offers from other places or what not. I
think it’s only fair -- Bellator’s taken care of me
for four years and their main thing is, they did what they always
said they were going to do. We started on a tiny little network
on ESPN Deportes and moved all the way to Spike. Now, starting
next year, Bellator’s going to be a serious, serious promotion
to reckon with. I’m happy to be in the family and happy
to work with the guys. We’ll see what happens.”
Alvarez
put himself in a good position with his knockout of Freire. After
dropping his Bellator lightweight title to Michael Chandler last
November, he’s now bounced back with two quality wins, including
a quick stoppage of Shinya Aoki in April.
“To
be able to end my contract with a win is great,” Alvarez
said. “To end it with a head-kick knockout is beyond expectations.
I’m very happy. I have some people to talk to here at Viacom.
I have a lot of different people to talk to and to figure some
things out and see what’s best moving forward.”
Despite
Alvarez’s relationship with Bellator, the UFC remains the
biggest fight promotion in the world and has already signed away
one Bellator champ in Hector Lombard. Alvarez does like the direction
Bellator is headed in, though, with its programming moving to
Spike TV next year. Re-signing with the company will be an option.
“God,
it’s came such a long way,” Alvarez said of Bellator.
“I guarantee by next year, they’re going to explode.
Wherever I’m at next year, I’m going to be a happy
man with a smile on my face.”
Source
Sherdog
|
Dana
White’s $2,000 media challenge
By Zach
Arnold
ARIEL
HELWANI: “Big Nog picks up another big win here in his hometown.
How much more would you like to see out of him?”
DANA
WHITE: “HE’S A WAR HORSE. You know how I’m always
honest about this stuff, I should shut my face, but I’m
always honest… I honestly thought that Herman was probably
going to knock him out. You know, Big Nog, when you see Big Nog
lumbering around and he comes in and he’s getting undressed
you should see when he’s taking his clothes off at the weigh-in
you’ll see he was holding onto my shoulders, you know what
I mean, to take his clothes off… and then the guy comes
into the Octagon, I told him after the fight… you’re
amazing, you’re unbelievable, I bow down to you, man. He’s
just… he’s so awesome and he’s such a good guy,
such a good human being, and like he said… he had screws
in his arm! However many months ago and tonight he’s in
there, you know, going to battle again. He’s an absolute
warrior. He’s a legend. It’s an honor, it’s an
honor to even be in this guy’s presence.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “You have been critical of Jon Fitch in the past.
What do you think of what he did out there (against Erick Silva)?”
DANA
WHITE: “I mean, this whole thing about me and Jon Fitch
is a little… it’s a bit of a myth and it’s a little
overplayed over the whole video game rights thing. Half the crap
I see on the Internet is bullshit, OK? And… it’s, it’s
uh, it’s not true. Um, you know, do people think that Jon
Fitch isn’t the most exciting fighter in the world? Absolutely,
um… but he was tonight. You know, Erick Silva is an up-and-coming
talented kid and, uh, Fitch went in there and went to war with
him and, you know, because both guys are… I think Erick
Silva’s incredibly talented, you know, I like this kid and
this might be his, uh… this loss to him might be what, you
know, when GSP lost to Matt Hughes that first time. This is that
fight that might push this kid to the next level. Um… but
Fitch looked awesome, he fought a hard-fought battle against
a very tough kid and, uh, I got nothing negative to say about
Jon Fitch.”
Interview
from MMAFighting.com.
Dana
White offered the media $2,000 if any of them could name one
hit show on Spike since the UFC has left. Last week, I noted
the show Bar Rescue with Jon Taffer. Perhaps he should check
Bar Rescue’s ratings (1.3M viewers), which are better than
The Ultimate Fighter on FX. Feel free to cough up the $2,000
and use this link to send the donation.
Pay
up or else I’ll label you a deadbeat like the Association
of Boxing Commissions has labeled the California State Athletic
Commission deadbeats.
Regarding
Showtime’s future: “Call Showtime! If they’re
not talking about it, I’m not talking about it.”
“No
fighter that has ever fought here has ever gotten screwed. …
I’m not involved in that . … Call Lorenzo (Fertitta).
Give him a buzz.”
Having
Alistair Overeem fight the winner of Cain Velasquez/Junior dos
Santos: “Yeah, that’s what we’re thinking. We’ll
see how this thing plays out and what happens. Again, nothing
is done, nothing is etched in stone but yeah, that’s what
I’d like to see happen.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Jeremy
Stephens Released after 12-Days in Jail, States He Is Not Guilty
of Charges
by Damon
Martin
Jeremy
Stephens will have his day in court to try and prove his innocence,
but after 12-days behind bars he’s finally been released
on bail.
The
fighter’s management team at EVO Agents confirmed his release
on Wednesday.
Stephens
has spent the last 12-days in custody after being picked up on
a 2011 assault charge from the state of Iowa while he was in
Minnesota where he was scheduled to fight Yves Edwards on the
UFC on FX 5 card.
UFC
officials tried to get Stephens released on bail that night,
but despite their best efforts he remained in custody, and was
eventually extradited to Iowa.
Stephens
has remained silent thus far during the entire ordeal, but his
management team relayed a message from the fighter to the fans,
as well as his plea of innocence of the charges levied against
him.
“Jeremy
felt it was very important to thank each and every one of those
who have stood by his side during this tough time. He wanted
everyone to know that despite the negative situation that he’s
been placed in, he has remained upbeat and positive, reflecting
on the opportunities that have been and will be presented to
him, reflecting on his family, and his firm believe in his innocence,”
the statement said.
“Jeremy’s
legal team is already hard at work to prove what many already
know; he is not guilty of the crimes he’s been accused of.”
Stephens
will now head back into training as he awaits his day in court
to face the charges.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
NAGA
Hawaii Saturday & Sunday
2012 NAGA
HAWAII GRAPPLING CHAMPIONSHIP (2 DAY EVENT)
The North American Grappling Association (NAGA) is the world’s
largest mixed grappling tournament circuit with over 160,000
competitors worldwide. On Saturday & Sunday, October 20 &
21, 2012, NAGA returns to Honolulu, Hawaii with its annual NAGA
Hawaii Grappling Championship No-Gi & Gi tournament. This
is Hawaii's largest grappling tournament with over 800 competitors
in 2011! All Adults and Teens (14-17) compete on Saturday. All
Children (13 & under) compete on Sunday. Come as an individual
or as a team to compete. You do not have to live in Honolulu
or Hawaii to participate in this event.. This event is nationally
RANKED!
Pre-registration
is now closed. For information on registering at the event on
Friday or Saturday.
WEIGH-IN OPTIONS FOR COMPETITORS
NAGA
is offering all competitors the option of registering and weighing-in
FRIDAY NIGHT at Radford High School. On Friday, weigh-ins and
registration will start at 6 PM and continue until 8 PM sharp.
The Friday weigh-in will be open to all competitors regardless
if you pre-registered or not. Adults please have a photo ID on
hand when weighing-in. If you are not able to weigh-in on Friday,
you can still weigh-in on Saturday (Adults, Teens, and Children)
or Sunday (Children) at the venue. Doors open at 8 AM Sat/Sun
and weigh-in is open throughout the day. Children (13 & under)
competing on Sunday can weigh-in on Saturday.
DIVISION SCHEDULE (Doors open at 8 AM)
SATURDAY
(10/20/12) – TEENS & ADULT COMPETITION (times are just
estimates)
10:00 AM – All Teens Ages 14, 15, 16 & 17 years old
10:00
AM – All Women’s, Executives (50 years +) & Directors
(40 years+) Divisions
11:30
AM –Adult (18 years +) & Master (30 years+) Novice divisions
are called
NAGA has an improved method for bracketing the Adult & Masters
No-Gi & Gi Divisions. The intent is to have all divisions
take place as quickly as possible utilizing all rings at once.
The divisions will be bracketed by skill level in the following
order:
Men’s
& Master’s No-Gi Novice (Estimated Start Time is 11:30
AM)
Men’s and Master’s No-Gi Beginner (Estimated Start
Time is 12 PM)
Men’s & Master’s No-Gi Intermediate (Estimated
Start Time is 12:30 PM)
Men’s & Master’s No-Gi Expert (Estimated Start
Time is 1 PM)
Men’s & Master’s White Belt (Estimated Start Time
is 1:30 PM)
Men’s & Master’s Blue Belt (Estimated Start Time
is 2 PM)
Men’s and Master’s Gi Purple, Brown, Black Belt (Starts
after the Blue Belt Divisions end)
SUNDAY
(10/21/12) – CHILDREN (13 yrs & under) NO-GI & GI
COMPETITION - Opens 8AM
All
children must be weighed-in and be ready to compete by 10 AM.
IMPORTANT:
It is difficult to give the exact start time for each division.
As a general rule, get there early and be prepared to stay late.
There are NO REFUNDS given for those who have to leave early.
For
those registering at the event; you can download the registration
form / waiver, print it, fill it out, then proceed directly to
the payment table. This will save you time filling out forms
at the event. Those under 17, make sure a guardian (18+) signs
the waiver.
ADULT
REGISTRATION FORM
CHILDREN
/ TEENS REGISTRATION FORM
1
Division = $80; 2 Divisions = $100. Spectator passes are $15.
For family rates, download the event flyer/registration form.
Pre-registration closes at 5PM on Friday, October 12.
For
weight classes, age category, and skill level information click
the DIVISIONS tab above.
For
weigh-in and registration location and times click the DIVISIONS
tab above.
2
DAY TOURNAMENT; ADULTS & TEENS COMPETE ON SATURDAY, CHILDREN
ON SUNDAY
Due to the large amount of competitors this NAGA tournament attracts,
this event has been expanded to two days. All adults (both gi
and no-gi) and teens (14-17 years old) will compete on Saturday.
All children 13 yrs. & under (gi & no-gi) will compete
on Sunday. The tremendous benefit of a 2-day event is that competitors
do not have to wait numerous hours to compete. Each day will
end much earlier than in past tournaments.M
100
CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS AWARDED
NAGA is very pleased to be awarding 100 CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS to
all its Children, Teen, Adult, Masters, Directors and Executive
Expert Division Winners.
SAMURAI
SWORDS TO CHILDREN & TEENS WINNERS
NAGA will be awarding custom engraved SAMURAI SWORDS to all Children
& Teen non-expert 1st place winners. Medals will be awarded
to all 2nd & 3rd place children and teen winners along with
adults who place 1st through 3rd. All competitors who win a medal
will have the opportunity to obtain a samurai sword in addition
to their medal at the NAGA T-shirt booth for a nominal fee.
TEAM
AWARD - HUGE TEAM BANNERS
All top teams: Adult Overall, Adult Gi, Adult No-Gi, and Children
17 yrs. & under, will receive a huge, customized Championship
Banner for their team victory. Do not miss this opportunity to
showcase your academy’s talent.
GET
YOUR GRAPPLING GEAR AT THE TOURNAMENT
NAGA is bringing a load of grappling gear (board shorts, rash
guards, t-shirts, hats, gi hoodies, patches, skull caps, stickers,
dog tags, etc.) in children and adults sizes, for males and females.
Check out the huge selection of gear and apparel at the NAGA
event.
NAGA
ON THE WEB
NAGA has established a presence online through our website and
social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. We
are expanding the material that is offered on these sites outside
of the NAGA website. If you use any of these sites, please join
us and be kept up to date with the latest NAGA news.
- Get the monthly NAGA email by filling out this form. If you
have already competed in NAGA you do not need to fill this out:
http://www.nagafighter.com/index.php?module=joinpage
- "Like" NAGA on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nagafighter.
You will be notified of the latest NAGA news and events.
- Follow NAGA on Twitter: http://twitter.com/naga_fighter or
@NAGA_FIGHTER. We will start to tweet what divisions are coming
up at tournaments to help you as a competitor or fan stay informed.
- Our YouTube page is: http://www.youtube.com/user/nagagrappling
Submit links to YouTube videos of you competing in NAGA to youtube@nagafighter.com
so that we can share your video with the rest of the NAGA community.
NATIONALLY
RANKED EVENT
All NAGA events are part of the nationwide ranking system entitled
RANKED. Our goal is to determine who the best grapplers in the
country are for various age, gender, and skill levels. This tournament
will be nationally ranked so do not miss your opportunity to
gain points towards a true national title. More details can be
found at www.nationallyranked.com.
SANDBAGGERS
BEWARE
NAGA works diligently to prevent "sandbagging", or
the practice of fighting down skill levels to ensure one takes
home an award. NAGA has been working with RANKED to track all
fighters and ranked grappling events to produce true "national
standings." A by-product of these standings is our knowledge
of who has competed and at which level. Front door personnel
will use RANKED data to determine whether or not individuals
who have fought in past events belong in a higher skill level
(i.e. placed 1st at a prior NAGA event).
|
King
of the Cage This Saturday!
Saturday,
October 20
Blaisdell Arena
Prelim Fights start at 3:00 PM
Main card starts at 6:00 PM
|
With
TUF Coaching Gig Gone, Cowboy Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis Now
Targeted for January
by Damon
Martin
Just
a few weeks ago, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Anthony
“Showtime” Pettis were not only rivals, but both were
expecting to be coaches on The Ultimate Fighter.
That
was until Tuesday when the UFC announced that light heavyweight
champion Jon Jones would coach the Season 17 of the reality show
against former middleweight contender Chael Sonnen.
Unfortunately,
the move to put Jones and Sonnen in as coaches came at the expense
of Cerrone and Pettis, who had been contacted about potentially
coaching the show as recently as two weeks ago.
Now
with the show going in another direction, Cerrone and Pettis
will instead meet in a lightweight showdown in early 2013.
MMAWeekly.com
sources on Tuesday indicated that the fighters have already agreed
to a match-up, and are currently awaiting word from the UFC on
a date and location for their bout.
The
fight is likely to take place at a card in late January, but
no finalized plans have been made yet as the 2013 UFC schedule
is still unfolding.
Pettis
scared much of the fight world when he took to Twitter on Tuesday
stating, “Can’t catch a break injuries (expletive)
suck!”
Sources
from inside Pettis’ camp, however, confirmed that the former
WEC champion has suffered no new injury and is instead still
rehabbing from shoulder surgery that’s kept him out for
the majority of 2012.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Viewpoint:
The Spider and the Hourglass
By Tristen
Critchfield
If
his biographical information is to be believed, Anderson Silva
turned 37 in April.
However,
the work “The Spider” does in the Octagon is worthy
of a man at least 10 years his junior. The seemingly ageless
Silva surprised absolutely no one with his dismantling of Stephan
Bonnar in the UFC 153 main event on Saturday. By stopping “The
American Psycho” with a crippling knee to the gut in the
first round of their quickly-thrown-together light heavyweight
encounter, Silva only affirmed what we already knew: plodding
205-pounders have no business in the cage with the middleweight
king.
Extenuating
circumstances made Silva, arguably the sport’s finest pound-for-pound
talent, and Bonnar, an “Ultimate Fighter” pioneer,
strange but necessary bedfellows in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Both
fighters are to be commended for their willingness to save an
event that had been hit hard by injuries: Jose Aldo, Frankie
Edgar, Erik Koch, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Vitor
Belfort and Alan Belcher were all expected to appear on the card
at some point in time. Meanwhile, Silva had said he was clocking
out for the rest of 2012 following his victory over Chael Sonnen
at UFC 148, and Bonnar was apparently contemplating life after
MMA on a deep sea fishing boat. To their credit, both men were
willing to revise those plans once the promotion called.
With
that, the UFC 153 headliner went from a featherweight tilt with
serious pound-for-pound implications to something that company
boss Dana White labeled “a fun fight.” Translation:
Silva-Bonnar has no big-picture relevance, but we are going to
sell the hell out of the notion that the underdog might be able
to shock the world.
Make
no mistake, the main event was the most glorified exhibition
since Thunderlips rag-dolled Sylvester Stallone in Rocky III,
and that’s OK. Sports are entertainment first and foremost,
so not every fight needs to delve into the ultra-serious business
of rankings, titles and legacies.
Instead
of gnashing our teeth and fretting about what it all means, sometimes
it is best to take a step back, flash a wry smile and enjoy the
moment, no matter how ludicrous it might be. At no point were
things more ridiculous than when Silva dropped his hands, stood
with his back against the cage and dared Bonnar to take his best
shot. Once he grew tired of Bonnar’s attacks, Silva dropped
the hammer and called it a night. As a result, the champion received
his usual heaping helping of Greatest of All-Time accolades,
while Bonnar is afforded the opportunity, if he so chooses, to
ride off into the sunset as the courageous, card-saving hero,
all in the name of fun.
Let
us get back to the teeth-gnashing and fretting for a moment.
At the post-fight press conference, Silva said he has two fights
left on his current UFC contract. He could very well be 38 years
old before even half of that deal is fulfilled, and while Silva
appears to be MMA’s version of Peter Pan, eventually Father
Time will have his say.
“I
wish he was 27 years old. I’m serious; I want 12 more years
of this,” White said. “The guy is unbelievable. He’s
the greatest fighter of all time. I think he is the greatest
fighter in any combat sport. The things that this guy does is
amazing.
“Now,
the big talk with a lot of morons will be that Stephan Bonnar
isn’t that good,” the UFC president continued. “Stephan
Bonnar’s never been finished in the UFC, never been knocked
out, never been submitted. He came into this fight in great shape
and went after him.”
With
all due respect to Bonnar, whose place in the UFC annals is undoubtedly
secure, Silva does not need to add any more overmatched light
heavyweights to his resume before he calls it a career. If he
elects to fight outside his normal weight class, it seems like
a waste of the Brazilian’s considerable talents to pair
him with anyone not named Jon Jones or Georges St. Pierre. Of
course, “The Spider” continues to reject the idea of
a potential showdown with Jones, vehemently shaking his head
as the topic was repeatedly broached at the post-fight press
conference.
“I
know he’s been saying no,” said White, “but for
the amount of money that would be offered for that fight, I guarantee
you I will make Anderson Silva say yes.”
Not
happening, Silva replied, for the man with the Burger King logo
plastered across his walkout shirt began his fighting career
with intentions beyond the almighty dollar, and he can easily
revert back to those ideals if he deems a matchup to be undesirable.
In addition, Silva claims that he does not want to step on the
toes of any of his current 205-pound teammates by squaring off
with Jones.
What
interests “The Spider” most at this point is a super
fight with St. Pierre. At least one potential roadblock -- Carlos
Condit at UFC 154 -- exists before that lucrative conflict could
come to fruition. With St. Pierre returning from knee surgery,
it is a possibility that needs to be considered. While a Condit
victory over St. Pierre at UFC 154 would not put the brakes on
the mega matchup entirely, it would certainly dampen enthusiasm
for the bout.
That
leaves the rest of the middleweight division, which appears to
be much stronger and deeper than it was a year ago at this time.
According to Silva, Chris Weidman has not paid enough dues to
be a worthwhile title challenger, but should he defeat Tim Boetsch
in December and then get by, say, Michael Bisping in a potential
title eliminator next year, the champion would have to acknowledge
the Serra-Longo Fight Team product as a legitimate contender.
Then again, Silva has proven time and time again that he does
not have to do anything he does not want to do.
If
Silva’s fighting career were a high school course load,
his UFC 153 bout was something akin to a semester full of electives:
a whole lot of fun at the time but hardly the foundation of a
successful college application. Obviously, Silva does not have
nearly that much to prove; he is already the middleweight division’s
equivalent of an Ivy League valedictorian, but it is not unreasonable
to ask that his remaining fights be both entertaining and relevant.
When those two worlds collide, beautiful things happen: witness
the riveting duel between Jon Fitch and Erick Silva on the “Silva
vs. Bonnar” pay-per-view undercard.
Silva
says he would like to fight for five more years. If his extended
prime lasts anywhere near that long, consider all of us -- the
UFC, the media, the fans -- the beneficiaries. If not, the UFC
needs to do everything in its power to maximize his two-fight
potential. It is all in the name of good fun.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Jon
Jones and Chael Sonnen Will Coach TUF 17; Title Fight Set for
April 27, 2013
by Damon
Martin
UFC
light heavyweight Jon Jones has his next assignment and it includes
a coaching stint on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Jones
will join the show, which begins taping later this month, and
will coach opposite former middleweight contender and perennial
UFC bad boy Chael Sonnen.
MMAWeekly.com
first learned the pair were being considered as coaches last
week, but the decision remained in the corner of Jones, who obviously
opted to accept the job. The confirmation for the show was first
reported by the LA Times on Tuesday.
Beyond
their stint as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, Jones and Sonnen
will then square off in a bout for the UFC light heavyweight
title on April 27 at a UFC pay-per-view event with a location
to be named later.
“This
should be a good one,” White told the LA Times about the
pairing. “Jon has accepted the fight. He knows the fans
want to see that fight.”
Jones
stated last week that he was warming up to the idea of facing
Sonnen after public pressure from the fans that wanted to see
the bout take place.
Sonnen
was originally scheduled to face Forrest Griffin at UFC 155,
but now that bout has been pulled as the self-professed “American
Gangster” from West Linn, Ore., will instead coach opposite
Jones before facing him in the Octagon next year.
Sonnen
last fought at UFC 148 against UFC middleweight champion Anderson
Silva. He was stopped by TKO in the second round.
Jones
and Sonnen will head to Las Vegas on Oct. 29 to begin taping
the new version of the reality show airing on FX starting in
early 2013.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Anderson
agrees to face Jon Jones: “But it has to be at a catch weight”
Anderson
Silva: the dominant UFC middleweight speaks of facing the young
Jon Jones.
The
biggest middleweight name there is, widely regarded by pundits
as the greatest UFC fighter of all times, said he would agree
to fight Jon Jones, the champion of the weight division above
his, if the fans and the UFC really want him to.
“People
are talking about it so much… It’s not something I
intend to do. It’s not something that motivates me, if just
because there are other athletes on my team in his weight group,
like Minotouro, Maldonado, Feijão, Caldeirão. My
weight class is 84 kg; that’s my title. But people are talking
about it so much and I’m an employee of the UFC,” said
the Spider.
“Of
course, I could be saying I don’t want to. But what if he
accepts the money Dana will give him to fight? It’ll be
tough not to take. It’s not money that motivates me to fight.
