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April
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UFC
on Fuel TV 9 Results: Ross Pearson’s Patience Pays of with
TKO Stoppage of Ryan Couture
Trying
to fight his way out of his father’s Hall of Fame sized
shadow, Ryan Couture gave a good accounting of himself at UFC
on Fuel TV 9 in Stockholm on Saturday, but couldn’t overcome
the experience or the striking of Ross Pearson.
Couture
employed a sound strategy, shooting on Pearson and pressing him
to the fence, trying to stay in tight so as not to give the Brit
any room to unleash the power in his punches, all the while working
in knees and short punches.
He
kept Pearson off track for the opening round, not allowing him
to find a rhythm.
Pearson
started strong in the second stanza, quickly getting Couture’s
attention with a succession of right hands. But Couture fell
back on his game plan, again pressing Pearson into the fence,
short-circuiting his striking game.
Couture
landed a solid punch-kick combination as he released Pearson
from the fence, but Pearson took advantage of his time away from
the fence. Couture launched a kick, and Pearson caught it, dumping
Couture onto the mat.
Pearson
followed, landing a few punches to his downed opponent. Couture
quickly returned to his feet, but Pearson just as quickly Landed
a stunning left hook followed by several combinations that sent
Couture back to the floor. Pearson swarmed, finishing the fight
with a flurry of punches for the TKO stoppage.
It
was a strong performance by Pearson, who showed maturity in his
fighting that hasn’t been as evident in some of his past
performances.
“It
was just that patience, timing, letting the fight develop,”
Pearson said of his approach to Couture’s stifling tactics.
“This is timing, just trying to find my range.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
on Fuel TV 9 Results: Matt Mitrione Makes Quick Work of Phil
De Fries
Matt
Mitrione at UFC 119The popular opinion heading into the heavyweight
showdown between Matt Mitrione and Phil De Fries at UFC on Fuel
TV 9 in Stockholm was that the loser might soon be in search
of a new job.
The
two heavyweights were originally slated to meet at UFC 155 in
December, but Mitrione was pulled from the fight to headline
the TUF 16 finale a couple weeks prior against Roy Nelson –
a fight Mitrione lost in the first round via a vicious knockout.
With
Mitrione losing his last two Octagon scraps, and De Fries being
2-2 in his UFC career, both fighters were in need of a convincing
win on Saturday. And with just 19 seconds gone in the first round,
the fighters’ career paths became a bit clearer as Mitrione
battered De Fries into a fight-ending TKO.
With
eight of his nine career wins coming via submission, De Fries
shot on the heavy handed slugger as the opening bell sounded.
For “Meathead,” a man who has made his name being an
unbridled, fan-friendly stand-up artist, he quickly sprawled
on the predictable attempt, pushed him into side guard, and reigned
down his fight-ending ground and pound.
“Honestly
man, I’m developing talent,” said a giddy Mitrione
post-fight. “I was out for a long time, so I appreciate
the UFC giving me this fight.”
Mitrione
wasn’t kidding either. This was only his second fight since
December 2011, and it silenced some harsh critiques that the
Indianapolis native was receiving after suffering back-to-back
losses to Cheick Kongo and Nelson.
The
former NFL prospect is now back in the win column, and it comes
for the only organization the 6-2 fighter has ever competed in.
“The
UFC has been great to me and it’s been the only show I’ve
ever been in,” added Mitrione. “Whoever they think
it’s appropriate for me to get down (with next), let’s
get down.”
At
2-3 in the UFC, De Fries has some work to do, no doubt. But with
the rather thin heavyweight division and his BJJ prowess, it’s
not unreasonable to think we may see him back in the cage before
he gets handed his walking papers.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
on Fuel TV 9 Results: Gegard Mousasi Utilizes “Stand and
Pray” Strategy to Stifle Ilir Latifi
Ilir
Latifi entered the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden,
on Saturday night to the sounds of the infamous “Eye of
the Tiger” in hopes of pulling off his own Rocky-esque upset.
Alas, the late replacement and hometown favorite was no match
for Gegard Mousasi in the main event of UFC on Fuel TV 9.
Both
Mousasi and Latifi made their promotional debuts in Stockholm,
but took wildly different career paths to the main event. Mousasi
cut his teeth fighting for the largest promotions in the world
– including holding the Strikeforce championship –
making a name for himself as a well-rounded kickboxing standout
with an impressive 33-3-2 record, while Latifi was a 6-2 training
partner of original main event combatant Alexander Gustafsson.
Round
one saw Mousasi establish a probing jab that stymied Latifi’s
rhythm and voided his takedown attempts. With his crisp jab and
focused accuracy, Mousasi employed his strategy without apology.
“I
knew he was wrestler so I didn’t want him to close the distance,”
said Mousasi following the unanimous decision victory. “Some
people call it lay and pray, so maybe I did that in the stand-up.”
With
Mousasi originally slated to square off against one of the best
strikers in the light heavyweight division in Gustafsson, a match
with Latifi was widely considered a lose/lose proposition. As
the rounds wore on, Latifi did his best to conjure up a spirited
performance – managing a few powerful hooks in the second
round and scoring a late takedown in the third – but by
the end of the fight, he was bloodied, beaten and unanimously
defeated.
Defeated,
but not broken. After all, he was able to withstand 15 minutes
in the Octagon with an opponent who severely outclassed him on
paper and a fight that saw him billed as one of the largest betting
underdogs in MMA history.
A
stoic Mousasi explained that his lack of finishing ability might
have been a product of problems suffered in training during the
lead-up to the fight.
“I
was injured coming into this fight. And the last week I also
got a cold, so I didn’t go berserk,” he stated.
“I
thought I had the advantage striking-wise, so I took advantage
of it.”
Unfortunately
for Mousasi, this fight doesn’t really serve as an accurate
barometer of where he fits among the UFC’s light heavyweight
division, and it did little to quell any of the detractors who
say he has faced less-than-stellar competition during his storied
career.
Conversely,
for Latifi this fight showcased that the young lion – having
withstood 15 minutes with one of the top-ranked fighters in the
world – might actually be worthy of a roster spot in the
world’s premier fighting organization.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Ryan
Couture mature beyond his years in handling of Randy Couture-Dana
White feud
The
most significant fight of his life is only a few days away for
Ryan Couture, but considering what he's been through recently,
composure shouldn't be an issue.
He'll
make his UFC debut on Saturday when he takes on Ultimate Fighter
Season 9 winner Ross Pearson in the co-main event of UFC on Fuel
9 in Stockholm, Sweden.
UFC
president Dana White talks frequently of the so-called "UFC
jitters," that accompany a fighter's first appearance in
the largest mixed martial arts promotion. Veteran Antonio "Big
Foot" Silva admitted during a recent interview that he was
nervous for his 2012 fight with Cain Velasquez simply because
it marked his UFC debut.
But
Couture has more to worry about than simply calming his nerves.
The son of UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, Ryan Couture will
be forced to fight without either of his top two coaches. Randy
Couture, of course, is on the outs with White and has been banned
from even attending UFC events, let alone working a fighter's
corner. On top of that, his grappling coach, Neil Melanson, was
in the hospital last week and unable to make the trip to Sweden
with Ryan Couture. Ryan Couture looks on before a fight against
K.J. Noons.
That
will make for a difficult enough debut for any fighter. But Ryan
Couture also has to deal with another reality: because of his
pedigree, a win over him simply means more to opponents.
"I
have a bull's-eye on me because of my famous last name,"
he said. "A win over me is a higher-profile win than it
would be if my father weren't who he is."
Even
that, though, isn't Ryan Couture's biggest issue.
Imagine,
if you can, hearing your boss spew the kind of venom at your
father than White did at Randy Couture. And then imagine the
calm, rational reaction that Ryan Couture had and think if you
could come close to matching it.
There's
little chance that most people would be able to handle the situation
the way that Ryan Couture has. It's not that White won't let
Randy Couture work the corner. It's not that Randy is banned
from even being in a venue on the day of a UFC fight.
It's
the vicious way that White has spoken of his father that has
to gall Ryan Couture. In February, after he learned that Randy
Couture was planning to leave his job working for the UFC on
its Fox broadcasts to work for Spike TV, White savagely ripped
into one of the biggest stars in his company's history.
Randy
Couture celebrates after a UFC heavyweight title win. (Yahoo)"He
didn't even finish his contract – he's got one more fight
left – and he bails on the contract to go do this,"
White said then. "Randy Couture has this 'Captain America'
image and stuff like that, but he is not a good guy. He has never
been a good guy. And I'm actually, and I mean this, I couldn’t
mean it any more: I am happy that he went there. I'm happy he
is there. I never have to deal with Randy Couture ever again."
Ryan
Couture, though, managed to handle the situation about as adroitly
as any young man could, given the circumstances.
He
understood that the dispute was between his father and his boss,
and he made the best of it.
Even
more, he didn't take it personally when his boss loudly, publicly
and repeatedly trashed his father.
"It
sucks and it's hard to hear someone say so much stuff about someone
I love and respect so much," Ryan Couture said. "At
the end of the day, though, I know Dana is an emotional guy and
he's known for flying off the handle like that when he's angry.
His actual feelings on the subject [of my father] may be more
toward the middle, but that's not his style or how he is. I just
take it for what it is. They have a disagreement over business
and that's their issue. For what Dana says, I get he's emotional
and gets angry and says things. I don't like to hear it, but
I don't take it personally because I understand the situation."
It's
hard to imagine anyone handling it better. And that speaks well
of his fight career. If he can stay as cool, calm and rational
when he's in a bad spot in a bout as he has when he's heard his
father blasted by his boss, he'll win a lot more than he loses.
Ryan
Couture has a lot going on in his life as he heads into his UFC
debut, but if anyone can handle the circus, he seems to be the
guy.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Matches
to Make After UFC on Fuel 9
Gegard
Mousasi made the best of a bad situation.
The
27-year-old former Strikeforce and Dream champion chipped away
at the face and resolve of Ilir Latifi in the UFC on Fuel TV
9 main event, as he coasted to a unanimous decision on Saturday
at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm. Mousasi swept the scorecards
by identical 30-27 counts, announcing his arrival in the Ultimate
Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight division.
Latifi
replaced the world-ranked Alexander Gustafsson on short notice
after a cut suffered late in training camp forced the surging
Swede to withdraw from the headliner.
Mousasi
was exact and efficient, as he dissected Latifi from a distance
and tipped his long reach with precise punches. According to
FightMetric figures, “The Dreamcatcher” out-landed
his foe by better than a 4-to-1 margin in terms of significant
strikes. Afterward, Latifi’s face showed the wear and tear
of Mousasi’s handiwork.
When
the Gustafsson-Mousasi matchup was originally announced it was
greeted with anticipation, and Mousasi’s performance, while
less than spectacular, does nothing to diminish its appeal. That
leaves UFC matchmakers with options. While Gustafsson remains
in play, a potential bout with Mousasi and former NCAA wrestling
champion Phil Davis could also prove attractive, provided “Mr.
Wonderful” gets past Vinny Magalhaes and his otherworldly
submission skills at UFC 159 later this month.
No
matter which direction it elects to go with Mousasi, the UFC
has a shiny new piece with which to play at 205 pounds.
In
the wake of UFC on Fuel TV 9 “Mousasi vs. Latifi,”
here are seven other matches that ought to be made:
Ross
Pearson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov-Abel Trujillo winner: Pearson
reaffirmed his place as one of the UFC’s best boxers and
most consistent entertainers, as he rebounded from a slow start
to clobber and stop Ryan Couture in the co-main event. “The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 9 winner has notched back-to-back
wins since returning to the lightweight division after a brief
flirtation with 145 pounds. The undefeated Nurmagomedov has finished
10 of his last 11 opponents and next faces Trujillo at UFC 160
on May 25.
Pickett's
wrestling has improved vastly.
Brad Pickett vs. Urijah Faber-Scott Jorgensen winner: Pickett
continued to keep his game in the hat of potential title contenders
at 135 pounds, as he outdueled Alliance MMA export Mike Easton
en route to a split decision in a memorable 15-minute battle.
The 34-year-old has won 13 of his last 16 bouts, establishing
himself as one of the world’s top 10 bantamweights. Faber
and Jorgensen will lock horns in “The Ultimate Fighter 17”
Finale on April 13 in Las Vegas.
Ilir
Latifi vs. Ovince St. Preux-Gian Villante loser: Though he lost
in one-sided fashion, Latifi performed admirably in his short-notice
promotional debut, forcing Mousasi to go the distance. Perhaps
the UFC will gain a better grasp on his long-term potential once
Latifi is afforded a full training camp. The 205-pound division
is not as deep as it has been in the past, which gives the Swede
a little margin for error. Strikeforce transplants St. Preux
and Villante will meet at UFC 159 on April 27.
Ryan
Couture vs. Colin Fletcher: For five minutes, Couture looked
like he belonged in the cage with Pearson. Then came the second
round, where Pearson put him away with a bevy of power punches.
The jury remains out on whether or not Couture has what it takes
to stick around in the UFC. Fletcher faces similar doubts following
consecutive losses to Norman Parke and Mike Ricci.
Mike
Easton vs. Michael McDonald: Easton fell short in his bid to
unseat Pickett from his perch in the top 10 at 135 pounds. Still,
“The Hulk” has a lot to offer if he can overcome the
first real adversity of his professional career and respond to
back-to-back defeats. McDonald has the look of a future champion,
but a February submission loss to interim titleholder Renan Barao
raised some questions that need to be answered.
Matt
Mitrione vs. Todd Duffee: Mitrione needed a mere 19 seconds to
dispatch Philip De Fries, as “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 10 graduate halted a two-fight losing streak and picked
up his first victory since June 2011. Duffee had similar fun
at the British wrestler’s expense in December, stopping
De Fries in a little more than two minutes.
Diego
Brandao vs. Rani Yahya: Brandao kept his emotions in check and
fought at a measured pace, submitting Pablo Garza with a first-round
arm-triangle choke. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 14
winner has compiled a 3-1 mark since joining the UFC, and, with
continued development and maturity, could easily become a serious
player at 145 pounds. A 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission
Wrestling World Championships gold medalist, Yahya won for the
third time in four fights at UFC on Fuel TV 8 in March, when
he defeated Mizuto Hirota by unanimous decision in Japan.
Source: Sherdog |
Trainer:
To Avoid Johny Hendricks’ Left Hand, GSP Would Have to Put
Him on Defense
Trainer
Firas Zahabi, on “Cheap Seats,” discussing how Georges
St. Pierre would approach a bout against Johny Hendricks:
“I
think Georges has to neutralize his left hand. He absolutely
has to get away, and it’s not going to be an easy thing
to do. We’re going to have to put our heads together and
try to figure out what to do. It’s not about just being
defensive, that’s for sure. You can’t sit there and
hope a left hand doesn’t land. You have to put your opponent
on defense. That’s the safest way to win a fight: always
be the guy who’s attacking and force your opponent into
a defensive mind frame and a defensive mode. That’s the
best. We’re going to have to look at Johny’s fights
and review him and try to dissect him and see what would be a
good approach.”
Source: Sherdog |
UFC
on Fuel TV 9 Quick Results
Main
Bouts (on Fuel TV):
-Gegard Mousasi def. Ilir Latifi by unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)
-Ross Pearson def. Ryan Couture by TKO at 3:45, R2
-Matt Mitrione def. Phil DeFries by KO at :19, R1
-Brad Pickett def. Mike Easton by split decision (29-28, 27-30,
30-27)
-Diego Brandao def. Pablo Garza by submission (arm-triangle choke)
at 3:27, R1
-Akira Corrasani def. Robbie Peralta by unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary
Bouts (on Facebook):
-Reza Madadi def. Michael Johnson by submission (anaconda choke)
at 1:33, R3
-Tor Troeng def. Adam Cella by submission (rear naked choke)
at 3:11, R1
-Adlan Amagov def. Chris Spang by unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)
-Conor McGregor def. Marcus Brimage by TKO at 1:07, R1
-Ryan LaFlare def. Benny Alloway by unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)
-Tom Lawlor def. Michael Kuiper by submission (guillotine choke)
at 1:05, R2
-Papy Abedi def. Basem Yousef by split decision (29-28, 28-29,
29-28)
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
Heavyweight Matt Mitrione Suspended for “Breach of Conduct”
Following Fallon Fox Rant
Matt
Mitrione Marcus Jones TUF 10 FinaleMatt Mitrione may have won
his most recent heavyweight bout in the UFC without an injury,
but he won’t be fighting again in a hurry.
Bloody
Elbow reports that the former NFL player and Ultimate Fighter
alumnus has been suspended by the UFC for a “significant”
breach in the promotion’s “code of conduct” on
Monday, where he insulted transgender fighter Fallon Fox during
an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.
As
such, the UFC issued the following statement to MMAWeekly.com
content partner Bleacher Report regarding Mitrione, who called
Fox a “disgusting freak” for fighting in the women’s
division:
The
UFC was appalled by the transphobic comments made by heavyweight
Matt Mitrione today in an interview on [The MMA Hour].
The
organization finds Mr Mitrione’s comments offensive and
wholly unacceptable and – as a direct result of this significant
breach of the UFC’s code of conduct – Mr Mitrione’s
UFC contract has been suspended and the incident is being investigated.
The
UFC is a friend and ally of the LGBT community, and expects and
requires all 450 of its athletes to treat others with dignity
and respect.
While
several UFC personalities (including color commentator Joe Rogan)
do not believe that Fox—a 37-year-old, male-to-female transgendered
athlete—should be competing with women, Mitrione is the
first UFC fighter to verbally attack Fallon with insults on a
widely broadcast show like The MMA Hour.
Aside
from insinuating that Fox had “mental problems” for
fighting in the women’s MMA division, Mitrione also joked
that Fox’s fights were akin to infamous rapper Chris Brown
beating up his current girlfriend, Barbadian pop star Rihanna:
He’s
chromosomally a man. He had a gender change, not a sex change.
He’s still a man. He was a man for 31 years. Thirty-one
years. That’s a couple years younger than I am. He’s
a man. Six years of taking performance de-hancing drugs, you
think is going to change all that? That’s ridiculous.
That
is a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak. And I mean that.
Because you lied on your license to beat up women. That’s
disgusting. You should be embarrassed yourself. And the fact
that Florida licensed him because California licensed him or
whoever the hell did it, it’s an embarrassment to us as
fighters, as a sport, and we all should protest that. The woman
that’s fighting him, props to you. I hope you beat his ass,
and I hope he gets blackballed and never fights again, because
that’s disgusting and I’m appalled by that.
Hence,
Mitrione will be suspended for an as-of-yet undetermined amount
of time.
It’s
also unknown if Mitrione will be punished further for his remarks,
but according to UFC COO Lawrence Epstein, any “discriminatory
comment” about members of a certain community can make the
responsible fighter “required” to do public service
for that community.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
on Fuel TV 9 Results: Brad Pickett Edges Mike Easton With Strong
Boxing/Wrestling Attack
Eddie
Wineland vs Brad Pickett UFC 155Although Brad Pickett is known
for his one-punch power, it was the Brit’s wrestling skills
that secured victory at UFC on Fuel TV 9 on Saturday in Stockholm.
Pickett
and Mike Easton went toe-to-toe, displaying their striking skills
at the Ericsson Globe Arena, and Pickett’s boxing certainly
kept him ahead in the fight, but it was his wrestling that made
it possible.
Easton
is a strong bantamweight, but Pickett stuffed the majority of
his takedowns, and used his own to plant Easton on the mat several
times in the bout. And whenever they did hit the mat, Pickett
either brought the fight back to his comfort zone on the feet,
or outwrestled Easton on the mat.
Pickett
utilized his jab throughout the fight to try and set up the uppercut
for the knockout, but had to settle for outstriking Easton en
route to a 30-27, 30-27, 28-29 split decision victory.
The
victory got Pickett back on track after losing a split decision
to Eddie Wineland to close out 2012, but true to his nature,
the Brit didn’t put anyone on his hit list.
“I’m
not here to call people out, (but) I’d always love an opponent
like Mike Easton.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
suspends Matt Mitrione for transphobic comments regarding Fallon
Fox
The
UFC wasted little time laying down the law on Matt Mitrione,
suspending the heavyweight indefinitely for transphobic comments
regarding Fallon Fox he made during an interview with Ariel Helwani
Monday on "The MMA Hour."
Fox
was born a man and underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2006
and has had two fights as a professional mixed martial artist,
winning both.
Mitrione
repeatedly referred to Fox as a he and called her as "a
lying, sick, sociopathic disgusting freak."
"Because
she's not a he. He's a he," he said. "He's chromosomally
a man. He had a gender change, not a sex change. He's still a
man. He was a man for 31 years. Thirty-one years. That's a couple
years younger than I am. He's a man. Six years of taking performance
de-hancing drugs, you think is going to change all that? That's
ridiculous.
"That
is a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak," Mitrione
said. "And I mean that. Because you lied on your license
to beat up women. That's disgusting. You should be embarrassed
yourself. And the fact that Florida licensed him because California
licensed him or whoever the hell did it, it's an embarrassment
to us as fighters, as a sport, and we all should protest that.
The woman that's fighting him, props to you. I hope you beat
his ass, and I hope he gets blackballed and never fights again,
because that's disgusting and I'm appalled by that."
The
UFC, which announced a fighter code of conduct in January, moved
swiftly to suspend Mitrione and denounce his comments.
"The
UFC was appalled by the transphobic comments made by heavyweight
Matt Mitrione today in an interview on 'The MMA Hour.' The organization
finds Mr. Mitrione’s comments offensive and wholly unacceptable
and - as a direct result of this significant breach of the UFC’s
code of conduct – Mr. Mitrione’s UFC contract has been
suspended and the incident is being investigated. The UFC is
a friend and ally of the LGBT community, and expects and requires
all 450 of its athletes to treat others with dignity and respect."
The
exact length of Mitrione's suspension has yet to be released.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Antonio
Bigfoot and Glover Teixeira train together for UFC 160
On
May 25, Antonio Bigfoot Silva enters the octagon once again facing
Cain Velasquez. This time he’s going for the heavyweight
belt in UFC 160 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In order for the title
to go back to Brazil, Bigfoot intensified his training at American
Top Team in Florida, and called reinforcements for the camp,
including heavyweight Glover Teixeira, who will fight on the
same card against James Te Huna.
Focused
on grabbing the biggest chance of his life, Bigfoot trusts in
the potential of his training partners for the last 45 days of
training.
“Glover
is very strong, can put the opponent down very well, he enters
on the front leg very well, very fast. His presence in my camp
will be very important,” says Silva. “I believe that
he will be the heavyweight champion of UFC soon. We also have
excellent wrestlers and strikers here, the training is excellent.
I am very confident that I will perform on May 25 very well”.
Besides
counting on Glover Teixeira skills, Antonio Silva also bets on
tips from Steve Mocco, a former Olympic wrestler, to surprise
his opponent. Mocco already faced Velasquez when they practiced
wrestling for their respective colleges.
“Mocco
is helping me a lot, especially since he premiered last year
in MMA. He is applying wrestling in MMA, and that’s great
as it is crucial in my preparation process,” says the giant
from Paraíba. He also bets on his Muay Thai, the key weapon
in his knockout win over Alistair Overeem. “Although I’m
training a lot of grappling, I will also emphasize on standup
with Katel Kubis and Pedro Rizzo,” he says.
Training
only in the US
In
his last fights, Silva was part of camp at Team Nogueira. But
this time, the quality of the ATT is so great that a return to
Brazil is not part of his plans.
“I
was almost certain to return to Rio de Janeiro to train at Team
Nogueira, but I’m feeling very well here, the training is
paying off. I think that by getting close to my family I can
do better. I always thank Minotauro for everything he has done
for me and for always greeting me with open arms; It is an eternal
debt that I have,” concluded Silva.
So,
reader, do you think with the help of Glover, Bigfoot will take
another step towards the heavyweight belt? Check the UFC 160
card and tell us what you think:
UFC
160
Las Vegas, USA
May 25, 2013
Cain
Velasquez vs Antonio Bigfoot Silva
Júnior
Cigano vs Mark Hunt
Glover
Teixeira vs James Te Huna
Donald
Cerrone vs KJ Noons
Stephen
Thompson vs Amir Sadollah
Khabib
Nurmagomedov vs Abel Trujillo
Jeremy
Stephens vs Estevan Payan
Gray
Maynard vs TJ Grant
Gunnar
Nelson vs Mike Pyle
Robert
Whittaler vs Colton Smith
Source: Gracie Magazine |
Through
the Past Darkly: Reflections on UFC on FUEL TV 9
Maybe
this week's strange turn of events wasn't such a raw deal for
Gegard Mousasi after all.
