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2013
November
Aloha
State Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
August
Maui
Open Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(tba)
June
State
of Hawaii Championship
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
6/6-9/13
World
BJJ Championships
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, University of California at Long Beach)
6/8/13
King of the Cage
(MMA)
(Maui)
5/25-26/13
NAGA:
Pacific Grappling Championships
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Radford H.S. Gym)
5/4/13
Mad Skillz
(Kickboxing, Triple Threat)
(Waipahu Filcom)
4/27/13
Kickboxing
(Aloha Tower)
4/13/13
Hawaiian
Open Championship
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
Denny Prokopos
Eddie Bravo Black Belt Seminar
9AM-11AM
$50
@ O2 Martial Arts Academy
3/23/13
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
3/20-24/13
Pan
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(Irvine, CA)
3/20/13
David Kama Seminar
Rickson Gracie Black Belt
8-10PM
$50
@ O2 Martial Arts Academy
2/23/13
Got Skills
(MMA, Kickboxing, Triple Threat)
(Waipahu Filcom)
2/16/13
Mayhem At The Mansion
Kauai Cage Match 14
(MMA)
(Kilohana Carriage House, Lihue, Kauai)
Boxing Event
(Boxing)
(Palolo Gym District Park Gym)
Uncle Frank Ordonez’s Birthday Tournament
(Palama Settlement Gym)
(Grappling, Sport-Pankration and Continuous sparring)
2/3/13
Diego Moraes Semainr
(BJJ)
(O2MAA)
2/2/13
World
Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship: Hawaii Trials
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(McKinley H.S. Gym)
2/1/13
IBJJF Referee Clinic
(O2MAA)
1/19/13
Destiny
Na Koa 2
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
1/12/13
Reuben "Cobrinha" Charles Seminar
4-7PM
(Ku Lokahi Wrestling Club)
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April
2013 News Part 3
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Georges
St-Pierre All But Closes the Door on Anderson Silva Superfight
by Jeff
Cain
The
idea of UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre moving up
a division to face middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva in
a superfight has been kicked around for years. It’s a promotional
dream, but St-Pierre on Tuesday all but closed the door on the
possibility of fighting Silva… at least in the near term.
The
31-year-old Canadian appeared on UFC commentator Joe Rogan’s
latest podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, and said he’d
likely face Johny Hendricks next.
St-Pierre
had cleared out the 170-pound division before suffering an ACL
injury that required surgery and extensive rehabilitation while
preparing to face Nick Diaz at UFC 143. The knee injury sidelined
the champion for 19 months, and new contenders emerged in his
absence.
“I
need to do stuff in my division before I take (a superfight)
because it has moved now,” said St-Pierre.
If
he were to accept a fight with Silva at middleweight, he’d
be at a considerable size disadvantage.
“Anderson
Silva is very big. He’s 230 pounds. He’s a very big
guy, walking around very big and I’m 190 pounds. It’s
a lot of weight difference. If this fight happens one day, we’re
going to have to decide what weight class and everything,”
he said.
“I
don’t do a lot of cutting. It would be easier for me to
go fight at 155 than fighting at 185. I would be more at my weight
naturally. There’s guys at 155 that walk around 190 like
me,” said St-Pierre. “They think I’m big because
I have a large frame, but I’m not a big guy. I’m not
thick.”
Silva
has competed as low as 168 pounds in Japan, but that was more
than a decade ago. He fought in Rumble on the Rock at 175 pounds
in 2006 and has indicated that he thinks he can make 170.
“If
he wants to make 170, I weigh 170, and he can (come down to)
170, that’s fine,” said St-Pierre.
Silva
is scheduled to face Chris Weidman at UFC 162 on July 6. Johnny
Hendricks solidified himself as the top contender in the welterweight
division by defeated Carlos Condit at UFC 158 on March 16.
When
asked who he expects to face next, St-Pierre responded, “We’ll
see. (Silva) is fighting Weidman and Hendricks is freaking out.
He wants to fight me. We’ll see what’s going to happen
in the future… probably Hendricks.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Shogun
Rua Parts with Coach Andre Dida, Assembles New Team Ahead of
UFC 161
By Gleidson
Venga
Former
light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will
work with a new team as he trains to rematch Antonio Rogerio
Nogueira on June 15 at UFC 161.
Leading
the squad will be head coach Glaube Feitosa, an accomplished
Kyokushin karateka and former K-1 World Grand Prix finalist.
“Glaube
is an excellent teacher,” Rua told Sherdog.com this week.
“He can convey information very clearly, and he’s already
seen my game. We have a very good sintony. I already worked with
him and he’s always been very good, so the expectations
are the best possible with my new coach.”
The
fighter noted that he parted ways amicably with longtime friend
and former head coach Andre “Dida” Amado.
Rua’s
investments for his upcoming fight didn’t stop with Feitosa.
Together with managers Leonardo Salomao and Lucas Pires, the
31-year-old selected experienced names from all aspects of the
sport to join him in training camp, which will be held at Rua’s
Universidade da Luta (UDL) in Curitiba, Parana. Among those working
with Shogun will be Roberto “Gordo” Correa (jiu-jitsu),
Jacob Harman, Ken Jackson and Mike Jackson (wrestling), and Daniel
Abdul and Ondrej Hutnik (muay Thai). Rua’s sparring partner
will be former UFC light heavyweight Luiz Cane, who faced Nogueira
in November 2009.
“We
had already set up the final stretch of training camp before
Dida left, then we just changed the head coach,” explained
Salomao. “We’ll rely on the work of Glaube to pass
along his fight knowledge. The other coaches will come to Curitiba
in early May, and the final preparation will be intense. Shogun
will be in top shape to battle on June 15, just wait.”
Between
February and March, Rua held a training camp in the U.S., where
he polished his boxing skills with the help of renowned trainer
Freddie Roach. While in the states, he also absorbed some American
wrestling technique with Harman. He’ll continue to sharpen
his wrestling with the brothers Jackson, who also coach wrestling
at Cristiano Marcello’s CM System gym.
“I
made the most of my training in the United States,” Shogun
said. “I’m always evolving, and I’ll repeat these
experiences whenever possible. Every fight, I try to be a better
fighter, and that’s exactly what will happen in June.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Florida
boxing commission/DBPR lawyer arrested in child sex sting
By Zach
Arnold
The
Department of Business & Professional Regulations, the government
entity that controls Florida’s boxing commission, has driven
the FBC into the ground with horrible hirings & awful political
decisions. Tom Molloy, whose claim to fame was getting beat up
by Tony Danza in a boxing ring, found himself fired after a state
auditor essentially accused him of fraud, negligence, and cooking
the accounting books. Of course, you have to have actual accounting
books to cook in the first place and the auditor claimed Molloy
only had one ticket/event manifest out of 51 shows in a fiscal
year. Subsequently, the jackass was fired. A few weeks ago, he
was arrested for domestic battery and had his mugshot plastered
over Tallahassee local media outlets. Molloy’s wife, Jami
Alise McClellan Molloy, and Molloy’s assistant Christa Patterson
still have their jobs ta DBPR and are politically protected despite
their close ties to Tom Molloy.
I
guess corruption is OK… but just don’t get busted in
an internet child sex sting if you want to keep your job.
Eric
Hurst, a top DBPR attorney since 1991, found himself on the wrong
side of the law last week when this happened: Tallahassee Police
Department arrests 20 in child sex sting. The Chris Hansen-style
operation was conducted over a period of five days and netted
one big fish.
“Most
of the men arrested are from Tallahassee.
Among
them: Eric Hurst, an attorney with the Department of Business
and Professional Regulation, and Christopher Harris a reserve
deputy with the leon county sheriff’s office.
Both
men have already been fired.”
To
WCTV’s credit, they listed him as being associated with
the DBPR. In other local media, he’s listed for another
kind of association — and one that made him well-liked in
the community.
Eric
Hurst, the former president of Theater a La Carte, was among
those arrested. Hurst resigned according to the company’s
website. Remaining productions of Avenue Q have been canceled
for the rest of the year.
Theatre
a La Carte released the following statement on their web site:
“The
Board of Directors of Theatre A La Carte accepted the resignation
of Eric Hurst as President, effective April 17, 2013. Vice President
Chris Gorsuch has assumed the duties as President. Announcements
regarding future productions of Theatre A La Carte will be forthcoming.”
The
contact information for Eric Hurst on that web site was listed
publicly but it is no longer on the site, to my knowledge. His
LinkedIn page is also down, but here’s a screen capture
for you:
On
Theatre A La Carte’s Facebook page, there are pictures of
Hurst involved in various activities. Including this picture
(made available publicly on their page):
A
cursory review of past Florida Boxing Commission meetings under
the reign of Tom Molloy produces Eric Hurst’s name on multiple
occasions. He’s been labeled as a chief prosecuting attorney
on certain occasions and also as Assistant General Counsel.
You
can now label him unemployed & arrested, just like Tom Molloy.
Why
you should care
Whenever
there is bad officiating or judging on a boxing or MMA event,
the fans cry foul and claim that promoters have put the fix in
or that the athletic commissions are corrupt and incompetent.
The reality is that the athletic commissions are simply puppets
for large government bureaucracies full of individuals who have
no experience in the combat sports world. These often-faceless
bureaucrats make political & legal decisions that directly
impacts the quality of regulation that you see at fight events.
However, fans don’t have the interest or the patience to
connect the dots and investigate who is really pulling the strings.
This
is why we focus on what we focus on. It’s important to understand
some of the inside baseball in regards to regulation in states
like California, Nevada, Texas, and Florida. There’s a reason
the UFC rarely goes to Texas and won’t go to Florida. If
the regulators aren’t put in the proper positions to do
their job right, more than likely the reason is either due to
corruption or incompetence. As with all political bodies, the
fish rots from the head. The Department of Consumer Affairs is
the reason why regulation in California is so schizophrenic and
the Department of Business and Professional Regulations in Florida
is the reason why the FBC is beyond repair. It’s individuals
like Tom Molloy & Eric Hurst that have stuck their noses
into the business of those in the combat sports world. It’s
a good example as to why Florida’s untapped potential as
a major regional player in combat sports remains untapped. Why
deal with Florida’s politics when you can run events in
Tennessee under the guidance of Jeff Mullen?
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Dana
White: Still-rehabbing Dominick Cruz will not be stripped of
title
By Mike
Chiappetta
NEW
YORK - When we last heard from UFC president Dana White about
the status of his injured bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz,
White was unsure of Cruz's future, and if he would hold on to
the belt or be stripped due to inactivity.
At
the time, White said he would have to sit down and speak to Cruz
about his recovery and return. Well, that conversation has taken
place, and suffice it to say, it's a good outcome for Cruz. The
champion will keep his hard-earned belt.
"We
had a great conversation with Dominick," White said on Thursday
from Madison Square Garden, where the organization held a press
event to publicize this weekend's UFC 159. "He's good, he's
feeling healthy. He's training again. He's going to keep his
title and when he comes back, he'll defend it.
White
could not offer any timetable on a timeline for Cruz to return
to the octagon, except to say, "When he calls me and says
he's ready."
The
28-year-old Cruz has not fought since Oct. 2011, when he retained
the belt in a decision victory over Demetrious Johnson, his fourth
defense of the title he won and brought over from the folded
WEC.
The
time since that matchup with Johnsons has been plagued by injury.
Cruz tore the ACL in his left knee in May 2012, and then suffered
a setback in December while training, leading to a second surgery
to address the problem.
Meanwhile,
Renan Barao has stepped into the void as the division's interim
champ, capturing that belt with a decision over Urijah Faber
in July 2012, and then defending it with a fourth-round submission
win against Michael McDonald. Barao will look to hold on to it
for a future unification match but first will have to get past
Eddie Wineland at June's UFC 161.
For
now, it appears Barao's route to the undisputed belt will go
through Cruz. That is, unless the unthinkable happens.
"If
he gets hurt again, then we'd have to say [he's stripped],"
White said.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Damien
Brown Credits Those Around Him Heading into Legend FC 11 Fight
by Mick
Hammond
When
looking at Australian lightweight Damien Brown’s career,
it would be easy to compare it to the ocean tide. It began with
high tide, winning his first six pro fights; followed by low
tide, losing his next three fights; to being followed up by high
tide again, currently on a three-fight winning streak.
Brown
credits those around him for getting him through the rough times
and back on track.
“I
have a fantastic team of coaches and training partners and I
never felt unready for any of those fights,” he said. “I
always came well prepared and conditioned, however, I lost to
a quick TKO in one and the other two were very good, advanced
BJJ techniques.
“I
was winning the fights until I got caught, so I guess my confidence
wasn’t down because I knew I was ready and winning, but
just got unlucky. My team always backed me and I just pushed
through.”
During
his current winning streak, Brown made a successful debut in
China’s Legend FC, and is once again being asked to return
to the promotion for their April 27 card in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
against up-and-coming Japanese Shooto star Yasuke Kasuya.
“I
think this is a very even and solid match-up for me,” said
Brown. “I’m confident I can win. I just need to control
the fight and I think I can win it on my feet or in the wrestle.
“I
like this fight and have been excited about it since first being
told my opponent.”
This
past February, Brown defeated Rob Hill, who had previously defeated
Kasuya.
When
asked what he thought about beating a fighter who had won against
his upcoming opponent, Brown said, “He dominated Rob for
most of the round before a simple mistake cost him the fight.
It’s good to know he’s beatable and I believe I got
the right game to beat him.”
A
win over Kasuya could be a big boost in helping Brown gain international
exposure and take another step closer towards obtaining a championship,
both of which are part of his game plan for the remainder of
the year.
“For
2013, I just want to take it one fight at a time,” he said.
“I’m planning a trip to Denver, Colo., in the U.S.
to train and I want to increase the winning streak I’ve
got going.
“I’d
like to have my shot at the title by the year’s end. It
doesn’t matter what anyone thinks in life, if you want it,
go after it.”
Brown
obviously puts a lot of importance on those around him, and had
nothing but praise for his coaches and the sponsors that have
supported him.
“I’d
like to thank my coaches Dan Higgins, Adrian Pang and Steve Compton.
Thanks to Integrated MMA and my training partners; my sponsors
Temper Fightwear, Prodigy fit, Australian Sports Nutrition, Rocktape
Australia, Again Faster and MMA apparel Australia.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Anthony
Pettis 'wasn't that impressed' with UFC champ Benson Henderson
by Steven
Marrocco
NEW
YORK – If he had it his way, Anthony Pettis would swoop
down to the featherweight division, steal Jose Aldo's belt, and
then return to lightweight to take Benson Henderson's title.
"I'm
moving down for Jose Aldo, really," Pettis said. "There's
nobody (else) in 145 that intrigues me."
Pettis
(16-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) isn't calling the shots, however. He chose
not to wait for a rematch with current champ Henderson and opted
to shed pounds for a meeting with Aldo (22-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), which
takes place at UFC 163 in August in Rio de Janeiro.
Now,
as a condition of moving down, he must defend his belt "a
couple of times" if victorious. Even though he'd like to
fight Henderson after Aldo, he must wait.
Thankfully,
he's used to that.
"I'm
already getting a fight with Aldo, man," Pettis said. "I
don't want to push it too much."
Still,
after watching Henderson defend his title against Gilbert Melendez
at this past Saturday's UFC on FOX 7 event, Pettis didn't sound
so sure he would have made the decision to go to featherweight.
"That's
hard to call," he said with a smile.
It
was a call he made on a whim, when he texted UFC President Dana
White after Aldo's decision win over Edgar at UFC 156 in February.
He was surprised when White jumped at the opportunity to put
the fight together.
Pettis
hosted an event at a club in Las Vegas when he saw Henderson
vs. Melendez, and the champion's performance, which resulted
in a narrow split-decision win, reinforced his belief that he
could take the lightweight belt.
"I
just wasn't that impressed, man," he said. "It was
another close decision. I think Henderson's last finish was (Donald)
'Cowboy' (Cerrone) in the WEC. For me, (he's) a great fighter,
but I feel like I've got what it takes to beat this guy."
Henderson
now has won seven straight decisions since transitioning from
the now-defunct WEC to the UFC. That's includes three defenses
of the lightweight belt he earned by outpointing Edgar at UFC
144.
Pettis
attributed Henderson's remarkable knack for winning rounds not
to fighting, but to behavior between rounds.
"I
think it's his intensity," Pettis said. "In between
rounds, he's hyping everybody up, looking like he's ready to
go. But when it actually comes down to it, he's barely landing
the hard punches. He's barely landing any kicks. He's doing well
in the scrambles.
"Then
you've got to take into account that Gilbert is one of the best
lightweights in the world. It's hard for me to watch that and
say, 'It was a close fight, because they're both good.' I come
in to finish my fights, and I've proven it in my last two fights,
and I can't wait to do it again."
For
now, though, Pettis is excited to win another belt. Other intriguing
opponents are bound to arise.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Andy
Foster’s make-or-break vision for the California State Athletic
Commission
By Zach
Arnold
Since
Andy Foster’s arrival on the scene as the new Executive
Officer of the California State Athletic Commission, two factors
have been very clear when it comes to the job security of officials
working for the commission: If you are a full-time state employee
and you possess zero fighting or training experience, your days
are numbered.
Real
fighting experience trumps all. It surpasses any conflict-of-interest
scenarios. It surpasses those officials who may be okay at the
job but don’t have an extensive background in boxing or
MMA. In many respects, this mindset by Andy Foster is similar
to an attitude that you see with athletes who question members
of the press who criticize them for bad play. It’s usually
along the lines of ‘you haven’t played before, so how
you are qualified to rip into my performance?’ It’s
really no different in this scenario. The Executive Officer believes
that you have to have an actual background as a fighter to truly
understand what you are seeing in front of you when you are judging
or officiating a fight. The same with the athletic inspectors
supervising fighters at the show.
And
if you don’t have experience as a fighter, then experience
in law enforcement will do. If you don’t fall into that
category, the job security isn’t there. Whether you disagree
with this all-or-nothing philosophy, and many people vehemently
do, it is going to be fully implemented.
I
think it is instructive to take a look at some of the quotes
over the last couple of days from Andy Foster. First, his comments
to MMA Junkie:
“I’m
picking people who know what they’re looking at,” Foster
today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I will not
pick state workers again to judge these fights in California.
I had two brown belts and a purple belt judging a world title
fight, and they all have striking experience. You can’t
ask for anything better than that.”
“It’s
more important for me to get the score right than to hire some
state worker and get the score wrong,” Foster said. “We
have a problem with incompetence in this sport, and when you
hear people say, ‘We need to use fighters; we need to use
people that train.’ Well, if we do that, they’re going
to trace back in some respect. You can make a connection anywhere.”
What
stands out here is the immediate connection between being incompetent
and being a full-time state worker. When it comes to the officials
(outside of the athletic inspectors), they are licensees. They
are paid a fee to work a show. So, money isn’t as big of
an issue on that front as it would be for the inspectors. Which
gets us to the second point, which is that those who have fighting
experience are viewed as being the most qualified & competent
to do the job.
The
issue of conflict of interest. Andy Foster says that it is hard
to avoid conflict of interests when it comes to using officials
who have a fighting background. He has to a point… to a
degree. Yes, the pool of individuals to pick from is smaller
than boxing. However, there are still plenty of qualified individuals
who can work shows who don’t have any ties to fighters or
possess any sort of conflict of interests.
The
issue of conflict of interests has bubbled amongst the officials
in California for a while now. It’s a hot-button topic.
For example, there are two current athletic inspectors who are
attracting heat behind the scenes due to COI issues. First, there
is Rose Saavedra. She works for Dr. Richard Gluckman, a Southern
California doctor who many fighters go to as a one-shop doctor
to get all of their medical exams done in order to meet their
requirements with CSAC. We wrote about this topic on January
10th:
The
complaints being voiced about Saavedra getting booked as a show
inspector has to do with potential conflict-of-interest issues
since the inspectors are in charge of the health & safety
of fighters. If a person close to a well-known doctor who is
doing the medical testing of fighters is acting an inspector,
you can understand why there is some scrutiny & concern being
voiced.
It
also doesn’t help that some inspectors are alleging that
she’s handing out Dr. Gluckman business cards to individuals
at shows. It is a conflict of interest that goes right to the
core of ethics regarding the health & safety of the fighters.
Second,
there is new athletic inspector Gene Fields. He has the Gene
Fields Kickboxing Academy/Team Voodoo in Turlock. There are fighters
that work shows across the state that come from his gym. Gene’s
extensive experience means that he has tentacles all over the
place when it comes to the local circuit of shows. To his credit,
he doesn’t want to work fights involving combatants with
direct ties to him. However, when you’re a nine-time kickboxing
and Muay Thai champion, it’s pretty damn hard to avoid a
conflict of interest situation when you are an athletic inspector
and you are assigned to work an MMA event like King of the Cage
or a Muay Thai/kickboxing show in Central California. Just ask
Jeremiah Metcalf.
Last
year, Gene was brought in to check out those participating at
a K-1 tryout in Southern California:
K-1
today announced yet another fighting superstar, Benny “The
Jet” Urquidez, will be in attendance at Muscle Beach this
Thursday for the official K-1 Tryouts. Urquidez joins kickboxing
giants Alistair Overeem, Rick Roufus, Tyrone Spong, Mighty Mo,
Dewey Cooper and Masato, who are already scheduled for the July
19 event.
Also,
K-1 today announced it has confirmed more than a dozen of the
best trainers in the business, including Colin Oyama, Gene Fields,
Paulo Tocha, Rob Kamen and Mark Breecher to take the more than
200 Hopefuls pre-registered through their drills and the tryout
process.
Third,
we have Wade Vierra. He was one of the judges in the Ben Henderson/Gilbert
Melendez fight. You’ve seen Wade’s name pop up this
weekend on the MMA web sites in regards to a potential conflict
of interest.
Bottom
line? The issue of potential conflict-of-interest scenarios isn’t
going to get Andy Foster to budge from his overarching philosophy
that using individuals with backgrounds in fighting or law enforcement
is the way to go.
When
you decide to use officials based on whether or not they have
a background in fighting or training, you are automatically filtering
out a good portion of the available pool of officials to book.
Then, if you add a second filter where you assign boxing officials
to boxing events only and MMA officials to MMA events only, then
the pool of talent available becomes even smaller. Here’s
how Andy Foster characterized the process to MMA Weekly:
“I
think that’s been part of the problem for a long time. This
state had boxing judges judging mixed martial arts. It’s
my opinion that we should keep the two sports kind of separate.”
(Regarding
using fighters as primary officials & any potential conflicts-of-interest)
“We rely on their integrity. Are you going to score it right
for me or not? These guys I pick have competed themselves. Maybe
not mixed martial arts, but certainly in grappling tournaments
and striking competitions. They’re depth of knowledge is
pretty good.
“You’re
going to see more of this from this commission, not less. We
want to get the score right for these fighters. I think we got
the score right (for Henderson vs. Melendez).”
Pushing
forward with new policies in dealing with athletic inspectors
& officials
There
was a meeting in Los Angeles this past Monday for the California
State Athletic Commission. You won’t see video or listen
to audio of it. Why? No one from the state recorded the hearing.
We asked for the audio and video. There is none. Logistical issues
or not, it’s not exactly a transparent way of doing business.
That said, the other notable state athletic commissions have
lousy records on media availability.
However,
there were plenty of people in attendance at the meeting on Monday.
David Avila of The Sweet Science was taking notes and caught
wind of a couple of very interesting developments.
The
Commission also voted to use a grading list devised by the late
Larry Rozadilla and used by prior commissions to assess the judges
and referees after prizefights.
The
Commission also wants a better system of assigning the best referees
and judges to fight cards instead of basing assignments on geographic
locale.
Of
these two items, the bottom item is of great significance. One
of the big deals that the politicians in Sacramento have yelled
about in regards to the athletic commission is that the Bureau
of State Audits determined that about half of the officials booked
for local shows were from out-of-the-area. When Andy Foster came
into office, it was being indicated that new tools would be used
to make sure that officials closest to the shows would work the
events. However, that policy took a quick U-turn when officials
all over the state got booked recently for bigger shows, regardless
of where the officials are located. The defense of this policy
is that California is one state and that you shouldn’t treat
California as two states (Northern California & Southern
California). However, that U-turn flies in the face of political
pressure to book as many local officials for shows as possible.
Now,
the pretense of the new administration at the commission using
local guys based on geography is gone. It’s over. The question
then becomes the following: at what point will the politicians
start complaining about this? Will it be used as a wedge issue
to drive people when they fall out of political favor, just like
it was used against George Dodd?
All
of this brings us to one item of note that no one in the media
paid attention to from Monday’s hearing. It’s actually
the most important takeaway from the session. Two months ago
at a CSAC meeting in Los Angeles, Andy Foster was listed as saying
the following just two months ago:
The
commission has started tracking event specific revenues and expenses
to show much money is made or lost per events. The commission
makes money on most events now. The commission drastically reduced
athletic inspector travel costs by using proximity as a major
factor in event assignments.
The
Executive Officer stated he explored the option of moving athletic
inspectors cost reimbursement to a flat-rate. It is the Executive
Officer’s understanding that the flat-rate option would
take 4-5 months to implement and he is moving towards implementing
this. The Executive Officer does not want to move the lead inspectors
to a flat rate. The lead job should be rewarded because it is
a difficult job and we need to continue paying our leads with
an hourly rate. The commission is training additional inspectors
in the southern part of the state where the majority of its events
are held.”
Right
now, all athletic inspectors are treated as intermittent state
employees. They are paid by the hour and they are also supposed
to get travel time, something which the Department of Consumer
Affairs has recently screwed around with in order to try to nickel-and-dime
cash away from inspectors who often travel hundreds of miles
to work events in remote locations like Chumash or Morongo or
Lemoore.
Now,
Andy Foster wants to basically create two classes of inspectors
officially and treat them as such financially. He wants to continue
paying lead inspectors by the hour but he wants to pay the non-lead
athletic inspectors a flat rate of $110 per show. The reaction
so far amongst the inspectors statewide has been apoplectic.
Furious. It’s also putting the lead inspectors in an unenviable
position of the having to deal with the other athletic inspectors
who are quickly viewing this as an ‘us versus them’
development. The politics will get nastier, guaranteed.
There’s
a few ways to look at this news. In one respect, it’s a
move that will allow the front office to book more inspectors
on shows. Perhaps it will mean more inspectors at local events.
That’s the upside. The downsides, however, are ugly. As
one experienced source put it, “if you pay for a Volkswagen,
don’t expect a BMW.” You get what you pay for, in other
words. Those who are already frustrated and disgruntled may balk
at the rate cut and simply quit. For the front office, that’s
a feature and not a bug. If you are not on the Executive Officer’s
approved list and you quit, you’re simply making his job
easier by replacing you with someone that he wants.
So,
athletic inspectors & officials who aren’t getting booked
as much for shows face a choice.
You
can talk to everyone and complain about the situation but continue
to go along for the ride because you still want to work shows
and be seen by people. If you go that route, then you give up
any right to complain to others.
You can call the front office and try to politick your way into
good graces, but that’s only a temporary solution.
Or you can put up a fight, knowing that the Department of Consumer
Affairs will make sure to do everything in their power to make
your life a living hell. You can go down swinging but pay a price
in the end.
Andy Foster has his vision & philosophy on how to change
the climate of combat sports regulation in California. It’s
his way or the highway.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
For
Georges St-Pierre, no pressure for superfight, so Johny Hendricks
looms around August
By Mike
Chiappetta
NEW
YORK -- A superfight pitting welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre
against middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva continues to remain
elusive, close enough to tantalize yet completely out of grasp.
In a recent interview with Joe Rogan, St-Pierre, still relatively
fresh off his victory over Nick Diaz last month, reiterated a
desire to stay in his division for his next bout, which will
in all likelihood result in a matchup with top contender Johny
Hendricks.
But
during that talk with Rogan, he also added an interesting wrinkle
to the champion vs. champion talk, saying that it would be easier
for him to fight at 155 than to bulk up and fight at 185.
Upon
hearing that statement, UFC president Dana White was taken aback.
"At
one point before his knee [surgery], he wanted that [Silva] fight,"
he said. "I don’t know where his head’s at now,
saying he’ll go down to 155. He’s a pretty big dude.
That’s interesting."
While
White joked that the assertion would thrill lightweight champion
Benson Henderson -- who has also joined the chorus of fighters
asking to face GSP -- there is no interest in that direction
right now.
White
said he has not yet spoken to St-Pierre since his win over Diaz
at UFC 158, but indicated the likely direction was the fight
with Hendricks, citing August as a possible target date. That
would line up around the time of the launch of new sports channel
and UFC partner FOX Sports 1, though White didn't seem to like
the idea of putting St-Pierre, who is the company's biggest pay-per-view
draw, on cable TV.
Instead,
it seems likely that St-Pierre will be back to his usual home
on pay-per-view, defending his belt in his customary division.
During his recent reign, St-Pierre has successfully defended
the belt eight times, just two shy of the record of Silva, the
man to which the sport's observers have been trying to link him
for years. For the foreseeable future, it appears that champion
vs. champion bout will continue to remain unrealized.
"If
he doesn’t want to do a superfight, nobody is going to pressure
him to do a superfight," White said. "That’s up
to him. But Johny Hendricks is next. And soon."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Fight
Path: Tony Kelley continues career after MTV reality show
by Kyle
Nagel
Those
who know Tony Kelley as an MMA fighter from the MTV show "Caged,"
and even many who know him better than that, don't realize he
once thought he would be a rock drummer.
He
grew up doing many of the other things kids of Shreveport, La.,
liked to do, such as biking, skateboarding and exploring in the
woods. But he was perhaps most passionate about the drums, which
he thought would be his future.
They
weren't. But some of the moves were.
"I
think it has a lot to do with rhythm, which you need (for fighting),"
Kelley told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "You have
to use every limb, and it's about all parts of the body moving
at once.
"You
really need balance, which I need now."
And
now, Kelley (1-0) has found balance in his own life while trying
to take advantage of his MTV notoriety and overcome any negative
perceptions created by the show. His next chance comes on Friday
in his second professional fight, when the 26-year-old Lake Forest,
Calif., resident takes on Kody Thrasher (1-1) at a Hilia Fights
show in Kenner, La. The event is available on Fight Now TV and
select pay-per-view providers.
Kelley
heads into the fight after ending a difficult period. In January,
he was found not guilty of a battery charge, the Shreveport Times
reported. The process had cost him plenty of grief, even as he
won his professional MMA debut this past September following
a lengthy amateur career that included his "Caged"
appearance.
With
a newfound focus, Kelley is hoping to continue building his MMA
career that has roots in a friend encouraging him to start jiu-jitsu
classes when he was 19 years old.
"I'm
riding this as far as I can go," he said. "This is
important to me, and I'm ready to show people what I'm made of."
Finding
a path
Kelley
was born and raised in Shreveport, which provided both the usual
comforts of a bigger city but also plenty of room to explore
for him and his friends.
He
remembers learning an early work ethic from his parents that
he said still drives him in his career.
"My
mom would walk us miles to a babysitter and then keep walking
onto her job," he said. "She would come get us on the
way back home, which was such a long day for her. My dad constantly
worked, and they tried to instill that in all of us."
Smaller
than many of his classmates, Kelley said he didn't participate
much in contact sports growing up. He spent most of his time
playing the drums, which he thought would be part of his future
profession.
"I
loved music," he said. "I had beats in my soul."
But
as he entered his teen years, he described his life as diverging
into questionable decisions made to impress others while trying
to be like others. After awhile, friends and family members became
concerned, and a friend encouraged the then-19-year-old Kelley
to get involved in a local jiu-jitsu class to provide some structure.
It
worked immediately. He had grown into playing football and lacrosse
in high school, so he liked the contact, but he also liked the
discipline. Once he got a taste of what it involved, he wanted
to do more. He looked for a chance to fight, which came quickly.