I fight because I like it. So, I dunno. I wouldn’t want
to. But if it’s going to happen, it would have to be at
a pre-arranged catch weight. It wouldn’t be for his belt.
And I already have mine and don’t want a title I’ll
have to give up,” he said.
Anderson
Silva and Jon Jones are going through similar moments in their
respective divisions. They each have a handful of rivals gunning
for their belts but not one clear-cut challenger to the title.
But while the inter-champion superfight doesn’t look likely
to leave the paper anytime soon, at least until Jon Jones gets
his The Ultimate Fighter commitments out of the way, UFC management
and fans alike can at least dream of the fight everyone wants
to see–and the one match-up most likely to break pay-per-view
records.
What
do you think, gentle reader; is there another UFC superfight
you’d rather see than this one?
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Dana
White’s Monday meeting with TV & PPV power players
By Zach
Arnold
Dana
White’s travel schedule this week is beyond hectic. He travels
from North America to Rio for Saturday night’s PPV event
headlined by Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar. After the show,
he and other Zuffa officials will be hauling ass to get to Orlando,
Florida by Monday morning to be present for a business conference
(of sorts) that UFC is sponsoring. The event will have the big
players from the TV world, including InDemand and Fox. Dana White
will be the featured guest at the conference.
Somehow,
I suspect he won’t be spending too much time on the crap
ratings UFC is drawing on FX for Ultimate Fighter and for last
Friday’s Minneapolis show. Fuel TV drew 44,000 viewers for
the undercard of that event, while the main card drew 1.1 million
viewers on Friday night. I guess fight fans aren’t digging
this current batch of dog food.
What
will be interesting to see is if Zuffa presents a detailed stance
as to what the future of Strikeforce is and if the company will
continue to work with Showtime. On Monday, Kenny Rice on Inside
MMA reported the following:
Inside
MMA has heard from multiple sources that the relationship between
Strikeforce and Showtime may be coming to an end. We are being
told that the November 3rd event is in serious jeopardy and there’s
a strong possibility that Showtime will no longer broadcast Strikeforce
events. This could very possibly signify the end of the Strikeforce
brand. Strikeforce was purchased by Zuffa, the UFC parent company,
in March of 2011. We have yet to receive any word from either
Showtime or Strikeforce as this development continues.”
Here’s
Dave Meltzer’s response today to the Inside MMA report:
Although
Sara McMann vs. Liz Carmouche, Luke Rockhold vs. Lorenz Larkin
and Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir have all fallen apart due to
injury, and despite rumors all day yesterday about the future
of Strikeforce, at the moment the November 3rd event is still
going to take place.
Earlier
this year, UFC got into a battle with the states of Oklahoma
& Florida over taxes that UFC claimed were unconstitutional.
Once the two states backed down, UFC went ahead with a summer
show (FX version) in southern Florida that didn’t draw very
well. Then came the booking of the Strikeforce show on November
3rd in Oklahoma City. Dave Meltzer thinks the show will go on
but there is serious reason to believe that it could get postponed
or canceled simply because there aren’t enough names left
in the SF brand for Showtime to bother promoting the event.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Ratings
Report: TUF falls to all-time low, but UFC gets positive news
internationally
By Dave
Meltzer
Any
thoughts that Ultimate Fighter delivering a season-high rating
on Oct. 5 indicated a turnaround in the rapid ratings decline
of the show were answered this past Friday in the most sobering
tone possible.
The
show that put the company on the map fell to yet another record
low rating. It wasn't just a record low, but a number that was
19 percent lower than the previous mark set two weeks earlier.
The
show did a 0.49 rating and 624,000 viewers, down 42 percent in
audience from an 0.8 rating and 1.06 million viewers the prior
week where the number was bolstered by airing directly after
a live Fight Night show from Minneapolis. The hope was that the
increase in audience last week would hook new viewers on the
show, but instead, it looks like the opposite happened. For the
first time ever, an episode of TUF wasn't even among the top
100 shows on cable on Friday.
The
show did an 0.64 rating in Males 18-34, its target demographic,
putting it in sixth place in that demo on cable in the time slot.
While airing on Friday has been a major culprit in the decline
of the show, Friday's number was only half of what the show did
in its first Friday night airing on FX in March. The fact is
there has been a steady and significant decline on Friday, so
the decline is far more than just the night the show is airing
on.
The
worst part is with the consistent declines since week one this
season, with the exception of Oct. 5, there is no indication
that this is even the bottoming out point. There was sports competition
for Ultimate Fighter was the New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles
game that did 5.91 million viewers on TBS, enough that it likely
played a factor in some of the decline.
All
the weekend rating news wasn't bad for UFC, although you have
to go to another continent for the major positive.
In
Brazil on Globo, the top-rated network in the country, coverage
of UFC 153 did a 20 rating and a 54 share according to Ibope,
the Brazilian ratings service. No audience number was available,
but based on prior UFC shows that have done similar ratings,
it would be somewhere between 20 million and 25 million viewers.
What
that means is that one out of every five home in Brazil was watching
the fights, and even more impressive, more than half of the television
sets that were on during that period were watching the fights.
The number is even more impressive because the network coverage,
which only aired the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Dave Herman
and Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar fights, aired from 12:40
a.m. to 1:30 a.m. in Rio de Janeiro.
On
FX, the two-hour preliminary special in the U.S. did approximately
1 million viewers. The number is along the same lines as the
previous two shows, with UFC 150 doing 974,000 and UFC 152 doing
955,000. There was no UFC 151, since the show was canceled. While
it would make sense that the numbers of people watching prelims
would correlate to how well the show will do on pay-per-view,
that is very often not the case. UFC 152, for example, is estimated
at having done more than double the number of pay-per-view buys
in North America as UFC 150, even though the prelim television
numbers were almost identical.
The
other weekend number, for Bellator 76 on Friday night, was so-so
at best. The show, featuring the company's biggest drawing card
in its early years, Eddie Alvarez, in a bout with an exciting
opponent, Patricky "Pitbull" Freire, did 175,000 viewers,
falling right in the middle of the three shows so far this season.
It
was the second straight fight Alvarez didn't pull in big numbers.
His April 20 fight with Shinya Aoki only did 109,000 viewers,
among its lowest ever since Bellator got on MTV 2. And you could
argue from an international standpoint, Alvarez vs. Aoki was
the biggest fight in the history of the promotion. Alvarez's
lightweight title loss to Michael Chandler on Nov. 19, 2011,
did 269,000 viewers, even more impressive since the show was
going head-to-head with a UFC pay-per-view show.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Bellator
77: What to Watch For
By Mike
Whitman
Let
us not waste time with Bellator Fighting Championships formalities,
for there is much to discuss. Bellator 77 takes place on Friday
at the Reading Theatre at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Penn.,
and features the Season 7 lightweight tournament quarterfinals.
Here is what to watch for during the MTV2 broadcast:
Futility for ‘The Fugitive’
Dave
Jansen was the first professional fighter I ever met.
I
was on my inaugural freelance assignment for Sherdog.com, covering
M-1 Challenge 12 back when the Russian promotion was still using
the country-versus-country format. I managed to swing an interview
with Jansen thanks to a certain accommodating staff member who
wrangled the lightweight after his one-sided unanimous decision
win over Rio Heroes veteran Flavio Alvaro.
To
be honest, I had no idea what I was doing at that point, but
Jansen humored my green-as-grass questions and gave me some good
quotes for my report. Though my career as an MMA writer was still
in its infancy, I can remember thinking, “You know, this
guy is really talented. He could blow up if everything comes
together for him.”
That
is not exactly how it went. After earning three more wins to
extend his career unbeaten streak to 13 fights, Jansen was bounced
from the World Extreme Cagefighting ranks following losses to
Kamal Shalorus and Ricardo Lamas. Now, two years later, the 33-year-old
has built a three-fight Bellator winning streak and rides a nice
wave of momentum heading into his first tournament appearance.
Considering
the division in which he fights, Jansen has little room for error
at this stage of his career. A strong showing would likely provide
some sweet validation for the five-year pro. Conversely, a tournament
washout would be an especially bitter pill to swallow.
‘No Love’
Rich
Clementi is another veteran looking to make a statement in this
competition.
A
veteran of 66 professional encounters, “No Love” has
pretty much seen it all in his 13 years as a mixed martial artist.
Like Jansen, the Ultimate Fighting Championship alum rebounded
from a recent skid and now reenters the Bellator cage on the
strength of back-to-back victories.
The
Season 7 tournament represents a golden opportunity for someone
like Clementi. If the promotion puts on a subsequent draw at
155 pounds, the competition will only get stronger, meaning Clementi
needs to seize this moment and send a message, not only to the
Season 7 field but to guys waiting in the wings, like Brent Weedman,
Lloyd Woodard, Patricky “Pitbull” Freire and Thiago
Michel.
Rolling Russians
They
must put something in the water up there -- or the vodka, I guess.
Bellator’s
commitment to employing Russian fighters is undeniable, and it
has thus far proved to be a winning strategy. Men like Alexander
Shlemenko, Vyacheslav Vasilevsky, Andrey Koreshkov and Michail
Tsarev have all put forth entertaining performances, and I would
be shocked if the same does not hold true for lightweight tournament
participants Alexander Sarnavskiy, Murad Machaev and Magomed
Saadulaev.
These
are probably not fighters who will cross over to the UFC and
challenge for a title anytime soon, but they are more often than
not a heck of a lot of fun to watch.
Held’s Holds
If
you love leg locks, then Marcin Held is your man. If you cringe
at the idea of someone’s knee ligaments being forcibly ripped
apart, then you might want to keep one hand on your clicker.
The
young Pole may not wrench limbs with the viciousness of, say,
Frank Mir, Rousimar Palhares or Masakazu Imanari, but I think
one day he might. Another cool if not slightly masochistic quality
Held has in spades is his willingness to accept punishment while
attempting a submission.
Do
not forget, Michael Chandler nearly had his run to the top halted
before it began when Held snatched a kneebar in the Season 4
tournament quarterfinals. Though Chandler survived and eventually
put the prospect to sleep with an arm-triangle choke, it is nevertheless
impressive that Held was able to catch the future lightweight
champion in that type of predicament. I would mention Held’s
most recent victory in May, but I am still having nightmares
on account of Derrick Kennington’s exploded knee. Watch
this kid.
Tirloni Tries Again
Heading
into his first Bellator tournament appearance, Ricardo Tirloni
had lost just once in 15 career outings.
After
submitting to future UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson
back in 2008, Tirloni went on to win his next 11 fights before
getting starched by Rick Hawn in the Season 6 quarterfinals in
past March.
Of
course, Hawn went on to win the tournament and earn a crack at
Bellator’s 155-pound title, and I think it is a shame that
Tirloni was paired with the former Olympic judoka right off the
bat. If not matched against the best fighter in that eight-man
field, I think the well-rounded Brazilian would have made a solid
run at the final. No disrespect intended to Michel, Weedman,
Woodard or any of the other Season 6 lightweight competitors,
but I really think Tirloni has the skills to beat those guys
when he is on his game.
Can
Tirloni rebound from his knockout defeat to Hawn and show viewers
he is a legitimate contender in Bellator’s lightweight division?
Source
Sherdog
|
Smoogy
After Dark: Fixing the UFC Machine
By Zach
Arnold
Smoogy
says:
“It
seems like every MMA writer I read has wrote about or alluded
to a down turn or at least “struggles” for UFC, but
nothing really specific. Most cite TV ratings and some have noticed
the poor gates recently, but it’s hard to analyze the root
causes without being an Armchair Dana. I’m going to try
to break it down in simple terms. You know how people refer to
“The UFC Machine(tm)”? Well, the UFC Machine is busted
now.
“There
was a clear and simple logic to the early days of the UFC boom.
But the UFC Machine hasnt been maintained to cope as UFC scales
bigger. In 2005-2007, it was easy. TUF launched the breakout
PPV and the cast became the main event class for the Fight Nights
that launched TUF. In that ecosystem on Spike UFC had a perfect
fit. TUF was exactly what they needed to relaunch Couture, Liddell,
Hughes etc. as PPV sellers. With everything on one channel, each
program drafted off the other. Or if you prefer ball sports analogies,
they worked like a 3 man weave. PPV was and remains the key to
UFC’s strategy. But it’s the well-integrated TV programming
that makes the PPV stars. AKA The UFC Machine. Of course it takes
more than just putting fighters on TV. UFC scouted and found
transcendent talents who were carefully brought up as stars.
That’s the first, and hardest way to make a PPV star. And
being on TUF wasn’t a prerequisite, but obviously boosted
stars like BJ Penn and GSP.
“UFC
has also historically relied on another, easier method: bring
in fighters who attract an outside audience from another sport
(Lesnar) … or an outsized personality with “Youtube
appeal” (Kimbo Slice) or a combination of both qualities
(Mirko Cro Cop). Bit of an aside to my main point, but UFC has
always relied on interlopers from outside orgs (PRIDE, IFL, Affliction,
SF) to fill out PPVs. With Showtime guarding what talent UFC
left behind in the first raid, and Bellator doing ok, those supplemental,
co-main types are scarce.
“Anyway,
with the key components of the UFC Machine during the glory years
established, it becomes easier to see why it doesn’t work
well now. TUF is the easy target. It’s gone from watershed
event, to steady platform for PPV grudges/fresh talent, to a
semen-covered laughing stock. “Oversaturation” is another
favorite boogie man, but it’s a real thing too. You’d
think more TV time is inherently good, but not necessarily. Besides
the obvious lack of urgency to see every show (“picking
& choosing”) it shrinks the impact & window of things
each event can promote.
“UFC
was struggling to adapt The Machine to the growing scale of the
business before Fox. The switch over has really only exasperated
things. The UFC Machine was already overtaxed, then they disassembled
it and reassembled parts in 3 different places… Now instead
of just a wealth of options, there are dizzying amounts of filler
shows with index card quality titles “UFC Event on Fuel
TV 37.” Dana’s thesis of 2 dudes scrappin on a street
corner has been extrapolated to the breaking point, an endless
wave of interchangeable scraps.
“How
the hell do you fix it?
“On
the upside, FOX during NFL season could create new stars at any
moment. It’s a great platform. But current FX/Fuel situation
is untenable. UFC on FX is a bastard in a basket type deal, &
Fuel might not exist in a year (Speed is favored for a reformat
& could inherit UFC). They have to make it work though. So,
how can UFC tie together their jumble of TV events better so
the UFC Machine starts working again? I think there needs to
be a common thematic thread to connect events. Strikeforce’s
WGP was a ratings success for example. With UFC’s massive
roster and slate of events, I’d do away with the “on
FX 5? stuff and have a UFC “regular season” of sorts.
Some kind of points system that leads to championship tournaments
at year end could be really dramatic (and make cuts a lot simpler).
A persistent, annual measure of how a fighter is performing would
really help viewers keep track of what’s going on in the
UFC.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Chael
Sonnen: Fighters on Team Jon Jones Will Learn How to Be Selfish
Entitled Brats
by Damon
Martin
It
didn’t take long for new Ultimate Fighter coach Chael Sonnen
to begin throwing a few verbal jabs at new opponent Jon Jones.
Just
hours after the UFC announced the Sonnen would be coaching opposite
Jones on the next installment of The Ultimate Fighter, the self-professed
“American Gangster” was already on the airwaves at
UFC Tonight stirring the pot.
While
one of his strongest attributes may be the gift of gab, Sonnen
is also a very experienced coach and he promises to teach his
team of competitors as best he can, and the other half of the
fighters, well, they may be in for a different experience under
coach Jon Jones.
“Listen,
here is what you need to know. This show has some tremendous
young talent on it. I will be taking 50 percent of that talent
and teaching them how to fight,” said Sonnen.
“The
other half is going to be taught how to be selfish, entitled
brats like Jones. The good news is that when it is all over,
I’m sure Coach Jones will throw a hell of an after-party.”
Sonnen
hasn’t backed down from taking jabs at Jones’ personal
life, continuously poking and prodding at the champion after
his DWI arrest earlier this year. It’s not likely to let
up as Sonnen gets ready to sit side by side with Jones for six-weeks
starting Oct. 29 when filming starts.
As
far as the fight, Sonnen will face Jones in April with the UFC
light heavyweight title on the line. The odds seem all on Jones’
side as he’s been the dominant champion since winning the
UFC title in 2011, but Sonnen isn’t backing down from challenging
the 205-pound king as they head into their reality show coaching
gig.
“Here’s
the bottom line, he should not have been pressured into this.
I did everything I could to warn this guy. I told him, ‘Hey,
I’m coming to the division,’ and he should have packed
up and left it. He talked about going to heavyweight and he should
have done it because now he’s waited too long and the man
has arrived,” said Sonnen.
Jones
will have his first chance to respond to Sonnen on Wednesday
during a media conference call set to go down at 4 p.m. ET. MMAWeekly.com
will have constant updates on Twitter as well as posting the
full audio from the call when it ends.
Jon
Jones Once Again Overwhelming Odds Favorite in Fight Against
Chael Sonnen
The
UFC on Tuesday announced Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen as the next
coaches for The Ultimate Fighter franchise, with the two squaring
off following the series’ conclusion.
Oddsmakers
immediately went to work, once again installing Jones as an overwhelming
favorite.
Jones
will put his title on the line against Sonnen, making it back-to-back
defenses against unranked challengers. Jones last put his belt
on the line against last-minute replacement Vitor Belfort in
September at UFC 152 in Toronto.
The
champion opened as a massive favorite in that fight.
Nick
Kalikas of MMAOddsbreaker.com set that line at -925 for Jones
and +625 for Belfort, meaning you would have to bet $925 on Jones
to have won $100, but only place of a bet of $100 on Belfort
to win $625.
Jones,
despite an early armbar attempt by Belfort, won the fight by
TKO in the fourth round.
He
once again faces an unranked challenger in Sonnen, and, once
again, opens as the heavy favorite.
MMAOddsbreaker.com
set the opening line at -975 for Jones and +675 for Sonnen.
The
two will first spend several weeks together filming TUF 17 in
an effort to bolster the TV ratings of the franchise. The show
will also serve as build up to the fight, which will take place
on April 27, 2013, at a venue and location yet to be determined.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
King
of the Cage This Saturday!
Saturday,
October 20
Blaisdell Arena
Prelim Fights start at 3:00 PM
Main card starts at 6:00 PM
|
 |
At
37 years old, Anderson Silva shows he still has some staying
power
Anderson
Silva isn't the fastest fighter in the UFC, nor is he its hardest
puncher. He doesn't have the best chin, nor is he the organization's
strongest man.
But few, if any, fighters in mixed martial arts practice with
the kind of attention to detail that Silva pays. It's why he'd
stand in front of a wall and repeatedly let someone behind him
fire a ball at the wall – just so the ball would rebound
directly toward his face.
Anderson
Silva has said there's no way he'd fight Jon Jones. (MMA Weekly)
The ball coming off the wall was meant to mimic punches flying
at him. For hours, he'd slip left, slide right, and duck under
as the ball whizzed past his face.
"That's why he is so special," lightweight Cristiano
Marcello said of Silva, the UFC's middleweight champion. "Other
fighters don't think of these kinds of things. But Anderson's
desire to be great was so strong and he would work and work to
make things just perfect."
It was a simple, but very effective drill for a fighter who wanted
to stand in front of an opponent but not get hit very often.
That kind of attention to detail is what has made Silva such
a superb fighter and, in the minds of many, the greatest mixed
martial artist of all-time.
"I'm always trying to create new things and create new ways
to improve myself, so that's one of the training regimens I started
back when I was still training Capoeira," Silva said. "It's
something I believe helps my reflexes, my quick response and
something I can really take into the Octagon."
Silva, who faces Stephan Bonnar in a three-round light heavyweight
bout in the main event of UFC 153 Saturday at HSBC Arena in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil, is so good because he lets little slip past
him.
He's constantly striving to be better, even at 37, even as a
millionaire many times over and a sure-fire Hall of Famer.
"He's the greatest fighter of all-time and he does these
things like that as if he were just a young kid just starting
out," UFC president Dana White said. "A lot of guys
could learn a lot from how he goes about things."
Silva is unbeaten in the UFC and has rarely been challenged.
That's a rarity in MMA, a sport in which there are so many ways
to win and lose that even an outclassed fighter can catch a far
more skilled one.
Silva is 32-4 overall in his MMA career and 16-0 in the UFC.
He hasn't been beaten since he was disqualified against Yushin
Okami in 2006. The last time he was actually beaten came when
Ryo Chonan pulled off one of the most spectacular moves in MMA
history, catching Silva with a flying scissors heel hook submission
on Dec. 31, 2004, in Japan.
His biggest challenge on Saturday will be complacency. Bonnar
is only 7-6 in the UFC and hasn't beaten a ranked opponent in
his seven years in the UFC.
Silva is an enormous 11-1 favorite in a fight that is all risk
and no reward for him. Should he defeat Bonnar in the first round,
as he did in two previous forays into the light heavyweight division
against James Irvin and Forrest Griffin, it won't matter much.
He's expected to crush Bonnar.
But should Bonnar somehow, some way pull off the upset it would
be catastrophic for Silva's legacy.
[Related: Anderson Silva's former MMA foes recount facing the
G.O.A.T.]
And as meticulous as Silva has been in camp, he understands the
nature of the sport. He's a slip at the wrong time away from
losing his perfect UFC record.
"That is something that is very unfair, that we could train
the most we can, work out a lot and end up making one slight
mistake that determines the end of the fight," Silva said.
The one mistake Silva is making these days is the way he is handling
questions about fighting light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Even
at 37, Silva doesn't seem to have tired of the grind of being
a top MMA fighter. (MMA Weekly)
Silva and Jones have lapped the field and are 1-2 in the rankings.
Given Jones' Silva-like dominance in the last year at light heavyweight,
it makes sense for them to fight each other at some point.
That would make it by far the biggest fight in UFC history. But
for some reason that neither man has explained, they aren't interested
in fighting each other.
Silva repeatedly has said during Fight Week he won't fight Jones,
once calling the chances "impossible" when the topic
was broached. Yet, Silva has been open to a potential fight with
welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
His refusal to be willing to even consider a fight with Jones
is eye-opening, at the very least. During a conference call last
week to promote his fight with Bonnar, Silva may have given a
hint as to why he's been so against it, however.