Don't
get me wrong, it sure seemed it like it a few days ago. Back
when all we knew was that the Mousasi had lost a chance to face
the blue chip opponent he'd spent weeks training for, and had
instead been given an unknown underdog with a completely different
style and body type, it seemed like he'd entered no-win territory.
He thought the same, or at least said he did. Together we lamented
the sad switcheroo that was brought about by one ill-timed facial
laceration and one slightly overprotective athletic commission.
Poor
Mousasi. Guy couldn't catch a break.
But
after seeing how he performed against Ilir Latifi in Saturday's
UFC on FUEL TV 9 main event in Stockholm, and then hearing about
the injury that he brought into the bout, maybe the change of
opponents was the biggest break he could have hoped for. He said
it himself. The knee injury that he would only describe as "nothing
small," would have knocked "95 percent" of fighters
off the card, according to Mousasi. He hung in there and relied
on his jab to carry him through.
Against
Latifi, the jab was enough. Against Gustafsson, probably not.
Give
Mousasi credit for still wanting to get in there with a top contender
anyway. That's gutsy. It's also pretty risky. I don't know how
many of us would have liked his chances against "The Mauler"
on two good knees. If he'd gone in there and gotten tooled by
Gustafsson, who would have wanted to hear about his bum knee
afterward? Who would have seen it as anything other than an excuse,
and a useless one? Either Mousasi so despises the practice of
withdrawing from a fight due to injury that he'd rather make
his UFC debut on one leg, or else maybe his injury was the type
that got more severe with the retelling. Or, a third option:
Maybe Mousasi just has that much faith in himself, injury or
no.
Maybe
that faith would have paid off, if only Gustafsson could have
kept his face from getting sliced open. Maybe it would have just
gotten Mousasi beaten up on live TV. We may never know. One thing
still seems clear, though: If your knee is so bad off that you've
got to lean on your jab like a crutch, better to do it against
the shorter, slower replacement than the taller, lankier contender.
Here's one bad break that could have been a lot worse.
Conor
McGregor lives up to the hype and gets off welfare
If
you only get your news from Twitter, and if you only follow Irish
MMA fans, you could have been forgiven for thinking that Conor
McGregor vs. Marcus Brimage was the main event in Stockholm.
It's hard to remember the last time a prelim bout featuring a
UFC newcomer had this much fan interest behind it. McGregor proved
worthy of the hype with his first-round TKO of Brimage –
a bonus-worthy finish that he executed with veteran poise in
his octagon debut.
That's
impressive stuff, but am I the only one who felt a little concerned
when he started talking about his sudden financial shift? The
24-year-old McGregor said at the post-fight press conference
that he was "collecting the social welfare" before
this bout. Now he has a $60,000 KO bonus to go with his show
and win money, so you'd hope he might find a way to make it last.
"I'm
just up here hearing $60,000," McGregor said. "I'm
just thinking of what I'm going to spend it on. Maybe a nice
car and some suits or something, some custom-made suits. I don't
know."
...
and now it's all gone. I get it: There's nothing sexy about a
fighter who goes from crushing poverty to comfortable, responsible
middle-class living. It's way cooler to talk about all the stuff
you're going to buy now that you're a thousandaire. But dude,
60 grand is not a life-changing sum of money. Why not get a decent
used car, buy a suit off the rack, and save the rest for those
nights when it's someone else's turn to make big plans with his
bonus money at the post-fight presser? Because, don't kid yourself,
those nights are coming. You don't want to have to get back on
the social welfare when it happens.
Beware
the backstage injury
If
you thought Mousasi had it rough, consider Ross Pearson's dilemma.
While warming up backstage before his co-main-event bout with
Ryan Couture, the British lightweight said he may have broken
his foot on his coach's elbow. Say he did. What exactly is he
supposed to do about it in that situation?
We've
seen guys get scratched from cards due to backstage warm-up injuries
before, so it's not like it's never happened. Thing is, it's
still rare and weird enough that fans may never let you forget
it if it happens to you. All you have to do is mention Kevin
Randleman's name, and it's guaranteed someone will bring up the
time he slipped in the locker room and knocked himself out. Nobody
wants to become a warm-up cautionary tale, so you kind of have
to go out there and fight and win. Because, while bringing up
your training injuries after a loss might make fans groan, telling
them that you hurt yourself while warming up tonight will only
make them laugh. It's one step away from blowing out your ACL
while trying to put your pants on in the morning.
Fortunately
for Pearson, he was able to pull it together and put the hurt
on Couture for a second-round TKO win. Maybe that explains why
he felt comfortable revealing the boneheaded nature of his pre-fight
injury. After seeing that left hook of his in action, who's going
to make fun of him for being unable to get through a warm-up
in one piece?
Source: MMA Fighting |
Bellator
95 Highlights: Pat Curran Retains Belt, Marshall and Khasbulaev
Win Tourneys
Bellator
95 took place on Thursday night at Revel in Atlantic City, N.J.,
with featherweight champion Pat Curran squaring off with Shahbulat
Shamhalaev, the Season 8 featherweight and middleweight finals,
and a welterweight bout between Rick Hawn and Karo Parisyan.
The
event featured the Bellator Middleweight Tournament Championship
where Doug Marshall defeated Brett Cooper with an explosive TKO
(punches) in the first round. Frodo Khasbulaev won the Bellator
Featherweight Tournament Championship by unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27) in a tough battle against Mike Richman. Marshall
and Khasbulaev each earned a $100,000 tournament prize and a
guaranteed title shot. The night also showcased the Featherweight
World Championship with Pat Curran defending his title, beating
Shahbulat Shamhalaev via submission (guillotine choke) in the
first round.
Source: MMA Weekly |
One
FC 8 Results: Shinya Aoki Dominates En Route to Lightweight Championship
One
FC returned to Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore,
on Friday for One FC 8: Kings and Championships, kicking off
what could be a new era of supremacy for Dream, and now One FC,
lightweight champion Shinya Aoki.
Kotetsu
Boku vs. Shinya Aoki
It
took him seven minutes, but it was seven minutes of domination
by Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki, as he captured the
One FC lightweight championship.
Aoki
immediately went to his bread and butter, not taking any chances
on the feet with Kotetsu Boku. He dragged Boku to the mat in
the opening minute of the fight, working submissions ranging
from a neck crank to a D’Arce choke to an armbar, but couldn’t
find the finish.
The
second round was much of the same. Aoki quickly took the fight
to the ground, only this time, when he sprung to Boku’s
back, he immediately secured a rear naked choke that left Boku
with no option for escape.
Aoki’s
goal in the fight with Boku was to finish, to keep the fight
out of the hands of the judges. He did that. Now he moves on
to his long-term goal.
“I
am going to be One FC champion for a very long time,” Aoki
told MMAWeekly.com. “I want to clean out the entire lightweight
division in One FC. I don’t care who they sign; I am going
to beat all of them.”
Brock
Larson vs. Melvin Manhoef
Brock
Larson and Melvin Manhoef didn’t provide the explosive finish
that many had hoped for, but despite some lulls in the action,
particularly at the start of each round, when the action did
come, it was fast and furious.
Manhoef
showed a few flashes of his powerful striking, landing a head
kick in the opening round that had Larson running away in an
attempt to recover.
There
was some back-and-forth action in the second round, Manhoef trying
to land with power again, but Larson got the better of the round,
if only doing so in the waning moments. Larson controlled the
latter portion of the round on the mat, securing an armbar that
likely would have finished the fight if given another 10 seconds,
but those seconds weren’t there and Manhoef survived.
With
Manhoef finally slowing a bit, Larson kicked things up a notch
in the final round, putting Manhoef on the mat and dominating
with his patented ground and pound game, a barrage of punches
and elbows.
Larson
couldn’t put Manhoef away, but his near finish in round
two and domination in round three earned a unanimous nod from
the judges.
“He
hits like a truck. Never been hit so hard in my life. He had
me rocked. I knew I had to be careful,” Larson said after
the fight, explaining the lack of engagement, especially early
in the fight.
Larson
has bounced back and forth between welterweight and middleweight
the past couple of years, but the strategy appears to be working,
as his win over Manhoef at 185 pounds improved his winning streak
to four consecutive bouts.
Jens
Pulver vs. Masakatsu Ueda
Masakatsu
Ueda was impressive in his win over former UFC champion Jens
Pulver, securing his place in the One FC Bantamweight Grand Prix
final opposite Kevin Belingon.
Following
a slow feeling out process, Ueda scored a takedown in the first
round and then dominated the rest of the fight. He out-positioned
Pulver and peppered him with ground and pound, nearly securing
a Kimura at the close of opening stanza.
The
second round was even more dominant, as Ueda put Pulver on the
mat even quicker, and soon opened a cut around his eye. Ueda
kept hammering Pulver with punches until he finally opened him
up for a fight ending D’Arce choke.
Thanh
Vu vs. Kevin Belingon
Wushu
stylist Kevin Belingon earned his spot in the One FC Bantamweight
Grand Prix final with a victory over Thanh Vu.
Belingon
took the fight to Vu from the opening bell, picking him apart
with a variety of kicks, and then controlling position on the
mat in the latter portion of the first round.
He
picked up the pace in round two, rocking Vu early with a couple
of head kicks. Noticing his opponent was hurt, Belingon pounced
on the opportunity to unleash a brutal assault of knees and punch
combinations. He dropped Vu to the mat and the referee immediately
stepped in to stop the fight.
Vu
argued that he was still trying to fight back, but it fell on
deaf ears as Belingon won the fight.
Arnaud
Lepont vs. Eddie Ng
Eddie
Ng once again proved why he is considered one of the top lightweight
prospects coming out of Asia with his sixth finish in his sixth
victory.
Ng
and Arnaud Lepont went back and forth over the first round of
their fight. Ng was very aggressive in both his submission attempts
and his striking, but Lepont countered well and remained busy
off his back when Ng was able to get him to the mat.
Lepont
scored a takedown early in the second, but once Ng worked his
way up the cage and returned to his feet, there was no looking
back. He scored a takedown of his own, quickly transitioned from
guard to side control to mount, forcing Lepont to give up his
back. Ng then slid off Lepont’s back and secured an armbar
for a lightening quick finish.
It was an important victory for Ng, who made his return on Friday
after more than a year out of competition.
It
felt good to win, but it didn’t feel good getting there.
“Honestly, it doesn’t feel too good because I got hit
a few times,” said Ng, the swelling on his face increasing
as he spoke.
The
victory was Ng’s fourth consecutive, improving his overall
record to 6-1, and maintaining his status as a top One FC lightweight
contender.
One
FC 8: Kings & Champions Results
Main
Bouts:
-Shinya Aoki def. Kotetsu Boku by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
2:01, R2
-Brock Larson def. Melvin Manhoef by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Masakatsu Ueda def. Jens Pulver by Submission (D’Arce Choke)
at 3:52, R2
-Kevin Belingon def. Thanh Vu by TKO (Strikes) at 1:00, R2
-Eddie Ng def. Arnaud Lepont by Submission (Armbar) at 4:45,
R2
-Leandro Issa def. Yusup Saddulaev by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Alex Silva def. Rene Catalan by Submission (Armbar) at 4:34,
R1
-Bashir Ahmad def. Shannon Wiratchai by Unanimous Decision, R3
Preliminary
Bouts:
-Jake Butler def. Swain Cangco by TKO (Strikes) at 2:52, R1
-Chen Yun Ting def. Ronald Low by TKO (Strikes) at 3:58, R1
Source: MMA Weekly |
Bellator
95 Ends Season 8 on a TV Ratings High Note, Dwarfing Season 7
Bellator
MMA on Thursday closed out its eighth season with a strong showing
in the TV ratings.
Bellator
95 was the final event of Season 8, the promotion’s first
on Spike TV. Bellator 95 drew an audience of 901,000 viewers,
matching Bellator 91 for the second best ratings of the season.
Only the season premier, Bellator 85, drew a larger audience.
Bellator
95 featured Pat Curran’s featherweight title defense, as
he submitted Shahbulat Shamhalaev in the night’s main event,
as well as the season’s middleweight and featherweight tournament
finals.
The
show peaked at 1,046,000 viewers at its high point.
Bellator has also done well this season with its immediate replays
that follow most of the live broadcasts. Bellator 95 was no exception,
drawing 328,000 additional viewers for a cumulative total viewership
of 1,229,000.
Bellator
Season 8 has averaged just under 793,000 viewers per episode,
which dwarfs the 162,000 viewers per episode of Season 7 on MTV
2.
Bellator
Season 8 TV Ratings
Bellator
85: 938,000 viewers
Bellator 86: 812,000 viewers
Bellator 87: 705,000 viewers
Bellator 88: 807,000 viewers
Bellator 89: 719,000 viewers
Bellator 90: 737,000 viewers
Bellator 91: 901,000 viewers
Bellator 92: 741,000 viewers
Bellator 93: 748,000 viewers
Bellator 94: 713,000 viewers
Bellator 95: 901,000 viewers
Source: MMA Weekly |
Charles
Oliveira analyzes fight with Edgar: ‘Biggest challenge of
my life’
The
last week has been busy for the UFC’s Charles “Do Bronx”
Oliveira. The fighter had his contract renewed for another four
fights and received the announcement that he will face former
lightweight champion Frankie Edgar on July 6, in UFC 162 in Las
Vegas. The fighter will be the second opponent for Frankie Edgar
at featherweight.
Without
fighting since September 2012, when he suffered a knee injury
minutes before facing Cub Swanson in a UFC 152 fight, in which
he was defeated, OIiveira returns to the UFC against the most
renowned opponent of his whole career.
“I
was caught by surprise with this fight,” said the Brazilian.
“Edgar is the second best in the category and it is an honor
to be chosen to face him. This duel will be the biggest challenge
of my life and I am very happy with it. There are many people
saying that I will lose, but I’ll prove otherwise. On July
6, I will show that I can beat anyone in the UFC.”
Do
Bronx, who debuted in the UFC in 2010 and has three bonuses for
Submissions of the Night, has had no easy career in the organization.
He has faced names like Efrain Escudero, Jim Miller, Donald Cerrone
and Cub Swanson.
“In
my first interview when I entered the UFC, I made it clear that
I would always like to face the best, because winning only by
defeating the top names is how you can become the best, he said.
“I’m a fan of Edgar and I’ll train like I never
trained before. I’m ready for a war.”
The
main event of the evening will be the fight between the middleweight
champion Anderson Silva facing the young challenger Chris Weidman.
Check out the partial card of the event.
UFC
162
Las Vegas, Nevada
July 6, 2013
Anderson
Silva vs Chris Weidman
Mark Muñoz vs Tim Boetsch
Roger Gracie vs Tim Kennedy
Chris Leben vs Andrew Craig
Ricardo Lamas vs Chan Sung Jung
Seth Baczynski vs Brian Melancon
Charles Do Bronx vs Frankie Edgar
Cub Swanson vs Dennis Siver
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Bellator
featherweight champ Pat Curran endured plenty of punishment on
his road to the top
Pat
Curran's cousin, Jeff Curran, had long been one of the best fighters
in the world, competing in both the now-defunct World Extreme
Cagefighting organization as well as the UFC.
Pat Curran on his Bellator belt: “You’re going to have
to pretty much kill me to take that away.
He saw his cousin defeating some of the world's elite mixed martial
arts fighters and thought to himself, "I could do that."
Getting into the cage, though, was an entirely different story.
"In the beginning, it was kind of [intimidating],"
Pat Curran said. "I didn't know anything about the sport,
other than what I knew from watching on TV. I saw guys getting
knocked out left and right, sometimes turned into a bloody mess,
and it was like, 'Whoa.' It could get to you.
"It took years of experience and getting my [expletive]
kicked every day before I finally got it figured out."
Pat Curran has now become one of the world's elite fighters.
He's the Bellator featherweight champion and is generally regarded
as one of the world's top-five 145-pounders.
He's 18-4 and has wins over the likes of Marlon Sandro, Patricio
Freire, Roger Huerta and Mike Ricci, among others.
On Thursday, he'll defend his title against Shahbulat Shamhalaev
in the main event of Bellator 95 on Spike TV in Atlantic City,
N.J.
If he's at the top – and despite his title and lofty ranking,
he insists he's still learning – it was a decidedly rocky
road. Serving as a human punching bag for two of the world's
best fighters isn't exactly most folks' idea of a pleasant job
experience.
But Curran dueled with his cousin and Bart Palaszewski day after
day, taking poundings as he learned the nuances of the business.
"They just beat me up the first couple of years," he
said. "I mean, every time we sparred, I was just beaten
up. I mean, beaten up. I told myself that I'd proven I could
take any punch and it is really the case. I had conditioned my
body over the years to taking the punishment and continuing to
fight."
He saw progress coming slowly, and the one thing that Pat Curran
had going for him was that he was not in a rush. He wanted to
learn, and wanted to become an elite fighter.
What he didn't want to do was take shortcuts and trick himself
into thinking he was better than he was. So, as a result, he
accepted the punishment he was taking as part of the job and
slowly, but surely, began to get better.
Eventually, it got to the point where he was giving as good,
if not better, than he was taking.
He began with a base of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but it is the improvement
in his striking that has helped him to become one of the world's
finest featherweights.
He's quickly becoming one of the faces of the Bellator promotion.
The fight with Shamalaev figures to be a stand-up battle that
should attract plenty of attention.
Curran has become one of Bellator's biggest boosters. While it's
a distant second to the UFC in the MMA pecking order, he's convinced
that the promotion is about to rise to new heights.
Over the last several years, it got little national exposure.
Switching to Spike and its nearly 100 million television homes
in January has made a difference.
Bellator's number seems to be about 750,000 average viewers each
week, not a bad figure but certainly nothing overwhelming. Curran,
though, believes it's only a matter of time before the rest of
the country catches on to the Bellator story.
Strikeforce formerly held the spot of the unofficial No. 2 promotion
behind the UFC. It was undone by a variety of reasons, not the
least of which was its fighters openly pining to compete in the
UFC.
Other than lightweight Eddie Alvarez, Bellator hasn't had that
kind of public fissure, and Curran believes dramatic growth is
close at hand.
"I know 100 percent that Bellator is going to explode,"
he said. "We've got the talent. We've got the main stage
now. Our fighters are incredible and we're putting on great shows
week after week.
"Look at what UFC is doing [cutting fighters]. They're letting
guys go left and right. Bellator is a new, up-and-coming organization.
As a fighter, why wouldn't I want to be a part of that? ... We're
really on the edge of the place where we're going to explode
and everyone will be talking about us."
Look for everyone to be talking about Curran after his bout with
Shamalaev. For a guy who spent years being pummeled while learning
the game, it's a fresh change to become the guy handing out the
beatings.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
BY
THE NUMBERS: UFC ON FUEL TV 9
There
would be no underdog story in Sweden -- Gegard Mousasi’s
jab made sure of that. The former Strikeforce light heavyweight
champion cruised to three-round verdict against short-notice
foe Ilir Latifi in the UFC on Fuel TV 9 headliner at the Ericsson
Globe Arena in Stockholm on Saturday. “The Dreamcatcher,”
who was originally scheduled to meet Alexander Gustafsson in
a showdown with title implications, took no chances in punching
his way to a predictable triumph over a game-yet-overmatched
opponent.
While
the headliner lacked suspense, the event was not without its
share of highlights. Brad Pickett and Mike Easton fought tooth-and-nail
in an entertaining bantamweight clash, hometown favorite Reza
Madadi rallied for a victory over Michael Johnson and Conor McGregor
introduced himself to the world as a star in the making. Here
is a by-the-numbers look at UFC on Fuel TV 9, with statistics
provided by FightMetric.com.
5:
Times that a UFC headliner has featured two fighters making their
first appearance with the promotion after Mousasi squared off
with Latifi on Saturday. The others: Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock
(UFC 1); Harold Howard vs. Steve Jennum (UFC 3), Efrain Escudero
vs. Philipe Nover (“The Ultimate Fighter 8” finale)
and Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche (UFC 157).
62:
Significant strikes by which Mousasi outlanded Latifi during
the three-round affair. The former Dream and Strikeforce champion
kept his opponent at a safe distance throughout the contest with
his jab. Mousasi held his greatest advantage in round three,
outlanding Latifi 36 to 8 in significant strikes.
.160:
Significant striking accuracy for Latifi, who landed 18 of his
112 significant strikes attempted. By comparison, Mousasi landed
80 of his 150 significant strikes, a 53 percent clip.
51:
The number of UFC fights tentatively scheduled for the month
of April, including Saturday’s 13-bout bill (“The Ultimate
Fighter 17” finale has only six bouts officially listed
but is expected to have a minimum of 12 once the reality show
concludes). The promotion’s previous high was 45 bouts,
which came in June 2012.
6:
Takedowns defended, in seven attempts, by Ross Pearson in taking
a second-round technical knockout victory over Strikeforce import
Ryan Couture in the co-main event.
.680:
Significant striking accuracy by Pearson. His career average
is 42 percent.
1:02:
Average fight time in three UFC knockout losses for Phil De Fries,
who was stopped by Matt Mitrione in 19 seconds. The British heavyweight
has also suffered first-round Octagon setbacks to Todd Duffee
(2:04) and Stipe Miocic (:43).
4:
Takedowns landed, in seven attempts, by Brad Pickett in his split-decision
triumph over Mike Easton. Easton’s previous four Octagon
opponents had gone 0 for 13 on takedowns.
416:
Total strikes attempted by Pickett and Easton in their frenetic
bantamweight conflict. Easton was the more accurate of the two,
landing 91 of his 182 total strikes -- a 46 percent clip. Pickett,
meanwhile, landed 94 of 234 total strikes thrown, a 33 percent
success rate.
100:
Percent finishing rate on submission attempts for Diego Brandao
thus far in his UFC tenure. The Jackson’s Mixed Martial
Arts product tapped Pablo Garza with an arm-triangle choke in
the first period of their 145-pound clash. In his only other
attempt, Brandao submitted Dennis Bermudez with an armbar at
the “TUF 14” finale.
7-0:
Record in bouts that go the distance for Akira Corassani, who
took a unanimous verdict over Robbie Peralta in a 145-pound tussle.
The 30-year-old is 4-3 in all other contests.
21:
Significant strikes by which Peralta outlanded Corassani in rounds
two (30 to 18) and three (20 to 11) combined. However, Corassani
landed the only two takedowns of the fight in the final stanza,
likely sealing his victory.
13:
Finishes, in 13 professional victories for Conor McGregor, who
earned a first-round TKO over Marcus Brimage 1:07 into their
featherweight bout. The 24-year-old Irishman has stopped 10 of
his opponents inside of a round.
11:
Fighters on Saturday’s card who have competed on The Ultimate
Fighter: Tom Lawlor (Season 8), Ross Pearson (Season 8), Matt
Mitrione (Season 10), Pablo Garza (Season 12), Michael Johnson
(Season 12), Diego Brandao (Season 14), Marcus Brimage (Season
14), Akira Corassani (Season 14), Ben Alloway (“The Smashes”),
Adam Cella (Season 17) and Tor Troeng (Season 17). Those fighters
went a combined 6-5 -- Garza-Brandao and Troeng-Cella were the
only “TUF” competitors to go head-to-head.
10:
Media scorecards that awarded Besam Yousef a 29-28 victory over
Papy Abedi in the evening’s opening preliminary contest,
according to MMADecisions.com. While none of the media in question
saw the fight in favor of Abedi, two cageside judges in Sweden
scored the contest 29-28 in favor of “Makambo” to give
him a split-decision triumph.
7:
Fighters with Swedish roots who competed on Saturday’s card.
While Alexander Gustafsson, the most prominent Swede, was absent
from the main event due to injury, the event did feature Papy
Abedi, Besam Yousef, Chris Spang, Reza Medadi, Tor Troeng, Akira
Corassani and Ilir Latifi.
Source: Sherdog |
Relson
Gracie Red Belt Promotion Ceremony Schedule
Hope to see you all there on this once in a lifetime event!
Friday, April 5,
2013
Seminar
- Athletic Complex Studio 4, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2500
Campus Road, Honolulu, HI 96822
7:00
- 9:00PM Last Relson Gracie Seminar as a Red-Black belt $80 per
person
9:00
- 10:00PM Photos & Autograph
10:00
- 11:00PM Clean up and pack up mats
Saturday,
April 6, 2013
Seminar
- Kaiser High School Gymnasium, 511 Lunalilo Home Road, Honolulu,
HI 96825
1:00
- 2:00PM Red Belt Promotion by Rorion & Relson's Congratulatory
Speech
$10
admission cost for anyone that only wants to show up to watch
the promotion
2:00
- 4:00PM Relson Gracie 1st Red Belt Seminar $100 per person (includes
admission to the Red Belt promotional ceremony)
4:00
- 5:00PM Photos & Autograph, Clean up and pack up mats
A
professional photographer will be on hand taking pictures with
Relson for $10.
