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February
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UFC
Launches Official Media-Voted Rankings; Anderson Silva Tops Pound-for-Pound
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship on Monday launched the official
UFC Fighter Rankings as voted on by a select panel of media members.
A
fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active
status in the UFC and a fighter can only appear in one weight
division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered
to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and
therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However,
the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.
Voting
panelists: Neil Springer (Sun Media), Chris Palmquist (MixedMartialArts.com),
James Koh (FOX 11 Los Angeles), Bob Emanuel (Scripps Howard News
Service), Mark Daniels (Boston Herald), Steve Feiti (Asbury Park
Press), Grant Gordan (Burbank Leader), Jeremy Botter (Houston
Chronicle), Case Keefer (Las Vegas Sun), Ana Hissa (Mundo da
Lut), Jeff Wagenheim (SI.com), Paulo Favero (O Estado de S Paulo),
Anthony Springer Jr. (FightNews), Andreas Hale (FightNews), Marc
Raimondi (NY Post), Joe Ferraro (Sportsnet), Marcelo Russio (Canal
Combate), Brett Okamoto (ESPN.com), Franklin McNeil (ESPN.com),
Guga Noblat (O Globo), Ken Pishna (MMAWeekly.com), Mike Johnston
(Sportsnet), Marcelo Alonso (Portal do Vale-Tudo), John Silver
(Chicago Sun-Times), Mario Filho (OSS TV), Claudia Lima (VIP),
Damon Martin (MMAWeekly.com), Steve Cofield (ESPN Radio).
The
rankings will be updated on the Monday following each major UFC
event.
Initial
UFC Rankings Pound-for-Pound Top 10
1.
Anderson Silva
2. Jon Jones
3. Georges St-Pierre
4. Jose Aldo
5. Benson Henderson
6. Cain Velasquez
7. Dominick Cruz
8. Demetrious Johnson
9. Frankie Edgar
10. Dan Henderson
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Zoila
Frausto Gurgel Signs with Invicta FC, Makes April Debut Against
Jennifer Maia
By Mike
Whitman
Invicta
Fighting Championships officials Tuesday announced that the all-female
promotion has signed Bellator strawweight champion Zoila Frausto
Gurgel to a multi-fight contract.
Gurgel,
29, will make her Invicta debut against three-year pro Jennifer
Maia at the promotion’s next show, which is expected to
take place in April.
“I
am excited to join Invicta FC, where the best women fighters
in the world are competing,” Gurgel stated in a release.
“Invicta FC has become more than just a promotion -- it’s
evolved into an entire movement for women’s MMA, and I’m
proud to represent that movement while continuing to fight and
beat the best opponents out there.”
According
to a source with knowledge of the situation, Gurgel’s Bellator
contract recently expired, and the promotion elected not to pursue
a new deal and surrendered its right to match. The organization
is expected to hold a women’s 125-pound tournament in the
future.
Known
as “Warrior Princess,” Gurgel returned from knee surgery
this past October to outpoint Casey Noland but was submitted
by Jessica Eye on Dec. 7, succumbing to a standing arm-triangle
choke in just 58 seconds. Though Gurgel has competed more recently
at flyweight, the Ohioan captured Bellator gold at 115 pounds,
outpointing Jessica Penne, Jessica Aguilar and Megumi Fujii to
win Bellator’s Season 3 tournament in 2010.
Like
Gurgel, Maia will make her Invicta debut in April. After beginning
her career a perfect 4-0, the Brazilian has gone 2-2-1 in her
last five bouts, most recently earning a unanimous decision victory
over Jessica Andrade under the Samurai FC banner on Dec. 15
Source:
Sherdog
|
Zoila
Frausto Gurgel Signs with Invicta FC, Makes April Debut Against
Jennifer Maia
By Mike
Whitman
Invicta
Fighting Championships officials Tuesday announced that the all-female
promotion has signed Bellator strawweight champion Zoila Frausto
Gurgel to a multi-fight contract.
Gurgel,
29, will make her Invicta debut against three-year pro Jennifer
Maia at the promotion’s next show, which is expected to
take place in April.
“I
am excited to join Invicta FC, where the best women fighters
in the world are competing,” Gurgel stated in a release.
“Invicta FC has become more than just a promotion -- it’s
evolved into an entire movement for women’s MMA, and I’m
proud to represent that movement while continuing to fight and
beat the best opponents out there.”
According
to a source with knowledge of the situation, Gurgel’s Bellator
contract recently expired, and the promotion elected not to pursue
a new deal and surrendered its right to match. The organization
is expected to hold a women’s 125-pound tournament in the
future.
Known
as “Warrior Princess,” Gurgel returned from knee surgery
this past October to outpoint Casey Noland but was submitted
by Jessica Eye on Dec. 7, succumbing to a standing arm-triangle
choke in just 58 seconds. Though Gurgel has competed more recently
at flyweight, the Ohioan captured Bellator gold at 115 pounds,
outpointing Jessica Penne, Jessica Aguilar and Megumi Fujii to
win Bellator’s Season 3 tournament in 2010.
Like
Gurgel, Maia will make her Invicta debut in April. After beginning
her career a perfect 4-0, the Brazilian has gone 2-2-1 in her
last five bouts, most recently earning a unanimous decision victory
over Jessica Andrade under the Samurai FC banner on Dec. 15
Source:
Sherdog
|
Fortunes
changed for five at UFC 156
By Dave
Meltzer
You
could not look back at UFC 156, held Saturday night at the Mandalay
Bay Events Center in Las Vegas without saying the repercussions
coming out of the event were monumental.
A
number of career paths of major stars changed. The results affected
millions of dollars in future revenue, both for some of the losers
and even for the promotion.
The
show featured three upsets in the top five fights, and a main
event where the decision was being debated after the event. Even
though there are elimination matches for title shots on nearly
every UFC show, it is rare for so many title pictures to change
as much in one night.
When
Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva started teeing off on a tired Alistair
Overeem in the third round, finishing him in as devastating a
fashion as is possible, the fortunes not only changed for Silva,
and Overeem, but for the UFC heavyweight division.
But
Overeem was hardly alone. Three of UFC's most successful fighters
of the current era - Rashad Evans, Frankie Edgar and Jon Fitch
- lost matches at a time when it could be argued they all could
least afford them.
In
the case of Fitch, his loss to Demian Maia was probably the most
devastating of the three for his career. He was completely dominated
for three rounds by Maia's ground game. He's a few weeks from
his 35th birthday, and at welterweight, UFC's second deepest
division. With so much talent in the division, the odds of Fitch
ever getting that elusive second championship shot decreased
greatly.
It
was also a show where undercard fighters like Bobby Green and
Tyron Woodley debuted from Strikeforce and made major statements.
Green, a lightweight, scored a submission on Jacob Volkmann.
While underrated by most, Volkmann, a former All-American wrestler
from the University of Minnesota, had gone 6-1 in that division
in UFC competition.
Woodley,
a welterweight, had a 36-second knockout of Jay Hieron, rebounding
from his only career loss to Nate Marquardt on July 14. But Woodley
is only the latest All-American wrestler with knockout power
in a division that includes Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger
as two of its top contenders.
Jose
Aldo Jr., the featherweight champion and show headliner, scored
what has to be considered the biggest name win of his career.
In getting a unanimous decision over former lightweight champion
Edgar, he answered any questions as to whether he belongs in
the top four of pound-for-pound rankings and any critics who
may have said his division dominance was more based on the competition
level at featherweight.
Joseph
Benavidez moved himself into the top contender position for flyweight
champion Demetrious Johnson with a close decision win over Ian
McCall. The only holdback for a title shot is that Johnson just
beat Benavidez on Sept. 21, and did so in strong enough fashion
that there was no real clamor for a rematch.
Yet
Fitch, Green, Woodley, Aldo and Benavidez, all of who would be
on the list of the five whose fortunes changed the most after
a normal show, are on the outside looking in.
ALISTAIR
OVEREEM - You can count on one hand, and probably have some fingers
left over, the list of UFC fighters more potentially marketable
than Overeem. If you could build a heavyweight champion from
scratch, he'd probably physically look like the Dutch "Demolition
Man," and have many of his traits. Size, muscularity, knockout
power in his hands, perhaps the most devastating knees in the
sport, strong takedown defense and even submission ability.
But
even though Overeem (36-12, 1 no contest) hadn't lost a fight
since 2007, controversy follows him everywhere. How does a fighter
with a 25-11 record suddenly gain so much size without gaining
any body fat, and become seemingly unbeatable? Between the unavoidable
PED assumptions, seemingly confirmed by his test for elevated
levels of testosterone last year, and issues with the talent
level of most of his victims over the past five years, there
were loads of questions.
Still,
the only chink in his armor was that he looked very beatable
in the third round of his 2011 fight with Fabricio Werdum. The
book on him is that if you can get him out of the early rounds,
his cardio carrying all that size would become an issue. But
then he destroyed Brock Lesnar on Dec. 30, 2011, like it was
child's play. It wasn't the win alone that was so impressive,
but how easily Overeem was able to stop takedowns and completely
neutralize the physical strength of a guy who had taken down
people with top-tier wrestling credentials like Randy Couture,
Cain Velasquez and Shane Carwin.
Still,
there were enough questions and prior losses on Overeem's record
that nobody ever conceded the heavyweight belt to him, not when
Junior Dos Santos was champion nor Velasquez. But it was expected
Overeem getting a shot at the title could be one of the big title
fights of the year. People, perhaps Overeem himself, were looking
past Silva to a showdown with Velasquez in a few months time
that would be one of 2013's signature fights.
Now
it's out the window and there is no replacement fight anywhere
close to as marketable. Plus, the aura of this living Hercules
with fighting skill is also in question. Now the same questions
from 2006, when he was a very talented light heavyweight who
lost four times in a row, are back. In those days, Overeem was
considered a front runner. He was great early on, but if put
in a bad situation and a tough fight, would usually tire and
lose to the top talent. And in this case, Silva really mounted
no serious offense in the fight until the close of the second
round, at which point the conditioning came into play.
Heavyweight
isn't that deep a division to where Overeem couldn't pick up
two strong wins in 2013 and find himself with a title match in
2014. As far as the Overeem of mythical proportions that could
have been sold as one of the great fighter of our time, whether
ever true or not, it's going to be far more difficult to convince
the public that person exists.
It
also greatly changes the heavyweight division. The division goes
from one with a huge heavyweight title fight on the horizon and
two other potential big ones later in the year (former champion
Junior Dos Santos or Fabricio Werdum, provided each won their
next bout), to one where a decision on the next contender is
going to have to be made looking at a series of very flawed scenarios.
ANTONIO
SILVA - For the second time in his career, Silva (18-4) was put
in a position to be a giant stepping stone to build a legendary
fight. The first time was Feb. 12, 2011, when he was expected
to lose to Fedor Emelianenko, to set up an Emelianenko vs. Overeem
fight in Strikeforce. Now, in stopping his second myth of his
career, he finds himself in a unique position. Normally a fighter
scoring the kind of win he did would have fans clamoring for
him to get a title shot.
The
problem is that between his two wins over legends were two fights
where he was destroyed in the first round, once by current champion
Velasquez, and the other by Daniel Cormier. Without those losses,
Dana White would likely have been at the press conference Saturday
night pumping Velasquez vs. Silva as one of the biggest heavyweight
fights of all-time. But instead, all White would do is say that
he wouldn't be opposed to Silva getting a title shot.
You
have to look no farther than Velasquez and Dos Santos to see
that a fast destruction when top heavyweights go at it is far
from an absolute predictor of what happens in a rematch. Still,
Velasquez vs. Silva fight was on May 26, and Silva was left looking
like the victim of a slasher movie. Unlike Velasquez, who could
draw from the Latin community in the U.S., Silva is Brazilian,
a country where UFC is the most popular, but one where it can't
derive the level of single-event revenue since it's not a pay-per-view
country.
Still,
there are only a few realistic alternatives, unless you want
Velasquez to sit on the sidelines until the fall. And given UFC's
schedule, such a decision makes no sense.
The
next contender really has to come down to either Silva, giving
Dos Santos (15-2) a title shot right away, or waiting another
month for the winner of a Stefan Struve (25-5) vs. Mark Hunt
(8-7) battle in Saitama, Japan.
It's
early for Dos Santos to get another shot. With Struve, you have
a guy who is 7-feet tall with real ground skill, but also has
never beaten a top-tier heavyweight. If Hunt wins, it'll be his
fourth in a row. While he's a colorful knockout artist with an
iron jaw, he's also 38, sub par on the ground, and his win/loss
record hardly reads like a title contender.
The
other names in the mix are Cormier (11-0), who fights next on
April 20 against Frank Mir, and Werdum (16-5-1), who faces Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira on June 8 in Brazil. Velasquez and Cormier are
training partners and Velasquez has outright said he will never
fight him, even if Dana White this past week was suggesting otherwise.
Waiting for Werdum would force the next title shot, hoped for
by late May into September, and Werdum could always lose, meaning
the wait isn't even a lock you'll come out with a great top contender.
RASHAD
EVANS - Evans, who White called one of the company's big five
proven pay-per-view draws, was expected to beat Antonio Rogerio
Nogueira on Saturday. There was lots of talk of him possibly
dropping to middleweight and facing Anderson Silva next.
Instead,
Evans (22-3-1) had the most lackluster performance of his career.
He already showed no answers when it came to a fight with current
light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. White jumped all over the
idea that Evans had even mentioned the word retirement in a recent
interview, outwardly wondering whether this performance indicates
the necessary hunger isn't there.
Evans
will get a fight, likely against a fairly big name next, and
likely as soon as he would want it. In that sense, his plight
is similar to his teammate Overeem. It wasn't just the loss,
but the performance in the loss, that took him from a guy who
was likely to be in one of the year's big fights, to someone
that nobody is thinking about at that level today.
FRANKIE
EDGAR - Close decisions seem to be a way of life for Edgar, who
got the benefit of judges in some, and not in others. Edgar now
has 14 UFC fights, 11 of which went to the judges. He won seven,
and many of the wins, and three of the four losses, were all
hotly debated when they were over.
White
spoke strongly after the show that he didn't want Edgar moving
back to lightweight, even though many, perhaps the majority,
believed he beat current Benson Henderson in their last encounter.
He felt that constantly fighting bigger guys, even though he
has been successful at it, would lead to the shortening of his
career. The lesson of pioneer great Kazushi Sakuraba. White conceded
the Aldo fight was close, but didn't think an immediate rematch
was warranted.
Edgar
(15-4-1), is now probably the best fighter right now in UFC history
to lose three consecutive fights. That means for the first time
since 2009, his next fight is not likely to be a title match.
His
options are to stay at 145, where there is a long list of very
good fighters he can face. A few wins and he could easily be
in the title picture, or he could drop again to 135. The reality
is, when Edgar was fighting at 155, his 158-pound walk around
weight was about the same as some of the bigger 135 pounders,
such as current champion Dominick Cruz.