"You know what got me this far is that I'm grounded,"
Silva said. "My weight class is 185. I'm 37 years old and
I feel like I need to be honest to [myself] and continue what
I've built, which is to keep defending my belt at 185."
He's clearly coming to the end of the line. Silva isn't going
to be another Randy Couture and fight until he's old enough to
earn an AARP card.
But Silva recognizes that MMA is one of those sports in which
one can never be prepared enough. There is always something new
to learn and another problem to solve.
By 37, most fighters have tired of the grind and simply don't
have the will or the spirit to push on. Not so with Silva.
"I haven't seen too many guys, if any, like this guy who
keep getting better this long into their careers," White
said.
Silva is a very physically skilled fighter, but that attention
to detail, his thirst for knowledge, is the primary reason he's
so good.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Jon
Fitch Back on Track, but Not Back in the Thick of the UFC Title
Hunt Just Yet
One
fight back into his return from nearly a year on the sidelines
and the questions about a title shot for Jon Fitch are already
forthcoming.
It’s
surely a little premature for such talk.
Fitch,
following a loss to current UFC welterweight champion Georges
St-Pierre, went on a five-fight victory streak before ending
up in a draw with B.J. Penn and getting knocked out by Johny
Hendricks.
That brought him to the end of 2011, but he has been sidelined
with injuries for the better part of 2012. He returned for his
first fight of the year at UFC 153 on Saturday night, putting
on a Fight of the Night performance against Erick Silva and walking
away with a unanimous decision victory.
It
was an exciting fight and impressive performance by Fitch, but
that’s not going to put him squarely back in the mix. The
outcome of St-Pierre’s upcoming UFC 154 bout with interim
champion Carlos Condit, however, could have a significant effect
on Fitch’s climb back up the ladder.
“Will
(Fitch) have to go on another eight-fight win streak (to get
another title shot)? I don’t know; we’ll see,”
said UFC president Dana White when asked about Fitch’s title
prospects following UFC 153.
“The
hard part about a guy like Fitch – as tough and durable
as he is – he fought Georges St-Pierre and it was very one-sided
(and he lost). The best thing that could happen to him is Carlos
Condit wins (against St-Pierre at UFC 154). He’s in a tough
spot.”
Should
GSP win in November, Fitch could very well be relegated to gatekeeper
status. A Condit victory, however, could put Fitch in a position
to win just another bout or two against top competition to earn
another shot.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Jake
Shields Fight with Ed Herman At UFC 150 Overturned and Ruled
No Contest
Jake
Shields‘ six-month suspension for the use of a banned substance
has now also resulted in his bout with Ed Herman at UFC 150 being
overturned and ruled a no-contest.
Officials
from the Colorado Boxing Commission confirmed the news to MMAWeekly.com
on Monday.
Shields
revealed the suspension last week, stating that he had received
a six-month suspension as a result of his use of a “banned
substance.” The substance that Shields ingested was not
revealed, and due to medical laws in Colorado, the commission
is unable to disclose that information as well.
Due
to the infraction and the laws upheld in the state, Shields’
fight with Herman will now be ruled a no contest.
Shields
will be eligible to fight again and apply for a fight license
after Feb. 11, 2013.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Matt
Hughes: “It Looks Like I’m Fully Retired”
Former
UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes hasn’t competed for
more than a year, and it appears that will be the last time he
steps foot in the Octagon.
Already
a UFC Hall of Fame inductee, Hughes has been out of action since
dropping back-to-back bouts to B.J. Penn and Josh Koscheck between
2010 and 2011, but now he seems ready to move on with life after
fighting.
In a recent interview with the Iowa Daily Gate, Hughes said that
while he’s never officially announced his retirement from
MMA, for all intents and purposes he’s already hung up the
gloves.
“I’ve
not announced my retirement, but right now it looks like I’m
fully retired,” Hughes said in the interview. “The
UFC still treats me well, so I can be retired. It’s just
funny, when God puts you on a road, you don’t know where
you are going. I have all the faith that he put me there, and
I have to thank him from that.”
Hughes
went on to say that he rarely trains any more outside of an occasional
training session with Robbie Lawler or B.J. Penn, and spends
most of his time working on his family farm.
Hughes
also has a hunting show that he will continue to work on that
airs on the Outdoor Channel.
If
Hughes’ career truly is at an end, he will retire as a two-time
UFC welterweight champion with 18 wins inside the Octagon.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Vacancy
on TUF interests Jon Jones, but not against 'unknown' Cormier
Increasingly dominant among heavyweight, begins to miss challenges
for Jon Jones. Mauricio Shogun and Lyoto Machida are always remembered
as potential fighters who can dethrone the defending champions.
Pointed
out by many other fighter is undefeated Daniel Cormier, Strikeforce
heavyweight champion. He would have no trouble cutting a few
pounds and fight between light heavyweight, so his name was vented
to the post of coach of the 17th season of TUF.
Jon
Jones would be the next coach of the program, but the champion
does not seem to animate with the name Cormier.
"Would
you be interested in a season of TUF in the future, but accept
with the right opponent. Regarding Daniel Cormier say he wants
to be the coach against me, he'd like that, is not it? He is
relatively unknown, I do it when the fans know the two guys,
when angry and when you bring many viewers. I'm not here to improve
their morale, "Jones told ESPN UK.
The
Ultimate has its 16th season of TUF in the air, with Shance Carwin
and Roy Nelson as coaches, and TUF Australia v UK, where George
Sotiropoulos and Ross Pearson are responsible for training. Like
the TUF 17, TUF Brazil 2 also follows without their trainers
set.
Source:
Tatame |
Metamoris
Pro: Bochecha dominates Roger; Caio, Kron, Lovato tap out opponents
Metamoris
Pro’s premise was that if you eliminate points from a Jiu-Jitsu
match, you force the fighters to go for the submission.
In
a certain way, that was what happened in the six fights on the
card for the first installment of the event, held this Sunday
in the Viejas Arena, in San Diego, California.
Caio
Terra defeated Jeff Glover with an armbar.
It
was a fight that at moments resembled a friendly roll in the
academy, with both fighters playing and making jokes.
But
when things got serious, Caio Terra targetted Glover’s arm
and went for it.
For
minutes, Terra set and adjusted the armbar until he finally broke
Jeff’s defense and got the tap.
Rafael
Lovato Jr, who tapped out Kayron Gracie with a Kimura, was intense
before, during and after the match.
Although
Kayron had some great moments in the early stages of the fight,
his gas ran out too quickly.
From
the sixth minute on, Lovato steamrolled his adversary, attacked
the back and the legs until getting a match-deciding Kimura.
“I
knew how dangerous he was, but I was very well prepared for him,”
said Lovato afterwards.
Kron
Gracie was intense in the press conference, one day earlier,
and was even more intense during the fight.
His
fight against Otavio Sousa lasted 17 minutes, and Kron only managed
the guard pass that led to the armbar within the 16th minute.
“He
is too strong, so when I saw the first opportunity to get the
tap out, I took it,” stated Kron Gracie.
The
other three fights went the distance, however, and ended in draws.
Although
the three last fights of the day had the same final result, they
were very different draws.
If
points had counted, Xande Ribeiro would certainly be the winner
against Dean Lister in the only No-Gi match of the Metamoris
card.
The
Brazilian passed guard, had three good opportunities to finish
the fight out of three attacks on Lister’s arm, but could
not get the tap.
Then,
Andre Galvão and Ryron Gracie had a much more even match.
Galvão
controled the first half, passed guard, tried to take Ryron’s
back but in the end was unable to get the submission he wanted.
Ryron
Gracie played according to his views on Jiu-Jitsu and defended
against a heavier and stronger Galvão perfectly during
almost the entire match.
When
Galvão showed that he was running out of gas, Ryron tried
to win the fight with attacks to Andre’s foot.
The
most controversial moment of the evening was Galvão’s
post fight interview, while still on the mat.
Annoyed
by Ryron’s supporters, who booed him, Andre issued a challenge:
“I want to fight Ryron again, but under my rules, with points.
I fought to win; he fought to draw,” said Galvão,
to more boos.
Ryron
responded by saying that if points had counted in the match,
he would have played differently, taking more risks to attack.
The
main event of the evening can fairly be called a clash of generations.
Roger
Gracie is 31, and Marcus Bochecha is 22.
Roger
had been away from competition Jiu-Jitsu since 2010, and Bochecha
is the current absolute black belt world champion.
Even
so, Bochecha knew who he was about to face: “He is the best
of all times”, he stated a day earlier at the press conference.
Roger
also knew that it was not going to be an easy fight, and it really
wasn’t.
Bochecha
exploded in the beginning, tried to get Roger’s back.
The
Gracie had his best moment after the initial drive by Bochecha,
who even tried for an ankle lock.
At
one point, Roger finally ended up in Bochecha’s guard and
managed to pass.
When
in side-control he got a taste of his opponent’s power:
“When Bochecha was able to get out of my side-control and
stand up, I knew it was going to be a very hard fight,”
said Roger.
And
it was!
Bochecha
attacked Roger’s back, tried to pass guard, and with litle
over a minute left, went for the armbar.
The
crowd stood up ready to watch Roger tap out for the first time
since anyone could remember, but he didn’t.
Roger
played by the book and with all the right moves escaped the tight
armbar.
“I
gave no space to him, but he escaped anyway,” said Bochecha.
“I
made a decision not to tap there,” revealed Roger.
The
night ended with the feeling that what really matters when you
want to see some really exiting Jiu-Jitsu matches is not so much
the rules, but the athletes you pick, and Metamoris had all the
right picks.
When
you choose the right athletes, you get great matches.
At
the end, Metamoris owner Robert Zeps announced that the event
will probably become biannual and that the idea of holding installments
in Brazil and Japan is already creeping into the producers’
minds.
He
also announced that Caio Terra, Kron and Lovato were awarded
an extra $5,000 apiece for their submissions.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Jon
Fitch Feels the Weight Fall From His Shoulders with UFC 153 Victory
and Bonus
Jon
Fitch is one of the most successful fighters to ever set foot
in the Octagon; yet he is also one of the most criticized for
having a lackluster fighting style.
Fighters
that are good at planting their opposition on the mat and working
a ground and pound attack are often labeled “boring.”
And Jon Fitch at times has had that label plastered across his
forehead.
Never
mind that his overall record stands at 24-4-1, while his in-Octagon
dossier reads 14-2-1. Just disregard that Fitch counts among
his victories the likes of Thiago Alves, Diego Sanchez, Paulo
Thiago, Mike Pierce, and, at UFC 153 on Saturday night, Erick
Silva.
“People
complain about Jon Fitch laying on people?” questioned UFC
president Dana White following UFC 153. “This is mixed martial
arts; your job is to keep him from doing it.
“Tonight,
Erick Silva was doing that. Fitch was grinding him against the
fence the way that he does and Silva got out and countered. It
was a back-and-forth fight. Both guys looked awesome. It was
a war.”
Fitch
said heading into the fight that he wanted to put on a Fight
of the Night performance and that’s exactly what he did,
literally. Not only did White sing he and Silva’s praises,
he awarded them the UFC 153 Fight of the Night, which meant an
extra $70,000 bonus for each of them.
“I
gotta give credit to my opponent, Erick Silva,” remarked
Fitch at the post-fight press conference. “Great fights
are made when both guys are coming in to finish and take risks.
Tonight, he was the perfect opponent for me to kind of show what
I’m really about, kind of restart my career, and give myself
a fresh breath, help my family out and make some money.”
What
Fitch is referring to, as he explained on MMAWeekly Radio leading
up to UFC 153, is that the last couple years of his career have
been pretty heavily burdened by injuries and other circumstances
that have kept him out of the Octagon quite a bit. Saturday night’s
fight was only Fitch’s fifth since 2009.
“We
don’t make millions of dollars as it is, but if you’re
not fighting, you’re not getting paid,” he said. “So
things have been a little bit rough in the bank account.”
So
just getting back in the Octagon was a financial load off of
Fitch’s mind, but to score a Fight of the Night bonus on
top of his show and win money certainly puts Fitch back in a
much happier place.
“It
gives me a lot of comfort, gives me space, not have to worry
about money. I can just focus on training and doing what I love.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
With
Two Fights Left On His UFC Deal, Anderson Silva and Dana White
Will Renegotiate Very Soon
The
future for UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva isn’t
terribly clear after his latest win at UFC 153.
It
would appear Silva can write his own checks out of the UFC bank
account at this point with his incredible winning streak, his
devastating style, and continued success in pulling in both live
crowds and pay-per-view sales.
Following
his win over Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153, Silva now sits with two
fights remaining on his current UFC deal, and he’s bounced
back and forth on what exactly comes next.
Silva
has talked quite a bit about staying at middleweight or possibly
a super fight at a catch weight against UFC welterweight champion
Georges St-Pierre.
Right
now, Silva isn’t sure what comes next although he doesn’t
appear too interested in facing middleweight contender Chris
Weidman in the near future.
“I
think all athletes in this division will get their opportunity
of going for the title, I don’t have any intention of fighting
with (Chris Weidman), I think he still has a lot to do in the
UFC,” Silva said on Saturday.
“I’m
in a comfortable position and I’m no longer a child, I’m
37-years old. He’s a kid, and he’s starting and this
might happen, but I have two fights left in my contract and I
think one of them will be with (Georges) St-Pierre, and I don’t
really have the intention of fighting with him because I’m
not a fool, I’m an oldie you know.”
All
jokes aside, the middleweight division does seem on the brink
of creating some valid new contenders to Silva’s title with
Weidman facing Tim Boetsch in December, as well as British bad
boy Michael Bisping lurking in the shadows as well.
One
thing is for sure, even though Silva only has two fights remaining
on his current contract, he’ll probably cash in for quite
a chunk of change if he re-signs for more fights, and UFC President
Dana White has every intention of making that lucrative offer
very soon.
“Anderson
Silva said he has two fights left contract but he’s going
to fight for five more years. So it looks like we’ve got
to renegotiate. I’d like to sign him up for 55 more fights,
I’m in, I love it. I will be negotiating with Anderson and
his crew very soon on a lot of different issues,” White
stated.
There’s
no telling how many fights Silva has left before he decides to
call it a career, but if he sticks around, he’ll surely
be walking away with one of the biggest paychecks in UFC history.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Dana
White Wants Glover Teixeira to Fight a ‘Top Guy’ Before
Considering a UFC Title Shot
UFC
light heavyweight Glover Teixeira may have only had two fights
inside the Octagon, but company president Dana White has already
been impressed with what he has seen thus far from the Brazilian.
Teixeira
made his UFC debut at UFC 146 in May, where he choked out Kyle
Kingsbury in the second round. He followed that up with a TKO
stoppage on Saturday night against fellow Brazilian Fabio Maldonado
at UFC 153 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“He
put on a great fight tonight against a tough guy and I have to
give props to him,” White said after the fight. “Maldonado
was unbelievably tough tonight, and some of the shots he was
taking were unbelievable.”
When
asked whether Teixeira is in line for a shot at Jon Jones‘
belt, White responded, “He’s going to have to fight
one of the top guys before we start talking about title shots.”
White
was then asked if Phil Davis, who also fought on the UFC 153
fight card, was a possibility as Jones’ next opponent. The
UFC president was non-committal, but answered, “maybe Phil.”
Following
his win, Teixeira called out his original opponent Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson, who was forced to pull out because of injury.
“I’d
like to fight Quinton Jackson. I never talked (expletive) about
him. I don’t talk about him. He was my idol. I loved that
guy coming up in Pride. But he says I was talking bad about him.
I’m not talking bad about him. I’m not afraid of no
man,” said Teixeira.
“Step
in the ring with me; I’ll fight anyone.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Shogun
x Gustafsson can set next opponent Jon Jones
The duel between Alexander Gustafsson and Maurício Shogun,
scheduled for Dec. 8 at UFC on FOX 5, let the winner "in
front of the goal." Who guarantees is Dana White, president
of the event.
"It
will put one of these guys in position. Let's see what happens,
"said the hat, at a news conference after the conference
post-fight UFC Rio 3 on Saturday night at HSBC Arena.
The
topper was happy with the excitement of the fans with the war
in the United States.
"The
excitement about this fight in America is amazing. Tickets flew.
Before traveling, tickets were almost sold out. You've probably
exhausted now. This fight will be grand, others will be "get
excited.
A
Swedish reporter, present at the conference, said the unrest
is the same in Sweden, the birthplace of Gustafsson, which further
encouraged Dana White.
"I
bet you do. It will be too. It will be a great fight, a great
show. "
The
only thing the UFC president is about the growing wave of injuries
that has its punishing events in recent months.
"Please,
let (this fight) is maintained," he jokes.
Source:
Tatame
|
Statements
of the week in the Jiu-Jitsu and MMA world
“Anderson
doesn’t like talking about it to not seem arrogant, but
he’s a fighter who likes testing himself, breaking barriers
and reaching new levels. We’re going to work on making Anderson
vs. Jon Jones. I know he doesn’t fight for money but he’ll
make a lot of money with this fight. You can bet on it.”
Dana White at post-UFC 153/Rio press conference
“I
prefer GSP to Jones. The guy’s smaller; I’ll get beat
up less…”
Anderson Silva joking with Dana White
“I
don’t think me against Jacaré will happen in MMA.
Folks want to relive the rivalry we had in Jiu-Jitsu but there
are other, more interesting fights for us on the way to the Strikeforce
middleweight title these days.”
Roger Gracie
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Anderson
Silva ruins another light heavyweight, stoking fire for a superfight
against Jon Jones
And the legend continues to grow. Anderson Silva discusses his
first-round stoppage of the always-tough …
Email
Maybe
it was when Anderson Silva, in an attempt to make the UFC 153
main event competitive, kept standing flat footed and leaning
back against the Octagon, literally positioning himself in the
ideal spot for his opponent, Stephan Bonnar, to attack him.
Or when he dropped his hands and dared the bigger, heavier Bonnar
to punch him. Or when he actually took a few of Bonnar’s
fists and elbows and just smiled. Or when his corner told him
to knock it off and he laughed and reassured them that he was
in no danger.
Or, perhaps, it was when, deciding he’d done enough to give
his home nation fans a show in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, Silva
grabbed Bonnar, threw him to the ground and then delivered a
crushing knee to the solar plexus. The fight ended seconds later
at 4:31 of the first round.
Somewhere in there, in a performance that was a complete folly
mostly because of Silva’s complete genius, was the renewed
desire to see the middleweight champ stay up at light heavyweight
and finish off his incomparable career with a series of big-money,
big-moment fights.
Like against Jon “Bones” Jones, UFC light heavyweight
champ and perhaps the only man on earth with the physical tools
and skill set to beat Spider Silva.
“No I’m not going to fight at 205 again,” Silva
said after moving his UFC record to 16-0 and his overall mark
to 33-4. He hasn’t lost in nearly seven years.
“I fought at 205 to save the event,” he continued.
“I fight at 185 pounds. I was doing this just to save the
show and put on a show for everybody.”
The name Jones wasn’t mentioned in the question that spurred
that answer but Silva’s answer was pointed to everyone around
the globe wanting to see the sport’s two best and most dynamic
talents square off. Silva has been consistent that the fight
won’t happen. Jones has said the same thing.
They are probably correct. But no one has to be pleased about
it, including UFC president Dana White, who thinks he could put
enough money on the table to change Silva’s mind.
“The amount of money offered for that fight,” White
said at the post-fight press conference, “I guarantee you
I’ll make him say, ‘yes, yes, yes.’ ”
White always believes money talks and he’s often correct.
Silva remained unmoved though.
“It’d be a travesty,” if Jones-Silva doesn’t
happen, said Joe Rogan, the UFC color commentator after the fight.
“For history’s sake,” Rogan implored. “For
history’s sake.”
Historic it would be. A dream bout, one where no one could be
overly confident in their guy. The current best against what
looks like the future best. If Jones goes on to have the career
everyone projects, there will forever be debates about who was
greater. It’d be nice to see them settle it in the Octagon.
“I’m not the best,” Silva said after recording
his 16th consecutive victory in UFC. “I just believe I can
do things other people think are impossible.”
Well, he’s wrong on both accounts. He is the best; Jones,
just 25, is still developing. And there can’t be anyone
left that believes there is something impossible for Silva to
do once he steps inside the Octagon.
All of which makes these fights like Bonnar a bit melancholy.
Other than two battles with Chael Sonnen at middleweight, Silva
has rarely been challenged during his epic run of success. Three
times he’s stepped up to 205, and all three times he made
a mockery of what were supposed to be stronger guys.
Bonnar isn’t an elite fighter and isn’t a tune-up for
someone the caliber of Jones. Any good fighter at 205 would beat
Bonnar.
Still, the way Silva tried to make the fight competitive made
this an absurd exhibition of his skill. It was like Michael Phelps
swimming with an anchor wrapped around one ankle … and still
winning handily.
At age 37, there is nothing left for Silva to accomplish at 185
and few, if any, interesting fights on the horizon. He’s
cleaned that division out multiple times. He could beat Sonnen
a third time, but other than that, the only reason to watch Silva
fight is to watch the pyrotechnics of his finishes.
He’s turned into a greater showman of late, moved on from
a stretch of his career when he’d occasionally pout in the
Octagon and not finish with authority. Even with his age climbing,
he’s never looked better.
So if only before he retired or lost a step he’d attempt
to make the fight with Jones, a mega-bout that would likely shatter
all UFC records for anticipation, PPV buys and live gate.
And, as Rogan noted, there’s “history’s sake.”
None of this is Silva’s obligation. He can go back to 185
and make millions and cement his legacy as the Greatest of All-Time.
Fans will continue to tune in just to see what he can do next,
what impossibility he makes possible.
It just sure would be great if he tried it against Jones though,
where leaning back against the cage and taking punches wouldn’t
be advisable.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Marcus
'Cheek' almost ends Roger Gracie, but fight ends tied
If
on Saturday (13) all lights were turned over to the UFC Rio this
Sunday (14), athletes gentle art is that entered the scene. The
Metamoris Pro, held in San Diego, Calif., was one of the biggest
events of Jiu-Jitsu that we saw recently. Married with fights
worth 20 minutes without scoring, what we saw was the back of
the essence of the gentle art, which is finalizing. Of the six
matches, three finished tied (without end), but in all what we
saw was pure art.