$10
Autograph 8x10 picture of Relson with his Red belt will be available
for purchase.
$25
Promotion In Paradise Official Relson Gracie Red Belt ceremonial
shirt will also be available for purchase (adult sizes only:
S, M, L, XL, XXL)
7:00
– 8:00PM Rorion Gracie Seminar on Gracie Diet $50 per person
at Ilikai Hotel, 1777 Ala Moana Blvd (50 person max)
9:00PM
After Event Drinks at Big Kahuna. Big Kahuna’s is open until
4AM. Andre Derizans band will be playing.
Big
Kahuna, 2299 Kuhio Avenue in the Aqua Wave Waikiki cross street
is Nohonani St. Parking is at the Waikiki Trade Center or the
Miramar Hotel since the hotel parking close at a certain time.
No parking validation at the Big Kahuna.
Sunday, April
7, 2013
Family
BBQ/Beach Day Event - Kapiolani Park, Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu,
HI
9:00AM
– 5:00PM BBQ at Kapiolani Park (Sites 6, 7 & 8, permits
reserve the spot from 8AM-8PM, Across the street from Kaimana
beach, can accommodate 350+ people)
12:00PM - 2:00PM BBQ Lunch – $10 per person
Hawaii
students – Please treat this as a potluck to show some Aloha
to our visitors (and to have something to eat if the Plan A:
Brazilians from Kauai cooking, falls out)
|
‘The
Ultimate Fighter 16’ Finale Preview
By Tristen
Critchfield
In
most years, an “Ultimate Fighter” finale lineup is
stocked full of participants from the reality show, shattering
the illusion that only the tournament winner has a shot at an
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.
After
Season 16 offered a mostly drab weekly selection of fights, the
promotion decided to change things up. As a result, only welterweight
finalists Mike Ricci and Colton Smith have a spot at “The
Ultimate Fighter 16” Finale on Saturday, while the rest
of the cast will watching comfortably from seats at the Hard
Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
In
addition to the showdown between Ricci and Smith, much-maligned
coach Roy Nelson will lock horns with Matt Mitrione, who stepped
in when Shane Carwin blew out his knee in training camp. The
show also features potentially entertaining slugfests at lightweight
-- Jamie Varner vs. Melvin Guillard -- and heavyweight -- Pat
Barry vs. Shane del Rosario.
Here
is a closer look at “The Ultimate Fighter 16” Finale,
with analysis and picks:
Heavyweights
Roy
Nelson (17-7, 4-3 UFC) vs. Matt Mitrione (5-1, 5-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: For the second consecutive season, the American version
of “The Ultimate Fighter” lost its originally intended
coach-versus-coach matchup before reaching the finale. Fortunately
for the UFC, the heavyweight pairing of Nelson and Carwin did
not have immediate title implications like Season 15, when Dominick
Cruz and Urijah Faber were set to square off for the bantamweight
crown before “The Dominator” injured his knee.
Still,
it would have been interesting to track Carwin’s progress
after a year-and-a-half absence due to back and neck surgery.
Now 37, with another lengthy rehabilitation process ahead of
him after blowing out his knee, one has to wonder if Carwin has
another UFC run in him. In his place steps Mitrione, who competed
alongside Nelson on Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
“Meathead”
suffered the first loss of his professional career in his last
outing a little more than a year ago, dropping a lackluster decision
to Cheick Kongo at UFC 137. A former NFL player with heavy hands
and deceptive athleticism, Mitrione feasted on lower-level competition
in his first five UFC appearances, besting the likes of Marcus
Jones, Kevin Ferguson, Joey Beltran, Tim Hague and Christian
Morecraft in succession. Of those five men, only Beltran and
Morecraft remain on the UFC roster, and their futures appear
tenuous at best.
The
fact that Mitrione’s signature victory came against the
aforementioned “Kimbo Slice” does not bode well for
him against a crafty veteran like Nelson. “Big Country”
showcased the formidable power in his right hand in his most
recent bout, knocking out Dave Herman just 51 seconds into their
UFC 146 encounter. Nelson might not ever be a heavyweight title
contender, but the toughness he showed in absorbing one-sided
beatings at the hands of Fabricio Werdum and Junior dos Santos
remains one of his greatest assets.
The
preparation for Mitrione figures to be quite different than it
would have been for Carwin. The Grudge Training Center product
is a heavy-handed wrestler, while Mitrione is much lighter on
his feet with quicker hands. A southpaw with a nine-inch reach
advantage, Mitrione will attempt to land combinations on the
outside, and his left cross is a particularly valuable weapon.
While
the granite-chinned Nelson might very well be able to absorb
everything Mitrione can offer on the feet, he will have to work
on closing the distance or risk losing points and rounds. The
Las Vegas resident uses a solid one-two to close the gap and
force clinches. From there, Nelson, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black
belt, wants to drag the fight to the ground, where he is suffocating
from top position. The Burger King spokesman is adept at passing
guard, moving to side control and peppering his foes with short
punches while employing his girth to his advantage.
Mitrione,
meanwhile, has yet to show much on the floor. A couple late takedowns
and failed clinch work doomed him against Kongo, and he will
have to be more willing to let his hands go than he was in that
contest.
The
Pick: Mitrione has the ability to win rounds standing, but Nelson
will keep pressuring and moving forward. “Big Country”
finally asserts his will on the ground for a technical knockout
or submission stoppage in the third frame.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Bob
Arum says Golden Boy/Showtime marriage is only strengthening
the opposition
By Zach
Arnold
When
HBO cut ties with Golden Boy and allowed GB to marry with Showtime,
I wrote an article stating that it’s now Golden Boy &
Showtime vs. HBO & The Field and that was Ken Hershman, the
former Showtime boss, is doing at HBO is no different than what
he was doing at his old perch. The only difference is that HBO
is HBO and Showtime is Showtime.
With
Tim Bradley vs. Ruslan Provodnikov (at the Home Depot Center
in Carson, CA) and Mike Alvarado vs. Brandon Rios II (in Las
Vegas) this past month, Top Rank has had a nice little streak
going here. Bob Arum has indicated that holding a fight with
Mike Alvarado headlining in Denver is not out of the question.
When
Kevin Iole asked Arum about the hot streak Top Rank is on, Bob
brought up the subject of the Golden Boy/Showtime marriage and
how The Field is basically having to work together to make the
fights that the fans want to see.
“Fans
want to see action and they want to see exciting fights. That’s
what the fans want to see. Now, some people who are involved
in boxing want to sign fighters and have them fight tomato cans
and have networks pay to show those fights and it goes on and
on and on. That’s not what the fans want. The fans want
Bradley & Provodnikov. Lou DiBella is going to be doing a
fight a little later this year with (Gennady) Golovkin against
(Matthew) Macklin. I’m a promoter, I love boxing… but
that fight I would pay to see! I mean, that’s going to be
a hell of a fight!”
Arum’s
announcement of Golovkin/Macklin came as news to the press in
the room. Golovkin defeated Nobuhiro Ishida over the weekend
in Monaco.
(Grantland:
Matthew Macklin vs. Sergio Martinez and the racial politics of
boxing)
“So,
I think that it’s not only us at Top Rank, I think that
other promoters who don’t have a sinecure from a particular
network also have that type of mentality. So, I think it’s
great, great news for boxing fans because we’re going to
give them competition. Goddamn, you see some of these games in
March Madness where in the last four seconds somebody sinks a
basket and wins the game and it’s like a nail-biter, right
till the end. Well, that’s why fans love to watch it. Fans
love to watch boxing if it’s exciting, if it’s competitive,
and not if it’s appearance fights.
“Now,
for years, we were fed a steady diet of this kid (Andre) Berto
with guys that nobody remembers their names. That cost millions
of dollars to one of the networks and what they did get from
it? [Nothing.] And what did their subscribers get? The finger!
(media laughs) And some guy who used to be in the music business
raped HBO and hoodwinked the public and that hopefully now is
over… except maybe (for) the network that gives out sinecures.
But they’re second, so who cares? Nobody watches them anyways.”
A
reporter then asked Arum about Oscar De La Hoya claiming that
he canceled his HBO subscription.
“Oscar
is absolutely, you know, one of the brainiest guys that I’ve
ever known and he probably did it while he was putting on those,
uh, kind of leggings. (media laughs) No, I really mean it, who
the hell is Oscar De La Hoya? He’s a moron!”
If
The Field continues to work together and remain united against
the Golden Boy/Showtime marriage, then one fight we may end up
seeing is Andre Ward vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. I suspect JCC
Jr. will consider fighting Ward on home turf in Oakland. Anywhere
but Nevada at this point. It will be interesting to see what
fights promoters like Lou DiBella, Gary Shaw, and Danny Goossen
are able to produce in tandem with Top Rank (Todd DuBoef, Carl
Moretti, & Brad Goodman) in the coming months. Next stop:
Macau (Venetian Casino & Resort), this coming weekend w/
Brian Viloria vs. Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman Martinez vs.
Diego Magdaleno for HBO.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Morning
Report: Shinya Aoki dropping to 145; Rashad Evans may cut to
185 with loss to Dan Henderson
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
Now
that all the Swedish ruckus has died down, it's finally time
to talk about why we're really here. That's to say, fights. Lots
and lots of fights.
Over
the next three days virtually every mid-to-high tier organization
is holding events for our viewing pleasure. UFC, Invicta, ONE
FC, they're all accounted for. And it all starts tonight with
a stacked Bellator season finale highlighted by a barnburner
featherweight title fight -- Curran vs. Shamhalaev -- plus two
tourney finals and a surprise appearance from Karo Parisyan (!).
So
that being said, let's cut the endless drama and get to it with
some headlines.
6
MUST-READ STORIES
Evans
would cut to 185 with loss. Former UFC light heavyweight champion
Rashad Evans revealed on UFC Tonight that if he stumbles against
Dan Henderson at UFC 161, he'll likely cut down to middleweight.
MMA
roundtable. Yours truly joins Dave Doyle to riff on everything
from the bizarre handling of the Alexander Gustafsson situation
to the best knockouts and submissions of 2013.
Gustafsson,
White talk FUEL 9. After posting a picture online of his controversial
cut, Swedish light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson explained
his roller coaster week to Fighters Only. "It's been terrible,"
Gustafsson said. "It's been the worst time in my life so
far in my career, I can tell you that. I lost once in my career,
but this is even worse. This has been a circus." Meanwhile,
UFC President Dana White predictably slammed the Swedish MMA
Federation for their decision.
Aoki
dropping to 145. Japanese lightweight standout Shinya Aoki told
Bloody Elbow that he plans to drop to featherweight after his
title bout against Kotetsu Boku at ONE FC 8, regardless of the
outcome.
Bellator
95 weigh-in results. All eight main card fighters met their required
weight at Wednesday's official Bellator 95 weigh-ins, including
defending featherweight champion Pat Curran and upstart challenger
Shahbulat Shamhalaev.
Fox
cleared of wrongdoing. Transgender MMA fighter Fallox Fox has
been cleared of charges that she falsified information on her
application for licensure in the state of Florida. Fox is now
free to fight against Allana Jones, who agreed to the May 24
bout earlier this week.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Parents:
Gracie Barra announces new anti-bullying program for 2013
Erin Herle
A
large issue for kids today is the presence of bullying. Jiu-Jitsu
is a great martial art for not only self-defense in bullying
cases but in building the confidence to prevent it altogether.
Gracie Barra has been a leader in their bully-proof programs
and now they are releasing a new program for the year of 2013
starting April 6.
During
the entire month of April they are offering a free self-defense
program that will help kids ages six and up to properly prevent,
respond and deal with bullying.
Now
the team has designed a curriculum broken down into three steps:
1-
Walk away
2-
Stand up for yourself
3-
Protect yourself
“Turn
bullying from a potential lifetime trauma, into an opportunity
to build a stronger character in your child.”
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Sacramento
sunset review for California State Athletic Commission this Monday
at the Capitol
By Zach
Arnold
To
read all CSAC-related articles, dating back to May 2012, CLICK
HERE.
The
quick and the dirty on what’s about to transpire.
This
Monday (between 10 AM and Noon) at the John L. Burton Hearing
Room (4203) at the state capitol in Sacramento, there will be
a Joint sunset review hearing for the California State Athletic
Commission. It will be led by the Senate Business, Professions
And Economic Development committee (powerful body in California’s
state senate) and also feature non-voting members from the Assembly
Business, Professions And Consumer Protection And Assembly Arts,
Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, And Internet Media committee.
It is expected that Andy Foster, the new Executive Officer for
CSAC, will be in attendance (along with others).
This
is largely going to be a dog-and-pony show for the political
press. SBP will not vote to sunset the commission. It will be
largely two hours of politicians bloviating about the woes of
CSAC and past members and how great the Department of Consumer
Affairs is. In other words, a bunch of hot air and no real substance.
So,
let me give the politicians & their staff members a heads
up about how to make their sunset review hearing interesting
& relevant. We know that the politicians are going to use
George Dodd, the former Executive Officer, as their straw-man
to beat up. However, there’s no reason for the politicians
to come up with a straw-man that doesn’t exist any more.
You already have a whipping boy in place at CSAC (via DCA) who
just happened to be a primary cause for all the turmoil at the
commission in the first place.
If
the politicians want to make their Monday hearing relevant, don’t
bother reading personal proclamations or spending time questioning
Andy Foster when he had nothing to do with the current state
of affairs. Instead, spend the two hour time frame calling up
Che Guevara to the Capitol. Put him at the table, make him swear
under oath, and grill him for two hours with all the numbers
and facts from the Bureau of State Audits about what has happened.
There’s one guy who still exists who created the mess that
CSAC is dealing with today and it is the Chief Athletic Inspector,
Che Guevara. He’s the guy who, according to BSA, booked
over 50% of inspectors from out-of-region to shows throughout
the state. It is Che Guevara who didn’t properly teach lead
athletic inspectors how to calculate box offices, costing California
hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. It is Che Guevara
who has been disciplined in the past for his situational ethics.
If
you aren’t willing to put Che under the microscope for two
hours and ponder why DCA hasn’t fired him from his job,
then you’re simply wasting everyone’s time with the
Monday hearing.
The
sunset hearing will not be televised on The California Channel.
However, there will be live audio streaming from the hearing
and you can click on the link provided here to listen to it when
the Monday hearing takes place.
As
for Andy Foster, he is going to live up to his word in terms
of promising dramatic changes. Those changes are going to happen
shortly, as in a couple of months.
Expect
a new cast of athletic inspectors. If you’re currently an
athletic inspector, your job security may be very tenuous. If
the trend is your friend, then here are the following benchmarks
to pay attention to regarding job security:
Highly thought of in terms of qualifications by Big John McCarthy
and/or Jack Reiss
If you match at least two of these criteria benchmarks, you should
be OK. If you match more than two of the benchmarks, you’re
set. If you don’t match any of the benchmarks, your job
security is in real trouble. You’re an endangered species.
You won’t be working many shows, if any at all in the future.
While
I don’t know the full extent of who all the new inspectors
will be, I did find out some names and the backgrounds of the
individuals coming in. Expect a strong presence from the Los
Angles Police Department, especially their boxing league. The
names Rudy Barragan and Ivan Guillermo have been booked.
The
most experienced of the new CSAC inspectors getting booked is
Chris Crail. He’s worked over 100 shows as a CAMO inspector
and is a BJJ brown belt with extensive training in wrestling.
He will be a very good asset for the MMA shows in Southern California.
Should fit right into the mix without any problems. This is a
solid upgrade to the inspector corps.
Up
North, a man named Gene Fields is getting booked and the new,
hot name getting booked for shows is a man named Hanley Chan.
He’s a CAMO inspector who has a background in security.
He’s already starting to work shows and will work the upcoming
UFC event on April 20th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.
So,
yeah, a lot of changes are coming at a quick rate and I would
expect to hear a lot of noise from those who are about to get
pushed aside. The shift will be quite dramatic.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Gegard
Mousasi issues statement on Alexander Gustafsson injury, UFC
on FUEL 9 opponent change
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
It
took the better part of three days, but Gegard Mousasi (33-3-2)
finally knows the name of his opponent at UFC on FUEL 9.
Initially
slated to fight UFC light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson
(15-1), Mousasi will now face unheralded Albanian wrestler Ilir
Latifi (7-2, 1 NC), a training partner of Gustafsson. UFC officials
confirmed the news Tuesday night.
Gustafsson
was forced out of the event after suffering a facial laceration
under his eye over Easter weekend. The cut required three stitches,
MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani reported on UFC Tonight, and
ultimately led the Swedish MMA Federation to rule Gustafsson
medically unfit to compete at UFC on FUEL 9.
Late
Tuesday night, Mousasi issued a statement about the last-second
switch of opponents via his manager and Swedish outlet MMA Nytt.
"Gegard
and our team are disappointed to not be able to compete against
Alexander Gustafsson," the statement read. "However,
we understand the fight business and wish Alex a speedy recovery.
We want to thank Ilir for stepping up last minute to take this
fight. Gegard intends to make a great show with a strong performance
for all the fans. Thank you to Dana White, Joe Silva and the
rest of the Zuffa team for working so diligently on this matter.
Now it is time to fight and make a great show for the fans!"
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
TV
station report: Former Florida commission boss Tom Molloy arrested
for domestic battery
By Zach
Arnold
This
is Jami (Alise McClellan) Molloy, the woman working at Florida’s
DBPR (Department of Business & Professional Regulations).
She’s the wife of Tom Molloy, the former front man for Florida’s
athletic commission. They both work/worked together & met
at the DBPR. Thomas Edmund Molloy (born on 2/4/1955 in New York)
married Jami Alise McClellan (born on November 11th, 1986 in
Georgia) on July 7th, 2012 in Tallahassee, Florida.
Tom
Molloy, whose claim to fame in getting the Florida job was that
he lost to Tony Danza in a boxing match, ended up working alongside
Jami, lifer-since-1985-at-DBPR Christa Patterson, and others
to run Florida’s athletic commission into the ground. Remember,
it was a state audit that revealed that only one of 51 shows
for a calendar year actually had accounting records. Molloy was
fired, but DBPR continues to protect Jami Molloy & Christa
Patterson by keeping them on state payroll.
Since
Tom Molloy’s departure from the commission, nothing really
has changed. Frank Gentile, who was a Molloy favorite as a referee
in the state, is now the Assistant Executive Director. His wife,
Kathy, is the lead supervisor for major shows in the state. Their
son works as an athletic inspector.
After
Molloy got fired, there was all sorts of wild speculation as
to what he was up to — including rumor-spreading that he
was interested in getting a gig with Don King Productions in
South Florida. That’s a long ways away from Tallahassee.
So,
to put the rumors to rest, we know that Molloy is still in Tallahassee.
How do we know this? The folks at WCTV in Tallahassee put mugshots
online from arrests this past weekend in Leon County, Florida…
and guess who made an appearance?
Molloy
has been charged with one count of DOMV/BATTERY TOUCH OR STRIKE.
He was arrested on Saturday.
I’m
sure Frank Gentile will be happy to hear your feedback on this
Friday’s conference call at 10 AM EST at 1-888-670-3525
(passcode: 3051490078 then hit the # key).
Perhaps
this would be a good time to remind you that, if you haven’t
done so, you should listen to my interview with Jordan Breen
of Sherdog taped a couple of weeks ago regarding the current
state of affairs in Florida. The timing couldn’t be any
better.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Shinya
Aoki Intends to Capture Belt and Be One FC Champion for a Very
Long Time
by Ken
Pishna
Shinya
Aoki, upon signing with Asian fight promotion ONE FC, was immediately
expected to become a centerpiece of the organization. He is one
of the most popular fighters not only in Japan, but also in his
era of mixed martial arts.
Having
defeated Arnaud Lepont in his ONE FC debut, Aoki now heads into
ONE FC 8 on April 5 to challenge Kotetsu Boku for the lightweight
championship.
Prior
to the fight, however, Aoki took some time away from his training
to talk with MMAWeekly.com about ONE FC and his upcoming fight.
MMAWeekly.com:
How important was it for you to sign with One FC, especially
considering that the past few years have been very difficult
for mixed martial arts’ survival in Japan?
Shinya
Aoki: I decided to sign with ONE FC because I wanted to, not
because I had to. ONE FC is the largest mixed martial arts promotion
in Asia, and has the top fighters in Asia’s. I can compete
with the best fighters here at ONE FC that I might not have had
the opportunity to anymore in Japan. ONE FC is the future of
MMA, not just in Asia, but in the world.
MMAWeekly.com:
Although One FC keeps you fighting in Asia, the majority of your
career was spent fighting in Japan. Recently you have fought
in the U.S. and now in Singapore. What has it been like for you
to have to go outside of Japan to seek out big fights and big
opportunities?
Shinya
Aoki: The fans in Singapore have been great. I was really shocked
that there were so many people cheering for me the last time
I fought in Singapore, and when I submitted my opponent, the
entire arena went crazy. It was a moment that I would remember
for the rest of my life and I’m grateful that ONE FC gave
me this opportunity to fight in front of my fans.
MMAWeekly.com:
Most people consider you the favorite to defeat Kotetsu Boku
on April 5 to become the One FC lightweight champion. What type
of expectations do you place upon yourself for the fight?
Shinya
Aoki: I don’t think I’m the favorite because Kotetsu
is the champion. I place the same kind of expectations on myself
every fight. I fight not just for myself. I fight for my family,
for my teammates from the Evolve Fight Team, who have supported
me. I will go in there, and I will defeat Boku and become ONE
FC Lightweight champion.
MMAWeekly.com:
Although he hasn’t reached the level of fame or overall
accomplishments that you have, Boku has been fighting as long
as you have. What do you see as Boku’s greatest strengths
and greatest weaknesses?
Shinya
Aoki: I think Boku’s greatest strength was in his attitude.
He is very resilient and will not break down even if things are
not going his way. I think his weakness is that he will not be
as good as me in grappling and I would be able to take him down
and submit him.
MMAWeekly.com:
Is your goal simply to win the fight and become the One FC champion,
or do you have other things you wish to accomplish? What other
goals do you have for the fight with Boku?
Shinya
Aoki: I am going to be ONE FC champion for a very long time.
I want to clean out the entire Lightweight division in ONE FC.
I don’t care who they sign; I am going to beat all of them.
For
the fight with Boku, my goal is to finish the fight early. I
do not want to go to a judges’ decision.
MMAWeekly.com:
Since moving your camp to Evolve MMA, you have worked with a
wide array of the top fighters in the world. How has training
at Evolve changed the way you approach fighting and what aspects
of your style has it most helped?
Shinya
Aoki: I have gotten a more diverse training at Evolve MMA. I
can now work with Muay Thai legends and wrestling coaches and
there are many Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champions to train with.
I feel like my striking game has improved the most. I even got
my first victory by striking in my last fight. That is how confident
I am now.
MMAWeekly.com:
Dream was recently resurrected and you fought on the Dream NYE
card. If One FC and Dream continue to work together, would you
like to continue fighting on future Dream cards in Japan, and
what does it mean to you to still be able to fight in Japan?
Shinya
Aoki: I will always be proud to fight in front of my Japanese
fans and I will never turn my back on them. I hope ONE FC holds
an event in Japan so my fans there can watch me compete for the
biggest promotion in Asia.
MMAWeekly.com:
One FC on April 5 will be the first MMA event to be broadcast
live on ESPN Star Sports. How important is it to you to be part
of such a huge milestone for MMA in Asia?
Shinya
Aoki: It is such an important date. ONE FC will now be broadcast
live all over Asia on Star Sports and live stream around the
world and many new fans will understand what MMA is about. I
am in the main event and I would do my part and put on an amazing
show that would leave the viewers wanting more. ONE FC is only
beginning. We will become the biggest sport in the whole of Asia.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Relson
Gracie Red Belt Promotion Ceremony Schedule
Hope to see you all there on this once in a lifetime event!
Friday, April 5,
2013
Seminar
- Athletic Complex Studio 4, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2500
Campus Road, Honolulu, HI 96822
7:00
- 9:00PM Last Relson Gracie Seminar as a Red-Black belt $80 per
person
9:00
- 10:00PM Photos & Autograph
10:00
- 11:00PM Clean up and pack up mats
Saturday,
April 6, 2013
Seminar
- Kaiser High School Gymnasium, 511 Lunalilo Home Road, Honolulu,
HI 96825
1:00
- 2:00PM Red Belt Promotion by Rorion & Relson's Congratulatory
Speech
$10
admission cost for anyone that only wants to show up to watch
the promotion
2:00
- 4:00PM Relson Gracie 1st Red Belt Seminar $100 per person (includes
admission to the Red Belt promotional ceremony)
4:00
- 5:00PM Photos & Autograph, Clean up and pack up mats
A
professional photographer will be on hand taking pictures with
Relson for $10.