DEMIAN
MAIA - It wasn't that Maia beat Jon Fitch on Saturday night,
but just how impressively he shut Fitch down at every aspect
of Fitch's strengths. Maia's proficiency as a pure grappler is
second to none in UFC. His on-paper credentials can match anyone
on the UFC roster, perhaps with the exception of Roger Gracie,
and Maia is far superior as an all-around MMA fighter.
Fitch,
a good wrestler, was taken down at will. Every attempt by Fitch
to get out of trouble was blocked. While Maia couldn't submit
Fitch, nobody else has been able to either. Maia (18-4), is now
3-0 as a welterweight, coming off first-round submissions over
Dong Hyun Kim and Rick Story.
In
another division, someone with those kind of wins in a row, looking
the way he's looked, would be looking at a title shot right now.
But welterweight is loaded. The obvious direction for Maia would
be to face the winner of the March 16 fight with Carlos Condit
vs. Rory MacDonald in Montreal. A win there could very legitimately
get him a title shot.
No
matter who is the champion, if they can't stop Maia from taking
them down, and the Fitch fight showed that being a very good
wrestler isn't enough, there is nobody in the division who will
be favored against him in a straight ground battle. But, if they
can stop his takedowns and keep it standing, the advantage would
switch to most of the top guys in the division.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Glory
Sports International Enlists Former WWE Exec to Help with U.S.
Expansion
Press Release
Glory
Sports International, the parent company of the world’s
new premiere kickboxing league, GLORY World Series, on Tuesday
announced the appointment of former WWE Executive VP Andrew Whitaker
to the position of global CEO of Glory Sports International.
“We
are excited that Andrew has agreed to assume the leadership mantel
at GLORY in the pivotal role of CEO, on the front lines of our
fast-growing organization,” said GLORY Sports International
Chairman, co-founder, and award-winning hedge fund investor Pierre
Andurand. “Andrew’s breadth of global experience in
the media space is a tremendous asset to GLORY’s day-to-day
business.”
“Andrew
joining as CEO is an important milestone in the development of
GLORY as a company and kickboxing as a sport. We’ve had
an incredible first year – we have over 40 of the world’s
top kickboxing athletes signed to us exclusively, we’ve
staged four amazing events, achieved TV distribution in 200 countries
and trended No. 1 globally on Twitter on New Year’s Eve
2012 – GLORY and kickboxing are for real. As we start a
new season in 2013, we have a calendar of over 10 events on three
continents, an active global standard for athlete rankings, and
we are rolling out a successful global format for kickboxing
tournaments with our Grand Slams, Slams and Road to GLORY events.
In addition, we are fully committed to entering the U.S. market,
and we are delighted Andrew has joined GLORY to oversee all this
growth.”
Marcus
Luer, co-founder of Glory Sports International, who has spearheaded
GLORY’s rapid global expansion as interim-CEO over the last
year since its inception, will resume the title Managing Director,
allowing him to drive many of GLORY’s initiatives in Asia
where he continues as CEO and founder of Asia’s leading,
full-service sports marketing agency, TSA.
“At
the same time,” Andurand continued, “this move will
free up Marcus to focus on building the GLORY brand in the territories
where his experience and business relationships are greatest.”
Whitaker
will be spearheading the opening of a new GLORY office in the
tri-state region of the United States.
“I
am looking forward to taking a hands-on approach to driving the
growth of what I have believed, for months, is an incredible
combat sports entertainment product with tremendous global appeal,”
said Whitaker, who previously served on the GLORY Sports International
Board of Directors as Non-Executive Director.
“Our
kickboxing rules distinguish our sport by requiring elite athleticism,
skill, and honor, from GLORY kickboxers, and produce some of
the most exciting knockouts ever seen in combat sports. Our martial
artists define the word ‘warrior,’ and our superb level
of production makes our live events one of the most fan-friendly
entertainment experiences in the world. GLORY has already redefined
the standard for kickboxing, and has all the elements necessary
to become a major player in the global sports industry,”
continued Whitaker.
“I
look forward to working with Andrew again and continuing our
successful partnership which began over 10 years ago while he
was with WWE. Together, we ushered the wrestling brand into Asia,”
said Luer. “GLORY is truly a global product now, which
operates on a 24/7 basis with events and offices across three
different continents – the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
Prior
to joining GLORY Sports International, Whitaker was the Managing
Partner of Kings Highway Media, a global brand and media distribution
advisory that serves sports and entertainment IP rightsholders,
private equity and venture capital.
Whitaker
also served as the Executive Vice President of International
for NYSE-listed WWE Inc. where he was responsible for establishing
and growing the leading professional wrestling entertainment
company’s business via sales, marketing, promotion and public
and government relations across television, digital media, live
events, licensing and PPV/VOD.
Last
week, GLORY debuted its new ROAD TO GLORY development fight series
uniquely designed to identify and develop future kickboxing champions
and other superstars in the U.S. and elsewhere, with an eight-man
light heavyweight tournament (209 pounds/95 kilograms) at Hard
Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, Okla. On Saturday, Feb. 9,
the ROAD TO GLORY series heads to Hollywood Park Casino in Los
Angeles, Calif. with an eight-man middleweight (187 pounds/85
kilograms) tournament.
The
next stop for GLORY’s championship series, home to the world’s
greatest kickboxers, will be Excel Arena in London, England,
where a stacked fight card, headlined by a heavyweight showdown
between superstar Tyrone Spong (68-6-1 42 KO’s) and decorated,
all-time great Remy “The Flying Gentleman” Bonjasky
(77-15, 40 KO’s), will take place on Saturday, March 23.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
Title or Not, Antonio Silva Wants Cain Velasquez Rematch
Carlos
Arthur
Antonio
“Bigfoot” Silva broke the MMA-betting bank last Saturday
when he beat Alistair Overeem at UFC 156.
A
heavy underdog, the Brazilian shrugged off the naysaying and
knocked out the Dutch odds-on favorite early in the third round,
a win that put him in the top five in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
In
the aftermath of his triumph, a number of names were raised in
speculation regarding his next opponent, but the Giant from Paraiba,
Brazil is still unsure of whom he will be facing. Bigfoot makes
it abundantly clear, however, that if he had his druthers it
would be the divisional champion, Cain Velásquez, who
defeated him last May at UFC 146.
“If
I had to pick an opponent, it would be Cain Velasquez,”
Silva said. “When we fought, I practically didn’t get
a chance to fight. This would be a great rematch, even if it’s
not for the belt. I really respect Cain, but it would be a great
fight for me professionally.”
Bigfoot
added that he learned from his loss to the heavyweight champion.
Even if the UFC is mentioning Daniel Cormier as a possible challenger
to Velasquez’s throne, Bigfoot still hopes to again face
the champ, saying that this time the outcome will be different.
“I
learned a lot from that loss [and] I feel I’ve become a
much better fighter since that fight,” he said. “I
ended up making the mistake of not sticking to the game plan
my trainers put together for me, and I paid for it. Going into
the fight focused and with the right strategy, the outcome of
a rematch could be really different.”
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Bjorn
Rebney says Bellator pay-per-view on 'fast track' if Alvarez
dispute ended
by Steven
Marrocco
SANTA
MONICA, Calif. – Bellator's first pay-per-view event will
happen sooner rather than later if Eddie Alvarez returns to the
promotion's fold.
"If
we can figure that out, I think we'd be on a fast track to being
able to put [a pay-per-view card] in motion," Bellator CEO
Bjorn Rebney on Tuesday told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
After
suing each other in court, the two parties apparently are at
a standstill. To Rebney's knowledge, there haven't been any new
developments since a federal judge blocked an injunction to allow
Alvarez to sign with the UFC, which intended to promote him at
UFC 159 in April.
A
rep for Alvarez recently declined comment on the dueling lawsuits'
status.
Rebney
said he hasn't kept close track of the cases since he's been
focused on Bellator's crossover to Spike TV and the recent announcement
of a new reality show featuring UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.
"I
put it into the hands of the attorneys and said, 'Let me know
when and if we can reopen the door and try to get it fixed and
work it out,'" he said.
In
matching an offer from UFC parent Zuffa at the expiration of
Alvarez's previous contract, Bellator signaled its intention
to promote him in a spring pay-per-view fight against the man
who took his belt, current champ Michael Chandler (11-0 MMA,
8-0 BFC).
Alvarez
(24-3 MMA, 8-1 BFC), though, declined to sign the offer, arguing
that the deals weren't equivalent and questioning whether Bellator
could deliver on pay-per-view.
Bellator
lawyers argued the promotion's relationship with Viacom positioned
it for success in the pay TV market. The media giant, which owns
Spike TV, purchased a controlling interest in the promotion two
years ago.
In
court late this past month, the federal judge determined that
Alvarez hadn't sufficiently proven that he would be irreparably
harmed if he didn't sign with the UFC.
Now,
Alvarez will ultimately decide whether to return to Bellator
or fight further to free himself. Rebney remains optimistic he'll
do the former. The promoter wants to see Chandler vs. Alvarez
II.
"It's
the best fight I've ever seen live, pay-per-view or free,"
Rebney said. "I think the rematch of that fight would be
epic."
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Coach
Blasts Overeem: "We Teached Him to Take a Beat Like a Man,
Not a B****"
By Jordy
McElroy
It
has been open season for Alistair Overeem put-downs following
his upset loss to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva at UFC 156.
MMA
legend Mirko "Cro Cop" told Fight Site (via Bloody
Elbow) he believes Overeem lost because he finally "fought
without drugs."
On
his Facebook page, Bas Rutten admitted he felt Overeem had a
"glass chin." Junior Dos Santos boasted on Twitter
about Overeem's trash talking being useless if he couldn't back
it up in the Octagon.
Now,
Golden Glory coach Ramon Dekkers, an eight-time world Muay Thai
champion, has decided to hurl a late verbal jab Overeem's way
on Twitter.
Alistair
Overeem I thought we've teached him to take a beat like a man....not
like a BITCH! twitter.com/diamonddekkers…
—
ramon dekkers (@diamonddekkers) February 5, 2013
Overeem
was a longtime member of Golden Glory gym before making the switch
to the Blackzilians a year ago.
His
decision came shortly after the proposed "scandal"
that led to the UFC/Strikeforce contract terminations of Golden
Glory fighters in 2011. Along with Overeem, Marloes Coenen and
Jon Olav Einemo were all released from their contracts.
UFC
President Dana White told MMAFighting a fighter's purse is expected
to be paid to Golden Glory, who then pays the fighter. This way
of conducting business isn't up to par with the standards set
by athletic commissions in the United States, and White had no
choice but to terminate the contracts.
A
few months later, Overeem left Golden Glory for what he called
"harmful management" and a "breach of trust"
in his online documentary "The Reem." There were a
pair of lawsuits that followed from both parties, but everything
was eventually settled outside of court for an undisclosed amount.
Is
Dekkers dwelling on the past? Why kick a man when he's already
down?
Source:
Bleacher Report
|
Phil
Davis won't let Vinny Magalhaes' Twitter comments slide
By Dave
Doyle
Phil
Davis isn't about to laugh off Vinny Magalhaes' attempt to troll
him on Twitter.
The
way Davis sees it, if a fan spouts off on Twitter, that's one
thing. But if a fighter says something, that's something entirely
different.
"If
I'm a fan, I have an opinion, nor matter good nor bad nor indifferent,
I'm a fan," Davis said on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour.
"Fighters, you should probably keep your opinions to yourself
unless you want to fight. You're going to have to live up to
some of the things you share, and that may not be as cool as
some of the internet bloggers get to make out."
Davis
will fight Magalhaes in a light heavyweight showdown at UFC 159
in Newark. The wheels were set in motion when Magalhaes called
Davis out on Twitter just moments after Davis defeated Wagner
Prado at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro.
But
what really irked Davis is that according to him, Magalhaes was
offered a bout with Davis at UFC 155 when Forrest Griffin had
to pull out, but declined.
"It's
one thing if you want to call a guy out, that's fine," Davis
said. "I don't really call people out, that's not what I
do, but if that's what you do, cool, no problem. But, after my
buddy Forrest got hurt at 155, he called me out while I was still
in Brazil, I had just got done fighting, I was still in the arena,
and he tweets he wants to fight me next. That's cool. That's
really cool. I'm actually kind of amazed, I always I wanted to
be at level where guys call me out, It's weird that I'm at a
level where ‘I want to fight this guy.' I thought I was
a nobody, and here, he proves me wrong by calling me out. That's
awesome. Now, if you have the opportunity to fight me, you can't
back down after you already have agreed. It's just silly. The
guy, he's silly."
Davis
went into a mocking tone of voice when asked to speculate on
why Magalhaes wouldn't take the bout at UFC 155.
"I
don't want to start quoting from all his excuses, because this
is only an hour-long show and we just don't have time for that,"
Davis said. "First he said he was overweight, then he said,
I didn't want to get hurt, if he had a real fight camp he would
beat me, blah blah blah blah. You forfeit your rights to this
thing once you call people out."
The
former NCAA champion wrestler contrasted Magalhaes' approach
to that of Magalhaes' training partner, Chael Sonnen.
"Take
Chael Sonnen for example," Davis said. "Whether you
love the guy or hate the guy, if he calls you out, he will fight
you on a week's notice, that's who he is, he's Chael Sonnen.
Vinny, he ain't that guy, I don't know who he is."
So
its clear there's no love lost between Davis and Magalhaes. But
what about the matchup itself? At 10-1 with one no-contest, Davis
is universally considered a top-10 light heavyweight. Magalhaes,
meanwhile, was cut from the UFC in 2008 and had to fight his
way back.
Davis
seems to recognize the disparity between the two. "If I
say simply, 'he's not on my level, he doesn't deserve to be fighting
me,' I feel like that sounds worse than it actually is,"
Davis said. "It almost sounds like I'm talking about his
character as a person rather than his fighting skills, so, I'm
going to word it a little differently and say what he's done
in the UFC, which is one win, I guess you can count his old two
losses, doesn't really warrant him a fight with me. But, you
know, I don't do matchmaking, that's entirely up to Joe Silva,
he's a genius, I'm just going to go with what he says. I don't
question him. The man knows what he's doing."
But
that doesn't mean Davis won't be motivated for the fight when
the Octagon gate locks.
"I'm
up for every fight," Davis said. "My only hope is,
I hope the evening of April 27, when he gets back to his hotel
room, I hope he doesn't think to himself, what did I do this
for? Why did I call this man out, it doesn't make any sense?
I could have fought somebody who wasn't top ten, I could have
fought someone who wasn't top five, I could have fought somebody
I could have beat and came home without two black eyes and a
bruised ego. Why did I call this guy out? I hope he doesn't say
that, but most likely he will."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Beating
the Odds: UFC 156
By Yael
Grauer
UFC
156 “Aldo vs. Edgar” on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay
Events Center in Las Vegas proved this much: being a promotional
newcomer does not mean squat and being a heavy favorite is certainly
no guarantee of a win. Probability be damned, six of the 11 bouts
resulted in underdog victories.