In
the main, the current world champion gave a true and absolute
heat in the greatest of all time, Roger Gracie, who had his arm
stretched and only survived because he is a legend.
The
confrontation between André Galvão and Ryron Gracie
also finished tied and was not limited to the mat, since athletes
exhibited their views in an ideological debate. The leader of
Acts Ryron invited to a match in the rules of competitive Jiu-Jitsu,
Gracie while Galvao called for a cop insists 30 minutes and raised
the banner of Jiu-Jitsu as self-defense.
Check
out how the six matches were 20 minutes from Metamoris Pro
Caio
Terra ends Jeff Glover in armbar
Busy
fighting among Caio Terra and Jeff Glover, who made a good fight
and loose without pushing. From 5 minutes was more visible superiority
of Gaius, who began working for the top American finishers, with
beautiful variations omoplata and triangle. It was a matter of
time before Caio translate their superiority into submission,
which came through a fair armbar, forcing Jeff Glover to beat
with just over 10 minutes of combat. The Pan American champion
returned to defeat for the American Jiu-Jitsu in the Wold Expo
and called for the gentle art.
"My
intention is always to show that Jiu-Jitsu can be technical and
without force."
Rafael
Lovato Jr picks Kayron Gracie in Kimura
Kayron
Gracie Rafael Lovato starts pulling guard, scrapes and works
the passage at the beginning of combat. With 5 minutes, Lovato
tries an attack on foot Kayron, who defends well, but this time
is below, with Rafael trying to pass his guard. With 7 minutes
of combat, Lovato Kayron almost finished with a triangle, but
the Gracie resisted bravely. With just over 11 minutes of fighting,
Raphael was more whole Kayron passed guard and worked in a key
position Kimura from north to south, their specialty, which defined
the battle.
"This
is the end my best since I'm 15 years old," Lovato celebrated.
Kron
Gracie finishes Otavio Souza in 17 minutes
Kron
Gracie pulls and works in closed guard Octavius early in the
fight. Octavius opens his guard and tries to pass, but Kron works
with the hip and loose team fight ensues in the first 4 minutes.
Eleven minutes of combat and Kron Gracie goes over Otavio Souza,
who makes a good guard, but many attacks without goals.
In
15 minutes of fighting, despite good movement and exchange of
sweeps, no clear chance of completion for both sides., But the
situation was about to change. With less than three minutes to
the end of the fight, Kron passes the guard, and partly to the
armbar, forcing the current middleweight world champion to beat
in a rapid and efficient movement.
"I
do not mind the time, I'll just struggling to find the best opportunity
to finish and that's what I did."
Xande
Ribeiro tied with Dean Lister (Submission)
Dean
Lister tries a Bahian early in the fight, but Xande makes good
sprawl and avoid the drop. After 5 minutes of fighting on foot,
the fight goes to the ground and works Xande passing Dean Lister,
who defends well. Xande in a fast moving rides on Lister and
almost ends in the arm via a Kimura, but the ADCC champion defends
well. The U.S. has difficulty putting down Xande and ends always
locked, being forced to make saves. At 16 minutes, Xande fits
a kimura, Lister defends and ends up falling in a fair arm-lock,
a nice variation. With an outstretched arm, Dean escapes almost
by miracle of completion, something awesome! At 18 minutes, the
ADCC champion Xande attacks the foot, he was smart and escapes.
Despite
the broad field of Xande, which neutralized the dangerous leg
locks the opponent, the fight ends tied with Dean Lister, since
the points are not counted, only submissions. Xande came close,
but the opponent resisted bravely.
"I
think he only end if broken arm, he does not tap," said
Ribeiro.
Galvao
tied with Ryron and lock ideological clash
André
Galvão can fall early on and now falls to guard Ryron
past, trying to mount an attack from the north-south position,
but fights back to his feet. Combat follows truncated to 7 minutes,
André Galvão works half over, but Ryron get back
on its feet again. At 11 minutes, Galvao gets past the guard
Ryron and on 13 minutes the knee in the belly, but the Gracie
resets the ownership and custody fight ensues with no attempts
to finalization. With less than three minutes, Ryron pulls guard,
Galvao tries to fight back and go up again.
After
20 minutes of fighting, the duel ends in a draw between André
Galvão and Ryron Gracie, no chance of completion for both,
but the ideological debate will remain. At the end of the fight,
Galvao proposed rules in a fight Jiu-Jitsu competition.
"I
accepted these rules and meet him in his backyard. I tried my
best, now I want to see him face me in my rules ... But he does
not participate in the championships that I dispute. "
Already
Ryron defended the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu as self-defense: "We
train Jiu-Jitsu for self defense and to learn, not to make points.
Next time we will fight 30 minutes, "he said.
"Cheek"
Roger almost ends, but fight ends tied
Cheek
begins quedando Roger, who soon gets back to his feet and pulling
guard. Athlete of Checkmate gives a pressure on Roger, tries
to attack his foot, but the Gracie argues, can shave and get
on top. At 8 minutes, almost cheek scrapings helicopter, but
Roger is safe and the wave passes the guard. At 11 minutes, Roger
is inside the closed guard Cheek and pace of combat gives a diminished.
At 13 minutes, Roger Cheek hook scrapes, falls in the half on
top and tries to get her back, but that Roger gets back inside
the guard. At 17 minutes of open battle, the duel back foot,
in a show of pure technique! Missing 2 minutes, Marcus pulls
closed guard to Roger, can shave in "Berimbolo" and
almost ends the Gracie's arm, but he resists. The position was
on the stick, but Roger got rid of so unbelievable. Final Fight:
Draw-flavored victory for Cheek.
"It
was the biggest challenge of my life, because when I got into
Jiu-Jitsu he was absolute champion. Thanks for the opportunity,
I am a big fan of his, I know that did not win, but I tried my
best and tried to finish the armbar was very fair, thank you
Roger for the fight, "said the black belt Rodrigo Cavaca.
Roger,
exhausted at the end of the combat recognized the superiority
of Cheek and revealed that he was ill on the eve of the challenge.
"He has nothing to prove, showed that it is a great athlete
and I'll have to train hard. I thought I'd break my arm, but
the important thing is that I did not hit. I picked up an infection
and did not train for ten days, I could not come in the best
shape, but I decided to fight, "said Gracie.
Full
Results:
Metamoris
Pro
San Diego, California
October 14, 2012
-
Roger Gracie drew Marcus Vinicius "Cheek";
- André Galvão drew with Ryron Gracie;
- Dean Lister drew Xande Ribeiro (fighting without kimono)
- Kron Gracie Otavio Sousa finished with an armbar in approximately
17 minutes;
- Rafael Lovato Jr Kayron Gracie completed in approximately 11
minutes;
- Caio Terra Jeff Glover finished with an armbar in about 10
minutes;
Source:
Tatame
|
Minota
knockdown in Herman recalls: 'I thought he had been shot from
the crowd'
Again who else touched the Brazilians at UFC Rio, which took
place on Saturday (12) at HSBC arena was Rodrigo Minotauro. The
former Pride champion and UFC once again showed all his strength
and ended the American Dave Herman in the second round, using
just what the U.S. was keen to spurn the eve of the fight: the
Jiu-Jitsu.
After
spending ten months out of the octagon because of fracture suffered
in the fight with Frank Mir once again the mythological Minotaur
risen like a phoenix and came back to finish what had not done
since 2008, when it was UFC champion via a guillotine over Tim
Sylvia.
With
16 screws arm Minotaur used the trickery to "accept"
two American Falls, not to force the shoulder.
"He
is a very good wrestler, we trained the defense of that fall
judo he applied to me early on, but I really had to give in a
couple of times, because when he made that position a little
bothered my shoulder. Cedi two falls, he joined me and well designed,
"said Nogueira, who highlighted the work of Eric Albarracin,
Wrestling Coach of Team Nogueira.
"It
was really cool work. We train a lot. The Albarracin helps. That
fall I gave, we trained a lot. But we were training to defend
the fall he gave me twice. "
After a balanced first round, where Minotauro was a little better,
especially in the short distance, the Brazilian legend tells
what made the difference in the interval to the second round.
"When I arrived at the corner, they said: 'My friend, now
the second will put you down. You have to believe, '"he
recalled.
But
before finalizing the Brazilian still managed a knockdown upwards
of Herman, who startled Minotaur, as the gringo flew away. "I'm
scared because he fell too far. I thought I had taken a shot
of the crowd (laughs). I took a knockdown guy was here and there
across the octagon. It seems that rolling out, said Rodrigo,
who 'knew' that would finalize the arm.
"It
was cool, but he proved that trains Jiu-Jitsu. He left several
submissions, but the armbar was premeditated before the fight,
"he concluded.
Source:
Tatame
|
|
Dana
White: “Anderson Silva is the Greatest of All Time; He Does
Things Nobody Else Can Do”
It’s
been no secret who UFC president Dana White feels is the best
fighter to set foot on the planet since the dawn of time…
Anderson Silva. And for good reason.
Silva
was a tremendous talent before he came to the UFC, but since
stepping in the Octagon, he has been nothing short of phenomenal.
He’s
never lost in the UFC since his arrival in 2006, blasting through
nearly everyone he’s faced. He captured the middleweight
championship in only his second UFC bout. He’s moved up
and defeated fighters at light heavyweight.
Silva
has set records from most title defenses to most consecutive
victories to most post-fight bonus awards and many, many more.
And he’s not done yet.
After
toying with Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153, Silva mentioned at the
post-fight press conference that he might still have five years
left in his career.
“Anderson
Silva is laying down records that won’t be broken for 50
years,” said White after the press conference. “If
he really thinks he has five years left, he’s not at the
tail end of his career. Five years is a very long time. Three
fights a year for five years?
“The
guy is 37 years old, going on 38. 37 is when a guy is done, he’s
over, he’s toast, especially in the fight business. He’s
just a freak of nature when it comes to fighting.”
That
of course makes White smile, thinking about another five years
of Anderson Silva performances in the Octagon.
But
even with the prospect of several more years of Silva, White
was adamant that now is the time for fight fans to pay close
attention to anything and everything that “the Spider”
does.
Likening
him to Michael Jordan in the prime of his NBA career, White says
that Silva isn’t just the best mixed martial artist every,
he crosses any combat sports boundary.
“He’s
the greatest of all time. I think he’s the greatest in any
combat sport. Anderson Silva just does amazing things that nobody
else can do,” exclaimed White, proclaiming him superior
to even Mike Tyson’s heyday in boxing.
“Watch
every fight that he has. Enjoy every moment that he’s here,
because when he’s gone, you’re gonna regret it (if
you don’t).
“Anderson
Silva is the guy you want to watch when he’s fighting.”
Source:
MMA Weekly |
|
Glover
Teixeira Happy to Face Rampage Jackson Next If He’s In Shape
and Motivated
When
UFC 153 was originally scheduled, Glover Teixeira was in the
co-main event against former light heavyweight champion Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson.
A
training injury forced Jackson out of the fight, and Teixeira
dropped down one slot on the card and eventually faced Fabio
Maldonado instead. Teixeira won the fight by doctor’s stoppage
after the 2nd round.
Now
with two victories in the UFC, Teixeira is gunning for a top
opponent and he’s more than happy to face Rampage next,
but only if the former champion is actually ready and wants to
fight.
“I
don’t care. Like I said, I want to fight who wants to fight,
I want to fight Rampage if he comes in, in top shape. I don’t
want to fight him if he’s not motivated to fight,”
Teixeira told Fuel TV following his win in Rio.
In
his fight on Saturday, Teixeira faced a very tough Fabio Maldonado,
who despite his non-top ten ranking came out and showed great
will and determination, even after being battered on the ground
for the better part of five minutes in the first round.
Those
are the kinds of fights Teixeira wants in the UFC, and if Jackson
is a little too comfortable in life right now, the Brazilian
upstart has no desire to face him.
“I
want to fight guys like this guy (Fabio Maldonado) that wants
to make a career in the UFC. Quinton’s got too much money
already,” said Teixeira.
Somehow
in the build up to their scheduled fight at UFC 153, Teixeira
started hearing more and more from Jackson about how he was being
disrespectful towards the former champion. Teixeira says he never
spoke badly about Rampage, but he’s not going to back down
from a challenge no matter who is standing in front of him.
“He’s
talking all the time like I disrespect him, I’ve never disrespected
Quinton Jackson, that guy was my idol, he was incredible, and
then he says I disrespect him? I don’t disrespect him at
all, but I’m not afraid of no man either,” said Teixeira.
For
his part, Jackson’s injury was bad enough to keep him out
of UFC 153, but since that time he has lobbied for a late December
bout in the Octagon. When he’s ready to return will Glover
Teixeira’s name be the one on the bout agreement?
Source:
MMA Weekly |
|
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira Won’t Fight Junior dos Santos But Still
Wants Top Ten Opponents
Since
defeating Tim Sylvia to win the UFC heavyweight title in 2008,
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has alternated between wins and losses
in the division.
A
masterful performance has been followed up with a tough loss
every time for Nogueira, but after having his arm shattered by
Frank Mir at UFC 140 last year, the Brazilian legend returned
to form with his own submission victory over Dave Herman on Saturday
night.
Following
the win, the questions of retirement kept coming at Nogueira,
but he says that he’s still got time left in fighting, and
he wants to spend it gunning for the best fighters in the UFC
heavyweight division.
“I
want to fight top ten guys. I want to fight the top guys in the
UFC,” Nogueira told Fuel TV after his win at UFC 153.
One
goal Nogueira doesn’t have in mind right now is going on
a hunt for the UFC heavyweight title again. That belt is currently
owned by close friend and student Junior dos Santos, and he has
no plans of ever facing him, now or in the future.
“I
can’t ask for the belt because my buddy, my training partner,
he’s kind of my brother, Junior dos Santos, I’m going
to help him in the next two weeks in his camp to fight against
Cain (Velasquez),” said Nogueira.
Nogueira
may serve as a de facto “gatekeeper” to the heavyweight
division’s elite, and that’s fine by him because even
though he won’t be fighting for gold, he’ll still be
facing the best of the best.
“I
want to be in the top ten, fighting the best guys, at least helping
the sport in Brazil and be over there between the best guys in
the heavyweight division,” said Nogueira.
There
are a number of possible fights for Nogueira in the heavyweight
division, but it remains to be seen who he will get matched up
with next.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Anderson
Silva-Jon Jones superfight drawing much more interest than potential
Silva-GSP fight
With one short sentence, middleweight champion Anderson Silva
essentially rendered meaningless a fight mixed martial arts fans
have drooled over for years. Silva also provided UFC president
Dana White with his biggest headache since White was tasked with
finding a way out of a $44 million hole in 2005.
How could anyone care whether Silva fights welterweight champion
Georges St-Pierre when Silva is so obviously running from light
heavyweight champion Jon Jones?
Before Jones burst into prominence last year by going on the
most dominant 18-month run in the company's history, MMA fans
were salivating about a potential Silva-St-Pierre superfight.
Anderson
Silva eats a punch while fighting against Stephan Bonnar at UFC
153. (EFE)
Buying the fight would have required a leap of faith, though,
because St-Pierre is a far smaller man who has yet to show the
ability to compete with opponents Silva's size. Silva is naturally
about 30 pounds heavier than St-Pierre and fights at middleweight,
where the limit is 185 pounds, 15 pounds higher than the welterweight
limit of 170.
Such, though, is not the case with a potential Jones-Silva match.
Jones holds the UFC's 205-pound belt, and Silva proved yet again
at UFC 153 on Saturday at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
that he has no issues making light heavyweights look as ridiculous
as he does middleweights.
In the cage after knocking Stephan Bonnar out with a knee to
the solar plexus, Silva doused ice water on the building momentum
for a fight with Jones.
"No," he said, "I am not going to fight at 205
again."
And with those 10 simple words, he presented White with an extraordinarily
large problem.
[Dan Wetzel: Silva dismantles Bonnar, stokes fire for superfight
with Jones]
It won't be much longer before White begins to hear the two words
that should frighten the bejabbers out of any fight promoter
who wants to put on the matches the public most wants to see:
Mayweather-Pacquiao.
Anyone who has followed the completely ridiculous three-year
saga involving boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao
is, unquestionably, sick of it now. They still haven't fought
and, from all indications, they're no closer to a match now than
they've ever been.
Worse, the idiocy of the negotiations has extended to the fans
of both sides, who have taken to debating what percentage of
the revenues each fighter should be paid.
It's beyond moronic to argue that point. If someone is a fight
fan and wants to see the Nos. 1 and 2 fighters in the world meet
to determine which of them is truly the best, who cares what
they are paid? Boxing fans should simply want to see them fight,
whether the split is 50-50, 99-1 or, as Pacquiao recently offered,
55-45 in favor of Mayweather.
The likelihood exists, though, that the Jones-Silva saga could
devolve into MMA's version of Mayweather-Pacquiao very quickly.
Silva has never said directly why he won't fight Jones, though
it's apparently some bizarre ethos about not wanting to get in
the way of a shot for one of his teammates.
He's teammates with Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante, who
A) is signed with Strikeforce and thus isn't eligible to fight
Jones; B) is on a suspension for having tested positive for steroids
and is out until at least May 2013; and C) has done nothing to
earn a shot at Jones even if he were to sign a UFC contract and
the suspension were lifted today.
One of Silva's other teammates is Lyoto Machida, who will likely
get a rematch against Jones in the first half of 2013, assuming
he beats Dan Henderson when they meet in a yet-to-be scheduled
bout.
Both
Anderson Silva and Jon Jones have said they're not interested
in fighting each other.
Far more damaging to Silva and the UFC, though, is the perception
growing by the minute that Silva is somehow afraid of Jones.
Silva is the greatest MMA fighter of all-time, but he hasn't
faced a challenger anywhere near as gifted or as dangerous as
Jones.
Silva isn't afraid of Jones; no elite fighter is afraid of another
man. It's sure the perception that Silva is creating, however,
and that diminishes his legacy.
Those who believe Silva is afraid of Jones would point out that
Silva's been vulnerable to fighters with good wrestling and strong
takedowns. Though Silva has the second-best takedown defense
among UFC middleweights, neither Henderson nor Chael Sonnen had
problems taking him down. Henderson is a former Olympic wrestler
and Sonnen was an Olympic alternate.
It doesn't figure that Jones would have difficulty getting Silva
down. And if he did, Silva would have to find a way to counter
Jones' devastating elbows. No one Jones has fought has done much
about it yet.
Stylistically, the match favors Jones.
[Related: Jon Jones reconsiders fight against Chael Sonnen for
'the fans']
Silva's genius is in figuring out plans and using his vast assortment
of skills to win. It's hardly out of the question that he could
defeat Jones, though Jones should be the favorite.
Jones has shown no more interest in fighting Silva than Silva
has shown in fighting him, but Jones at least has an excuse.
It's in his best interest not to be chasing smaller fighters.
Just like a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao boxing match, a Jones-Silva
superfight would be the richest MMA fight ever as well as a bout
matching the two greatest fighters in the world, and perhaps
in the sport's history.
One of White's strong suits is putting together the fights the
fans want to see, though he doesn't have a perfect record in
achieving it. He was unable to sign legendary heavyweight Fedor
Emelianenko, which meant he wasn't able to make Emelianenko against
either Randy Couture or Brock Lesnar. Both were fights the public
was desperate to see.
White needs to get on it, and fast, and make Silva-Jones happen.
The worst thing that could happen to the UFC would be for the
fan base to begin using those two awful words when debating whether
Jones and Silva will ever fight:
Mayweather-Pacquiao.
White's goal over the next few months should be to excise those
words from the lips of MMA fans everywhere.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Metamoris
Pro
San Diego, California
October 14, 2012
Metamoris
Pro
Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
October 14, 2012
Roger
Gracie vs Marcus Vinicius “Bochecha”
André Galvão vs Ryron Gracie
Kron Gracie vs Otavio Sousa
Kayron Gracie vs Rafael Lovato Jr
Jeff Glover vs Caio Terra
Dean Lister vs Xande Ribeiro
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Georges
St-Pierre Battles Back from Tough Times: “I Lost the Love
of the Sport”
by Damon
Martin
Appearances
can sometimes be deceiving.
From
the outside looking in, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre
was the happiest guy in the world.
He
was a long reigning titleholder, a multimillionaire, the most
profitable athlete in the UFC, and unanimously recognized as
the face of the organization.
Despite
all that seemed right with St-Pierre’s world, something
was definitely wrong, and it literally took away the passion
he once had for the sport he dominated.
“I
had a lot of personal issues and I lost the love of the sport.
I was doing it because I had to, not because I really wanted
to,” St-Pierre said in an interview with Fuel TV on Tuesday.
During
that time, St-Pierre suffered a major injury to his knee that
required reconstructive surgery, more than a year away from the
sport, and hours upon hours of rehabilitation. Not only did St-Pierre
have to find a way to nurse his body back to health, but he had
to get his mind right.
The
only way to accomplish both of those goals was to make some major
changes.
“I
woke up in the morning and I was happy with my life, but I didn’t
have the drive to go further and further,” said St-Pierre.
“I
told myself when I took that long time off, I said, you know
what, I’m going to do everything. I cannot make everybody
in life happy, but it’s time for me to be a little bit selfish
and organize my training that I can take the best of it, maximize
the potential of my training and make it the best I can be and
that’s what I did.”
St-Pierre
didn’t go into detail on what changes were made, but he’s
a happier and healthier fighter ahead of his next bout, which
comes against Carlos Condit at UFC 154 in November.
“I
changed a lot of stuff in my life and my training and the result
is going to be in the fight,” said St-Pierre
Like
any major shifts a fighter can make, it always raises the questions
if it was a good or bad decision, but UFC 154 will tell the true
story about the Georges St-Pierre that walked into the injury,
and the one that came out on the other side.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
At
UFC 153, Team Nogueira namesake 'Minotauro' says all 74 team
members ready to go
by Dann
Stupp and John Morgan
RIO
DE JANEIRO – There's something special about sharing a fight
card – in your home country – with so many teammates.
Just
ask Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who fights at Saturday's UFC 153
event with Team Nogueira teammates Anderson Silva, Wagner Prado
and others.
"We
are a big team," Nogueira told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com)
on Wednesday. "We have 74 professional fighters, and if
you asked them, 74 fighters today would be ready to fight."