"There
was a guy I trained with who said there were some fights coming
up, and I had been training for about four months," he said.
"I decided to just give it a shot."
It
eventually became much more than he thought it would.
Greater
attention
When
the MTV officials first came to his part of the state and did
interviews for a show about MMA hopefuls, Kelley didn't make
the cut.
He
was bummed, but life moved on. He was moving through a substantial
amateur career – one he now feels he might've entered too
quickly, which is why it took time to work out his faults.
Then
he got a call that changed things. The producers asked him if
cameras could follow him around. He still doesn't know why they
needed someone else, but he decided it was something he wanted
to do.
The
experience obviously had its benefits. He became known throughout
the country as people viewed his life and his MMA skills. But,
like with anything, there were some negatives.
"I
think some people saw it like we were these hick-town boys in
Louisiana who liked (MMA) but weren't taking it seriously,"
he said. "Some people thought were just goofing off and
thinking everybody can do it.
"That's
not the way it was at all, but people see different things. It
was a great experience, and I'm so thankful for it."
Then
in March 2012, Kelley was accused of assault by a female at a
club. It took the better part of a year for the case to move
through the judicial system and Kelley to receive the not guilty
verdict.
In
the meantime, he finished his 19-fight amateur career, which
ended in a 15-4 record. Feeling he had ironed out the rough parts
of his fighting, he turned professional in September with a victory
to start 1-0.
Now
with his next pro opportunity, he said he wants to continue moving
forward in his career as he hopes to shake off any negative perceptions
created by the MTV show.
"I
got some stuff off my shoulders, and I'm ready to move on with
what I'm doing now," he said. "I just have to keep
my head up and believe in myself."
Award-winning
newspaper reporter Kyle Nagel pens "Fight Path" each
week. The column focuses on the circumstances that led fighters
to a profession in MMA. Know a fighter with an interesting story?
Email us at news [at] mmajunkie.com.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Renan
Barao to Defend Interim Belt Against Eddie Wineland in UFC 161
Main Event
By Mike
Whitman
Renan
Barao will defend his interim bantamweight title against Eddie
Wineland in the main event of UFC 161.
UFC
officials confirmed the booking Wednesday following an initial
report from ESPN.
UFC
161 marks the organization’s first trip to the Canadian
province of Manitoba and takes place June 15 at MTS Centre in
Winnipeg. In addition to the evening’s headliner, the pay-per-view
card will also showcase a pair of light heavyweight confrontations
pitting Rashad Evans against Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua against
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
Barao,
26, has tasted defeat just once in 32 professional appearances
and has not lost since his pro debut back in 2005. The Brazilian
has rattled off five straight wins to start his Octagon career,
capturing the interim bantamweight title by outpointing Urijah
Faber last summer. Most recently, Barao defended his belt for
the first time at UFC on Fuel TV 7, submitting challenger Michael
McDonald with a fourth-round arm-triangle choke last month.
The
inaugural World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion, Wineland,
28, joined the UFC in 2011. Despite suffering consecutive defeats
in his first two Octagon appearances, the Hoosier rebounded to
post victories over Scott Jorgensen and Brad Pickett last year.
Nearly a 10-year pro, Wineland holds 15 career finishes to his
credit and has been stopped just five times in 29 outings.
Source
Sherdog
|
Jingliang
Li Looking to Bring Legend FC Welterweight Belt Home to China
by Mick
Hammond
For
Chinese welterweight contender Jingliang Li, the Legend FC 11
show on April, 27, in Kuala Lumpur, Maylasya, not only represents
a chance to claim a title, but to get redemption in the process.
Having
lost to former welterweight champion Bae Myung Ho last year,
Li rebounded to close out 2012 with a win over Dan Pauling to
get one step closer to getting another title fight.
“I
learned a lot from fighting with Bae Myung Ho,” said Li.
“I think I lost because Bae used the rules better and scored
more points, so I will try to avoid making same mistakes in the
next fight.
“Dan
Pauling was such a young fighter, very strong physically and
mentally, really surprised me that he didn’t quit and managed
to last all three rounds against me.”
With
Bae forced to vacate the title due to military commitments, Li
will take the next step in his comeback when he faces Australian
up-and-comer Luke “The Juggernaut” Jumeau for the vacant
title at Legend FC 11.
“I’m
sure that I will need lots of stamina to be able to beat him,
because he has such good cardio,” said Li of Jumeau. “And
his punches are fast too, so I’m focusing on boxing training
also. I am confident that I can beat him.”
Li
told MMAWeekly.com that to bring the Legend belt back to China
would be not only a huge step for himself, but for the growing
MMA scene in his native country as well.
“It’s
very important to take the belt to China, because the entire
Asia-Pacific region are looking at Legend and wondering which
country, which club, which person can be the new welterweight
champion,” he said.
“I
believe that if I can bring the belt home, it will be a great
step for Chinese MMA. I will bring honor to my country and fans,
and my friends and family will be very happy.”
Should
things go his way on April 27; Li wants to use this year to help
gain exposure not only for himself, but also for Legend FC.
“I
think Legend is the best MMA promotion in the Asia-Pacific region,
and I hope I will have more fights this year so that I can gain
more experience in the game,” he said.
“Thanks
the support and care from my fans, I will bring the belt back
to China and show that I’m the number one welterweight fighter
in this region!”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
159 predictions
By Luke
Thomas
The
UFC returns to New Jersey with a main event where the stakes
for both champion and challenger are almost comical in how rare
and utterly outlandish they are, a consequence of a bout booked
on grounds entirely unrelated to sporting achievement. Still,
the contest is real and the challenger not entirely outmatched.
In fact, he tests to a fuller degree one of the most important
aspects of any fighter's repertoire, takedown defense. The champion
has so far performed superbly. Can he continue to do so?
Can
Jon Jones retain his title and tie Tito Ortiz's light heavyweight
record of consecutive title defenses? Will Chael Sonnen shock
the world and win a title in a division he hasn't competed in
in years? I answer these questions and more with my predictions
for UFC 159.
What:
UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen
Where:
The Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
When:
Saturday, the three-fight Facebook card starts at 6:30 p.m. ET,
the four-fight FX card starts at 8 p.m. and the five-fight main
card starts on pay-per-view at 10 p.m.
Jon
Jones vs. Chael Sonnen
The
truth of this bout is that it shouldn't be happening. It's literally
a last-minute, utterly desperate replacement fight that's crystallized
into a heavily promoted, planned main event. Except it doesn't
feel like a main event save for the celebrity of the champ and
to a lesser extent the challenger. There's absolutely zero justification
for this bout on sporting grounds. Anyone who tells you otherwise
is either disingenuous or of poor intellect or both.
As
for the fight itself, however, that doesn't necessarily mean
this is a blowout. It well could be, but we should also prepare
ourselves for the possibility that Sonnen's relentless takedown
attempts could delay a swift ending (it will also be one of the
more serious tests of Jones' skills here, too). I'd also contend
Jones' more measured approach in recent bouts gives space for
his contenders to breath a little bit longer than they ordinarily
would.
But
there's no denying the inevitability of the outcome. This fight
is arguably a waste of Jones' time and while I extended my support
to this bout initially, to say I've had second thoughts since
then would be an understatement.
Pick:
Jones
Michael
Bisping vs. Alan Belcher
I'm
going with the favorite here, but I recognize this bout is probably
going to be a closely-contested affair. The problem, ultimately,
is going to be Bisping's calculated, consistent pressure. Belcher
might have success early, but he is not particularly adept at
applying it across three hard-fought rounds. Bisping, for all
of his shortcomings, is excellent in the sense of knowing when
and how to apply pressure to fading opposition. It's actually
something he doesn't get nearly enough credit for. Add in his
offensive and defensive wrestling ability and it's hard to see
a way Belcher wins if this goes past the first.
Pick:
Bisping
Roy
Nelson vs. Cheick Kongo
Nelson
has his issues, but I see this very much as his fight to lose.
He'll have to stay off the fence particularly and at range generally,
but I really have a hard time seeing how Kongo avoids getting
cracked. And if he does, that's probably going to be enough.
There's probably a case to be made I'm deeply underrating Kongo
and ignoring Nelson's foibles, but I see this bout's outcome
as ultimately a function of chins. On those grounds, Nelson can't
lose.
Pick:
Nelson
Phil
Davis vs. Vinny Magalhaes
I
tip my hat to both Davis and Magalhaes for either selling this
fight or letting whatever portion of their mutual animosity bubble
to the surface. It's raised the stakes and profile of a bout
that began as something of a sleeper contest. Here's the problem:
I'm not sure where there's evidence that Magalhaes has truly
undergone enough skill development to truly make this competitive.
He can't take Davis down and while he could pull guard or dive
for a submission Masakazu Imanari-style, that's extremely low
percentage stuff. Davis isn't exactly a sensational striker,
but he doesn't have to be to win on Saturday night.
Pick:
Davis
Jim
Miller vs. Pat Healy
Some
have suggested there's real upset potential in this fight. Maybe.
I'm not convinced, however. Miller's only losses are to Frankie
Edgar, Gray Maynard, Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz. Is Pat Healy
in the sort of rarefied air of those aforementioned fighters?
Not really. And in terms of style vs. style, I'm guessing Miller's
scrambling will undo any or most of Healy's takedown attempts.
It should be noted Miller's a 'faster' grappler whose game emphasizes
speed where Healy is much more about timing and positional control.
Lastly, Miller's striking is leagues above Healy's even on the
most basic measurements. Healy is tough, experienced and talented,
but I'm not sure I understand why he's viewed as the upset pick
of the night by some.
Pick:
Miller
From
the preliminary card:
Rustam
Khabilov > Yancy
Medeiros
Gian Villante < Ovince St. Preux
Sara McMann > Sheila Gaff
Bryan Caraway < Johnny Bedford
Leonard Garcia > Cody McKenzie
Nick Catone < James Head
Steven Siler > Kurt Holobaugh
*
Yes, this time I really did pick all of the favorites, which
I'm sure is going to be wrong. I just don't see any obvious upset
picks as likely at this time.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Chael
Sonnen Says Jon Jones Could Beat Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali…
In the Same Day
by Jeff
Cain
UFC
light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones has already
accomplished more in combat sports at the age of 25 than most
will in two lifetimes.
He’s
the youngest fighter to ever win a UFC championship and the youngest
fighter to defend a UFC title. He’s defended his title four
times, which ties him with former light heavyweight titleholders
Frank Shamrock and Chuck Liddell.
He
is tied with Lyoto Machida with most consecutive wins in the
UFC’s light heavyweight division. In his 12 fights in the
UFC, he has earned Fight of the Night twice, Submission of the
Night twice and Knockout of the Night once. Nearly every other
time he steps into the Octagon, he’s takes home a performance
based bonus.
And
he’s not just beating people, he’s destroying the competition.
He has beaten five former UFC titleholders… in a row.
His
accolades are gaining him recognition and comparisons to some
of combat sports’ biggest legends.
Jones
faces Chael Sonnen on April 27 at UFC 159 in Newark, N.J. A win
will tie him with Tito Ortiz for the most title defenses in the
UFC’s light heavyweight division, and surpass Machida for
most consecutive wins.
The
New York native dreams of fighting in Madison Square Garden one
day, a venue that’s hosted events headlined by the biggest
names in combat sports history. Mixed martial arts isn’t
legal in the state of New York, yet, but UFC 159’s open
workouts will take place at the Garden.
“Muhammad
Ali got to fight there. Mike Tyson got to fight there. And I
think it’s like – I just think it’s a surreal
place to be. I’m actually honored that I get to do the open
workouts at the Garden because it’s just a dream of mine,
so to fight there it would mean a lot to me and I can’t
wait for the possibility,” said Jones on a recent UFC 159
media conference call.
Jones
will go down in history as one of the greatest fighters of all
time regardless of where his career path takes him from here,
but his UFC 159 opponent believes that Jones has already passed
the likes of Ali and Tyson as the greatest fighter in the world.
“As
great as Jon is, I don’t think that he understands how good
he is,” said Sonnen. “For him to pay tribute to Mike
Tyson and Muhammad Ali earlier was a very nice thing for him
to do. The reality is Jon Jones could beat up Mike Tyson and
Muhammad Ali in the same day.”
Jones
stated that he wants to defeat Sonnen and get another title defense
under his belt to surpass Ortiz’ title defense record. Then
he’ll entertain the possibility of superfights or a move
up to the heavyweight division. Sonnen feels that Ortiz’
record is just a number and Jones is already the greatest 205-pound
fighter the world has ever seen.
“When
he says he wants to be the best ever, Jon, news flash buddy,
you are the best. And as far as tying Tito Ortiz, yes, maybe
had a couple more wins, but he hasn’t had the competition
that you’ve faced. That’s not a secret,” said
the challenger.
“I’m
not going to degrade Jon or what he’s done. He’s the
world champion. He’s the best in the weight class and he’s
the best the weight class has ever seen.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
The
Suplexing Machine
By Tristen
Critchfield
Unsafe
Landings
“My
job is to throw him. How he lands is his business.” -- Rustam
Khabilov, Dec. 17, 2012
ALBUQUERQUE,
N.M. -- The statement above was posted by Rustam Khabilov one
day after he created his official Twitter account and two days
after he stepped into the Octagon for the very first time.
Some
four months later, there is still nothing that captures the essence
of Khabilov’s Ultimate Fighting Championship debut quite
like that tweet. In the days leading up to Khabilov’s bout
with Vinc Pichel at “The Ultimate Fighter 16” Finale,
his teammates at Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts had a consensus
request for the decorated sambo practitioner: throw a suplex.
Considering
Khabilov’s background -- he won multiple sambo titles in
Russia, as well as a combat sambo world championship in 2007
-- it was a reasonable expectation. Ever since the unassuming
Dagestani walked through the doors of the New Mexican gym a little
less than two years ago, he had displayed an uncanny knack for
getting the upper hand, even against the most celebrated of training
partners.
“He
came in and he was fighting one of our high-level guys, and our
high-level guy was having to fight a wrestler,” striking
coach Mike Winkeljohn told Sherdog.com. “I don’t want
to throw our guy under the bus [by revealing his name], but he
was one of the bigger names in the UFC. I said, ‘Rustam,
take him down.’ He says, ‘OK coach.’ He goes in
there and he takes him down over and over and over and really
frustrates this UFC fighter.
“At
this time, no one knew who Rustam was,” he added. “He
gets out of the cage and says, ‘Coach, take him down? Easy.’
That’s his level.”
On
Dec. 15, Khabilov managed to appease his Jackson’s MMA brethren
and increase his notoriety in one fell swoop. Make that three,
to be exact.
The
lightweight nicknamed “Tiger” executed a trio of belly-to-back
suplexes against Pichel, the last of which left the American
dazed on the canvas and allowed Khabilov to pounce for the finish
with a series of follow-up punches. For those watching in person
at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas or at home on
television, a star was born. For the author of the highlight,
it was not that much different than the day he frustrated a more
well-known teammate with his takedowns in practice. Khabilov
expects to succeed.
“Everybody
at the gym knows that’s my favorite move, to do the suplex,”
Khabilov said through translator Tim Kumisbaev. “We were
just joking around -- the guys joking around: they said, ‘Hey,
you should do the suplex.’ So every time I get a chance,
I do the suplex because everybody knows that’s my move and
that’s what I do.”
Khabilov’s
sophomore venture with the Las Vegas-based promotion comes against
the undefeated Yancy
Medeiros
at UFC 159 on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
This
time, Khabilov will likely enter the cage as a more well-known
commodity than his opponent. After winning his first nine professional
bouts, Medeiros has not competed in almost two years. His last
appearance came in June 2010, when he knocked out Gareth Joseph
in the second round at Strikeforce/M-1 Global “Fedor vs.
Werdum.” The Hawaiian’s two bouts under the Strikeforce
banner were contested at 205 and 185 pounds, adding an element
of the unknown to Khabilov’s second UFC appearance.
“I
really don’t know what to say about [him] because he fought
in two different weight categories and he hasn’t fought
for a couple years,” Khabilov said. “I don’t know
if he got better or if he got quicker or if he got faster --
what kind of pluses or minuses he has. I want to wish him luck,
and we’ll just have to see what happens.”
While
Khabilov appreciates the recognition he has received since defeating
Pichel -- “Fans are sending me pictures for autographs.
I’m really enjoying it because I’ve never had that
happen,” he says -- even a small measure of fame tends to
come with a price. Khabilov got plenty of attention for tossing
Pichel around the cage, but it was another throw from his past
that surfaced around that same time that temporarily cast the
sambo expert in a different light.
Shortly
after Khabilov’s UFC debut, a video surfaced of the fighter
throwing a cup of soda on a female at a McDonald’s in the
Ukraine. The clip is short and not especially memorable. In the
grand scheme of egregious offenses by UFC talent, it falls far
below Quinton Jackson leading police on a high-speed chase or
Forrest Griffin and Miguel Torres tweeting rape jokes, but Khabilov
has nonetheless received his fair share of unwanted scrutiny
for an incident he claims occurred approximately four years ago.
It did not help that several websites and forums opted to use
the term “assault” in headlines describing the video.
Still,
Khabilov manages to maintain a sense of humor about the regrettable
moment and sees it as firmly in his rearview mirror.
“There
were four girls sitting a couple tables away from us, and they
were under the influence of something,” Khabilov recalled.
“I’m not sure what they were on. I was sitting and
eating, then she looked at me and I looked at her and she threw
me the finger. So I threw her the finger. So she threw another
finger, so I threw another finger. I just wanted to give her
a little something to cool her down and give her a drink because
I’m such a nice guy. I basically cooled her down and splashed
the Coke on her.
“But
I really want to apologize to the girls. I didn’t mean to
do that,” he added. “I shouldn’t be concentrating
on those kinds of people, because I’m not that kind of guy.
I’m not a woman abuser; I respect women. I also learned
from my mistakes. In the future, I’ll try to avoid the situation
because this one video brought me so many problems and so much
drama. It was my mistake.”
The
incident seems out of character for a 26-year-old who has, by
most accounts, been able to blend in nicely in his new surroundings
in the United States. Having picked up bits and pieces of English
since making Jackson’s MMA his training home, Khabilov has
served as something of an unofficial translator for fighter-to-coach
interactions involving the ever-growing Russian contingent in
the gym. He has embraced the concept of family fostered by the
renowned Southwest fight team, crediting the positive influences
of stalwarts such as Jon Jones and Carlos Condit for aiding in
everything from training to acquiring a properly fitted mouth
guard. Most importantly, he has impressed his coaches with his
habits.
“I
started working with him on his strikes, and he was one of the
few that would take what I would work with him on and go in the
corner and just work on it forever -- a lot of time on it, over
and over,” Winkeljohn said. “He had that work ethic.”
High
Praise
Raised
in a small village that was some distance away from any type
of gym and structured coaching environment, Khabilov made due
with running sprints and hitting a heavy bag filled with sand
in his formative years. His older brother, who wrestled before
injuring his knee and later picked up kickboxing, pointed his
younger sibling in the direction of combat sports. His career
path really began to accelerate while he was in college, as he
joined a gym and trained under the guidance of what he says was
his first official coach, current UFC competitor Khabib Nurmagomedov,
who Khabilov had known since they were kids.
Khabilov
remains close with Nurmagomedov and chuckles at the memory of
his countryman’s most recent bout, a victory over Thiago
Tavares in which Nurmagomedov unveiled a T-shirt that said: “If
sambo were easy, it would be called jiu-jitsu.”
“Sambo
is a brilliant sport and so is jiu-jitsu,” Khabilov said.
“Both of the sports are really beautiful. I don’t think
he wanted to offend anyone. It was just a mean joke.”
Khabilov
has had but a few growing pains since making his professional
debut in 2007, as his 15-1 record can attest. Two bouts in particular
stand out. The first, a 2009 pairing with Vener Galiev at an
M-1 Global event, gave him a dose of his own brand of punishment.
“When
I first got in the ring with him, I really felt what suplexes
were, because he started throwing me around. He was No. 1 in
Russia at that point, one of the toughest opponents I ever had,”
he said. “After a while, I started getting thrown around
a little bit and feeling my own suplexes. I won the fight after
I started [focusing] on him.”
The
second came in his lone setback, a split-decision defeat to Rusian
Khaskhanov, also under the M-1 Global banner. According to Khabilov,
it was a contentious verdict that he asked promotion officials
to review. The request was refused, and although Khabilov was
told that M-1 was no longer reviewing fights, he claims that
several other bouts were looked over after he was denied. To
this day, the ruling still bothers Khabilov.
“Now
I know that I need to be more aggressive in the Octagon and show
the judges that I will never make the same mistake ever again,”
he said.
That
would turn out to be Khabilov’s final fight before making
the transition to Albuquerque. He has since returned to his winning
ways, notching four consecutive victories, including the impressive
stoppage of Pichel.
“Out
of all the guys in our gym, he’s one of the top two or three
that I think will be a UFC champion shortly,” Winkeljohn
said.
That
is high praise considering the wealth of talent that inhabits
the Southwestern gym, especially in the lower weight classes.
It should not be all that surprising that Khabilov possesses
the skill and drive that he does, as Dagestan is well-known for
producing accomplished combat sport athletes.
“The
people there are very good at wrestling; they’ve all wrestled
since they were kids,” said trainer Greg Jackson, who traveled
to Dagestan to corner Khabilov against Nazir Kadyzhev in 2011.
“There’s this wrestling culture there; they’re
all very tough. It breeds great fighters.”
As
a kid, Khabilov watched as many UFC events on VHS as he could
get his hands on, vowing to join his heroes in the Octagon when
he got older. Despite his interest in MMA, Khabilov’s athletic
idol is three-time Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist
Buvaisar Saitiev, who was born in Dagestan.
“I’m
amazed what he does with his work. I always like to see him grapple
and wrestle,” Khabilov said. “Of course, I try to do
a couple of moves like him from wrestling. I’ll look it
up on the Internet. I never had a chance to practice with him,
[but] I always look at the videos.”
“He’s
a very good person,” Khabilov added in English.
Saitiev
was known to repeat a poem from Nobel prize winning poet Boris
Pasternak’s anthology “My Sister, Life,” before
each of his matches. An excerpt from the translated version of
that poem goes as follows:
To
be the famous isn’t attractive,
Not this could ever elevate,
You needn’t to make your archive active,
You needn’t your scripts to be all saved.
Self-offering’s aimed by creation,
But ballyhoo or cheap success,
It is a shame, if worthless persons
Are talks of towns’ populace.
Although
Khabilov does not mention the poem directly, it is not difficult
to see how its words might apply to a budding lightweight contender
who came from humble beginnings. However, fame tends to seek
its targets more aggressively in MMA than in wrestling, and in
a social media-savvy era, the good can be countered by the bad
almost simultaneously. Having already encountered only a small
taste of what teammates like Jones and Condit deal with on a
regular basis, Khabilov is ready to move forward with his promising
career.
“I
started working with him on his strikes, and he was one of the
few that would take what I would work with him on and go in the
corner and just work on it forever -- a lot of time on it, over
and over. He had that work ethic.”
-- Mike Winkeljohn, Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts
“I
just want to let [the people who posted the video] know, no matter
how hard they will try, I’m following my dream. I’m
working,” he said. “I’m a step closer, and they
weren’t able to stop that because I’m going to keep
on going.”
When
all is said and done, where Khabilov ends up is his business.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Total
success for UFC Fox event in San Jose… but is there a new
California judging controversy?
By Zach
Arnold
Lots
of finishes. A little controversy. A largely smooth night for
the California State Athletic Commission. Hot, active crowd.
LATEST
COMMENTS TO THIS POST START HERE..
Regarding
the Gilbert Melendez/Ben Henderson fight… I came away agreeing
with Wade Vierra’s 48-47 score in favor of Melendez. Henderson
was really cautious. It wasn’t the kind of performance I
was expecting out of him, as I thought he would be more aggressive.
After the fight was over, I thought to myself that I would not
be surprised by *any* score the judges came up with for the outcome.
So,
imagine my surprise when Julius Henderson chimed in with the
following…
The
Judge who went against Ben is a Cesar Gracie affiliate student,
how did he get picked to judge?
The
judge he’s referring to is Wade Vierra. Wade’s BJJ
background and fighting experience is why he’s getting booked
for California shows, especially UFC events. Andy Foster values
real fighting experience and Wade fits the bill. But did Julius
Henderson just raise a real conflict-of-interest oversight moment
here?
McKinley
Noble (Bleacher Report): Did Team Cesar Gracie plant a judge
to fix Melendez vs. Henderson?
Jason
Probst (MMA Mania): Judge who scored bout for Gilbert Melendez
at UFC on FOX 7 runs Cesar Gracie affiliate school in Roseville,
California
If
the various MMA web sites are going to pick up on this story,
then at the very least it means that there will be a tempest
in a teapot. Should Wade have been booked for the main event
given this apparent conflict-of-interest? Probably not. Do I
think Wade did a fair job with the way he scored the bout? Yeah,
I do. I agreed with his assessment. However, the potential appearance
of impropriety of anything related to a conflict-of-interest
is something that California can’t afford to have on a big
stage. I’m not emotionally worked up about this situation
to go all fire and brimstone, but I completely understand where
Julius Henderson is coming from here.
Luke
Thomas comments:
Even
if Vierra didn’t act in bad faith, it matters not at all.
A commission this willing to put officials with relationships
to key competitors this meaningful and overlapping automatically
fails the smell test. It didn’t affect the outcome as such
this time, but we may not all be so lucky the next time out.
*****
A
couple of other interesting notes from an inside baseball perspective
and how officials throughout the state of California reacted
to what they saw on TV:
Che
Guevara’s buddy, Karen Chappelle (from the Attorney General’s
office in Los Angeles), was in attendance and on camera. She,
along with at least one commissioner from CSAC, were in attendance.
Karen’s a real winner. There were other politicians at the
show as well.
In the main event, you might have saw an Asian man in Ben Henderson’s
corner with an ID on. That was Hanley Chan, the new inspector
that is viewed, by some, to be a guy who will be a star regulator.
You can view his background/credentials here. He’s worked
a few CSAC shows now and was in the television limelight for
the main event. This caught some officials by surprise.
A week after being involved in a controversial mess in Sacramento
for the Martha Salazar/Sonya Lamonakis women’s boxing match,
inspector Nichole Bowles got plenty of camera time and that has
created lots of internal chatter. She got face time in Josh Thomson’s
corner and got face time during the main event in Gilbert Melendez’s
corner. Would be helpful if she watched the fighter and not the
camera. If you’re wondering why she looks so young, it’s
because she is so young. A favorite of Che Guevara.
The usage of many Southern California officials for the San Jose
show has created a level of concern regarding the future of officials
in Northern California. Some Northern California inspectors who
could do the job are on the sidelines by choice or by events
out of their control. The depth in terms of quality officiating
is lacking, no doubt about it. The top four MMA referees are
in Southern California (Big John McCarthy, Herb Dean, Jason Herzog,
Mike Beltran). For boxing referees, you have Jack Reiss &
Pat Russell working the big fights. Not having as many shows
in Northern California as the region used to have in the past
has contributed to the lack of depth.
Those around the commission who are passionate on this subject
believe that using Southern California officials for big shows
up North means that there is less of a talent pool to draw from
in Northern California when it comes to replacing officials who
have left or are being phased out. Yeah, the argument about using
the best officials in the state no matter where their location
is has merit. However, if the result of that policy is ending
up with a flood of inexperienced or crappy officials up North
working shows, then you’ll drive away local promoters in
the Bay Area to either run shows elsewhere or run CAMO shows
instead of pro fights and you’ll be putting a ceiling for
growth & development up North for the CSAC officials corps.
The farm system is damaged right now in Northern California.
Trust me, this is a never-ending debate behind the scenes that
is all-consuming.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Sara
McMann Confident Adding to Trail Blazed by Ronda Rousey, Cat
Zingano, Other UFC Women
by Ryan
McKinnell
There
have been no more exciting fights in 2013 than the inaugural
women’s UFC fights between Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche
and Cat Zingano vs. Miesha Tate.
Each
of these fights, for various reasons, highlighted not only the
beauty and excitement of female combat inside the Octagon, but
also showed fans of both sexes that fist-to-face combat was finally
on a level playing field.
Zingano,
Tate, Rousey, and Carmouche were brought to the UFC in late 2012
as part of an “Original Six” of sorts. Along with 2004
Olympic Silver Medalist Sara McMann and Invicta/Strikeforce vet
Alexis Davis, these six female combatants marked the first wave
of women in the UFC, and have been swimming through unexplored
waters.
This
Saturday at UFC 159 in New Jersey, one of the most accomplished
fighters in the group will be making her UFC debut.
Sara
McMann is the first American woman to win a silver medal at the
Olympic games. She’s also one of the inaugural female signees
of the UFC, entering the Octagon with a spotless record.
In
addition to those benchmarks, she helps out at Habitat for Humanity
and is a constant pillar for young people in her community. At
McMann’s current pace, Hillary Clinton probably has a small
Hoover-esque file on her as we speak.
Joking
aside, this 6-0 undefeated bantamweight has been making waves
in the MMA world since her professional debut in 2011, but on
Saturday steps into the brightest spotlight of her career.
“When
it came to the Olympics there was a tremendous amount of pressure,”
said McMann in a recent interview on the Great Debate Podcast
on MMAWeekly.com.
“Having
gone through that experience and knowing that I can trust my
skills under that kind of pressure, it definitely makes me feel
a lot more relieved. I always have nerves. It doesn’t matter
if it’s a tiny jiu-jitsu or wrestling tournament in the
middle of some little gym.
“I
have nerves because I kind of need them to compete. But I don’t
think it will be anything different than what I normally experience
for competition – even if it’s for the UFC.
“And
that’s very much because part of the way I approach things;
I very much have blinders on. Until the competition is over,
that’s when I step back, open my eyes and realize what I
just did.”
After
the original match-ups of Tate vs. Zingano and Rousey vs. Carmouche
were announced, many pundits assumed that a Davis vs. McMann
match would follow. That wasn’t the case. Davis was lined
up with Rosie Sexton, while McMann is set to face Germany’s
Sheila Gaff.
At
10-4 in her professional career, Gaff is a journeywoman of sorts.
She is known for a bum-rush style, trying to overwhelm her opponents,
but as McMann says, planning for any given narrative in the fight
game is a dangerous practice.
“I
know anything can happen in a fight,” she said. “And
just because a person fights someone one way doesn’t mean
they’ll fight that way against other people.
“So
I take it a little more like, these are the potential threats
I know of, but I don’t marry myself to a game plan. Because
anything can happen, and you better be ready to make split-second
decisions in the middle of the fight.”
For
McMann, the fight on Saturday is about more than a one-on-one
competition between two fighters. This is a showcase for a newly
minted women’s division. A division that she is quick to
remind you has been garnering plenty of attention as of late
for it’s obvious fan friendly approach, as witnessed by
Tate and Zingano’s Fight of the Night performance.
But
for this silver medalist, the pressure to live up to those previous
fights is irrelevant.
“It
doesn’t put any pressure on me because I know the style
I like to fight,” stated McMann.
“My
fights will always be exciting because of the pace I like to
set. And I really think the other girls have the same mindset.
“I
think it takes a different kind of girl who decides she wants
to do MMA for a living. They enjoy that kind of aggressiveness.
So all the girls you’re going to see are going to be pretty
aggressive girls. I doubt you’re going to find a boring
girl’s fight.”
There
is little doubt that the two inaugural female fights inside the
UFC were anything short of classic, and McMann doesn’t intend
to follow up with anything less.
Going
forward, it’s no longer a question of “how long is
women’s MMA going to last,” but more of “how far
is this going to go?”