$10
Autograph 8x10 picture of Relson with his Red belt will be available
for purchase.
$25
Promotion In Paradise Official Relson Gracie Red Belt ceremonial
shirt will also be available for purchase (adult sizes only:
S, M, L, XL, XXL)
7:00
– 8:00PM Rorion Gracie Seminar on Gracie Diet $50 per person
at Ilikai Hotel, 1777 Ala Moana Blvd (50 person max)
9:00PM
After Event Drinks at Big Kahuna. Big Kahuna’s is open until
4AM. Andre Derizans band will be playing.
Big
Kahuna, 2299 Kuhio Avenue in the Aqua Wave Waikiki cross street
is Nohonani St. Parking is at the Waikiki Trade Center or the
Miramar Hotel since the hotel parking close at a certain time.
No parking validation at the Big Kahuna.
Sunday, April
7, 2013
Family
BBQ/Beach Day Event - Kapiolani Park, Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu,
HI
9:00AM
– 5:00PM BBQ at Kapiolani Park (Sites 6, 7 & 8, permits
reserve the spot from 8AM-8PM, Across the street from Kaimana
beach, can accommodate 350+ people)
12:00PM - 2:00PM BBQ Lunch – $10 per person
Hawaii
students – Please treat this as a potluck to show some Aloha
to our visitors (and to have something to eat if the Plan A:
Brazilians from Kauai cooking, falls out)
|
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Jens
Pulver Looks to Add a ONE FC Title to His Accolades: “Might
Be the Final Opportunity”
by Jeff
Cain
It’s no secret that former UFC lightweight titleholder Jens
Pulver’s fighting career is creeping toward an end. Finally
fighting in the best weight class for his physical frame, Pulver
entered the ONE FC Bantamweight Tournament hoping to win another
title to cap off his career.
“It will mean the world to me. I’m not oblivious to
the fact that my career is coming to an end. Winning this Grand
Prix earns me a title shot,” Pulver told MMAWeekly.com.
“This might be the final opportunity for me to win a major
title and winning this will, without a doubt, be the pinnacle
of my career.”
Pulver began his mixed martial arts career in 1999. Most of his
45 fights were fought in the lightweight division. Pulver fought
for the world title as a featherweight, losing to then-champion
Urijah Faber. He has taken fights in divisions as low as flyweight,
but feels bantamweight is where he should have always been.
“Bantamweight is the perfect weight class for me. I feel
like finally I am fighting at the weight that I should have always
been fighting at,” said Pulver. “I don’t feel
like I am outsized and outmatched, while I also do not cut so
much weight that it drains me on fight night. I do have to follow
a strict diet and, if I do that, I barely have to cut anything
on the day of weigh in.”
Fighting in ONE FC and as a bantamweight has rekindled Pulver’s
fighting spirit, but he approaches the rest of his career with
a realistic perspective and is taking it one fight at a time.
“What ONE FC is doing is amazing for the sport. Right now,
in the MMA industry, there are only two real promotions. ONE
FC is the largest promotion in this side of the world, and right
now there is really no better promotion in the world. Everything
they do is world-class, from the production level to the way
they treat their fighters. They have many grand plans ahead and
they have all the potential to become the best in the world,”
he said.
“Right now, I’m taking it fight by fight. I will stop
fighting when one day I wake up and I have no motivation to go
train. That is when you know your career is done. Since fighting
for ONE FC, I have found a renewed passion. I am now competing
at the highest level of the sport and as long as I can continue
to win, I will find the motivation to train and compete,”
added Pulver.
He faces Masakatsu Ueda on April 5 in the semifinals of the ONE
FC Bantamweight Grand Prix. Ueda (16-2-2) is a former Shooto
132-pound champion.
“He’s quite a big name in the Asian MMA circuit. We
are the two big names in the semifinals of the Grand Prix and
whoever wins this bout will enter the final as the favorite,”
said Pulver about his opponent. “I have watched some of
his fights and he is a grinder in the true sense of the word.
He has a power to break his opponent’s will to fight.”
Pulver didn’t have a prediction on how the fight will play
out, but did envision himself as the eventual winner.
“I can’t really predict how a fight will go. There
are just so many unknowns and permutations that a fight can unfold
differently every single time it is done,” he said. “I
am just confident that I will bring my skills and leave it all
in the cage like I always do. He will not break me and I will
be the one with my hands raised at the end of the day.”
ONE Fighting Championship: Kings and Champions takes place at
the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, and is headlined
by a lightweight title bout between champion Kotetsu Boku and
challenger Shinya Aoki.
Fans can view the event via live streaming at www.onefc.livesport.tv.
The undercard fights are available for viewing free-of-charge
and the main card fights will be available for purchase at US$9.99.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
The
Water Cooler: UFC on Fuel TV 9 Edition
By Brian
Knapp
Nothing
spoils an anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship main event
quite like a little training camp bloodshed and an overprotective
sanctioning body.
Alexander
Gustafsson’s exit due to a cut left the UFC on Fuel TV 9
roster without its marquee attraction and forced the promotion
to scramble and settle for a less-than-desirable headliner, as
short-notice newcomer Ilir Latifi challenges former Dream and
Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi on Saturday at the Ericsson
Globe Arena in Stockholm.
The
UFC on Fuel TV 9 lineup provides plenty of water cooler fodder.
Sherdog news editor Mike Whitman and features editor Brian Knapp
discuss some of it here:
Whitman:
What are Latifi’s chances at upsetting Mousasi?
Knapp: In short, not good. Even on normal notice, Latifi would
have been a prohibitive underdog. That he has to face Mousasi
with just a few days to prepare only weakens his chances. Latifi
will need to rely on his wrestling and employ a game plan similar
to the one utilized by Muhammed Lawal in his April 2010 victory
over Mousasi. The question becomes whether or not Latifi has
the gas tank and wherewithal to pull it off against an opponent
as offensively gifted as “The Dreamcatcher.” One has
to think Mousasi finishes it with strikes in the first or second
round.
Whitman:
Does this matchup benefit Mousasi at all in terms of pecking
order at 205 pounds?
Knapp: No one lost more with Gustafsson’s withdrawal than
Mousasi, who had a chance to make a gigantic splash against a
world-ranked title contender in his Octagon debut. A victory
over Latifi, no matter how spectacular, does nothing to raise
his profile within the UFC.
Whitman:
Does Ryan Couture, at 30, have what it takes to carve out a solid
career in the UFC or will his late entry into the game prove
to be too much to overcome against top-level talent?
Knapp: It all depends on matchups, though the fact that Couture’s
famous father has such an icy relationship with UFC brass can
only hurt his cause. He draws a difficult assignment in his Octagon
debut, especially if Ross Pearson can trap him on the feet and
turn their co-main event into a standup- and clinch-heavy affair.
Whitman:
Pearson has seen his ups and downs, both at 145 and 155 pounds.
Now back at lightweight, will his be a name heard often on future
UFC broadcasts or are his days numbered in the ultra-deep lightweight
ranks?
Knapp: Pearson has to enjoy some current level of job security
with the UFC. He rarely engages in a boring fight and likely
has a longer leash than most as an “Ultimate Fighter”
winner. Will he ever be a contender at 155 pounds? Probably not;
however, the UFC is built on the backs of entertaining fighters,
and Pearson certainly fits that bill.
Whitman:
Can Matt Mitrione develop into a true heavyweight contender or
is he destined to be a placeholder?
Knapp: Mitrione has about as much raw physical ability as any
heavyweight on the UFC roster. Unfortunately, he turns 35 in
July, and this is a young man’s game. Seeing as though he
does not have the time he needs to maximize his potential as
a mixed martial artist, he is far more likely to remain a placeholder
than he is to develop into a contender.
Whitman:
Mike Easton just saw an eight-fight winning streak snapped. Can
we expect “The Hulk” to get back on track or will Brad
Pickett’s punching power prove to be too much for him?
Knapp: Let us not forget that Easton’s streak was prolonged
by his ridiculous decision “victory” over Chase Beebe
in October 2009. I see Pickett cruising to a relatively one-sided
verdict here. Easton has all the physical tools necessary to
become a serious player at 135 pounds, but he lacks the in-cage
discipline and adherence to strategy required to compete at the
top of the bantamweight division. Against a foe as seasoned and
well-rounded as Pickett, that does not seem to be a recipe for
success.
Whitman:
Diego Brandao has looked like a world beater at times and is
coming off of a one-sided win over Joey Gambino. Is the featherweight
on a path to excellence?
Knapp: Brandao is an explosive and aggressive fighter. Sometimes
those traits work for him and sometimes they conspire against
him. That will probably be the case for the rest of his career.
Brandao falls somewhere between the upper reaches and the middle
tier of the featherweight division, too hot-and-cold to truly
contend but more than talented enough to stay relevant.
Whitman:
What can we expect from highly touted Irish prospect Conor McGregor
in his UFC debut?
Knapp: McGregor has finished his last eight opponents, so he
has plenty of momentum entering his first appearance in the hallowed
Octagon. He also benefits from the fact that this event takes
place in Europe, providing a far more comfortable setting for
someone in his position. With that said, McGregor faces a considerable
hurdle in Marcus Brimage, who has compiled a 3-0 record since
entering the UFC through Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
No matter how the bout plays out, we stand to learn a lot about
McGregor’s potential.
Whitman:
Robbie Peralta has not lost since 2009, and his only blemish
in his last 10 fights came after a 2011 knockout of Mackens Semerzier
was justly changed to a no contest. Will we see Peralta in higher-profile
fights in 2013, or will Akira Corassani halt his unbeaten streak?
Knapp: I see Peralta as a potential dark horse at 145 pounds.
I think he wipes out Corassani and moves on to bigger and better
things.
Whitman:
Michael Johnson was outworked and outwrestled by Myles Jury at
UFC 155, just as “The Menace” seemed to be hitting
his stride. With his three-fight winning streak ruined, how Will
Johnson respond against Reza Madadi?
Knapp: One can only be troubled by Johnson’s outing against
Jury, who dominated him from start to finish. Hopefully, Johnson
has worked to close the holes in his defensive wrestling. Otherwise,
he is going to find himself on his back for another 15 minutes
against Madadi.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Robert
Guerrero’s no good, very bad day in New York
By Zach
Arnold
The
good news for Robert Guerrero is that it appears his May 4th
fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas is still going
to happen. The bad news is that after that fight, he may get
the Plaxico Burress treatment from the state of New York and
spend time in jail after being arrested on gun charges at JFK
Airport.
He
had an unloaded gun in his possession while trying to board a
flight to Las Vegas. Bloviating Queens district attorney Richard
A. Brown was quoted as saying the following:
“I
hope that Mr. Guerrero fights better than he thinks. For anyone
who hasn’t gotten the message, let me be crystal clear:
You cannot bring an unlicensed weapon — loaded or unloaded
— into this county or this city. And if you do you will
be arrested and face felony charges.”
Guerrero
presented a locked gun box to a Delta Airlines ticket agent.
So, for his honesty (and idiocy), he got hammered. When you go
into the land of Michael Bloomberg, you kind of know what you
are getting into. Maybe if his name was David Gregory, he wouldn’t
have been arrested. The Washington D.C. way of gun law enforcement.
Instead, Rikers looks more like a possible temporary home for
The Ghost. Ask Lil Wayne about what kind of experience that is.
Just don’t drink the sizzurp.
As
Michael McCann of Sports Illustrated adroitly stated, “Robert
Guerrero chose the worst state to bring a gun to.” Kevin
Iole at Yahoo Sports states that he doesn’t think Guerrero
will spend a day in prison. I’d beg to differ on this one.
Guerrero’s fight with Floyd Mayweather makes him a more
visible name and for media-hungry prosecutors, it makes the boxer
a prime target for throwing the book at in order to make an example
out of someone. Keith Kizer, who worked in Nevada’s D.A.
office before heading to the athletic commission, is already
wavering about whether or not Guerrero will still fight Mayweather.
Guerrero’s
high-profile arrest is the latest in a string of gun-related
arrests at JFK amongst travelers, and the nature of who just
got arrested here will certainly bring in political groups like
the NRA to the mix in regards to the 2nd Amendment. Gun control
remains a hotly-contested political issue in the United States,
especially New York state with their new gun laws. California
is also poised to pass their own new gun laws as well.
In
other crime blotter news, Rory Markham was arrested on a felony
assault charge in Iowa.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
UFC
158 drug tests come back clean, but with no mention of names
tested
By Dave
Meltzer
USA TODAY Sports
The
Quebec regulatory board released on Thursday that there were
no drug test failures coming out of the March 16 show in Montreal.
However, claiming confidentiality, only six of the 24 fighters
were tested and they would not release their names.
The
Regie des alcools des courses et des jeux, Quebec's regulatory
board governing combat sports, reported Thursday that there were
no drug test failures from UFC 158.
UFC
158 took place on March 16 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, headlined
by Georges St-Pierre retaining the UFC welterweight title in
a five-round decision over Nick Diaz.
The
drug issue came to the forefront both before and after the fight
due to comments from Diaz, who had claimed his opponent used
steroids, admitted his own well-known use of marijuana and said
that he hoped he would pass the test and stopped using early
enough, but hardly said so with certainty.
After
the fact, the Diaz camp, through attorney Jonathan Tweedale,
had complained of the commission's failure to supervise St-Pierre
according to protocol when he gave his test sample.
The
commission itself only released that six of the 24 fighters were
tested, and would not release their names. The complaint by Diaz's
camp would indicate awareness the UFC's welterweight champion
was one of those tested. It is considered standard operating
procedure by commissions that don't test most or all fighters
that both participants in the main event, particularly if it
is a championship fight, will be tested. Others are often chosen
at random, or based on the position on the card, if they won,
and if they had a prior track record regarding failing tests.
Diaz had two test failures for marijuana in Nevada during his
career and it was his first fight since coming off a one-year
suspension for the second failure on February 4, 2012.
All
of the controversy leading up to the fight, mostly created by
Diaz comments in interviews the last few days before the fight,
led to the fight being among the biggest in UFC history. The
weigh-ins on Fuel drew more viewers than all but a few actual
live fight cards on the station, and ended up as one of the most-watched
shows in station history. Current pay-per-view estimates for
the event have topped 900,000, making it the largest numbers
for a show where St-Pierre, the company's biggest drawing card,
was in the true headline position and in the top ten in company
history.
Diaz
announced his retirement after the fight, but later said he would
be willing to fight against either St-Pierre or Anderson Silva,
both fights that it would be nearly impossible for UFC officials
to justify without Diaz winning some fights in between.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Gegard
Mousasi Talks Softly, but Packs a Powerful Punch
by Ryan
McKinnell
Since
making his MMA debut almost a decade ago, Iranian born stand-up
wizard Gegard Mousasi is one of the more decorated fighters to
never step foot in the vaunted Octagon of the UFC.
Having
cut his teeth in the Japanese organizations of PRIDE FC and DREAM
in the early part of the current millennium, Mousasi finally
made his stateside debut for the now-defunct Strikeforce promotion
in 2009. He scored a first-round TKO victory over former UFC
title challenger Renato “Babalu” Sobral, capturing
the company’s light heavyweight championship.
This
Saturday, “The Dreamcatcher” makes his long awaited
promotional debut at UFC on Fuel TV 9 in Stockholm. Mousasi was
originally slated to meet light heavyweight powerhouse and hometown
Swede Alexander Gustafsson in the night‘s main event, but
“The Mauler“ was forced to pull out due to a cut suffered
in training. Gustafsson has been replaced by countryman and sparring
partner Ilir Latifi.
Although
Latifi doesn’t present the same threat as Gustaffson, this
fight still marks the UFC debut of one of the most accomplished
fighters to never fight for the company, and for Mousasi, the
pressure is mounting.
“There’s
some pressure because this is the first fight (in the UFC). You
want to do well. It’s the biggest organization,“ Mousasi
told MMAweekly.com. “It’s a big opportunity for me.
Sometimes you get opportunities and you just have to take them,
and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Despite
a stellar career overseas, the opportunity the UFC represents
for Mousasi is undeniable. With a rabid worldwide fan base and
ample opportunities to fight, Mousasi now finds himself at the
center of the MMA universe. He even admits to, on occasion, thinking
about what his early career might have been like if he had joined
the world’s premiere fighting organization a bit sooner.
“Sometimes
I wonder if I had spent my career in the UFC a lot earlier, then
maybe I would have went a lot further with everything,“
he stated. “But I started my career in Japan, and I have
different roots.
“I
could’ve reached a lot more if I would have done things
correctly in the past, but so far I cannot complain. I have a
good record, but maybe if I did things better in the past, I’d
be further in my class, higher in my career.”
Prior
to fighting in the UFC, Mousasi amassed an impressive record
of 33-3-2, while picking and choosing how much he would put into
any given training camp. Outside of the UFC, motivation became
a daily struggle as he battled a lack of organizational consistency
and job security.
“Every
fight that I had, nothing really actually changed in my life.
I’m not getting richer or poorer; it’s the same thing,”
he commented.
“With
the UFC, I feel like there’s big opportunities. It kind
of excites me to be where these other guys are, at the top of
the division. These things motivate me, now. Maybe in the past
I lacked in that because of… some frustrations. I feel like
now I’m getting the opportunity to make something out of
it.
“I’m
more serious. I have coaches in all areas now. In the past I
would just train myself. So, I’m taking things more serious.
I’m more professional. I train right; that’s what I
feel I haven’t done in the past. And mentally I think I’ve
grown. I’m more mature.”
During
his time overseas, Mousasi was the victim of unwavering critique
and was accused of possessing a “padded” record filled
with sub-par opponents; something he is quick to discuss, and
dismiss.
“This
is a popularity contest I think. I think the guys who are promoted
well get more credit,” said the 27-year-old.
“When
I fought some guys, they were at the top and now they’re
going down. This is fighting; even an opponent who is not so
good can defeat you. I’ve fought at light heavyweight, middleweight,
heavyweight. I fought Mark Hunt, who everyone said wasn’t
that good and now he’s possibly fighting for the heavyweight
title. I fought Jacare. He became the Strikeforce champion. I
fought Melvin Manhoef; maybe he’s not the best, but he’s
a guy who can beat anyone. Even if you put him against the number
one guy, he has a big chance of winning because of the way he
fights. So to the people who don’t think I’ve fought
top competition, they probably don’t know the sport that
well.”
If
there is any knock on the well-rounded Dutch transplant, it’s
his inability to promote a fight. So when Mousasi speaks about
the fight game being a “popularity contest,” he speaks
from experience.
In
an era where entertainment has become paramount to a fighter’s
career arc, Mousasi acknowledges that he might not be the slickest
of tongues, but hopefully his fighting speaks for itself.
“I’m
just being myself,” he said. “It’s entertainment
and people like to be entertained. So, it makes sense to talk
more. But as long as you fight well, and everything goes well,
you don’t need to worry.”
Currently
riding a five-fight winning streak, Mousasi is one of the hottest
prospects in MMA – ability to inspire trash talk or not
– in one of the most talent-rich divisions the sport has
to offer. Now, with his UFC debut just days away, Mousasi sees
nothing but opportunity on the road ahead.
“I
know for sure I can fight any of these guys and beat them,”
he declared. “Now it’s a matter of fighting them. I
can talk all I want, but now I have to go out and perform against
these top names.
“I
feel like I belong at the top, for sure.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Gabi
Garcia celebrates double gold in Pan 2013, mentions taunts from
rival
Vitor Freitas
Alliance
star Gabrielle Garcia, 27, was once again the big name in the
women’s division in Pan 2013, which ended last Sunday in
Irvine, California. With double gold in her weight category and
the absolute, Garcia added two more medals to her collection,
and in style: Fabio Gurgel’s black belt submitted all opponents
except Beatriz Mesquita (Gracie Humaitá).
In
a conversation with GracieMag.com, the fighter from Rio Grande
do Sul, Brazil, talked about the final of the absolute, against
Beatriz Mesquita, told what she learned and still needled her
rivals, which, according to her, had teased Garcia. Check it
out:
GracieMag:
What was the hardest part of keeping your position as the absolute
queen in Pan 2013?
GABI
GARCIA: I think I did a good job because I submitted every opponent
except in the absolute final. Too bad I can’t celebrate
much because the WPJJC in Abu Dhabi is almost here in the middle
of April and I need to keep my focus.
How
was this fight with Beatriz in another absolute final?
I
always fight with her. And I had always submitted her in them,
but lately she seems to be always seeking to keep our fight tied
at 0-0 so the judges give the win to her. This is nonetheless
a strategy. It just depends on me not to leave the fight as a
draw. I know what her game is, and the good thing is that every
time I got the victory. I hope it stays that way.
Were
there complicated times during the fight?
Yes,
when I lost my head in the absolute final with taunts and disrespect
from the opponent. That was actually my worst moment! There,
I think I’ve learned to keep my head on straight and not
lose control. Fabio Gurgel even scolded me for paying attention
to her provocations. She wants me to lose control of the fight,
but that just isn’t cool. I learned that even disrespected,
I have to keep my mouth shut, and not pay attention to someone
who doesn’t deserve it.
What’s
your secret to submitting almost all of your opponents?
I
felt much stronger. My preparation is all focused on strength,
thanks to trainer James Heck, who has been taking care of it.
I felt my grips on the gi were stronger. And I’m always
looking for the submission, it makes a difference. I liked my
performance. Now I have
to train harder as I want to keep my titles in the IBJJF Worlds,
the WPJJC in Abu Dhabi and the ADCC in Beijing, in October.
What
would you say to a girl who longs to be a champion or earn a
black belt one day?
Never
give up, never stop because of small problems. I’ve always
been discredited and today I keep myself on top of Jiu-Jitsu
for years. I could easily have given up halfway, but I went ahead.
So never give up, practice a lot, be dedicated, and always give
your best to achieve your goals. One day, the victory arrives.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
The
bizarre state of affairs for UFC Sweden 2013
By Zach
Arnold
Event:
UFC Sweden 2013 (4/6 at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden)
TV: Fuel TV
Welterweights:
Papy Abedi vs. Besam Yousef
Welterweights: Ben Alloway vs. Ryan LaFlare
Middleweights: Tom Lawlor vs. Michael Kuiper
Featherweights: Marcus Brimage vs. Conor McGregor
Heavyweights: Matt Mitrione vs. Philip De Fries
Middleweights: Chris Spang vs. Adlan Amagov
Middleweights: Tor Troeng vs. Adam Cella
Lightweights: Michael Johnson vs. Reza Madadi
Featherweights: Akira Corassani vs. Robert Peralta
Featherweights: Diego Brandao vs. Pablo Garza
Featherweights: Ross Pearson vs. Ryan Couture
Bantamweights: Brad Pickett vs. Mike Easton
Light Heavyweights: Ilir Latifi vs. Gegard Mousasi
Event: The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale (4/13 Las Vegas, Nevada)
TV: FX
Featherweights:
Sam Sicilia vs. Maximo Blanco
Featherweights: Justin Lawrence vs. Daniel Pineda
Featherweights: Cole Miller vs. Bart Palaszewski
Heavyweights: Travis Browne vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano
Bantamweights: Urijah Faber vs. Scott Jorgensen
Event: UFC on Fox (4/20 San Jose at HP Pavilion)
TV: Fox over-the-air
Middleweights: Clifford Starks vs. Yoel Romero
Lightweights: Tim Means vs. Jorge Masvidal
Roger Bowling vs. Anthony Njokuani
Bantamweights: Hugo Viana vs. Francisco Rivera
Lightweights: Norman Parke vs. Jon Tuck
Lightweights: Ramsey Nijem vs. Myles Jury
Middleweights: Lorenz Larkin vs. Francis Carmont
Flyweights: Joe Benavidez vs. Darren Uyenoyama
Featherweights: Chad Mendes vs. Darren Elkins
Welterweights: Jordan Mein vs. Matt Brown
Lightweights: Nate Diaz vs. Josh Thomson
Heavyweights: Frank Mir vs. Daniel Cormier
UFC Lightweight title match: Ben Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez
Event: UFC 159 (4/27 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey)
TV: FX/PPV
Featherweights:
Kurt Holobaugh vs. Steven Siler
Featherweights: Leonard Garcia vs. Cody McKenzie
Bantamweights: Johnny Bedford vs. Erik Perez
Light Heavyweights: Ovince St. Preux vs. Gian Villante
Lightweights: Rustam Khabilov vs. Yancy Medeiros
Welterweights: Nick Catone vs. James Head
Lightweights: Al Iaquinta vs. Joe Proctor
Sara McMann vs. Sheila Gaff
Lightweights: Pat Healy vs. Jim Miller
Heavyweights: Roy Nelson vs. Cheick Kongo
Light Heavyweights: Phil Davis vs. Vinny Magalhaes
Middleweights: Michael Bisping vs. Alan Belcher
UFC Light Heavyweight title match: Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Pat
Curran takes a page from Miguel Cotto's boxing to achieve MMA
success
By Luke
Thomas
Ahead
of his second Bellator featherweight title defense in season
eight, champion Pat Curran credits his boxing skills for much
of his success in MMA. Those skills, Curran insists, are those
he's worked after being inspired by his favorite boxer, Miguel
Cotto.