It's
that type of mindset that led Nogueira (33-7-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC)
to a UFC 153 heavyweight co-headliner with Dave Herman (21-4
MMA, 1-2 UFC). The pay-per-view event takes place at HSBC Arena
in Rio de Janeiro in Nogueira's home country of Brazil.
In
August 2011, "Minotauro" returned from a trio of surgeries
and an 18-month layoff and pulled off a major upset when he stopped
then-fast-rising Brendan Schaub with a first-round knockout.
The big win came at the same Rio venue, and it left many of the
night's 14,000 attendees in tears. A video of his team's backstage
reaction captured the raw emotion of the moment, as well as Nogueira's
influence in a fight-crazed country.
Nogueira
admits the magic of that night prompted him to lobby hard for
a spot on Saturday's card – despite his recovery from a
broken arm suffered in a December loss to Frank Mir.
"Fighting
in Brazil is something special," he said. "I had a
lot of energy when I fought last time. ... I asked them in July
to fight here (at UFC 153), but I had just gotten hurt. I was
very disappointed, but I asked again after a month. I told them
in September I'd be able to fight in October."
That
possibility looked unlikely until the UFC 153 lineup lost Jose
Aldo, Vitor Belfort and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson to
injuries. Officials ultimately called upon Anderson Silva, who
headlines in a non-title light-heavyweight fight with Stephan
Bonnar, and Nogueira to add some local star power.
In
a lot of ways, Nogueira felt the UFC 134 fight was for fans.
But when he meets Herman, whom he calls "a tough opponent,
big dude with a lot of knockouts," it's really for him.
At 36 years old and with 13 years of professional fighting and
the wear of tear of 42 professional fights, he only has so many
left.
So
on a card with his teammates in his home country, he plans to
soak in every second of it. This fight's for him.
"I
had had three injuries – on my ACL and my ribs – for
my last Brazil fight," he said. "I was out for [18
months]. I had been in crutches for more than six months. I just
went back and (watched the fight) and saw the whole vibe. A lot
of people didn't think I'd come back, and probably 30 percent
more didn't think I'd win the fight, so it was a big surprise.
"...
But now this one is for me. It's going to be insane man. I'm
going out and doing my best."
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Jason
'Mayhem' Miller walks out on The MMA Hour after bizarre behavior
on set
By Dave
Doyle
Jason
"Mayhem" Miller flew from Southern California to New
York City to make an appearance on Monday's edition of The MMA
Hour.
The
planned one-hour segment was Miller's first interview in months,
but it turned into something entirely different than anyone expected.
Miller
showed up as his character Lucky Patrick from the upcoming movie
"Here Comes the Boom," and never dropped the schtick.
In a poorly acted farce, Miller stayed in character, was belligerent
to host Ariel Helwani, and refused several attempts to change
the subject before finally leaving the set less than 20 minutes
into the show.
The
show switched to a pre-taped Pat Barry video, then went off the
air for several minutes, before Helwani returned and addressed
the situation.
"That
was interesting, and also a little bit frightening, and a little
bit sad." Helwani said.
The
incident was the latest in a string of bizarre behavior exhibited
by the Orange County, Calif. resident since being cut by the
UFC after his UFC 146 loss to CB Dollaway.
The
31-year-old Miller was arrested on Aug. 13 after being found
naked in a church in Mission Viejo, Calif. Last month he appeared
before an Orange County Superior Court judge and was charged
with one count of misdemeanor vandalism, which carries a maximum
sentence of one year in jail if convicted. He'll appear in court
again Nov. 21.
Helwani
saw Miller's actions as a missed opportunity to explain his recent
behavior.
"I
thought he was going come and use that platform to discuss what
was going on over the past couple months," Helwani said.
"I didn't think he'd come all the way from California to
do that. And that's unfortunate because I think this could have
been a good platform for him."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
John
Dodson Embraces the Hate, but Asks Why the Haters Don’t
Step in the Cage
by Damon
Martin
A
funny thing happened to John Dodson Friday night during and after
his fight against Jussier da Silva at UFC on FX 5.
Despite
a second-round knockout, Dodson was overwhelmed by the jeers
coming from the crowd in attendance in Minnesota. The boos were
heard loudly during the first round, and again in the second,
even when Dodson put da Silva away with strikes, cementing his
spot at the UFC’s new No. 1 contender at 125 pounds.
The
flyweight division is new to the UFC, but the last two high profile
fights in the weight class have been met with the same kind of
fan reaction. When Demetrious Johnson defeated Joseph Benavidez
last month to crown the first ever UFC flyweight champion, they
faced the same kind of fan criticism in loud order from those
in attendance in Toronto.
UFC
president Dana White lashed out at the fans who booed the flyweight
co-main event, and on Friday the 125-pound fighters found back-up
from a heavyweight who happened to be in the crowd that night.
As
Dodson battled da Silva in the cage, an unruly fan decided to
not only boo their performance, but began name calling the flyweight
fighters. UFC heavyweight Pat Barry, who was seated a few rows
in front of the fan, decided enough was enough and stood up and
called out the fan for his remarks.
“Pat
Barry sent me pictures and he was sitting there texting me. I
like Pat Barry as a fighter, and I didn’t know I was one
of his favorite fighters until he was sitting there going ‘you’re
amazing, you got all this energy,’ and you know what, Pat,
thank you,” Dodson said about Barry when speaking to MMAWeekly
Radio on Monday.
“He
was sitting there telling this dude to shut up cause the guy
was sitting there calling me a (expletive). He’s like ‘you
guys are (expletive), John Dodson’s you’re a (expletive)’,
and Pat Barry stood up and said ‘hey, what did you say?’
and the guy like buried himself into his seat and started crouching
down and didn’t want to say nothing.”
Fans
booing at a sporting event is nothing new, and the general consensus
is that if you plunk down your hard earned money to pay for a
ticket then you have carte blanche to cheer if you want to cheer,
or boo if you want to boo.
Dodson
doesn’t necessarily disagree in some instances, but when
name calling and cursing starts happening, he wonders why there
is so much venom being thrown towards the fighters who are doing
something the fan wasn’t willing to do.
“For
all those fans that are going to sit there and call a fighter
a (expletive), tell someone that they suck, tell them they don’t
know how to fight, tell them they’ve got no heart, I’d
like for you guys to go ahead and go out there and do it,”
said Dodson.
“You
guys want to judge us and be critics of it, but yet none of you
guys are doing it. This is what our lives and our dream is, and
yet you guys are sitting there being like the outside viewers
looking in. Like we’re giving it our all and you guys are
like ‘this sucks, you guys are horrible.’”
For
Dodson, it’s not about being loved or being hated, it’s
about fans appreciating the effort and hard work that goes into
any fighter stepping into the cage. If there was one thing that
Dodson did take away as a positive, however, it was being welcomed
into the fraternity of UFC fighters by his larger than average
co-worker.
“It
made me feel more welcome and appreciate the fact that other
people like us flyweights, other fighters appreciate our fighting
style. He can stand up for his brothers in arms, being another
fighter. Pat Barry is awesome,” said Dodson.
Since
spending time on the 14th season of The Ultimate Fighter, Dodson
has been one of those fighters with a ‘love/hate’ relationship
with the fans. He goes out and finishes fights, or puts on exciting
fights he doesn’t finish, but still he feels the heat from
some fans who he just happens to rub the wrong way.
Well,
if the fans need a fighter to hate, John Dodson is happy to be
that guy because he’s not changing the way he fights, the
way he speaks or the way he acts for anybody.
“If
they need somebody to hate, they can go ahead and hate me as
much as they want. I’m not going to be one of those guys
to sit there pouting, ‘jeez, I wish you guys would stop
hating me, I wish you guys would be on my side. Please, please
stop picking on me.’ No, if you want somebody to hate, go
ahead and hate me, but I’m going to keep on being me,”
said Dodson.
“I’m
going to keep on being the little cartoon character that I am.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Jon
Jones tweets interest in a potential fight with Chael Sonnen
(Updated)
by Dave
Doyle
Perhaps
we'll get that Jon Jones-Chael Sonnen fight after all.
As
any mixed martial arts fan who hasn't been living under a rock
the past few months could tell you, Jones, the UFC light heavyweight
champion, refused Sonnen as a short-notice replacement opponent
at UFC 151 after his scheduled challenger, Dan Henderson, dropped
out due to a knee injury.
In
the aftermath of Jones' decision, UFC president Dana White pulled
the plug on the Sept. 1 event, the first fight-card cancelation
in Zuffa history.
But
on Thursday night, Jones sent out a hint on Twitter that he's
coming around on the notion of fighting the mouthy former middleweight.
"The
more I realize how bad the fans want me to fight Sonnen the more
I am beginning to disregard whether he deserves it or not,"
Jones tweeted out to his nearly 483,000 followers.
While
Sonnen would no doubt jump at such an opportunity, much still
stands in the way of such a fight, from the fact the Sonnen has
his return to light heavyweight already booked at UFC 155 against
Forrest Griffin on Dec. 29, to Jones' arm injury, suffered in
his Sept. 22 win over Vitor Belfort.
But
the tweet indicates that Jones, if nothing else, is now open
to a match with Sonnen, one which would no doubt move a whole
lot more than the reported 450,000 buys UFC 152 is currently
estimated as selling.
Even
if Jones still has some hangups. He followed up his Sonnen tweet
with another less than 10 minutes later.
"A
part of me wants to do it for the fans the other part of me feels
as if it delegitimizes the importance of [a] championship,"
Jones tweeted.
Sonnen,
of course, couldn't resist responding via Twitter. Sonnen tweeted
(Caps are his): "You don't GIVE. I TAKE. Remembah [sic]
that, Bonesie-Boy."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Deciphering
Nick Diaz’s Nevada court petition
By Zach
Arnold
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
152 and UFC on FUEL TV 5 drug tests come back clean, one TRT
exemption
by John
Morgan
RIO
DE JANEIRO – All fighters who underwent drug testing at
the recent UFC 152 and UFC on FUEL TV 5 events passed their drug
tests.
Marc
Ratner, the UFC's vice president of government and regulatory
affairs, today confirmed the results with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
Ratner
said one fighter received a therapeutic-use exemption for testosterone-replacement
therapy at UFC 152, but he wouldn't identify the individual,
who tested within allowable limits, he said.
UFC
152 took place Sept. 22 at Toronto's Air Canada Centre, and UFC
on FUEL TV 5 took place Sept. 29 at Capital FM Arena in Nottingham,
England. With no regulatory body handling the drug testing, the
UFC coordinated it under Ratner's direction.
According
to Ratner, eight fighters were tested at UFC 152 all competitors
were tested at UFC on FUEL TV 5.
All
fighters tested negative for drugs of abuse (such as marijuana
and cocaine), as well as anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancers.
In
UFC 152's pay-per-view headliner, UFC light-heavyweight champion
Jon Jones defended his title with a win over Vitor Belfort. At
UFC on FUEL TV 5, Stefan Struve knocked out fellow heavyweight
contender Stipe Miocic in the FUEL TV-televised main event.
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Anderson
Silva “There’s No Way” a Super Fight with Jon
Jones Happens
by Damon
Martin
Anderson
Silva may have a lot on his mind in terms of future fights, but
Jon Jones isn’t one of them.
The
UFC’s reigning and defending middleweight champion will
next fight at UFC 153 on Saturday night against Stephan Bonnar,
but that doesn’t mean he can’t talk about the future.
Right
now, it appears Silva’s focus is on a superfight with welterweight
champion Georges St-Pierre, assuming all goes well against Bonnar
this weekend.
But
no matter how much Silva vs. St-Pierre might be the fight that
will happen, it doesn’t mean that people aren’t going
to ask about another potential bout between champions.
In
the last year, while St-Pierre has been on the shelf due to injury,
Jon Jones has been tearing through the UFC light heavyweight
division at an astronomical rate. He’s beaten five former
world champions in less than two years’ time, and he’s
finished four of them in fairly dramatic fashion.
With
Jones on his current run, there now seems to be a lot of interest
in a superfight pitting the UFC’s light heavyweight champion
against Anderson Silva.
But
while Silva has gone up to 205 pounds for a few bouts when the
UFC has asked him to, it’s not a longterm plan for him,
and he has no plans of staying there to challenge Jon Jones at
any point in time.
“Well,
there are many possibilities, but fighting Jon Jones is one of
them that I don’t think is possible,” Silva said on
Thursday. “There’s no way.”
Silva
has never been shy in saying that he’s not comfortable going
up to 205 pounds outside of the times the UFC has asked him to
make the move, and his goal is to finally face St-Pierre if he
ever does a superfight.
There
is also a burgeoning list of middleweight contenders that would
love the chance to face Silva before he retires, so for now a
Silva vs. Jones superfight appears dead in the water.
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
|
UFC
153's Chris Camozzi donates portion of purse to Brazil's Institute
Reacao
by John
Morgan
RIO
DE JANEIRO – UFC middleweight Chris Camozzi (17-5 MMA, 4-2
UFC) will be the enemy when he steps into the cage against his
Brazilian UFC 153 opponent Luiz Cane (12-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC), but
on Thursday, he brought smiles to a few hundred Rio de Janeiro
youth.
During
"UFC Children's Day" at Brazil's Instituto Reacao,
Camozzi committed to donate an undisclosed portion of his UFC
153 fight purse to the social project headed by Olympic judo
medalist Flavio Canto.
The
UFC, which earlier this year helped Instituto Reacao remodel
and update their facilities, also agreed to match Camozzi's donation.
"When
I found out I was fighting down here, I knew they have a couple
of troubled areas, so my manager, Jason Genet, and I looked into
it and found the Institute Reacao," Camozzi told MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com). "We realized the UFC deals with them,
and it's a good cause, so we got in touch with Flavio and worked
out some details."
Camozzi
and Cane fight on the main card of Saturday's UFC 153 event,
which takes place at Rio de Janeiro's HSBC Arena. Camozzi is
also planning to auction off all of his fight-worn gear, and
the proceeds will also be donated to Institute Reacao.
Located
in Rio de Janeiro's Rocinha favela, the Instituto Reacao provides
free judo instruction – along with complementary activities
such as cultural trips, physiotherapeutic care English lessons
and learning support – to more than 450 local children from
surrounding low-income communities.
Along
with the programs four other locations, more than 1,200 youth
between the ages of 4 and 25 years old are enrolled in the program.
Camozzi
joined UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, UFC bantamweight
interim champion Renan Barao, former UFC champ Lyoto Machida,
UFC middleweight Chris Weidman and "The Ultimate Fighter"
Brazil cast member Daniel Sarafian to lead the kids through several
martial arts drills. UFC officials were also on hand to donate
UFC gear to the children at the conclusion of the ceremony.
Camozzi
realizes his good deed will likely do very little to gain support
from the Brazilian fans at Saturday's UFC 153 event, but he did
earn a warm applause from those on hand for Thursday's celebration.
"I
like to give back and help the kids," Camozzi said. "The
UFC has helped me so much; it's only right to return the favor."
For
more on UFC 153, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the
site.
Source: MMA Junkie
|
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 fighter 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
|
UFC
Targeting Stadium Show in Brazil in Late 2013
When
the UFC headed back to Brazil in 2011, they new it would be a
big move, but even company officials have been blown away by
just how big.
The
UFC is currently drawing as many as 30 to 40 million viewers
for some of its programming in Brazil, as noted by the UFC’s
Marshall Zelaznik at Thursday’s UFC 153 pre-fight press
conference. As he put it, those numbers are “staggering”
when you consider a big number in the United States is three,
four, or five million.
On
the strength of such Brazilian interest, the UFC has returned
to Rio de Janeiro three times in just 14 months with no slowing
in ticket sales.
The
UFC was intending to do a stadium show over the summer in Brazil
with the rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. Several
different elements, however, came together to force a move of
that fight to the U.S. and the move of the Brazilian event to
an arena.
Zelaznik
on Thursday confirmed that the UFC is still committed to a stadium
show in Brazil and is actively working towards one in 2013.
“We’re
confident if we held an event in any stadium in Brazil, it would
be a success,” said Zelaznik.
“We’ve
got some work to do,” he added, but indicated that they
are targeting the third or fourth quarter of 2013 to make another
run at a stadium event in Brazil.
“I
think there’s a real appetite here. I just think it’s
a real fever here in Brazil.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Eddie’s
Bellator Bookend
For
a long time, everyone was thinking it. Now, even Bellator CEO
Bjorn Rebney is pretty much saying it: Eddie Alvarez is more
than likely about to make his final appearance in the Bellator
cage.
Alvarez
was long known as the face of the Bellator franchise, one of
the promotion’s only truly elite fighters in its nascent
years. During his time as Bellator’s first lightweight champion,
it was generally assumed that the 28-year-old would remain the
organization’s 155-pound king until he got tired of wearing
that crown and answered the call of the UFC.
Then
came Michael Chandler, a hard-punching, well-rounded wrestler
who took Alvarez’s best shots and then put him away in a
2011 “Fight of the Year” nominee at Bellator 58. To
his credit, Alvarez rebounded from the defeat by avenging his
2008 loss to Shinya Aoki in April, knocking out the ground specialist
with a controlled blitz of punches. Now, Alvarez must contend
with the heavy-handed Patricky Freire in the Bellator 76 headliner.
Much
is on the line for Alvarez in this fight, as his performance
should directly influence the UFC’s asking price. That means
fans should see one fired-up Pennsylvanian come fight night.
‘Pitbull’
or Pretender
What
does the future hold for Freire?
I
know he is a huge lightweight. I know he is fast, strong and
explosive. He holds one-punch knockout power in both hands. People
use words like monster, animal and beast to describe him, and
much of that appreciation is deserved. On paper, he should be
as good or better than any lightweight Bellator can throw at
him.
In
spite of all that, I am not sure Freire possesses the mental
toughness to beat somebody who acknowledges all that and still
keeps moving forward. I have my doubts as to whether or not he
has the endurance to win a tournament or whether or not he can
keep it together emotionally and recover if and when things go
pear-shaped in the cage. While still a respected member of Bellator’s
lightweight division, it is undeniable that Freire has seen his
stock fall following losses to Chandler and, most recently, Lloyd
Woodard.
This
is why we watch fights, though. Is it not stirring to watch gifted
individuals give all they have? Do we not vicariously feel the
emotions of a man who tastes either the thrill of victory or
the sting of defeat? Regardless of what Freire accomplishes with
the rest of his career, he should always rate highly in this
regard simply because he should be the monster everyone expects
him to be. Whether he fulfills those expectations or crashes
and burns, fans will care. Nevertheless, just as this is a huge
fight for Alvarez, so to must it be for Freire. One would be
hard-pressed to find a better chance for “Pitbull”
to regain some swagger and gather some legitimate momentum heading
into the next lightweight tournament..
Man Named Rad
Is
it time for Rad Martinez to shine?
Little
needs to be said about the character of this young man that was
not shown in abundance in the ESPN “E:60” piece that
made him famous. For those who missed it, Martinez balances taking
care of his disabled father with training and fighting. Bellator
brass took notice of the story last year and signed Martinez
shortly after his vignette ran on the sports cable network.
Martinez
made a successful Bellator debut in September 2011 and then notched
another promotional win in March, showing a host of solid skills
en route to earning a first-round technical knockout over Douglas
Frey. Two-time tournament veteran Nazareno Malegarie will serve
as the first roadblock between Martinez and the $100,000 payday
that would likely serve as a life-changing reward.
Can
he seize this opportunity and take his first step toward a title
shot?
Comeback
Kid
Wagnney
Fabiano will enter the cage for the first time since November
2010.
For
those who do not remember the Brazilian’s exploits, he was
the first and only featherweight champion of the defunct International
Fight League before joining the World Extreme Cagefighting roster.
Though Fabiano was considered by many at the time as a serious
WEC title contender, the Nova Uniao representative saw those
aspirations dashed by Mackens Semerzier in the 2009 “Upset
of the Year.” Though Fabiano rebounded with a pair of bantamweight
victories, he was submitted by Joseph Benavidez with a guillotine
choke at WEC 52 in what would serve as his final fight to date.
Does
the 37-year-old jiu-jitsu specialist have what it takes to shake
off the ring rust and make one more run at a title or will surging
Armenian prospect Akop Stepanyan derail that comeback train before
it gathers any steam?
Source:
Sherdog
|
Jeff
Glover and Metamoris match: “Caio Terra’s a great wall
I need to climb”
Nalty Junior
With
this attack in the final, Jeff Glover surprised Caio Terra and
won their May supermatch at the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo on points.
Photo by Dan Rod/GRACIEMAG.
GRACIEMAG:
Metamoris is just around the corner, coming up on the 14th. How’s
training going for your 20-minute, no-points match against Caio
Terra?
Going
well, no injuries. As always, I’ve been welcomed in to train
at a bunch of places. Besides pointers from Ricardo Franjinha
[teacher at and leader of Paragon JJ], I’ve been training
with Joel Tudor a lot lately. I like the way he sees Jiu-Jitsu.
He has a good guard, aggressive game and deadly guillotines,
as well as other dangerous chokes.
Are
you in good physical shape?
Not
at all. I’m in awful shape. I need to finish him quick (laughs)!
In
your view, what’s the most dangerous thing about Caio? What’s
his best submission?
He’s
got a good figure-four footlock. I’ll be watching out for
that.
You
guys fought last May at the Jiu-Jitsu Expo. What’s your
breakdown of that late come-from-behind win of yours?
It
was awesome! The crowd was on my side, and I could feel that
energy from them. I think the crowd will make a difference again
in San Diego. Anyone with all that energy on their side will
find a way to win. Let’s see who the fans in San Diego like
better. I think that in our last match he might have thought
he’d won it, until he walked right into one of my traps
(laughs). Want to learn that sneak attack of mine? I can teach
it to you!
What
do you really think about Caio Terra as an opponent, Jeff?
Caio
has been a good buddy of mine for some time now, in a weird way.
Our bull*&%$ and fights [on Facebook] have gotten us loads
of attention from fans and the Jiu-Jitsu world. Positive or negative,
repercussions are always repercussions. So I’m grateful
to him, in a way. He makes me better, makes me train more to
beat him. He’s like a great wall in my path. I have to climb
him. Oss, Caio, we’re two warriors!
In
the Metamoris promo video, you say you don’t see Caio having
a chance of subbing you…
On
points, he can beat me at any championship. But to get me to
tap out is something completely different.