If
Sara McMann and the Original Six have anything to say about it,
this is just the beginning, and there is a lot more to come.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Dana
White: Johny Hendricks is next for UFC champ Georges St-Pierre
– 'and soon'
by Dann
Stupp and Steven Marrocco
NEW
YORK – UFC President Dana White doesn't mind if welterweight
champion Georges St-Pierre doesn't want to move weight classes
for a superfight, but the boss said GSP better be ready for a
pending matchup with top contender Johny Hendricks.
St-Pierre
recently told the "The Joe Rogan Experience" that it'd
be easier to move to lightweight, conceivably for a potential
fight with champ Benson Henderson, than middleweight, where many
fight fans have anticipated a possible showdown with titleholder
Anderson Silva.
White,
of course, recently has championed for a Silva vs. St-Pierre
bout.
Of
course, there's also top welterweight contender Hendricks (15-1
MMA, 10-1 UFC), who's been chomping at the bit for his long-awaited
title shot. When asked what would happen if St-Pierre (24-2 MMA,
18-2 UFC) brushes off the Silva matchup and isn't into the Hendricks
airing, White suggested he should be.
"He's
going to have to get his head into it," White told MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com). "That's who he's going to fight.
"If
he doesn't want to do a superfight, nobody's going to pressure
him to do a superfight. That's up to him. But Johny Hendricks
is next – and soon. He's next and soon. Soon, soon. Maybe
in August."
White
gave no other details for the fight, though he didn't fully rule
out the possibility it could be part of the debut UFC on FOX
Sports 1 card in Boston on Aug. 17. However, with St-Pierre reigning
as the UFC's top pay-per-view draw, his future fights are likely
to come with a $55 price tag, not on free TV.
Hendricks
recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio that if St-Pierre does decide
to dabble in other weight classes, he wants him to vacate the
title so the division isn't held up. White, though, previously
stated that may not be a requirement.
"I
want to fight GSP because I'm a competitor," Hendricks said.
"I want to fight the best guys in my weight class. But also,
the belt is more important than GSP, and that's really what I'm
looking at.
"If
he wants to go to 185, then by all means, go to 185, and fight
Anderson Silva. Yes, it would be a great thing for our sport.
But I want the belt. I'd like to fight GSP for it, but if that
doesn't happen, I'm not going to hang my head and say, 'Oh man,
I'm not going to be fighting that guy for the belt.'"
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
UFC
on Fox 7: The Judge Who Scored It For Melendez Is a Cesar Gracie
BJJ Member
By McKinley
Noble
UFC
on Fox 7's main event title fight may have been marred by a corrupt
California judge.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Despite
a tough stylistic challenge and stanch home-court advantage for
his opponent, Benson Henderson once against defended his UFC
title by a razor-thin margin.
But
was the champion fighting more than just Gilbert Melendez?
According
to Julius Henderson, Benson's brother, there was a potentially
corrupt judge in San Jose scoring the main event at UFC on Fox
7—Wade Vierra.
As
Julius noted (via Twitter) in the aftermath of Bendo's title
defense, Vierra is "an affiliate student" connected
with GracieFighter, the very same team run by Cesar Gracie—mentor
to Nick Diaz and Nate Diaz, as well as Melendez.
Vierra's
link to Melendez is more evident due to his LinkedIn profile.
In
addition to 30 years of experience as a "Master Instructor"
for MMA GracieFighter, Vierra also lists his most recent job
(since June 2012) as an MMA judge for the California State Athletic
Commission (CSAC).
Currently,
Vierra lists himself as an active employee for both positions.
Vierra
has also been advertised for classes by at least two (now-defunct)
Twitter accounts formerly associated with GracieFighter:
Although
Melendez often fights out of his own self-built camp at the El
Nino Training Center in San Francisco, the former Strikeforce
lightweight champion is also a noted student of Gracie, and hence,
a team associate of Vierra's.
Moreover,
"El Nino" has also represented GracieFighter as part
of the "Scrap Pack" gang, comprised of himself, the
Diaz brothers and fellow Strikeforce veteran Jake Shields—all
of whom have now gone 0-5 in UFC title fights.
It's
unknown whether Vierra and Melendez actively train or work together
now, but the conflict of interest for Vierra seems blatant.
Even
if Melendez and Cesar Gracie were unaware of the connection,
the CSAC either didn't look too deeply in Vierra's background,
or determined that there were enough degrees of separation from
himself and Melendez that it was fair to have him judge the bout.
But
regardless of Vierra's 48-47 card for Melendez (via MMA Decisions),
both of the two other CSAC judges—Michael Bell and Derek
Cleary—scored the bout for Henderson.
Despite
the controversy in the aftermath, UFC on Fox 7 marks Melendez's
first defeat since 2008 and Henderson's third consecutive defense
of the UFC Lightweight Championship—a record that he now
shares with Frankie Edgar and retired two-division title holder
B.J. Penn.
Judge
who scored bout for Gilbert Melendez at UFC on FOX 7 runs Cesar
Gracie affiliate school in Roseville, CA
By Jason
Probst
USA
TODAY Sports
Conflict
of interest? Judge Wade Vierra, who scored the UFC on FOX 7 main
event 48-47 for Gilbert Melendez, runs a Cesar Gracie affiliate
school in Roseville, California.
UFC
on Fox 7, which emanated from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.,
on Sat., April 20, 2013, featured a main event between reigning
UFC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson taking on former Strikeforce
155-pound titleholder Gilbert Melendez.
The
bout ended in a razor thin split-decision, in favor of "Smooth."
Wade
Vierra scored the bout 48-47 for Melendez. On the surface, there's
no problem with that, as the bout was close. Except when you
also realize that Vierra runs a Cesar Gracie affiliate school
that the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) surely knows
is exactly that, even going so far as to host training sessions
for people hoping to become CSAC officials at Vierra's gym.
How
ironic, considering "El Nino" is trained by Cesar Gracie.
The
CSAC dropped the ball big-time in allowing the owner of a Cesar
Gracie affiliate school to judge the Gilbert Melendez vs. Ben
Henderson bout. It's a classic case of the old adage that the
appearance of conflict of interest is the same thing as an actual
one.
For
the CSAC's sake, at least Henderson won the bout, avoiding a
further conflagration.
Why
the oft-troubled California commission allowed Vierra to be a
judge in a bout where a Cesar Gracie-trained fighter in Melendez
was competing remains one of the great mysteries. It is a stark
reminder of the numerous problems they've had in the past (for
a great rundown on this topic, check out Zach Arnold's lead piece
on Fight Opinion here).
The
CSAC dropped the ball on the biggest stage it could've. And they
dodged a serious bullet with Melendez losing. If he'd won, mixed
martial arts (MMA) would've achieved the rare distinction of
looking as corrupt as boxing, which is no mean feat.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Complete
UFC on Fuel 10 fight card announced; Silva vs. High added
By Dave
Doyle
UFC
on Fuel 10 is official. While several of the bouts were already
announced and others had been rumored, the company finalized
the complete 13-fight card on Wednesday.
The
June 8 event at Ginasio Paulo Sarasate in Fortaleza, Brazil is
the culmination of the second season of "The Ultimate Fighter:
Brazil" and will be headlined by the heavyweight coaches
bout between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum.
The
card will also feature the welterweight finals of TUF Brazil
2 and a light heavyweight bout between Thiago Silva and Rafael
Cavalcante.
The
13-fight card was originally scheduled to include a pair of welterweight
bouts in Erick Silva against John Hathaway and Jason High vs.
Ildemar Alcantara. However, Hathaway recently had to pull out
of the event with an injury, so Silva will face High and Alcantara
will square off against promotional newcomer Leandro Silva.
Main
card:
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Fabricio Werdum
TUF
Brazil 2 welterweight final (Fighters TBD)
Thiago
Silva vs. Rafael Cavalcante
Erick
Silva vs. Jason High
Daniel
Sarafin vs. Eddie Mendez
Rony
Jason vs. Mike Wilkinson
Preliminary
card:
Rafael
Assuncao vs. Vaughan Lee
Ronny
Markes vs. Derek Brunson
Godofredo
Pepey vs. Felipe Arantes
Ildemar
Alcantara vs. Leandro Silva
Rodrigo
Damm vs. Mizuto Hirota
Calo
Magalhaes vs. Karlos Vemola
Antonio
Braga Neto vs. Anthony Smith
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Roy
Nelson believes impressive UFC 159 win over Kongo could lead
to title shot
by Matt
Erickson
NEW
YORK – Know that classic MMA fighter adage of "Whoever
the UFC puts in front of me"?
Yeah,
well not Roy Nelson. Not Roy Nelson at all.
"That's
not me," the UFC heavyweight on Thursday told MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com) at a UFC 159 media day at Madison Square
Garden in New York. "I never say that. I say, 'Whoever has
the gold!' If they go, 'Hey, you can have the next title shot,'
I'll wait for two years, three years, four years, whatever. I'll
take that. I'll be the Rashad Evans of the heavyweight division."
Evans,
of course, made a few waves for sitting and waiting for a title
shot that was put off by injuries to both him and light heavyweight
champion Jon Jones.
To
even be in that type of a conversation, though, Nelson (18-7
MMA, 5-3 UFC) first has to get past Cheick Kongo (18-7-2 MMA,
11-5-1 UFC) on the main card of Saturday's UFC 159, which takes
place at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
A
win would give Nelson three straight in the heavyweight division
after back-to-back first-round knockouts of Matt Mitrione this
past December and Dave Herman at UFC 146 nearly a year ago.
Those
quick stoppages flew in the face of what had sort of become Nelson's
calling card – well, aside from his figure and self-deprecating
humor about said figure and his diet. For four straight fights,
Nelson went into the third round, going just 1-3. Junior dos
Santos, Frank Mir and Fabricio Werdum couldn't finish him, but
did beat him. And he went three rounds with Mirko "Cro Cop"
Filipovic before stopping him.
But
though he joked that those longer fights were part of a sponsorship
deal of "trying to give them more TV time," Nelson
knows getting a highlight-reel finish and going home is going
to work for him on many different levels. At 36, it'll take less
toll on his body. It'll make the fans happy, which makes the
UFC happy. And who knows? Maybe it leads to that call to be next
in line for the title.
"At
the end of the day, fans like to see me fight regardless,"
he said. "But if I can get a knockout faster and be in and
out, I usually can get back to the victory dinner. The more I
bust my hump, the less work I actually have to do in the ring.
I've taken that philosophy. I've always been a procrastinator,
so I would always train as late as possible. But now I train
a little more and it makes things a lot easier."
Against
Kongo, Nelson faces an opponent who on paper appears to be surging,
going 4-1-1 the past three years after back-to-back losses to
Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir. He stopped Paul Buentello, then
had a draw with Travis Browne when he lost a point for holding
onto Browne's shorts in the fight. A "Knockout of the Night"
win over Pat Barry, though, came after Barry seemed to have him
finished, only to have Kongo stage a miraculous recovery and
hit the Hail Mary for the win. Wins over Matt Mitrione and Shawn
Jordan sandwiched a knockout loss to Mark Hunt, but the Mitrione
and Jordan wins weren't considered great fights by any stretch
of the imagination.
Some
also featured odd moments, like the aforementioned shorts grabbing.
And Nelson said he'll have to be on the lookout for those.
"Cheick
has a few strategies," he said. "I've got to make sure
he doesn't try to grab my shorts. That's a big one. Knees to
the balls – that's a big one. No grabbing the fence. And
then hopefully he won't run. So those are all the things I'm
looking at. I'm there to fight, and try to knock his block off."
And
if Kongo doesn't want to engage and run, as Nelson said? Or if
he tries to clinch with him for three rounds against the fence,
as was the hallmark of his win over Jordan in July?
Nelson
has a way around that.
"If
Cheick wants to fight, then I'm ready to go," he said. "But
if he's going to run, I didn't bring my running shoes. I'll chase
him down if I have to. But at the end of the day, I just want
to fight."
And
if things line up just right for him with a win, he believes
fighting the winner of next month's title fight between champ
Velasquez and Antonio Silva might just be in the cards.
"It
really comes down to the fans. It is about that timing,"
Nelson said. "After UFC 160, it's only a month difference
(from now). So the timing after this, if I win, I definitely
could get the next title shot."
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
UFC
159 Notebook: Talent Show
By Brian
Knapp
Alan
Belcher knows a golden opportunity when he sees one.
“The
Talent” will confront “The Ultimate Fighter” Season
3 winner Michael Bisping in the UFC 159 “Jones vs. Sonnen”
co-main event on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark,
N.J. Flirting with a top-10 ranking despite a number of serious
injuries and competitive hiccups, the 28-year-old stubbed his
figurative toe in his last appearance, as he wound up on the
wrong side of a unanimous verdict to Japanese grinder Yushin
Okami.
A
victory over Bisping, one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s
most visible and polarizing figures, would likely springboard
Belcher back into contention at 185 pounds.
“It
puts me back in the top of the division,” Belcher said during
a pre-fight media call. “We’re both coming off losses.
We both have losses in our career, wins in our career, and now
we’re going to see who the best is out of these two. I’m
not really thinking about what the fans think or how confident
Michael is. I’m just thinking about beating him.”
Bisping
wants to erase some bad recent memories of his own, chiefly the
knockout he suffered against Vitor Belfort at UFC on Fox 7 in
January. The 34-year-old was believed to be on the cusp of a
crack at middleweight champion Anderson Silva before an encounter
with a lightning-strike head kick from “The Phenom”
ruined those plans. Having never suffered back-to-back defeats
in his career, Bisping has injected his typical bravado into
the showdown with Belcher, baiting him with public barbs.
Belcher
welcomes the added dimension “The Count” brings to
the cage.
“It
is emotional for me,” he said. “That’s when I
perform at my highest. I have the most pressure on me, and I’m
the most nervous for this fight. The only fights that I’ve
lost are the fights that I wasn’t excited for. This one
... I want it more than any fight in my whole career. I’m
focused on it, and I’ll perform at my highest.”
Cool
Reception
Jim
Miller has issued a stern warning to Strikeforce import Pat Healy
ahead of his return to the UFC’s Octagon: do not expect
a warm welcome.
Revered
for his resilience, tenacity and commitment, the 29-year-old
Sparta, N.J., native has put in long hours at the AMA Fight Club,
as he takes aim at a 10th win in 12 outings in his lightweight
showcase with the rugged and resurgent Healy. Miller wants to
use the Sports Lab representative as another stepping stone at
155 pounds.
“I
don’t bust my ass in this room here to have guys compete
with me and have it be a close fight,” Miller said in his
pre-fight interview with UFC.com. “I want to dominate and
put guys away.”
Healy
will ride a six-fight winning streak into the cage. The 29-year-old
owns a 2006 submission victory over former World Extreme Cagefighting
welterweight champion Carlos Condit, along with wins against
onetime lightweight King of Pancrase Maximo Blanco, AMC Pankration
standout Caros Fodor and ex-Sengoku lightweight titleholder Mizuto
Hirota. Miller expects to be pushed but also believes he has
a distinct edge over Healy in one particular area.
“It’s
a tough fight,” Miller said. “He’s a great wrestler
and grappler. We have a lot of similarities. I think I hold an
advantage on the feet. If I can exploit a weakness, I’m
going to.”
This
& That
Only
one of Chael Sonnen’s 11 bouts in the UFC has been contested
at 205 pounds: a submission loss to Renato Sobral at UFC 55 in
October 2005 ... Kurt Holobaugh submitted six of his first seven
professional opponents, four of them inside one round ... Phi
Davis won 112 of his 129 wrestling matches at Harrisburg High
School in Harrisburg, Pa., before enjoying a decorated collegiate
career at Penn State University ... Born on Feb. 9, 1984, James
Head shares a birthday with actor Joe Pesci, former Dallas Cowboys
quarterback Danny White and William Henry Harrison, the ninth
President of the United States ... Hawaiian Yancy Medeiros is
one of two undefeated fighters on the 12-fight lineup at UFC
159; Sara McMann is the other ... Gian Villante and Ovince St.
Preux both played football in college, Villante at Hofstra University
and St. Preux at the University of Tennessee ... Cody McKenzie
was born in Cordova, a small city in southern Alaska with a population
of less than 2,500 ... Roy Nelson owns a 2-6 record in fights
that reach the judges and has not been awarded a decision since
he outpointed Shane Ott under the International Fight League
banner in 2007 ... Eight of Johnny Bedford’s nine career
defeats have come by submission ... German prospect Sheila Gaff
has finished two of her last three foes in 10 seconds or less.
Source
Sherdog
|
Demetrious
Johnson vs. John Moraga Rescheduled, Headlines UFC on Fox 8
UFC
on Fox 8 finally has a headline bout, and to nobody’s surprise
it features UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse”
Johnson defending his belt against John Moraga.
UFC
officials confirmed the bout first reported by FoxSports.com.
The
two were initially expected to meet in The Ultimate Fighter 17
Finale main event, but Johnson suffered an injury that forced
him off the card.
Johnson
(17-2-1) became the first UFC flyweight champion when he defeated
Joseph Benavidez by decision at UFC 152. Johnson last fought
on Jan. 26, defeating John Dodson by unanimous decision.
Moraga
(13-1) is 2-0 inside the UFC Octagon with a knockout over Ulysses
Gomez and a submission victory over Chris Cariaso.
UFC
on Fox 8 takes place on July 27 at KeyArena in Johnson’s
backyard of Seattle.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
KOTC
Champ Lowen
Tynanes
Hitting Stride, Keeping Busy Between KOTC and One FC
by Mick
Hammond
At just 22 years old, Hawaiian lightweight Lowen Tynanes had
already made a name for himself in the Pan-Asian fight scene
with hard-fought bouts in Japan, the Philippines and Malaysia.
But now he’s ready to make a name for himself in the mainland
U.S., starting with his recent King of the Cage title victory
over Kris Armbrister at the Sam Manuel Casino in Highland, Calif.
“Going in there we were mentally and physically ready and
prepared. I knew what I had to do to bring home the victory,”
he said. “I think I did pretty well. I went in there and
stuck to the game plan. I knew he was a real tall, lanky guy
and was kind of a brawler, so I stuck the game plan and took
him down and ended it quick.”
With finishes in his last three fights, Tynanes has continued
to step up to the level of his opposition as he furthers his
career.
“The competition has been getting tougher for sure,”
he said. “I don’t take any opponent lightly. But everyone
is different and everyone has gotten harder.
“It’s a fight and I always go out there and try not
to lose and beat my opponent before he beats me. I want to just
keep moving forward, keep winning and dominate.”
Tynanes doesn’t have long to enjoy his title victory as
he’s returning to One FC and then back to KOTC shortly thereafter.
“We go to Manila on May 31 for One FC and then in June or
July we go back to King of the Cage to defend my title,”
he said.
“It keeps me motivated and keeps me hungry knowing that
I’ve got to stay busy and I’ve always got to be learning.
It’s a good thing for sure.”
Tynanes doesn’t lack for motivation, as he told MMAWeekly.com
that being a champion only makes him want to push his journey
farther in the coming year.
“It feels awesome (to be a champion), but it’s just
the beginning,” he said. “It keeps me more motivated
and reaching for the stars.
“I intending on turning heads, living my dream and being
a fighting champion.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
159 ‘Jones vs. Sonnen’ Preview
By Tristen
Critchfield
It
is a bout that has been seven months in the making, thanks to
sound bites, social media and taunts -- nearly anything one can
think of except, of course, actual fighting.
On
Aug. 7, 2010, Chael Sonnen gave Anderson Silva the hardest four
and half rounds of “The Spider’s” Ultimate Fighting
Championship tenure, and he continues to reap the benefits today.
Without having earned a single victory in the weight class, Sonnen
will challenge Jon Jones -- who is well on his way to matching
Silva in terms of divisional dominance -- for the 205-pound championship
at UFC 159 on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Never
mind that Sonnen came up short against Silva on that summer night
more than two years ago or that he was woefully outclassed in
their middleweight title rematch at UFC 148. On the basis of
23 minutes plus some astute self-promotion after the fact, the
“Gangster from West Linn” has enough people convinced
that lightning can (almost) strike twice. Thankfully, the time
for talking has neared its end. Now Sonnen must prove himself
against Jones in the Octagon, where thus far, everyone else has
failed.
Here
is a closer look at UFC 159 “Jones vs. Sonnen,” with
analysis and picks:
UFC
Light Heavyweight Championship
Jon
Jones (17-1, 11-1 UFC) vs. Chael Sonnen (27-12-1, 6-5 UFC)
The
Matchup: Give Sonnen credit for realizing that his fame has an
expiration date. Instead of continuing to toil in the middleweight
division after two losses to Silva, Sonnen elected to move up
to 205 pounds and pick a fight with Jones. His timing could not
have been more perfect, as he offered to step in and face Jones
at UFC 151 when Dan Henderson withdrew from the bout with an
injury. Jones’ refusal to face the Team Quest product on
short notice only served to stoke the flames for a future matchup,
and the two were installed as rival coaches on Season 17 of “The
Ultimate Fighter.”
The
fighters were fairly cordial on the show, but Jones appeared
to have grown tired of the promotional aspect of the fight when
Jon Anik interviewed both men at “The Ultimate Fighter 17”
Finale, offering abbreviated responses to the commentator’s
queries. Sonnen, of course, was more than happy to bask in the
spotlight when his turn on the microphone came. Love him or hate
him, Sonnen is one of the smartest fighters in the sport today
when it comes to selling himself, but even he has to realize
that his relevance as a title contender will be all but over
with another defeat.
Jones
has encountered trouble twice thus far during his dominant title
reign. The first instance came at UFC 140, where Lyoto Machida
utilized movement and striking to vex the champion during the
first round before “Bones” asserted himself and submitted
“The Dragon” in the second frame. Jones’ most
significant danger came in his last outing, when Vitor Belfort
trapped him in a tight armbar in the first round of their UFC
152 showdown. Jones escaped, however, and dominated the rest
of the encounter en route to tapping “The Phenom” with
a keylock in round four.
The
problem for Sonnen is that he is unlikely to follow the path
of Machida or Belfort with much success. Although he managed
to get the best of some standup encounters with Silva at UFC
117, Sonnen’s striking is basic, as he throws one-two combinations
while relying on forward movement to keep opponents on their
heels. While it is not unreasonable to think that Sonnen could
land some decent punches due to sheer pressure, he is far less
likely to pull off a submission if planted on his back. The Oregonian
thrives on top control, from which he wears down foes with a
consistent barrage of punches and elbows. He does a good job
of posturing up inside guard and remaining active to avoid referee
restarts. Unlike Silva, who proved to be susceptible to takedowns,
Jones controls fights with his wrestling. His Greco-Roman background
enables him to get takedowns from unusual angles, and his length
allows him to maintain position on the floor. If Sonnen finds
himself on his back, he will have to defend against Jones’
trademark elbows, as well as a creative submission game.
It
will be a tall task for Sonnen to even move into takedown range
against the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts product. Jones
will have an 11-inch reach advantage, and he understands better
than most how to use that length in his favor. The New York native
is creative in landing a variety of punches, kicks and elbows
on the feet. Kicks to legs and knees, in particular, will gradually
slow Sonnen as he attempts to close distance.
However,
there do not seem to be many alternatives for Sonnen to pull
off the upset. When he attempts to get too creative on the feet,
the results can be disastrous, as evidenced by the ill-advised
spinning back fist that sealed his demise in the UFC 148 rematch
with Silva. Jones has yet to be taken down in UFC competition,
so it is worth the risk to see how he would respond in such a
situation. By transitioning from striking to takedowns and chaining
together multiple attempts, Sonnen at least has the ability to
make Jones work to defend his attacks.
The
Pick: Scary as it seems, Jones should only be getting better.
He will first pick apart Sonnen on the outside before taking
the action to the canvas to expose his opponent’s faulty
submission defense. Jones coaxes a tapout in round two.
Middleweights
Michael
Bisping (23-5, 13-5) vs. Alan Belcher (18-7, 9-5 UFC)
The
Matchup: Perhaps one victory away from a title shot, Bisping
suffered a brutal technical knockout loss to Vitor Belfort at
UFC on FX 7, as “The Phenom” floored the Englishman
with a head kick and finished the contest with follow-up punches
just 87 seconds into the bout. Bisping has rebounded from traumatic
setbacks before -- he won five of his next six bouts after his
infamous knockout loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 100, and he will
have to do so again in order to work his way back to middleweight
contention.
With
four consecutive wins heading into UFC 155, Belcher also had
designs on getting a crack at Anderson Silva’s gold, but
“The Talent” was smothered by Yushin Okami in a unanimous
decision defeat. The Biloxi, Miss., native struggled to control
distance against Okami, and when the Japanese fighter was not
planting his opponent on the mat, Belcher was giving up position
himself with risky submission attempts.
Finding
a comfortable range will once again be key for Belcher but for
different reasons than it was against Okami. Bisping is a cerebral
fighter who uses excellent footwork and movement to control the
cage. “The Count” does not possess the type of power
to give Belcher pause, but his ability to land punching combinations
in volume while moving in and out of danger could prove frustrating.
Belcher
is a talented kickboxer, but he has shown a tendency to drift
between technical striking and brawling over the course of his
career. He will have no success luring Bisping into a slugfest,
so he must be patient in exchanges, using kicks to the legs and
body judiciously in order to slow his opponent’s movement.
If he took note of Belfort’s win over Bisping, Belcher might
also look to keep his man off-balance with the occasional high
kick.
Belcher
is a big 185-pounder and could look to force tie-ups with Bisping
in order to land short strikes in tight, but the Brit held his
own in the clinch against Chael Sonnen at UFC on Fox 2 and should
be able to do the same here. If either fighter is going to shoot
for a takedown, it is probably going to be Bisping. He has displayed
a knack for scoring timely takedowns as his career has progressed.
Belcher is not averse to risk taking on the ground, however --
he wields underrated jiu-jitsu and will often work to create
scrambles on the mat. If Bisping finds himself on the bottom,
he is excellent at clearing his hips and using the cage to return
to his feet.
The
Pick: It will take a disciplined, three-round approach for Belcher
to get the best of Bisping. “The Talent” will have
a few moments, but Bisping’s conditioning and effective
boxing carry him to a three-round verdict.
Heavyweights
Roy
Nelson (18-7, 5-3 UFC) vs. Cheick Kongo (18-7-2, 11-5-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: Nelson continued his climb into the heavyweight division’s
top 10 with a first-round technical knockout victory over Matt
Mitrione at “The Ultimate Fighter 16” Finale in December.
A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with a heavy top game, “Big
Country” has finished all five of his Octagon triumphs via
strikes. His overhand right is his most renowned weapon, but
when “The Ultimate Fighter 10” winner uses that punch
as part of a combination -- as he did versus Mitrione -- it becomes
that much more dangerous.
Kongo
did not win many new fans in his last outing -- a unanimous decision
win against Shawn Jordan at UFC 149 that was largely contested
in the clinch. Now 37 years old, Kongo has long been one of the
most respected gatekeepers in the weight class, and he has won
three of his last four fights. He has not been especially overwhelming
in victory, however, nearly getting knocked out by Pat Barry
and doing just enough to win against Mitrione and Jordan.
Nelson
will have to navigate Kongo’s nine-inch reach advantage,
but the Las Vegas resident has become accustomed to getting inside
against rangier foes. Kongo, a kickboxer whose 58 percent significant
striking accuracy ranks third among UFC fighters with at least
350 significant strike attempts, must use his kicks effectively
to control distance. Countering with crisp, accurate strikes
as Nelson moves forward will decrease the chances of the portly
heavyweight unleashing his deadly overhand right.
The
strategy sounds simple, but despite his striking skills, Kongo
sometimes allows opponents to cut off the cage and expose his
mediocre takedown defense. Nelson is adept at using one-two combinations
to move into clinch range, and from there, Kongo will find that
Nelson is much craftier than Jordan at finding ways to get his
foes to the mat.
If
Kongo finds himself engaged in another clinch war, he must punish
Nelson with knees. Lulls in activity will allow Nelson to work
a trip takedown and suffocate Kongo from top position. Kongo,
meanwhile, does not have great takedown technique, but he masks
this deficiency by disguising his shots with good combinations.
Once on top, Kongo lands heavy ground-and-pound from inside his
opponent’s guard.
The
Pick: Nelson is as durable as they come, so he will not mind
wading through punishment to get the chance to land power strikes
and force clinches. “Big Country” finds a home for
his right hand in round one to win by knockout or technical knockout.
Light
Heavyweights
Phil
Davis (10-1, 6-1 UFC) vs. Vinny Magalhaes (10-5, 1-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: The seeds for this matchup were planted back in October,
when Magalhaes took to Twitter to call out Davis after UFC 153.
According to Davis, the Brazilian had an opportunity to face
him at UFC 155 once Forrest Griffin withdrew due to injury, but
Magalhaes refused the fight. The back-and-forth between the two
fighters has continued since then, adding an entertaining aspect
to what is an otherwise curious pairing for Davis, a top 10 light
heavyweight who is not far from championship aspirations.
After
a rough start to his career that included a stint on “The
Ultimate Fighter 8” and losses in four of his first seven
pro bouts -- including setbacks to Ryan Bader and Eliot Marshall
in the UFC -- Magalhaes has experienced a resurgence since deciding
to focus all of his energy on MMA. “Pezao” has won
eight of his last nine fights, including a second-round submission
of Igor Pokrajac in his return to the Octagon in September.
The
2011 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships
gold medalist might be the best in the division when it comes
to grappling acumen, and he lured Pokrajac into his guard before
deftly transitioning from a triangle choke to an armbar to secure
the tapout at UFC 152. The key for Magalhaes is his ability to
use well-placed strikes to bring the fight into his world.
It
was business as usual for Davis against Wagner Prado at UFC 153,
as he scored multiple takedowns and controlled the action from
top position en route to winning via second-round anaconda choke.
However, the victory did not showcase anything new from “Mr.
Wonderful.” If he is to eventually challenge for the belt,
he will have to improve upon his showing against Rashad Evans
at UFC on Fox 2. In that contest, Davis was made to look mechanical
and tentative on the feet once his wrestling was shut down.
A
four-time NCAA All-American wrestler at Penn State University,
Davis uses his strength and long frame to control foes on the
mat. Although he has excellent submission skills, the Alliance
MMA representative might not look to pass guard as frequently
as he normally does against a decorated jiu-jitsu practitioner
such as Magalhaes. Instead, look for a conservative approach
from Davis, as he lands just enough offense to stay out of danger
and avoid restarts by the referee.
Magalhaes
has improved his striking since his first UFC tenure but not
enough to threaten Davis, who can use his four-inch reach advantage
to land kicks to the legs and body to keep his man at a safe
distance. The standup game is where Davis needs to progress the
most; if he shows improved aggression and fluidity here, it bodes
well for his future.
The
Pick: Expect a measured approach from Davis, as he lands strikes
from the outside and is moderate ground-and-pound from above
in a decision victory.
Lightweights
Jim
Miller (22-4, 11-3 UFC) vs. Pat Healy (29-16, 0-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: Healy never did get his shot at Gilbert Melendez while
in Strikeforce, but after toiling primarily on the undercards
for the now-defunct promotion, “Bam Bam” gets a seasoned
and well-respected adversary for his return to the Octagon.
Healy
earned his sixth consecutive victory at Strikeforce’s final
event in January, grinding his way to a unanimous verdict over
Kurt Holobaugh. Healy has seen pretty much everything during
his 12-year professional career, squaring off with the likes
of Chris Lytle, Dan Hardy, Carlos Condit, Paul Daley and Jake
Ellenberger, to name a few. A win over Miller would be a huge
step for Healy, who remains largely unknown to the casual fan.
Miller
concluded 2012 with a wildly entertaining triumph over Joe Lauzon
at UFC 155. In a bout that drew “Fight of the Year”
consideration, Miller showcased a well-rounded standup arsenal,
punishing Lauzon with standing elbows, left hands and leg kicks.