If
one asked the average MMA fan who the best boxer in MMA was competing
today, you'd probably get a response of Georges St. Pierre, Anderson
Silva or Junior dos Santos. Truth be told, they wouldn't necessarily
be wrong, but they also would be excluding a name from the list
who at least deserves some consideration: Bellator's featherweight
champion Pat Curran.
Curran
doesn't have the resume of a GSP or Silva and isn't necessarily
the better striker beyond the realm of boxing, but he has done
something none of the aforementioned UFC stars have attempted
thus far: fight five full rounds in a title defense against elite
opposition relying almost exclusively on inside, head-to-head
short-range boxing. And ultimately, to win in the process.
In
his first title defense of Spike TV, Curran and Patricio Freire
employed a full arsenal of MMA skills, but boxed one another
in a fashion almost unheard of in elite professional mixed martial
arts. Curran emerged the victor, starting slow and gaining steam
as the bout progressed. It was an eye-opening performance as
Curran and Pitbull engaged one another on terms most MMA strikers
- to say nothing of the larger body of fighters - find anathema
to success. Whether other boxing-centric MMA strikers haven't
fought this way is open to interpretation: is it because they
lack the skills or willingness? Whatever the case, Curran proved
he lacked neither.
Whatever
one thinks of Curran's skills, they'll be put to the test on
Thursday evening as his title is up for grabs against season
7 featherweight tournament winner Shahbulat Shamhalev. While
the Daegestani doesn't possess the crisp Western boxing Curran
uses, he is a force to be reckoned with all his own. With blinding
hand speed, superb timing and crushing power, Shamhalev's effective
but hugely different style of striking is going to test Curran's
in a way no fighter the champion has previously faced will.
In
this interview with MMA Fighting, Curran discusses Shamhalev,
Bellator's plans for him, his love of boxing and why Miguel Cotto's
strong defensive skills are what he tries to emulate in his MMA
bouts.
Full
audio and partial transcript below:
I
want to circle back to the beginning of your Spike TV reign.
It was the first fight to ever air on Spike TV that was on Bellator,
the most viewed. Any changes to your visibility or popularity
as a result of that bout?
I
don't think so. I mean, I don't feel like I've changed at all,
or anything in my life has changed dramatically at all. Definitely
a lot more people saw the fight, and I'm getting noticed a little
bit more. It was a hell of a fight, and I'm really proud and
really happy to be the first fight on Spike after the move.
From
the outside looking in, you appear to be a guy that Bellator
is looking to position long-term. There's ads running on MMA
websites week after week after week. On one side it's Michael
Chandler, on the other side it's you. Has Bellator ever spoken
to you about their long-term vision for you? Do they have a long-term
vision for you?
I
re-signed my contract and I'm going to be with them for the next
couple, three years. And I have no problem sticking out my entire
career with Bellator. But no, we really haven't discussed too
much about that. But from what I'm thinking, they're taking great
care of me and I have no reason to leave.
When
you heard (Daniel) Straus was out, did you think it was possible
you'd get a rematch with Pitbull (Patricio Friere)? Not that
the fight was...it was close in the sense that it wasn't crazy
close, but you could make a credible case that a rematch would
make sense.
I
know Pitbull was asking for a rematch, but with the Bellator
format, especially with the featherweight division so packed
right now, it really just needs to be caught up. So maybe if
you go through the tournament again down the road you'll get
a rematch, but for now you've got Daniel Straus and Shahbulat
and there's another tournament going on. So, possibly another
three fights this year.
People
talk about who's the best MMA boxer, and a lot of people say
Junior dos Santos or maybe Georges St. Pierre when he uses his
jab. But I've never seen two guys fight in MMA at close range
at that high a level for that long. Talk to me about your skill
development. Obviously you've gotten better at boxing, but did
it ever dawn on you that you're one of the few guys in MMA that
does, to the extent possible, inside boxing?
Yeah,
it's a new style. I've been working on my striking with my boxing
coach Doug Mango for the last five years and it's really just
getting that experience and timing in the cage to let my hands
go like that. I was really excited to be able to perform like
that. Pitbull's a good opponent, a hell of a fighter. A tough
opponent. And yeah, we just stood in front of each other for
the whole five rounds and turned it into a boxing match.
Why
don't more guys fight that way? They don't have the trainers
to teach them? They're worried about the takedown? What is it?
I
don't know, it's interesting. It just really depends on the camp
that you're coming from, the type of person that you are. The
type of fighter you are. I believe boxing is going to be a huge
part of this sport, especially later down the road. Wrestlers
are taking over, but you get a good wrestler with a great boxing
level and really, in my opinion, he's going to be unstoppable.
Is
it harder to learn boxing, or is it harder to learn kickboxing?
The
two are completely different. Different areas. Boxing, there's
so much to learn. There's so many angles, so many punches, how
to throw a punch, there's so much to learn in boxing, and I just
loved it. Especially leading up to that fight, I was watching
boxing almost every night. It's all I thought about and it's
what I was working with my coach.
Who
are some of your favorite boxers to watch?
Definitely
Miguel Cotto. I think his style is perfect for MMA. He keeps
his hands really high, defends himself very well, great angles,
and he's a killer. He just goes after it and looks for that knockout.
Okay.
I'm assuming you watched the last Cotto fight against (Floyd)
Mayweather, yes?
Yes.
So
what did you think about that fight? The conventional wisdom
heading into that fight was that he was shopworn, that he was
beaten down. I thought he availed himself kind of nicely up until
the last few rounds. What was your takeaway from that bout?
Miguel
Cotto man, he just has the heart of a champion. He's fast, and
he's one of the best for a reason. It was an all-out war, a great
performance by both guys. And Miguel just never gives up.
I've
heard this for years now. In your experience, to what extent
is it possible to find a boxing trainer who understands MMA?
You talk to Freddie Roach and he's like 'I train MMA guys to
box but they never want to get close. They want to punch at range
because they're scared of takedowns'. How difficult has that
been, that recruitment process? Or I guess I should say, the
discovery process?
I
never really want out and searched for my coaches. I came up
to Team Curran when I was 19, just turned 20, and my boxing coach
Doug was already here just as a striking coach, a boxing coach.
So he's been around the sport. He's been training my cousin Jeff
(Curran), Bart Palaszewski. He's been around the game for a long
time, so I just think that over the years of being around the
sport, around MMA, has tweaked and developed his style for coaching.
You
said Cotto had a great style for MMA. Which boxer who is really
good would have a bad style for MMA?
It's
tough. What I look for is - keep your hands high, I'm really
big on that, because it takes one punch to get knocked out in
this sport. Definitely I'd say Floyd Mayweather, because he moves
his head a lot and his hands are down. Like I said, all it takes
is that one punch and you're out. So you definitely want to keep
your hands high.
Right,
and Mayweather gets away with it because he's Mayweather, right?
Yeah.
Let's
talk about your opponent Shahbulat Shamhalaev. For a while, and
even right now, mostly known to insiders. What is your sense
about how he came out of the tournament? I won't say he had an
easy run because he beat good guys, but they didn't get very
far with him. Not Michael Richman, not anyone. How would you
evaluate him?
Very
impressive. Like you said, the last three fights that I could
find and did watch didn't go past the first round. He has a deadly
right hand, and he looks for that knockout. Once he hits you,
he's on you, he's stumbling all over the place, he's doing everything
he can to land that knockout shot. He's a very good counterstriker
as well. He's very impressive but I don't know too much about
his game. I know he's a good striker. He's a newer fighter that
I haven't really watched or heard too much about, so it's going
to be an interesting fight just because he's a counterstriker
and I consider myself to be a counterstriker as well. So I feel
like our styles match up really well.
Two
counterstrikers. I'll play Devil's Advocate for just a moment.
Devil's Advocate might say - hey, two counterstrikers. You might
get one of those things where it's like Pedro Rizzo vs. Ricco
Rodriguez, where they just face off and don't do anything. What
would your response to that be?
That's
definitely not going to happen. As a fighter I'm really trying
to develop my aggressiveness and my offense for striking, and
I'll definitely start to engage. If it starts to be a slow fight
and we're not really engaging, I'll take that chance and I'll
start going in and put the pressure on him.
What
do you make of this recent Russian...I don't even know what the
word is, revolution, influx...where Bellator's got a ton of guys
in virtually every weight class from parts of Russia or Daegestan,
and they come in unheralded and just start tearing people to
pieces. For years, Russians were not particularly that great
relative to say, the Brazilians or the Japanese in MMA. There's
Fedor obviously, but as a group they weren't that great, and
now they're here. Do you have any sense about why that is?
MMA's
a big sport, and maybe over in Russia where they didn't have
the training needed a few years ago. But obviously that's changing
because they're getting a lot of great talent coming from Russia
and everyone is looking great that Bellator finds. I guess I
would say that the gyms, the training over there has definitely
evolved and gotten better.
Can
you beat the rangy kind of fight he likes with inside boxing?
Or do you have to make it a clinch fight? How do you it?
It's
hard to say. A fight's a fight, and you kind of go on the fly.
You can come up with a game plan but when it comes down to it,
a fight's a fight and it changes in a seconds and I just got
to go off of instinct. But if I'm on the inside I definitely
have to be careful of the right hands and left hooks. He really
puts all his weight behind every throw. If he hasn't gone out
in the first round, it's a five round fight and I know I can
go five rounds, no problem. So it's really going to test his
conditioning if we go past the first round.
Is
it more fun being champion? That Bellator tournament, it's brutal.
It's hard to get through. You have to fight the guys that win
the tournaments, so ostensibly the toughest guy. But you at least
get to peak, you get to train for one guy. Obviously you have
an opponent change here from Straus to Shamhalaev, but still.
There's time to focus on just one guy. How much more enjoyable
is it to fight that way?
It's
great. It's the way you want to prepare for a fight. Two months
out, I know my opponent. I get to study him, review him, and
it just makes for a better fight I think. Like you said, the
tournament style is extremely rough. You don't know who you're
going to face until the night of, or maybe a week after your
fight. And they're within a month apart of each other so it puts
a toll on your body. Being a champion, I love it. Like you said,
I get to watch my opponents go through the tournament, see their
style. Study them and come up with a game plan.
What
do those tournaments do for your skills? You hear guys that talk
about different ways. The ones who say they train 365, and six
days a week. They're working and their skills and they get better.
I've heard some Bellator fighters say that because of those tournaments,
by the time that they've done two or three of those tournaments...by
the time they were done with that, they were just way better
fighters. Do you believe that, specifically because of the tournament,
you were forced to get your skills in order?
Absolutely.
It's a big credit to the Bellator tournament format. That's why
I got so good so quickly. Because it's just one long training
camp. You have no life other than the training, the focus on
your fights, and to become better. You have no choice but to
become better. I went through two of the tournaments and like
you said, it's a really tough tournament, but if you can get
through it you're definitely going to be a better fighter at
the end of it.
That
leads to the question: now that you're not in the tournaments,
how do you continue to stay good?
Ever
since I started training MMA, my cousin was really big on keeping
me in the gym and keeping my focused. And over the years, that's
just become my style. I'm one of the fighters that's in the gym
Monday to Saturday, training two-to-three times a day. I just
really want to focus on becoming a better fighter in every aspect
of the sport.
I
read a report - I want to say it was Time Out Chicago - they
said you were going to have some type of role on Spike TV, obviously
not just as a fighter. But maybe in the reality show, or some
other presence. Are you going to be on this Bellator reality
show in some capacity?
Honestly,
you know more than I do. Because I have no idea, man. I know
we had a reality show coming up, but honestly, they haven't told
me anything about it and I'm still waiting to find out more information
about it.
Given
your availability, you'd like to be on it?
Yeah,
absolutely. Honestly, I don't even know what the reality show
is or how it's going to be arranged, but yeah, absolutely. Anything
Bellator's doing, I'd love to be a part of it.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Lightweights
Melvin Guillard, Mac Danzig Added to UFC on Fox 8 Bill
By Mike
Whitman
UFC
officials Wednesday announced the first booking for UFC on Fox
8, as Melvin Guillard takes on fellow lightweight Mac Danzig
at the July 27 event.
The
event takes place at Seattle’s Key Arena, and the show’s
main card airs live on Fox’s flagship network. Fox-owned
cable station FX is expected to handle the evening’s undercard.
Guillard
enters the contest having recently left the Blackzilians camp
in Florida with the intention of rejoining Jackson’s MMA
in Albuquerque, N.M. However, “The Young Assassin”
was not allowed back into the fold, according to a source close
to the gym. Guillard, 30, rides back-to-back defeats into his
showdown with Danzig, most recently falling via split decision
to former WEC champion Jamie Varner on Dec. 29 at UFC 155.
Danzig
last competed in November, when he dropped a split decision to
onetime Pride Fighting Championships ruler Takanori Gomi at UFC
on Fuel TV 6. Danzig has alternated wins and losses in his last
six fights over the last three years, picking up wins over Justin
Buchholz, Joe Stevenson and Efrain Escudero while falling to
Matt Wiman (twice) and “The Fireball Kid.”
The
UFC last visited Seattle in December, when the Las Vegas-based
promotion hosted UFC on Fox 5 at the same arena. That event saw
Benson Henderson retain his lightweight title in the main event,
taking a one-sided unanimous decision from challenger Nate Diaz.
Source
Sherdog
|
Urijah
Faber 4-to-1 favorite against Scott Jorgensen
By Zach
Arnold
Nick
Kalikas and his crew at MMAOddsBreaker.com have released the
odds for the upcoming April 13th fight between Urijah Faber &
Scott Jorgensen that will air on FX. UFC has three major shows
in April with stacked cards and Faber/Jorgensen kicks off the
hot April string of fights.
To
summarize what Nick and his guests had to say about the betting
line, Faber is a -420 favorite and climbing. He could get as
high as -500, which means he’s a parlay play more than he
is a straight play.
“Any
Jorgensen can do, Urijah does it better.”
Here’s
video of an interview that aired last night on AXS TV with Scott
Jorgensen about the upcoming fight.
“This
fight with Urijah is an interesting match-up because we’re
buddies, we’re close friends. He’s the guy who talked
me into fighting but we both made up our minds that we’re
going to step inside the Octagon on April 13th and beat the hell
out of each other, so…”
“I
did think it was kind of, you know, I thought he was kind of
messing with me at first but… when I got the first text
or the phone call from OUR manager, you know, Urijah and I share
a manager, and uh… I basically just said, all right, well,
that’s what they want, that’s what we do. I have never
and I will never pick a fight. I won’t turn a fight down,
I’ll take whatever they throw at me. As far as is it going
to affect the fight, you know, Urijah and I both coming from
a wreslting background, it’s what we’ve done all our
lives. We’ve competed against friends. I’ve competed
for years against friends and you separate it when it’s
game time, you go in there and take care of business and then
after, you know, Urijah and I are going to go throw an afterparty
together, so…”
“It
was my senior year and I wasn’t even wrestling at the tournament.
I’d been out with an injury. It was at the Reno tournament
of champions. He was coaching at UC Davis. I was there just supporting
my teammates at Boise State, just out there watching the tournament
because I couldn’t wrestle and he was fighting and he had
his shirts and everything and I was talking to him, you know,
and he was like, ‘oh, you should try it, you know, you’re
done after this year, you know, you should try it and I think
you’ll like it, you’ll do well with it,’ and I
was like, oh, okay, yeah, yeah, and you know, I went and finished
the season, did not finish in the All-American realm like I wanted
to at the NCAA tournament and… like, literally, we flew
home on a Sunday, Monday I went and found a place to start training
and it slowly progressed into this. It started as a hobby, you
know, I just wanted to do it just to try it and you know four
fights later of picking fights from, taking fights from 155 all
the way down to 145 I guess at the time and then the opportunity
to go fight for Elite XC popped up after about my fourth or fifth
fight and I took it. That was my first fight at 135 and I’ve
been here since and you know I went from Ekite XC to the WEC
to now being in the UFC, you know, and I like to think I grew
up in Zuffa, you know, I got I think 13, 14 fights under the
Zuffa banner and so, you know, I feel right at home inside there.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Bellator
95 Results: Pat Curran Makes Quick Work of Shahbulat Shamhalaev
to Retain Belt
by Ken
Pishna
One
champion reigned supreme, while two men staked their claims to
a championship challenge at Bellator 95 on Thursday night. The
event took place at Revel in Atlantic City, N.J., closing out
the promotion’s eight season overall, and its first on Spike
TV.
Pat
Curran vs. Shahbulat Shamhalaev
Pat
Curran told MMAWeekly.com prior to the fight that “you’re
going to have to pretty much kill me to take away (the Bellator
belt).” Shahbulat Shamhalaev didn’t kill Curran on
Thursday night, nor did he take Curran’s belt.
Both
men being counterfighters, the fight got off to a slow start,
but when Curran hit the gas, he spent little time going from
0 to 60.
After
two and half minutes of feeling each other out, Curran shot,
securing an arm-in guillotine as he and Shamhalaev hit the mat,
and just a few seconds later the fight was over, Shamhalaev face
down on the mat and unconscious from the choke.
“It
feels great. I didn’t get hit once in the face,” note
Curran post-fight. “I can’t wait to face Daniel Straus
again for a rematch.”
Frodo
Khasbulaev vs. Mike Richman
Frodo
Khasbulaev and Mike Richman were fighting for the Bellator Season
8 Featherweight Tournament Championship and they acted like it.
Neither would back down in a fight that went the fully allotted
15 minutes.
Richman
moved forward throughout the fight, sticking his jab in Khasbulaev’s
face, but the Russian fighter was the one that impressed the
judges.
Every
time that Richman moved forward, sticking out the right hand,
Khasbulaev would answer back with either a punch combination
or a punch-kick combination. That he was more accurate on the
feet, doing more damage, coupled with a few successful takedown
attempts is likely what secured the nod from the judges.
All
three judges scored the bout 30-27 in Khasbulaev’s favor,
awarding him the victory, which was accompanied by a $100,000
check and a featherweight title shot.
Brett
Cooper vs. Doug Marshall
Doug
Marshall hasn’t lost the power that at one time helped him
become the WEC light heavyweight champion, and he displayed it
in the Bellator Season 8 Middleweight Tournament Final.
Brett
Cooper’s strategy was obvious from the bell. As soon as
he tasted Marshall’s power, Cooper shot and planted Marshall
on the mat. Marshall, however, was prepared.
Both
times he was taken down, Marshall worked his way up the cage
and back to his feet. The second time he regained his feet, Marshall
got the separation he wanted and planted a right hook to Cooper’s
jaw that left him on the floor, out cold.
“If
I touch you with the right hand, you’re going to sleep,”
said Marshall after the fight. “Man, I hope he’s okay.
I was trying to knock his beard off, but it didn’t come
off. Maybe next time.”
Next
time for Marshall, however, means stepping in the cage with Bellator
middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko.
Rick
Hawn vs. Karo Parisyan
Rick
Hawn took the first step towards redemption following a loss
to Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler by deposing
of UFC veteran Karo Parisyan on Thursday night.
Parisyan
was the aggressor throughout, consistently moving forward, but
it was the former Olympic judoka that got the better of the exchanges.
Hawn was patient, countering Parisyan and chopping away at his
lead leg with kicks.
Hawn’s
patented right hand found its mark less than two minutes into
the second stanza, stunning Parisyan. Hawn then moved in, hooked
Parisyan’s head with his left hand and sent him to the canvas
with a series of short right uppercuts, forcing the referee to
step in and halt the bout.
The
bout was a return to the welterweight division for Hawn, but
he confirmed that it was a one-time trip.
“Fifty-five
is where I’m staying,” declared Hawn after the fight.
“Karo’s not a huge welterweight, so I felt it was a
good match-up.”
Bellator
95 Results
Main
Bouts:
-Pat Curran def. Shahbulat Shamhalaev by Submission (Guillotine
Choke), R1
-Frodo Khasbulaev def. Mike Richman by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Doug Marshall def. Brett Cooper by KO (Punch) at 3:39, R1
-Rick Hawn def. Karo Parisyan by TKO (Strikes) at 1:55, R2
Preliminary
Bouts:
-Lyman Good def. Dante Rivera by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Sam Oropeza def. Shedrick Goodridge by TKO (Strikes) at 4:22,
R2
-Tom DeBlass def. Carlos Brooks by TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage)
at 5:00, R2
-Phillipe Nover def. Darrell Horcher by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Jimmie Rivera def. Brian Kelleher by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Will Martinez def. Michael Hess by KO (Punches) at 4:15, R1
-Kevin Roddy def. Brylan Van Artsdalen by Submission (Armbar)
at 1:04, R2
-Liam McGeary def. Anton Talamantes by TKO (Elbow and Punches)
at 1:18, R1
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Relson
Gracie Red Belt Promotion Ceremony Schedule
Hope to see you all there on this once in a lifetime event!
Friday, April 5,
2013
Seminar
- Athletic Complex Studio 4, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2500
Campus Road, Honolulu, HI 96822
7:00
- 9:00PM Last Relson Gracie Seminar as a Red-Black belt $80 per
person
9:00
- 10:00PM Photos & Autograph
10:00
- 11:00PM Clean up and pack up mats
Saturday,
April 6, 2013
Seminar
- Kaiser High School Gymnasium, 511 Lunalilo Home Road, Honolulu,
HI 96825
1:00
- 2:00PM Red Belt Promotion by Rorion & Relson's Congratulatory
Speech
$10
admission cost for anyone that only wants to show up to watch
the promotion
2:00
- 4:00PM Relson Gracie 1st Red Belt Seminar $100 per person (includes
admission to the Red Belt promotional ceremony)
4:00
- 5:00PM Photos & Autograph, Clean up and pack up mats
A
professional photographer will be on hand taking pictures with
Relson for $10.
$10
Autograph 8x10 picture of Relson with his Red belt will be available
for purchase.
$25
Promotion In Paradise Official Relson Gracie Red Belt ceremonial
shirt will also be available for purchase (adult sizes only:
S, M, L, XL, XXL)
7:00
– 8:00PM Rorion Gracie Seminar on Gracie Diet $50 per person
at Ilikai Hotel, 1777 Ala Moana Blvd (50 person max)
9:00PM
After Event Drinks at Big Kahuna. Big Kahuna’s is open until
4AM. Andre Derizans band will be playing.
Big
Kahuna, 2299 Kuhio Avenue in the Aqua Wave Waikiki cross street
is Nohonani St. Parking is at the Waikiki Trade Center or the
Miramar Hotel since the hotel parking close at a certain time.
No parking validation at the Big Kahuna.
Sunday, April
7, 2013
Family
BBQ/Beach Day Event - Kapiolani Park, Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu,
HI
9:00AM
– 5:00PM BBQ at Kapiolani Park (Sites 6, 7 & 8, permits
reserve the spot from 8AM-8PM, Across the street from Kaimana
beach, can accommodate 350+ people)
12:00PM - 2:00PM BBQ Lunch – $10 per person
Hawaii
students – Please treat this as a potluck to show some Aloha
to our visitors (and to have something to eat if the Plan A:
Brazilians from Kauai cooking, falls out)
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Source: Romolo Barros
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UFC
on Fuel TV 9 Preview
By Tristen
Critchfield
Alexander
Gustafsson looked to make his case as the top contender at 205
pounds, as he was scheduled to meet Gegard Mousasi on Saturday
in Sweden. Following an injury to Gustafsson, Mousasi will now
take on UFC newcomer Ilir Latifi.
Here
is a closer look at the UFC on Fuel TV 9 lineup, with analysis
and picks:
Light
Heavyweights
Gegard
Mousasi (33-3-2, 0-0 UFC) vs. Ilir Latifi (7-2, 0-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: With no bouts in the UFC to his credit, Mousasi enters
the contest as an unknown commodity to the casual fan. The former
Dream and Strikeforce champion possesses a wealth of valuable
experience, however, and his original placement in the bout against
Gustafsson suggested that promotion officials recognized that
he is among the best in his weight class.
Mousasi
coasted to a first-round submission victory over Mike Kyle at
Strikeforce’s final event in January. “The Dreamcatcher”
had some inconsistent moments during the latter portion of his
tenure with the now-defunct organization -- his draw with Keith
Jardine stands out -- but his talent is undeniable.
Though
mostly unknown to even hardcore fans, lots of footage is available
on Mr. Latifi. Instead of educating yourself through replacement
paragraphs filed minutes after the Swede was announced as Gustafsson's
replacement, get enlightened with hours of fight footage, courtesy
of YouTube.