He
compared you to Chael Sonnen in a GRACIEMAG.com interview. What
did you think when you read that?
I
love it. Lift us up, Caio! Let’s go. It’ll be a good
fight.
Why
is it that sometimes you start a match with your back to your
opponent?
Well,
it’s a way of provoking and irritating my opponent. But
I also have some good tricks from that position. Want to see?
Not
today. This is a Gi match, but your latest good results have
been in No-Gi, like at the 2011 ADCC, where you came in third
in the under-66 kg division. Do you like No-Gi fighting more?
Do you ever think about doing MMA?
Perhaps,
I’d like to tap people out with my triangles, Chris Holdsworth
style. But I really do like competing in the gi—there are
more submissions available. I love the brabo choke, for example.
I love the ADCC too. In 2013 I’ll be there to compete without
the gi again.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
With
Brock Lesnar and Cole Konrad Retired, Team Death Clutch Is No
More
by Damon
Martin
Following
the retirements of both Brock Lesnar and Cole Konrad, what was
once Team Death Clutch is no more.
The
heavyweight team that assembled around former UFC heavyweight
champion Brock Lesnar came to notoriety after the former Minnesota
wrestler wanted to build a gym and facility that would make him
a more complete mixed martial artist, while also keeping him
close to home.
But
following his last fight in the UFC in December 2011, Lesnar
called it a career in MMA and headed back to the WWE where he
started as a pro wrestler.
Despite
his exit, the team carried on with fighters like Bellator heavyweight
champion Cole Konrad and UFC heavyweight Pat Barry, who first
came to the team as a sparring partner for Lesnar.
Then
came the news that Konrad was going to walk away from fighting,
as well, to concentrate on the next stage in his life.
That
left Pat Barry as the last fighter standing alongside coach Marty
Morgan, who soon bolted as well.
Barry
had to find a new place to train with Team Death Clutch now disbanded,
and while he’s found a team and a trainer, he’s back
to once again being the only heavyweight in the room.
“Three
years in Milwaukee (working with Duke Roufus) and I left. I up
and moved here, brought everything here, to train with a team
of nothing but big guys, and now they’re all gone. So once
again, I’m the biggest guy in the gym,” Barry told
UFC Tonight on Tuesday.
Since
he already moved lock, stock and barrel to Minnesota, Barry decided
to stay put and find a new team to work with instead of uprooting
his life yet again. Now he’s working full time with coach
Greg Nelson at his gym, The Academy, once known as the Minnesota
Martial Arts Academy.
“No
more Death Clutch; no more big guys. Now I’m full time at
the Academy with Greg Nelson in Minneapolis. He’s phenomenal,
great at everything. I was already a part of the Academy, but
I was training with Marty and Cole and now that they’re
gone, I’m full-time, 100-percent part of the Academy, Greg
Nelson’s gym in Minneapolis,” said Barry.
Nelson
has worked in and around the MMA world for several years, training
many fighters including former UFC lightweight champion Sean
Sherk and former welterweight competitor Nick Thompson.
Barry
has started working with the team full-time, while he awaits
word from the UFC on his next bout in the Octagon.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
California
State Athletic Commission backs shady promoters & watches
a scandal brew in Oxnard
By Zach
Arnold
And
here I thought my weekend was going to be a relaxed one with
the UFC 152 PPV on the television schedule. I should have known
better.
On Saturday night, I received numerous phone calls about CSAC-related
problems with two shows – the Friday ShoBox event at Chumash
Casino in Santa Ynez, California and a Saturday boxing show at
Pacifica High School in Oxnard, California. These aren’t
exactly major events on the fighting calendar, but each show
demonstrated regulatory problems caused by decisions made from
Chief Athletic Inspector Che Guevara and others in the Sacramento
office. When I hammer home the fact that Guevara’s leadership
has been terrible, I can point to any number of examples demonstrating
why this guy is in way over his head. Like the fact that many
inspectors don’t know how to properly calculate a box office,
costing the state of California up to 7-figures in cash. Instead,
the front office is worried about nickle & dime BS like money
from $50 fighter licenses instead of hundereds of thousands of
dollars at the box office. We know there is a major problem with
certain inspectors who can’t figure out how to detect illegal
hand-wraps or skinned gloves, which of course is a natural result
given that Che Guevara got a promotion at CSAC after he missed
Antonio Margarito’s illegal hand wraps… right in front
of his face. So, that kind of cheating is rampant throughout
the state of California and can result in significant head trauma.
Of course, the front office is more concerned about manipulating
fighter paperwork that they’ve lost in order to cover their
asses. Backdating paperwork. Great situational ethics there.
Oh, did I fail to mention that there hasn’t been any sort
of training sessions for inspectors in over a year? You might
want to teach the new inspectors how to do drug testing correctly.
Way to do your job, CSAC.
I bring up all of this not because you should care about a bunch
of faceless Sacramento hacks who take no responsibility for their
actions. I bring up these developments because there are real
life consequences for fighters who are now on the receiving end
of some of the worst combat sports regulatory practices in the
entire country. And not only that, but the inspectors who are
doing their best to be professional at California shows are short-staffed
& railroaded by horrible political decisions made from Denise
Brown, Awet Kidane, and the legal department at the Department
of Consumer Affairs.
Two examples of live events from this past weekend’s slate
of shows in California bear out the fruit of Sacramento’s
horrible decision making that is costing fighters their safety
& their shows purses.
Slipping through the cracks in Chumash
At the ShoBox event in Chumash on Friday night, there was a curious
development in the fight between Roman Morales and Jonathan Arellano.
Arellano was sporting a knee brace to the ring and was allowed
to wear it during the early stages of his fight. He shouldn’t
have been allowed to do so, as per California rules there is
a health & safety issue regarding the plastic on the knee
brace possibly injuring the opponent. The knee brace was initially
spotted by lead inspector Dave Rasmussen, who was sitting at
the table doing paperwork. Inspector Rick Estrada was sent to
Arelleno’s corner and asked trainer Henry Ramirez if the
brace was approved by a member of the commission. It wasn’t
approved by a member of CSAC at this particular show. So, the
knee brace was removed and Arellano fought the rest of the bout
on a gimpy knee.
Was it the end of the world that the inspectors initially missed
Arellano wearing a knee brace? No. In fact, I’m happy they
caught the error and resolved the matter. No harm, no foul. There
would have been a problem, however, if Arellano had protested
and said he wouldn’t remove the knee brace. The fight would
have been stopped then.
The reality is more and more people in the combat sports industry
are learning what we have been warning about, which is that the
new “3 inspector policy” crafted by CSAC Chairman John
Frierson and Sacramento’s front office has created absolute
chaos on the ground at shows. In a building like Chumash where
you have multiple dressing rooms to supervise, it is absolutely
impossible for three inspectors to do the job when eight or more
are needed to handle everything from drug testing to hand wraps
to glove inspections. Because of having three inspectors per
show, you end up with things falling through the cracks and mistakes
happening that should have never happened in the first place.
This doesn’t fall on the inspectors — this falls on
Che Guevara, who simply doesn’t know what the hell he is
doing when it comes to regulating shows and how many inspectors
are needed. If he does know, he doesn’t have the guts to
stand up and speak out.
Thankfully, no one was injured by the mistake and the fight went
on as it should have. However, there will be a mistake sooner
rather than later at a show in California that will result in
a fighter getting severely injured or killed. This is the trajectory
that CSAC is on right now because things are spinning out of
the control. The inspectors will be the first ones to tell you
so. The problem is that no one in Sacramento wants to pick up
the phone and take their call. It’s only a matter of health
& safety for fighters.
An “Oh s&^!” moment in Oxnard
The following scenario is a direct result of the decision making
made by Che Guevara and others in the front office of the California
State Athletic Commission.
El Dorado Entertainment is an entity that is new to the promotional
game. Last January, the Ventura County Star newspaper listed
the promoter as a man named Armando Renteria. Renteria is the
media front man for the operation. BoxRec even lists Armando
Renteria as a promoter. The first show under the El Dorado banner
happened on February 25th at the Oceanview Pavilion in Port Hueneme,
California. They ran a show in May at the same venue. The reason
it’s called El Dorado Entertainment is due in part to Renteria
owning a restaurant in downtown Oxnard with the same name (El
Dorado).
Despite Armando Renteria being labeled as the promoter, his business
partner Raul Orozco is the man who has the promoter’s license
— or at least that’s what the fighters booked for the
El Dorado shows believe.
Orozco, according to one CSAC source, reportedly failed to show
up for his first El Dorado event back in February because he
was supposedly mad at this business partner. A promoter not showing
up for his own debut event?
Renteria, as noted in this Fight News report, is the manager
for boxer Jose Aguiniga. The B & P Code states the following:
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.
While
El Dorado Entertainment is a new name in the fight game, Renteria
has been around the scene before. As this Sherdog press release
and Ventura County Star article demonstrate, Renteria tried to
get into the MMA scene in 2009 with partner Rene Carranco. Carranco
ended up doing his own thing under the National Fight Alliance
banner. Where is Carranco running shows at? Ironically enough,
at least for this article, at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California.
It’s a small world, after all.
Fly-by-night promoters in the fight business isn’t a new
phenomena. Hang around long enough in pro-wrestling, MMA, or
boxing and you’ll find a million horror stories about promoters.
There’s nothing new with this angle to the story. However,
stick with me here and you’ll discover where CSAC comes
into play.
After the first El Dorado event in Port Hueneme, some of the
checks to fighters reportedly bounced. After the second El Dorado
event at the same building last May, more checks allegedly bounced
— including checks supposedly to commission officials (like
doctors, time keepers, judges, referees).
Instead of suspending the promoter’s license, asking the
commission to revoke it or taking any kind of corrective or disciplinary
action, Che Guevara & the front office allowed Orozco to
continue promoting as if bounced checks to officials and fighters
was OK.
So, why was Orozco allowed to keep his license? According to
multiple sources at the commission (on background), an idea was
formulated to allow Orozco to continue promoting shows as long
as he paid commission officials with certified/cashier’s
checks. However, there apparently wasn’t a guarantee to
pay the fighters with cashier’s checks. El Dorado agreed
to this condition and proceeded to promote an event for this
past Saturday in Oxnard, California at Pacifica High School.
Background information for an Armando Renteria in Port Hueneme
An online search for a Armando Renteria in Port Hueneme turned
up the following.
Business records with the state of California show that an Armando
in Port Hueneme has a suspended corporation (not related to his
fight promotion).
Entity
Name: JET LIFTING SYSTEMS, INC.
Entity Number: C3038630
Date Filed: 04/10/2008
Status: SUSPENDED
Jurisdiction: CALIFORNIA
Entity Address: 261 E. PORT HUENEME RD.
Entity City, State, Zip: PORT HUENEME CA 93041
Agent for Service of Process: ARMANDO RENTERIA
Agent Address: 261 E. PORT HUENEME RD.
Agent City, State, Zip: PORT HUENEME CA 93041
What a suspended corporation means:
The impact of a corporation being placed in suspended status
is substantial. When a corporation is suspended, it has lost
all rights and privileges as a corporation and cannot legally
operate. In that regard, technically a suspended corporation
is required to close its business and stop all business related
activity. Moreover, a suspended corporation cannot sue or defend
any action in court. Furthermore, a suspended corporation that
provides a service, or goods, to third parties while suspended
may not be able to collect payment for such services or goods
since the suspended corporation technically was not permitted
to engage in any business transactions.
A
California corporation can be placed back in good standing after
its has been suspended by being revived or reinstated. Until
the corporation corrects its suspended status, the corporation
is prohibited from transacting business and any contract executed
by a suspended corporation is voidable at the demand of the other
party. The only exceptions to the loss of corporate privileges
upon suspension are that the corporation may (1) change its name
by amendment to its Articles of Incorporation and (2) apply to
the Franchise Tax Board for tax exempt status.
In
the June 22nd, 2012 edition of The Antelope Valley Times, check
out this arrest log:
Arrested by LA County Sheriff’s Department – Lancaster
Station
Armando Renteria, 42, Male, Hispanic of Port Hueneme, CA
2:05 p.m., 6-20-2012
487(A)/PC/F GRD THFT:MONEY/LABOR/PROP
44226 20th Street West
For those wondering about 487, here you go:
487. Grand theft is theft committed in any of the following cases:
(a) When the money, labor, or real or personal property taken
is of a value exceeding nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), except
as provided in subdivision (b).
The area this person was arrested at has stores like Home Depot,
Hardwood Lumber, and Masonry Materials.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Rickson
Gracie’s event to feature Celso and Big John McCarthy
Vitor Freitas
The
card has been announced for Mestre do Combate, a new Brazilian
MMA event promoted by Master Rickson Gracie. The inaugural show
is set for this November 22 at the Vivo Rio concert hall in Rio
de Janeiro.
The
big standout on the card is three-time Jiu-Jitsu world champion
Celso Venícius. Another big announcement is that former
UFC referee Big John McCarthy has been hired to take part.
Mestre
do Combate features same-day weigh-ins and a team format, with
a Murilo Bustamante-led group from Rio de Janeiro to take on
one from São Paulo under Francisco Veras, a Jiu-Jitsu
professor at Ryan Gracie academy. According to the promoters,
the main event of the evening will have Alexandre “Pulga”,
undefeated in his 12-fight career, taking on Pety Mafort.
And
during the fights no one will be saved by the bell or win on
points: to get their arms raised by the referee, the fighters
need to either get the knockout, submission or force the opponent
to give up. Should there be a draw after the two rounds –
the first round lasts ten minutes; the second, five – the
result will be determined by three “authorities”: the
referee, Rickson Gracie and the audience. And elbows will not
be permitted.
Check
out the card, with Rio athletes against those from São
Paulo in the order in which they will appear.
Mestre
do Combate
Vivo Rio, Rio de Janeiro, RJ
November 22, 2012
Fernandão
Miúdo vs João Izidoro
Armando Sapo Sixel vs Marcos Rogério
Gersinho Conceição vs Bruno Oliveira
Gabriel Monkey vs Viscardi Andrade
Cristiano Bananada vs Celso Venícius
Alexandre Pulga vs Pety Mafort
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Bellator
80 heads to Florida with Warren-Evinger, featherweight-tourney
semis
Bellator
is returning to Florida for its Nov. 9 event.
Officials
today announced Bellator 80 will take place at Seminole Hard
Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
Former
featherweight champion Joe Warren (7-3 MMA, 5-2 BFC) meets Owen
Evinger (7-3 MMA, 0-2 BFC) in the bantamweight headliner, and
the event also features the semifinal round of the Season 7 featherweight
tournament.
Jessica
Aguilar (14-4 MMA, 4-1 BFC), who recently upset women's MMA legend
Megumi Fujii for her fifth consecutive win, also fights at the
event, which includes a main card on MTV2 and prelims on Spike.com.
Her opponent has not been determined.
Warren
fights for the first time since back-to-back knockout losses
to Alexis Vila and Pat Curran. Prior to the setbacks, the standout
amateur wrestler and NCAA Division I All-American had won five
consecutive fights, which included a Season 2 tournament championship
and a title win over then-champ Joe Soto.
Evinger
opened his career in 2008 with six consecutive wins, but the
submission specialist has lost three of four since then. The
skid included Bellator losses to Brandon Shelton and Aaron Ely,
both via submission.
The
Season 7 featherweight tournament, meanwhile, kicks off tomorrow
at Bellator 76. Four fighters will advance to the semifinals
at Bellator 80.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
MMA
Roundtable: Bonnar beating Silva, Alvarez's future, Mayhem's
reality and more
By Luke
Thomas
The
MMA Roundtable returns! This week Luke Thomas and Dave Doyle
wonder what happens if Anderson Silva loses at UFC 153, where
Eddie Alvarez goes after Friday and what world 'Mayhem' Miller
is living in.
As the world of mixed martial arts continues to turn in the strange
and rapid ways it does, there are moments we have to stop, smell
the roses and wonder what the hell is going on. This week, my
colleague Dave Doyle joins me to think about a future where Stephan
Bonnar has defeated Anderson Silva, how valuable Eddie Alvarez
is to the UFC, whether Invicta is likeable and more.
1.
It's unthinkable and highly unlikely, but does an Anderson Silva
loss at light heavyweight kill a future superfight with George
St. Pierre at middleweight?
Thomas:
Kill? No. Deeply undercut the potential monumental impact? Yes.
Let's
take the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather, Jr. arrangement as
an example. There are key differences to be noted up front. Pacquiao
and Mayweather are in the same weight class. Both are also significantly
more popular than either Georges St. Pierre or Anderson Silva
and have captured the imagination of far more casual fans. Pacquiao's
defeat at the hands of Timothy Bradley in June of this year was
hugely controversial. All of those factors to heighten the effect
of the gravity pushing these two boxers into one another.
Still,
we have a situation where two popular fighters are being asked
to face one another despite one of them recently suffering a
loss. And that loss came within the normal weight class space,
not a venture into significantly different territory. Despite
the stain the loss could bring, it hasn't really dampened enthusiasm
for what would be the most lucrative fight in boxing history.
As
I mentioned earlier, the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather scenario is
in no way identical to GSP vs. Silva. But there are helpful parallels,
namely, a win by Bonnar likely would not extinguish desire among
fans to see the MMA superfight. Much of it depends on the complexion
of the loss, should it happen. If somehow Bonnar buzz saws Silva
into a TKO loss, that could affect enthusiasm. But there's also
a case to be made a fluke submission by Bonnar might heighten
interest in the Silva vs. GSP, or at least offer a convenient
narrative of parity.
So,
yes, the UFC putting Silva in a fight with Bonnar to fill in
the gaps in their schedule is risky, but not overly so.
Doyle:
For Silva vs. St-Pierre to fully live up to its megafight potential,
Silva needs to avoid the upset against Bonnar (GSP also needs
to beat Carlos Condit, but that wouldn't be nearly as epic an
upset). If Silva wins (and GSP follows), then yes, the bout we
would expect to shatter all North American MMA money records
would likely play out.
But
even if Silva does stumble and find himself on the wrong end
of a massive upset, Silva-GSP could remain a highly anticipated
fight. And you don't even have to go over to boxing to find an
example of such a bout (although the Mayweather-Pacquiao analogy
is apt) Just look at Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC
79.
This
was a fight fans lusted after for years, as Liddell and Silva
ruled their respective roosts at 205 pounds. The match was never
made when the two were at their peak, Liddell in UFC and Silva
in PRIDE, but not for a lack of trying: Remember Silva coming
into the Octagon after Liddell finished "Babalu" Sobral
at UFC 62?
By
the time they squared off, Liddell had not only lost his title,
but was coming off a loss to Keith Jardine; and Silva had been
knocked out by Dan Henderson to lose his PRIDE title (and, not
inconsequentially, PRIDE had closed up shop).
And
yet it still made for one of the most magic nights in MMA history.
Liddell vs. Silva wasn't even the main event at UFC 79 in Las
Vegas (that honor went to GSP-Matt Hughes III), but the electricity
in the audience was something no one there will ever forget,
and the action in the cage delivered.
So
yes, Silva vs. GSP could still be memorable even if one or both
fighters stumble. But timing's everything in the promotional
business, and the result of Silva-Bonnar could help determine
whether Silva-GSP would be the biggest fight in MMA history or
another Liddell-Silva, a great fight which came a bit too late.
2.
If Eddie Alvarez loses to Pitbull on Friday in what is expected
to be the former champion's last fight with Bellator, how much
does that hurt his negotiating position with UFC?
Thomas:
It depends greatly on the way things look, but not entirely.
There's a favorable climate Alvarez is operating in that should
give him some cushion.
If
Alvarez wins impressively, his position to negotiate is strong.
Should he win, but look vulnerable or not overly impressive,
he's still in a good position. Even if he loses or loses badly,
there are two good reasons that benefit Alavarez's chances of
locking up a strong contract.
First,
the UFC wants to stick it to Bellator. The UFC won't want to
overpay for an Alvarez they aren't sure can ever contend for
a title, but having one of Bellator's more notable names poached
from that roster is a valuable acquisition for UFC. They probably
overpaid for Lombard - I'm told he received hundreds of thousands
of dollars for his UFC debut - but on balance I suspect UFC is
still happy they hit Bellator where it hurts.
Second,
UFC believes they need more fighters. As they expand internationally,
they need fighters to fill roster spots on their various fight
cards. I've been a critic of this strategy, at least of the pace
at which it's executed. But if they're going to move forward
with it, having more fighters is going to be necessary. Having
fighters of Alvarez's caliber is going to be even more ideal.
Doyle:
I see Luke's point here, but at the same time, it's not like
the UFC's 155-pound weight class is exactly hurting for talent
at the moment. Would Alvarez make a nice addition to Zuffa's
lightweight ranks? He sure would. Do they need him to get by?
Not at all.
Let's
say Alvarez loses Friday night. How much leverage will a fighter
with losses in two of his past three fights, against two fighters
a casual UFC fan wouldn't be able to pick out of a police lineup,
who also isn't a ratings or ticket-selling draw, really have?
I
think there's more riding on the result of Friday night's fight
than some might think. With a win, Alvarez is in a spot to land
a nice contract simply so Zuffa can pluck away a fighter with
some momentum. A loss and it all goes out the window.
3.
Never mind talk of money or total live stream viewers: What do
you think of Invicta purely as a product?
Doyle:
Saturday night was the first time I watched an Invicta fight
card live from start to finish. Previously, like others, I got
around to watching great fights like the first Kaitlin Young-Leslie
Smith bout and Sara McMann vs. Shayna Baszler after the fact
on YouTube when buzz about the fights spread.
After
watching a full card for the first time, I came away with the
same feeling I got when I started watching the WEC in 2007 and
was exposed to featherweight and bantamweight fighters on a regular
basis for the first time: It's something fresh and new, and,
oh yeah, most importantly, the fighters can fight.
Invicta
3 featured a little bit of everything, from impressive singular
performances from the likes of Baszler and Jessica Penne to great
back-and-forth fights like Michelle Waterson's split decision
over Lacey Schuckman. Even a fight between two women making their
pro debuts, Tecia Torres's win over Kaiyana Rain, was entertaining.
Whether
Invicta can make a go of it financially is up for debate, but
that's not the subject at hand. As a product, Invicta has proven
that the women's MMA game is rapidly coming of age and women
belong on the big stage. In that sense, Invicta is already an
artistic success.