Let
us take a closer look at the details:
Rashad
Evans was the biggest favorite of the night (-575), but one certainly
could not tell by watching him in the cage. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira’s
jab and cross were the stories in what turned out to be a rather
lackluster encounter. Evans made a tactical error by choosing
to box with a superior boxer and walked away with a unanimous
decision loss as a result. Nogueira also effectively stuffed
Evans’ takedown attempts and gained the upper hand in the
scrambles.
Evans
had company in his misery.
Being
a 3-to-1 underdog did not faze Antonio Silva, but it is fair
to say that former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair
Overeem, a -425 favorite, took him too lightly. The “Demolition
Man” was dominant until the third round, battering Silva
with knees and punches in the first and second. “Bigfoot”
scored with some hooks and a head kick at the start of round
three and followed up with punches in bunches. It was not long
before referee Herb Dean called a stop to the fight, as Overeem
suffered his first loss since 2007.
Meanwhile,
Jon Fitch’s stellar submission defense allowed him to survive
three rounds with Demian Maia, but he was badly out-grappled
by the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Maia landed a steady stream
of takedowns and effectively nullified the American Kickboxing
Academy veteran for 15 minutes. Maia, a +140 underdog, remains
undefeated in three appearances at 170 pounds.
Fitch
was not the only wrestler who exited the cage beaten and dejected.
Jacob
Volkmann’s relentless takedowns were not enough to stop
promotional newcomer Bobby Green, whose metabolic conditioning,
takedown defense, strong top game and ground-and-pound set the
stage for victory. Despite a perplexing restart from referee
Kim Winslow in the second round, Green managed to control the
final two frames, cinching a deep rear-naked choke with just
35 seconds left in the fight. Green, a +325 underdog, banked
the “Submission of the Night” bonus for his efforts.
Elsewhere,
Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts representative Isaac Vallie-Flagg
not only managed to avoid getting knocked out by Yves Edwards,
a -240 favorite, but also forced the action and dictated the
pace in their lightweight bout. He walked away with a split decision
victory. The second round was the most precarious for Vallie-Flagg,
as he used wrist control to narrowly avoid a rear-naked choke.
However, he utilized front kicks, long punches and elbows to
walk away with the win, despite entering the cage as a +190 underdog.
Finally,
undefeated Hawaiian prospect Dustin Kimura may have disappointed
at weigh-ins, where he tipped the scales overweight at 139.5
pounds, but he fared far better inside the Octagon. Although
he came into the bout against Roufusport export Chico Camus as
a slight underdog at +105, his Brazilian jiu-jitsu background
made all the difference. Camus rocked Kimura with a heavy right
hand in the first round and showcased solid striking throughout
their encounter, but he repeatedly -- and inexplicably -- chased
takedowns throughout the bout. The man they call “The Diamond”
attempted submission after submission, including an omoplata,
armbars and triangle chokes, but it was not until round three
that the Hawaiian secured mount, transitioned to Camus’
back and ended the match with a rear-naked choke. Had Camus stayed
with his strength and kept the bout standing, the result might
have been different.
Source
Sherdog
|
UFC
Welterweight Division Has a New Threat in Demian Maia
By Duane
Finley
This
past weekend at UFC 156, Demian Maia put the entire welterweight
division on notice. The Brazilian submission ace earned a lopsided
unanimous-decision victory over perennial contender Jon Fitch
and, in the process, solidified his position in the upper tier
of what is arguably the UFC's most stacked division.
The
victory over the AKA-staple was Maia's third consecutive since
dropping down to the 170-pound weight class. The fashion in which
he defeated Fitch and steamrolled Rick Story has made it clear
to see the 35-year-old's skill set poses some interesting problems
for his peers in the divisional elite.
While
his victory over Story was impressive, sweeping the cards against
a gritty veteran the likes of Fitch is on a different level.
Maia's win at UFC 156 proved he is a force to be reckoned with
at 170 pounds, and the Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom's sudden entry
into the welterweight division's title race couldn't have come
at a more interesting time.
In
five weeks, six of the top fighters in the weight class are set
to square off at UFC 158. When the smoke clears from this batch
of high-profile dust-ups, it is possible Maia could find himself
within striking distance of a potential title shot.
Back
to Basics
When
Maia entered the UFC fold back in 2007, he wasted little time
making his presence known. The Team Wand fighter was successful
in his first five bouts in the middleweight division, earning
impressive submission finishes in each outing and building solid
momentum toward a title shot. That progress was eventually halted
by the right hand of Nate Marquardt as the former Strikeforce
welterweight champion scored a first-round knockout in their
tilt at UFC 102.
Maia
would bounce back in his next fight against Dan Miller, but a
lopsided loss to middleweight king Anderson Silva at UFC 112
once again silenced the buzz surrounding the Brazilian grappling
ace.
Following
his loss to "The Spider," Maia found varying success
as he won three of his next five. Unfortunately for Maia, the
two losses he suffered during that stretch, to Mark Munoz and
Chris Weidman, served to eliminate him entirely from the 185-pound
title picture.
Another
interesting footnote in Maia's middleweight journey was his decision
to work a more standup-heavy approach. Where he dominated the
opposition on the ground in his earlier bouts, Maia seemed to
abandon his greatest strength during the final leg of his middleweight
run.
Undoubtedly,
Maia was on a quest to become a more well-rounded fighter, but
his performances suffered in the process. In the aftermath of
his loss to Weidman at UFC on Fox 2, it became clear that Maia
needed to make a change in his approach. That decision not only
came with a new weight class, but a return to his original style,
which has yielded impressive results.
In
all three of his welterweight bouts, Maia has wasted zero time
getting down to business. His debut in the weight class against
Dong Hyun Kim may have ended due to a freak injury 47 seconds
into the bout, but it was still the result of Maia putting the
"Stun Gun" on the canvas. In his next outing against
Story, Maia attacked from the opening bell and only needed half
a round to finish the Brave Legion fighter with a vicious neck
crank.
It
was a similar story against Fitch in Las Vegas, as Maia immediately
went for the takedown against the former Purdue University wrestling
standout. It wasn't long before Maia took Fitch's back, a position
he would hold for the majority of the fight. Despite not being
able to lock on a fight-ending submission against the former
No. 1 contender, Maia's ability to control one of the division's
most dominant grapplers was an impressive feat.
The
UFC welterweight fold is chock full of fighters who rely on their
wrestling skills to drive their success. If Maia's first three
welterweight showings are any indication of his potential to
progress in the race to the top of the 170-pound pecking order,
it is safe to say the four-time "Submission of the Night"
winner is the latest threat to emerge in the division.
A
Possible Title Shot on the Horizon
At
the current time, it is difficult to know exactly where Maia
stands in the welterweight title picture, but it would be difficult
to imagine his name isn't jotted somewhere near the top of the
list. With the upcoming welterweight showcase at UFC 158, it
seems likely that one of the fighters competing on that card
will be standing opposite Maia in the near future.
The
UFC's decision to bypass surging contender Johny Hendricks and
grant Nick Diaz a title shot against Georges St-Pierre came with
a fair share of controversy. While the current trend of making
title fights has been anything but predictable, if "Bigg
Rigg" emerges victorious from his bout with Jake Ellenberger,
it would be criminal for him not to be given the next title opportunity.
On
the other hand, should "The Juggernaut" score a win
over Hendricks in Montreal, Ellenberger versus Maia is a bout
that would make sense. The former Marine is still attempting
to regain the momentum lost from his defeat against Martin Kampmann,
and would likely still be a win or two out from a title shot.
Perhaps
a more likely option would come from the winner of the rematch
between Rory MacDonald and former interim champion Carlos Condit.
"The Natural Born Killer" recently came up short in
his bid to unify the divisional titles, and his road back to
contention would include putting together a few solid wins. A
potential bout between Condit and Maia would be an interesting
stylistic matchup on multiple levels and a great opportunity
to gauge Maia's position in the weight class.
The
same can be said for a potential bout between Maia and MacDonald.
The 24-year-old British Columbia-native has been heralded as
the future of the weight class and has looked more impressive
with each showing. MacDonald's ground and pound is of the brutal
variety, and it would be interesting to see how the young Canadian
would handle the threat Maia brings to the table. Add in the
fact that MacDonald and St-Pierre are teammates at Tri-Star and
even with a victory over Condit, a title fight between the two
Canadian stars would be a long shot.
If
both Firas Zahabi-trained fighters find success at UFC 158, MacDonald
would most likely take another fight before title talk emerged,
and this series of events would set the table nicely for a MacDonald
versus Maia show down later this year.
Another
possible option would be a bout with Nick Diaz. But a potential
matchup featuring two of MMA's slickest submission artists throwing
down their grappling magic deserves its own full-length article.
Source:
Bleacher Report
|
“Fight
Master: Bellator MMA” Nabs Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock,
Greg Jackson, and Joe Warren
by Jeff
Cain
At
a Viacom press conference in Santa Monica, Calif. on Tuesday,
Bellator MMA announced the details of its upcoming reality show
that will air on Spike TV.
The
reality show is dubbed “Fight Master: Bellator MMA”
and will feature four coaches: Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock,
Greg Jackson, and Joe Warren.
The
reality show will be similar to “The Ultimate Fighter”
that aired on Spike TV through 14 seasons. It will feature 32
aspiring welterweights competing in a tournament format for a
six-figure payday and a slot into a future Bellator tournament.
The
fighters themselves will select their coach and will decide whom
they’ll face in elimination bouts.
“This
was a fantastic opportunity for me moving forward and for the
sport of mixed martial arts,” said Couture.
“The
cornerstone of this show is really about the people behind it,”
said Bellator president Bjorn Rebney. ”The Amazing Race”
creators Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri are the executive
producers of the show.
The
reality show’s filming is “immediately imminent”
and is scheduled to debut this summer on Spike.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Dana
White Doesn’t Want to See Frankie Edgar Return to Lightweight
by Jeff
Cain
UFC
president Dana White doesn’t want to see former lightweight
champion Frankie Edgar return to the 155-pound division.
Edgar
lost a closely contested fight with featherweight titleholder
Jose Aldo at UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar on Saturday at the Mandalay
Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
It
was Edgar’s featherweight debut.
At
lightweight, Edgar dethroned the legendary B.J. Penn, twice.
His and Gray Maynard’s trilogy belongs in the epic rivalry
folder of mixed martial arts history, but White would rather
see Edgar compete in the weight classes below the lightweight
division.
“He’s
not going to 155. That’s not going to happen,” White
told the media following the UFC 156 event.
Edgar
has always been undersized in the lightweight division. He could
probably make weight for the 135-pound weight class if he chose
to, and that’s something White would consider.
“The
lower he goes, the happier I am. I don’t want him going
higher. I don’t like him going higher,” said White.
“I like Frankie Edgar as a human being, and I don’t
ever want to see him at 155 pounds again. Those guys are too
big and too strong at 155.
“Yes,
I know he was the champion. I know he beat legends and had close
fights and everything else, but you can only fight so long in
those types of wars with bigger, stronger guys,” added White.
“It’s not good.”
Edgar
has lost three fights in a row, but remains near the top as a
pound for pound fighter in the world on most people’s lists.
When he loses, it’s a razor close decision. He’s
never been finished.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Randy
Couture to Star in ‘MMA Rescue’ Series on Spike TV
By Mike
Whitman
Randy
Couture will be a busy man this spring.
In
addition to serving as one of four coaches on Bellator’s
upcoming reality show, the UFC Hall of Famer has also been cast
as the central character in another Spike TV reality program
called “MMA Rescue.”
Ostensibly
modeled after Spike’s “Bar Rescue” and “Tattoo
Rescue,” the series will feature Couture traveling to fledgling
gyms around the country to provide the proprietors with advice
on how to make their businesses thrive. Spike will pilot the
show with three one-hour episodes with the opportunity to do
more. Kinetic Content will produce the show, and Couture and
his manager, Sam Spira, have signed on as executive producers
alongside Kinetic founder Chris Coelen.
The
owner of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Couture is a UFC Hall of
Famer and five-time world champion. “The Natural” began
his MMA career in 1997 and captured the UFC heavyweight crown
twice before cutting to 205 pounds, where he would win two more
championships before temporarily retiring in 2006. The 49-year-old
came out of retirement in 2007 for one more shot at the heavyweight
strap, thoroughly outpointing Tim Sylvia to win his record fifth
championship at UFC 68. Couture saw his hall of fame career come
to a close in 2011, when he was knocked out by Lyoto Machida
at UFC 129.
In
addition to his fighting career, Couture has also performed as
a fight commentator and an actor for several years, appearing
alongside Sylvester Stallone in “The Expendables” and
its sequel, as well as acting opposite Bruce Willis and Ryan
Phillippe in “Setup.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Vitor
Belfort Looking for Rematch with Jon Jones or Anderson Silva
By Craig
Amos
Current
middleweight—and recent light heavyweight—contender
Vitor Belfort wants to fight for a UFC title. Which division,
you ask? Well, he’s content wherever.
MMA
Junkie reports that Belfort, who was on hand at the pre-UFC 156
media scrum, has reiterated his wishes to once again contest
Jon Jones for his 205-pound title.
Back
in Sept. 2012, Belfort emerged as an unlikely contender for Jones’
strap and almost finished the champion in the first round with
an arm-bar. After nearly pulling off what would have been one
of the sport’s largest upsets, Belfort faded and ultimately
succumbed to a fourth-round keylock submission.
“The
Phenom” is confident events would play out differently the
second time around, though, and he isn’t shy about letting
people know how he sees the action panning out. “I want
Jon Jones,” Belfort said, “I want his left arm.”
If
it turns out to be a no-go on the Jones front, Belfort is fine
with remaining at middleweight. But he wants a title shot there,
and believes his win over Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7 should
clinch one for him.
“I
deserve the [Jones] rematch, so that’s the fight I’m
looking for. If not him, I’m looking to get to be a contender
of my division,” explained the Brazilian power-puncher.
“Nobody made a statement with that, and I think the way
I beat Bisping takes me very close to the contender shot.”
Belfort
went on, positing the logical argument that “If I’m
in the 185 division, I beat the second [ranked] guy, I earned
that place.”
What
then naturally follows, in theory, is that the second ranked
guy fights the champ, but as Belfort concedes, that’s not
always how it goes in reality. “That’s how I think,
but that’s not how it is,” he noted.
It
is widely assumed that Belfort’s desires will not be sated
until he wins at least one more fight. His next opponent is still
to be determined, but the name Luke Rockhold has been floated
several times. It’s not the matchup he wants, but it’s
one Belfort will take if it leads to a title shot.
“I’ll
accept any fight, but I need to know where this fight is going
to take me,” said Belfort.
Whatever
is next for “The Phenom” will impact the UFC’s
middleweight division in a big way. And maybe its light heavyweight
division too.
What
do you think? Should Belfort get another crack at Jones? Or Silva?
Or does he yet have some work to do before getting one or the
other?