The
Pick: Mousasi has all the tools to win this fight, and will.
Look for Mousasi to pour it on and score a second-round stoppage
over the talented yet over-matched last minute replacement.
Lightweights
Ross
Pearson (14-6, 6-3 UFC) vs. Ryan Couture (6-1, 0-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: Despite his famous father’s issues with his former
employer, the 30-year-old Couture has found a place in the Octagon
after winning six of his seven fights with Strikeforce. The Couture
name can be a blessing and a curse for the son; while he might
receive opportunities not given to others, it can also be a burden
to compete with elevated expectations due to the lifetime achievements
of UFC hall of famer Randy Couture.
Couture
will be under even more scrutiny in his UFC debut considering
that he was fortunate to win his final Strikeforce outing against
K.J. Noons. Despite being out-landed by Noons in the bout, Couture
emerged with a controversial split verdict. The Las Vegas resident
is not spectacular in any one area, but he is usually able to
compensate due to solid strategy and conditioning.
After
a brief stint at 145 pounds, Pearson made a resounding return
to lightweight at UFC on FX 6, scoring a third-round technical
knockout over veteran grappler George Sotiropoulos in the show’s
headliner. While Noons was ultimately punished by the judges
for being content to wait and counter against Couture, Pearson
is known for being aggressive on the feet.
The
Englishman is a fundamentally sound boxer with good footwork,
and he can also counter effectively should Couture look to close
the distance in search of takedowns. “The Real Deal”
struggles when faced with quicker, more athletic opponents, but
he should be able to be patient and pick his spots to attack
against Couture. The Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts representative
was on shaky legs in the second round against Noons, and a well-placed
jab-hook combination from Pearson could have the same effect
here. Couture has a four-inch reach advantage and will need to
use kicks on the outside to control range.
Couture’s
best chance is to drag this bout into deep waters and hope Pearson
will be unable to match his pace down the stretch. Scoring takedowns
and forcing the Alliance MMA product to work from his back --
where he is uncomfortable -- will help to wear down Pearson.
Couture is active on the mat and will transition for submission
attempts when he sees an opening.
The
Pick: Couture has not faced the most difficult of competition
during his Strikeforce tenure, but he has beaten nearly everyone
placed in front of him. He will struggle to handle Pearson’s
aggression and boxing, however, as “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 9 winner takes this via knockout or TKO in round two.
Heavyweights
Matt
Mitrione (5-2, 5-2 UFC) vs. Philip De Fries (9-2, 2-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: A promising athlete from Season 10 of “The Ultimate
Fighter,” Mitrione has faltered as the level of competition
has increased, falling to Cheick Kongo and Roy Nelson in his
last two Octagon appearances. The loss to “Big Country”
was particularly humbling, as Mitrione was floored -- and subsequently
finished -- by a nifty three-punch combination from his portly
foe. Fortunately for Mitrione, heavyweight is not yet exceedingly
deep, and he will have a decent chance to rebound against the
standup-challenged De Fries.
A
grappler with eight of his nine career triumphs by way of submission,
De Fries has been exposed by opponents with big-time power in
the UFC; both Stipe Miocic and Todd Duffee have stopped him inside
of a round. In victories over Rob Broughton and Oli Thompson,
De Fries was able to put his ground game to work, and he would
be wise to attempt to get Mitrione to the ground as soon as possible.
The
problem with this strategy is that Mitrione is the better overall
athlete with a reach advantage, meaning De Fries will have to
put together some semblance of a punching combination to move
into tie-up and takedown range. “Meathead” is also
the larger fighter and is also more than capable of landing heavy
strikes from the clinch.
De
Fries has not been unwilling to throw hands during his UFC tenure,
as he clipped Thompson with a right hand to set up a fight-ending
choke at UFC on Fox 4, but Mitrione is deceptively light on his
feet and should be able to avoid the majority of his opponent’s
offerings.
Mitrione
is largely unproven on the ground, and De Fries is certainly
capable of controlling positioning and hunting for submissions
should he drag the Blackzilians representative into his world.
However, he will have to prove he can eat heavy leather to do
so.
The
Pick: In addition to his quick and heavy hands, Mitrione can
utilize kicks to the legs and body to keep De Fries at a comfortable
range. Eventually, “Meathead” puts his man to sleep
with a solid combination, winning by TKO in round two.
Bantamweights
Brad
Pickett (22-7, 2-2 UFC) vs. Mike Easton (13-2, 3-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: A pair of skilled 135-pounders looking to bounce back
from disappointing losses square off here. After three consecutive
wins to begin his UFC career, Easton appeared to be on the verge
of a breakthrough until he suffered a unanimous decision defeat
to Raphael Assuncao at UFC on Fox 5 in December. Despite his
considerable skill set, the Alliance MMA product demonstrated
an inability to make adjustments in the loss, as he continued
to move forward and whiff on power strikes while Assuncao connected
with counters.
Pickett,
meanwhile, showed admirable durability but ultimately had no
answer for the powerful right hand of Eddie Wineland in a split
decision loss at UFC 155. Wineland will receive an interim title
shot in his next bout, making the setback that much more painful
for the man they call “One Punch.”
Expect
a lot of action between these two, as both fighters favor a quick
pace. Easton, however, sometimes tends to start slowly, and Pickett
can take advantage by forcing exchanges in the pocket. The Brit’s
standup is backed by a dangerous lead hook and uppercut, and
he is willing to wade through heavy fire to find the openings
he wants.
Easton,
a southpaw, is most effective when he employs a multi-faceted
arsenal, mixing his power punches with knees and kicks to the
legs and body. A focused offensive approach is paramount to the
success of “The Hulk,” who has all the physical tools
but sometimes appears to lack direction in the cage.
The
strength advantage should belong to Easton, who has a wrestling
background and is willing to throw heavy strikes from above in
order to pass guard. However, the tireless Pickett will work
to force scrambles on the floor to create openings for chokes.
Easton, with an active guard and a solid guillotine choke, is
also game on the ground.
The
Pick: Much of this depends on Easton, who cannot afford to have
an extended lull against an aggressive and savvy foe such as
Pickett. In a back-and-forth scrap, Pickett’s ability to
transition from striking to takedowns and back again will prove
to be the difference in a narrow decision triumph.
Featherweights
Diego
Brandao (16-8, 2-1 UFC) vs. Pablo Garza (12-3, 3-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: Known for his all-out aggression since he won Season
14 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Brandao showed that he
can thrive in a more drawn-out affair by capturing a unanimous
decision over Joey Gambino at UFC 153. That was a stark contrast
to Brandao’s showing at UFC 146, where he came out with
guns blazing in the first round against Darren Elkins, only to
find himself gassed over the bout’s final 10 minutes.
Garza
also showed a different approach in his most recent outing, using
takedowns and top control to hand Mark Hominick his fourth consecutive
defeat at UFC 154 in November. Usually, it is the lanky Garza
who is more likely to be grounded, as he was in a loss to the
wrestling-minded Dennis Bermudez at UFC on Fox 3.
While
Brandao might have tempered his approach somewhat, he remains
a quick starter who looks to impose his will with heavy power
punches in the opening moments of a fight. Garza has proven vulnerable
to well-timed strikes in the past, although he is capable of
launching flashy attacks on the feet, as well. “The Scarecrow”
must put his nine-inch reach advantage to work and keep Brandao
at a safe distance with straight punches and kicks. Once the
Brazilian is able to get inside, a murderous barrage of overhand
rights and hooks will follow.
It
remains to Garza’s advantage to weather the early storm
and force Brandao to fight past the first round. If he cannot
get the quick finish, “Ceara” should employ a similar
game plan to the one he used against Gambino, shooting for takedowns
and working heavy ground-and-pound from above. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu
black belt, Brandao must curb his aggression when attacking from
guard, because Garza is adept at using his long limbs to secure
submissions from his back.
The
Pick: If things get heated early, Garza could jump guard in hopes
of luring Brandao to make a mistake. However, he does not have
a clear advantage, even there. Brandao rocks Garza on the feet
and then pounces for a submission in round one.
Featherweights
Diego
Brandao (16-8, 2-1 UFC) vs. Pablo Garza (12-3, 3-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: Known for his all-out aggression since he won Season
14 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Brandao showed that he
can thrive in a more drawn-out affair by capturing a unanimous
decision over Joey Gambino at UFC 153. That was a stark contrast
to Brandao’s showing at UFC 146, where he came out with
guns blazing in the first round against Darren Elkins, only to
find himself gassed over the bout’s final 10 minutes.
Garza
also showed a different approach in his most recent outing, using
takedowns and top control to hand Mark Hominick his fourth consecutive
defeat at UFC 154 in November. Usually, it is the lanky Garza
who is more likely to be grounded, as he was in a loss to the
wrestling-minded Dennis Bermudez at UFC on Fox 3.
While
Brandao might have tempered his approach somewhat, he remains
a quick starter who looks to impose his will with heavy power
punches in the opening moments of a fight. Garza has proven vulnerable
to well-timed strikes in the past, although he is capable of
launching flashy attacks on the feet, as well. “The Scarecrow”
must put his nine-inch reach advantage to work and keep Brandao
at a safe distance with straight punches and kicks. Once the
Brazilian is able to get inside, a murderous barrage of overhand
rights and hooks will follow.
It
remains to Garza’s advantage to weather the early storm
and force Brandao to fight past the first round. If he cannot
get the quick finish, “Ceara” should employ a similar
game plan to the one he used against Gambino, shooting for takedowns
and working heavy ground-and-pound from above. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu
black belt, Brandao must curb his aggression when attacking from
guard, because Garza is adept at using his long limbs to secure
submissions from his back.
The
Pick: If things get heated early, Garza could jump guard in hopes
of luring Brandao to make a mistake. However, he does not have
a clear advantage, even there. Brandao rocks Garza on the feet
and then pounces for a submission in round one.
Lightweights
Michael
Johnson (12-7, 4-3 UFC) vs. Reza Madadi (12-3, 1-1 UFC): Johnson
had seemingly turned a corner in his career, posting three consecutive
victories in the Octagon heading into his UFC 155 matchup with
Myles Jury. “The Menace” dropped a puzzlingly one-sided
decision to the Jury, however, offering little resistance against
his opponent’s takedowns and ground-and-pound. Madadi, meanwhile,
had a seven-fight winning streak halted by Cristiano Marcello
at UFC 153. Johnson rights his ship here, using superior quickness
and aggression to take a decision.
Welterweights
Adlan
Amagov (11-2-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Chris Spang (5-1, 0-0 UFC): Perhaps
it is just wishful thinking, but would it not have been more
creative to pair Strikeforce imports against UFC veterans in
their Octagon debuts? Both Amagov and Spang have shown flashes
of potential in the Strikeforce hexagon. Amagov landed some nasty
kicks in a TKO triumph over Keith Berry in August, while Spang
scored an impressive stoppage against Nah-Shon Burrell in May.
Amagov, who is more likely to take down his man, wins via decision.
Featherweights
Marcus
Brimage (6-1, 3-0 UFC) vs. Conor McGregor (12-2, 0-0 UFC): Brimage
earned the signature victory of his career to date at UFC 152,
outpointing the highly regarded Jim Hettes in September. A Cage
Warriors Fighting Championship titlist in two divisions, McGregor
carries an eight-fight winning streak into his UFC debut. Brimage
takes this by decision.
Welterweights
Ben
Alloway (12-3, 1-0 UFC) vs. Ryan LaFlare (7-0, 0-0 UFC): Alloway
displayed a penchant for the spectacular by finishing Manuel
Rodriguez with a front kick to the face and follow-up punches
at UFC on FX 6. LaFlare, who has had recent bookings with both
Strikeforce and the World Series of Fighting fall through, has
yet to go the distance in seven appearances under the Ring of
Combat banner. LaFlare outwrestles his opponent and eventually
earns a TKO in round three.
Middleweights
Tom
Lawlor (8-5, 4-4 UFC) vs. Michael Kuiper (12-1, 1-1 UFC): With
losses in four of his last six fights, the entertaining Lawlor
could find himself on the UFC’s chopping block if he does
not get a win against Kuiper, who battered Jared Hamman with
a series of power punches in a second-round TKO triumph at UFC
150. Kuiper, with his judo base and heavy hands, has the look
of a fighter who could just be coming into his own. He wins by
submission in round two.
Welterweights
Papy
Abedi (8-2, 0-2 UFC) vs. Besam Yousef (6-1, 0-1 UFC): Abedi has
offered little resistance in two Octagon defeats thus far, but
he gets another shot because the promotion needs to fill out
its card with Swedish fighters. Yousef got the better of Simeon
Thoresen in the standup during their UFC on Fuel TV 2 encounter
but was ultimately submitted in the second round. Abedi finally
finds success in the Octagon and earns a decision.
Middleweights
Tor
Troeng (15-4-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Adam Cella (4-0, 0-0 UFC): A pair
of cast members from Season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter”
square off here. Troeng, who has competed mostly on his home
soil of Sweden in seven years as a professional, was eliminated
from the reality show via knockout by Josh Samman. Cella, of
course, suffered the now-infamous spinning heel kick knockout
to Uriah Hall on the series. Troeng snatches a submission in
round one.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Florida
Commission Closes Investigation; Clears the Way for Fallon Fox
to Fight
Courtesy
of Damon Martin and official MMAWeekly.com content partner Bleacher
Report.
Transgender fighter Fallon Fox has tackled the latest obstacle
in her hope to remain a competitor in the state of Florida, and
she will be allowed to compete at her next scheduled bout for
Championship Fighting Alliance on May 24.
On Tuesday, the Florida Boxing Commission closed the investigation
into Fox’s licensing application, which means she will be
able to compete in the state in future fighting events.
Fox was issued a fight license by the state in early March, but
the application she submitted was under review for “alleged
discrepancies.”
“Fallon Fox was issued a Florida license on March 2, 2013.
Our Department had been investigating alleged discrepancies in
the information provided on the application, and during that
investigation Fox’s license was not suspended or frozen;
it was still active. The investigation was concluded yesterday,”
said Sandi Poreda, Director of Communications for the Florida
Department of Business and Professional Regulation, in a statement
emailed to Bleacher Report on Wednesday. “Currently, there
is nothing that would prohibit her from being proposed on a fight
card in our state. We have not received any fight cards for future
fights for her at this time.”
Fox has been at the center of controversy for the last several
weeks after she revealed that while born a male, she underwent
extensive treatment and eventually surgery to become female.
The 37-year old fighter was competing in the CFA women’s
145-pound tournament where she recently knocked out her opponent
in just 39-seconds.
On her application for a fight license, Fox had not disclosed
her medical status as a transgender female.
Upon further review, the Florida commission didn’t believe
there was enough information to support further action.
“The evidence does not support prosecution of the specified
violations of Chapter 548, Florida Statutes, or the rules promulgated
thereunder. Therefore this case should be closed,” read
a statement by Roger Maas, Assistant General Counsel to the Florida
commission.
The MMA world has been buzzing ever since she revealed her transgender
status with everyone from UFC commentator Joe Rogan to former
Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate weighing in on the subject of
whether Fox should be allowed to fight women having been born
a man.
While several doctors have argued the point of Fox’s body
chemistry as to whether or not she should be allowed to fight,
the decision to allow her license to remain in tact ultimately
came down to the Florida commission who will oversee her next
scheduled fight.
That decision has now been made and Fox is cleared and her license
remains valid. Her next opponent is scheduled to be 2-1 fighter
Allana Jones, who stated as of earlier this week that she would
face Fox in the next round of the tournament in May.
The finals of the tournament could come into some question however
as Peggy Morgan, who sits on the other side of the bracket opposite
of Fox, has stated that she will not face her should the two
of them be paired together in the finals of the tournament.
“I do not think there is sufficient hard evidence to show
that Fallon does not have physical advantages over the women
she has fought,” Morgan said in a statement via her management’s
website. “I understand why people are advocating for Fallon
and I appreciate that it is important to protect her rights,
but I think it should be just as important to protect the safety
of the other women in the tournament. Until I am presented with
conclusive evidence that a fight with Fallon would, in fact,
be fair, I will not be entering the cage with her.”
The CFA tournament will continue regardless with their next event
in late May and now Fox has been officially cleared to return
to action for her next fight regardless of who she may or may
not face if she makes it to the tournament finals.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Fertitta
corporate board member is a member of the Nevada commission’s
steroids & drug testing panel
By Zach Arnold
When
it comes to the issue of the testosterone plague in Mixed Martial
Arts, we know who helped let the genie out of the bottle. The
UFC may be saying all the right things publicly about wanting
to put the genie back in the bottle, but they helped create the
environment we have today in combat sports for testosterone usage
(via permission slips). The athletic commissions simply followed
where the winds were blowing. The Nevada State Athletic Commission
is the worst offender.
Last
Thursday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s Steroid
& Drug Testing Panel held a meeting to bloviate about what
to do next with fighters using testosterone. Damon Martin published
the following article: Nevada Commission Discussing Possibles
Changes to Testosterone Policy and Testing Levels
Instead
of changing the rules on Thursday however the commission instead
voted to do further investigation into the normal levels of testosterone
ratios in fighters that compete in their state.
The
idea presented by the commission during their meeting was to
conduct a study of a wide range of fighters either past or going
forward to determine what a “normal” level of testosterone
ratio would be. Most fighters test under the legal limits, but
the commissioners in Nevada are trying to get a sense of what
level under 4:1 they are testing at, on average.
The
study conducted will be internal only for the commission and
not for public consumption.
The
main voice on the NSAC steroid & drug testing panel is former
NSAC Chairman Dr. James Nave, a long-time veterinarian. When
Marc Ratner, former NSAC boss, was talking with Dr. Nave last
week about how the NSAC should be not as heavy-handed in punishing
fighters who test positive for marijuana on drug tests, one interesting
factoid was omitted about Dr. Nave’s relationship with the
Fertitta family which runs the UFC.
Dr.
James Nave happens to be on the board of directors for Station
Casinos. Yeah, that Station Casinos. Take a look for yourself
with this Business Week graphic:
Business
Week claims that at age 67, Dr. Nave’s total calculated
compensation is $102,000. Take a look at his bio — he’s
been on the board of directors for Station Casinos since June
2011. So, while the testosterone plague has grown… and grown…
and grown in MMA, Dr. Nave is on the NSAC steroid & drug
testing panel board.
Is
Dr. Nave someone who is going to change what is happening in
regards to how Keith Kizer and associate Dr. Tim Trainor handle
which fighters get to use testosterone and which fighters should
be suspended for elevated levels of testosterone on drug test
results? No, but the conflict of interest and dog-and-pony-show
aspect to what is going on right now with the UFC & the Nevada
State Athletic Commission is foolish. You couldn’t find
a better example of what a charade UFC’s PR campaign is
right now to try to convince you that they really, really care
about the testosterone plague in combat sports. They care so
much, they built their main reality TV show this season (The
Ultimate Fighter) around the most high-profile testosterone user
of all in order to build him up for a main event PPV match at
the end of April… in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Addendum:
The fight was originally scheduled to happen (at the last-minute)
in Las Vegas but was canceled. This upcoming fight is happening
in Newark, New Jersey.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
All
fighters make weight for Invicta FC 5
By Dave
Doyle
All 26 fighters made weight on Thursday for Friday's loaded Invicta
FC 5 event.
The card at the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, Mo., features
a pair of title Invicta title fights, as well as a main card
featuring the company debuts of two former Strikeforce champions
and a former Bellator titleholder.
In the main event, Huntington Beach, Calif.'s Jessica Penne makes
the first defense of her atomweight title, against Jackson's
MMA fighter "Karate Hottie" Michelle Waterson. Penne
weighed in at 104.9, Waterson 104.7.
Invicta will also crown its first flyweight champion on Friday
night. Vanessa Porto (15-5) faces off against Miletich Fighting
Systems' Barb Honchack (7-2). Porto came in at 124.8, Honchak
at 124.6.
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos made weight for her first
fight in 16 months. The former Strikeforce featherweight champ,
who sat out a year suspension due to a failed steroid test, checked
in at 144.8 for her bout with Australian Fiona Muxlow (143.8).
In other bouts featuring former titleholders, ex-Strikeforce
bantamweight champ Sarah Kaufman (124.8) will meet Cesar Gracie
fighter Leslie Smith (134.9); and former Bellator strawweight
champ Zoila Frausto Gurgel (125.5), now fighting at flyweight,
meets Jennifer Maia (124.5).
Complete weigh-in results:
Main card:
Jessica Penne (104.9) vs. Michelle Waterson (104.7)
Vanessa Porto (124.8) vs. Barb Honchak (124.6)
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (144.8) vs. Fiona Muxlow
(143.8)
Sarah Kaufman (135.5) vs. Leslie Smith (134.9)
Zoila Frausto Gurgel (125.5) vs. Jennifer Maia (124.5)
Kaitlin Young (135.6) vs. Lauren Taylor (134.9)
Julia Budd (145.8) vs. Mollie Estes (144.4)
Bec Hyatt (115.4) vs. Jasminka Cive (115)
Preliminaries:
Jessamyn Duke (135.6) vs. Miriam Nakamoto (135.8)
Katja Kankaanpaa (115.3) vs. Juliana Carnerio Lima (115.4)
Alex Chambers (103.8) vs. Jodie Esquibel (105)
Rose Namajunas (115.6) vs. Kathina Catron (115.8)
Simona Soukupova (104.6) vs. Cassie Rodish (104.6)
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Pat
Curran on Bellator Belt: “You’re Going to Have to Pretty
Much Kill Me to Take That Away”
by Mick
Hammond
Over the course of the past couple years, Pat Curran has gone
from underdog to Bellator featherweight champion. And through
each step of the process in working his way to the top, he has
put in the hard work and made the right decisions.
That doesn’t mean things are always easy.
This past January, Curran successfully defended his title against
Patricio Freire in a fight that pushed him to his limit.
“He was an extremely tough opponent with a tough jaw and
hard to finish,” said Curran of Freire. “It was a little
closer than I’d like, but I’m happy to come away with
a win and defend my title for the first time.
“Once I started getting my rhythm and timing down, I started
finding openings more and finding a home for my jab. I was landing
the cleaner shots on him and by the end of the fight his face
was more swollen than mine.”
It was perhaps Freire looking the worse for wear that earned
Curran a split-decision victory. Although it was a much more
difficult fight than he anticipated, Curran is happy that it
gave him a good sense of who he is coming into this year.
“I definitely wanted to make a statement and prove to myself
that my boxing is definitely on par with an elite level. I definitely
wanted to prove that and I think I did,” Curran told MMAWeekly.com.
“It felt great to get five rounds and find out where my
cardio and endurance is and push myself to see where I can improve
and better myself after that.”
Originally Curran was set to make his second title defense against
Daniel Straus at Bellator 95 on April 4 in Atlantic City, NJ,
live on Spike TV. Straus, however, suffered an injury, so Curran
will face Shahbulat Shamhalaev instead.
“They’re definitely different fighters and I have to
go in there with a completely different mindset and gameplan,
but I feel like I’m an experienced, well-rounded fighter
and little tweaks here and there will make the difference,”
said Curran.
“Going into this fight, this is my fourth title fight with
Bellator, and I’m very confident with my experience going
into this fight. I’ve been through a couple five-round wars
and I know what it’s like to fight 25 minutes and prepare
for it and not wear myself out.”
Now that he’s risen to the top of Bellator, Curran knows
he’s going to have to continue to work just as hard as he
did before to stay where he’s at.
“I’ve been in everyone else’s shoes and I know
what they’ve been through and what they’re going through
and what they want,” he said. “Everybody wants what
I have right now.
“I worked really hard to get where I’m at. I put a
lot of hours in the gym and a lot of time into things and I’m
definitely not going to let go of things easily. You’re
going to have to pretty much kill me to take that away from me.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Braga
Neto, Jiu-Jitsu world champion, makes UFC debut
Another Jiu-Jitsu world champion signed with the biggest MMA
organization on the planet, the UFC. The Brazilian Antonio Braga
Neto, 25, two-time black belt world champion, in 2008 and 2011,
now enters the Octagon in the middleweight division. He signed
for four fights.
Neto makes his debut on June 8 in Fortaleza, in the event that
will decide the champion of “TUF Brazil 2.” Neto is
only awaiting the official announcement. His opponent, according
to information received by GracieMag.com, is an American fighter.
The black belt under Roberto Gordo joins other gold medalists
in Worlds, like Roger Gracie, Ronaldo Jacaré, Fabricio
Werdum, Rodrigo Minotauro and other aces.
Neto (8-1-1) has six wins by submission. Last year, he tried
to get a spot in the first edition of “TUF Brazil,”
but was not chosen.
Now the fighter waits to be allowed for the WPJJC in Abu Dhabi,
which will be on April 13 and 14.