Thomas:
The Sports Business Journal recently reported on a study that
indicated the women's side of the sport could prove to be a boon
to MMA's overall popularity if not now then in the relatively
near future. The modest but consistent buzz around Invicta could
be evidence of such a claim.
It's
hard to not watch the current product and notice what's lacking.
Some of the fighters are sensational athletes, some are pretty
average. That's true for a lot of MMA organizations, but the
disparity is more pronounced at Invicta. After all, they aren't
just trying to stage MMA fights among women, but help fix and
reorganize the sport entirely. That wouldn't be a mission statement
if there weren't a few things missing and a consistently high
level of athlete is one of them.
On
the other hand, Invicta gives off the feeling they're building
towards something. A new TV deal? More developed weight classes?
A real super fight that captures the MMA community's attention?
I don't know. But I can feel the momentum. They're on their way
to somewhere. I recognize what's currently there isn't the world's
best product, but I'm curious to see what this will all amount
to.
4.
What do you make of Jason "Mayhem" Miller's behavior
on The MMA Hour on Monday?
Doyle:
I know we're supposed to guard against playing armchair psychologist
in this business, but sometimes, there's a case that seems to
obvious to ignore. It seems either one of two things is going
on here. One, there's a chance that "Mayhem" knows
what he's doing and he's hatched a plot to make it look like
he's going off the rails in order to get attention. If that's
the case, sorry, but it's not working. Playing his "Here
Comes the Boom" character might have been cute for a minute
or two if Miller had then dropped the act, but the schtick just
made for an unbearably bad segment. And one that won't get anyone
who was on the fence about seeing the movie out to go see it.
That
leaves us, sadly, with the notion that we really are watching
Miller self-destruct. From his Twitter war with Dana White to
his incident in an Orange County church to the MMA Hour fiasco,
"Mayhem" comes off like someone in need of help. If
he has any real friends in his life (as opposed to the plentiful
leeches out here in Southern California who latch on to the famous
and then vanish at the first sign of trouble), then they need
to intervene and get him back on the right path.
Thomas:
I hate to be a bit of a spoiler, but it's instructive in this
case. Jason Miller's character has no lines in 'Here Comes The
Boom'. Zero. Not one. In fact, I could be wrong about this, but
I don't recall a ring announcer in the movie even saying his
name.
That
means his act on Monday is a character largely if not entirely
of his creation. And that's hugely problematic. For example,
the anti-Semitic jokes? Unless they were part of Miller's character
in the movie that hit the cutting room floor, that's entirely
his creation and choice. Is that supposed to be a shortcut for
adding character depth? God, I hope not.
So
what does this mean in the larger context of Miller's life? Like
Dave says, there appears to be a pattern here. I'm in no position
to be handing out diagnoses, but does anyone really think all
of the behavior we are seeing pass the smell test?
Lastly,
let's address this Andy Kaufman comparison so we can end it.
Kaufman is one of the greatest comedic actors of the twentieth
century and a pioneer in situational humor. Note: he wasn't good
at much else. Miller's fallen on hard times and has lots of talents,
but if he, or recently was, an elite-level MMA fighter. The notion
that one can be that good at fighting in a cage and that clever
as a comedic actor is just irrational. You can't. Maybe Miller
got a laugh out of what he did when he got home, but it's hard
to imagine why. Kaufman got a laugh out of his work because the
joke was on the audience. He generated strong reactions to his
characters, in many cases because he had them fooled. With Miller,
no one is fooled or tricked or being driven into play along.
We're all just really concerned.
Here's
to hoping he gets some help.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
on FX 5 Debacle Over, Yves Edwards Now Draws John Cholish at
UFC on Fox 5 Instead
by Damon
Martin
Following
his non-fight at UFC on FX 5, Yves Edwards has received a new
bout as promised by UFC President Dana White.
Edwards’
last scheduled fight against Jeremy Stephens was scrapped when
the latter was arrested on an outstanding warrant for assault
charges, and could not be released prior to the fight taking
place.
After
the event was over, White pledged to get Edwards another fight
as pick as possible, and he’ll do just that placing the
veteran fighter on the UFC on Fox 5 card in December.
Facing
Edwards in Seattle will be Renzo Gracie student John Cholish,
who makes his return to action for the first time since suffering
a loss to Danny Castillo at UFC on Fox 3 in May.
The
stock broker by day, fighter by night has gone 1-1 through two
fights in the UFC, and looks to up that record when he faces
Yves Edwards in December.
The
Edwards vs. Cholish fight was first reported by MMAFighting.com.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
|
|
UFC
153 ‘Silva vs. Bonnar’ Preview
By Tristen
Critchfield
It
did not turn out like they drew it up, but considering recent
events, the final lineup for UFC 153 on Saturday at the HSBC
Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is not bad at all.
Things
were looking bleak when featherweight champion Jose Aldo and
co-main event attraction Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
withdrew from the card on back-to-back days last month. However,
a bevy of willing replacements -- including pound-for-pound king
Anderson Silva, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 pioneer
Stephan Bonnar and former UFC and Pride Fighting Championships
heavyweight titleholder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira -- stepped up
to fill the void.
Criticize
the matchmaking that pairs Silva with Bonnar if you must, but
the additions of “The Spider” and Nogueira, who squares
off with Dave Herman, have to thrill the Brazilian fans. While
the highly touted Glover Teixeira will not be tested against
a veteran on the level of “Rampage,” his light heavyweight
tussle with countryman Fabio Maldonado figures to be nothing
if not entertaining. So instead of lamenting the bouts that were
lost, try and appreciate the action that is yet to come.
Here
is a closer look at the UFC 153 “Silva vs. Bonnar,”
with analysis and picks:
Light
Heavyweights
Anderson
Silva (32-4, 15-0 UFC) vs. Stephan Bonnar (15-7, 8-6 UFC)
The
Matchup: Just when you thought Silva was done working until 2013,
“The Spider” returns to save an injury-ravaged event
in his native country. If you are worried that the middleweight
champion will be lacking for motivation, remember that a potential
big-money super fight against Georges St. Pierre goes out the
window with a loss. His longtime antagonist, Chael Sonnen, is
in the rearview mirror, but there is still plenty at stake for
the sport’s pound-for-pound king.
Bonnar,
meanwhile, has not aroused such warm and fuzzy feelings since
his memorable slugfest with Forrest Griffin at “The Ultimate
Fighter 1” Finale propelled the UFC to unprecedented heights.
While “The American Psycho” might not be the ideal
light heavyweight to test Silva, it is almost a certainty that
he will deliver a game effort.
The
Carlson Gracie protégé will ride a three-fight
winning streak into the highest-profile bout of his career. Bonnar
abandoned his usual brawling approach for some dominant topside
grappling in his last outing at UFC 139, as he worked over Kyle
Kingsbury for 15 minutes. That followed a similar effort against
Igor Pokrajac at “The Ultimate Fighter 12” Finale.
While neither Kingsbury nor Pokrajac serves as adequate preparation
for Silva, it is encouraging to see that Bonnar has not completely
abandoned his grappling roots. Superior grappling, ground-and-pound
and positional control -- not a wild slugfest -- are Bonnar’s
ticket to a monumental upset.
This
will be Silva’s third Octagon appearance at 205 pounds.
Previously, the Brazilian scored first-round stoppages of James
Irvin in 2008 and Forrest Griffin a year later. The ease with
which he disposed of Griffin, a former light heavyweight champion,
was especially impressive. Griffin’s significant size advantage
never came into play, as Silva was evasive and powerful, dropping
his opponent on three different occasions, once while backpedaling,
en route to earning a technical knockout at the 3:23 mark. Griffin
looked slow and lumbering while landing just three of the 42
strikes he threw, and the Las Vegas resident has not looked the
same since.
Bonnar,
as Griffin’s former foil, figures to encounter similar problems.
The Indiana native is big, strong and durable, but he will struggle
to get inside against the dynamic Silva, who has the uncanny
ability to land perfectly timed counter shots with numbing power
against anyone who attempts to close the distance against him.
Silva’s defensive wrestling remains a weakness, as anyone
who saw the opening frame of his rematch with Sonnen can attest,
but Bonnar is not a wrestler on that level.
Closing
the pocket against “The Spider” also means Bonnar could
be victimized by a series of knees in Silva’s deadly Thai
plum. If Bonnar is somehow able to get the fight to the canvas,
Silva is capable of sweeping and submitting, as well as attacking
with elbows from his back.
The
reality is that Silva is too quick to allow Bonnar any such opportunity.
His ability to combine movement and angles with a variety of
striking techniques is unparalleled, and Bonnar will likely be
guessing from the opening bell. While Bonnar has never been one
to turn down a firefight, he does not possess the type of knockout
power to strike fear in the middleweight champion.
The
Pick: Bonnar’s ideal scenario would see him pumping his
jab before getting inside on Silva and wearing him down from
above. What is more likely to happen is something similar to
Silva-Griffin. Silva catches Bonnar with a counter hook as he
moves forward and finishes the job with strikes on the ground
for a first-round TKO.
Heavyweights
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira (33-7-1, 4-3 UFC) vs. Dave Herman (21-4, 1-2
UFC)
The
Matchup: Nobody can question the resilience of Nogueira. Despite
logging considerable mileage over the course of a 42-fight career
and suffering injuries that might have forced a lesser man to
retire, “Minotauro” keeps coming back for more. Most
recently, Nogueira had his arm gruesomely snapped by a Frank
Mir kimura at UFC 140, a setback that required more rehabilitation
than originally anticipated; the Brazilian initially had trouble
adjusting to the hardware in his right arm and was forced to
pull out of a proposed bout with Cheick Kongo in July.
Prior
to the arm injury, Nogueira spent 18 months on the shelf from
August 2009 to February 2010 due to multiple surgeries on his
hip and knee. At 36 years old, Nogueira is by no means a young
man in the mixed martial arts game, but his body is likely much
older than that.
Herman
might be just the type of opponent to help Nogueira keep his
career afloat. A Sengoku, Bellator Fighting Championships and
EliteXC veteran, the Fort Wayne, Ind., native has struggled with
his transition to the UFC. After debuting with a victory over
former Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships
gold medalist John Olav Einemo, Herman has suffered back-to-back
knockout losses to Stefan Struve and Roy Nelson. The lack of
a sound strategy and questionable conditioning have hampered
Herman, as he failed to use his reach to keep Nelson at a safe
distance in May and he faded in the second round after a strong
start against Struve.
With
15 finishes via knockout or technical knockout to his credit,
Herman has displayed solid power, albeit mostly against lesser
competition. He also has a penchant for taking risks on the feet,
which could pay off handsomely against Nogueira, who has been
stopped by strikes in two of his last three defeats. Herman has
not exactly displayed sound defense, however, and Nogueira’s
boxing will allow him to counter should “Pee Wee” whiff
on one of his more exotic offerings. Remember, the Brazilian
had Mir reeling on the feet before surrendering his arm in a
scramble last December.
Given
their recent histories, both men have to like their chances at
hurting the other standing. However, Nogueira is the one with
the proven track record of absorbing obscene amounts of punishment
and surviving. His guard is extremely dangerous and he has a
knack for trapping his foes in Hail Mary submissions, even as
he appears to be on the verge of unconsciousness.
The
Pick: Expect some serious fireworks early with Herman maybe even
rocking Nogueira once or twice. Eventually, the bout will find
its way to the floor, and that is where the American’s luck
will run out, as Nogueira wins via submission late in round one.
Light
Heavyweights
Glover
Teixeira (18-2, 1-0 UFC) vs. Fabio Maldonado (18-5, 1-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: Despite having just one UFC victory against middle-of-the-road
talent Kyle Kingsbury, Teixeira’s legend has already grown
to near-mythical proportions. For various reasons, former champions
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Rashad Evans have declined
fights against the 32-year-old Brazilian. Long regarded as one
of the top 205-pounders outside the UFC, Teixeira was forced
showcase his skills elsewhere as ongoing Visa issues kept him
away from the Octagon until May.
He
did not disappoint in his debut, rocking Kingsbury with power
punches on the feet before submitting the former college football
player with an arm-triangle choke in less than two minutes. Now
the owner of an impressive 16-fight winning streak, with 15 of
those resulting in a finish, Teixeira has already been anointed
by many as the next big thing at light heavyweight. With that
in mind, it is a shame Quinton Jackson was unable to make his
date with Teixeira at UFC 153. While “Rampage” has
often appeared disinterested of late, it was the type of veteran-versus-hyped-prospect
pairing that could have brought out the best in the former Pride
Fighting Championships standout. Instead, Teixeira gets Maldonado,
a matchup that actually makes more sense in terms of a relative
newcomer’s logical progression.
Like
Teixeira, Maldonado knows a little something about doling out
punishment to Kingsbury, as he broke the American Kickboxing
Academy product’s orbital bone and battered him repeatedly
with body punches but ultimately came up short in a decision
defeat at “The Ultimate Fighter 13” Finale. Maldonado
followed that effort with yet another close call, falling to
Igor Pokrajac at UFC on Fuel TV 3 despite having outlanded the
Croatian 98 to 36 in significant strikes. A former professional
boxer with a 22-0 record, Maldonado has skilled hands and is
able to put together fluid combinations. The Sao Paulo, Brazil,
native does his best work in close, where he can unleash a series
of punishing body blows.
As
entertaining as Maldonado is to watch, he is clearly flawed.
His takedown defense is lacking, he does not always close the
pocket smoothly and he is vulnerable to grinding work in the
clinch. While Teixeira might be willing to test his heavy hands
against the former boxer, a few rib roasters might convince him
a change in strategy is in order.
The
Pick: As always, expect Maldonado to land a high volume of offense
for as long as he lasts. The standup exchanges will be furious,
violent and entertaining, but, eventually, Teixieira will put
his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt to use and submit his foe
in round two.
Welterweights
Jon
Fitch (23-4-1, 13-2-1 UFC) vs. Erick Silva (14-2, 2-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: What makes MMA so enjoyable is the potential for significant
contrasts in styles, which is what we have with the pairing of
Silva, one of the welterweight division’s most tantalizing
prospects, and Fitch, an established member of the old guard.
The Brazilian has aggressive standup, slick submission skills
and a penchant for finishing. The American is a grinding wrestler
with a much-bemoaned tendency to go the distance. In short, while
the presence of Fitch on a fight card does not always get the
blood pumping, he is the perfect counter for an opponent as explosive
as Silva.
At
UFC 141, a left hook from Johny Hendricks handed Fitch his first
knockout loss since 2002, when Wilson Gouveia stopped the American
Kickboxing Academy product in the opening frame at a regional
event. Seeing the usually durable Fitch crumple to the canvas
in just 12 seconds in December was certainly shocking, but considering
the gap between knockout defeats, it hardly represents a trend.
While the former Purdue Boilermaker is 34 years old and has struggled
with injury issues the past couple years, there is nothing to
suggest that Fitch’s chin is suddenly questionable.
All
three of Silva’s Octagon appearances have been abbreviated
affairs, but he will have to be prepared for a drawn-out battle
against Fitch, as the chances of a Hendricks-esque stoppage are
slim. Of his three UFC bouts, his June meeting with the wrestling-based
Charlie Brenneman probably best prepared Silva for Fitch. The
Team Nogueira member was twice able to return to his feet following
takedowns from “The Spaniard,” and, after sprawling
successfully on Brenneman’s final attempt, Silva took his
opponent’s back for the fight-ending choke.
While
the recently released Brenneman is known for his relentless pursuit
of takedowns, he simply is not on the level of Fitch, who is
an expert at forcing clinches and grinding his foes down from
there. While not aesthetically pleasing, Fitch’s ability
to stick to Silva will go a long way in determining how much
offense the young Brazilian can unleash. Fitch understands how
to use his striking to close distance, and once he gets top control,
he stays busy with elbows, punches and hammerfists.
A
black belt in both Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo, Silva has the
skills necessary to combat a Fitch grinder, but he would be much
better served to sprawl and keep the action standing. Of course,
doing this consistently will tax anyone’s cardio, and Fitch
rarely allows an opponent an opportunity to catch his breath.
The
Pick: Expect some boos from the partisan Brazilian crowd as Fitch
attempts to implement his game plan. While this certainly will
not deter the former title challenger, it will be interesting
to see if it affects referee restarts. In any event, Fitch will
neutralize Silva for most of the bout before claiming a decision
victory.
Light
Heavyweights
Phil
Davis (9-1, 5-1 UFC) vs. Wagner Prado (8-0, 0-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: There is not much to learn from the 88 seconds that
Davis and Prado spent in the Octagon together at UFC on Fox 4,
but we can infer this: Prado is not intimidated by his more well-known
opponent. Before an inadvertent eye poke from Davis caused the
bout to be declared a no contest, Prado was the aggressor and
appeared to clip “Mr. Wonderful” with a right hand.
Is that overanalyzing an extremely small sample size? Perhaps,
but it is guaranteed that both fighters will also take whatever
knowledge they can get from the brief encounter.
In
the long run, this fight is more about what improvements Davis
has made than anything Prado does. The four-time NCAA All-American
wrestler from Penn State University was made to look mechanical
and tentative in his UFC on Fox 2 main event showdown with Rashad
Evans. Once his wrestling was shut down, Davis had little else
to offer the former 205-pound champion. Not everyone is capable
of neutralizing Davis in the manner Evans did, but improved standup
is crucial to the Alliance MMA product’s overall progression.
Like
many Brazilians, Prado has compiled an impressive resume fighting
in his homeland. “Caldeirao” does not waste time in
the cage; seven of his eight victories have come via knockout,
including six in the first round. Prado would prefer spend the
majority of the fight standing, but as a Team Nogueira protégé,
he should be at least competent on the ground.
It
is doubtful that Prado has faced anyone with the wrestling pedigree
of Davis, and he must remain composed if he finds himself on
his back. Davis’ strength and long frame allow him to control
foes on the mat, where he diligently works to pass guard and
wields a solid submission game. Davis has a five-inch reach advantage
on Prado, so look for him to use kicks to the legs and body to
set up his explosive shot.
The
Pick: As long as Davis does not make a huge mistake that allows
Prado land a fight-altering strike, this is his fight to lose.
“Mr. Wonderful” wins via second-round submission.
Welterweights
Rick
Story (14-5, 7-3 UFC) vs. Demian Maia (16-4, 10-4 UFC)
The
Matchup: Maia’s 170-pound debut was bizarre to say the least,
as an apparent rib injury to Dong Hyun Kim gave the decorated
Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner a 47-second triumph at UFC 148.
It is difficult to say how acclimated Maia is to his new division
on the basis of that performance, but he figures to face a more
extended test in his second welterweight outing.
Story
is coming off a solid-but-unspectacular showing at UFC on FX
4, as he scored takedowns in each round in a decision over promotional
newcomer Brock Jardine. That win ended a two-fight skid for Story.
Prior to that, the Washington native was one of the hottest commodities
in the division, with notable victories over Johny Hendricks
and Thiago Alves to his credit. A win over a former Top 10 middleweight
such as Maia would go a long way toward restoring his once-lofty
status. Although he is a physical wrestler with a strong clinch
game, Story is not afraid to exchange in the pocket. He hits
hard, has a decent chin and can use a solid one-two combination
to set up takedowns and tie-ups.
A
gold medalist at the 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling
World Championships, Maia is known as one of the most dangerous
grapplers in the promotion. Story must be cautious if he finds
himself in Maia’s guard, because the Brazilian will be able
to capitalize if “The Horror” becomes careless with
his ground-and-pound.
Sloppy
effort against Chris Weidman aside, Maia has gotten better on
the feet. The 34-year-old has demonstrated improved aggression
in recent fights, and he is adept and closing the pocket and
using trips or throws to get the fight where he wants it. Story
can discourage this approach by landing power punches and bullying
Maia in tie-ups.
The
Pick: Considering Story’s wrestling background, we might
see Maia come out firing, as he did in a loss to Mark Munoz at
UFC 131. While that makes for an exciting fight, Maia’s
best chance remains trapping Story in some type of submission.
As long as he can avoid any serious predicaments, Story powers
his way to a decision.
Lightweights
Francisco
Trinaldo (11-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Gleison Tibau (25-8, 10-6 UFC):
Trinaldo draws a tough assignment for his sophomore Octagon outing
in Tibau, a powerful 155-pounder who likes to outmuscle his opponents
in tie-ups and on the mat. Forced to compete at 185 pounds on
“The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil,” Trinaldo figures to
be much more comfortable at lightweight. “Massaranduba”
displayed solid takedown defense in a UFC 147 win over Delson
Heleno, and he will have to do the same here. Tibau will prove
too strong and experienced to be denied, as he takes a decision.
Featherweights
Sam
Sicilia (11-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Rony Mariano Bezerra (11-3, 1-0 UFC):
The 145-pound winner of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil,”
Bezerra showcased a solid right and lead left hook, as well as
stout submission defense, in capturing a three-round verdict
over Godofredo Castro in June. Despite that showing, Rony “Jason”
is a finisher, with 10 of his 11 career triumphs coming by way
of knockout or submission. Sicilia, a competitor on Season 15
of “The Ultimate Fighter,” can be wild at times but
has power in his hands to go with his wrestling base. Bezerra
wins by submission in round two.
Featherweights
Diego
Brandao (14-8, 1-1 UFC) vs. Joey Gambino (9-1, 0-1 UFC): Brandao
was unable to follow up on his spectacular submission of Dennis
Bermudez, as the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts representative
started quickly but ran out of gas in a loss to the underrated
Darren Elkins at UFC 146. Brandao will always fight with passion
and aggression, but he could benefit from a more measured approach
in the early portions of his bouts. A former featherweight titlist
for the New Jersey-based Cage Fury Fighting Championships promotion,
Gambino was submitted by Steven Siler in his UFC debut. Brandao
will not need to pace himself this time, as he rocks Gambino
and finishes it with strikes or a submission in round one.
Middleweights
Sergio
Moraes (6-2, 0-1 UFC) vs. Renee Forte (7-1, 0-0 UFC): A Brazilian
jiu-jitsu black belt, Moraes uses solid fundamentals and physical
strength to control positioning on the ground. The world champion
grappler is less of a threat on the feet, however, as evidenced
by his loss to Cezar Ferreira, against whom he failed to get
the action to floor. Meanwhile, an injury kept Forte from making
his Octagon debut in June. Aggressive standup will allow Forte
to capture a unanimous verdict.