It was a typically aggressive outing for the AMA Fight Club product,
who has only lost to Gray Maynard, Nate Diaz and Benson Henderson
during his UFC tenure.
Healy
is accustomed to wearing down opponents with his clinch work
and wrestling, but Miller would seem to be a little bit better
at everything the Strikeforce veteran does well. Miller will
press forward with combinations, allowing Healy little room to
breathe while setting up clinch and takedown opportunities. His
standup is still improving, as he demonstrated against Lauzon,
and he should be able to dictate exchanges with Healy, who has
taken some solid shots from Holobaugh, Mizuto Hirota and Caros
Fodor in recent victories.
Healy’s
best chance at victory is to resort to brute force and overpower
Miller as Henderson did. However, he is not an athlete of that
caliber, and Miller, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, has an
active submission game and will be tenacious in forcing scrambles
on the canvas.
The
Pick: Miller will bust up Healy on the feet early before pressuring
the resilient veteran in the clinch and with submission attempts
from top position. Miller wins by submission in round two or
three.
Women’s
Bantamweights
Sara
McMann (6-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Sheila Gaff (10-4-1, 0-0 UFC): An Olympic
wrestling silver medalist with an unblemished MMA record, McMann
would seem to need just a little more seasoning before becoming
Ronda Rousey’s greatest threat; although with victories
over the likes of Shayna Baszler, Hitomi Akano and Tonya Evinger,
it is not as though she is untested. Gaff, who formerly competed
at 125 pounds, has the hands to test McMann, as she has finished
her last three victories in a combined 1:52. McMann takes it
by submission or decision.
Bantamweights
Bryan
Caraway (17-6, 2-1 UFC) vs. Johnny Bedford (19-9-1, 2-0 UFC):
With Erik Perez hospitalized due to a staph infection, Caraway
steps in on short notice to face his “Ultimate Fighter 14”
castmate. Bedford blends heavy power punches, including effective
work to the body, with a grueling clinch game to wear down opponents.
If Bedford elects to go the ground-and-pound route, he must be
wary of Caraway’s active submission game. Bedford will have
his chances to land significant shots, and he takes advantage
en route to winning a decision.
Light
Heavyweights
Ovince
St. Preux (12-5, 0-0 UFC) vs. Gian Villante (10-3, 0-0 UFC):
Outside of a loss to the talented Gegard Mousasi in December
2011, St. Preux has followed the path of a promising prospect,
posting a 6-1 mark under the Strikeforce banner. A southpaw who
played football at the University of Tennessee, St. Preux is
usually able to overwhelm foes with his striking and athleticism.
A wrestling and football standout at Hofstra, Villante carries
a three-fight winning streak into the matchup, most recently
earning a unanimous verdict over Derrick Mehman in May. If St.
Preux has an obvious weakness, it is takedown defense. Villante
capitalizes to win via decision.
Lightweights
Rustam
Khabilov (15-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Yancy Medeiros (9-0, 0-0 UFC): Khabilov had one of the most
memorable Octagon debuts in recent memory at “The Ultimate
Fighter 16” Finale, when he suplexed Vinc Pichel three times
before finishing the bout with strikes. A decorated sambo specialist,
it was not the first time Khabilov has turned the tide of a fight
with a powerful slam. After competing at 205 and 185 pounds in
Strikeforce, Medeiros returns to action for the first time since
June 2010. Testing the waters in a new weight class after such
a long layoff makes the Hawaiian something of a mystery. Khabilov
wins by decision.
Featherweights
Leonard
Garcia (15-10-1, 2-6 UFC) vs. Cody McKenzie (13-3, 2-3 UFC):
Perhaps victimized by his own reputation for receiving favorable
scorecards from judges in the past, Garcia dropped a controversial
decision to Max Holloway at UFC 155. Garcia can take consolation
that he appeared to be the stronger fighter in rounds two and
three, still aggressively pursuing his foe with his trademark
winging punches. McKenzie, who was supposed to face Garcia on
that December card, has lost three of his last four inside the
Octagon. “Bad Boy” avoids the guillotine choke and
wins via technical knockout.
Welterweights
James
Head (9-3, 2-2 UFC) vs. Nick Catone (9-4, 3-4 UFC): Catone’s
first appearance at 170 pounds ended in disappointment, as he
submitted to an arm-triangle choke from T.J. Waldburger at “The
Ultimate Fighter 16” Finale. Head, meanwhile, had a modest
two-fight winning streak stopped courtesy of a Mike Pyle knee
in the first round on the same card. Head fends off enough of
Catone’s takedowns to land some punching combinations and
win a decision.
Featherweights
Kurt
Holobaugh (9-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Steven Siler (21-10, 3-1 UFC): After
reeling off three straight victories to begin his UFC career,
Siler was overpowered by the wrestling of Darren Elkins at UFC
154. Siler is at his best when he can land punches in volume,
but he also has an active submission game from his back. Holobaugh
proved to be a game short-notice opponent for Pat Healy in January,
landing some decent shots on the feet and threatening with submissions
after being taken down. Siler walks away with the decision.
*
* *
TRACKING
TRISTEN 2013
Overall
Record: 87-50
Last Event (UFC on Fox 7): 9-3
Best Event (Strikeforce “Marquardt vs. Saffiedine): 9-2
Worst Event (UFC 156/UFC on Fuel TV 8): 5-6
Source:
Sherdog
|
Tamerlan
Tsarnaev, now world-famous boxing training terrorist (at an MMA
gym)
By Zach
Arnold
“Suspect
#1 was a boxer. Suspect #2 was a wrestler. The media will connect
this to MMA somehow before its all said and done.”
Who knew that America’s most-wanted terrorist on Friday
was, by mass media standards of portrayal, a prolific boxer who
trained at a Mixed Martial Arts gym? Until Friday morning, the
name Tamerlan Tsarnaev didn’t exactly register in the minds
of the combat sports community. Dare I say, you probably wouldn’t
have been able to identify him out of a police line-up.
Except that’s what the FBI essentially asked the public
to do on Thursday when they released images of he and his younger
brother in a Boston manhunt that saw the entire area locked down
in a quasi-martial law scenario.
Given how young the sport of Mixed Martial Arts is, as a fan
you get used to the media trying to tie MMA into any kind of
horrific or inspirational story if it means generating a polarizing
response from general readership.
It could be cancer-fighting Stuart Scott of ESPN, whose prolific
training in Mixed Martial Arts has kept him in top physical shape.
It could be a tabloid story about Nicollette Sheridan doing ‘MMA
training’ on the beach with a mystery man.
It could be an ESPN profile about Down’s Syndrome fighter
Garrett “G-Money” Holeve in Florida.
Then, there are the stories like the recent tabloid fodder in
the UK & Australia about a rapist who had a background in
Mixed Martial Arts training.
There’s the occasional story about someone who’s an
MMA fighter who does a good deed, like Jesse Finney thwarting
a burglary in the St. Louis area.
Perhaps you’ll see an article from an outlet like London’s
Daily Mail pushing the angle of ‘the brutal world of Evangelical
Christians and MMA.’
Then, there’s the outrageously outrageous like Jarrod Wyatt,
the MMA fighter who ripped out his friend’s heart &
tongue out… literally. He got 47 years in California state
prison for that act. It’s the kind of appalling story that
draws negative press to Mixed Martial Arts amongst the general
public. However, it’s not a story that makes you stop and
go, “MMA is so barbaric, if it attracts guys like Jarrod
Wyatt then I just can’t support it any more.” Sure,
the story was picked up on various international news wires,
but more out of morbid curiosity than anything else.
Another murderer, however, is managing to bring worldwide attention
to boxing & Mixed Martial Arts in the kind of way that nobody
in the industry could have expected. Jarrod Wyatt, meet Boston
Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev. You could have met the same
room temperature fate as Tsarnaev did early Friday morning in
Watertown, MA.
When NBC Hall of Fame ace news reporter Pete Williams (along
with the Associated Press) broke the news on Friday morning about
the names of the two men fingered by the FBI in the Boston Marathon
Bombings, there was an insane media rush to find out more information
on the background of the two young men in question. Both Tsarnaev
brothers were locals who had emigrated to the area a decade ago.
The younger brother, captured by authorites in a boat on Friday
night, was an amateur wrestler. He was portrayed as a ‘normal’
Cambridge kid who smoked marijuana and partied. His brother,
however, quickly was identified in another manner. Grabbing onto
any piece of information, tens of millions of television viewers
in the United States and thousands of media writers scrambled
to find some kind of information, any nugget, about a twisted,
devious mastermind.
The media found their angle rather quickly on social media. “Will
box for passport” photos. Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s background
in the New England Golden Gloves circuit was quickly discovered.
He was pictured here a Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts shirt. Suddenly,
the media found their angle to explain just how dangerous this
man was and how his background could have contributed to molding
& shaping his personality. He was a boxer training at an
MMA gym. A perfect media storm.
The combat sports connection quickly gained steam on television
outlets that tens of millions of Americans were watching on Friday.
The Boston Globe was one of the first outlets to interview John
Allan, the owner of the Wai Kru MMA gym.
Tamerlan, the eldest son, became an amateur boxer, emulating
his father, who helped train him. Boxing as a heavyweight, he
competed in the national Golden Gloves competition, said John
Allan, owner of Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts in Allston, who remembered
seeing him compete.
“He was the best boxer in Boston,” said Allan. “He
smoked all of the professionals.”
“He was noticeable because he was very relaxed, very smooth.”
said Douglas A. Yoffe, the coach at the Harvard Boxing Club,
who has seen Tamerlan box about half a dozen times over the past
decade.
Allan found himself being interviewed on Friday afternoon by
big-name media personalities like Brian Williams. Camera crews
rushed to the Wai Kru gym to try to interview some individuals
coming in-and-out of the facility. The pressure was intense.
Tell us everything you know. Why didn’t you know he was
a terrorist?
Slate described the scene at Wai Kru MMA gym on Friday during
the lockdown:
The gym is a small store in a strip mall, next to a Laundromat
and an instant oil change place. On the ground level, there are
trophies, some heavy bags, a bunch of boxing gloves and MMA champion
belts in a glass case, and a big sign celebrating a 2008 title
in the New England Grappling Championship. Like every other business
here, this one is empty. There’s a printed-out sign on this
door that reads: “We will be closed today 4/19/13.”
MMA Convert: A primer for a possible mainstream media attack
on MMA
The stories continued. The Globe published a picture of Tamerlan
Tsarnaev with Micky Ward. Tsarnaev had aspirations of making
the US Olympic boxing team.
““In the ring, he could knock a man out with one punch,’’
said Gene McCarthy, founder of the Somerville Boxing Club. “But
when he sat at a piano, he could play classical music like you
wouldn’t believe.’’
The boxing champ and &SHY;piano man, it turned out to &SHY;McCarthy’s
horror, was also on his way to setting off a wave of violence
that killed at least four people, wounded more than 170, and
ended with his death early Friday morning in a firefight in Watertown
with police.
Allan said Tsarnaev often sparred with Dorchester native John
“Doomsday’’ Howard, who has since become a force
in the Ultimate Fighting Championship competition.”
Imagine how John Howard is feeling this morning. It was Tsarnaev
who allegedly planted one of the two pressure-cooker bombs right
next to 8-year old boy & Dorchester native Martin Richard.
As prolific Globe writer Kevin Cullen put it, “Nothing tough
about this boxer’s character.”
For an inquisitive mass media, connecting Tamerlan Tsarnaev with
a boxing & MMA training connection was a way to explain to
viewers just how dangerous this man was. Think of it this way…
people in the MMA industry want the sport to grow, to become
mainstream, and to be accepted on a large scale. The kind of
mainstream attention MMA wants is for the big fight shows. Occasionally,
that happens. More often than not, however, the kind of mainstream
attention MMA gets in the press is one of a dangerous allure,
of the kind of training that makes a human more dangerous. The
Jarrod Wyatts of the world. And now, the older brother who authorities
portray as the mastermind behind the Boston Marathon Bombings.
Yesterday, Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s fighting background became
a story that the media used to defined his persona. It became
an aspect to define, in the minds of the masses, how and why
this guy became so dangerous. Take a look at your favorite search
engine or Lexis Nexus. A world-famous terrorist, now room temperature
in a morgue somewhere, has put a hell of a mainstream media spotlight
on the combat sports world. Just ask John Allan all about that.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Dana
White discusses Matt Mitrione's abbreviated suspension, UFC code
of conduct
By Mike
Chiappetta
NEW YORK - After 16 days on the UFC's suspended list, Matt Mitrione
was pulled back on to the active roster on Wednesday, when he
was confirmed as a participant on the UFC on FOX 8 card scheduled
for July 27. As it turns out, aside from his bouts during the
season he appeared on The Ultimate Fighter, the three-and-half
month turnaround will be the fastest of his career.
That
doesn't seem like much of a penalty, but White said the suspension
wasn't so much a punishment as it was a chance to speak with
Mitrione about the situation and determine his intent.
In
the end, he said, Mitrione privately apologized and was fined
an undisclosed amount. When pressed for a number, UFC president
Dana White declined to offer specifics.
"A
lot," he said. "Enough to make him call me 40 times
and ask him not to fine me that much."
White
did not say where that money would go. Some professional sports
leagues, including the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball, donate
at least some portion of fine money to charitable causes.
Mitrione
was suspended on April 8, after comments on MMAFighting.com's
show The MMA Hour, during which he called transgender women's
fighter Fallon Fox "a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting
freak."
White
said that Mitrione's underlying objection to Fox, who was born
a man, fighting women should have been stated in a more articulate
manner. In fact, White said that while he disagreed with Mitrione's
disparaging characterization of Fox, he agreed with Mitrione's
stance against Fox fighting women. Saying he would ultimately
leave it up to fight commissions and scientists to decide the
right course, he believes that Fox, born as a man, holds some
genetic advantages, even after years of hormone therapy.
"I
don't think that somebody who used to be a man but became a woman
should be able to fight women," he said. "I don’t.
But the way he said it? If he was standing in front of a courtroom
because he was so passionate about this, in front of a judge
or a committee or something like that, he wouldn’t have
said it the way he said it. Maybe he thought he was trying to
be funny? It wasn’t funny."
Mitrione
has never publicly apologized for the comments, although the
UFC publicly chastised him in a statement, saying his words were
"offensive and wholly unacceptable."
White
said any public apology is ultimately Mitrione's responsibility.
"Yeah
if that’s what he wanted to do. I don’t tell anybody
to do anything," he said. "If a guy comes out and says
something stupid, I don’t go to him and say, ‘Here’s
what you’re going to do. You’re going to apologize,’
and do this and that. You can’t make somebody apologize.
If I make him do it, it’s not real. Then he’s not really
apologizing. That’s literally how I deal with people and
how we handle things after they mess up. We’re all going
to make mistakes. That’s normal. But, how do you handle
yourself after you make that mistake?"
Future
transgressions of the UFC's code of conduct will be treated in
the same way. White said suspension terms are not spelled out,
and remain under the UFC's discretion.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Michael
Bisping On Fight with Alan Belcher: “It’s in the Bag;
It’s a Formality”
by Jeff
Cain
UFC middleweights Michael Bisping and Alan Belcher have been
entangled in bitter war of words for months. It’s no secret
that the two men do not like each other. They’ve gone at
each other in interview after interview and they’ve engaged
in insult exchanges on social media.
But the time for talking is nearly over.
The two meet in the UFC 159 co-main event on Saturday to settle
their differences. Bisping believes there’s no way he can
lose to Belcher.
“Health wise, going into this fight I’m fantastic.
Fighters train hard and we accumulate injuries over the years,
but nothing that is going to stop me from destroying Alan Belcher
come Saturday night,” said Bisping during a media conference
call on Monday.
“I’ve got a great camp, feel fantastic. Yes, as I said,
all fighters kind of carry a couple of injuries here and there,
but there’s nothing that’s going to hinder my performance
and nothing on this planet that is going to help Alan Belcher.”
Bisping was on the cusp of earning a title shot in the 185-pound
division, but was knocked out by Vitor Belfort in his last outing
on Jan. 19. He hopes a win over Belcher will put him back in
the title picture.
“Well, obviously it draws me back in the win column. It
eradicates my last loss. You’re only as good as your last
fight and my last fight was a loss. And I don’t take that
too well. I want to win fights. I’m a natural competitor.
A win over Alan Belcher puts me back in the win column. As I
say, I get redemption for my last fight. It’s a win over
a Top 10 opponent,” he said.
“And it gets me back in the mix for the title shot. That’s
what I want, and as long as there’s blood – sorry,
life in my body – I will continue to try and get that title
shot. I’m a fighter. I want to be the world champion, and
I ain’t stopping until – as long as my body can do
it, I’m going to keep trying,” said the 34-year-old
Brit.
“A win over me for Alan Belcher will be by far the biggest
win of his pathetic career,” he added, not believing in
any way that it will happen.
Bisping’s confidence is high heading into the fight with
Belcher. On the call, he addressed Belcher directly, claiming
the fight is all but over before it begins.
“Hey bro, I ain’t going to lose to you, man. It’s
in the bag. All I got to do is – it’s a formality.
I just got to show up, slap your little face, take my check and
go home.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
159 Prelims: 5 Reasons to Watch
By Mike
Whitman
Citizens
of humanity: ask and thou shalt receive. Your main man is back
in that galactic driver’s seat with his foot on the gas
pedal and an ace up his sleeve. The sportswriter with the biggest
arms in the business has finally -- finally -- come back to New
Jersey to put a beatdown on the rest of these pathetic media
chumps and once again prove exactly why Michael P. Whitman is
the ... Uh oh, looks like I slipped into Chael Sonnen Mode again.
My bad, you guys. Let me try this one more time.
UFC
159 “Jones vs. Sonnen” takes place at the Prudential
Center in Newark, N.J., and is headlined by a light heavyweight
title bout between reigning champion Jon Jones and Sonnen, the
outspoken challenger who will make his first appearance at 205
pounds since 2005. The pay-per-view broadcast will also see Alan
Belcher lock horns with Michael Bisping in an important middleweight
co-headliner, while Roy Nelson squares off with Cheick Kongo
in a heavyweight showdown. Prior to the pay-to-play option, the
undercard airs live on FX and Facebook.
Here
are five reasons to catch those prelims:
McMann’s
Matwork
The
UFC’s women’s division is really coming together, as
evidenced by the recent flurry of bookings, including Sara McMann’s
showdown with Sheila Gaff.
This
is good news for MMA fans, unless you do not enjoy watching women
fight based on some antiquated moral belief, in which case, you
might want to skip down to the section discussing Soviet-born
suplex machines.
McMann’s
wrestling resume speaks for itself. A silver medalist at the
2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the grappler has used her superior
mat pedigree to guide her to a perfect 6-0 professional record.
Prior to signing with the UFC, McMann was supposed to face Liz
Carmouche in September under the Strikeforce banner, but that
bout, along with the event, was canceled due to injury. While
several colleagues I spoke to about that matchup heavily favored
McMann, I honestly do not believe she was ready for a competitor
like Carmouche. However, whether Gaff will be able to stave off
McMann’s takedowns and make her pay standing the way I thought
Carmouche would is still up for debate.
‘The
German Tank’
As
evidenced in her recent 10-second demolition of Jennifer Maia,
“The German Tank” fights with an urgency rarely seen,
regardless of gender or weight class. Was it a dirty win? Perhaps,
but the result of that bout is exactly why referees have been
telling fighters to protect themselves at all times long before
any of us were even born.
Put
plainly, Gaff throws hard, heavy and often. Just 23 years old,
the rising European standout should not be confused with a precision
striker like Germaine de Randamie. On the contrary, Gaff approaches
her opponents like Joey Chestnut approaches a plate of hot dogs,
hurling furious, wild offense as if her very life depends on
obliterating the obstacle in front of her as quickly as possible.
Gaff made the cut to 125 pounds in 2011 and has not lost since,
recording three wins in less than two minutes combined.
Will
Gaff, who now moves back up to 135 pounds, use her rapacious
striking attack to overwhelm the comparatively rigid McMann or
will her aggression work against her and allow the Olympian to
catch her with a well-timed double-leg on the way in?
Brutal
Boy
Nicknames
can be funny. Some are announced with a stone-faced resolution,
while others are read with one’s tongue firmly placed in
its corresponding cheek. Some guys never live up to their monikers,
and some find their nicknames uncomfortably inapplicable after
time takes its toll. I think it is safe to place Johnny Bedford’s
handle into the “serious” category, as the Texan’s
Ultimate Fighting Championship performances have left little
question as to why he is so aptly referred to as “Brutal.”
First
came “Ultimate Fighter” castmate and natural flyweight
Louis Gaudinot, whom Bedford destroyed systematically over the
course of 12 excruciating minutes. Bedford acted almost as cruel
toward “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” Season 1 veteran
Marcos Vinicius Borges Pancini, whom he stopped with a second-round
flurry in past December at “The Ultimate Fighter 16”
Finale.
Bedford
was initially slated to face Erik Perez at UFC 159, but “El
Goyito” was forced to withdraw from the fight in favor of
a hospital bed brought on by a serious staph infection -- a development
which has resulted in Bedford being paired with fellow “Ultimate
Fighter 14” alum Bryan Caraway. Can Bedford maintain his
momentum against his new opponent and continue his rise up the
bantamweight ladder?
Vetting
Villante
How good is Gian Villante? Perhaps a better question is how good
can Gian Villante one day become?
Villante’s
potential has always been one of the easiest things to like about
the New Yorker. This was fine three years ago, when he was undefeated
and won the Ring of Combat heavyweight title as a 24-year-old.
Those days are past, however, and he will now be forced to sink
or swim in the UFC’s light heavyweight shark tank.
Now
27, Villante fought his way through a stretch of three losses
in four fights to ride a three-fight winning streak into his
UFC debut. A former NCAA Div. I wrestler and middle linebacker
at Hofstra University, Villante has never had his athleticism
questioned. Still, he has nevertheless shown vulnerability against
savvier or more technical opponents, such as Chad Griggs and
Lorenz Larkin. I will let you guess which is which.
Though
Villante posted victories over Keith Berry, Trevor Smith and
Derrick Mehmen to close out his Strikeforce career, he must now
produce similar results against better competition if he plans
to survive on the sport’s largest stage. That process begins
in New Jersey, where Villante faces another Strikeforce import
and former NCAA linebacker in Ovince St. Preux. Will Villante
show that he belongs in the Octagon?
Khabilov
the Killer
We
need to talk about Rustam Khabilov’s suplexes for a second.
Those
belly-to-back joints he hit on poor Vinc Pichel were some of
the finest examples of a grown man getting tossed around like
a ball of tinfoil that you will find anywhere on planet earth.
Take it from me, a man who loves his suplexes: those high-angle
masterpieces compare favorably to the best this sport has ever
seen. Yes, this includes Dan Severn’s Chris Benoit impression
against Anthony Macias and Kevin Randleman’s flying railroad
spike of Fedor Emelianenko.
This
is nothing new for the sambo expert; he said so himself after
his Dec. 15 destruction of Pichel. For further proof of this
fact, you may want to scope his belly-to-belly throw that separated
Akin Duran from his higher brain functions back in 2009 under
the M-1 Global banner.
The
Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts rep must now deal with unbeaten
Hawaiian prospect Yancy Medeiros. Can he impress yet again and
walk away with his fifth straight win?
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
champ Jones wants fight with Gustafsson, eyes spot on future
FOX card
by Dann
Stupp
If he gets by Chael Sonnen in Saturday's UFC 159 headliner, UFC
light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has two goals: a fight with
Alexander Gustafsson and a spot on a future UFC on FOX card.
As
a heavy favorite over Sonnen (27-12-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC), whom he
meets in Saturday's pay-per-view headliner at Prudential Center
in Newark, N.J., Jones (17-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) has fielded numerous
questions about what's next.
When
asked about potential opponents in the division, he quickly mentioned
one name: Swedish contender Alexander Gustafsson (15-1 MMA, 7-1
UFC).
"Gustafsson
for sure," Jones said. "That's somebody I want to fight."
Gustafsson
first mentioned the idea first as part of the above video.
"I
don't call people out," Jones said. "He called me out
first by making that 'Harlem Shake' video. He was like, 'Jones
is next.' I was like, 'Alright, if you really want me to be next,
I'll desire that fight.'"
Jones
said he's anxious to fight a guy with a similar build, height
and reach. After all, he said, many fans are quick to criticize
him and said his recent dominance is aided greatly by his long
frame. But more importantly and unlike Sonnen, Jones appreciates
that Gustafsson has been a professional while campaigning for
the title fight.
"He's
a guy who has respect," Jones said. "He's a new guy
to fight. It's a champion vs. a young guy who's ambitious. That's
a threat, always a threat, because he's going to want it bad."
And
while such a matchup likely would headline a major PPV event,
Jones said he'd like to fight on a UFC on FOX card at some point.
He said he's currently one of the UFC's top 5 PPV draws, but
he'd like to fight on network TV and be exposed to some new fans.
So
don't be surprised if he pulls aside UFC President Dana White
for a discussion.
"I
would love to be on a FOX card," he said. "I would
absolutely love to be on a FOX card. I would have to figure out
how I would work that out with Dana (since I would) not be getting
any of the pay-per-view (revenue) and stuff like that, but you
do it because it's a job too.
"But
I would absolutely be honored to [be exposed] to a different
demographic. A lot of people can't afford to be spending $60
for entertainment like that, and I'm aware of that. I'd love
to fight for people like that. I'd be honored."
Source:
MA Junkie
|
UFC
159's Cheick Kongo takes 'skinny and small' mental approach for
Roy Nelson
by Steven
Marrocco
NEW YORK CITY – Cheick Kongo isn't a small man, but before
every fight, he imagines himself as one.
The
UFC heavyweight, who's more gentle giant than towering bruiser,
said it's his way of rising to a challenge before he gets into
the cage. When he finds out his next opponent, he quite literally
convinces himself he's of inferior stature.
"It's
something weird, but when I see my opponent, I always see myself
really skinny and small," Kongo (18-7-2 MMA, 11-5-1 UFC)
told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
Watching
previous footage of Roy Nelson (18-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC), whom he faces
on the pay-per-view main card of Saturday's UFC 159 at Prudential
Center in Newark, N.J., he concluded the matchup wasn't a fair
fight.
"The
guy's huge," Kongo said.
He's
got a point. Despite slimming down in the past year, Nelson's
round belly remains a defining feature (not to mention a charming
one to his fans). It's also proved to be a great weapon against
strikers who find themselves under him.
So
Kongo began the process of putting himself in what he calls his
"the mental compartment" for getting psyched up for
their fight, which was originally scheduled to take place at
UFC 116 before he bowed out with a back injury.
Nelson
not only has black-belt level Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but has a
penchant for knocking his opponents senseless. He's stopped his
past two with his fists.
A
win over "Big Country" would be a needed career boost
for Kongo. Despite his 3-1-1 record since his injury layoff,
he is still struggling to shrug off a reputation as a tough gatekeeper.
In his most recent outing at UFC 149, Kongo won a decision over
Shawn Jordan that was universally panned for its lack of action.
Kongo,
though, said he doesn't get his motivation from critics.
"I
could be upset about what people say about my case, but I just
try to do my best," he said. "To think, 'OK, you are
the underdog, can you win the fight?' I don't pay attention.
The thing is just to stay in the top 10 and try to beat the next
contenders."
After
taking several fights nursing injuries or on short notice, Kongo
said he's worked hard to draw boundaries so he can get a full
training camp and study his opponents like other top fighters.
He's
also made an effort to stop stressing out about what opponents
will do for his career. Instead, he brings himself up to their
level.
First,
that process takes place in his mind. But Kongo hopes he'll be
the bigger man on Saturday night.
"I'm
a big dude, but I just try to be little," he said. I try
to be treated like normal people."
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Mike
Dolce says Hector Lombard can make 170, but final decision remains
to be made
By Mike
Chiappetta
NEW YORK -- After a month of working with Hector Lombard, MMA
strength, conditioning and dieting guru Mike Dolce is confident
that the Cuban-born middleweight can forge a new home in the
welterweight division if he so chooses. For now, Lombard is undecided,
hoping to gauge his strength and energy levels before committing
to a change.
Dolce
told MMA Fighting on Wednesday that Lombard and his manager Dan
Lambert originally contacted him not with the goal of shifting
divisions, but to overhaul his diet, help structure his training
and reach an improved state of fitness. From there, they believe,
a proper judgment on his future could be made.
According
to Dolce, Lombard was 202 pounds when they started working together
about a month ago. By comparison, welterweight No. 1 contender
Johny Hendricks, who is also a client of his, walks around at
210 pounds in between fights. Dolce said that for his last fight
at UFC 158, Hendricks weighed in at 196 pounds on the Tuesday
before weigh-ins, just 72 hours before he checked in at 171.
After
a month on his diet, he believes Lombard (32-4-1, 1 no contest)
is already so close to that range that he could have Lombard
on target to make weight within 48 hours.
"Honestly,
nobody has said [170] is the target, but it's an option,"
he said. "We want to see how his body responds. He's a little
reluctant to say, 'Yes, I want to do that,' because he's nervous.
He is a big guy, he's had some bad weight cuts to make 185, but
he was doing it the wrong way. We do it healthy, so I think it's
going to be easy."
Lombard,
who is 35 years old, has competed most of his career as a middleweight,
though he's also fought several times as a light-heavyweight
and has gotten as low as 183 for his two fights in the PRIDE
Bushido series back in 2006.
At
just 5-foot-9 with a 71-inch reach, he often gives up significant
size and reach to his divisional opponents. For example, since
moving to the UFC, he's lost matchups with Tim Boetsch, who is
6-feet tall with a 74-inch reach, and Yushin Okami, who is 6-foot-2
with a 72-inch reach. Other top 185ers like champ Anderson Silva
(6-foot-2, 77.5-inch reach) and Chris Weidman (6-foot-2, 78-inch
reach) have the same advantage. By comparison, top welterweights
like champion Georges St-Pierre, (5-foot-11, 76-inch reach),
Hendricks (5-foot-9, 69-inch reach) and Jake Ellenberger (5-10,
73-inch reach) are much closer in size.
Lombard is just 1-2 in the octagon since signing a lucrative
free-agent deal, and his thickly muscled frame has led many to
the conclusion that he could not make the drop to welterweight,
but Dolce says that build is actually conducive to the change.
"Muscle
is easy," he said. "It's easy to cut weight when you
have muscle, because you can wring that water out of that. The
guys who have extra body fat, there's no water that comes out
of that. That's hard to work off."
Despite
Dolce's confidence that Lombard can make the drop, a final decision
remains in the future. Personally, he says, he feels that Lombard
will end up at 170, but he won't push or make a case for it.
The final call belongs to Lombard and his management team. That
is an approach borne of experience. Dolce himself was once a
fighter, and he knows that the athlete must have full conviction
in his decision for it to work.
"He's
already close enough [to make it], but I learned a while ago,
my role is to listen to the athlete and help them do what they
want," he said. "I'm not going to tell the athlete
where to go. I never tell an athlete they should cut down because
I know how hard it is. It takes a physical toll. But he can do
it if he wants. He's been on my diet for a month. He's already
within striking distance."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
If
MMA legislation passes in New York, California will lose. Here’s
why.
By Zach
Arnold
This
weekend is UFC 159 in Newark, New Jersey with Jon Jones vs. Chael
Sonnen and Alan Belcher vs. Michael Bisping. However, if you
followed the regional press coverage in the New York area this
week, you would assume that the UFC’s top priority for being
in the area is to focus more on pushing for MMA legislation in
New York state than promoting the PPV event in New Jersey.