Source:
Bleacher Report
|
For
Randy Couture, move to Bellator is the latest step in the journey
By Dave
Doyle
SANTA
MONICA, Calif. --- The way Randy Couture sees it, signing on
to serve as a coach in Spike TV's upcoming reality series "Fight
Master: Bellator MMA," was simply a matter of stepping up
and taking on life's newest challenge.
The
mixed martial arts legend, who is five months short of his 50th
birthday, has never been afraid to follow his own path. The former
Oklahoma State wrestling great first gave MMA a shot back during
a time in which the amateur wrestling establishment shunned the
fledgling sport. He retired, returned and won the UFC heavyweight
title at age 43. He decided he wanted a fight with Fedor Emelianenko
and tried to get out of his UFC contract, then returned when
he couldn't.
Now,
just when fans had gotten used to the former five-time UFC champion's
presence as an analyst on FOX events, comes Couture's latest
headline-grabbing shocker, making the decision join Bellator's
reality series, in which he, Frank Shamrock, Greg Jackson, and
Joe Warren will coach welterweight fighters in a tournament format.
In
an exclusive interview with MMAFighting after Bellator's press
conference at Viacom's West Coast headquarters, Couture said
that joining Bellator was a matter of staying true to himself.
"I
think it's just kind of the way I'm wired," Couture said.
"I never shied away from trying something new, and you see
the things that you want to do to contribute to this sport I've
had a passion for. And I've had a passion for this sport for
a long time. It's a simple opportunity, and I'm a simple person
here."
Couture's
decision to move to Bellator and Viacom marks the latest dramatic
turn in his on-again, off-again relationship with UFC president
Dana White. Saturday night in Las Vegas after UFC 156, White
said in no uncertain terms that Couture was done with the UFC
for good, and strongly implied Couture isn't the man fans have
come to know over the years.
"I
don't respect him at all," White told reporters. "Not
even a little bit. Randy Couture, the only time Randy Couture
is a man is when he sets foot in the cage. As soon as his big
toe steps out of that cage, he's the furthest thing from it.
That's it, that's the way I feel about it."
At
Tuesday's press conference, Couture played White's line for laughs,
thanking him for drumming up publicity for the new venture.
"In
a lot of ways you have to thank Dana White," Couture said.
"He made this transition back to Spike very, very good,
and very easy. Gosh, the media storm sensation has been wonderful,
we appreciate that. I have to thank him for that and you have
to respect his passion for what he does, and that's admirable."
After
the press conference, Couture went into more depth on his thoughts
on his once again ex-boss.
"You
know I heard all of that second hand," Couture told MMAFighting.
"I don't read any of the newspapers or the media stuff,
positive or negative. Certainly I hear about it, I hear the buzz,
I get asked questions about it all the time. it is what it is.
It's another predictable response from him and I think everyone
sees clearly and understands clearly what that's all about."
Couture
has seen it all in an MMA career which dates back to 1997. He's
seen more than his fair share of promoters enter the business,
make brash claims, spend tons and tons of money, then end up
out of business just as soon as they've arrived.
You
don't survive as long as Couture has without a keen sense of
who can back up their talk and who's simply talking. And as far
as Couture sees it, Viacom's professionalism will make the difference
between Bellator and all the other promotions which have come
and gone over the years.
"Meeting
the people in charge is what sold me on this," Couture said.
"No one is making brash comments or poking Zuffa in the
chest and I think that's been the common mistake in a lot of
those organizations. [Bellator is the] only one interested in
doing what's right for the sport and the athletes and the promotion,
they don't make it about ego and these other things. I don't
think that's the idea here."
"I
think the idea is to do some different things that are significant
to the sport and that's a big part of my decision," Couture
continued. "I want to do something significant for the sport
and they're taking the right approach to doing that. They've
got a strong background and Viacom is very serious about what
they're doing and they're making a commitment, so it's going
to be interesting to see what they do."
It
also helps that Bellator's parent corporation, Viacom, has a
history in the sport, as Spike TV was the cable network which
gave the UFC an opportunity with "The Ultimate Fighter"
back during a time when no one else would touch MMA.
"Spike
frankly had the balls to put this on television when a lot of
others, when nobody else would, when everyone else was pushing
back on this sport," Couture said during the press conference.
"In a lot of ways, that changed the landscape for MMA for
the better, it's a behind the curtains look at the preparation,
the training, the dedication and everything. It was a look like,
it's not crazy, it's what we do. The first series was instrumental
in that. Now we have an opportunity to do in a lot of ways the
same thing. Its a watershed moment to create for Spike another
opportunity to give opportunities for more fighters in mixed
martial arts."
For
Couture, new opportunities aren't just about turning the page.
They're the very fabric of who he is. As the camera crews packed
up and went home on an uncharacteristically gray Southern California
day, Couture philosophized on what's brought him to his point.
"I'm
like everybody else, I have my challenges and tests in the journey
of life and you know, you figure out how to overcome those things,
and rationally, you figure out that you're a better person because
of the adversity you've gone through. It's probably a fighter's
mentality and a wrestler's mentality that I learned along the
way."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
156 Medical Suspensions: Frankie Edgar Leads List of Possible
Six-Month Sanctions
The UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar medical suspensions
were released to MMAWeekly.com on Monday by the Nevada Athletic
Commission.
Former
UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, as well as Evan Dunham
and Francisco Rivera, could be on the sidelines until August,
depending upon how their various medical reviews progress. Edgar
and Dunham both face issues dealing with possible orbital fractures,
while Rivera may have a fractured hand and/or wrist.
UFC
156 Medical Suspensions
Frankie
Edgar: Must have facial CT scan to rule out a left orbital fracture.
If the CT scan is positive, then he must gain clearance by a
maxilla-facial doctor or he is suspended until Aug. 2, 2013.
He faces a minimum suspension until April 4 with no contact prior
to March 20.
Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira: Needs clearance by an ophthalmologist before
his next fight due to a right eye injury.
Antonio
Silva: Suspended until March 5 with no contact prior to Feb.
24 due to a chin laceration.
Alistair
Overeem: Suspended until March 20 with no contact prior to March
5.
Joseph
Benavidez: Suspended until Feb. 24 with no contact prior to Feb.
17 due to a forehead laceration.
Evan
Dunham: Must have right orbital blowout fracture cleared by an
ophthalmologist or plastic surgeon or he is suspended until Aug.
2. He faces a minimum suspension until April 4 with no contact
prior to March 20.
Gleison
Tibau: Suspended until Feb. 24 with no contact prior to Feb.
17.
Jay
Hieron: Suspended until April 4 with no contact prior to March
20.
Jacob
Volkmann: Suspended until March 5 with no contact prior to Feb.
24 due to right eye contusion.
Yves
Edwards: Suspended until March 5 with no contact prior to Feb.
24 due to left eye laceration.
Chico
Camus: Suspended until Feb. 24 with no contact prior to Feb.
17.
Francisco
Rivera: Must have right hand/wrist x-rayed. If x-ray is positive,
then he needs clearance by an orthopedic doctor or he is suspended
until Aug. 2. He faces a minimum suspension until March 20 with
no contact prior to March 5.
Edwin
Figueroa: Suspended until Feb. 24 with no contact prior to Feb.
27 due to left eye laceration.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Tapout
Artist Shinya Aoki to Fight for One FC Lightweight Title
Carlos
Arthur
Shinya
Aoki taps out Lyle Beerbohm at 2011 Strikeforce event. (Photo
by Esther Lin)
The
upcoming One FC lightweight title fight is going to be a real
treat for Jiu-Jitsu lovers.
The
current belt holder, Kotetsu “No Face” Boku, will have
to contend with Jiu-Jitsu and judo black belt Shinya Aoki as
a challenger. They will face off on April 5 at “One FC:
Kings & Champions” in Singapore.
Aoki
(32-6) has 22 assorted submission victories to his name. Only
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira comes close to as many submission wins
at top-tier events with 21.
Dishing
out gogoplatas, flying triangles and neck cranks, Aoki has forced
opponents to tap out in several MMA promotions such as Dream,
Bellator and Strikeforce. He enters the title fight off a win
over Antonio Mckee at Dream 18.
Boku
(20-7-2) beat Brazilian black belt Zorobabel Moreira by TKO to
win the inaugural One FC lightweight title fight in his last
fight.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
Code of Conduct: Exclusive Talk with UFC COO Lawrence Epstein
By Trent
Reinsmith
CHICAGO:
The UFC made two big announcements before Thursday’s UFC
on Fox 6 pre-fight press conference began. The first was that
former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes would be retiring
from fighting and taking the position of Vice President of Athlete
Development and Government Relations. The other big announcement
was that the UFC was rolling out a written code of conduct.
UFC
Executive Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence Epstein
was on hand for the announcement and took the time to speak to
Bleacher Report about the new policy.
“This
stuff’s already frankly been in place for many, many years
and we’ve always sort of had an unwritten code of conduct
that we expected our athletes to live up to. Now we put it in
writing, that’s really the only change,” Epstein said.”
There are some teeth in the program, penalties associated with
violations, but as far as we’re concerned this policy is
going into effect immediately.”
The
first step for the UFC will be to get the written policy to all
400-plus athletes the promotion has under contract since this
will be an addendum to their current agreements. After the fighters
have had time to review the policy, Epstein said it would be
released to the public.
Going
forward, all fighters will have the policy contained in their
initial agreements with the UFC when they are signed.
When
asked about “the teeth” of the policy Epstein said
that there would be financial penalties associated with violating
the policy, but also some community service.
“For
example, if you make a discriminatory comment about a certain
community, you would be required to provide some community service
to that community,” Epstein said. “In our view that’s
going to turn into a benefit. It’s easy to criticize people
you don’t know, but once you get to know somebody, once
you get to experience what they’re all about it sort of
changes you as a person in a way that money or fines could never
do.”
Those
type of repercussions make a lot of sense, all too often highly
compensated athletes are only fined for their indiscretions and
once the check is written they quickly move on, totally putting
the incident behind them. To have to meet individuals that were
potentially affected by a fighter’s actions will have a
much longer lasting effect than any hit to the wallet ever could.
UFC
president Dana White also talked about the policy and he said
it is not meant to limit fighters in offering opinions to the
fans and the media, something Epstein echoed when he said, “The
last thing we would ever want to do is limit someone’s ability
to communicate, to be who they are. That’s not what this
is all about. This is providing some guidance to our athletes
in writing that this is stuff you should stay away from.”
That’s
where Hughes will come into play, serving as a mentor to the
UFC’s athletes and using his experience, as Epstein said,
“to try and keep guys out of trouble and stop them from
making mistakes.”
The
written code of conduct is another step in the right direction
for the UFC. It will allow the fighters to see, in black and
white, what is and isn’t acceptable behavior for a fighter
inside and outside the Octagon. It also puts the UFC on the same
page with all of the other major sports leagues and serves as
another step toward the mainstreaming of mixed martial arts.
**All
quotes obtained firsthand by BR MMA.
Source:
Bleacher Report
|
Ratings
report: UFC sets FX viewership record with UFC 156 prelims
By Dave
Meltzer
After
a rocky first year when it came to ratings, UFC set its all-time
viewership record on FX Saturday night with nearly 1.9 million
viewers watching the prelims of UFC 156. The record was hardly
expected, and beat the mark set two weeks earlier by the Vitor
Belfort vs. Michael Bisping fight.
UFC
may have had a prospective blockbuster heavyweight championship
fight fall apart Saturday night with Alistair Overeem's knockout
loss to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, but received some
surprisingly good news out of the show, setting the all-time
record for its largest audience ever on FX.
Saturday's
UFC 156 prelims drew 1,897,000 viewers, topping the previous
UFC on FX record of 1,860,000 viewers set two weeks earlier for
the Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping card from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The
number was a huge increase from the prelims on FX on Jan. 26
before the FOX network special from Chicago's United Center which
did 1,208,000 viewers.
The
largest previous audience on FX for prelims before a big show
came on July 7 when the UFC 148 prelims did 1.8 million viewers.
But that was to be expected, since there was more interest in
UFC on that day with the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen middleweight
title rematch than any day over the past two years.
This
number, for a show where the top matches were Evan Dunham beating
Gleison Tibau via decision and Tyron Woodley's 36-second knockout
of Jay Hieron, came with no major names in the prelims and before
a show that was not expected to do major pay-per-view numbers.
UFC
President Dana White noted the company set the record in which
three of the four fights featured debuts of former Strikeforce
fighters in Woodley, Bobby Green and Isaac Vallie-Flagg.
FX,
with a combination of the prelims and the movie "Iron Man
2," was the highest-rated station, beating both the networks
and cable in the 18-34 demographic and finishing second in Males
18-49.
The
number ended up just shy of the promotion's record for preliminary
matches when bouts featuring Chad Mendes and "Cowboy"
Donald Cerrone drew 2.0 million on Feb. 5, 2011, on Spike. Those
were prelims before the Silva vs. Belfort middleweight title
match which was estimated at doing 725,000 buys that ended up
being the second biggest pay-per-view show of that year.
Strong
ratings for prelims are not always an indicator the pay-per-view
numbers are big. UFC 109, a show headlined by Randy Couture vs.
Mark Coleman, did less than 300,000 buys on pay-per-view, but
the prelims did 1.7 million viewers which was a record at the
time.
The
common denominator appears to be the Super Bowl weekend as two
Spike records for prelims had been set the night before the game
to go with this past weekend's FX record.
On
Thursday night, Bellator, going without a championship match
for the first time, saw ratings drop 13 percent from the prior
week and recorded a 0.6 rating and 705,000 viewers. The show
also did 323,000 additional viewers for the midnight replay,
and the first show did an additional 69,000 viewers watching
via DVR through Saturday night.
The rating would have been expected to be down given the star
power wasn't there like on the first two shows. The Lloyd Woodard
vs. David Rickels match headlining the first round of a lightweight
tournament is hardly comparable to two title matches in week
one, and a title match plus "King" Mo Lawal in week
two.
The
show did draw a better number in Males 18-34, a 0.6, than the
previous two shows, but that was likely because its lead-in,
TNA Impact wrestling, was way up from usual in that same demographic.
The pro wrestling rating was almost identical with previous weeks,
but its final quarter was down as compared to the prior weeks
so it was handing off a six percent smaller audience than in
week two.
Alexander
Sarnavskiy vs. Thiago Michel, the first match on Spike after
wrestling, did 924,000 viewers. The number was stronger likely
due to some fans, likely wrestling fans, watching a little and
tuning out. From there, the audience stayed relatively stable
with Guillaume DeLorenzi vs. Saad Awad doing 699,000 viewers;
Sam Quito vs. Ben Lagman doing 736,000, Will Brooks vs. Ricardo
Tirloni doing 667,000 and the Lloyd Woodard vs. David Rickels
main event doing 685,000.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Superfight
Year in the UFC? Depends on your definition
by Ben
Fowlkes
When
UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg stood in front of the octagon
to start the UFC 156 broadcast and confidently declared 2013
to be "superfight year" in the UFC, it was hard to
tell whether he was being overly optimistic or just dangerously
presumptuous.