Middleweights
Chris
Camozzi (17-5, 4-2 UFC) vs. Luiz Cane (12-4, 4-4 UFC): Cane,
who is competing for the first time in more than a year, has
suffered three of his four UFC defeats by technical. The Brazilian
sets a fast pace and likes to force exchanges, but he is vulnerable
to foes that utilize angles and counter attacks. Camozzi will
try to mix punches, kicks and knees to keep Cane off balance
in what shapes up to be a primarily standup encounter. Camozzi
ekes out a close decision victory.
Lightweights
Reza
Madadi (12-2, 1-0 UFC) vs. Cristiano Marcello (12-4, 0-1 UFC):
Madadi and Marcello have a combined 16 submission victories between
them, so it is likely that whoever can win the transitions and
positional battles that ensue will have his hand raised at the
end of the night. Marcello, a former jiu-jitsu coach for the
Chute Boxe camp, has shown a suspect chin in recent outings but
should be able to get the best of “Mad Dog” on the
mat. Marcello wins by third-round submission.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Fighting
a Brazilian in Brazil, Phil Davis Already Knows He’s the
Bad Guy
by Damon
Martin
The
last time Phil Davis stepped inside the UFC Octagon things ended
in a rather anti-climatic fashion.
Just
1:28 into the first round, an accidental eye poke to his opponent,
Wagner Prado, brought the end of the fight and the bout was ruled
a no contest.
For
Davis it was almost like he had gone through an entire training
camp without actually getting any kind of result, but he’ll
now do it all over again this Saturday at UFC 153 when he faces
Prado for a second time.
When
the first fight ended under those circumstances, a rematch seemed
likely, but Davis says it really didn’t matter to him. The
UFC lines up the opponents, and he knocks them down.
“Did
I want to go back and fight Wagner and get the ‘W’?
Sure. But I really don’t care. At the end of the day, I’m
about winning fights and getting to the belt. I don’t really
care about faces and names,” Davis told MMAWeekly Radio.
“That’s
for the fans, Dana White and Joe Silva to worry about. My job
is to keep winning.”
To
keep winning, Davis will travel from his home base in San Diego
all the way to Brazil where he faces Prado on his home turf.
Some
fighters shy away from traveling to an opponent’s hometown
or home country for a fight. The crowd is obviously going to
be very one-sided, and it can be a tough spot to be in when it
seems like the whole country is against you.
Fortunately,
Phil Davis has gone through all of this before.
Prior
to his career as a top light heavyweight in the UFC, Davis was
a college wrestler at Penn State University, and like any college
sport, the rivalries can get pretty intense, and stepping into
an opponent’s home gym is no easy task.
Take
for instance when Davis traveled to Oklahome State University
in December 2007 for a meet. The two programs were ranked No.
1 and No. 2 in the country, and it didn’t take long for
Davis to realize he was not a welcome guest at the Oklahoma State
gym.
“They
had an ice storm, so it turns out only half of their normal crowd
made it, and thank God, so as we come into the gym they had these
little noise makers and it was like thundering. You couldn’t
really hear too much of anything. There was no coaching going
on during this match because you couldn’t hear five feet
from the other person. You just gave up and did hand gestures
because you couldn’t hear,” Davis described.
The
noise and crowd didn’t play a factor, however, because Penn
State went on to win the match, and Davis admits he was fueled
by the venomous crowd.
“I
get up for that; I enjoy feeling that energy in the arena,”
said Davis.
This
time around, Davis will enter as the “away team” to
face Wagner Prado on his home turf in Brazil, and it doesn’t
bother him one bit that the crowd won’t be on his side.
In
the world of MMA, you may not meet a guy with a bigger smile
or friendlier attitude than Phil Davis, but every once in a while,
he likes to be the bad guy. Fighting a Brazilian in Brazil, well
then, he has no choice.
“When
you’re on somebody else’s home turf, whether you want
to or not, you become the bad guy. There’s no good guys
at an away meet. You’re the bad guy. So you just get to
go out and show up and if you’re flashy, you’re flashy.
Nobody says, ‘oh, he’s being flashy.’ No, he’s
an away guy, he sucks either way,” said Davis.
“You
get to go out, be mean; I love that.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
eyes regional fight series for 2013 in Brazil
by Steven
Marrocco and John Morgan
The
UFC is targeting a Brazilian-centric fight series, possibly "UFC:
Brazil," for sometime next year.
UFC
executive Marshall Zelaznik believes the marketplace is big enough
to air independent of the promotion's core market in the U.S.
"(It
will be) a show for Brazilians with Brazilians," he said.
"I think that's very possible."
Zelaznik,
who recently stepped down as the UFC's managing director of international
development to take a to-be-determined role with the company
in the States, said a similar idea was discussed several years
ago for Asian markets and never came to fruition. UFC President
Dana White said in April that regional fight circuits were a
possible byproduct of the promotion's international versions
of "The Ultimate Fighter."
"TUF:
Brazil" served as the first such product, and it aired to
an estimated 10 million weekly viewers, the UFC said.
"Our
business is so different now than it was three or four years
ago in terms of the revenue and the interest," Zelaznik
told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Some economies
are booming.
"I
think 2013 will be the year when you see some of these fight
series. I know for a fact that we'll get some of them done in
Brazil, and I believe we'll have them done in Asia pretty quickly."
White
admitted the reality of regional UFC champs could create more
logistical problems, but said that they could serve to create
an international ranking system that might serve as a feeder
system for the promotion's current champions.
"In
the big picture, long-term, it absolutely makes perfect sense,"
he said.
Zelaznik,
who recently took a trip with new international UFC exec Garry
Cook to wring hands with the promotion's European TV partners,
said the broadcast reach of the regional fight series will depend
on the deals they strike with broadcasters.
"Will
it be on broadcast or cable television? It just depends on how
our meetings go," Zelaznik said. "But we love being
in the digital world. These fights will be available in one shape
or another."
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
No
joke, Stephan Bonnar says he'll give Anderson Silva a run
By Mike
Chiappetta
This
seems to be no way to sell a fight. Or at least, no way to sell
a challenger. Recently, with UFC cameras watching, Stephan Bonnar
sat down with his longtime friend and rival Forrest Griffin,
and the two joked about the situation Bonnar finds himself in,
having to fight the world's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Anderson
Silva. It is a setting that Griffin knows well, having fought
him back in 2009. As most remember, Silva decimated Griffin,
embarrassed him, then knocked him out.
The
UFC made an ad of the Bonnar-Griffin meeting titled "Gameplan."
In it, Bonnar asks Griffin for advice, and Griffin instead rattles
off all of the things he shouldn't do. Don't stand with him.
Don't try to punch him. Kicking is a bad idea. The ground game's
out. And talking trash? You don't want to see the "Spider"
when he's angry.
"Good
luck, though, I'm sure you'll do fine," Griffin eventually
says.
There's
underdogs, and then there's uber-dogs, and the ad makes clear
that Bonnar is comfortable with his status as the latter. It's
a role he knows well.
Bonnar
has quite candidly said that he has never been the most confident
person walking the earth, and that goes to the core of who he
is.
If
you ask, Bonnar will tell you that he was never the most talented
person. He wasn't a great athlete, he wasn't brilliant, he wasn't
the biggest or strongest kid in the room. He had two older brothers
that were better than him at everything, and that came as a huge
source of frustration. But it also shaped his trademark quality.
As
he grew older, he realized that he had one trait that could help
him narrow the gap: his toughness. He could work and work, and
make forward progress, and get stronger, and while everyone else
stood still, he would catch up. He was the tortoise chasing the
hare.
That's
how it was then, that's how he hopes it will be when he faces
Silva at UFC 153.
"You
could watch any of my fights in the UFC and I always fight my
ass off," he said Thursday. "So, Saturday will be no
different."
His
first statement is demonstrably true. From the first memory most
have of him as the loser of the most important fight in UFC history
against Griffin back in 2005, Bonnar has always been more blood
and guts than speed and power or technique and timing. He's always
been willing to step into the fire in order to make sure his
opponent gets burned.
That
he is a near-record underdog (Silva can still be found as a 14-to-1
favorite at one gambling site) seems almost dismissive of his
entire past. He's fought three fighters who have gone on to become
champions. Griffin edged him out twice, Rashad Evans defeated
him only by majority decision, and Jon Jones beat him on points
though Bonnar can boast of stealing a round from him.
Yet,
Bonnar has no problem with the role he's been ascribed as the
hit & hope challenger. He's mostly embraced it as one of
the reasons he believes he'll win.
As
he'll tell you, he's a little bit superstitious, and he feels
the scene is set for something special. For one, the fight takes
place on the 13th, a number he feels has some undercurrent of
luck. He's also just days away from welcoming his first child
into the world, meaning he's already surrounded by positive energy.
And of course, there's just the sheer implausibility of it all,
that a few weeks ago, he was content believing his career was
likely over, and now he has the chance to author one of the most
memorable moments in MMA history, a bookend to his Griffin-Bonnar
glory, and one in which he wins.
"I
feel like I’m in a Rocky movie," he said. "I’m
this huge underdog in his backyard. It’s a huge opportunity.
I’m not the guy who always has the best luck but once in
a while, big opportunities come along, and I try to take advantage
of them."
Since
the fight has been announced, Silva has voiced a deep respect
for Bonnar, but it's only natural to wonder if he is as focused
on Bonnar as Bonnar is on him. He's fielded questions about Georges
St-Pierre and Jon Jones, and representing Brazil, and many other
things that have nothing to do with the job he's undertaking
on Saturday. For one man, it's just another night in the spotlight.
For the other, it's everything he's ever wanted. And that's no
joke.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
on FX 5 TV Ratings Lowest of Any Preliminary Bouts Broadcast
on Fuel TV
While
the UFC on FX 5: Browne vs. Bigfoot TV ratings drew 1.1 million
viewers and gave a much needed boost to The Ultimate Fighter,
the Browne vs. Bigfoot preliminary bouts on Fuel TV drew much
lower any past prelim broadcasts.
The
UFC on FX 5 Prelims on Fuel TV drew an audience of just 44,000
on Friday. That’s the lowest mark for any such broadcast
on the action sports network. The previous low was 86,000 for
UFC on FX 3 in June.
Preliminary
bouts on Fuel TV typically draw well over 100,000 viewers on
Fuel TV, and have peaked as high as 165,000 viewers for the TUF
Live Finale.
It
remains to be seen if Friday’s numbers are just a blip on
the radar, as Fuel TV executives have been extremely happy with
the numbers the network has drawn since it became the cornerstone
for UFC programming on Fox networks.
TV
ratings have grown month after month since the UFC debuted on
Fuel TV in January. This year’s third quarter ratings were
the highest ever in network’s history.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Metamoris
Pro: Xande Ribeiro to face Dean Lister in No-Gi
Kevin
Casey will no longer be facing Dean Lister in a No-Gi supermatch
at the October 14 Metamoris Pro event in San Diego, California.
After
the American exited the card for undisclosed reasons, Xande Ribeiro
was appointed the new opponent for the under-99 kg ADCC 2011
champion. Official match duration will be 20 minutes, with points
and advantage points not counting—as stipulated in the event
rules.
Brazil’s
Xande Ribeiro had been tipped to take part in the event but couldn’t
due to commitments in Europe. Those appointments fell through,
however, and now the Amazonas native will go into the match on
a roll: last weekend he won his super heavyweight group and the
absolute at the inaugural Master & Senior World Championship.
“The
stars are aligned in our favor. Xande had been invited but couldn’t
make it. Now he’s ready and willing to accept the challenge,”
said event promoter Ralek Gracie jubilantly in announcing the
news over the promotion’s Facebook page.
Xande
Ribeiro or Dean Lister—who takes it?
Metamoris
Pro
Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
October 14, 2012
Roger
Gracie vs Marcus Vinicius “Bochecha”
André Galvão vs Ryron Gracie
Kron Gracie vs Otavio Sousa
Kayron Gracie vs Rafael Lovato Jr
Jeff Glover vs Caio Terra
Dean Lister vs Xande Ribeiro
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
153's Erick Silva wants to slow pace of fast-moving career
by Steven
Marrocco and John Morgan
RIO
DE JANEIRO – The UFC's Erick Silva said his goal is to move
his career along slowly and attack bigger challenges as he progresses
as a fighter.
"If
you ask me right now, I'm not going to say I want the belt because
that's how I work in my career: in slow steps," Silva told
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
Quite
clearly, his employer has a different idea in mind.
Facing
Silva (14-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) on Saturday's pay-per-view UFC 153
main card is none other than onetime welterweight title challenger
Jon Fitch (23-4-1 MMA, 13-2-1 UFC), who for years occupied the
No. 2 spot in the 170-pound division. Although recently hindered
by injuries, Fitch has made a career of batting down veterans
and young hopefuls alike. Prior to a draw with B.J. Penn and
getting knocked out by Johny Hendricks, Fitch was a stellar 13-1
in the UFC.
"Certainly,
he's the most experienced guy I've ever faced," the 28-year-old
Silva said. "It's an opportunity to get noticed."
It
wasn't hard to miss Silva, or his jet black mane of hair, during
an open workout in support of Saturday's event, which takes place
at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian fighter anticipated
a bigger bump from the crowd now that he is fighting on home
soil and said stateside fans who didn't know him will after he
beats Fitch.
Already
he's managed to buy a house and car with his UFC winnings.
"The
first time, it was my debut," Silva said. "The second
time was so quick. Hopefully they know me a little better this
time."
Silva,
though, is already a prospect among those in the know. None of
his UFC fights thus far has made it out of the first round. He
made his debut at UFC 134 by knocking out Luis Ramos, and after
a controversial disqualification loss to Carlo Prater at UFC
142, rebounded with a first-round submission victory over Charlie
Brenneman at UFC on FX 3.
Most
pundits believe the American's wrestling will be Silva's biggest
hurdle during the fight. Fitch specializes in putting opponents
against the fence and wearing them out on the canvas while often
winning on points. Silva, though, said there won't be enough
time for that.
"For
this camp, we focused a lot on my speed and aggression,"
he said. "I think I'm the most fast and aggressive fighter.
This is what I'm going to capitalize on."
Whether
he likes it or not, his career could soon be moving very quickly
with a win on Saturday.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Matchmaker
Joe Silva explains why he released DaMarques Johnson from UFC
By Ariel
Helwani
RIO
DE JANEIRO -- When DaMarques Johnson was released from the UFC
earlier this week after his third straight loss, the general
sentiment in the MMA community was that the UFC cut a fighter
who stepped up on short notice. Basically, the favor wasn't returned.
If
you recall, Johnson was knocked out by Mike Swick at UFC on FOX
4 on Aug. 4. He was then medically suspended for 45 days with
30 days no contact for precautionary reasons by the California
State Athletic Commission, plus he was also suspended indefinitely
until given neurological clearance.
On
Sept. 17, he was tapped to replace the injured Pascal Krauss
at UFC on FUEL TV 5 against Gunnar Nelson, a fight scheduled
for Sept. 29 in Nottingham, England. Johnson ended up weighing
eight pounds over the 175-pound catch weight limit before the
fight and was eventually submitted in the first round by Nelson.
Less
than two weeks later, the TUF 9 finalist was out of a job.
In
a rare interview, Joe Silva, UFC matchmaker and VP of talent
relations, explained to MMAFighting.com why he released Johnson
from his contract after the fight.
First,
here's the timeline of events that led to his decision:
When
Krauss pulled out of UFC on FUEL TV 5, Silva offered Rich Attonito
the fight against Nelson via Attonito's manager Dan Lambert.
Lambert spoke to the American Top Team fighter, who agreed to
take the welterweight bout. The next day, Lambert called Silva
to tell him Attonito said he would not be able to make the 170-pound
weight limit on short notice. Silva then offered him the opportunity
to take the fight at a 175-pound catch weight, which both Attonito
and Nelson, through his manager and father Haraldur Nelson, agreed
to. The next day, Lambert called Silva back again to inform him
that Attonito would not be able to make the 175-pound catch weight
either. As a result, Silva decided to release Attonito from his
contract.
Lambert
confirmed with MMAFighting.com that series of events.
Silva
then offered the fight to Johnson, through his manager Monte
Cox. When Cox called Silva back to tell him Johnson agreed to
take the fight at 170 pounds, Silva said he told Cox about the
Attonito release and wanted him to tell Johnson what had just
happened as well. Cox did just that.
Later
that day, Silva saw Johnson at The Ultimate Fighter 17 tryouts
in Las Vegas. He said he thanked Johnson for taking the fight
but also noticed that he looked heavier than usual. A couple
of hours later, Johnson told Silva that he weighed 210 pounds
and didn't think he could make 170 pounds. Silva then offered
him a 175-pound catch weight fight against Nelson, which both
fighters agreed to.
At
the Sept. 28 weigh-ins in England, Johnson ended up weighing
183 pounds, missing weight by 8 pounds. As a result, twenty percent
of his purse was given to Nelson. Johnson lost the fight the
next day and was released earlier this week.
"I
thought it was incredibly unfair to Gunnar Nelson to fight someone
that much larger than him," Silva said. "Johnson told
me he could make the weight. He's not doing me a favor if he
missed weight because I could have gotten someone else who would
have made the weight.
"I
never pressure anyone to take late notice fights. I got a bunch
of guys who want to fight. If one says no, I will find someone
else. No problem."
Johnson,
who said he was medically cleared to fight after his suspension,
confirmed this series of events with MMAFighting.com.
"Honestly,
it really was my fault for accepting a fight on seven days notice
and thinking I could lose 30 pounds, actually it came out to
35 pounds, and I only lost 27. That's my bad. I only was supposed
to fight in December, so it's not out of the realm of possibilities
[to miss weight] when I just fought in August and it's the end
of September because, you know, I was big because I hadn't been
able to work out or do anything.
"But
no excuses. 1) I should have won the fight. 2) I shouldn't have
taken the fight if I wasn't sure if I could do it. My own arrogance
thinking that I could make the weight [got the best of me], and
I think I did pretty good as far as [losing] 27 pounds in seven
days."
Johnson,
who said he hopes to fight again in December or January, added
that he holds no grudges against the UFC for his release and
urged his fans to feel the same way.
"I'm
not mad at the UFC. It sucks, yes. At the end of the day, it
falls on me. It was my decision. I didn't make weight. I'll make
the adjustments and hopefully find myself back in the UFC."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Kevin
James’ Friendships with Bas Rutten, Joe Rogan Inspired ‘Here
Comes the Boom’
When
you think of MMA-based movies, comedy might not come immediately
to mind. However, longtime MMA fan Kevin James has mixed the
sport and the genre in his upcoming film “Here Comes the
Boom,” which opens nationwide Friday.
“It
really came from Joe Rogan and I talking,” James told the
Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show when asked
where he’d got the idea for an MMA comedy. “I’ve
always wanted to try to incorporate some mixed martial arts into
a movie, and Joe and I were talking about how we could make it
a comedy. It seems difficult to do without making it goofy and
jokey … . The challenge was just kind of getting a blend
of real comedy and real moments and also infusing that with realistic
MMA.”
James,
perhaps best known for his role in the CBS sitcom “The King
of Queens,” studied karate as a kid and watched the first
UFC in 1993. He was also friends with Rogan, a fellow comedian
who for years now has been a UFC commentator.
“We
were doing standup [comedy] together and we started watching
Pancrase and we saw Bas Rutten in Japan with all his fights,”
James said. “We were watching this crazy dude with the knee-high
boots and the bald head, doing all these flips in the ring and
knocking people out. We were laughing at this guy, like this
guy was insane. We would watch him as much as we could.”
Eventually
Rutten made his way to the UFC and won the heavyweight title.
James got the chance to meet him, and the two hit it off.
“He’s
just a great guy, a great friend, and that was kind of what inspired
me all along to start making a movie to incorporate that,”
James said, “showing the human side of this sport that I
just respect, that I wouldn’t do necessarily, but I respect
so much.”
In
“Here Comes the Boom,” James plays a high school biology
teacher who turns to professional fighting to raise money for
his school. He said he wouldn’t have made the movie without
the blessing of UFC President Dana White and owner Lorenzo Fertitta.
“The
one thing, they didn’t want Paul Blart in the ring, in the
Octagon, and I totally didn’t want that either,” said
James, referring to the character he played in “Paul Blart:
Mall Cop.” “I don’t want it to be goofy. We’re
not trying to mock anything. They were the ones who said, ‘Listen,
it’s not believable necessarily that you would be able to
walk into the Octagon yourself, but you could be a decorated
collegiate wrestler at one time.’ So we added that in there,
and that I trained really hard and that I’m not fighting
for the UFC championship, for the heavyweight championship. I’m
fighting at the lower levels, the undercard, just because they
have a [fighter] fall out and because of this great story of
this teacher that’s coming up through the ranks, that they’ve
given the opportunity.”
To
play a fighter, James put in plenty of real training with coaches
like Mark DellaGrotte and Rafael Cordeiro. The result is that
his hands don’t look all that bad in the film.
“It’s
a true testament to them making me look good, honestly,”
James said. “I’ve always been into sports and athletics
and I’ve always been into mixed martial arts a little bit
here and there. The problem is my schedule. I don’t get
time to train day in and day out. The fact of the matter is,
I’m not that good. I’m really not. I don’t have
the dedication that I wish I had to the sport or wish I could
put into it, but I have worked hard, especially over the last
14 months, to train for this movie.”
Source
Sherdog
|
Bellator
75 TV Ratings Take a Dip on Night Heavy in MMA Programming
Friday
night’s Bellator 75 drew an average audience of 145,000
viewers.
That
accounts for a bit of a drop-off from the Season 7 opener the
week before. Bellator 74 marked a fairly strong premier for the
season, pulling in 190,000 viewers on MTV2.
Bellator
75, however, had the distinction of having to go head-to-head
with UFC on FX 5, which aired live on FX.
Bellator
75 featured the quarterfinal round bouts for the Season 7 Heavyweight
Tournament. Thiago Santos, Richard Hale, Vinicius Queirz, and
Alexander Volkov all moved on to the semifinals, although Santos
did so via a disqualification victory due receiving one of the
most brutal low blows in recent memory.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
|