“It was my Jiu-Jitsu that led me to the UFC, the guys there
liked my fights,” Neto said. “That’s why I still
want to fight in Abu Dhabi. Ben Henderson was allowed without
any problems, one month from the fight. I’ve got the ticket
to the Emirates.”
Neto is the 15th Jiu-Jitsu black belt world champion to join
the UFC. The others are Ronaldo Jacaré, Roger Gracie,
Amaury Bitetti, Fabio Gurgel, Roberto Traven, João Roque,
Marcio Pé de Pano, Murilo Bustamante, Frédson Paixão,
Gabriel Napão, B.J. Penn, Fabricio Werdum, Sergio Moraes
and Delson Pé de Chumbo.
His opponent should be announced soon by the UFC.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
How
not to do spin for UFC Sweden 2013
By Zach
Arnold
“It’s
our job, we have a lot of fighters on the card. No one fighter
is bigger than a UFC event. And so it’s important for us
then to work really hard to find a replacement.”
David
Williams: Ilir Latifi’s path to victory against 13-to-1
favorite Gegard Mousasi
Meet
Garry Cook, the new front man the UFC hired for European operations.
He’s formerly of Manchester City FC. When you have a delicate
situation on your hands like the cancellation of Alexander Gustafsson
from the main event of UFC Sweden 2013, the fans are going to
be very upset in Stockholm. It’s largely a one-fight show
to the masses and that fight just got canceled.
So,
when you talk to the media about the fight cancellation, there’s
an important adage to follow: know your audience. When you speak
to the press, you’re speaking to intermediaries who then
communicate your message to the fans.
Which
means you probably don’t want to communicate a message as
tone-deaf as this.
“We
looked at every option. I’ll be very clear. We always look
at all the options. The guys are great at that. It goes everything
from should we cancel the whole event, should we move the date,
and of course none of that makes any sense. What we really wanted
to do was meet Mousasi’s needs and what he wanted to do
was fight. So, then it was case of, you know, who’s best
suited. Lorenzo Ferttita, I think, made one of the greatest statements
when I said to him, ‘What do you think?’ and he said,
‘Hey, great, another Swede.’ ”
I
thought Garry did an OK job answer the press questions but it
felt like he was missing the most important aspect of communicating
news like this and that was what the paying fans think about
how the situation is handled and what can be done for the fans.
Replacing Gustafsson with a sparing partner doesn’t cut
it.
Dana
White’s message to writer Michael David Smith doesn’t
cut it, either: “shut up dickhead this fight isn’t
costing u a dime.”. Perhaps this new article appropriately
sums up what is happening now: UFC fans slowly but surely learning
to tune out president Dana White.
The
video itself is interesting because there’s some insider
baseball chatter about how 96% of UFC’s programming in Europe
airs after 2 AM and how Zuffa wants new television deals in Europe
where there is ‘magazine programming in prime time’
to grow the audience base there. It seems that no matter how
much money UFC pours into Europe, they take one step forward
and then two steps backwards.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Alexis
Davis vs. Rosi Sexton added to UFC 161 in Winnipeg
By Ariel
Helwani
An important women's bantamweight fight has been added to UFC
161.
Alexis
Davis will meet Rosi Sexton on June 15 in Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Canada, the promotion announced Thursday. The bout will mark
both fighters' Octagon debut and will be, as of now, the fourth
women's fight in UFC history.
Davis
(13-5), who originally hails from Ontario, Canada but now trains
with team Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu in Northern California, is considered
one of the top bantamweight fighters in the world. After going
2-1 in Strikeforce, Davis won her last two fights in a row in
Invicta FC. She holds notable wins over Shayna Baszler, Julie
Kedzie and Amanda Nunes.
Sexton
(10-2), who currently fights out of England and has a mathematics
degree from Cambridge University and a PhD in theoretical computer
science from Manchester University and currently also works as
an osteopath, has won her last three fights in a row. Her only
two loses came against Gina Carano in 2006 and Zoila Frausto
Gurgel at Bellator 23 in 2010. Her biggest wins came against
Aisling Daly, Roxanne Modaferri and Debi Purcell.
The 135-pound fight will air on the pay-per-view portion of the
card, according to the UFC.
Next weekend's Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano fight will mark the
second women's fight in UFC history following the historic Ronda
Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche bout in February. The third fight will
take place later this month when Sara McMann meets Sheila Gaff
at UFC 159 on April 27.
UFC
161, headlined by Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland for the UFC
interim men's bantamweight title, will take place at the MTS
Centre in Winnipeg. Tickets for the event go on sale April 12.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Amir
Sadollah Injured, Nah-Shon Burrell Now Meets Stephen Thompson
at UFC 160
By Mike
Whitman
Amir
Sadollah has suffered an undisclosed injury and will be unable
to compete at UFC 160.
UFC
officials announced the news on Wednesday afternoon, revealing
that Strikeforce veteran Nah-Shon Burrell will instead face Stephen
Thompson at the May 25 event, which takes place at MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Heavyweight
champion Cain Velasquez will headline the evening’s pay-per-view
card, as the American Kickboxing Academy standout rematches Antonio
Silva to close the show. The preliminary draw, including Burrell’s
welterweight clash with Thompson, airs live on FX and Facebook
immediately prior to the main card broadcast.
Burrell,
23, enters the Octagon following a hard-fought victory over fellow
prospect Yuri Villefort in his promotional debut at UFC 157.
Prior to that Feb. 23 triumph, “The Rock-N-Rolla” saw
a six-fight winning streak snapped in his final Strikeforce appearance,
as Burrell was knocked out by Chris Spang last year at “Barnett
vs. Cormier.”
Thompson
has not competed since suffering his first career defeat at the
hands of Matt Brown last April. “Wonderboy” was supposed
to return to the cage this past November to face Besam Yousef
at UFC 154 but was forced to withdraw from that booking due to
a knee injury. Known for his superior kickboxing and karate skills,
Thompson owns three of his seven pro wins by way of knockout.
Source
Sherdog
|
California
State Athletic Commission board gets two new members
By Zach
Arnold
The
bad news is that Eugene Hernandez, the current Vice Chairman
of the commission, had his term expired and the battle was lost
to keep his job. That’s what happens when you have nasty
politicians in Sacramento who hold grudges (in this case, a smart
guess would be that he lost his job because he didn’t go
along with Denise Brown’s program in getting George Dodd
fired. You either go the DCA way or you get canned.)
This
leaves us with John Frierson (CSAC Chairman), Dean Grafilo (SEIU
guy from Sacramento), Dr. VanBuren Ross Lemons (Sacramento doctor),
and Dr. Christopher Giza (UCLA doctor). Now, you can add two
new names to the board.
The
two new appointments:
Mary
(Alice) Lehman, 49, of Palm Desert, has been appointed to the
California State Athletic Commission. Lehman has been a civil
appeals attorney at the Law Offices of Mary A. Lehman since 1995.
She was an attorney with Gray Cary Ware and Freidenrich LLP from
1991 to 2002. She was a professional boxer from 1999 to 2002,
ranking as high as number nine in the world for her weight class.
Lehman earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of
San Diego School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation
and the compensation is $100 per diem. Lehman is a Democrat.
Martha
Shen-Urquidez, 50, of Oxnard, has been appointed to the California
State Athletic Commission. Shen-Urquidez has been CEO of USAsia
since 2007. She was cross-cultural affairs expert for the Beijing
Olympics Organization from 2006 to 2008, senior protocol officer
with the California South Bay Economic Development Partnership
from 1994 to 2001 and court appointed arbitrator at the Superior
Court of California, County of Los Angeles from 1994 to 1999.
Shen-Urquidez was a judge pro tem for Los Angeles County from
1994 to 1998, attorney and training expert with multiple police
departments in Southern California from 1989 to 2004 and an attorney
in private practice from 1986 to 2005. She served as a credentialed
boxing judge from 2000 to 2001. Shen-Urquidez earned a Juris
Doctorate degree from Whittier Law School. This position requires
Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Shen-Urquidez
is a Republican.
All
in all, they’re not bad choices. Martha is sharp and will
be an ally for Andy Foster. Mary Lehman of Lehman Appeals in
Coronado (San Diego) is a former boxer and an attorney. The big
question is whether or not they will work with Andy Foster or
will they become… pliable… when Sacramento comes calling
on a decision and a politician at the Capitol doesn’t want
the board members to go along with what’s best for California
combat sports.
Regardless
of the new appointments, the real problem for the California
State Athletic Commission remains the stooges at the Department
of Consumer Affairs (Denise Brown, Awet Kidane, legal nitwit
Doreathea Johnson, chief athletic inspector Che Guevara) and
budgetary issues that arise every year in the California Legislature
in regards to who gets what in the Governor’s budget.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Melvin
Guillard and Mac Danzig Agree to Fight at UFC on Fox 8
UFC on Fox 8 marks the promotion’s return to Seattle, and
now the July 27 event has its first bout.
UFC officials on Wednesday announced that verbal agreements are
in place for Melvin Guillard to face Mac Danzig in a lightweight
match-up at UFC on Fox 8.
Guillard (30-12-2) has gone through a rough patch recently, winning
just one of his last five fights. He is coming off of back-to-back
losses to Jamie Varner and former training partner Donald “Cowboy”
Cerrone.
Guillard recently left the Blackzilian team in Florida, initially
intending to return to Greg Jackson’s camp. That didn’t
work out, so now Guillard is at the Grudge Training Center in
Denver.
Danzig (21-10-1) is another fighter that needs to get some momentum
going.
He is just 4-6 in the Octagon since winning TUF 6 and has alternated
between wins and losses over the past three years. Danzig is
coming off of a split decision loss to Takanori Gomi at UFC on
Fuel TV 6 in China.
With the UFC clamping down on its roster lately, there is less
and less room for error in the Octagon, putting some added pressure
on Guillard and Danzig.
UFC on Fox 8 takes place on July 27 at the KeyArena in Seattle.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Top
UFC Welterweight Contender Johny Hendricks Will Wait for Georges
St-Pierre Title Shot
UFC
welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was recently cast to
star in Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier as
villain Batroc the Leaper. The sequel to the 2011 blockbuster
Captain America: The First Avenger is expected to hit theaters
on April 4, 2014, with production wrapping up this fall.
Top
UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks would like for the
fight to happen in August, but will wait for his title shot until
St-Pierre’s return.
“If
he wants to do that, more power to him. Now I have it. Now I
know I have that fight. Nothing stands in my way between me and
GSP. That was my main concern right there, to make sure I’m
the No. 1 contender and no one can steal that spot,” said
Hendricks about the possibility of waiting until the fall or
even winter to face the champion.
“It
doesn’t bother me to know that I’d like to fight in
August, but if it’s September I’m fine with that too,”
Hendricks told Knockout Radio, an official MMAWeekly.com content
partner.
If
St-Pierre is unable to defend his title until the end of the
year, Hendricks will not accept a fight before facing the titleholder.
“I’d
say no way,” said Hendricks when asked whether he’d
take another fight if offered. “If he gets to wait, then
I want to wait for him.”
St-Pierre’s
last four fights have taken place in his home country of Canada.
Hendricks doesn’t care where the two fight as long as they
do fight.
“Hey, I do not care, you know what I mean? I don’t
care where it’s at. I just want a shot at that belt so bad
I can almost taste it,” he said. “Nothing else matters
but getting that belt.”
Hendricks
earned his title shot by defeating Carlos Condit at UFC 158:
St-Pierre vs. Diaz on March 16. In the second and third rounds,
Hendricks put his wrestling ability on display, something that
gets overlooked behind his one-punch knockout power.
St-Pierre
utilizes his wrestling ability to dominate his opponents with
top control, but Hendricks doesn’t think the champion will
be able to do that to him.
“I
wrestled Division I. I was a national champion, but here in the
MMA world people act like I don’t have wrestling,”
said Hendricks. “One thing I think I did showcase is that
my wrestling is just as strong, if not stronger, that GSP’s.”
We
won’t know for sure whose MMA wrestling is superior until
St-Pierre and Hendricks set foot in the Octagon together, but
that is no longer a question of if, but when.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
KAMAL
SHALORUS-EDUARD FOLAYANG BOUT TARGETED FOR ONE FC 9 ON MAY 31
Former
UFC lightweight Kamal Shalorus is expected to make his One Fighting
Championship debut on May 31 against Eduard Folayang at One FC
9.
Shalorus
recently announced the booking on his Facebook page, and Sherdog.com
subsequently confirmed the promotion’s planned pairing with
a One FC official. Sherdog’s source verified that the showdown
is “very likely,” though Folayang has not yet officially
accepted the bout. One FC 9 takes place at the Mall of Asia Arena
in Pasay, Philippines, and will see Honorio Banario defend his
featherweight title against Bae Young Kwon.
Shalorus,
35, received his UFC release last year following three straight
Octagon losses, falling to Jim Miller, Khabib Nurmagomedov and
Rafael dos Anjos. Prior to those setbacks, “The Prince of
Persia” had posted career mark of 7-0-2, earning three wins
under the World Extreme Cagefighting banner from November 2009
to December 2010.
Folayang,
28, has lost two of his last three after winning 11 of his first
12 bouts and capturing the Universal Reality Combat Championship
welterweight title. After posting a 1-1 record in the One FC
cage last year, the Filipino fighter was defeated in his most
recent in-cage appearance, suffering a technical knockout defeat
to Lowen Tynanes at URCC 22 this past December.
Source: Sherdog
|
Rankings:
Johny Hendricks bullies his way into Top 10 with win over Carlos
Condit
Johny Hendricks has fought his way into the Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound
rankings.
The two-time NCAA wrestling champion from Oklahoma State is making
his debut in the Top 10 after defeating Carlos Condit at UFC
158 on March 16 in a thrilling three-round match. It was the
sixth win in a row for Hendricks, during which time he has beaten
elite fighters such as Condit, Martin Kampmann, Josh Koscheck,
Jon Fitch, Mike Pierce and T.J. Waldburger.
Hendricks will have a chance to move up the rankings when he
faces No. 3 Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title sometime
later this year.
With that, let's take a look at the current rankings:
1. Anderson Silva
Points: 228 (21 of 23 first-place votes)
Affiliation: UFC (middleweight champion)
Weight class: Middleweight
Record: 31-4
Last fight: TKO1 Stephan Bonnar, Oct. 13
Previous ranking: 1
Up next: Title fight vs. Chris Weidman
2. Jon Jones
Points: 201 (2 of 23 first-place votes)
Affiliation: UFC (light heavyweight champion)
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Record: 17-1
Last fight: SUB4 Vitor Belfort, Sept. 22
Previous ranking: 2
Next: Title fight vs. Chael Sonnen
3. Georges St-Pierre
Points: 190
Affiliation: UFC (welterweight champion)
Weight class: Welterweight
Record: 24-2
Last fight: W5 Nick Diaz, March 16
Previous ranking: 3
Next: Nothing scheduled
4. Jose Aldo
Points: 158
Affiliation: UFC (featherweight champion)
Weight class: Featherweight
Record: 21-1
Last fight: W5 Frankie Edgar, Feb. 2
Previous ranking: 4
Next: Title fight vs. Anthony Pettis
5. Benson Henderson
Points: 133
Affiliation: UFC (lightweight champion)
Weight class: Lightweight
Record: 17-2
Last fight: W5 Nate Diaz, Dec. 8
Previous ranking: 5
Next: Title fight vs. Gilbert Melendez
6. Cain Velasquez
Points:102
Affiliation: UFC (heavyweight champion)
Weight class: Heavyweight
Record: 11-1
Last fight: W5 Junior dos Santos, Dec. 29
Previous ranking: 5
Next: Title fight vs. Antonio Silva
7. Demetrious Johnson
Points:83
Affiliation: UFC (flyweight champion)
Weight class: Flyweight
Record: 17-2-1
Last fight: W5 John Dodson, Jan. 26
Previous ranking: 7
Next: Injured, nothing scheduled
8. Renan Barao
Points: 60
Affiliation: UFC (interim bantamweight champion)
Weight class: Bantamweight
Record: 30-1
Last fight: SUB4 Michael McDonald, Feb. 16
Previous ranking: 10
Up next: Title fight vs. Eddie Wineland
9. Gilbert Melendez
Points:49
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Lightweight
Record: 21-2
Last fight: W5 Josh Thomson, May 19
Previous ranking: 8
Next: Title fight vs. Benson Henderson
10. Johny Hendricks
Points: 62
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class:Welterweight
Record: 15-1
Last fight: W3 Carlos Condit, March 16
Previous ranking: NR
Next: Title fight vs. Georges St-Pierre
Others receiving votes: Ronda Rousey 14; Frankie Edgar 11; Daniel
Cormier 7; Junior dos Santos 3; Anthony Pettis 2; Joseph Benavidez
1; Michael Chandler 1; Lyoto Machida 1.
Ineligible: Dominick Cruz (inactive more than 12 months).
Voting panel:Denny Burkholder, CBS Sports.com; Elias Cepeda,
Cage Potato; Steve Cofield, ESPN Radio 1100, Las Vegas; Neil
Davidson, The Canadian Press; Dave Deibert, Post Media; Dave
Doyle, MMA Fighting/Yahoo! Sports; Matt Erickson, MMA Junkie/USA
Today; Josh Gross, ESPN.com; Ariel Helwani, MMA Fighting; Adam
Hill, Las Vegas Review-Journal; Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports; Mark
La Monica, Newsday; Damon Martin, Bleacher Report; Todd Martin,
freelance; Franklin McNeil, ESPN.com; Dave Meltzer, The Wrestling
Observer/MMA Fighting; John Morgan, MMA Junkie/USA Today; Brett
Okamoto, ESPN.com; Ken Pishna, MMA Weekly; Greg Savage, Sherdog;
Mike Straka, Sirius/XM; Dann Stupp, MMA Junkie/USA Today; Jeff
Wagenheim, SI.com.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
One
FC Snaps Up UFC Vet Kamal Shalorus
UFC
and WEC veteran Kamal Shalorus is headed to the Philippines to
fight for One FC.
Shalorus
recently posted his signing to One FC on his Facebook page. MMAWeekly.com
sources have since confirmed that Shalorus is expected to fight
Eduard Folayang at One FC 9 on May 31 at SM Mall of Asia in Bay
City near Manila.
Shalorus
(7-3-2) left the UFC on a three-fight skid after having gone
3-0-1 in the WEC. He counted Bart Palaszewski among his WEC wins,
but could never get off the ground in the Octagon.
It
will have been one year since he left the UFC that Shalorus makes
his One FC debut, but the Iranian born fighter won’t be
lobbed a softball for his debut.
Folayang (12-3) is coming off of a loss in his last fight, but
is one of the top fighters coming out of the Philippines. He
is a One FC mainstay, having fought on the promotion’s inaugural
event in 2011.
Folayang
is 2-1 fighting for One FC with his only blemish being a controversial
split decision loss to Ole Laursen in a Fight of the Night effort.
He followed that up with a win over Felipe Enimoto, cementing
his position as one of the promotion’s top contenders.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Raphael
Assuncao Gets New UFC Contract
UFC
bantamweight Raphael Assuncao has a new four-fight deal with
the MMA juggernaut.
“New
UFC, 4 fight deal contract under way can’t wait to fight
again! Got some news coming up shortly!” Assuncao tweeted
on Friday.
It’s
no surprise that the promotion would want to keep Assuncao under
contract. Following a rough patch of one win amidst three defeats
in his last four bouts at featherweight, Assuncao made the drop
to bantamweight and hasn’t looked back.
The
Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has reeled off three consecutive
victories, defeating Johnny Eduardo, Issei Tamura, and Mike Easton.
Assuncao
is currently the No. 7 ranked bantamweight in the world.
He
doesn’t currently have a fight booked, but his tweet hinted
that a fight announcement is forthcoming.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Ten
Years in the Making, Ian Freeman vs. Ken Shamrock Set for July
in England
A
fight 10 years in the making is on the verge of finally happening
this summer in England. Ian Freeman and Ken Shamrock, two pioneering
figures in mixed martial arts, have agreed to fight for Ultimate
Cage Fighting Championships on July 27 in Doncaster.
“I’ve
managed to get a long awaited fight with Ken Shamrock,”
Freeman told MMAWeekly.com, confirming an earlier report by Sherdog.com
that cited the event’s promoter, David Mangham.
The
two wear originally slated to fight a decade ago in the Octagon
at UFC 43, but that fight never happened. Shamrock pulled out
of the fight in the final weeks leading up to the event, leaving
Freeman to fight Shamrock’s student, Vernon White, to a
draw.
Freeman,
in a recent interview with GrappleTalk.com, said that Shamrock
avoided another proposed fight with him several years ago under
the Cage Rage banner, and was surprised when Shamrock recently
called him out.
Neither
fighter has been active lately.
Shamrock
(28-15-2) last fought in a losing effort to Mike Bourke in a
King of the Cage event in late 2010. He’s fought 10 times
in the 10 years since pulling out of the UFC 43 bout with Freeman,
winning just three of those fights.
Freeman
(19-7-1) hasn’t fought since 2008, when he defeated Paul
Cahoon, winning the Cage Rage British light heavyweight championship.
He fought just six times after drawing with White at UFC 43,
amassing a 5-1 record during that span.
Returning
after five years out of active competition, Freeman hasn’t
yet decided if this is a comeback, but he also hasn’t declared
this to be a one-and-done opportunity either.
“I
will take one fight at a time,” he told MMAWeekly.com. “If
I feel good I will no doubt have another.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
Returns to Boston on Aug. 17 for Launch of Fox Sports 1
UFC
president Dana White said following UFC 158: St-Pierre vs. Diaz
on March 16 that the Ultimate Fighting Championship would be
returning to Boston this year, but didn’t reveal the date.
On
Friday, White made the announcement via Twitter that the promotion’s
return to Boston will take place on Aug. 17, and will coincide
with the launch of the Fox Sports 1 channel.
“We
are FINALLY going back to Boston at the TD Garden on Aug 17th
for the launch of FOX Sports 1!! We are bringing a SICK card,”
tweeted White.
The
UFC has only gone to Boston one time before in Aug. 2010 with
UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2. The event was headlined by the rematch
between then-champion Frankie Edgar and B.J. Penn.
Fox
Sports 1, converted from Speed TV, will be in 90 million homes.
The company has rights to college basketball and football, NASCAR,
soccer and UFC.
The
network is set to rival ESPN in sports coverage and Sports Center
with FOX Sports Live, a nightly sports news segment at 11 p.m.
ET.
The
Aug. 17 launch will include the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
race from Michigan International Speedway and the UFC event in
prime time.
No
fights have been announced for the Fox Sports 1 card, but more
announcements are expected in the coming days.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Junior
dos Santos and 'Big Foot' Silva have close bond, but all bets
are off if UFC title is at stake
LAS
VEGAS – It was, more or less, four years ago, that former
UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos and Antonio "Big
Foot" Silva first met.
Dos Santos strolled into a gym where Silva was preparing for
a fight. Silva was wrapping his hands before beginning training.
As he did, he was softly singing a popular Brazilian lullaby.
Junior dos Santos took plenty of punishment from Cain Velasquez
at UFC 155. (AP)
From that day forward, dos Santos has referred to Silva as "The
Lion," in homage to the opening lines of the song, "O
Leaozinho," which, roughly translated from Portuguese, goes:
I really like seeing you, little lion/Walking under the sun/I
really like you, Little Lion/To un-sadden, Little Lion, my oh
so lonely heart/
The two massive men who may have to fight each other one day
were seated across the table from each other. As they discussed
the song, they each beamed widely, clasped hands and began to
softly sing it.
They were in Las Vegas to formally announce UFC 160, which will
be held on May 25 at the MGM Grand Garden.
Silva will rematch with Cain Velasquez for the heavyweight title
in the main event, while dos Santos faces Mark Hunt in the co-main.
As close as they are, however, they will have no hesitation about
fighting each other should both win. If Silva defeats Velasquez
– which would be a massive turnaround given he was pounded
out in one round by Velasquez in a non-title bout at UFC 146
– and dos Santos gets by Hunt, they'll fight each other.
Though they are teammates and close friends, it wouldn't be a
hesitation, dos Santos said.
"For the title, we are going to fight," dos Santos
said. "We are good friends, and we are part of the same
team, but for the title, he has to think about his family and
his things and I have to think about my family. So, we'd fight."
[Also: Cagewriter gives five suggestions for the first 'TUF'
season involving women]
Teammates are often adverse to fighting in MMA, and that often
leads to matchmaking problems. When there are multiple top fighters
in the same weight class in the same gym, it creates a major
issue.
Silva, though, agreed with dos Santos. He said he wouldn't fight
his buddy in a non-title match, but said if it were for the belt,
he would do it without complaint.