For
one thing, dude, it's early February. I believe Goldberg knows
what the next 10 months hold in store about as much as I believe
that a groundhog can tell us when the ice will melt.
For
another, this is the UFC we're talking about, the organization
that spent much of the last two years watching one fight after
another fall apart due to injury or illness or gypsy curse. After
all that, what would possibly make the UFC think it could guarantee
a year's worth of superfights? What would even make it think
that next month's main events are completely safe?
But
then I read the news that Anthony Pettis would get the next shot
at Jose Aldo's UFC featherweight title this August – and
that this, too, would be dubbed a superfight – and suddenly
it started to make sense. We're just going to make up a new meaning
for this word, aren't we? Problem solved.
"It's
a superfight, and I want to be part of these fights," Pettis
said of the pairing.
That
sentiment was echoed by the UFC's official Twitter, which almost
hinted at some awareness of its own overuse of the term when
it tweeted a link to the story accompanied by the words, "It's
a superfight... again!!"
Yes,
again. Though that's only if you counted Saturday night's main
event bout between Aldo and former UFC lightweight champ Frankie
Edgar as a superfight. And if you count that, why not put Aldo
vs. Pettis in the same category? Why not say the same of any
title fight where one fighter is going up or down in weight to
make it happen?
Jon
Jones vs. Vitor Belfort? There's a superfight. Jones vs. Chael
Sonnen? There's another. Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar? Superfight
City, bro. If only Rashad Evans hadn't dropped a decision on
Saturday night, he might have set himself up for a major superfight
with Anderson Silva. I guess now we'll have to settle for a totally
non-super regular old middleweight title fight. Kind of a downer,
considering this is superfight year and all.
Maybe
it's just me, but I thought "superfight" – especially
when it's all one word like that – was one of those combat
sports terms with a pretty clear definition. I thought it referred
to fights that pitted a reigning champion from one weight class
against a reigning champion from another. You know, like what
happened when then-UFC lightweight champ B.J. Penn went up a
division to challenge UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre
in 2009. Now that was a superfight. It was also, according to
my strict definition of the word, the last superfight the UFC
had.
What
makes those fights so "super" is that they're pretty
rare. You need two dominant champions who have solidified their
respective standings in their own divisions and are able and
willing to meet and each other in a champion vs. champion showdown.
That doesn't happen often. That's why it's special.
See
how much trouble the UFC has had getting St-Pierre to agree to
face Silva, or Silva to agree to face Jones? Superfights don't
come together so easily. Maybe that's why the UFC has decided,
screw it, let's just change the definition of the word so that
almost anything can be called a superfight.
The
worst part is, there's no need for it. Aldo vs. Pettis? That's
a great matchup no matter what you call it. I want to see that
fight. I don't understand why we have to wait six months for
it, but hey, as long as both guys can keep from falling off their
motorcycles in the interim, I'm willing to be patient. But this
is no more a superfight than Aldo vs. Edgar was. It's the featherweight
champ defending his belt against a featherweight contender who
was, until recently, a lightweight. Why can't we just call it
that?
I
guess I know the answer to that, and it's because the UFC's job
is to promote fights. It seems to think that nothing accomplishes
that task quite like hyperbole, which is probably why every prelim
broadcast ends with color commentator Joe Rogan and UFC president
Dana White yelling at each other about how awesome (!!!) the
pay-per-view portion of the card is going to be (!!!*%@&!!).
What
I wonder is, don't they realize that they are killing the term
superfight, and at a time when they might prefer it to be in
robust health?
Think
about the current triumvirate of GSP, Silva, and Jones. Think
there's a chance that, between the three of them, we might see
at least one big money superfight soon? Seems not-so far-fetched
to me, which is why it seems not-so smart to render the word
completely meaningless now in order to sell fights that sell
themselves.
Aldo
and Pettis? People who like fights will pay to watch that one
whether it's for the UFC featherweight belt or a World's Greatest
Grandpa mug. Calling it a superfight doesn't make it true, but
it does add the word superfight to a long list of fight promoter
cliches we've learned to ignore. It's like when you hear Rogan
call someone a "monster," or White declare a fighter
to be "in the mix." Those words don't mean anything
anymore. It's all dead language now, just more loud noises to
shout at the end of the cable TV broadcast.
If
the UFC wants to add superfight to that list, I suppose we can't
stop it. I just don't see why, if you're trying to sell me a
perfectly good Mercedes that I'm already eager to buy, you feel
the need to first try and convince me that it's a helicopter.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
UFC
159: Chael Should Retire After the Jon Jones Fight
By Matthew
Ryder
With
two losses to the present champion and standing firmly in his
mid-30s, it didn't seem like Chael Sonnen had many options in
July. He was a middleweight, with two failed attempts to reach
the peak of the divisional mountain, and no clear path ahead
of him.
All
it took for that to change was Dan Henderson's knee injury and
some creative trash talk. All the sudden, he had become the number
one contender at light heavyweight.
Of
course, that option wouldn't present itself to just anyone. However,
Sonnen has shown the unique ability to sell fights by stealing
headlines and being willing to take fights that not everyone
is keen on.
He
called out Anderson Silva when no one would, and now he told
the world he wanted Jon Jones when no one else did..
That
gave him a big fight, something he has grown accustomed to looking
for over the past few years.
But
make no mistake, this is his last big fight. Win or lose, there
aren't many big paydays left for him in the cage. With 40 fights
in his career, Sonnen doesn't have that many paydays left at
all.
So
why not retire after UFC 159, whether he is successful in taking
the title from Jon Jones or not?
If
he somehow beats Jones and becomes champion, what more incredible
headline to make than to say he is walking away an undefeated
champion? That would bring attention to his own post-fighting
ventures and serve as one last dig at his nemesis Silva—the
only man who is looking at doing that legitimately.
If
he loses, he was never supposed to win anyway, so he can retire
to a pretty good life too. He will score that last million-buy
PPV cut and move on to his role as unofficial face of the UFC
on FOX.
Think
of all the doors that will open up in the coming years. Sonnen
is showing he has a knack for that kind of publicity, so he won't
ever be left in the cold.
In
fact, Sonnen only matters because he has learned how to steal
headlines in the back-half of his career. The past three years
or so have been an absolute clinic in how to scrape every last
dollar out of some pretty run-of-mill skills in the cage.
And
it's been fantastic to watch.
So
if stealing headlines is the goal, a retirement regardless of
the outcomes at UFC 159 isn't a bad plan. Win or lose, Sonnen
ends up in the same place—with a cushy gig as a paid analyst,
maybe a coach on the side, knowing that he was one of the best
self-promoters the sport has ever seen.
Worse
legacies exist.
Source:
Bleacher Report
|
Is
Ronda Rousey MMA’s Biggest Crossover Star?
by Jeff
Cain
Ronda
Rousey hasn’t set foot in the UFC Octagon yet, but may already
be the biggest crossover star mixed martial arts has ever seen.
“People
can say whatever they want about(Rousey); she shouldn’t
be headlining or whatever. I don’t give a (expletive) if
you’re Royce Gracie, if you are Dan Henderson, or (Lyoto)
Machida, Tito (Ortiz), Chuck (Liddell), go through the laundry
list of guys who have been stars in this company. Nobody in
the history of this company will have more new media following
them than Ronda Rousey will,” UFC president Dana White told
MMAWeekly.com.
Rousey,
an Olympic Judo Medalist, is undefeated in her mixed martial
arts career. She has finished every opponent in the first round
by the same move, an armbar submission.
“Already
the stories she’s done: Time Magazine, she’s one of
the 30 for 30 Forbes athletes. She’s in there with Lebron
James, Real Sports on HBO. The L.A. Times is following her for
a month and doing a font page story on her,” said White.
“The
list goes on and on and on of media that has never, ever covered
this event, or have never given us the coverage they’re
giving us for Ronda Rousey, in the history of the sport. Not
just the 13 years that we’ve been here, all the way back
to the old days,” added the UFC president.
White
officially announced at the UFC on Fox 5: Henderson vs. Diaz
pre-fight press conference that Rousey is the first UFC women’s
bantamweight champion, and presented her with the belt.
Rousey
will defend her women’s bantamweight belt against Liz Carmouche
at UFC 157 in the main event at the Honda Center in Anaheim,
Calif., on Feb. 23. She and Carmouche will make history as the
first female fight inside the UFC Octagon.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
156 Fight Salaries: Rashad Evans Tops Payroll in Defeat, Followed
by Overeem and Aldo
The
UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar fighter salaries were released to MMAWeekly.com
on Monday by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
Jose
Aldo successfully defended his UFC featherweight title in the
main event on Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Mandalay Bay Event Center
in Las Vegas, but it was Rashad Evans, in a losing effort, that
topped the payroll, followed closely by Alistair Overeem.
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
156 Fighter Salaries
Jose
Aldo: $240,000 (includes $120,000 win bonus)
def. Frankie Edgar: $120,000
Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira: $174,000 (includes $67,000 win bonus)
def. Rashad Evans: $300,000
Antonio
Silva: $70,000 (no win bonus)
def. Alistair Overeem: $285,714.29
Demian
Maia: $120,000 (includes $60,000 win bonus)
def. Jon Fitch: $66,000
Joseph
Benavidez: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Ian McCall: $9,000
Evan
Dunham: $46,000 (includes $23,000 win bonus)
def. Gleison Tibau: $33,000
Tyron
Woodley: $87,000 (includes $43,500 win bonus)
def. Jay Hieron: $12,000
Bobby
Green: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Jacob Volkmann: $22,000
Isaac
Vallie-Flagg: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Yves Edwards: $21,000
Dustin
Kimura:
$16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Chico Camus: $8,000
Francisco
Rivera: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Edwin Figueroa: $10,000
UFC
156 Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $1,755,714.29
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Bellator
90 Update: Bryan Baker Replaces Injured Brent Weedman in Welterweight
Semifinals
By Mike
Whitman
Bellator
welterweight semifinalist Brent Weedman has been forced to withdraw
from the Season 8 tournament due to injury and will be replaced
by Bryan Baker at Bellator 90.
Bellator
officials recently announced the news, revealing that Baker will
square off with Douglas Lima at the Feb. 21 event, which takes
place at Maverik Center in Salt Lake City.
Ben
Saunders will lock horns with Raul Amaya in the evening’s
other semifinal, while Rad Martinez will meet Shabulat Shamhalaev
in the main event to decide the Season 7 featherweight tournament
winner. The show’s main card airs live on Spike TV and will
also see Muhammed Lawal face Emanuel Newton in a light heavyweight
semifinal.
Baker,
27, previously competed as a middleweight, coming up short in
two tournaments before making the cut to 170 pounds and entering
the Season 6 welterweight draw. After outpointing Carlos Alexandre
Pereira and Ben Saunders, “The Beast” ran into explosive
Frenchman Karl Amoussou in the finals, succumbing to a slick
first-round heel hook.
Lima,
25, has won 11 of his last 12 fights, capturing the Season 5
tournament crown by besting Steve Carl, Chris Lozano and Saunders.
Though “The Phenom” would stumble in his title shot
against Ben Askren, the American Top Team Atlanta rep rebounded
with a pair of victories, knocking out an overmatched Jacob Ortiz
this past November before stopping Michail Tsarev with leg kicks
last month in the Season 8 quarterfinals.
Saunders,
meanwhile, advanced to the Season 8 semis by taking a unanimous
decision from Koffi Adzitso in the round of eight. “Killa
B” previously faced Amaya in the Season 6 quarters, taking
a unanimous decision over “Smash Mode” before dropping
a decision to Baker in the semis. A seven-time UFC veteran, “Killa
B” has stopped 12 of his 15 victims and has yet to be submitted
in nearly nine years as a pro.
Amaya
has competed twice since falling to Saunders in Season 6, taking
out Kenny Moss this past July and then returning to the cage
on Jan. 24 to finish Jose de Ribamar Machado Gomes in the opening
round of Season 8. The exciting conclusion to that three-minute
slugfest resulted in the fifth career knockout victory for Amaya,
who also owns six wins via submission.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Chael
Sonnen says UFC fighter rankings judged by media guys who don't
know much about MMA
By Jesse
Holland
Remember
when Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) released its official
fighter rankings earlier this week and broke the interwebz?
Well,
that's the kind of thing that happens when you have a bunch of
media members, who don't know much about mixed martial arts (MMA),
scribbling down names and numbers just to get free steaks at
the UFC press conferences.
That's
according to light heavyweight number one contender (cough) Chael
Sonnen, who slammed the "official" rankings on a recent
edition of UFC Tonight:
"I
never understood what the fascination is with putting a number
next to someone's name. I did this my entire tenure of college
with girls I dated and I can assure you it never ended well.
First and foremost, when people judge (other) people it's never
fair. You got a bunch a media guys who really don't know a ton
about the sport and every time you say that they take it as a
huge insult but the reality is they don't. They go into a press
conference with one thing, they hear the boss Dana White say
something, they change their rankings on the spot so they can
get into that big steak dinner the UFC hands out with the press
conference. Let's make sure we understand how they came to be."
The
legitimacy of the MMA media has been heavily debated over the
past 10 years due to what some fans and fighters cite as a lack
of journalistic credentials, perhaps forgetting that until very
recently, anyone considered a "real" journalist or
sports reporter wouldn't be caught dead taking a UFC story to
their editor.
You
had to make due with what you had.
The
punchline is that recent imports from other sports do have the
credentials to call themselves journalists, but lack the knowledge
of MMA to make an educated contribution. But hey, those free
steaks sure are yummy! The good news is, you still have guys
like Nostradumbass to kick around, who stinks as a journalist
AND doesn't know anything about MMA.
But
as long as you keep laughing at my corny dick jokes, I'll always
have a job!
Source:
MMA Mania
|
Pat
Curran vs. Daniel Straus featherweight title fight scheduled
for April
By Ariel
Helwani
Pat
Curran's next Bellator featherweight title defense is set.
The
promotion announced Wednesday that Curran will defend the strap
against Daniel Straus on April 4 at Ovation Hall inside Revel
Resort & Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.
The
25-year-old Curran (18-4) has won his last five fights in a row.
He most recently defeated Patricio Freire via split decision
in Bellator's Spike TV debut last month.
Straus
(21-4) beat Marlon Sandro in the finals of Bellator's season
six lightweight tournament to earn a shot at the title. Since
then, he also picked up a win over veteran Alvin Robinson.
The card will also feature top 125-pounder Jessica Eye (9-1)
vs. Munah Holland (5-2). Eye's most recent win over former 115-pound
champion Zoila Frausto Gurgel in December extended her winning
streak to seven in a row.
Lyman
Good vs. Dante Rivera and former UFC fighter Tom DeBlass vs.
Carlos Brooks will also take place on the card, which will air
on Spike TV and SpikeTV.com.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
World
Series of Fighting Signs 3-Year Deal with NBC Sports Network
World
Series of Fighting and NBC Sports Network have entered into a
three-year partnership.
World
Series of Fighting programming returns to NBC Sports with the
promotion’s second event, WSOF 2, live Saturday, March 23
at 10 p.m. ET from Revel Resorts & Casino in Atlantic City,
N.J.