The
New York Times has an article claiming Mixed Martial Arts gets
a lift from Andrew Cuomo, the state’s governor. Mr. Cuomo
pushed for legislation on the grounds that it would bring money
to the state. However, the biggest opponent for MMA legislation
in New York is state Assembly leader Sheldon Silver. After indicating
that he was softening his stance on the issue, he’s now
firming up his opposition again by claiming that the economic
estimates for what UFC could bring to New York simply aren’t
good enough to justify proceeding with legislation.
Here
comes NOW (the National Organization for Women):
The
National Organization for Women, and other women’s groups,
are calling for the continued ban on mixed martial arts—or
what they call “cage fighting” because they claim it
could lead to violence and attacks on women.
Want
to know how the television networks in New York are covering
the situation? Watch this WNYT 13 video about the topic and listen
to the preposterously hysterical pitch in John McLoughlin’s
voice when he’s doing the voice-over. Bare knuckle brawling!
“NOW
and other women’s rights groups are claiming that some of
the top stars in Mixed Martial Arts have joked publicly about
raping women and even have done internet videos showing how to
attack women!”
Assemblywoman
Ellen Jaffee (D) of Rockland County stated:
“The
environment which creates a sexual domestic violence, the neo-Nazi
messages that we see through the cage fighting events.”
Deborah
Tucker of the National Center on Domestic & Sexual Violence
stated:
“That
there are actually films that include this kind of conduct and
how to go about engaging in it. Kind of ‘lessons’ on
how to assault a woman.”
What’s
confounding here is the way that the opponents of NY MMA legislation
are trying to make their case. They have plenty of ammunition
on their side to make a damning portrayal of the absolutely stupid
& moronic actions of UFC fighters & management. Joe Rogan
himself is a one-man act in this regard. You can distribute copies
of court filings regarding Jeremy Stephens’ case in Des
Moines. You can show the screen captures of tweets from Forrest
Griffin. You can play Dana’s rant against Loretta Hunt on
a television set. It’s really not that hard to do a presentation
to the press at large.
The
problem is the ham-fisted way in which the political groups are
trying to make their case in the press & how uneducated many
in the New York media sound on Mixed Martial Arts. It’s
rather frightening to watch.
In
the WNYT piece, Lorenzo Fertitta is quoted as saying: “As
a company, we have a code of conduct that when an athlete steps
out of bounds many times they’re either suspended or fined.
No different than the NFL.” Well, they just lifted the ‘contract
suspension’ of Matt Mitrione two weeks after his comments
about Fallon Fox. That slap on the wrist really hurt. Mitrione
vs. Brendan Schaub is now booked for July 27th at Key Arena in
Seattle, Washington for a Fox broadcast show.
Larry
Epstein, UFC COO:
“I’ll
hold up the record of our athletes frankly against the record
of any other sport in this nation,” UFC Chief Operating
Officer Lawrence Epstein said. “I’m a huge NFL fan;
I think there was 60-plus arrests this season in the NFL. …
The issues they’ve confronted this year pale in comparison
to a few comments here and there, inappropriate as they may be,
by some of our athletes in the UFC.”
Those
who are pushing for MMA legislation in New York are doing the
best they can. Right now, their voices are being drowned out
by the politicians and the interest groups. If the state’s
power brokers don’t want MMA regulated after seeing how
successful events have been in New Jersey, then I’m not
sure what will change Sheldon Silver’s mind. Retirement
really is the key here. Age is not on his side. I expect legislation
to pass when he retires from political service. That may be a
while, though.
Crain’s
New York Business says that the politicians are making UFC sweat
because they want to suck as much cash out of them for political
donations as they possibly can:
“Everyone
knows these guys have a lot of money,” the insider said,
referring to the Fertitta brothers, who bought UFC in 2001 for
$2 million and built the company into one reportedly worth $2
billion. “The ban has nothing to do with people being concerned
about the morality of the sport or injuries to the athletes.
This is about getting more money from UFC before the law is overturned.”
It’s
a political tightrope for Zuffa. They have until the end of June
to make it happen for this year. Otherwise, it’ll be back
to the drawing board for 2014. They’re dangling the carrot/guarantee
of four events a year in New York state.
With
that as their main sales pitch, you would suspect that the biggest
losers for MMA legislation getting passed in New York would be
the political interest groups and New Jersey’s Athletic
Control Board. However, financially-speaking, there is one state
that would have the most to lose if UFC shifted four shows a
year to New York — and that’s California.
Do
the math: New York’s gain will be California’s pain
UFC
is currently pushing a schedule of 30-35 shows a year. We know
that they have at least four events scheduled for Nevada each
year — Super Bowl weekend, Memorial Day weekend, July 4th
holiday, and New Year’s Eve special. You have UFC Japan,
Sweden, and perhaps three or four more foreign shows per year.
They don’t run Texas or Florida, states with no income tax.
They aren’t interested in running Tennessee for some reason.
Right
now, California can usually count on three shows a year from
the UFC. Four, if Cain Velasquez can headline in Southern California
twice in a year. California is the most vulnerable to New York
MMA legislation. If UFC lives up to their promise and brings
four shows a year to New York, even if they are on the lower
end of the scale, that means the margin for error with California
is very small. UFC won’t completely abandon the state but
if they shift their schedule to only run UFC once, maybe twice
a year, that’s an easy $200,000 off the books for the California
State Athletic Commission. It’s an economic loss for the
cities they run the shows in. It also cements the fact that the
three venues for California shows would be HP Pavilion (San Jose
Arena), Anaheim Pond, or Staples. Sacramento goes off the table.
UFC has a show scheduled at Arco Arena in the Fall. UFC has had
two big shows so far in 2013 at the Anaheim Pond (Ronda Rousey
vs. Liz Carmouche) and the Fox broadcast show at HP Pavilion
(Gilbert Melendez vs. Ben Henderson). If you book a strong card
in California, you can draw. If you book a Fuel-level card, it
will bomb and bomb hard.
Ronda
Rousey, Daniel Cormier, Urijah Faber, and Cain Velasquez are
solid aces in the hole for UFC California shows. If the promotion
has to book those fighters for events in New York or other locales,
then it makes it harder to draw a good gate in California. That
means less revenue for California. The squeeze will happen to
the budget for the state commission. If you go from generating
$400,000 a year in revenue down to $200,000 a year, that’s
going to hurt.
Here’s
the way to look at the situation if you put yourself in Andy
Foster’s shoes. He’s an MMA guy, not a boxing man.
California, in terms of local activity & big shows, is a
state that relies on big boxing events to pay the bills. If you
lose two UFC shows, then it means you have to make up for it
by recruiting two more big boxing events in the state. Many big
name boxers don’t want to fight in California because of
the state income tax. You also have to keep promoters interested
in staying in California to do business. This is why Dan Goossen’s
legal situation with Tony Thompson perked the interest of CSAC.
Golden Boy may be based in California but they are shifting many
of their events to Texas, Nevada, and Florida (no state income
tax plus Oscar can make the short trip from Puerto Rico). Top
Rank will run some B-level shows in the state. Gary Shaw will
run on tribal land along with other promoters. Roy Englebrecht
will run his shows in Orange County.
The
problem Andy Foster faces is that he’s going to have to
saturate his focus on recruiting shows for the boxing scene in
order to make up for lost revenue if UFC heads to New York. California
will have to lean even more on boxing promoters to help their
bottom line.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
If
Chael Sonnen Beats Jon Jones at UFC 159, Daniel Cormier Says
It’d Be Biggest Upset Ever
Chael
Sonnen is going to make light heavyweight champion Jon Jones
uncomfortable during their fight at UFC 159 on Saturday in New
Jersey, but if he wins the fight it will “hands down, without
a doubt” be the biggest upset in UFC history.
At
least in the opinion of UFC heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier
it would be.
Cormier
was a guest on UFC Tonight on Tuesday night, breaking down the
fight. Like most pundits, he believes that Sonnen is facing a
steep uphill battle.
“If
Chael is going to beat Jon Jones, he’s going to have to
beat him over the course of 25 minutes and dominate that fight,”
said Cormier.
Sonnen
did just that in his first fight with Anderson Silva, only he
fell a couple minutes shy of the prerequisite 25 and got submitted.
Cormier
said that Sonnen would likely employ a similar strategy against
Jones, making it a tough fight for the champion, but expects
him to fall short once again.
“Chael
is going to make (Jones) fight in places where he’s not
used to fighting,” Cormier stated. “I know Chael will
take him down and is going to pressure him. Chael is going to
make him uncomfortable by constantly going forward. Chael won’t
make the mistake that many fighters make: backing up and circling.
You cannot allow Jon Jones to be so comfortable going forward
in the cage.”
At
the end of the day, however, Sonnen won’t be able to take
the gold from Jones. If he did, Cormier says no other upset in
UFC history would compare to the feat.
“Hands
down, without a doubt (it would be the biggest upset in UFC history).
People talk about Matt Serra vs. Georges St-Pierre. Serra had
great knockout power and he also had the submission threat,”
said Cormier.
“Chael’s
speeches are great. But Jon Jones is the man and is going to
win this fight. But Chael, go out there, take him down and set
the game plan and the way to beat Jon Jones for the rest of us!”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on Fox 7 Gate and Attendance
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship released the live gate and attendance
figures for UFC on FOX 7 during the post-fight press conference
on Saturday.
UFC
on FOX 7 took place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., and
was headlined by a lightweight title fight between champion Benson
Henderson and former Strikeforce titleholder Gilbert Melendez.
13,506
spectators were in attendance to witness Henderson defend his
belt for the third time. After five rounds, Henderson won a razor-close
split decision over Melendez.
The
event garnered gate receipts that totaled $1.333 million in revenue,
which is on par to what the numbers were for UFC on FOX 6 on
Jan. 26.
In
the co-main event, heavyweight Daniel Cormier remained undefeated
with a unanimous decision win over former UFC titleholder Frank
Mir.
The
next UFC event to air on the FOX network will be July 27 from
the KeyArena in Seattle, Wash.
Source: MMA Weekly |
By
the Numbers: UFC on Fox 7
After
cruising to a victory over Nate Diaz in December, Benson Henderson
returned to his habit of winning nail-biters on Saturday night,
taking a narrow split decision over former Strikeforce 155-pound
king Gilbert Melendez in the UFC on Fox 7 headliner. Like his
two bouts with Frankie Edgar, this one was in doubt for the full
25 minutes. And when the final decision was rendered, plenty
of observers felt the fight could have been scored for Melendez.
It
was all in a night’s work for “Smooth,” who capped
off another skin-of-his teeth victory with a successful marriage
proposal in front of more than a few unhappy fans at the HP Pavilion
in San Jose, Calif. While there are no official stats for proposal
rates inside the Octagon, there are still plenty of numbers to
crunch after a memorable night of fights. Here is a by the numbers
look at UFC on Fox 7, with statistics provided by FightMetric.com.
4-4:
Record for UFC veterans in bouts against recent Strikeforce additions.
Benson Henderson, Matt Brown, Francis Carmont and Anthony Njokuani
earned triumphs for the UFC, while Daniel Cormier, Josh Thomson,
Jorge Masvidal and Yoel Romero Palacio were the victorious ex-Strikeforce
talents.
8:
Knockouts at UFC on Fox 7, tying UFC 92 for most in promotion
history.
3:
Fighters who have begun their UFC careers with seven consecutive
decisions, after Henderson won a hard-fought split verdict against
Gilbert Melendez on Saturday. The other two are Demetrious Johnson
and Michihiro Omigawa. Henderson is 7-0 in those contests; Johnson
is 5-1-1, while Omigawa is 1-6.
25:
Significant strikes by which Henderson outlanded Gilbert Melendez
in their lightweight title tilt. “Smooth” held a striking
advantage in each round, outlanding his foe 9 to 7 in round one,
15 to 13 in round two, 15 to 7 in round three, 15 to 8 in round
four and 14 to 8 in round five. Henderson also outlanded Melendez
92 to 56 in total strikes.
44:
Leg strikes landed by Henderson. “Smooth” attacked
the legs most effectively in round one, landing 19 leg strikes.
By comparison, Melendez landed 11 leg strikes over the course
of the entire bout.
25:
Significant strikes to the head landed by both Henderson and
Melendez. Henderson outlanded Melendez 23 to 20 in significant
strikes to the body.
0:
Successful takedowns in four attempts by Henderson. Prior to
UFC on Fox 7, the MMA Lab product’s takedown rate of 65
percent in UFC bouts tied him with Jamie Varner for No. 5 all-time
in the promotion. Melendez landed the lone takedown of the bout
in the first round.
.230:
Significant striking accuracy for Melendez, who landed 43 of
191 strikes. By comparison, Henderson landed 41 percent of his
significant strikes, 68 of 166.
14:
Fighters on the UFC on Fox 7 lineup who either equal or surpass
heavyweight Daniel Cormier’s 71-inch reach. Frank Mir had
an 8-inch reach advantage against the 5-foot-11 American Kickboxing
Academy product.
102:
Total strikes landed by Cormier. The American Kickboxing Academy
standout outlanded Mir 35 to 20 in round one, 26 to 15 in round
two and 41 to 18 in round three.
1:
Knockout loss in 25 professional appearances for Nate Diaz after
being stopped by Josh Thomson 3:44 into round two of their lightweight
scrap. “The Punk” rocked the Stockton, Calif., native
with a head kick before finishing the fight with a flurry of
punches to become the first man to stop Diaz with strikes.
97:
Significant strikes landed by Diaz in the three bouts since he
set a promotional record by landing 238 in a victory over Donald
Cerrone at UFC 141.
18:
Significant strikes landed by Matt Brown in the second round
of his TKO victory over Jordan Mein, who landed no strikes in
the period. In round one, Mein outlanded Brown 24 to 22 in significant
strikes.
253:
Days since Jordan Mein’s father, Lee, last competed as a
professional mixed martial artist. Lee Mein, a 6-foot-3 inch
heavyweight, suffered a first-round technical knockout loss to
Smealinho Rama at MFC 34 on Aug. 10 to fall to 5-12 in a career
that began in 2000. Lee was in Jordan’s corner for his loss
against Brown on Saturday.
3-0:
Record for Team Alpha Male fighters on Saturday. All three members
-- T.J. Dillashaw, Joseph Benavidez and Chad Mendes -- won via
knockout or technical knockout. The wrestling-based camp recently
came under the leadership of renowned striker and UFC veteran
Duane Ludwig.
1:11:
Average time of Chad Mendes’ three Octagon triumphs since
falling to reigning 145-pound champion Jose Aldo at UFC 142.
“Money” knocked out Darren Elkins at the 1:08 mark
of round one at UFC on Fox 7.
23:
Total strikes by which Lorenz Larkin outlanded Francis Carmont
in rounds one and two combined. Carmont was particularly inaccurate
in round one, landing just one of his 25 total strikes. In round
three, both fighters landed four total strikes apiece.
9:
Takedowns successfully defended by Larkin, who displayed excellent
balance throughout the middleweight encounter. Carmont landed
two takedowns in the bout, one in round two and one in round
three, and emerged with a controversial unanimous verdict.
46:
Significant strikes by which Joseph Benavidez outlanded Darren
Uyenoyama in their flyweight clash. The Team Alpha Male product
outlanded his opponent 37 to 2 in the decisive second round,
finishing the contest with a punch to the body at the 4:50 mark.
6:
Takedowns landed in eight attempts by Jorge Masvidal in his unanimous
decision triumph over Tim Means. The striking totals were much
closer, however, as “Gamebred” outlanded his foe 50
to 43 in significant strikes and 71 to 68 in total strikes.
.166:
Percentage of Anthony Njokuani’s Octagon bouts that have
ended inside of three rounds. Before his second-round knockout
of Roger Bowling, all five of the Assassin’s previous UFC
appearances had gone to the judges. Not one of Njokuani’s
seven WEC outings (four TKO wins, one TKO defeat, two submission
setbacks) went the distance.
Source: Sherdog |
Recovering
Cung Le Interested in Fighting Anderson Silva
Cung
Le may not be on tonight’s UFC on FOX 7 card, as he’s
still recovering from elbow surgery, but the highlight reel striker
did tease San Jose fans with a “please let this happen”
comment at a recent Q&A session.
Although
it remains to be seen when the 40 year-old wonder will return
to action, Le acknowledged that a bout with middleweight champion
Anderson Silva interests him. You and several million others
Cung.
According
to a report from MMA Junkie, Le noted that Silva’s camp
has called him a “worthy opponent” and that fighting
Silva would be an “honor.” The San Shou expert added
“I think matchup-wise, my standup is pretty good, and his
standup is really high-level. I think that would be a very fun
fight not only for myself but for the fans.”
While
there’s no doubt this bout would likely rack in the PPV
buys, and leave thousands of fans on the edge of their seats,
it probably won’t happen any time soon. There’s the
matter of whether Le should get a title shot based off UFC wins
over Patrick Cote and Rich Franklin, even if the latter was burned
in the memory of fans for weeks on end.
If
Silva were to lose to Chris Weidman on July 6th, however, or
Silva wins and Georges St. Pierre elects to face Johny Hendricks
next, then things could get interesting.
Source: Caged Insider |
Gilbert
Melendez: “People Know What’s Up”
Former
Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez knows the fans
are aware of his accomplishments outside of the Octagon. Now
he’s ready to show them he can do it inside of it as well.
During Thursday’s pre-fight press conference for the UFC
on FOX 7, Melendez talked about his success outside of the UFC
and how he is preceived by both casual and hardcore fans.
“I
think there are a lot of people who know what’s up,”
said Melendez. ”But, yeah, to the common fan, I’m 0-0.
It’s really the Octagon record is what stands out most.”
The
man known as “El Nino”, who makes his long-awaited
debut, challenges champion Ben Henderson for his lightweight
title in the main event of UFC on FOX 7 tonight in San Jose.
While it completes a goal most fighters dream of, he isn’t
happy with just showing up tonight. He has every intention of
winning and stamping his name as the number one lightweight on
the planet. He says he’s fully prepared and believes winning
tonight will justify all he has accomplished to this point.
“If
I win, it will legitimize everything. If I don’t, it won’t.”
Yesterday,
at the weigh-ins, Melendez (154) and Henderson (155) both clocked
in under the contractual weight of 155 pounds. They then engaged
in an intense staredown which was followed by ”El Nino”
turning to the fans, hardcore and casual alike, raising his hands
and smiling, as if to say, ”Here I am.”
Source: Caged Insider |
Daniel
Cormier Unsure Whether He Will Drop to 205 Pounds: “It Will
Be a Team Decision”
Strikeforce
Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier was dominant in
defeating Frank Mir in his Octagon debut at UFC on Fox 7 on Saturday
night in San Jose, Calif., but the 34-year-old is still unsure
whether his future remains in the heavyweight division or if
he will make the cut down to 205 pounds.
“It’s
really going to be a team decision. We’ve got to get together
with the UFC and with my management team and figure out what
the next step is,” Cormier said.
“I’m
just happy to be working for (the UFC). This is what I’ve
been waiting for my whole career. It’s a dream come true
just to be here right now. I’ve had a very long athletic
career. I’ve always laughed when Dana said there’s
jitters that come with this. But man, I was nervous today. You
want to do so well, and I didn’t fight the fight I wanted
to.
“More
than anything I got tired. I’ve never felt tired in a fight.
I think it was my nerves. I went in there and fought as well
as I could.”
Despite
the controlling win, Cormier, who is now 12-0 in his MMA career,
doesn’t feel that his performance warrants a title shot.
“Even
if they say you’re going to fight Cain Velasquez next, I
don’t think that performance warranted a title shot. We’ll
get together and figure it out. If they say, ‘Well Daniel,
if your intention is to be a 205-pounder down the line and we
need you to do it now,’ then I guess that’s what I
need to do.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
Winner
of Gray Maynard vs. TJ Grant at UFC 160 Gets Next Shot at Benson
Henderson
Final
Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez took UFC titleholder
Benson Henderson to the wire at UFC on Fox 7 on Saturday night
in San Jose, Calif., losing to him via a split decision. But
for people arguing that Melendez should have gotten the nod and
at least deserves an immediate rematch, that’s not going
to happen.
UFC
president Dana White, closing out the UFC on Fox 7 post-fight
press conference, quelled any speculation about a rematch by
announcing that another pair of contenders would determine who
gets the next shot at Henderson.
“Gray
Maynard is ranked number three (in the official UFC Rankings).
TJ Grant is ranked number seven,” said White. “Those
guys are gonna fight at UFC 160 on May 25. The winner of that
fight is gonna fight Ben Henderson next.”
Maynard
(11-1-1) has twice before fought for the UFC lightweight championship,
both times against the same man, Frankie Edgar. The first time
they fought to a draw, setting up an immediate rematch. Edgar
knocked Maynard out in the second fight, sending him back to
the drawing board.
He
bounced back with a win over Clay Guida in the UFC on FX 4 headliner
last summer.
Now
he’s just one fight removed from returning to the title
picture.
Grant
(20-5) never fought for a UFC belt, but has been tearing through
the lightweight division since making his 155-pound debut at
the final UFC on Versus event in October of 2011.
He
has reeled off consecutive victories over Shane Roller, Carlo
Prater, Evan Dunham, and Matt Wiman.
White
gave no details on when he expects the winner of that fight to
challenge Benson Henderson, only that the winner would be the
number one contender.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
on Fox 7 Results: Nine Years Later, Josh Thomson Returns with
TKO Win Over Nate Diaz
Nate
Diaz and Josh Thomson are two of the top lightweights in the
world, but their fight was overshadowed by the UFC on Fox 7 main
and co-main events in the lead-up to Saturday night’s event
at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
Thomson
in particular hasn’t received much of the spotlight over
the past few years, mired with injuries and in the Strikeforce
shadows.
He’s
fought in the UFC before, albeit not since 2004, but against
Diaz, he proved why he should be back in the Octagon.
From
the opening bell, Diaz tried to goad Thomson into a brawl, but
he would have none of it.
Thomson
kept his distance, attacking Diaz’s legs with low kicks,
frequently switching stances, and darting in and out with his
punch combinations.
The
plan came together perfectly in the second round, Thomson starting
to bloody Diaz’s face with short elbows every time Diaz
pressed in to clinch with him. Gaining some space, Thomson landed
a head kick that sent Diaz staggering backwards across the Octagon.
As
soon as the damage registered, Thomson rushed Diaz to the mat,
and then unleashed a furious barrage of punches and elbows, forcing
the referee to stop the fight.
Thomson
was obviously elated – as he should be – running a
victory lap around the Octagon.
The
last time that Thomson fought in the UFC, there was no lightweight
championship. Now, putting a stamp on his return, Thomson is
surely gunning for the belt that wasn’t even in existence
then.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
on Fox 7 Results: Daniel Cormier Dictates Pace to Frank Mir to
Win UFC Debut
Former
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier was
able to dictate the pace to Frank Mir en route to a unanimous
decision victory in his UFC debut on the main card at UFC on
Fox 7 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
It
was a highly anticipated debut for the undefeated heavyweight,
whose game plan was to avoid Mir’s wrestling by backing
up the former UFC champion against the cage.
The
plan was highly effective for the stronger fighter, who was able
to work inside of Mir’s early onslaught of kicks pressing
him against the cage going to work with knees to the body as
well as body-head combinations.
Mir’s
corner was calling for him not to grapple and look to take Cormier
down to the mat, but it was to no avail as Cormier completely
dominated the fight, unloading with strikes, softening up the
body of Mir, who had no answer to the 34-year-old from Louisiana.
A
former collegiate wrestler, Cormier remains undefeated with a
record of 12-0 (8 KO’s) and moves one step closer to a shot
at Cain Velasquez’s UFC belt, while the loss was Mir’s
second in a row, all but diminishing any chance of the 33-year-old
ever receiving another title fight.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
on Fox 7 Results: Benson Henderson Ekes Out Split Decision Then
Pops the Question
Gilbert
Melendez has long been considered one of the top light fighters
on the planet. Fighting outside the UFC, however, he never had
the opportunity to try and prove he was thee best lightweight.
The
outgoing Strikeforce champion, Melendez was granted that opportunity
at UFC on Fox 7 on Saturday night at the HP Pavilion in San Jose,
Calif., when he challenged UFC champion Benson Henderson.
Unfortunately
for Melendez, he came about as close as a fighter could get to
the title without taking it.
Neither
man dominated the fight, but Melendez started off strong early,
often dictating the pace, fending off Henderson’s kicks,
and frequently beating the champ to the punch.
Melendez
kept pressing into round two, Henderson seemingly unable to ratchet
his tempo up to its usual frenetic pace.
Once
he caught on that Melendez was catching many of his body kicks,
Henderson shifted gears midway through the fight, starting to
go Melendez’s legs more frequently, and kicking them out
from under the challenger on a couple of occasions.
While
Melendez kept pressing, trying to move the fight where he wanted
it, and firing off his punch combinations, Henderson varied his
tactics as the fight wore on. In particular, he started employing
some harsh elbows that kept Melendez from going inside the champ’s
punching range as much.
Midway
through the fourth round, the fight seemed to shift quite a bit.
Henderson looked much more in command, while Melendez seemed
to slow if ever so slightly.
Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez scorecard
In
the end, the fight couldn’t have been much closer, Henderson
eking out a split decision victory, two judges scoring it 48-47
in his favor, one with the same score in Melendez’s favor.
Henderson
took advantage of his good fortune and looked to add to it after
the fight, calling his girlfriend into the Octagon and dropping
to one knee.
“I’m
not perfect, I never have been, but you make me happier every
single day, more than any man has the right to be,” said
Henderson before taking one last swing. “I love you. Will
you marry me?”
This
decision didn’t sound near as razor-thin as the fight’s
decision, as his girlfriend immediately answered, “Yes,
I will.”
“It
was a tough fight. We all know how tough Gilbert Melendez is,”
said Henderson in his post-fight interview following his post-fight
proposal, but added, “There’s a lot bigger things than
fighting. I had to take care of one of those things just now
to make sure she’s in my life for the rest of my life.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
Marcos
Souza and the gold in Abu Dhabi: “The fear of losing made
me the champion”
The
black belt Marcos Souza (Bonsai) won the up to 82kg division
in the fifth edition of WPJJC in Abu Dhabi. Marcos applied a
takedown on Victor Estima to bring dollars and the gold medal
to Japan, where he lives with his brother Roberto Satoshi.
As
he tells GracieMag, the professor went through difficulties with
his enrollment and ticket to fly to the capital of the UAE, and
in the end the victory smiled at him.
GracieMag:
You did very well in this category up to 82kg in Abu Dhabi. What
was the determining factor to your win?
MARCOS
SOUZA: When I woke up on the competition day I felt something
different inside of me, I can’t explain. I had good energy
and a lot of will to fight. When I qualified for the final, I
watched my brother lose the semifinal to Leandro Lo in his weight.
It was interesting, because at the same time I got sad, that
made me stronger. I wanted so much to win for him because I didn’t
want to see him completely sad. I just did enough to be the champion.
In other competitions, I always go for the submission or I win
by a good margin of points, but this time I admit that I played
not to make a mistake and I did just enough to be champion.
How
was the final with Victor Estima, the “Carcarazinho”?
Estima
is a fighter who needs no comment, he has some of the most dangerous
legs in the category. He is able to submit in any position, you
know? I couldn’t miss. I can be much better than shown during
the final. If he had swept me, for example, I would probably
open the game to lead the score again. And if we fought standing
up, I’d try a takedown. Anyway, at the end of the fight
I even apologized to him. Victor told me: “If I was in your
place, I would do the same thing. You knew how to manage the
fight and won.” It was a major title at stake and I wanted
to win more than ever. Regarding the takedown, I thought about
pulling guard or letting him pull on me. I didn’t arrange
anything and just went for it and took him down.
What
was your worst moment in Abu Dhabi?
Hitting
the weight, I was eight kilos over and had to lose them in one
day. It wasn’t easy. And also when I saw my brother lost,
I got very sad.
What
do you think your brother Roberto Satoshi could have done to
beat Leandro Lo and try to win the championship for the second
time?
Satoshi
has less than a year and a half of experience competing in the
black belt division. He only lost two fights by points so far,
and has won almost all of the light weight. He is always among
the best three in the category. He is skillful and has an impressive
will to win. My brother fights forward and it is impressive that
he never thinks of a strategy, he gets in there and fights. In
my opinion, to beat Leandro Lo today you need a strategy, because
he has a different Jiu-Jitsu, unusual even. It’s hard to
beat him.
What
difficulties did you have until the podium? What happened?
The
greater truth is that the fear of losing made me the champion.
I went through many complications before landing in Abu Dhabi.
Organizers in Japan hadn’t allowed the Brazilians to fight
the trial, they demanded permanent visa or a Japanese passport.
It was a fight for me to enroll in the trial. With the help of
my friend Douglas Santos, I enrolled on the last day. But my
brother’s ticket was missing. We taught in seminars in Hawaii
and raised the money. Even defending the championship, things
weren’t easy for Satoshi. The result of it all is that there
was a lot of running around, and we ended up fighting the tournament
without training (laughs)! I was not prepared technically. On
one hand, it reduced my pressure to win, at the same time I was
with a huge fear of losing. In the end, the fear made me miss
very little and made me more strategic.
What
lessons have you learned?
None
of this lasts long: the fights, the gold medal and the prize
money. The medal will rust one day, the fights will be remembered
by a few people and the money is almost gone (laughs). The most
valuable in Jiu-Jitsu is the opportunity to live special moments
forever. Whether at breakfast, a hotel, in practice all together
and even in the sauna, in every corner you have fun. The friendship
and the good times last forever. The rest is fleeting, there
are people and moments in Abu Dhabi that I will carry in my heart
forever. Some people don’t really know what Jiu-Jitsu can
do in your life and give more importance to be the champion or
to a simple gold medal. Another important lesson: if only a few
believe in you, fight for the few who believe. It is for them
that you should give your best, no matter what others say. The
dream is yours, chase it.
Source: Gracie Magazine |
Benson
Henderson ekes out split-decision win, proposes to girlfriend
as crowd boos
SAN
JOSE, Calif. – Benson Henderson came out a double winner
on Saturday.
Only
minutes after narrowly retaining his UFC lightweight title by
claiming a split decision over ex-Strikeforce champion Gilbert
Melendez, Henderson proposed to girlfriend Maria Magana in the
Octagon at the HP Pavilion.
He
got on one knee and asked Magana to marry him. After she said
yes, he picked her off her feet and they embraced, and the pro-Melendez
crowd booed the whole scene.
It
was a wild end to a great night of fights. The eight knockouts
tied a record for most knockouts on a card, matching the record
set at UFC 92 in 2008.
Henderson
and Melendez fought a back-and-forth bout that could have gone
either way. Two judges had it 48-47 for Henderson and the third
went 48-47 for Melendez. Yahoo! Sports scored it for Melendez,
giving him Rounds 1, 2 and 5.
Each
man landed his share of strikes and kicks and had his moments
in the fight. Neither was ever close to being finished, and neither
was able to put together long stretches of offense.
The
crowd was solidly in Melendez’s corner and booed loudly
at the decision. The booing then carried over into Henderson's
proposal.
“I
know how tough Gil is,” Henderson said.
And,
undoubtedly, Melendez knows how tough Henderson is. It’s
likely the two will see each other again soon.
The
heavyweight bout between Daniel Cormier and Frank Mir, which
had been one of the card’s most anticipated bouts, drained
the life from the crowd. Frank Mir punches Daniel Cormier during
their heavyweight fight. (USA Today)
It
was slow, plodding and without much action. Much of the bout
was spent with Cormier pinning Mir against the cage. Several
times, referee Herb Dean had to urge them to fight.
Cormier
won 30-27 on all three cards in a bout that did little to enhance
his reputation as one of the sport’s up-and-comers. The
crowd, which had been at a fever pitch with eight knockouts in
the first 10 bouts, was angry and didn’t hesitate to let
the fighters know it.