"We are professionals," Silva said. "I have my
family; my life is very expensive. And after the fight, it won't
matter who wins, we're going to celebrate, because the belt will
be in Brazil."
Before that can happen, though, Silva needs to get past Velasquez,
and that will be no easy task.
When they met at UFC 146, Velasquez was coming off the only loss
of his career, a first-round knockout at the hands of dos Santos,
and was highly motivated.
He burst from the corner and was in command all the way. He caught
an early Silva kick, took him down and never let him up. He pounded
away with punches and elbows, opening a nasty gash between Silva's
eyes that took 15 stitches to close.
"Every morning I get up and look in the mirror, I'm reminded
of Cain Velasquez," Silva said. "I see this big, ugly
scar."
He joked that part of his plan in the rematch will be "no
kicks," but he clearly needs to make some sort of adjustment.
He said he was very nervous, competing in his first UFC fight,
but Velasquez's wrestling also had to be worrisome for him.
Dos Santos, who lost a one-sided five-round decision to Velasquez
at UFC 155 in December, said Silva cannot afford to let Velasquez
attack without making him pay.
"He has to put some pressure on him," dos Santos said.
"You can't wait for Cain Velasquez too much. You have to
go out there and beat him. You have to go out and put some pressure
on him [and make him back up]. I really believe that's what it
takes. We've talked about this already and I believe [Silva]
will be the next champion."
If that does happen, it could set up one of the few friend vs.
friend matches in the UFC. UFC officials do their best to accommodate
fighters who have close relationships, but it could be impossible
to do in the heavyweight division with Silva as champion.
UFC president Dana White has already said dos Santos deserves
a title shot if he beats Hunt, so it is not that much of a stretch
to think a Silva-dos Santos title match could be made sometime
in late 2013.
There would be no holding back, each man promised. Dos Santos
is known for the ferocity of his sparring sessions, and he said
a match with Silva for the title would be "like sparring,
but with the little gloves."
Regardless of who may win, they insist there will be no hard
feelings and that they will remain friends.
Who knows, they may even get together and sing "O Leaozinho"
once again.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Backstage
at the first drug test in Jiu-Jitsu during Pan 2013
Professors
requested and the IBJJF worked seriously to implant the drug
testing for the first time in Jiu-Jitsu. In partnership with
the agency United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the tests
were promoted for the first time during Pan 2013 in Irvine, Calif.
last weekend.
Because
of the contract, the Federation staff can’t talk about the
athletes selected for the urine test. However, the champions
commented on it, despite the initial strangeness.
“It
was a bit embarrassing, because of the presence of a woman there
watching you. But they are right, this is the way,” praised
Gabi Garcia, one of the athletes who was seen heading for the
test.
Other
names were the absolute champion Marcus Buchecha, Andre Galvao,
Roberto Tussa, Caio Terra, Rafa and Gui Mendes, Luiza Monteiro
and Vanessa Oliveira.
Featherweight
athlete and bronze medalist Augusto Tanquinho talked about the
draw process: “They randomly selected the categories of
black belt, not the athletes. So when we had the result of the
champions of each, they were called for the test.”
For
some athletes, the most uncomfortable part of the exam was not
being able to see some of the finals, since they were being tested.
“I
liked the initiative. I expected to be tested, but I was not
drawn this time. It is better for the competitors and clearer
to the public. In Jiu-Jitsu, nothing replaces hard work,”
praised Michael Langhi, lightweight champion.
The
USADA, which conducts tests in accordance with the international
rules of the IOC, has examined athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic
Games since 2000 in the U.S. The agency will report test results
to athletes when they are completed.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Antonio
“Bigfoot” Silva Promises Second Fight with Cain Velasquez
Will Be Much Different
When
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva steps into the cage against
UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 160 on May 25
in Las Vegas, he will be re-matching a man who – at almost
a year to the day – gave Silva the worst beating of his
eight-year career. Only this time, he knows exactly what he won’t
be doing come fight time.
“First
thing, no kicks. That is very important,” Silva said recently
during a press tour in anticipation of the Memorial Day Weekend
meeting with Velasquez.
It’s
understandable that Bigfoot doesn’t want to throw kicks
against the hulking Mexican-American. In their inaugural meeting,
it took about 30 seconds for Velasquez to grab a kick from the
Brazilian, rip him to the mat, and beat him senseless by 3:36
of the opening frame.
That
loss, on May 26, 2012, was the second consecutive loss for Silva.
He was previously knocked out by Velasquez’s teammate and
perennial contender Daniel Cormier at the Strikeforce Heavyweight
Grand Prix Semifinals in September of 2011. Since those crushing
defeats, the six-foot-four, 265-pound Brazilian behemoth has
back-to-back knockout victories over the previously undefeated
Travis Browne and a vicious “Knockout of the Night”
third-round comeback over top-ranked Dutch striker Alistair Overeem
at UFC 156 in February.
Despite
being 2-2 in his last four fights, Silva is quick to dismiss
any criticism of him earning this title shot against Velasquez.
For Bigfoot, it’s just simple math.
“I
fight two of the best guys in the weight division in the UFC,”
he stated. “Travis Browne never lost. He’s a tough
guy. And the other guys, Alistair Overeem was number two or three
in the world, and if he would have beaten me he was going to
fight for the belt.”
By
defeating the widely viewed number one contender in Overeem,
Silva dispatched of the hype-train that was “Ubereem”
and earned the respect of MMA fans across the globe. Silva says
that he never had been so enraged at a fighter’s pre-fight
trash talk, a feeling that was more than evident when Silva stood
over a lifeless Overeem, taunting the former K-1 Grand Prix Champion
at the conclusion of their scrap.
“I
said, get up! Get up! You don’t want to fight, (expletive)!”
A
truly terrifying visual to any of those who had the pleasure
(or pain) of watching that fight unfold.
Now
with a re-match looming against Velasquez, Silva faces questions
about whether or not he will be mustering the same anger that
helped fuel his comeback win against Overeem.
“Yes
(I’ll be angry),” he said. “The first reason why,
is, I want the title.
“And
the second thing, every day I get up and look in the mirror (and
see) the big cut on my face, for this, I’m very angry.”
After
giving Silva 15 stitches in the center of his face, Velasquez
went on to reclaim the heavyweight title from Silva’s countryman
and sometime training partner, Junior dos Santos, at UFC 155.
“Cigano,”
who also was in attendance on Wednesday, had some very poignant
advice for his comrade; advice that will surely be elaborated
on more as the fight draws near.
“I
think he has to put some pressure on him,” said the former
heavyweight champion. “You can’t stay waiting too much
for Cain Velasquez.
“You have to go there and beat him like this: you have to
go in there and put pressure on him. That’s my opinion.
We already talked a little bit about this and I truly believe
that he will win.”
As
the two Brazilians share a massive meal of steak and shrimp,
they go back and forth about a myriad of subjects and shared
memories. Silva listens intently to dos Santos, but he wants
to make one thing clear, although this is a new fight, he won’t
be changing his strategy when he meets Velasquez for a second
time.
“I’m
going to train the same strategy as I trained before,” said
Bigfoot. “The problem was my mind, my adrenaline. But I’m
going do the same thing. I have a lot of skills to win this fight.”
Like
many championship-level fighters, Silva realizes that your losses
are just as important as your wins if you’re going to grow
as a martial artist.
“The
first fight with Cain is very important because I learned a lot
from it,” said Silva. “[That] fight, I was very nervous
because it was my first fight in the UFC. Now I’m very,
very different. I have a good camp. I’m going to do the
same strategy, and this fight will be very different.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
162 Gains Featherweights: Frankie Edgar vs. Charles Oliveira
& Cub Swanson vs. Dennis Siver
Former
UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will face Charles Oliveira,
while Cub Swanson throws down with Dennis Siver at UFC 162 on
July 6 in Las Vegas.
UFC
officials recently announced two new featherweight bouts.
Edgar
(15-4-1) will be making his second appearance at 145 pounds after
failing to take the title from Jose Aldo at UFC 156 earlier this
year.
The
bout will mark the first time in a long time that Edgar hasn’t
fought back-to-back bouts against the same fighter. He fought
immediate rematches against B.J. Penn, Gray Maynard, and Benson
Henderson before finally moving on to Aldo.
Edgar
is on a three-fight losing streak, however, and needs a victory
in the worst way, despite losing all three by decision.
Oliveira (16-3), like Edgar, is still cutting his teeth at featherweight,
having gone 2-1 in his three trips to the Octagon at 145 pounds.
He is coming off of a knockout loss to Swanson.
While
Edgar and Oliveira are trying to right their ships, Swanson and
Siver are both riding high, hoping their fight that was originally
slated for UFC on Fuel TV 7 will finally make it to the Octagon.
Siver withdrew from the February match-up for undisclosed reasons.
Swanson
(19-5) hasn’t lost since late 2011, winning his last four
fights. He won a decision over Dustin Poirier in his most recent
outing after knocking out George Roop, Ross Pearson and Oliveira.
Siver
(21-8) made the drop to featherweight last year after losing
to Donald Cerrone in a lightweight bout to close out 2011. He
has since made two trips to the Octagon at 145 pounds, defeating
Diego Nunes and Nam Phan.
UFC
middleweight champion Anderson Silva headlines UFC 162, putting
his belt on the line against Chris Weidman at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Georges
St. Pierre could fight Johny Hendricks next, but Anderson Silva
is also a possibility, according to trainer Firas Zahabi.
“That’s
something that after he comes back from vacation we’re going
to have to sit down and talk about, Georges and me and his management,”
Zahabi told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Cheap Seats”
show on Tuesday. “It’s not a one-sided decision. The
UFC is going to have to obviously tell us what they want to do.
I think Georges would do either fight, to be honest with you.”
Both
bouts intrigue Zahabi, though he does think a welterweight title
defense against Hendricks would have to precede a bout against
Silva if it’s going to happen.
“If
he fights Hendricks, I think [St. Pierre] could fight for longer,”
Zahabi said. “He could have more fights after that. If he
fights Anderson Silva, I could really see that being his last
fight. He’ll retire after that because there won’t
be a bigger fight for him to do, I think, anymore in his career.
… Win or lose, I think he’ll probably end on that note,
on Anderson Silva. Maybe that’s why it’s been pushed
back a little bit, but I think when it does happen, it’ll
be the last one because once he goes up a weight class, he’s
never coming back down.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Bellator
94 Results: Emanuel Newton and David Rickels Capture Tournament
Titles
Emanuel
Newton and David Rickels captured tournament titles at Bellator
94 on Thursday at the University of South Florid Sun Dome in
Tampa.
In
the Light Heavyweight Tournament Final, Emanuel Newton defeated
Mikhail Zayats by unanimous decision.
It
was a back and forth bout that mostly played out on its feet.
Newton won the opening round with takedowns and top control.
Zayats came back in the second round with more effective striking.
Heading into the final stanza, it was anyone’s fight.
The
most significant offense mounted in the fight came in the third
round. Newton lands a right hand that sent Zayats backward and
onto the canvas. Zayats quickly got back to his feet, but was
unable to close the distance enough to overcome the knockdown.
All three judges scored the fight 29-28 for Newton.
“Mikhail
is tough as balls. He brought it, caught me with a couple, cut
me. He was hard to takedown, good scrambling, good punching,”
said Newton following the fight. “I knew if I pushed the
pace that he’d get tired and I would eventually get the
takedowns and finish it on the ground.”
With
the win, Netwon bagged a $100,000 payday and earned a rematch
with Bellator MMA Light Heavyweight Champion Attila Vegh. The
two first fought at Bellator 71 in the semifinals of the Bellator
2012 Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament. Vegh defeated
Newton by split decision that night in a fight many felt Newton
won. He now has the opportunity to avenge that loss and gain
a belt.
In
the co-main event David Rickels defeated Saad Award in controversial
fashion to capture the Bellator MMA Lightweight Tournament title.
Award
was utilizing a balanced attack of striking and takedowns to
control the fight. In the closing seconds of the opening round,
Award and Rickels engaged in an exchange. A right hook by Rickels
hurt Award, who immediately tried to go for a takedown. As he
did, the bell sounded signifying the end of the round and Award
fell to the canvas, rolled over and laid there. The referee stopped
the fight between rounds after he assessed that Award was out.
A fighter cannot be saved by the bell.
“It
feels amazing. I really wanted to put an exclamation mark on
the way I went out in this tournament,” said Rickels following
the tournament championship win. “I knew he’d want
to trade with me. We ended up doing a little wrestling, but that
exchange in the corner, that’s what I wanted. I got to land
that right hand and I guess I do have some power.”
Rickels
banked $100,000 and earned a title shot against Bellator MMA
lightweight titleholder Michael Chandler.
“He said a little something about how I was lacking a little
bit of power. I don’t know, I think I’ve got a little
bit still,” he said about Chandler.
Luis
Melo extended his win streak to six with a submission win over
Trey Houston in a welterweight qualifier bout. Melo earned a
place in next season’s Bellator MMA 170-pound Tournament.
Rodrigo
Lima defeated Ronnie Mann in a bantamweight qualifier bout, ruining
Mann’s 135-pound debut. The unanimous decision win earned
Lima a slot in next season’s Bellator MMA Bantamweight Tournament.
Bellator
MMA 94 Results:
-Emanuel
Newton def. Mikhail Zayats by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28,
29-28)
-David “Caveman” Rickels def. Saad Award by TKO at
5:00, R1
-Luis Melo def. Trey Houston by submission (arm-triangle choke)
at 1:09, R3|
-Rodrigo Lima def. Ronnie Mann by unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)
-Julien Williams def. Kenny Moss by submission (guillotine choke)
at 3:19, R1
-Augusto Sakai def. Rob Horton by TKO at 4:01, R2
-Jessica Aguilar def. Patricia Vidonic by split decision (29-28,
28-29, 29-28)
-Joe Taimanglo def. Ronnie Rogers by submission (north-south
choke) at :33, R2
-Edson Berto def. Bruno Carvalho by submission (heel hook) at
1:27, R1
-Tony Fryklund vs. Patrick Cenoble fought to a draw (29-27, 27-29,
28-28)
-Felice Herrig def. Heather Clark by split decision (28-29, 29-28,
29-28)
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on Fuel TV 9 Update: Alexander Gustafsson Cut Spells Demise of
Main Event
Initial
reports by Sweden’s SVT Sport and MMA news site MMANYTT.se
said that a cut over Alexander Gustafsson’s eye put Saturday’s
UFC on Fuel TV 9 match-up with Gegard Mousasi in jeopardy.
A follow-up report by MMANYTT.se, however, has all but assured
that the fight will not happen.
Swedish MMA Federation president Gorge Sallfeldt told MMANYTT.se
that three doctors, one in person and two examining photos, have
determined that the cut Gustafsson suffered in one of his final
sparring sessions will take weeks to heal.
Sallfeldt added that, even if the cut were to heal by Friday,
letting someone go into a fight “with heavy scar tissue
would not be an option.”
“It is very difficult to see that this will be medically
approved on Friday,” said Sallfeldt, adding that Gustafsson
wanted to go ahead with the fight, but “this is a medical
decision and not up to Alexander himself.”
The bigger question now is how does the UFC handle the situation?
Gustafsson is the hometown hero in Stockholm, where the fight
was to have taken place, and the UFC on Fuel TV 9 fight card
itself is lacking in other bouts that are generally considered
headline worthy.
With less than a week to go until fight time, it could also prove
difficult to find a replacement fighter that is prepared and
has the necessary documents in place to travel to Sweden and
keep Mousasi on the card.
UFC officials had still not commented on the situation at the
time of the latest updates from the Swedish MMA Federation.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Lessons
from Canuto, the one who topped Benson Henderson in Pan 2013
In
the UFC, Benson Henderson had six fights and never lost. In MMA,
the current lightweight champion has not known what a defeat
means since 2010. In Jiu-Jitsu, however, Bendo found a worthy
opponent last Sunday , in Pan IBJJF, in Irvine, Calif.
The
ace from Arizona won his first two fights, but his rise was stopped
in the third when Jaime Canuto (GFTeam) didn’t get intimidated
by the star and imposed a ruthless 8-0, in a middleweight combat.
Excited
about his deed, the student of the black belt Júio Cesar
in Rio went ahead and defeated the UFC champion. Then it got
difficult to maintain humility, but he also managed to tame it
as well.
“It
was a good match. To be honest, I haven’t planned any strategies
for him. My training partners and Theodoro Canal and Victor Silverio
told me to stay aware of his takedowns, a strength of Ben. And
they told me to get into his guard all the time,” said Canuto,
27, in conversation with GRACIEMAG.
“I
had no moments of calm in the fight with him, despite the score,”
he praised. “I know he is very dangerous and has an infinite
amont of energy. So I was very concentrated until time ran out,”
said Jaime.
The
middleweight champion commented about his training in Colorado,
at Amal Easton’s gym:
“I
was at Easton gym for a month and a half, training with my big
brother Jake Mackenzie. I had five fights, one harder than the
other. Although I hurt myself in the second fight, I think I
fought a good championship. But I know I have to get better,”
he said. “I took as a lesson the fact that I still need
to improve a lot to get to my ultimate goal, which is the World
Championship. To be honest, I haven’t stopped to think about
this victory over Ben. I just know that I am very happy with
my title and well focused for my next competition,” concluded
the GFTeam ace
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Barb
Honchak Poised to Capture Invicta FC Flyweight Championship
One
of the fighters who has made the most of her time in Invicta
FC is flyweight title contender Barb “Little Warrior”
Honchak.
Two
wins in two fights for the promotion has put her on a six-fight
winning streak and poised to take the promotion’s first
125-pound championship at Invicta FC 5 on April 5 show in Kansas
City.
“I
felt really good with the first two fights in Invicta,”
said Honchak. “I signed with Invicta shortly after I changed
camps to Miletich Fighting Systems, so the first fight with Invicta
there was a lot of nerves. The second fight, I had gotten used
to my camp by then and went in feeling really great and confident.
“For
both fights I feel like I was very well prepared. There were
things I could have done better in both fights, but for the most
part they went pretty much as planned.”
Heading
into 2013, Honchack tried to eschew any thoughts of a larger
goal, but instead focused on her upcoming fight with veteran
Vanessa Porto.
“Sometimes
there are whispers of the next fight and what it’s going
to be, but you don’t really ever know, so really I focus
fight-by-fight,” said Honchack. “My goal for this year
is to win that title, and that’s all I’ve really been
tunnel-visioned on since my last fight.”
When
it comes to facing Porto for the featherweight championship,
Honchack may be the less experienced of the two fighters, but
told MMAWeekly.com that she’s confident her abilities will
trump her opponent at every turn.
“Vanessa
is very well-rounded, but I am too,” said Honchak. “She
has serious power with her stand-up and is very good on the ground,
but I think I’m going to be better than her in all the positions.
“I think we’re both going to come out really wanting
this title, and I do expect a battle, but I believe I will be
coming out on top in this fight.”
While
she initially felt pressure when she made her debut for Invicta
last year, Honchak is instead now more amped than anything for
her championship fight.
“I
kinda knew at the last Invicta that because of the two 125-pound
fights on the card that there were whispers that whoever won
those fights would be the contenders for the title,” she
said. “So there was pressure on that fight to get the contender’s
spot, but for this one I’m excited.
“I’m
excited to go out there and perform and bring home that title.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
After
a Year Off, Eddie Ng Ready for One FC Return
Eddie
Ng is one of the fastest rising lightweight stars on the Asian
mixed martial arts scene. He made an immediate impact upon his
arrival to One FC, finishing his first two opponents.
He
returns to the cage at One FC 8, squaring up with French fighter
Arnaud Lepont on April 5 in Singapore.
Ng
recently took a few minutes out of his busy training schedule
to answer a few questions with MMAWeekly.com.
MMAWeekly.com:
Being Chinese, but living in England, you were a victim of bullying
growing up. How did that shape who you are today?
Eddie
Ng: Growing up I experienced name calling and teasing about being
Chinese on an almost daily basis. I was shoved and hit by older
kids and even experienced people spitting in my face! Strangely
enough, no matter how difficult it was growing up, I am thankful
for each experience and I would not change it even if I was given
the ability to go back in time and do so.
Past
experiences, whether they are good or bad, they have all helped
to shape us as the individuals that we are right now in this
moment of time. Without experiencing bullying and racism, I don’t
think that I would have found so much solace when I watched Bruce
Lee’s movie “Way of The Dragon.” Bruce Lee was
an incredible Martial Artist and that is what people saw when
they watched his movies, not that he was Chinese. That was ultimately
what inspired me to learn Martial Arts, not for self-defense
against bullies, but because I felt that if I studied Martial
Arts, then maybe people would respect me just like they did with
Bruce Lee and the bullying would eventually stop.
Looking
back I also know that I made several mistakes with the way that
I dealt with the bullying/racism and I can use my past mistakes
to help those that are in a similar situation today because unfortunately
bullying and racism still exist today.
MMAWekly.com:
You have been out of action for over a year. How is the shoulder
now?
Eddie
Ng: My shoulder now is just like it was before the injury. The
road to recovery was long and more mentally challenging than
physical. Physical recovery was just a matter of showing up to
my physical therapy and performing the exercises and workouts
that he prescribed. Mentally was much more difficult. I returned
to training after five months of solid rehab. I was initially
very scared to perform any techniques that involved the use of
my shoulder.
My
coaches and teammates at Evolve MMA played a crucial role in
me overcoming that mental barrier, they never rushed me back
to training and when I did, they were very patient working with
me and around my concerns.
MMAWeekly.com:
Are you worried at all about ring rust heading into this fight?
Eddie
Ng: In the past, I have been used to fighting with a year in
between fights, so although ring rust is a legitimate concern,
I do not think it will affect me much as it has been the “normal”
for me to fight with a long break in between fights. Now if I
was a fighter that was used to competing every few months, then
for sure ring rust would have been on the back of my mind somewhere.
MMAWeekly.com:
You’re fighting Arnaud Lepont, a Frenchman with a 9-2 record.
What do you know about your opponent?
Eddie
Ng: I have seen Arnaud fight comfortably both on his feet and
on the ground. He is a well-rounded fighter with solid all-round
skills, however, I think it is his attitude that he brings to
each fight that poses the biggest threat. Arnaud has a “never
say die” attitude and has shown in previous fights that
is more than capable of finishing the fight up until the last
minute of the final round, in a fight that he is losing.
If
there is any small mistake, Arnaud will jump all over it. I must
make sure that I never let my guard down throughout the entire
fight because it only takes one small slip up with him to make
it a bad night for me.
MMAWeekly.com:
Shinya Aoki fights for the title on the card. How much of an
advantage is it to have someone in your training camp that is
fighting on the same card in the same weight class to work with
for a fight?
Eddie
Ng: Having a fighter in the same weight class share the same
card as you is a good little bonus, but I honestly don’t
feel it has been that important. I say this because of my coaches
and teammates on the Evolve Fight Team.
Regardless
of whether any of us have a fight or not, the Evolve Fight Team
are training together on a daily basis two times a day, five
days a week. Training in the off season when there is no scheduled
fight is how you improve yourself as a fighter and expand on
your skill set. Only training for a fight may get you fit for
the fight, but it is difficult to learn new techniques and go
into the fight with new tools added to the tool box. Fighting
without actually improving can only get you so far in MMA. In
order to continually progress in MMA, it is crucial to always
upgrade your skills and constantly strive to be a better version
of yourself.
MMAWeekly.com:
All of your wins have come in the first round and your last three
opponents were finished in less than a minute. How much of your
skill set have you not been able to show?
Eddie
Ng: I joined Evolve MMA in August 2011. I train daily with Muay
Thai, boxing, MMA, wrestling and BJJ World Champions such as
Shinya Aoki, Rafael Dos Anjos, Namsaknoi Yudthagarngamtorn, Heath
Sims, etc. I know that my skill set has improved exponentially
by training with the best coaches and teammates in the world.
My last few fights have ended quickly and I do have mixed feelings
about it. On one side of the spectrum, fighters do not get to
see what my other skill set is like, so it makes it more difficult
for future opponents to plan the correct strategy against me.
On the other side, I feel that ring time and experience is very
important to a fighter and finishing fights quickly just does
not allow for that opportunity.
MMAWeekly.com:
You’ve enjoyed a quick rise in popularity, has becoming
a bit of a celebrity changed you at all?
Eddie
Ng: I honestly do not consider myself as a celebrity of any sort.
Maybe my image has changed in the eyes of others with me doing
more media interviews, photo shoots, etc. But I know who I am
and I know that I will always stay truthful to my character.
I will always be the same shy person that watches anime, plays
video games and loves to eat!
MMAWeekly.com:
Do you have a prediction for the fight?
Eddie
Ng: Win, lose or draw, this is going to be one of the most exciting
fights in ONE Fighting Championship history!
Source: MMA Weekly
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