The
agreement calls for a minimum of six live events annually on
the national television platform that reaches over 80 million
homes. Additionally, later this year, NBCSports.com will live
stream World Series of Fighting events via TV Everywhere.
“We
are thrilled to call NBC Sports Network the home of World Series
of Fighting,” said World Series of Fighting president and
six-time world kickboxing champion Ray Sefo.
“This
partnership will allow us to build the World Series of Fighting
brand of world-class MMA competition before a dedicated national
audience of passionate sports fans and place our athletes on
the big stage that they deserve.”
The
inaugural World Series of Fighting 1 aired live on NBC Sports
Network on Nov. 3, 2012.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
WPJJC
Hawaii Trials:
Absolute Championship Comments on Win, Teaches Finish
A
young purple belt with a slick triangle, Hunter Ewald was victorious alongside his father,
Bruno, at the Abu Dhabis
tryouts.
Last
weekend in Honolulu, Hawaii, another leg of the Abu Dhabi WPJJC
Trials went down, and the winner was a veteran surfer who put
on a show.
McKinley
High School gymnasium hosted over a hundred competitors, all
eyeing all-expenses-paid trips to compete in the United Arab
Emirates at the main event in April. The standout in the brown/black
belt division was Professor Bruno Ewald (Longman Jiu-Jitsu),
who won the over-92kg division and the absolute. Bruno also got
to see his son, the young purple belt Hunter Ewald, win the under-80
kg division.
After
winning two gold medals, Bruno, who is the son of Brazilian economist
Luis Carlos Ewald, commented on his hopes in Abu Dhabi.
“I
know the main tournament is going to be tougher, but I’m
going to show up in my best shape to take on the new generation.
I really liked competing at the trials. What motivated me most
for this championship was the chance to set an example for my
son and students, and to show Jiu-Jitsu’s true essence,
using technique against force to test myself in the adult division,”
said the 40-year-old Royler Gracie black belt in closing.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Bellator
88's Marlon Sandro again chasing coveted tourney title
by Matt
Erickson and Christian Stein
Marlon
Sandro finds himself in familiar territory this week.
The
Brazilian on Thursday competes in a Bellator featherweight tournament
for the third time. The first two times were successful –
just not successful enough. In Season 6, as well as in the 2011
"Summer Series," Sandro reached the finals only to
come up short.
In
2011, current champ Pat Curran stopped him with a second-round
knockout. And this past May, current top contender Daniel Straus
took a unanimous decision from him.
But
heading into the Season 8 tournament, Sandro doesn't have revenge
on his mind – even knowing that if he can get that coveted
win in the finals this time, he'll get a shot at either Curran
or Straus.
Sandro
(23-4 MMA, 6-2 BFC) vs. meets Akop Stepanyan (12-4 MMA, 0-1 BFC)
in the tournament's opening round at Bellator 88, which takes
place at The Arena at Gwinnet Center in Duluth, Ga. The event
is Bellator MMA's first trip to Georgia.
"Now
I feel I have a different outlook," Sandro recently told
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I am no longer worried
in avenging losses. I just want to do my work. I will be making
no promises. I'll merely show my work."
He'll
try to show his work Thursday as a heavy 4-to-1 favorite against
Stepanyan, a Russian who started his career 0-3 before going
on a 12-fight run. He signed with Bellator, but was bounced from
the Season 7 featherweight tourney in the opening round with
a first-round armbar loss to Wagnney Fabiano.
Sandro
said he's focused on the task at hand against Stepanyan. But
that doesn't mean his eye isn't on the ultimate prize of winning
a title. He just knows he has to take one step at a time.
"They
beat me," he said. "They had their moment in the light.
I'll have my moments, too. I'll seize my opportunities. I'll
be looking to become champion. I'll worry about what I do instead
of worrying about others. My moment will come."
At
the acclaimed Nova Uniao academy in Brazil, Sandro is surrounded
by greatness, including UFC champions Jose Aldo and Renan Barao,
plus Bellator bantamweight champ Eduardo Dantas. He'd like nothing
more than to become the next titleholder on that list.
But
it's the training mentality that permeates throughout Nova Uniao
that he said acts as a motivator for everyone in the gym.
"No
one is treated like a champion," Sandro said. "I think
one of the academy's strong points is how everyone works equally
hard. Here, no one skimps on training and no one acts above their
peers."
Though
Sandro said he will avoid looking down the road at avenging losses
to Curran or Straus, there is one thing he's hopeful for in the
future that he would love to be able to dream about. And that's
Bellator putting on a show in Brazil so he can fight in front
of his home country again.
The
promotion has said it has plans to do a show in Brazil, but there
has been no announcement or official timetable. Sandro is banking
on the promotion's new home on Spike TV will help it get a surge
in popularity that could lead to a show, finally, outside of
North America.
"Now
with Spike, we can only go up," he said. "Plus we are
waiting for Bellator to book its first card in Brazil. I hope
they do that. Sometimes it's a bit disappointing not to have
the same recognition in one's own country, as opposed to what
we see in the U.S. or Canada. Like (Bellator lightweight) Ricardo
Tirloni, I've also been proposing a Bellator card in Brazil.
The crowd would be strongly behind us."
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Ricardo
Lamas 'dumbfounded' by UFC's decision to book Aldo vs. Pettis
By Ariel
Helwani
The
news that lightweight Anthony Pettis would be fighting Jose Aldo
for the UFC featherweight title in August generated a lot of
buzz Tuesday, however, contenders Ricardo Lamas and Chan Sung
Jung weren't contributing to it.
"I'm
pretty upset about it," Lamas told "UFC Tonight"
on FUEL TV. "I'm busting my ass, I put in all this work
and I'm not being rewarded.
"I'm
just a little dumbfounded by the whole situation."
The
30-year-old Lamas (15-2) is 4-0 since dropping down to featherweight
in the UFC. His most recent win over top contender Erik Koch
at UFC on FOX 6 came after wins against contenders Cub Swanson
and Hatsu Hioki.
"I thought I already established I was the no. 1 contender.
If Koch would have beaten me none of this would have happened."
And
Lamas is probably right. Koch and Pettis are good friends and
training partners, and Pettis admitted on "UFC Tonight"
that Koch's recent run prevented him from dropping down to 145
pounds. However, Koch's loss to Lamas got rid of that block for
Pettis.
Lamas
said he had yet to think about what's next since he was banking
on fighting Aldo next. The other top contender in the division,
Sung Jung, was also "bummed out" by the news, but said
he was open to fighting Lamas or Cub Swanson next, should Swanson
defeat Dustin Poirier at UFC on FUEL TV 7 next week in London.
"The
Korean Zombie" is hoping to return to action from left shoulder
surgery in "early-to-mid summer."
Also
confusing to both fighters was why the Aldo vs. Pettis fight
was booked for Aug. 3, especially since Pettis said he didn't
want to wait for the winner of April's lightweight title fight
between champion Benson Henderson and Gilbert Melendez. While
Pettis said he wasn't sure why the fight was happening in six
months, the UFC wasn't available for comment.
"I
don't know why they pushed it back so far," Lamas said.
"I don't really know what to say."
Lamas'
next step will be to sit down with his brother and father, who
help manage his career. In the end, he'll probably have to fight
at least one more time before getting a crack at the title he
so covets. He's also the latest fighter to feel like he's getting
passed over for a fighter from another weight class.
"If
guys are dropping weight classes, they should should earn their
spot."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Randy
Couture Thanks Dana White for the Easy Transition Back to Spike
TV
By Damon
Martin
Randy
Couture will now be a fixture at Bellator and Spike TV with his
new multi-year deal that will see him coach the new reality show
Fight Masters as well as take part in another program called
MMA Rescue.
The
decision to move to Bellator and Spike TV came at the expense
of Couture's long standing relationship with Zuffa and the UFC.
The former two-weight class champion admits that it wasn't an
easy call to move to Spike TV knowing that it would all but sever
any ties he had left with his former employers.
During
a media conference call on Tuesday, Couture told Bleacher Report
about the gravity of his decision.
It's
been an ongoing process; it wasn't as quick as you'd think.
It's been a few months of preliminary discussions, and signing
an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) to even hear the pitch, and
then for me making a very important decision as to my future
with Zuffa and the rest of things. Because I know it was going
to create a huge impact there. It's been a serious decision
and it's been a while in the making.
Following
the initial announcement that Couture would be joining Bellator
and Spike TV, UFC President Dana White unleashed a verbal tirade
aimed directly at the former champion. As he explained when he
spoke to reporters after UFC 156, he believed Couture engaged
in duplicitous business dealings to sign the new contract.
Randy
Couture—it was around Christmas time, his lawyer sends in
a letter and cancels and bails on the last show that he's doing
for us (working as an analyst for Fox). He doesn’t want
to do the last show after they beg me for a f—king job.
So I'm like, what the hell's going on here?
I
start digging around and I find out he's talking about doing
a deal with Bellator and Spike. I call his lawyer and I went
"me" on his lawyer, is the best way I can explain it,
and then I called Randy. Called him over and over and over again,
he wouldn't even answer his phone.
Three
hours later he texts me and I said, "Did you or did you
not do a deal with those guys?"
No,
no, no, I called him and called him and called him and then he
texts me and says, "What's up, boss? I hear you're flipping
out. I did not sign a deal with Spike or Bellator but I'm talking
to two other networks right now."
I
said if you tell me you did not bail on my last f—king fight,
and go do a deal with them; I don't give a s—t what network
you sign with. I don't care if it's freaking HBO, the Food Network,
I could care less who it is. Are you saying that you did not
sign a deal?
"I
did not sign a deal with them, stop worrying, relax, and have
a great Christmas, and we'll talk later." To this f—king
day, sitting right here, right now, we still have not talked.
I knew the whole time that he was doing the deal, even when
I was talking to him and he was lying to me, not even to my face,
not even on the phone, but through text.
White
now maintains that his relationship with Couture is finished,
and he will no longer be welcomed in any way to UFC events or
productions.
On
Tuesday, Couture's response to White's accusations were very
calm and even-mannered, and he ultimately even thanked his former
employer for the very public comments over the last few days
that kept his name in the press.
In
a lot of ways you have to thank Dana White—he's made this
transition for me back to Spike very, very good. He's made it
easy. The media storm and sensation has been wonderful, we really
appreciate that. I have to thank him for that, you have to respect
his passion for what he does, and that's admirable.
Outside
of that, Couture stuck to the business at hand—promoting
his role as coach on the new Bellator reality show that begins
filming in the next couple of weeks. Once the show finishes,
Couture will get back to his acting career with a new movie filming
in March as well as the popular action film series The Expendables,
which beings production on the third installment in August.
As
far as Couture's future dealings with the UFC in regards to potentially
showing up to corner his fighters, including his son Ryan Couture,
he's going to leave that up to the athletic commissions who oversee
licensing for such matters.
"I
don’t have the answer to that question right now. I think
it's an athletic commission issue, and I guess we'll cross that
bridge when and if we get to it," said Couture.
Couture
stayed on the high road avoiding any kind of back-and-forth chatter
to further stir the brewing storm between him and Dana White.
For now, Couture's focus will get back to coaching on the new
Bellator reality show and putting his days with the UFC and Zuffa
behind him.
Source:
Bleacher Report
|
Andrei
Arlovski vs. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson Headlines World
Series of Fighting 2
The
World Series of Fighting (WSoF) on Monday announced a new three-year
television partnership with NBC Sports Network, and shortly thereafter
Andrei Arlovski took to Twitter to confirm the main event.
Arlovski
will square off with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson at the
WSoF 2 event on March 23 at Revel Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.
The bout is expected to take place in the heavyweight division.
Both
men fought on the promotion’s premier event. Arlovski defeated
Devin Cole by TKO stoppage midway through the opening round of
their heavyweight bout. Johnson, fight at 205 pounds, knocked
DJ Linderman out cold, also in the first round.
That
was back in November.
Arlovski
has since won a unanimous decision over Mike Hayes at an event
in Russia. Johnson has yet to fight again.
The
two lead the charge for the WSoF’s new TV deal with NBC
Sports, which calls for six events annually for the next three
years.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
Hands Out $50,000 Fighter Bonuses Following UFC 156
by Jeff
Cain
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship handed out $50,000 fighter bonuses
for in-Octagon performances following UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar
on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Jose
Aldo, Frankie Edgar, Antonio Silva and Bobby Green took home
the extra earnings.
Fight
of the Night honors went to the main event fighters. Jose Aldo
defended his UFC featherweight title in a hard fought war with
former UFC lightweight titleholder Frankie Edgar. The fight
went the distance with Aldo doing enough in the early rounds
to garner a unanimous decision.
The
Knockout of the Night came in the heavyweight division. Antonio
“Big Foot” Silva derailed Alistair Overeem’s title
hopes with a third round knockout over the accomplished striker.
The
Submission of the Night bonus was awarded to Bobby Green who
submitted Jacob Volkmann in preliminary action that aired on
FX. Volkmann saw early success, but as the fight wore on, Green
took over the fight and ended it with a rear naked choke.
Total
bonus money awarded following UFC 256: Aldo vs. Edgar totaled
$200,000.
UFC
156: Edgar vs. Aldo Results:
Main
Card (on Pay-Per-View):
-Jose Aldo def. Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46,
48-47)
-Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Rashad Evans by unanimous decision
(29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
-Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva def. Alistair Overeem by KO
at :25, R3
-Demian Maia def. Jon Fitch by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27,
30-27)
-Joseph Benavidez def. Ian McCall by unanimous decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary
Card (on FX):
-Evan Dunham def. Gleison Tibau by split decision (29-28, 28-29,
29-28)
-Tyron Woodley def. Jay Hieron by KO at :36, R1
-Bobby Green def. Jacob Volkmann by submission (rear naked choke)
at 4:25, R3
-Isaac Vallie-Fla3gg def. Yves Edwards by split decision (29-28,
28-29, 29-28)
Preliminary
Card (on Facebook):
-Dustin
Kimura
def. Chico Camus by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:50, R3
-Francisco Rivera def. Edwin Figueroa by TKO at 4:20, R2
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Viewpoint:
The Cruel Fate of Resilience
By Tristen
Critchfield
Sometime
before 1 a.m. ET on Sunday morning, as the UFC 156 main event
reached its most critical point, Frankie Edgar flipped the switch.
As
expected, reigning featherweight champion Jose Aldo exploded
out of the gates, feeding the Toms River, N.J., native a steady
diet of lightning-quick jabs and whipping leg kicks in rounds
one and two. A front kick to the face that bloodied Edgar’s
nose was the most spectacular strike of the third frame, but
shortly thereafter, the former lightweight titlist began to plant
those familiar seeds of doubt in the way that only he can.
When
it comes to sure things, a championship round push from “The
Answer” falls somewhere just below death and taxes. According
to FightMetric.com, Edgar was the busier fighter in rounds three
through five, out-landing his opponent by a slight margin in
each of the final three frames. Sound familiar? At UFC 150, he
out-landed Benson Henderson for three of five rounds -- including
the third and fifth -- of their lightweight championship tilt.