They
sucked the life from a card that was clearly the best of the
year and will give UFC producers highlight-reel footage for years.
“I’m
not happy with my performance,” Cormier said. “I was
nervous and I can’t explain why. It must’ve been this
big fight feel. I didn’t fight how I wanted. I controlled
the fight and I thought I landed some good punches. At the end
of the day, I stay undefeated and move forward. Before I walked
into the cage I felt a little nervous. Maybe it was all the back
and forth between Frank and I leading up to the fight. I’m
sure the jitters will get better with time.
“I
should’ve thrown my jab more and kicked more. On the outside,
I felt like I was landing great punches. There’s a lot of
things I can do differently.”
In
one of the great bouts on the card, Josh Thomson made his first
UFC bout in more than eight years one to remember, stopping Nate
Diaz in the second round following a kick to the head, a pair
of right hands and some ground and pound.
Josh
Thomson punches Nate Diaz during their fight. (USA Today)The
bout was a high-paced one from the beginning, with Diaz, as usual,
stalking. Diaz also taunted Thomson, who was circling away to
set up his strikes, by making an obscene gesture several times.
It
didn’t affect the veteran a bit, though. He stuck to his
plan and landed a series of kicks to the head that were hurting
Diaz. One of them opened a deep gash on the top of his head.
The
kick that began the finishing sequence sent Diaz awkwardly staggering
toward his corner. Thomson cracked him with two hard rights that
put Diaz down.
Thomson
went for the kill, and someone in the Diaz corner threw in the
towel, though referee Mike Beltran didn’t see it. But Beltran
eventually stopped it and gave Thomson the win at 3:44 of the
second.
“I
played this over and over in my head and honestly, I had myself
losing a couple times, too,” Thomson said. “I couldn’t
have scripted it any better. I doubted myself a little bit. I
was more nervous for this fight than I was for Gilbert. I thought
he posed a lot of problems for me from his ground to his reach.
... The first round I felt confident in the clinch, but in the
second round he got a little better, so it threw me off. My whole
game plan was to pick him apart and take what he gives me. I
see Nate on TV, and the dude looks great. I respect him and Nick.
“The
whole camp. I think the difference for me was mixing it up [with]
punches, kicks, knees, takedowns, elbows. I did something the
champ didn’t. I finished him in three. I think I deserve
a shot at the title, but it’s hard for me to say. I was
fighting in UFC before it was cool. I started my career here,
and I’m so happy that I get to finish it here.”
Matt
Brown opened the night with an extraordinary stoppage of Jordan
Mein. Brown used a series of powerful strikes to cause Mein to
wilt under the pressure. Referee John McCarthy mercifully stopped
it at 1:00 of the second. Matt Brown celebrates after defeating
Jordan Mein. (Credit: USA Today)
The
final sequence began when Brown cracked Mein with three big knees,
which caused Mein to bleed from the nose and mouth.
He
was on all fours, and Brown threw a series of elbows to the head
and side before McCarthy jumped in to halt it.
The
win was Brown’s fifth in a row and his third stoppage in
succession.
“I
think Jordan’s hype was well deserved,” Brown said.
“He hurt me really bad with that body shot. I was really
close to being incapacitated and unable to defend myself. I have
no idea who I want next, but I think I deserve a fight that would
put me in title contention. Every day I wake up and work as hard
as I can. Some days you’re on and some days you’re
off. I definitely woke up today.”
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Dana
White: Nate Diaz should stay at lightweight
SAN
JOSE, Calif. -- Thursday, lightweight contender Nate Diaz indicated
he's considering a move up to welterweight.
While
that remains his decision, his boss doesn't think it would be
the smartest career move.
"I
think going to 170 is a big mistake," UFC president Dana
White told reporters Saturday night. "Big, strong guys at
170."
White's
comments came on the heels of Diaz's crushing KO loss to Josh
Thomson at the HP Pavilion, in which he ate a brutal head kick
and a furious finishing flurry on the ground. If Diaz is having
trouble against guys his own size, how would going up in weight
help?
"He
can make 155," White said. "Look what happened tonight
at 155."
Although
the Team Cesar Gracie fighter from Stockton, Calif., has spent
most of his career at lightweight, he had a previous stint at
170. Diaz went 2-2 at welterweight in 2010-11, finishing Rory
Markham and Marcus Davis and then losing decisions to Dong Hyun
Kim and Rory McDonald. He then dropped back to lightweight and
won three in a row to earn a shot at Ben Henderson's title. Diaz
lost that fight before losing to Thomson on Saturday.
Source: MMA Fighting |
UFC
on Fox 7 Results: Matt Brown Opens with Impressive TKO Stoppage
Matt Brown and Jordan Mein are two of the hottest welterweight
contenders in MMA right now. At Saturday night’s UFC on
Fox 7 in San Jose, Calif., they showed why everyone is watching
them, opening the Fox broadcast with an impressive performance
by each fighter.
It
was Brown, however, that stood tall at the end of the night,
increasing his winning streak to five consecutive bouts.
Mein
set the tone from the start, opening with a step-in elbow, but
Brown gave no ground, firing back with three or four strikes
to each of Mein’s.
Both
men did some serious damage with their punches, but Brown really
separated himself from Mein with his knees. Midway through the
opening round, Brown hurt Mein with several knees from the clinch.
Mein
had his moments, however, sending Brown to the mat with a body
shot, and nearly securing a guillotine choke. Brown was obviously
hurt, wincing from several Mein body shots, but answered with
a triangle choke attempt that Mein just barely escaped.
Round
two was the same quick pace, but it was Brown that put his hand
speed on display, immediately landing a punch combination that
backed Mein up. He followed with a knee to the face, and then
drug Mein to the canvas. Brown kept up the pressure, relentlessly
elbowing Mein to the head and body until the referee stepped
in to stop the fight.
The
victory keeps Brown on an impressive streak that has his name
entering the realm of title talk.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Dana
White shipping up to Boston to offer support after Marathon bombings
SAN
JOSE, Calif. -- Americans from coast to coast expressed their
concern over Monday's bombing of the Boston Marathon and its
chaotic aftermath. But UFC president Dana White felt heartache
over the incident in a way that only someone who once lived in
the city and is now away from the area can fully comprehend.
"The
Boston thing affected me pretty strongly because I lived there,"
White said at Saturday's UFC on FOX 7 post-fight news conference.
"I know people there. The story that really gets me is the
mother that was crossing the finish line and the son, the eight-year
old that was killed and the girl that lost her legs because of
a couple of f--- cowards. "
White,
however, plans to do his part to pitch in as the city puts the
pieces back together. White said that after next Saturday's UFC
159 in Newark, New Jersey, he'll ship up to Boston to help out
however he can.
"I'm
going to Boston on Saturday, after New Jersey," White said.
"I'm jumping on a plane and going to Boston and I'm actually
going to go visit some people who were affected by this whole
thing.
The
UFC head honcho doesn't yet have a specific plan once he gets
there.
"[I'll
help] the people that were affected," White said. "I'm
going to go to Boston and write some checks."
The
ordeal stretched through the week, as one suspect, Tamerlan,
was killed in a shootout with law enforcement agents, and came
to a conclusion on Friday, when the other suspect, Dzokhar Tsarnaev,
was apprehended after a city-wide lockdown.
Saturday,
Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz addressed the crowd assembled
at Fenway Park for Saturday's game with the Kansas City Royal
by saying "This is our f--- city." White concurred
with the popular star's sentiments.
"I
liked ‘Big Papi's' speech he gave to Boston today at the
Red Sox game," White said. "That was pretty cool. "This
is our f--- city" on live TV. ... It was awesome, I loved
it."
Source: MMA Fighting |
Benson
Henderson's dedication has made him a growing force in UFC
SAN
JOSE, Calif. – John Crouch looked toward the ceiling and
tried to focus his thoughts. He was trying to explain the sequence
of events that led him to become UFC lightweight champion Benson
Henderson's mixed martial arts coach.
Benson
Henderson has continued to show improvement fight by fight. (MMA
Weekly)Henderson is now one of the best fighters in the world,
and will defend his belt against Gilbert Melendez Saturday at
the HP Pavilion in the main event of UFC on Fox 7. Crouch is
one of the sport's elite coaches, helping to guide the careers
of Henderson, flyweight contender John Moraga, ex-WEC lightweight
champion Jamie Varner and former "The Ultimate Fighter"
winner Efrain Escudero, among others.
Today,
Crouch works out of a sparkling gym in Glendale, Ariz., where
he does a strong private business. But at the time he met Henderson,
he was working in virtual obscurity in Denver.
Crouch
was preparing Alvin Robinson to meet Kenny Florian at UFC 73
on July 7, 2007. Robinson's college roommate was a friend of
a collegiate wrestling teammate of Henderson's. Through that
very loose connection, word was delivered to Crouch that Henderson
was interested in helping Robinson train.
So
began a relationship that has become one of the sport's most
fruitful.
Henderson
is 18-2 overall, but he's won six in a row and 16 of his last
17. Since teaming with Crouch for a Dec. 7, 2007, fight, he's
15-1. There are few glaring flaws in his game and he seemingly
gets 25 percent better with each passing fight.
Melendez,
himself regarded as one of the world's two or three best lightweights,
noticed the improvement in Henderson's game over the years.
"I've
followed him since [he was in the WEC]," Melendez said.
"Honestly … [when he was] in WEC, I wasn't impressed.
As soon as he made his UFC debut, I was like, 'Man, this guy
is really good.' His next fight, he looked even better. He constantly
improved and I really respect the dude. He's constantly getting
[better], so it is good that I'm fighting him now. Who knows
in three years how good he'll be?"
Henderson's
development into an elite champion is no secret. He's stolen
a page from Floyd Mayweather with his hard work and dedication.
When
Crouch first got a look at Henderson, he saw a lot of things,
but he didn't see a high-level MMA fighter.
"He
was in great shape and he worked really hard," Crouch said
of Henderson.
Henderson
added something to his game with each fight. In time, when Crouch
would see an image of a Henderson fight flickering on his screen,
he'd silently laugh.
He
had difficulty recognizing the old Henderson.
"I
look back a couple of years ago and see where Ben is now and
it's like, 'Wow,' " Crouch said.
Henderson
works relentlessly to improve. If the coaching staff finds something
in a fight that he's not doing well, chances are that flaw is
fixed by the timeout.
He
rarely makes the same mistake two fights in a row because he's
so committed to learning and improving.
When
it comes down to it, though, the reason is simple: It's not for
money or glory or fame or titles.
"I
hate to lose," Henderson said. "I hate losing. Hate
it."
Not
many athletes like it, but few are as motivated as Henderson.
His last loss came in 2010, when he was beaten in the final fight
in World Extreme Cagefighting history by Anthony Pettis' famous
Showtime kick.
Henderson
has won 16 of his past 17 fights.The kick came in the waning
seconds of an excruciatingly close match. If Pettis didn't land
it, Henderson may well have won.
But
Pettis did and Henderson didn't, and the result is a vastly changed
man.
"I'm
a pretty highly self-motivated person," Henderson said.
"I don't need any extra fuel, this and that, 'Oh, this guy
talked crap about me.' I didn't like feeling the way I felt after
my last loss and I don't intend to feel that way again."
Melendez
has seen firsthand how much Henderson has improved. Henderson
throttled Nate Diaz, Melendez' close friend and teammate, in
his last outing.
Diaz
had plenty to say to Melendez about Henderson and not much of
it was bad.
"Nate
was able to tell me how agile this guy is and how athletic this
guy is and how tricky he is and how tactical he is," Melendez
said.
He's
an agile, athletic, tricky, tactical guy who has mastered the
art of putting all forms of fighting together. He moves seamlessly
from move to move and is as comfortable fighting a wrestler as
he is a striker.
Melendez
was a collegiate wrestler, but he's also become renowned for
his striking. He likes the way he's seen Henderson morph into
the total package, as well.
"He's
a fighter who's a new breed," Melendez said. "He's
a complete MMA fighter. Everyone seems to be the wrestler, or
the striker, or the grappler. He's the MMA fighter, you know
what I mean? He's everything. His strength is that he can put
it all together."
An
underappreciated aspect of Henderson's game is his willingness
to withstand punishment. He didn't tap despite being caught in
some serious submissions by Donald Cerrone in the WEC.
[Also:
Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev had boxing aspirations
| Photos]
"He's
mentally tougher than just about anyone you know," Crouch
said.
But
Crouch beamed. He asked when was the last time Henderson was
in trouble. When it took a long time to come up with an answer,
he nodded his head.
"That's
what I mean, look at the way this guy progresses," Crouch
said. "He loves to learn and evolve and he's taken things
from his game that might have been weaknesses a couple of years
ago and turned them into strengths. He's successful because he
puts everything of himself into it."
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Matches
to Make After UFC on Fox 7
Gilbert
Melendez tried but ultimately failed to separate Benson Henderson
from the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight crown, his
fate determined by two men seated outside the Octagon. Such is
the cruel existence of today’s professional mixed martial
artist.
Henderson
retained his 155-pound title with a narrow split decision over
the former Strikeforce champion in the UFC on Fox 7 main event
on Saturday at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. All three
judges struck 48-47 scorecards: Derek Cleary and Michael Bell
for Henderson, Wade Vierra for Melendez. Cleary gave Henderson
rounds three, four and five, while Bell gave him rounds two,
three and four; Vierra gave Melendez rounds one, four and five.
Neither
man established himself as the dominant figure in the fight.
Melendez was the aggressor for much of the 25-minute encounter,
but he paid for it with heavy damage to his lead leg -- the result
of Henderson’s steady stream of powerful and well-placed
kicks.
According
to FightMetric figures, Henderson landed more significant strikes
in all five rounds and also held the advantage in total strikes
in every frame but the second, as the 29-year-old MMA Lab representative
exacted his toll with standing elbows and kicks to the upper
and lower regions of Melendez’s legs. Moreover, Henderson
connected with four times as many leg strikes (44) as Melendez
and also outscored him with shots to the body by a 23 to 20 margin.
Though
initial plans seemed to be pointing Henderson towards a super
fight with the winner of the forthcoming Anthony Pettis-Jose
Aldo showdown, it appears as if his next title defense will come
against the victor of the UFC 160 clash between Gray Maynard
and T.J. Grant on May 25.
Maynard
has twice fought for the lightweight championship, battling Frankie
Edgar to a draw at UFC 125 in January 2011 before succumbing
to fourth-round punches from “The Answer” in their
rematch nine months later. Meanwhile, the fast-rising Grant has
pieced together a string of four consecutive wins since he shed
his welterweight skin and relocated to the 155-pound division.
The 29-year-old Canadian moved into the top 10 following his
first-round knockout against Matt Wiman at UFC on Fox 6 in January.
In
the wake of UFC on Fox 7 “Henderson vs. Melendez,”
here are six other matches that ought to be made:
Gilbert
Melendez vs. Gray Maynard-T.J. Grant loser: Melendez fell short
in his bid to unseat Henderson, dropping a controversial split
decision that seems destined to be debated for months. However,
in defeat, the 31-year-old Californian erased whatever doubts
remained about his ability to compete with the cream of the crop
at 155 pounds. A rematch with Henderson may present itself in
the not-too-distant future, but until then, Melendez figures
to hang around the top of the lightweight division. Maynard and
Grant will toe the line against one another at UFC 160 on May
25 in Las Vegas.
Daniel
Cormier vs. Mauricio Rua-Antonio Rogerio Nogueira winner: Cormier
was effective but unspectacular in his promotional debut, as
he repeatedly trapped former heavyweight champion Frank Mir in
a bottomless-pit clinch for the better part of three rounds.
With longtime friend, training partner and American Kickboxing
Academy stablemate Cain Velasquez perched atop the division,
Cormier has flirted with the idea of a move to 205 pounds. At
34, he will need to commit to a decision soon, though most agree
he has far more options as a light heavyweight. Rua and Nogueira
will collide in a long-awaited rematch at UFC 161 on June 15
in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Josh
Thomson vs. Jim Miller: No one gained more at UFC on Fox 7 than
Thomson, as he became the first man to ever finish “The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 winner Nate Diaz with strikes.
In his first appearance inside the Octagon in nearly a decade,
the gifted but oft-injured 34-year-old cracked Diaz with a vicious
head kick and put him away with follow-up punches in the second
round. The AMA Fight Club’s Miller will lock horns with
Pat Healy at UFC 159 on April 27 in Newark, N.J.
Frank
Mir vs. Alistair Overeem: Mir had no answer for Cormier’s
stifling clinch game, as he lost a decision for the first time
in his career. The 33-year-old entered the cage with a renewed
sense of purpose under the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts
banner but could do nothing to counter the advances of the two-time
Olympian. Still, Mir remains a bankable commodity in a still-shallow
division and appears to have plenty left in the tank. Overeem
crashed and burned at UFC 156 in February, as Antonio Silva buried
him under a vicious volley of punches at the Mandalay Bay Events
Center in Las Vegas.
Matt
Brown vs. Robbie Lawler-Tarec Saffiedine winner: Once viewed
as little more than an entertaining journeyman, Brown suddenly
has the attention of the masses following his fifth consecutive
victory -- a second-round technical knockout against highly regarded
Canadian prospect Jordan Mein. Few can match Brown’s competitive
spirit or his willingness to pursue victory at all costs, with
aggression and resolve. Lawler and Saffiedine will throw leather
at one another as part of the UFC on Fox 8 lineup on July 27
in Seattle.
Chad
Mendes vs. Chan Sung Jung-Ricardo Lamas winner: They say one
can tell a lot about a fighter by how he responds to adversity.
In wake of his January 2012 knockout loss to Aldo, Mendes has
finished three straight opponents inside the first round. He
made Darren Elkins his latest victim, as he clobbered the resilient
Duneland Vale Tudo export with a pair of clubbing right hands
and then finished him with a series of unanswered lefts on the
ground. Lamas will meet Jung at UFC 162 on July 6. Perhaps Mendes
can interest the victor in a 145-pound title eliminator.
Source: Sherdog |
UFC
on FOX 7 Bonuses: 4 Men Pocket 50k
SAN
JOSE, CA. – On an exciting Saturday night that tied the
record for most knockouts in a UFC event with eight, four men
walked away with some extra cash in their pocket for their performances.
Matt Brown, Jordan Mein, Yoel Romero, and Josh Thomson each earned
bonuses for their work at UFC on FOX 7.
Brown
and Mein, in a war of attrition that saw both fighters floored
by punches, walked away with “Fight of the Night” honors
and extra $50,000 paychecks. After weathering a tremendous body
hook from Mein, Matt Brown regained his composure and offered
his own elbows to the body to stop the surging Canadian. With
the win, Matt Brown enters himself into a welterweight title
picture alongside some talented company.
As
the event was without a sumbmission, the UFC elected to offer
it’s competitors two “Knockout of the Night” bonuses.
Those honors went to both Josh Thomson and Yoel Romero for their
exceptional use of leg strikes. Romero, a former Cuban Olympic
wrestler, blasted Clifford Starks with a flying knee before finishing
him off with ground strikes en route to a TKO stoppage. Thomson,
returning to the UFC after almost nine years, cruised with the
use of leg kicks and sticking and moving until he landed a devastating
kick to the head of Nate Diaz. He would follow it up with punches
until the referee decided it was enough for Diaz. Both men would
also earn an extra $50,000.
Source: Caged Insider |
Even
for some Strikeforce veterans, UFC jitters very real
Jorge
Masvidal knew something was off, but he couldn't quite put his
finger on it.
"Backstage,
I'm usually very energetic, working up a storm sweating, but
I just couldn't get in my groove," Masvidal told reporters
after his unanimous decision victory over Tim Means at UFC on
FOX 7.
As
he spoke, blood from two long cuts in his scalp bubbled to the
surface and mingled with the drying sweat on his face. The deep
crimson gashes practically cried out for stitches, but the cuts
were a good thing, in a way, he said. According to Masvidal,
they "fired [him] up" and helped snap him out of his
pre-fight funk, at least enough to get the decision in a performance
that he rated as a "five or a six" on a 10-point scale.
"I
don't know if I was overwhelmed subconsciously, but I was kind
of out of it," Masvidal explained. The look on his face
suggested that he still couldn't understand how this had happened.
As if, like so many other MMA veterans, he assumed that the "UFC
jitters" were something that only happened to other people.
On
paper, guys like Masvidal would seem to be immune to that sudden
affliction of nerves. He came into his undercard bout with 30
pro fights to his credit, not to mention a couple years' worth
of Strikeforce experience. He'd headlined a Strikeforce card
on Showtime and knocked out UFC veterans in other organizations,
so why should his UFC debut be such a big deal? And yet, there
he was, like so many others before him, feeling just a little
bit off on the night he could least afford it.
"It
happens, man," UFC President Dana White said following Saturday
night's event at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. "I don't
care where you've been, where you fought, who you fought –
when you come in here your first time, you get nervous."
Even
Daniel Cormier, the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix winner
and former U.S. Olympic wrestling team captain, had to find out
the hard way that White knew what he was talking about.
"I
always kind of laughed at Dana when he said there's jitters and
there's nerves that come along with this," Cormier said
at the post-fight news conference, following his unanimous decision
victory over Frank Mir. "I was like, 'My career's prepared
me for this. There's no chance.' ... But man, I was nervous today."
The
effect of those three little letters on seasoned athletes was
especially interesting on this card, where so many Strikeforce
veterans made the transition to the UFC in the friendliest possible
environment. For years, the HP Pavilion was Strikeforce's home
base. The venue was so familiar to Strikeforce fighters that
Gilbert Melendez joked earlier in the week about the valuable
experience he'd gained while competing there over the years.
"I
knew to bring my sweater in here," he told reporters at
a pre-fight media event in the building that also serves as the
home of the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks. "I
knew it was going to be freezing."
But
just because they knew what it was like to fight under the same
roof, that doesn't necessarily mean they knew what it would feel
like inside the octagon on network television. According to White,
even Strikeforce transfers like Jordan Mein, who made his UFC
debut in Montreal this past month, weren't immune to the effects
of the pressure.
"I
guarantee you, the Mein kid, he was nervous," White said.
"He had the jitters. Big fight for him on national television
against Matt Brown. When he hurt him with that body shot, you
don't jump on top of him and try to guillotine him. You f---ing
make him stand up and go back to that body."
Not
all former Strikeforce employees were awed by the moment. Olympic
silver medalist Yoel Romero said he felt "calm and ready"
for his UFC debut, and his impressive first-round KO of Clifford
Starks proved as much. Romero cited his Olympic experience and
comfortability in front of large crowds for his success, and
said that since he regarded fighting in the UFC as "equivalent
to fighting at the Olympic level," he had prepared as such.
Lightweight
Josh Thomson, who returned to the UFC for the first time since
2004, also seemed perfectly comfortable on the big stage, despite
spending most of the last decade fighting in Strikeforce. In
size and scope, the UFC he came back to seems very different
than the one he left following a loss to Yves Edwards at UFC
49.
But
returning now with a violent TKO win over Nate Diaz? That, Thomson
said, "was just like coming home." As with his fellow
Strikeforce imports, now the focus can shift to finding a way
to stick around.
Source: MMA Junkie |
UFC
on Fox 7 Quick Results
Main
Bouts (on Fox):
-Benson Henderson def. Gilbert Melendez by split decision (48-47,
47-48, 48-47)
-Daniel Cormier def. Frank Mir by unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)
-Josh Thomson def. Nate Diaz by TKO at 3:44, R2
-Matt Brown def. Jordan Mein by TKO at 1:00, R2
Preliminary
Bouts (on FX):
-Chad Mendes def. Darren Elkins by TKO at 1:08, R1
-Francis Carmont def. Lorenz Larkin by unanimous decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)
-Myles Jury def. Ramsey Nijem by KO at 1:02, R2
-Joseph Benavidez def. Darren Uyenoyama by TKO at 4:50, R2
-Jorge Masvidal def. Tim Means by unanimous decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)
-T.J. Dillashaw def. Hugo Viana by TKO at 4:22, R1
Preliminary
Bouts (on Facebook):
-Anthony Njokuani def. Roger Bowling by TKO at 2:52, R2
-Yoel Romero def. Clifford Starks by KO at 1:32, R1
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
on Fox 7 Fighter Salaries: Benson Henderson, Frank Mir, and Gilbert
Melendez Top Payroll
The
UFC on Fox 7: Henderson vs. Melendez fighter salaries were released
to MMAWeekly.com on Sunday by the California State Athletic Commission.
UFC
lightweight champion Benson Henderson successfully defended his
belt by winning a five-round split decision victory over Gilbert
Melendez, the outgoing Strikeforce champion.
UFC
on Fox 7 took place Saturday, April 20, at the HP Pavilion in
San Jose, Calif.
The
following figures are based on the fighter salary information
that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic
commissions, including the winners’ bonuses.
Although
mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining
or a union, the fighters’ salaries are still public record,
just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any
undisclosed bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but
does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically,
pay-per-view bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are
not included in the figures below.
UFC on Fox 7 Fighter Salaries
Benson
Henderson: $200,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus)
def. Gilbert Melendez: $175,000
Daniel
Cormier: $126,000 (includes $63,000 win bonus)
def. Frank Mir: $200,000
Josh
Thomson: $95,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Nate Diaz: $15,000
Matt
Brown: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Jordan Mein: $16,000
Chad
Mendes: $56,000 (includes $28,000 win bonus)
def. Darren Elkins: $24,000
Francis
Carmont: $38,000 (includes $19,000 win bonus)
def. Lorenz Larkin: $23,000
Myles
Jury: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Ramsey Nijem: $14,000
Joseph
Benavidez: $66,000 (includes $33,000 win bonus)
def. Darren Uyenoyama: $12,000
Jorge
Masvidal: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Tim Means: $10,000
T.J.
Dillashaw: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus)
def. Hugo Viana: $8,000
Anthony
Njokuani: $36,000 (includes $18,000 win bonus)
def. Roger Bowling: $12,000
Yoel
Romero: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Clifford Starks: $8,000
UFC
on Fox 7 Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $1,318,000
Source: MMA Weekly |
ADCC
2013: Organization of Rio trial releases full list of fighters
The
organization of the Brazilian trial for the ADCC 2013, in Beijing,
released this morning the full list of fighters registered for
the event this Saturday, April 20, at Maracanãzinho, in
Rio de Janeiro.
The
listing is rich and varied, with many gi champions, athletes
which fought in UFC and aces from all over Brazil.
Check
out below some of the top names, divided by category, and give
your guess: Who takes the first place? Who is going to China
representing Jiu-Jitsu for the Brazilians at the charming no-gi
tournament?
Up
to 66kg
Herbert
Burns (Top Brother)
David
Juliano (Calasans)
Gabriel
Marangoni (CheckMat)
Marcio
André (Nova União)
Up
to 77kg
Carlos
Prater (Thug-Jitsu)
Murilo
Santana (Barbosa)
Edson
Diniz (Team Nogueira)
Leonardo
Nogueira (Pequeno)
Theodoro
Canal (GFTeam)
Victor
Genovesi (Alliance)
Up
to 88kg
Claudio
Calasans Jr (Atos)
Roberto
Alencar (Gracie Barra)
Kleber
“Buiú” Oliveira (Gracie Barra)
Delson
Heleno “Pé de Chumbo” (Bitta)
Ismael
Souza
Leopoldo
Serão (Clube da Luta)
Lucio
Charly (Gracie Barra)
Up
to 99kg
Rodrigo
Cavaca (CheckMat)
Cristiano
Lazzarini (Gracie Barra)
André
Felix (Bope)
Diogo
Almeida (Ryan Gracie)
João
Gabriel (Soul Fighters)
Kitner
Moura (Ryan Gracie)
Female
Up
to 60kg
Michelle
Nicolini (CheckMat)
Ana
Maria Gomes (GFTeam)
Michelle
Tavares (Nova União)
Jessica
Cristina (Gracie Muquinho)
Nadia
Melo (GFTeam)
Over
60kg
Luanna
Alzuguir (Alliance)
Andressa
Correa (Alliance)
Fernanda
Mazzelli (Striker)
Marina
Ribeiro (CheckMat)
Talita
Nogueira (Ryan Gracie)
Source: Gracie Magazine |
Biggest
winners and losers from UFC on Fox 7
UFC
on Fox 7 had a little bit of everything, including eight knockouts
and a marriage proposal. With many combatants fighting in the
Octagon for the first time, some used the opportunity to establish
themselves as contenders in their respective divisions, while
other failed to rise to the occasion.
Here
are the biggest winners and losers from the UFC on Fox 7 fight
card held on April 20, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif:
WINNERS
1.
Smaller MMA promotions
Prior
to UFC on Fox 7, Strikeforce fighters had already proved they
belonged inside the Octagon, but Daniel Cormier, Josh Thomson,
Gilbert Melendez, and Lorenz Larkin (he lost his fight to Francis
Carmont, but I scored the bout in his favor) took things to another
level on April 20. Cormier bullied a former UFC champion for
15 minutes, Thomson became the first man to knock out Nate Diaz
(a feat even Benson Henderson couldn't accomplish), Melendez
almost became the first fighter to win a UFC title in his debut,
and Larkin displayed impressive takedown defense and spinning
kicks.
Make
no mistakes about it, fighters from smaller MMA promotions are
good enough to compete with, and defeat, the UFC's stars –
Strikeforce and WEC imports have proven that time and time again.
2.
Josh Thomson
"The
Punk" deserves some extra recognition for his performance
at UFC on Fox 7, considering how domineering he was during his
encounter against Diaz. He bloodied up Nate with hard elbows
from the clinch, and managed to get the better of the striking
exchanges a number of times. With just one fight, Thompson has
established himself as a top contender in the UFC's lightweight
division. His performance earned him the Knockout of the Night
award and an extra $50,000.
3.
Gilbert Melendez
Even
though he's 0-1 in the UFC, Melendez is clearly going to be a
dominant force in the promotion. "El Nino" didn't have
any problems stopping Henderson's takedowns, which is something
more accomplished wrestlers like Jim Miller, Clay Guida, and
Frankie Edgar weren't able to achieve. As far as I'm concerned,
he's currently the second-best fighter in the lightweight division
right now. A couple of wins inside the Octagon should earn him
another title shot.
4.
Matt Brown
Brown
took another step up the welterweight rankings – and Fight
of the Night honors – with his TKO stoppage of Jordan Mein
at UFC on Fox 7. Lesser men would have quit when Mein dropped
Brown with a hook to the body and followed up with a barrage
of punches, but "The Immortal" used the opportunity
to threaten with submissions instead. Brown is yet to taste UFC
gold, but it couldn't be any clearer that he has the heart of
a champion.
Notable
mentions: Chad Mendes, Myles Jury, Joseph Benavidez, Anthony
Njokuani.
LOSERS
1.
Nate Diaz
With
his loss to Thomson, Nate Diaz can forget about a second shot
at the lightweight title for the time being. Thomson didn't just
defeat him, he made the Stockton native look bad, brutalizing
him with elbows in the clinch and exposing flaws in Nate's boxing.
The loss was Diaz's second straight, as he dropped a decision
against Benson Henderson in the main event of UFC on Fox 5 on
Dec. 8, 2012.
2.
Francis Carmont
Carmont
might have been declared the winner, but he didn't gain any new
fans with his UFC on Fox 7 performance. He had a hard time getting
the fight to the ground – where the Frenchman wanted to
take the fight – and Larkin mesmerized fans with all sorts
of spinning kicks and fists. Luckily for Carmont, for the second
straight time, the judges handed him a favorable decision.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
UFC
on FOX 7 TV ratings hurt by lack of NFL promotion, but still
scores well
The
question of how important promotion of UFC events on NFL games
is for the FOX network shows was answered in the affirmative
Saturday night. But it's not a huge difference and the Benson
Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez lightweight title fight showed
a quality UFC event will do well outside the NFL season.