“I
felt like I pushed the pace, I landed more punches, I got the
takedowns and I dropped him,” Edgar said in August. “My
team thought I won it, too, and even the crowd seemed like they
were behind me.”
Just
moments after it was announced that Aldo had earned a unanimous
verdict on the judges’ scorecards at the Mandalay Bay Events
Center in Las Vegas, Edgar uttered a familiar refrain. He thought
he had it won.
“It
was a close fight. I keep finding myself in these situations,”
Edgar said. “Congrats to Jose. He fought a great fight.
I did [think I did enough to win], but it doesn’t matter.
Jose is the winner. I’m just going to go home and take some
time.”
It
seems that Edgar has perfected the art of close-but-not-quite.
No one has more heart, resilience or tenacity, but for many,
Edgar’s efforts simply do not pass the sight and sound test.
When Aldo connects with a punch or kick, it resonates, whether
you are in the arena or watching at home. Edgar’s flurries
do not have nearly the same effect.
“My
cornermen were talking to me all the time, and they were explaining
the situation round by round. I was pretty confident about the
results,” Aldo said. “I believe I won every round.
In the fourth round, he was dominant for about a minute when
he threw me down and caught my back, but after that, I came back
to a dominant position and controlled the center of the ring.
I was very comfortable, so I thought I won every round.”
While
those scoring the fight might not have wholeheartedly agreed
with Aldo’s corner, nearly everyone, from the cageside judges
to the MMA media, had “Scarface” winning the bout by
a 49-46 or 48-47 count. The matchup earned “Fight of the
Night” honors from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Aldo
maintained his standing as one of the top pound-for-pound talents
in the sport and Edgar garnered more kudos for yet another gritty
effort.
Could Jung be next in line?
Of course, Edgar would much rather have gold around his waist,
but this time it appears that the UFC will not go to the rematch
well once again for the Ricardo Almeida Jiu-Jitsu product. After
three consecutive title rematches involving Edgar at lightweight,
the general consensus is that someone else deserves a shot at
Aldo.
“The
guy is so tough, but I don’t think this grants him an automatic
rematch,” UFC President Dana White told Fuel TV.
So
while the likes of Ricardo Lamas, Chan Sung Jung, Cub Swanson
and the rest angle for the next shot at Aldo, Edgar is left to
exist in something of a lower-weight purgatory. He had to cash
in on his title shot against the Brazilian when the opportunity
was presented to him, but it now becomes difficult to forecast
the future for a man who has not competed in a non-title bout
since December 2009.
Few
would dispute that Edgar would be favored against any of the
aforementioned featherweights, but is the UFC really interested
in killing off viable contenders in a still-growing division?
Right now, Edgar might very well be the world’s second best
featherweight -- and its second-best lightweight -- but neither
means he will be installed as No. 1 contender again anytime soon.
There
are those who resent Edgar’s high-volume, push-the-pace
approach. They call his style point-fighting and believe that
true champions should finish fights at all costs. However, the
level of competition that Edgar has faced since his lightweight
title reign began is not conducive to highlight-reel knockouts
or submissions, and it is worth noting that Aldo, Henderson,
Gray Maynard and B.J. Penn could not finish Edgar; he was able
to stop Maynard at UFC 136.
There
may be no obvious next step for Edgar at this point, but he has
already accomplished plenty, and unlike some of his highly ranked
and highly regarded cohorts, he rarely gives a lackluster effort
in the cage. On a night when Rashad Evans baffled with his inactivity
and Alistair Overeem’s bloated physique was exceeded only
by his hubris, Edgar was who we thought he was: a fighter who
is never out of a fight.
Even
for those who expected Aldo to prevail at UFC 156, the odds of
a blowout were less likely than reconciliation between White
and Randy Couture. Edgar just would not allow it.
“Yes,
Frankie is resilient,” UFC light heavyweight title challenger
Chael Sonnen said on Fuel TV. “It’s like calling Kate
Upton mildly attractive.”
Preferences
in women and UFC featherweights tend to vary from person to person,
but somehow, Edgar keeps hanging around. For the first time in
years, however, it appears that he is not an immediate factor
in either the 145- or 155-pound title scene. What would Edgar
have to say about that? He would probably tell you he is never
out of a fight.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Vitor
Belfort Approved for TRT at UFC on FX 7, Tavares Suspended for
Steroids
By Damon
Martin
Following
a loss at UFC on FX 7, Thiago Tavares has tested positive for
use of a banned substance that will result in a nine-month suspension
from the sport.
Tavares
returned a positive test for Drostanolone, an anabolic steroid,
after his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov in Brazil in January.
UFC
officials confirmed the test results in a press release on Wednesday.
The
positive drug test will result in Tavares being suspended for
nine-months retroactive to the date of the fight, which was Jan
19.
Tavares
lost the fight to Nurmagomedov at UFC on FX 7, so the result
of the bout will remain as it stands with no change due to the
positive drug test. Tavares must also complete a drug test screen
before returning to active competition before his next fight
is scheduled.
All
22 fighters that competed on UFC on FX 7 were tested and Tavares
was the only fight that returned a positive test.
On
another note however, UFC on FX 7 main event fighter Vitor Belfort
did receive a therapy use exemption (TUE) for testosterone replacement
therapy (TRT) in his fight against Michael Bisping.
"To
dispel rumors that have been circulated, Zuffa wishes to clarify
that Vitor Belfort’s drug test results were negative and
did not indicate the presence of any performance enhancing drugs,"
UFC officials said in a press release on Wednesday.
Belfort
has been on a medically approved testosterone replacement therapy
(TRT) regimen under the supervision of a medical doctor from
the State of Nevada, after being diagnosed with hypogonadism,
or low testosterone. The purpose of a medically administered
TRT regimen is to allow patients with hypogonadism to maintain
testosterone levels within a range that is normal for an adult
male.
Belfort's
testosterone levels were tested and remained in legal levels
for the fight, and his usage was approved prior to the event
taking place.
Source:
Bleacher Report
|
'Fight
Master' would have appealed to a young Frank Shamrock
By Dave
Doyle
SANTA
MONICA, Calif. -- When Frank Shamrock sized up the new reality
series "Fight Master: Bellator MMA," he sees a format
which would have appealed to ... Frank Shamrock.
The
first holder of what is now called the UFC light heavyweight
title famously made his name by doing his own thing. From retiring
while holding the championship to resurrecting his career with
Strikeforce, Shamrock has always placed high value on calling
his own shots.
"I
became a free agent in 1999. I retired, that's how I got out
of my contract," Shamrock said in an exclusive interview
with MMAFighting.com on Tuesday. "From that moment on, I've
always been in control of my own destiny. I've always picked
the fight that I thought would, you know what, that guy's really
tough, and it's really competitive, but it's going to be a great
show for the fans."
"Fight
Master" will allow fighters a degree of autonomy, giving
higher-seeded fighters the opportunity to choose their coach
and pick their fights. That's something Shamock, who is one of
the four coaches along with Randy Couture, Greg Jackson, and
Joe Warren, can sink his teeth into.
"They
have the chance to create their own path," Shamrock said.
"When does a fighter ever have a chance where they say ‘I
want him?' And after that, ‘I want him?' When do you get
the chance to pick that? There's more free agency in that. I
dig that. As soon as they were telling me the fighters get to
choose their fights I was like, 'I'm totally in.'
"Now,
you can help them in so many different ways," Shamrock continued.
"Psychologically, physically, spiritually, some of these
guys, they have all the talent in the world, they just don't
believe it, they don't know it. They're just one component away
from achieving their dreams."
Shamrock
also says the Bellator's tournament format was part of the appeal
when the job was pitched to him.
"They
have stuck to the purity of the sport," Shamrock said. "They're
interested in the development and growth of the sport. And that's
where I'm honored. This sport is very special to me. Mixed martial
arts needs to be presented in that type of fashion. That's Bellator
and that's, it isn't just any other show, we're real, we're really
serious about this. I didn't want to do any old show. I'm so
retired, its ridiculous. I don't want to leave my family for
any period of time. But, you can tell they're serious about the
sport."
Shamrock
appeared to have hit a career dead end once Strikeforce, a company
in which he played in integral role from the get-go, was purchased
by Zuffa and ultimately disbanded. But the "Fight Master"
coaching gig has made for a solid landing.
"I
mean, I work in television, so every day is like the end of your
career and then each day is a new one, " Shamrock said.
"So I've been doing that for about five years, so, I don't
know, I've always followed my heart and followed my passions,
and my passions got me to this point. I mean as a human being
I'm happy to be working, but, I look back on my career and I
mean, you know, a lot of people worry about what didn't happen,
but I'm just happy for what I've got. I'm happy they called me.
Someone's wants me to help out the sport, and I'm happy someone
included me."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Carpe
Diem! Anthony Pettis Granted Shot at UFC Featherweight Champ
Jose Aldo
by Ken
Pishna
Ask
and ye shall receive.
That’s
what Anthony Pettis did – he asked for a chance to drop
to featherweight and challenge Jose Aldo for the UFC belt –
and he was answered with a resounding, “Yes!”
As
soon as Aldo stepped out of the Octagon after defeating Frankie
Edgar at UFC 156 on Saturday night, Pettis sent a text message
to UFC president Dana White saying he didn’t want to wait
around for his promised lightweight title shot, he wanted to
drop down and challenge Aldo.
White
mentioned Pettis’ intentions during the UFC 156 post-fight
press conference, where it was immediately apparent that he was
more than receptive to the idea. He had the Cheshire grin of
his beaming from ear to ear.
By
Monday, White told USA Today, the fight was made for Aug. 3.
The location is yet to be determined, but the UFC president said
the main locations under consideration are Texas, Chicago, Las
Vegas, and Rio de Jeneiro.
“Two
of the baddest dudes in the fight business are going to fight
at 145 pounds,” White said. “These guys are two of
the most amazing, gravity-defying athletes in the sport. I am
so pumped for this fight.”
Chan
Sung Jung and Ricardo Lamas were both crashing down the door
for a shot at Aldo. Jung is on a three-fight winning streak,
defeating the likes of Leonard Garcia, Mark Hominick and Dustin
Poirer; while Lamas has done him one better since dropping to
featherweight. He has strung together victories over Matt Grice,
Cub Swanson, Hatsu Hioki and Erik Koch.
Jung,
however, is expected to be on the sidelines for several more
months recuperating from a torn rotator cuff.
Lamas
is a reasonable choice, and the worthy No. 1 contender, but much
like Chris Weidman at middleweight, gets docked points for not
carrying enough name value. Like it or not, mixed martial arts
is big business as well as sport, so name value and being able
to sell the fight to fans factors into match-ups.
There
is a reason that the UFC opted to insert light heavyweight champ
Jon Jones and failed middleweight contender Chael Sonnen as Ultimate
Fighter coaches and have them fight at UFC 159 in April…
the fight sells and sells big.
Aldo’s
most recent fight was against Frankie Edgar, who was making his
featherweight debut, but jumped to the front of the line because
he was the former lightweight champion, is considered one of
the top pound-for-pound fighters around, and it allowed the UFC
to bill the bout as a superfight.
Anthony
Pettis was the final WEC lightweight champion and has worked
his way up to being the No. 1 UFC lightweight contender, most
recently knocking out Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. He had
been waiting for champion Benson Henderson, the man he defeated
for the WEC belt, to square off with final Strikeforce champion
Gilbert Melendez, but saw the writing on the wall with fights
like Jones vs. Sonnen and Aldo vs. Edgar, and seized the moment.
He’ll
drop to featherweight for the first time in order to fight Aldo.
White
and the UFC brass jumped at the fight, which gives Aldo’s
next defense much more splash than Lamas could provide, worthy
contender or not.
So
now, Pettis finally gets a crack at the UFC title, albeit a completely
different one than he had initially been aiming for.
Carpe
diem, Anthony Pettis, carpe diem.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Jose
Aldo Auctions Off UFC 156 Gear for Charity
Ivan Trindade
Jose
Aldo is auctioning off items from his UFC 156 fight to help children.
Want
to buy some cool gear autographed by UFC featherweight champion
Jose Aldo and also help a really good cause?
After
defending his UFC title last Saturday with an unanimous decision
over Frank Edgar, Aldo decided to auction part of his gear on
ebay.
Aldo
and Nova União USA president, Gustavo Dantas, have joined
forces through non-profit organization Live Jiu-Jitsu to help
kids from the slums in Brazil to have more opportunities in life
through the gentle art.
In
this auction, Aldo will be auctioning the original UFC 156 fight
banner, his walk out t-shirt and his Bony Açai hat.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Bellator
88's Alexander Shlemenko: Falcao is OK, but I'm not that impressed
by Matt
Erickson
Most
fighters refuse to look past their next fight – or at least
say they're not going to.
And
then there's Alexander Shlemenko. The Russian is so confident
in his Thursday fight against Maiquel Falcao, he's already planning
on what it will feel like to walk out of the cage a little heavier
thanks to some gold.
Shlemenko
(46-7 MMA, 7-1 BFC) on Thursday meets Maiquel Falcao (31-7 MMA,
3-0 BFC) for Bellator's vacant middleweight title at Bellator
88, which takes place at The Arena at Gwinnet Center in Duluth,
Ga. The event is Bellator MMA's first trip to Georgia.
"I
will prove that Russian fighters are the best and the strongest
fighters in the world," Shlemenko told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
"The Bellator middleweight championship belt is already
mine. I'm just waiting for the moment to make it official."
Shlemenko
goes after his 47th career win against Falcao and looks to extend
his win streak to 10 fights – not to mention add a title
to his resume.
Of
Shlemenko's 46 career wins, 27 have been by knockout. And that's
something he'll go after on Thursday. Considering Falcao has
three straight decision wins, he seems especially intent on making
a big statement.
"I
will do everything to finish him by KO," he said. "He
will do everything for this fight to go to a judges' decision.
"I think I have the power and technique to KO anybody in
the fight game, not just Falcao."
That
isn't to say Shlemenko is dismissive of Falcao's skills. Well,
sort of.
While
Shlemenko believes Falcao has the goods, he doesn't believe the
Brazilian has been backing those goods up in Bellator.
"Maiquel
Falcao is very well versed," Shlemenko said. "He knows
how to do everything, and he's good at everything. He can kick,
punch, knee, take down, etc. But his main weapon is that he thinks
when he fights, and he is capable of changing his game plan during
his fight. If he has trouble standing up, he will take the fight
to the ground, and vice-versa. Also, the most dangerous thing
about him is that he is fighting for every point on the judges'
scorecards. He tries to win every round and every portion of
every round, which sometimes even hurts the spectacular factor
of the fight.
"However,
I wouldn't say that I was really impressed with Falcao's performances
in Bellator. I noticed that he's struggling for every point;
he wants to win no matter what. He wouldn't risk trying to KO
his opponent. So I wasn't impressed by the excitement of his
fights, but his ability to struggle for every point makes him
very dangerous."