Based
on the fast nationals, the seventh UFC on FOX event did 3.31
million viewers and a 1.5 rating in the 18-49 demo. That number
isn't far off the fast national numbers of the two previous shows.
The Jan. 26 show, headlined by Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson
for the flyweight title, including top draw Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson for support, did 3.77 million viewers on the fast nationals
and a 1.8 in 18-49s. The Dec. 8 show headlined by Henderson vs.
Nate Diaz for the lightweight title, featuring top draw B.J.
Penn, did 3.41 million viewers and 1.6 in 18-49s.
Henderson
vs. Melendez was the deeper show and had a stronger main event,
although lacked someone with the proven national drawing power
of a Jackson or a Penn. All things being equal, it should have
beaten the previous two shows because Henderson should have come
off the December win over Diaz as a bigger star.
It
should be pointed out key points when it comes to the fast national
ratings. The first is the fast nationals only rated the show
from 8-10 p.m. in all time slots. That means that most of the
main event, which in this case would almost surely be the most-watched
segment of the show, is not figured into the average. So the
final number should be up significantly, probably in the 4 million
viewer range and a rating in the mid-2s.
The
second is it rates the live airing in three of the four U.S.
time zones, Eastern, Central and Mountain. On the West Coast,
where UFC viewership is the strongest, it rates what airs on
FOX affiliates from 8-10 p.m., and not the 5-7:40 p.m. live airing.
The
show had consistent growth, with the Jordan Mein vs. Matt Brown
fight doing 2.59 million viewers, the Josh Thomson vs. Nate Diaz
fight doing 3.18 million and the Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir
fight doing 3.73 million.
The
show finished second overall among the networks, losing to CBS,
which aired a first run airing of Vegas and a replay of The Mentalist
in the time slot. But in the 18-49 target demo, over the first
two hours, it more than doubled second place ABC (1.5 to 0.7).
The
question when it came to ratings was how much the NFL mattered
when it came to promoting UFC events. Prior to Saturday night's
show, UFC had aired four FOX fights during football season, all
topping 4.2 million viewers. The two prior shows that aired out
of football season did only 2.4 million viewers. The first was
a weak marquee card (headlined by Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller) and
the second went head-to-head with the Summer Olympics. This was
the first show where they had a strong lineup, featuring a title
fight, out of football season.
For
comparisons, the final Dec. 8 number was 4.39 million viewers
for a similar length show where a five-round Henderson vs. Nate
Diaz main event averaged 5.7 million. On Jan. 26, the show ended
up doing 4.22 million viewers, with the Johnson vs. Dodson main
event doing 5.2 million viewers.
Source: MMA Fighting |
UFC
on Fox 7 Results: Matt Brown Opens with Impressive TKO Stoppage
Matt
Brown and Jordan Mein are two of the hottest welterweight contenders
in MMA right now. At Saturday night’s UFC on Fox 7 in San
Jose, Calif., they showed why everyone is watching them, opening
the Fox broadcast with an impressive performance by each fighter.
It
was Brown, however, that stood tall at the end of the night,
increasing his winning streak to five consecutive bouts.
Mein
set the tone from the start, opening with a step-in elbow, but
Brown gave no ground, firing back with three or four strikes
to each of Mein’s.
Both
men did some serious damage with their punches, but Brown really
separated himself from Mein with his knees. Midway through the
opening round, Brown hurt Mein with several knees from the clinch.
Mein
had his moments, however, sending Brown to the mat with a body
shot, and nearly securing a guillotine choke. Brown was obviously
hurt, wincing from several Mein body shots, but answered with
a triangle choke attempt that Mein just barely escaped.
Round
two was the same quick pace, but it was Brown that put his hand
speed on display, immediately landing a punch combination that
backed Mein up. He followed with a knee to the face, and then
drug Mein to the canvas. Brown kept up the pressure, relentlessly
elbowing Mein to the head and body until the referee stepped
in to stop the fight.
The
victory keeps Brown on an impressive streak that has his name
entering the realm of title talk.
Source: MMA Weekly |
2013
NAGA PACIFIC GRAPPLING CHAMPIONSHIP
The North American Grappling Association (NAGA) is the world’s
largest mixed grappling tournament circuit with over 170,000
competitors worldwide. On Saturday & Sunday, May 25 &
26, 2013, NAGA comes to Honolulu, Hawaii for its 1st annual NAGA
South Pacific Grappling Championship No-Gi & Gi tournament.
NAGA is inviting teams from Japan, Guam and other countries to
make it Hawaii's largest grappling tournament of all time! Come
as an individual or as a team to compete. You do not have to
live in Hawaii to participate in this event. This event is nationally
RANKED!
DOWNLOAD EVENT FLYER/REGISTRATION FORM
PRE-REGISTER
ONLINE HERE or download the registration form, print it out and
mail it in to the address on the form along with your check.
1
Division = $80; 2 Divisions = $100. Spectator passes are $10.
The price goes up to $15 after the pre-registration deadline.
For family rates, download the event flyer/registration form,
or click the Pre-Register Online link. Pre-registration closes
at 5PM on Friday, May 17.
For
weight classes, age category, and skill level information click
the DIVISIONS tab above.
For
weigh-in and registration location and times click the DIVISIONS
tab above.
TWO DAY TOURNAMENT: ADULTS ON SATURDAY / CHILDREN/TEENS ON SUNDAY
Due to the large amount of competitors that this NAGA tournament
attracts, this event will have 12 competition rings and will
take place over two days. All adults (both gi and no-gi) will
compete on Saturday. All children 13 yrs. & under and teens
14-17 years old (gi & no-gi) will compete on Sunday. The
2 day tournament format makes both days end much earlier than
a one day tournament.
100 CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS AWARDED
NAGA is very pleased to be awarding 100 CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS to
all its Children, Teen, Adult, Masters, Directors and Executive
Expert Division Winners.
SAMURAI SWORDS TO CHILDREN & TEENS WINNERS
NAGA is awarding custom engraved SAMURAI SWORDS to all non-expert
Children & Teen 1st place winners. Medals will be awarded
to all 2nd & 3rd place winners along with non-expert Adult
division winners. Adult competitors who place 1st-3rd will have
the opportunity to obtain a samurai sword at the NAGA T-shirt
booth for a nominal fee. For having the courage to compete, all
children and teens who do not place 1st through 3rd will take
home an award.
TEAM
CHAMPIONSHIP CUPS AWARDED
NAGA awards customized championship cups to the tournament team
champions. A cup can be won in: Adult Overall, Adult No-Gi, Adult
Gi, and Children & Teens Overall. We are also awarding an
overall Individual Team award. This will be awarded to a team/school
with a single location that scores the most team points. Please
make sure your team registers under the same team name.
CHAMPION GI PATCH
All Children, Teens & Adults who place 1st in any NAGA Gi
Division (White Belt through Black Belt) will receive a NAGA
Champion Gi patch. These patches are not sold, only earned by
the best Gi competitors.
GET YOUR GRAPPLING GEAR AT THE EVENT
NAGA is bringing a truckload of grappling gear (Board shorts,
gi bags, rash guards, t-shirts, hats, gi hoodies, patches, skull
caps, stickers, dog tags, etc.) in children and adults sizes,
for males and females. Check out the huge selection of gear and
apparel at the NAGA event.
NAGA ON THE WEB
NAGA has established a presence online through our website and
social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. We
are expanding the material that is offered on these sites outside
of the NAGA website. If you use any of these sites, please join
us and be kept up to date with the latest NAGA news.
- Get the monthly NAGA email by filling out this form. If you
have already competed in NAGA you do not need to fill this out:
http://www.nagafighter.com/index.php?module=joinpage
- "Like" NAGA on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nagafighter. You will be notified
of the latest NAGA news and events.
- Follow NAGA on Twitter: http://twitter.com/naga_fighter or @NAGA_FIGHTER.
We will start to tweet what divisions are coming up at tournaments
to help you as a competitor or fan stay informed.
- Our YouTube page is: http://www.youtube.com/user/nagagrappling Submit links to YouTube
videos of you competing in NAGA to youtube@nagafighter.com so
that we can share your video with the rest of the NAGA community.
NATIONALLY RANKED EVENT
All NAGA events are part of the nationwide ranking system entitled
RANKED. Our goal is to determine who the best grapplers in the
country are for various age, gender, and skill levels. This tournament
will be nationally ranked so do not miss your opportunity to
gain points towards a true national title. More details can be
found at www.nationallyranked.com.
SANDBAGGERS BEWARE
NAGA works diligently to prevent "sandbagging", or
the practice of fighting down skill levels to ensure one takes
home an award. NAGA has been working with RANKED to track all
fighters and ranked grappling events to produce true "national
standings." A by-product of these standings is our knowledge
of who has competed and at which level. Front door personnel
will use RANKED data to determine whether or not individuals
who have fought in past events belong in a higher skill level
(i.e. placed 1st at a prior NAGA event).
|
Jon
Jones Declares Chael Sonnen Has “Done Steroids Throughout
His Entire Career”
by Ken
Pishna
Chael
Sonnen has been accused of talking his way into a coaching position
opposite UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones on the latest
season of The Ultimate Fighter, as well as a shot at the champ’s
belt.
Whether
he did or didn’t, Sonnen hasn’t slowed down when it
comes to talking up his fight with Jones, which takes place next
week at UFC 159 in New Jersey. Sonnen rolled out a Twitter campaign
that put him on a 30-day countdown – or rather 30 days of
Jon Jones putdowns – leading up to their fight.
Jones,
however, says he’s not taking the bait.
“I’m
realizing that me talking trash really does nothing for the fight,”
said Jones on Tuesday night’s edition of UFC Tonight on
Fuel TV.
“I
have seen some of Chael’s countdown Twitter feed, but I
think I stopped reading it at about day 27,” he declared.
“It doesn’t fuel me anymore. It’s foolishness
really.”
Foolishness
or not. Trash talk or not. Jones hasn’t remained silent
during the lead-up to UFC 159. UFC Tonight guest host Dominick
Cruz questioned Jones about a recent UFC video in which he commented
on Sonnen, saying that he lacked a championship soul.
Jones’
explanation may not have been trash talk, but it certainly was
a headline grabber that fans the flames of controversy as the
fight draws closer.
“Chael
Sonnen is a guy, people know he’s done steroids throughout
his entire career,” Jones stated. “Probably the reason
why his testosterone is low now.”
Testosterone
replacement therapy has been a hot-button issue in mixed martial
arts over the past couple of years. Much of the discussion about
it’s use in MMA was launched into the public conscience
due to Sonnen’s use of the therapy to treat a condition
called hypogonadism and his battles with the California and Nevada
athletic commissions to allow it, but still gain licensure to
fight.
There
are numerous causes for hypogonadism, which range from genetics
to various diseases and disorders to radiation to steroid use.
The latter of which is what Jones is saying probably caused Sonnen’s
hypogonadism.
Sonnen
has always insisted that his is a medical condition and has even
lauded UFC president Dana White’s recent crack down on fighters
that are getting therapeutic use exemptions (TEUs), but abusing
them during training because they feel they have a “free
pass.”
Jones,
however, has consistently spoken out against fighters being allowed
TEUs for testosterone replacement therapy, whether it is induced
by performance enhancing drug abuse or Father Time.
“Basically,
I believe if you’re healthy enough to play a sport, you
shouldn’t take any performance enhancement drugs or testosterone.
Fighters make a lot of money in their 20's, make a lot of money
in their 30's, and when they get in their 40's, unfortunately,
you’re in your 40's,” Jones said during a media conference
call last August.
“You
should fight the way you fight when you’re in your 40's,
switch your style up to stay in the game. I don’t think
you should be able to take a drug to pretty much give you the
strength of a 30-year-old again.”
That
has carried over in his comments about Sonnen’s testosterone
replacement therapy, although he obviously attributes Sonnen’s
need for therapy not to age, but the abuse of steroids.
“I
don’t think that is the heart or the attitude of a champion,”
Jones explained. “So that’s what I meant when I said
he lacks championship soul.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
After
Accepting Defeat, Cole Miller Was Prepared to Beat Bart Palaszewski
Ahead
of his bout against Bart Palaszewski at “The Ultimate Fighter
17” Finale, Cole Miller visualized defeat.
Then
he submitted Palaszewski with a rear-naked choke 4:23 into the
first round.
Coming
off the win, he joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown”
show to discuss his strategy and more.
On
his game plan against Palaszewski: “The big thing was not
to get knocked out. Other than that, I didn’t really have
one. I was just thinking score some punches, and if he takes
me down, get to work. Then if a takedown opportunity presents
itself, then put him on the floor and do the same.”
On
what he expected from Palaszewski: “I thought that he was
going to do pretty much what he did: sit back for a little bit.
He’s got really, really good eyes. Being the striker that
he is, he sits back and he watches his opponents really well,
which is what kind of makes him -- I don’t want to call
him a slow starter, but he’s a patient fighter. He doesn’t
really get going until the second and the third rounds because
he pays attention to the movements, every little thing that his
opponents are doing to him. I wanted to keep him guessing, throwing
punches and kicks and feints and things like that, to make it
to where he wouldn’t really catch on so much.”
On
struggling through his training camp for the fight: “It
was super hard. I missed pretty much half my camp. I had some
little sidelining injuries that kept me out at the beginning
of the camp, some training partners trying to pretty much hurt
me. I was sick. I got the flu like everybody else in the country.
I missed two and a half weeks off of that, and then the week
before I left for my fight, my grandma and grandpa came down
to visit and he’s got Alzheimer’s and it’s really,
really bad. He’s starting to get violent and things like
that. It really took its toll mentally on me.”
On
getting injured while training: “Nobody was trying to send
me to the hospital, but I think that when you’re a professional
and you’re fighting at the level that I’m fighting,
I think that some of these guys get a little too excited and
they’re going a little too hard.”
On
whether he felt pressure entering the fight with back-to-back
losses: “I felt some. I just tried to ignore it so that
way I could fight my style of fight. I can’t sit there and
think about that kind of stuff too, too much. There was pressure,
but if you don’t accept that you’re already going to
be facing defeat, then you’re not going to fight like you
should be fighting.”
On
accepting defeat: “That’s how I go into pretty much
all my fights. To make sure I try to finish my opponents, I go
in there with that mentality. [I] just picture myself losing
in every way possible and getting humiliated in every way possible.
That way, when I do that, I accept in my mind that outcome is
going to happen, and then once I accept it, then I’m fine
with it. Then I can just go out there and perform the way that
I know how to and I can search for finishes constantly.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
159
4/27/13
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
|
More
than a UFC return, Josh Thomson's legacy may be judged by Nate
Diaz fight
By Dave
Meltzer
For
more than a decade, Josh "The Punk" Thomson has argued
that he's among the best lightweight fighters in the world. But
during most of that period, fighting outside the UFC, he's found
himself outside the top ten. When he returns to the UFC against
Nate Diaz on April 20 on FOX, he can not only establish himself
in the top ten with a win, but also give credibility to years
of what he's claimed.
For
years, when Josh Thomson and his former sometimes training partner,
turned greatest career rival, Gilbert Melendez, were tearing
things up on the Strikeforce scene, he had always felt that he
never quite got his due on the international basis.
Thomson
has been convinced for a decade that he's among the top tier
of lightweights in the world, but he's rarely had his name listed
in the top ten. Currently, Thomson (19-5, 1 no contest), who
makes his first UFC appearance in nearly nine years, is not rated
in UFC's top ten nor most any major top ten.
From
a UFC standpoint, the argument is that he hasn't fought in the
organization in years. Then again, neither has Melendez, who
is currently ranked as the No. 1 contender, and is making his
UFC debut, on the April 20 FOX card at the HP Pavilion in San
Jose in a championship match with Benson Henderson. That same
night and also airing on FOX, Thomson returns to the UFC to face
No. 4 contender Nate Diaz, who is coming off losing to Henderson
in his most recent fight.
Almost
universally these days, Henderson is ranked first and Melendez
second or third.
"People
have ranked Gil No. 1 in the world for years and I think I beat
him the last time we fought," said Thomson.
Generally, Melendez has hovered for years in the top two or three,
and certainly has been the leading non-UFC lightweight for the
past few years, as well as been on many pound-for-pound top ten
listings.
Thomson's
last fight was a heartbreaking split decision loss to Melendez
on May 19, 2012 at the same HP Pavilion. While Thomson will use
the term robbed, the word people tell him when the fight is regularly
brought up to him, it was a close fight that was one of last
year's best. It could have gone either way. However, most of
the reaction to the fight over the next few days indicated the
majority viewpoint was Thomson won three of the five rounds.
Either
way, after three fights and 15 rounds of action, Thomson has
been every bit the equal of the No. 2 lightweight in the world.
In the last seven years, Thomson has only lost three times, twice
to Melendez and once to Tatsuya Kawajiri, who outwrestled him
for three rounds on a Japanese New Year's Eve show at the end
of 2010.
After
nearly a year out of action amidst the canceling of shows and
closing down of Strikeforce, Thomson has a chance to make the
ultimate statement on where he belongs on the totem poll when
he battles Diaz (16-8) in what will be his tenth career fight
at the HP Pavilion.
His
other argument regarding where he really stands has to do with
training partner Gray Maynard, the current No. 3 contender, who
he goes at it with regularly. He said those training sessions
have removed all doubt that he can hang with anyone in the world
today and that he wasn't just a big fish in a smaller pond for
much of his career.
There
are several unique factors in this fight, some of which, Thomson
concedes, favor his opponent. For one, Diaz helped train Melendez
for all three Thomson fights, and at times mimicked his style.
His training partner, Melendez, has spent not only the 15 rounds
in three classic fights in the cage with Thomson, but hours in
the gym before the two became rivals. His camp has been strategizing
against Thomson for years. His training partner has more personal
experience fighting him than any man on the planet.
Thomson
also concedes it's almost impossible to get a training partner
who can mimic Diaz. You can get tall guys with the length, but
not with the punching output, let alone having anywhere near
the caliber of jiu-jitsu. Instead, he's been heavily studying
tapes of three recent fights to come up with ideas for a game
plan: Nate's loss to Benson Henderson and older brother Nick's
losses to Carlos Condit and Georges St-Pierre.
"He
can fight the fight of his life and still lose to me," said
Thomson, who said he believed he has the edge in the kicking
game and the wrestling, and can hold his own in the boxing and
the jiu-jitsu.
Thomson,
being 34 and more than six years older than Diaz, feels that's
also his advantage.
"I
think the experience will play a big factor," he said when
being interviewed on UFC's Countdown to the Octagon. "There
are times he's fought fights where he could have fought smarter,
where he could have won, but he didn't."
In many ways, Melendez and Thomson's fights will not only determine
both men's future at the UFC championship level, but are even
more important from a legacy standpoint.
If
both Melendez and Thomson win, and both are going into their
fights as significant underdogs, it will change greatly how both
men's careers are viewed historically.
Their
three previous fights, arguably the most exciting in-ring trilogy
in modern major promotion MMA, will be viewed in a different
light. So, from the same standpoint, will the credibility of
the Strikeforce lightweight title that Thomson and Melendez held
for all but three months of the seven-year history of the promotion.
Oddsmakers
have spoken about where the Strikeforce title history stands
in the big picture, and it's not a positive. Thomson is currently
a 9-to-5 underdog. Melendez is considered even more of an underdog
at 7-to-2.
While
Melendez had a part of him sorry to see Strikeforce close up
earlier this year, there had also been frustration in him for
years about not being able to fight the people who could make
him considered No. 1 in the world. Thomson, on the other hand,
was sorry to see the organization close its doors.
"I
was there from the first show," he said. "Cung (Le),
Frank (Shamrock), me and Gil built the company. He poured our
blood and sweat into it. That would be like asking Dana White
if UFC went away what he would think."
Thomson's
nearly one year out of action is his third long layoff in recent
year. Unlike the other layoffs, caused by one injury after another,
this layoff came as Strikeforce wheels were coming apart, and
shows were being canceled.
He
had just about finished a training camp for a fight with Caros
Fodor on a show scheduled for Sept. 29 in Sacramento. Only a
few days before fight time, the show was canceled due to Melendez
suffering a shoulder injury.
"I
can't complain about it because UFC took care of me (financially),
and they didn't have to do that," he said.
But
in the past after long layoffs, he'd conceded ring rust is real.
And while this is not his first UFC fight, when he last fought
in the organization nearly nine years ago, it was a different
era. Still, he doesn't see Octagon jitters, or being on FOX,
having an effect on him.
"I've
fought before 20,000 people," he said. "I've headlined
before 10,000 people. I'll be fine fighting before 15,000 people."
Thomson
was considered one of the world's best lightweights, dating back
to a 2002 win over "Razor" Rob McCullough in a division
that hardly had the kind of depth today it now has. He had gone
7-0 until fighting Yves Edwards in 2004, who was generally seen
as UFC's best at the time, in a division it had no champion in.
Edwards stopped Thomson with a flying kick to the head, among
the most spectacular finishes in UFC history.
Then,
the UFC made the decision to drop lightweights.
"Listen,
it's the entertainment business," he said. "At the
time, if the lightweights couldn't make them money, then they
weren't going to use them."
Fortunately
for Thomson, Strikeforce was opening up in San Jose.
Thomson,
who grew up in the city and was among the best lightweights at
the time, was immediately tabbed as one of the company's top
stars. He was there from the first night in 2006, and eventually
beat Melendez in their first meeting on June 27, 2008, via a
clear decision, to capture the Strikeforce lightweight title,
and handed Melendez what ended up being his only loss in the
organization. While Thomson was on his best career roll inside
the cage at that point, the next few years were based around
frustration. It became a seemingly never-ending battle with injuries,
starting with a broken ankle suffered in training that was aggravated
several times over. It seemed that almost every time people would
bump into Thomson, he had crutches or a cast and it became almost
a running joke with him answering the same questions about his
latest calamity.
He
was out 15 months, and then lost to Melendez. He had a second
run where a series of injuries cost him another 14 months, missing
the entire year of 2011.
In
a battle of trial and error, he cut way back on his training,
feeling it was the overtraining that was breaking his body down.
He got his hand raised when he fought K.J. Noons on March 3,
2012, but the fight was boring and he was apologizing to the
crowd when it was over, as he realized as soon as the fight started
that is cutting back on training had hurt his conditioning. When
he discusses the Noons win, even though he clearly took the decision
using his wrestling to keep the fight on the ground for three
rounds in a fight he needed to win, he talks about it as if it
was a negative moment in his career.
He
subsequently suffered a PCL tear prior to the most recent Melendez
fight.
"I
was worried about kicking, about checking kicks, and if it would
hold up wrestling," he said.
But
if anything, even though he was hurt and lost, it was among the
best performances of his career. The loss was controversial to
the point immediately people were talking about a fourth match
between the two. Had the judges gone in his favor, it is possible
it would be Thomson facing Henderson for the title.
During
his recent time off, largely waiting to be able to legally start
in UFC and for Strikeforce to close up, Thomson took on a new
job, that came literally out of nowhere.
Starting
the first of the year, he spent six weeks in China playing the
lead role in a Roger Corman movie, "Fists of the Dragon,"
The movie is a remake of "Moving Target," a Don "The
Dragon" Wilson movie from 2000. It's currently in post-production.
He'd
looked at acting for years. Thomson read for parts many times,
but it went nowhere. His lack of getting anywhere saw him come
to the conclusion that door wasn't going to open and had mentally
moved away from that direction. In late December, he was offered
the role, and that he'd start in a few days. So he had to make
an immediate decision. The work wasn't easy.
"They
told me it would be long days," he said. "We started
every day at 6 a.m. We usually finished at midnight, and sometimes,
as late as 3 a.m. In six weeks, I had two days off."
Then
he returned to camp, where he said he's healthier and more injury-free
than he has been in years.
Looking
at records, Thomson vs. Diaz looks likely to be a fast-paced
three-round contest. Both are known for speed, conditioning,
exciting fights and durability. Diaz has also only been finished
once in his career, back in 2006, when he was a 21-year-old going
against a prime Hermes Franca.
The
Edwards fight remains the only time Thomson has been finished
in a fight. It's also the only time he's lost in a striking battle,
as the fighters who have given him the most trouble are stronger
wrestlers, something Diaz is not. But Diaz brings a stand-up
style that Thomson has never faced before.
"I'm
thankful the UFC gave me the shot at proving myself right away,"
he said, recognizing that probably more than any fight in his
career, the upside of a win and the downside of a loss have never
been greater.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Julie
Kedzie vs. Germaine de Randamie Added to UFC on Fox 8 Fight Card
Ever
since the UFC added the women’s bantamweight division to
its roster, bouts featuring women have trickled onto upcoming
fight cards. The latest features Julie Kedzie vs. Germaine de
Randamie.
FoxSports.com
first reported the bout, which was later confirmed by UFC officials.
Kedzie
vs. de Randamie will take place on the UFC on Fox 8 fight card
slated for July 27 in Seattle.
Kedzie
(16-11) is popular among fans, but perhaps more so than many
of the other women debuting in the Octagon, needs to make an
immediate impression. She lost both of her Strikeforce bouts
– to Miesha Tate and Alexis Davis – before making the
move with many of the other 135-pound Strikeforce women to the
UFC.
A
former kickboxing world champion, de Randamie (3-2) went 2-1
during her Strikeforce tenure. The fight with Kedzie marks her
return to 135 pounds after fighting at 145 in her last two bouts.
The
UFC on Fox 8 event takes place at the KeyArena in Seattle, but
has yet to land a main event. UFC flyweight champion Demetrious
Johnson, feverishly working to return from injury, has been lobbying
for the main event as he currently fights out of neighboring
Kirkland, Wash.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Master
Rickson Gracie to spread his knowledge in Ventura, CA on April
27th
Erin Herle
Have
you ever wanted to learn from the great Rickson Gracie? Son of
the late Helio Gracie and father of current black belt world-class
competitor Kron Gracie, Rickson will be making his way back to
the California coast for a seminar at Gracie Morumbi Ventura.
GMA
member Fabio Leopoldo is hosting the Jiu-Jitsu seminar set for
Saturday, April 27 at his Ventura, CA headquarters. This is a
chance of a lifetime as Rickson no longer teaches in the states
and the legend is giving you the opportunity to learn from his
lifetime of Jiu-Jitsu knowledge and experiences.
The
seminar will be located at 2160 Thompson Blvd., Ventura, CA 93001.
It starts at 11 a.m. and runs until 2 p.m. so make sure you show
up before 10:45 a.m. if you plan to participate. The cost is
$150 cash only.
For
more information you can call (805) 643-7717 or email: info@graciemorumbi.com
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
message discipline problems: Ronda Rousey vs. Jon Jones
By Zach
Arnold
Here’s
the infamous interview Ronda Rousey did with Jim Rome for his
Showtime program. In this clip, she’s touting the fact that
she has as much sex as possible before fights.
JIM
ROME: “Some boxers abstain from sex for up to six weeks
before the fight. What is your philosophy on this?”
RONDA
ROUSEY: “Um, on the guys or the girls?”
JIM
ROME: “Both.”
RONDA
ROUSEY: “Um, I mean for girls it raises your testosterone
so I try to have as much sex as possible before a fight, actually.
Not like with everybody, I don’t like put out Craigslist
ads or anything but, you know, if I’ve got a steady I’m
going to be like, ‘yo, fight time’s coming up.’
”
JIM
ROME: “That’s great. That works for you.”
Obviously,
this interview didn’t harm her image with the masses. She
drew a significant PPV buy rate for her bout against Liz Carmouche
(w/ a good live gate at the Anaheim Pond as well), established
herself as a top five PPV attraction in UFC (according to Dave
Meltzer), and has now signed a deal with William Morris Endeavor
to be represented in business affairs.
You
would think on the topic of sex appeal and having sex with others
that Ronda has a libertine attitude, would you not? Well, if
you’re pushing a UFC product like The Ultimate Fighter:
Real World edition, in the words of Brian J. D’Souza I guess
you have to become… pliable… when the situation calls
for it.
“Whatever
line fits the moment is the one they’re gonna use.”
Q:
“Talk a little bit about the House because you have been
around it. It’s craziness, you know, I mean stuff getting
broken, drunken parties. What do you think it’s going to
be like when you add women to the mix?”
RONDA
ROUSEY: “I don’t know because, I mean, the last couple
of seasons people aren’t treating it like some reality TV
show. They’re treating it like, you know, an actual documentary
covering the hardest competition in sports and I expect that
people are going to take this a lot more seriously than they
expect. It’s not going to be as Jersey Shore-ish as a lot
of people are predicting. But… I can only vouch for my team,
I don’t know what the other team is going (to do). My team’s
going to be angels, right, right guys? They’re going to
be great. They’re going to be a bunch of winners and not
a bunch of Snookis. The other team, they can do whatever they
want.”
Q:
“But do you think that the men will react well to women
being around?”
RONDA
ROUSEY: “Um, I don’t know. I mean I’m going to
tell the girls, look, if you’re fooling around the house
you’re going to be forever known as the chick as, you know…
not being so classy in the house and the guy will always be the
guy who, hey, I got laid in the house! So, um… I don’t
know. I expect that the girls to be trying to hold it down and
keep order more than the guys are.”
And
if you think the sex angle was just some random question from
the Fox interviewer, then perhaps you didn’t see the video
of the media scrum or read this MMA Junkie article in which the
message discipline is in full effect.
“I
think that it’s going to be very similar in this season,
at least on my team. I’m going to have to remind these girls
that this is the first impression you’re setting for women
MMA fighters because this is a lot of exposure that they’re
going to be getting.
“If
they’re the chick that was screwing around the house, for
the rest of their career they’re going to be known as the
chick that was screwing around the house. Sponsors are going
to be looking at that. Everybody’s going to be looking at
that.”
Let’s
compare this to how Jon Jones’ fared on Saturday night.
Was
he tipsy from drinking?
JON
ANIK: “It will be Kelvin Gastelum against Uriah Hall. Your
thoughts on the final here coming up in short order?”
JON
JONES: “I think it’s going to be a great fight. You
know, they’re two guys that I’m rooting for and a very
mutual like. I’m just excited to see great Mixed Martial
Arts.”
JON
ANIK: “On season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, Chael Sonnen
takes the coache’s challenge. He wins the polling. He’s
got two guys in the final. Your oppourtnity, though, to get the
win that matters most comes April 27th on PPV at UFC 159. What
are you going to do make sure that he doesn’t get that W
that’s ultimately the most important one?”
JON
JONES: “The work is already done.”
JON
ANIK: “Anything to say to Chael Sonnen here before you ultimately
square off in a few weeks in New Jersey?”
JON
JONES: “No.”
JON
ANIK: “You guys seems to get along on the show. Certianly,
not in this tense moment here tonight. Jon Jones not even willing
to look at Chael Sonnen. Do you have sort of a building hatred
here for Chael as the fight gets closer?”
JON
JONES: “No, it’s not about hate. It’s about love.
I love this sport. I love trying to perform at my best.”
When
it comes to public relations blunders, Jon Jones is definitely
a champion. It’s frustrating to watch someone who has so
much talent and so much to give always finding ways to ruin the
mood for the fans who support and back him. He has this weird
knack for creating artificial ceilings that he can’t break
through. Every time I watch Jon Jones do an interview, I feel
like I’m seeing a character from Dave Walsh’s book,
Godslayer, come to life. Here you have a man in Jon Jones who
absolutely should be the most prominent face of the UFC and he’s
not because you can never trust what he is going to say from
one minute to the next. Every time he talks, you feel as if whatever
Rashad Evans said in the past about the guy being a flake is
true.
So,
when you pair someone like Jones up with a transparent phony
like Chael Sonnen, it’s either going to be really great
comedy or it’s going to be a train wreck. Either it’s
explosive or a complete dud. Sonnen’s trying his best to
gin up respect for Jones and put him over while putting himself
over at the same time. However, as you saw on last night’s
FX telecast, Jones is not cooperating at all. He’s incoherent.
He rushes off camera before the interview is finished. He wants
no part of promoting the fight with Sonnen.
Don’t
get me wrong here. I am no supporter of Sonnen in terms of his
act or his drug usage. It’s pathetic. He doesn’t entertain
me. He is what he is. However, Jon Jones has to act like a professional
when it comes to advertising the fight. He doesn’t have
to focus on the charades at all to successfully be engaged in
discussing the fight itself and what he wants to do in the fight.
So, yeah, Jon Jones should take some heat and some blame for
not doing his job here.
The
UFC should also take heat & blame for creating the mess they
did last September by attempting to book Sonnen vs. Jones at
the last minute and rail against Jones publicly for declining
the fight. They haven’t been very professional, either,
and the hostility between UFC management & Jon Jones’
camp is evident. So, what did they do? They decided to ratchet
up the circus show a notch by building a season of The Ultimate
Fighter around a match-up that Jones didn’t want in the
first place. And they do this in order to promote a fight that
Jones has no interest in. So, when Jon Jones doesn’t cooperate
with the UFC on public relations, they can’t act surprised
that he’s being a jerk.
It’s
like the old fable with the scorpion and the frog where the scorpion
asks the frog to trust him and take him across the river only
for the scorpion to sting the frog and assure mutual destruction.
That’s how I feel watching the UFC & Jon Jones interact
with each other now every time they are trying to promote a new
fight together.
I
guess trying to get fighters on the same page is like herding
cats, after all.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Benson's
Lab
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
GLENDALE,
AZ -- Amid the sprawl of uptown Glendale, across the street from
Sears and a block away from the Total Wine, Benson Henderson
settles into his chair under the shade of a dark green umbrella
at a corner Starbucks. The desert air is stiflingly hot, it always
is, but a cool breeze offers passersby one last excuse to drag
out their winter jackets. Henderson leans forward and rests one
arm on the table, casually taking a bite out of his breakfast
muffin.
Less
than a 30-second walk away sits a nondescript, beige walled building,
a bold white "H" stamped on its side. To an uninitiated
stranger, there's little to distinguish it from the neighboring
"G" and "I" office spaces, each identical
to the next, except for a handful of decorated windows and one
small, pyramid shaped sign fastened above the entrance. The same
insignia is branded across Henderson's beat-up, red Ford Bronco,
and he sports it proudly: The Lab, Mixed Martial Arts Training
Center. Although from where Henderson sits, nonchalantly sipping
his morning coffee alongside retirees and bustling office workers,
it may as well be a world away.
Henderson
is something of a novelty here. The cagefighting world champion
who doubles as the most polite man in the room, tossing out sirs
and ma'ams like candy on Halloween night. In a way, not much
has changed.
It
was years ago, nearly midnight, when Henderson sat in his small
Nebraska apartment nursing the unfamiliar sting of defeat, mired
in a week-long depression. The feeling didn't sit well. So on
a whim, under the cover of darkness, Henderson simply packed
his life into his car and took off, leaving behind multiple offers
in law enforcement to chase a new dream in Denver, and eventually
Arizona. Fear of the unknown is common, and large scale impulsivity
is terrifying, but Henderson simply remembers being unafraid.
"Some
of my friend say I have Ataraxia," Henderson muses. "What
movie's that from? The movie, Josh Harnett and Lucy Liu? Lucky
Number Slevin. Says he has Ataraxia, a freedom of worry. I guess
one of my friends says I have that. Because you do something
big, life changing: ‘I'm going to try moving down to Denver.'
I didn't even have an apartment to live in. I knew one person
in the entire state of Colorado. But I wasn't really worried.
"A
lot of people are so preoccupied with worrying about, ‘What
if this happens? What if that happens? What if I can't find a
place to live at? Blah, blah, blah.' I was always just like,
eh, let's go with the flow. Moving out here to Arizona was a
pretty big deal too. But eh, let's go for it. See how it works
out. It worked out well."
Henderson
owns the Lab now. He didn't used to. His days as the gym's janitor,
mopping floors and cleaning toilets between training sessions,
are just bizarre footnotes in an increasingly impressive timeline.
Back then Henderson and the gym were joined at the hip, each
rarely away from the other, both still finding their way. It
certainly wasn't like it is now.
Look
towards the front desk and a shimmering, golden UFC belt sits
on full display. Glance towards the mats on any given day and
you're likely to see a gaggle of current or former UFC fighters
grinding away. Miesha Tate to Jamie Varner, Alex Caceres to John
Moraga; in some way or another, they're all here because of Henderson.
The
Lab's head trainer, John Crouch, has been here all along. He
helped found the gym in 2007. He's also the man who sold Henderson
on the move to Arizona. Ask Crouch, and he's frank: none of this
is surprising. Henderson's potential was clear to him from day
one. But Crouch also will be the first to remind you, potential
means nothing without a stable head. That's the part about Henderson
that amazes him the most.
"He
taught jiu-jitsu class last night," Crouch marvels at the
silliness of the statement. A UFC champion taught a room full
of newbies the basics of breaking a closed guard?
"Yeah,
we got a guy who had an eye cut so I went to see about that,
and then somebody else called about an interview and I went to
see about that, and all of a sudden we were 30 minutes into class
and I'm still running around. And he's in there, just teaching
the white belt class.
"Ben,
there's no jobs that are too small for him. Like, he doesn't
have that. He's just the same guy. He's a really good guy. He
just wants to be the best at this."
Two
weeks before Henderson dismantled Nate Diaz in front of 5.7 million
people on live national television, Crouch phoned an old friend.
The man was a videographer who'd worked with Crouch back when
UFC washout Alvin "The Kid" Robinson was The Lab's
claim to fame. This time around, Crouch wanted to film a new
commercial for the gym.
"I
reconnected with him, and when I did, he was like, ‘Hey
I found some stuff that I think you'll like,' I was like, ‘Cool,
bring it by.' He brought it by," Crouch recalls. "I
got chills when I saw it."
The
footage proved eerily prophetic.
In
2008, Crouch commissioned a documentary to be made for Robinson
prior to his UFC bout against, ironically, Diaz. The camera crew
had just wrapped up filming an afternoon sparring session. Sweaty
and tired, Crouch forgot he was still mic'ed up. As Robinson
and others casually ambled out of the room, unwrapping their
hand wraps and chatting about the successes of their session,
Crouch called out to a 25-year-old Henderson.
"You're
going to be a superstar in this sport," Crouch told Henderson,
then just a 4-1 prospect struggling to make it up the ranks.
"Remember, I was the first one that said that."
Crouch
walked towards the door, then turned back. "Hey, I mean
it. I think you're going to be phenomenal. You're going to be
a household name if you want to be."
January
5, 2008: Crouch to Henderson.
Memorabilia
of Henderson's myriad accomplishments now litter Crouch's office
walls. The coach gazes towards the mats as he remembers the moment
like it was yesterday. "The kid, I just wanted him to know
how I felt. I felt like he could be as good as he wanted to be.
"I
didn't plan on it being inspirational. It's just honest. I thought
he could be great. But it's him that took control of the bus.
He drove it there. His effort, his determination did it. There's
lots of people that have potential, and then they never make
it back to the gym. But that kid decided that he wanted to do
something, and he's done it."
Crouch
held onto the footage in secret for weeks, finally releasing
it three days after Henderson's triumph at UFC on FOX 5. He didn't
want it to be a distraction. Instead, it became one more reminder
of just how far Henderson had come in a remarkably short length
of time.
"It's
one of those things you don't really think about too much as
you're going through it," Henderson admits. "But every
once in a while you do interviews and stuff, and when you say
it out loud, the way it sounds when you talk about it, when you
really start thinking about it -- oh, wow.
"What
I personally enjoy the most, is that we haven't sold our soul
for that success," the champion continues. "We've stayed
the same way."
The
gym's busier these days, as is Henderson's unyielding travel
schedule, but Crouch echoes a similar sentiment. In many ways
The Lab has a communal feel. Henderson likes it that way. Fighters
bring in their sons and daughters and let them run loose without
worry. Good vibrations are a common theme. "There's no Terry
Toughnuts. There's no Billy Badasses walking around with their
shirts off and super flexing," Henderson jokes.
Crouch
hesitates to make wild comparisons with the other eight UFC champions
and their gyms, but he knows he has something special here.
"I
don't know those other guys," Crouch says. "But I know
Ben, and he's a different kind of human being."
As
the wins and warm stories pile up, it's getting harder to argue.
In
2012, just seven days after wresting the UFC lightweight title
away from Frankie Edgar in a grueling, 25-minute war in Japan,
Henderson entered his name into the 7th Arizona International
Open, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament halfway across the world.
Henderson took gold in his division but ultimately lost in the
Absolute (open weight) class.
This
year Henderson did the same, competing, and falling short, in
the 2013 IBJJF Pan-American Championship -- North America's largest
jiu-jitsu tournament -- less than four weeks out from the biggest
fight of his life, an upcoming title defense against longtime
Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez at UFC on FOX 7.
Henderson
doesn't understand, it seems. UFC champions don't do this type
of thing.
"I'm
like, eh, people are going to be aiming for you," Crouch
explains. "It's different now. Like, they don't care that
you're a fighter. Their whole claim to fame is if they can last
five minutes with you with a gi on, which they spend doing seven
days a week. You spend barely any time doing it.
"There's
going to be a lot of attention paid to it. We go and do badly,
people are going to get crazy. He's like, ‘Oh, I don't care.'
I don't know if he's different from all the other guys, but he's
different from most people. That's for sure."
Henderson's
mother, Song, still lives and works near Tacoma, WA, the area
where Henderson grew up. A Korean immigrant, Song owns and manages
a small grocery store named Peter's Grocery. For ages she'd open
Peter's at seven in the morning, work all day, then close it
at midnight. 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.
Song
is doing better now. The economy picked up enough for her to
hire an extra employee, so now she only works from seven in the
morning to four in the afternoon. But in the days after her son
emerged from a grueling training camp to fight through another
exhausting battle at UFC on FOX 5, she didn't have to work at
all. Henderson donned the uniform and did it for her.
"If
I'm going to be home, I'm not going to let my mom work. Period,"
Henderson smiles as he remembers. "She's going to go home,
relax, go to the Korean spa or whatever. She works those hours
every single day, Sunday through Sunday. So if I'm home the least
I can do is give her a little bit of time off."
By
all accounts, the replacement manager at Peter's with the long
curly hair and penchant for disassembling some of the world's
most dangerous men was a perfect gentleman.
A
middle-aged woman, no younger than 50, sets down her latte, her
head perking up from her iPhone.
"Excuse
me. Sorry to interrupt," the sheepish murmur comes from
across the table. Her hair is faded grey, speckled with streaks
of blonde, her brown shawl is frayed around the edges, but her
eyes are lit up like a kid's on Christmas morning.
"I
really hate to bother you. I really don't mean to. You're Ben,
aren't you?"
"Yes
ma'am."
"Can
I take a picture of you and I together so I can show it to my
son! My son, he loves you."
"Of
course."
Henderson
grins broadly as the stranger snaps the picture. It takes two
attempts, the first try blurred by the shaking of schoolgirl
giddiness.
This
is normal for Henderson now, especially within the strip mall
around The Lab. Of course it didn't used to be. Back in the WEC
days, when 40-something-year-old soccer moms would stop Henderson
in the middle of the grocery store, confident they had seen him
on television but unsure where, that was weird. Now, he's just
used to it.
The
‘males age 18-34' demographic is the UFC's bread and butter,
but Henderson seems to attract a different brand of fight fan
to the party. It's a rare quality, though it's one UFC President
Dana White and Zuffa co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta identified when
they awarded Henderson a lucrative new eight-fight deal in early
2013. It's also, at least partly, the reason Henderson is headlining
a nationally televised event for the second time in a row.
"They
want me to be a representative, not only represent the UFC, but
represent MMA well," Henderson explains. "If someone's
flipping through the channels, a 68-year-old grandma flipping
through the channels, never seen MMA before, and they happen
to come across me, [White and Fertitta think] I'll be a good
representative, a good first impression into MMA. I like that."
Henderson's
sophomore effort on FOX is oddly similar to his debut. He's again
fighting a highly regarded member of the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
fight team, only this time Diaz is replaced by his training partner,
Melendez. A staple of top-5 rankings for years who finally clawed
to freedom upon Strikeforce's demise, Melendez has appeared vulnerable
of late, hardly impressing in decision wins over Jorge Masvidal
and Josh Thomson. However Henderson knows it'd be foolish to
overlook him.
Every
fight is important, but in many ways this is the first opportunity
Henderson has to begin building his legacy. After a controversial
pair of wars with former UFC champion Frankie Edgar, the Diaz
victory legitimized Henderson's title in the eyes of more than
a few fans. Five years from now, beating Melendez at UFC on FOX
7 with another few million pairs of eyes watching, may be the
moment pundits point to as the beginning of an era.
Henderson
tries not to consider it, sometimes falling back on clichés
when asked. But even still, it's clear he's put some thought
into the idea.
"I
think people, as a part of life, they always need to put things
in order. They always need to give it some sort of, like, ranking.
And I guess I'm the same way," Henderson admits. "I
do it for everything. When I think of Michael Jordan, I think
of the same thing. ‘Oh, Michael Jordan really started in
this year, when he started to take over. Blah, blah, blah.' So
I do the same thing. But for me, I think of it as, a fight is
a fight. I really don't care. Whether it's your fourth title
defense, whether it's your first in the UFC, last fight in the
WEC, doesn't matter. You have to win. UFC promises you a title
shot, but then you lose your next one, doesn't matter. You have
to win."
Henderson
speaks often of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who
with his 10 straight title defenses is the gold standard. Since
his WEC days, Henderson has repeated a mantra of wanting to fight
the best guys, one by one, line ‘em up. In his eyes, Melendez
is just next up to bat. No. 4 on a list that shows no sign of
slowing.
"I
don’t know those other guys," Crouch says. "But
I know Ben, and he’s a different kind of human being."
But
Henderson is always looking up, even when he's trying to stay
within the moment. Perhaps it's a character flaw for some, but
not for him, considering where it's taken Henderson so far. His
goals reach broader than just tightening his grasp atop the lightweight
rankings, and it doesn't take much prodding to hear them.
"Some
people think (Georges) St-Pierre, some people think Jon Jones.
But it's super clear cut," Henderson says, narrowing his
eyes. "Best fighter on the planet right now is Anderson
Silva, pound for pound. I would like to be that guy one day.
A lot of heart and a lot of dedication is required to get there,
but I'm not scared of hard work, so it's cool."
Crouch
just smiles and sighs. He knows talk like this is distracting,
but he also knows Henderson is stubborn enough to believe what
he says.
"Every
day, he will be at practice. Doesn't matter what day it is, rain
or shine, he's going to be there. And that's not true of everybody,"
Crouch concludes. "People don't work like that in our world
anymore. They're not willing to bust their ass to get what they
want. They want it handed to them, and he didn't care about that.
He'd just come in. He didn't need me to say it.
"He'd
be the champion today, it didn't matter where he was, because
he's got that in him. He's got determination, he's got heart,
no quit, he always shows up. And if you just do that, that's
90-percent of life. Just show up. Come in tomorrow, we'll work
on it. ‘Well what about this?' Come in tomorrow, we'll answer
that one. And pretty soon tomorrows pile on tomorrows, and all
of a sudden you have a legacy."
It's
still early. Melendez is a dangerous man, in an absurdly talent
rich division. The laundry list of indestructible champions to
meet a premature demise is miles long. But as the afternoon creeps
in, and Henderson throws on a worn old parka, a day's work just
beginning, it's hard to doubt his conviction.
The
champion piles into his beat-up red Ford Bronco, pyramid shaped
decals adorning its side, shifts gears and pulls away towards
The Lab. Back to work. He wouldn't have it any other way.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
MMA
Referee Josh Rosenthal Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges in California
By Mike
Whitman
Veteran
mixed martial arts referee Josh Rosenthal has pleaded guilty
to drug charges in California Northern District Court and is
awaiting sentencing.
According
to court documents obtained by Sherdog.com, Rosenthal was arrested
last year on felony charges of conspiracy to manufacture and
possess with intent to distribute marijuana. Rosenthal initially
pleaded not guilty to the charges in October but later changed
his plea to guilty this past January, according to court documents.
MMAJunkie.com first reported Rosenthal’s plea on Wednesday
morning.
Rosenthal
is scheduled to be sentenced on May 17, though the referee’s
sentencing has previously been continued several times, most
notably from Feb. 7 to April 9 in order to allow Rosenthal to
recover from a staph infection that hospitalized him from Jan.
12 to Jan. 20, according to court documents.
Rosenthal
recently appeared in a video interview with BloodyElbow.com recounting
the serious infection that put him in the hospital and kept him
out of the cage. However, Rosenthal made no mention of his ongoing
legal issues. One of MMA’s best known referees, Rosenthal
has plied his craft at the sport’s highest level for years,
officiating numerous bouts for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Source
Sherdog
|
World
Series of Fighting 3 Gains Tyrone Spong vs. Angel DeAnda, Moves
to Hard Rock
World
Series of Fighting on Tuesday announced that it will hit The
Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Friday,
June 14. WSOF 3 is headlined by a welterweight rematch between
Jon Fitch (24-5) and Josh Burkman (25-9). It airs live on NBC
Sports Network, beginning at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT.
In
the light heavyweight co-main event, hard-hitting, 27-year-old
Tyrone Spong (1-0), a decorated champion and veteran of 77 professional
kickboxing bouts, will make his much-anticipated second start
under MMA rules against fellow knockout artist Angel DeAnda (11-2).
DeAnda has scored knockouts in 10 of his 11 career victories,
including his last four starts.
Tickets,
priced from $29 (plus applicable service fees), go on sale at
noon PT on Friday, April 19, and will be available for purchase
at Hard Rock Hotel Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, online
at Ticketmaster.com or charge-by-phone at 800.745.3000.
“We
are coming off a spectacular event showcasing some of the world’s
greatest mixed martial arts athletes and up-and-coming talent
of the sport and are looking forward to returning to Las Vegas
with another outstanding night of world-class competition in
the World Series of Fighting cage on NBC Sports Network,”
said World Series of Fighting President and six-time world kickboxing
champion and two-time Hall of Famer Ray Sefo.
The
second meeting between the 35-year-old Fitch, a member of San
Jose, Calif.-based Team AKA, and the 32-year-old Burkman, a winner
of four consecutive fights, comes slightly more than seven years
after Fitch submitted Burkman with a rear-naked choke in the
second round of their initial encounter, which also took place
at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Fitch
has since gone on to become one of the top-ranked 170 pound fighters
in the world, defeating the likes of Thiago Alves, twice, as
well as Diego Sanchez, Mike Pierce, Ben Saunders and Erick Silva
and fighting all-time great B.J. Penn to a draw.
Burkman
is coming off his second consecutive win under the World Series
of Fighting banner, a highlight-reel, first-round TKO stoppage
of Aaron Simpson in Atlantic City, N.J., on March 23. At the
inaugural World Series of Fighting event last Nov. 3, Burkman
earned a unanimous decision over Gerald Harris.
Also
slated for battle on the four-bout TV card is heavyweight rising
star and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Rolles Gracie (8-1),
who will face off with Dave Huckaba (21-4).
Undefeated
prospect Justin Gaethje (8-0), fresh off a first round TKO stoppage
of J.Z. Cavalcante at the World Series of Fighting event on March
23, will collide with Brian Cobb (20-7) in a lightweight contest.
In his last effort at the first World Series of Fighting event,
Cobb took a split decision over Ronys Torres.
In
preliminary card action, battle-tested submission specialist
John Gunderson (34-14) will be pitted against Dan Lauzon (16-4)
in a lightweight scrap. All 16 of Lauzon’s professional
career victories have come by way of knockout or submission.
Fellow
undefeated prospects Krasimir Mladenov (8-0) and Kendrick Miree
(5-0) will square off at middleweight.
Additional
preliminary card bouts will be announced soon.
Doors
at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino will open at 4:30
p.m. PT and the first preliminary card bout will begin at 5 p.m.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
California
State Athletic Commission top doctor preparing for more transgender
fighters to be active soon
By Zach
Arnold
After
the fallout from Meathead Mitrione’s comments about Fallon
Fox, Ronda Rousey has been taking some heat in the media for
her stance on why she would be discomfortable fighting Fallon.
Rousey put a reporter in his place last night when she was asked
why she wasn’t punished by the UFC for her comments while
Mitrione had his contract ’suspended.’
Ronda
addressed the issue during a recent Inside MMA video interview:
“My
take (is) that if you’re a man who identifies as a woman
or a woman that identifies as a man that’s something that
you can’t control, it’s not your choice, it’s
just the way that you are. But being transgender… that does
require a choice. But I think it needs to be a case-by-case basis.
“On
Fallon Fox’s case, she went through puberty entirely as
a man and, um, though I do believe that, you know, her identity
definitely is that of a woman I mean just at this point in her
life it’s just not scientifically possible to make her body
exactly equal to that of a woman. If it was another case someone
who was identified much earlier and underwent Hormone suppression
and then later when they’re old enough to make the decision
[on having] surgery, I think that would be much more understandable.
But I think transgender fighters should be taken on a case-by-case
and if you’re already developed through puberty as a man
I don’t think you should be able to compete as a woman.
“But,
I mean… I really try not to give my opinion on this subject
until I really extensively researched it and, you know, just
the bone density and the bone structure you have after you’ve
gone through puberty as a man. It’s just… it is an
advantage over a woman, you know, and with something like MMA
if somebody kicks you and if you check a kick the difference
between if the person that threw the kick and the person checking
the kick gets hurt I mean it has to do a lot with the bone density
and it’s just an advantage. So, that’s just my opinion
and… if… I know other people before that wanted to
compete in sports but also believe that they are identified as
a woman and they waited until after their career to undergo the
surgery because it’s just.. science hasn’t caught up
yet. You can’t do a complete transformation yet after you’ve
already gone through puberty.”
Which
brings us to a very interesting meeting that took place last
Sunday in Sacramento with some of the doctors on the medical
advisory panel of the California State Athletic Commission.
Dr.
Paul Wallace basically played the role of emcee at the hearing.
To his right (your left) in the video embedded is Dr. VanBuren
Ross Lemons and Andy Foster. To his left (your right), new CSAC
doctor Dr. Karen L Herbst (an endocrinologist from UC San Diego)
was basically the main voice when it came to discussing the issue
of transgender fighters, a medical testing policy for transgenders,
and where medical studies currently stand in terms of data collected.
It
was pretty clear from the hearing that transgender fighters like
Fallon Fox will be licensed in California. What was a much more
interesting news item is that Dr. Wallace stated that there are
several transgender fighters out there who will probably be licensed.
There have been recent rumors behind the scenes of more transgender
fighters in women’s MMA. Just as the UFC is now integrating
the women into their matchmaking, the issue of transgender fighters
competing in women MMA is here to stay and will be a serious
topic to debate in the future.
The
CSAC video is over 3 1/2 hours long. Start at the 14 minute mark
and you will see Dr. Lemons ask Dr. Herbst some questions about
what advantages transgender fighters, especially in women’s
MMA, might have. He noted data claiming males becoming females
after puberty maintain a 25% higher lung capacity and keep the
increased sign of their bone structure. In additions to questions
Dr. Lemon asked Dr. Herbst, Dr. Wallace also stressed his concerns
about the rampant levels of cheating in MMA and how the issue
of properly testing transgender fighters could open the door
for a new level of cheating in terms of estrogen & testosterone
levels.
Here’s
what Dr. Herbst had to say:
“We
put together this document to try and better understand the information
that was available on transgenders in terms of body composition,
which included bone, muscle, fat… and I just want to be
really clear that there are no studies whatsoever on changes
in strength for transgenders. So, because, you know, even though
we know from published data that there is a change in body composition
when a man becomes a woman, um, hormonally or a woman becomes
a man hormonally but we really don’t know how this translates
into a strength difference. That has never been tested. From
the data, um, if we just go through… looking at different
parts of the body, we do know that one sub-bone has developed
then completed its growth then there’s no change in the
bone whether you change female hormones or male hormones. We
do know that there’s a change, there may be a change in
the quality of bone but that would be it. We do know that a female
pelvis is different than a male pelvis and that’s not going
to change but also in data, um, it showed that the center of
gravity was not different between a man and a woman so, again,
the size of the pelvis isn’t going to matter.
“But
there were two studies out of Europe that examined changed in
body composition between and primarily for males becoming females
because I think that’s the biggest controversy as whether
a man when he becomes a woman has an advantage over females whereas
a female becoming a man may have less advantage over males and
that’s not a factual statement, that’s just a supposition.
So, these studies showed that there is a statistically significant
difference in body composition between males and females. As,
you know, [the control population of] men who are born men and
stayed hormonally men versus women who were born women and stayed
hormonally women and when a man becomes a woman hormonally or
a woman becomes a man hormonally the overlap between the two
gets closer but it’s still remains statistically different.
So, then the question is, is that enough for us to say that a
transgender man or transgender woman is still statistically significantly
different and therefore should, you know, be considered different?”
As
Dr. Herbst would soon point out, it’s hard to make any claims
with 100% certainty given that we’re talking about Mixed
Martial Arts and how young the sport is.
“We
don’t really have data on Mixed Martial Arts fighters in
terms of their body compositions, so I did attend a Mixed Martial
Arts fight or a series of fights and what I noticed was that
sometimes in a male/male fight there was quite a big difference
in height between the men, arm reach between the men and so is
it possible that there is, um, in the Mixed Martial Arts community
a significantly different size and height ratio that would make
this information different because this was looking at a different
population, this was not looking at an MMA population. That,
we don’t know, and if we could get that data it might help
us to answer that question. But the last thing that we looked
at was if a man, um, becomes hormonally a woman, um, she then
obviously loses some muscle mass. However, in studies of women
who are given estrogen therapy, they’re able to maintain
more muscle mass if they’re on Hormone Replacement Therapy
compared to being off HRT. So, estrogen actually does help maintain
muscle mass and so the question is, is that enough in a man,
uh, when he becomes a woman to give him competitive advantage?
And I think we can all agree that there’s wide differences
between body compositions in people. So, if you have a 6'5? man
who decides to become a woman, what advantage does he have over
a 5'4? man who decides to become a woman? So, um, I think that
without more data it may be hard to make some of those decisions
as solid as we would want them to be.”
DR.
LEMONS: “And strength, there’s absolutely no data out
there on data?”
DR.
HERBST: “No data. Although, um, there is data on giving
testosterone replacement to men and we do know that when men
are given testosterone that their strength increases and we also
know that when men are deprived of testosterone that their strength
decreases. But, again, in the transgender population, we have
no data. To my knowledge. There may be data out there that I’m
not aware and would definitely welcome receiving that information.”
Dr.
Herbst then mentioned the transgender policies that both the
IOC & NCAA have implemented. A comparison was then made to
what Dr. Sherry Wulkan (New Jersey ACB) & the Association
of Boxing Commissions came up with last year. It appears CSAC
will be adopting a policy very similar to what ABC has on the
table.
“We
did look at other policies, so we looked at the International
Olympic Committee policy which requires 2 years of hormone replacement
and gender reassignment surgery along with verifying that testosterone
levels fall within an acceptable level before a male-to-female
transwoman can compete as a woman.
“I
just want to make a clarification at this time in competitive
sports there are individual competitive sports where there’s
no contact from person to person such as running or track-and-field
events, even gymnastics. Then there are team sports like basketball,
soccer which there’s minimal contact in between individuals,
so it’s not always a one-on-one individual contact —
it’s more of a, you know, bouncing off team member type
contact. But in this case, we’re looking at, um, grappling.
So, individuals interacting with each other and… so, I think
we have to keep that in mind as we review these different policies.
“So,
if we look at the NCAA policy, they also require 2 years of hormone
therapy and regulation of testosterone levels but they do not
have a surgical requirement and, again, that’s because there’s
no grappling between individuals. And then for the ABC (Association
of Boxing Commissions) medical committee suggested guidelines,
even though there may not be a medical committee… they made
these recommendations to the commissioners and they are a little
bit more complicated and I can go through them. So, transwomen
undergoing sex reassignment from male-to-female prior to puberty
are regarded as girls and women. So, in that case, a lot of the
data out there has shown that in terms of body composition before
boys and girls go through puberty, there’s really no differences.
And so if hormone therapy is initiated prior to puberty, that
person is considered a girl or a boy and there’s no question
about that. It’s just in the individuals undergoing sex
reassignment after they reach puberty that I think we’re
discussing today. So, according to the ABC, individuals undergoing
sex reassignment from male to female after puberty are eligible
if they have had surgical, anatomical changes that have been
completed. This includes external genitalia and gonadectomy.
They have to have hormone therapy for the assigned sex and it
has to be administered by a board-certified endocrinologist,
internist, pediatrician, doctor of osteopathy, or any other specialist
with experience in transsexual and transgender individuals and
that hormone therapy has to be continued for a minimum of two
years after gonadectomy is completed. Then, they have to have
a letter from a board-certified physician responsible for the
care of the patient and this must be submitted to medical board.
“For
transmen undergoing sex reassignment from female to male after
puberty, they’re eligible for competition under the following
conditions: hormonal therapy appropriate for the assigned sex
by a board-certified endocrinologist, internist, pediatrician,
DEO, or other specialist, a letter from a board-certified physician.
So, it seems as if, um, you know, there are some differences
but in terms of we are most similar to the ABC because there’s
actual grappling that goes on and so, um, I think that we would
fall into the arena where there should be actual surgical changes
to the appropriate sex as well as Hormone Replacement Therapy
for at least two years after the sexual change has occurred.”
DR.
LEMONS: “Let me ask you, can you… assuming this policy
was carried out and the male, competing as a female, what kind
of testing and how often would you require it in terms of would
you get estrogen levels prior to the fight, they need to be that
of a routine female, and how much endocrinological testing would
you need prior to the fight with the possibility that somebody’s
using other male hormones in addition to get a competitive edge?”
DR.
HERBST: “So, let me make sure I understand your questions…
so, um, in that case, everyone who fights is at risk for abuse
for substances and so if you were formally a male you could be
either stop using your estrogen for a period of time which may
allow your testosterone levels to rise if you not have a gonadectomy
and I think that’s the reason why a gonadectomy is required.
So, we would set that to the side because that should not occur.
However, there is the possibility of testosterone use in any
MMA fighter and that includes transgenders as well. So, um, they
would be treated under the TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) policy,
so how do we follow people who have [real] male hypogonadism
and are on testosterone replacement and they are required to,
well, we should make, you know, confirm our policy on that but
a suggestion would be that we require testosterone levels over
two years so over the proceeding two years and that, um, they
have to have levels within a month prior to their fight. And
so that would include for a transgender in either case it would
include both estrogen and testosterone levels, or should.”
If
you watch the session in full, you’ll notice that two interesting
names are in attendance at the meeting to speak in support of
Fallon Fox and to answer questions about transgender medicine
and what policy would work for California’s commission —
Amy Whelan, a legal eagle for the National Center for Lesbian
Rights, and Dr. Nick Gorton from UC San Francisco. He’s
an ER doctor and a doctor who specializes in transgender medicine.
He’s an openly transgender physician.
Fallon
Fox’s situation has in fact turned into a cause célèbre
for many political activists and a hot potato topic many inside
the MMA business are trying to come to grips with. I suspect
Andy Foster wasn’t planning on this becoming his first big
policy change while trying to repair the California State Athletic
Commission’s damaged image due to the behavior of the Department
of Consumer Affairs.
Source:
Fight Opinion
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