But
Shlemenko also brings a big motivation to the cage on Thursday
night – bigger than just merely winning a title.
After
a recent move to the United States from his longtime Russian
training base, he and his wife are expecting.
"Knowing
I will soon be a father, I don't even want to travel to my fight
because I want to spend the whole time with my wife," he
said. " I have great feelings about starting a family. I'm
very happy. It gives me new motivation to keep winning! And,
of course, as a fighter and father-to-be, I must earn more money.
And I earn money by fighting and winning."
And
as he said, he already has that title wrapped around his waste.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Pat
Curran vs. Daniel Straus featherweight title fight scheduled
for April
By Ariel
Helwani
Pat
Curran's next Bellator featherweight title defense is set.
The
promotion announced Wednesday that Curran will defend the strap
against Daniel Straus on April 4 at Ovation Hall inside Revel
Resort & Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.
The
25-year-old Curran (18-4) has won his last five fights in a row.
He most recently defeated Patricio Freire via split decision
in Bellator's Spike TV debut last month.
Straus
(21-4) beat Marlon Sandro in the finals of Bellator's season
six lightweight tournament to earn a shot at the title. Since
then, he also picked up a win over veteran Alvin Robinson.
The card will also feature top 125-pounder Jessica Eye (9-1)
vs. Munah Holland (5-2). Eye's most recent win over former 115-pound
champion Zoila Frausto Gurgel in December extended her winning
streak to seven in a row.
Lyman
Good vs. Dante Rivera and former UFC fighter Tom DeBlass vs.
Carlos Brooks will also take place on the card, which will air
on Spike TV and SpikeTV.com.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Anthony
Pettis: Jose Aldo Is a Tougher Fight Than Benson Henderson
By Damon
Martin
Anthony
Pettis has made it clear that he not only wants the biggest challenges,
but he's willing to move weight classes to prove he belongs in
the discussion for best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.
The
former WEC champion was poised to take on the winner of the UFC
on Fox 7 main event between Benson Henderson and Gilbert Melendez
when out of nowhere, he decided to challenge featherweight champion
Jose Aldo following the conclusion of UFC 156 last Saturday night.
Now
Pettis will move down to 145 pounds to face one of the sport's
very best in Aldo, and in his opinion, a more imposing fight
than facing the current UFC lightweight champion.
“To
me, Aldo is a tougher fight—that’s why I asked for
it," Pettis stated during Tuesday night's edition of UFC
Tonight. "He’s one of those guys who has gone through
his opponents like crazy and he just beat the last 155-pound
champ. Aldo is definitely a tougher challenge for me.
"I’ve
beaten Benson Henderson once, and I think I’m going to be
doing it again soon, but right now, Aldo is the guy on my radar.”
Pettis
isn't wrong about facing and defeating Henderson previously because
the two met in the final WEC fight ever in late 2010. Pettis
won the closely contested fight after five rounds where he also
uncorked his now famous "Showtime kick" where he launched
off the cage wall and blasted his opponent in the face with the
front side of his foot.
The
highlight made television shows everywhere and remains one of
the most exciting moments in MMA history.
Pettis
has already mentioned that he hopes to face Aldo in August and
then move forward with facing either Henderson or Melendez for
the lightweight title later this year.
“I
have to cross those bridges when I get there, but my goal is
to become the 155-pound champ," said Pettis.
Source:
Bleacher Report
|
Dana
White: Chris Weidman Poised to Get His Shot at Anderson Silva
by Damon
Martin
It
looks like Chris Weidman’s dream is about to come true.
The
middleweight contender who has spent the better part of the last
7 months calling out UFC champion Anderson Silva appears to be
on the precipice from getting his wish.
Following
a night of upsets at UFC 156 that included former light heavyweight
champion Rashad Evans going down to defeat, UFC President Dana
White all but locked down a title fight between Silva and Weidman
later this year.
Evans
name got mentioned because he was a possible contender as well
should he have won against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 156.
With a victory, Evans potentially would have drop to 185lbs and
received an immediate title shot against Silva.
That’s
all gone now however.
White
did say he was always a fan of making the Weidman vs. Silva fight,
but Evans’ loss just cleared the way to make it happen.
“I
would have to say yes,” White answered at the UFC 156 post
fight press conference when asked if Chris Weidman was next for
Anderson Silva. “Going into this fight anyway we wanted
to wait, we wanted to see what happens, and I liked (Chris) Weidman
for this fight anyway, so yeah.”
Evans
didn’t help his case with a lackluster performance to cap
off the loss to Nogueira, which marked his second defeat in a
row.
“Rashad
looked worse than I’ve ever seen him tonight. He looked
terrible,” said White.
All
the talk for the past several months with Weidman calling out
the champion was that Silva had no interest in the fight for
varied reasons. Silva and his camp claimed that Weidman needed
to do more to earn his shot, plus he was still relatively unknown
at this stage of his career. Others said stylistically, Weidman’s
wrestling and ground game were a natural kryptonite for Silva.
White
contends however that Silva has never backed down from any fight
the UFC has offered him, and he doesn’t expect anything
different if the name on the bout agreement happens to say Chris
Weidman.
“It’s
always a process in dealing with Anderson and getting him his
next fight. I don’t mean that in a negative way, it’s
just I’m used to it. I know how this all goes. Everybody
thinks he’s ducking (Weidman), I don’t know why he
does this, he makes it look like he doesn’t want to fight
Weidman,” said White.
“Believe
me right here, right now when I tell you, Anderson Silva does
not care who he fights. Whoever we end up coming up with him
to fight, he will fight. There’s never been a situation
where I’ve been with Anderson Silva where he’s said
“I will absolutely not fight this guy” so, my long
winded answer is yes (Weidman is next).”
Weidman
is currently nursing his shoulder after having surgery late last
year, but he expects to be ready to return in mid-summer and
what’s likely to await him is his title shot against the
most dominant champion in UFC history.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
André
Pederneiras on José Aldo’s Gas Tank: “He’s
Never Done 10 Rounds so Well Before”
This
Saturday, UFC featherweight champion José Aldo will have
25 minutes to outdo his challenger, Frankie Edgar, in the main
event at UFC 156 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Besides facing Edgar,
who dropped down from the lightweight division in hopes of disposessing
Aldo of his belt, the Brazilian has another challenge at hand–to
prove his opponent’s coaches wrong.
According
to André Pederneiras, the leader of team Nova União,
Frank Edgar’s coaches said that José Aldo won’t
have the lungs to fight his American opponent, and that only
motivated Aldo even more.
“They
said Aldo will wear out, so he focused on physical conditioning
more than ever before. I’ve never seen him do ten rounds
as well as he is now,” says Dedé in an official UFC
promo video for the fight.
As
if that’s not enough, Pederneiras feels his student will
end the fight before regulation time has run its course, and
that he has more weapons to show than his opponent does.
“There’s
a great likelihood Aldo will finish before the fifth round. He’s
got heavy and quick hands and worked a lot on his elbows. And
I don’t even need to get into his kicks,” said the
coach, hinting that leg kicks may be one of Aldo’s main
weapons.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
President Vehemently Denies Rumors that Vitor Belfort Failed
UFC on FX 7 Drug Test
There
have been numerous rumors over the past couple of days that a
fighter from the recent UFC on FX 7 event in Brazil failed his
drug test.
Most
of said rumors have zeroed in on Vitor Belfort.
Not
true says UFC president Dana White, who confirmed there was a
drug test related issue stemming from that event, but vehemently
denied that it centered on Belfort.
“There
wan an irregular test. Something was wrong,” White said
at Saturday night’s UFC 156 post-fight press conference.
“Whenever something wrong happens, or weird, (the samples)
get retested and, usually, it’s not a good thing.
“It
(expletive) was not Vitor Belfort. Yet, right now I bet if you
talked to 100 people, 100 people will tell you that Vitor Belfort
failed his drug test in Brazil. That’s (expletive).”
The
issue had also been brought up to Belfort earlier in the day
during a group interview with the UFC 156 media.
He
also denied failing his drug test, saying that he thinks people
are just jealous of the success a fighter of his age – he
is 35 years old – had against a man like Michael Bisping,
who was in line for a title shot.
White,
while acknowledging that “something went wrong,” fell
short of saying just exactly what went wrong. He did say that
the results would be made public shortly.
“I
do know the results. They’ll be out Monday.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
Antonio
“Big Foot” Silva May Have Earned Rematch with Cain
Velasquez with KO of Overeem
Antonio
“Big Foot” Silva may have earned a rematch with UFC
heavyweight titleholder Cain Velasquez with his UFC 156 knockout
of Alistair Overeem.
Velasquez
defeated Silva at UFC 146 in May of 2012 by technical knockout
in the first round. Since that loss, Silva has strung together
two knockout wins over Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem.
“Going
into this fight (Overeem vs. Silva), we talked about if Alistair
Overeem won. He (Silva) and Cain Velasquez just fought recently,
but I’m telling you, the way that he looked in this fight,
what he did to Alistair, maybe we do this fight again,”
said UFC president Dana White during the UFC 156 post-fight press
conference.
“I
wouldn’t be opposed to that,” added White. “I
wouldn’t be opposed to giving him the fight. He went in
there and he knocked out – they called that a TKO. That
was a knockout. He knocked out Alistair Overeem, and he looked
great doing it, so we’ll see what happens.”
Silva
said it would be a pleasure to face Velasquez in a rematch.
“He’s
a big champion. He’s a tough guy,” said Silva. “I
just want to fight the best guys.”
The
knockout win over Overeem doesn’t guarantee Silva the next
title shot with Velasquez, but it certainly raised his stock
and put him at the top of the line, or near it.
“There’s
a lot of interesting fights to make in the heavyweight division.
Who fights Cain next is the toughest,” said White. “This
guy has beat some tough guys.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
Jose
Aldo justifies elite status, gets unexpected challenge from Anthony
Pettis after win
LAS
VEGAS – Anthony Pettis passed on a shot at the UFC lightweight
title before and it turned out disastrous for him. Jose Aldo
celebrates after his win over Frankie Edgar at UFC 156. (Getty)
He
may be on the verge of doing it again, but this time, his idea
to pass up a lightweight title shot could result in the most
significant fight in UFC featherweight history.
As
champion Jose Aldo broke down his unanimous decision victory
over Frankie Edgar on Saturday in their title bout at UFC 156
before 10,275 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Pettis fired
off a quick text message to UFC president Dana White. It read,
"I want to go to featherweight to fight Jose Aldo."
It
was an extraordinary moment – a young superstar being challenged
by a superstar-in-waiting in a match that would pit two of the
fastest and most athletic fighters in the UFC against one another.
White
said following the news conference that he had yet to respond
to Pettis, but social media was abuzz about the possibilities
of the fight just seconds after White tossed it out.
The
possibility came only moments after a Fight of the Night scrap
that clearly painted Aldo as one of the world's four elite fighters.
For
the last couple of years, the UFC has had a Big Three of middleweight
champion Anderson Silva, light heavyweight champion Jonny "Bones"
Jones and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. It's time,
though, to change that to a Big Four.
Aldo
belongs shoulder-to-shoulder with that group, as he proved in
besting Edgar. Judges Adalaide Byrd and Junichiro Kamijo had
it 49-46 for Aldo, while Jeff Collins had it 48-47 for Aldo.
Yahoo! Sports scored it 48-47 for Aldo.
Edgar
is an elite talent himself who is as scrappy and hard-nosed as
they come. But though the fight was competitive, their faces
clearly told the story of their bout.
Aldo
looked like he hadn't even fought, but Edgar's face was bruised
and swollen and his left eye was open just a sliver.
Jose
Aldo jumps off the fence to punch Frankie Edgar at UFC 156. (USA
Today)Aldo was dominant in the first two rounds, using his speed
and quickness to take Edgar apart. He was pinpoint with his jab,
cracking Edgar repeatedly with it, and was chopping him down
with leg kicks.
Aldo
went away from the kicks in the second half of the fight, and
that's when Edgar mounted a rally to make it close and create
some drama.
"The
plan was to kick him and keep him from moving," Aldo said.
"I started to see he was checking my kicks and going for
the takedown when I kicked, so I used my hands a little bit more."
That
brought Edgar back into the fight. He won the fourth round on
all three judges' cards and an argument could have been made
that he won the third and the fifth, too.
He
fought gallantly, pushing Aldo to limits he hadn't been pushed
before, but in the end, all that Edgar had to show for it was
his third consecutive loss.
His
old bugaboo of not coming out quickly cost him dearly. He wasn't
of a mind to speak too much, but he knows that's an issue that
he must solve when he's facing the world's best.
"I
guess that's something that we're going to have to figure out
soon," Edgar said glumly.
Aldo's
blazing speed, punching accuracy and takedown defense were a
difficult combination for Edgar. No fighter is more game, but
when he wasn't able to get Aldo off his feet much, it was obvious
he was in trouble.
And
now, the fight will lead Aldo to even bigger and better things.
Though there wasn't a massive crowd Saturday, the fans were definitely
into the fight and early indications are that the pay-per-view
performed well, drawing in excess of 400,000.
That
would be a solid number for a card headed by a featherweight,
and could be an indication that the public beyond Aldo's native
Brazil is finally accepting him as an elite fighter.
Aldo
has now reeled off 15 consecutive wins, beating quality opponents
such as Edgar, Chad Mendes, Kenny Florian, Mark Hominick, Urijah
Faber and Mike Brown, among many others.
[Related:
Joe Benavidez, Demian Maia deliver decision wins at UFC 156]
He's
clearly cleaned out the division, though guys such as Dustin
Poirier and Ricardo Lamas are lurking near the top, and Aldo
could potentially make the move up to lightweight.
But
with Pettis seemingly willing to eschew his guaranteed shot at
the winner of the April 20 lightweight title fight between Benson
Henderson and Gilbert Melendez, there may be plenty of reason,
as well as dollars, in Aldo remaining at featherweight for the
time being. Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo exchange strikes at UFC
156.
Pettis
won the World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight title in 2010
and was guaranteed a shot at the UFC lightweight belt, then held
by Edgar. But when Edgar drew with Gray Maynard a few weeks later
and a third fight between them became necessary, Pettis opted
not to wait and took a fight with Clay Guida.
Guida
used his wrestling to grind out a win over Pettis in a fight
that Pettis said, "Taught me a lot of lessons I needed to
learn."
After
fighting his way back up, Pettis whipped Cerrone before a national
television audience with a perfect kick to the liver. He could
sit aside and wait for the Henderson-Melendez winner in what
would be a big fight, but that's simply not his style.
Like
so many others, Pettis sees the greatness in Aldo and is drawn
to it.
For
his part, Aldo was OK with it.
"It's
an interesting fight," is all he would allow, though he
added, "I want to fight the best fighters in the world."
Pettis
certainly qualifies on that front, and he's one of its most exciting
and athletic fighters, as well.
If
White pulls it off, Pettis' text message may go down as the most
significant in UFC history.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
UFC
156 a night of wild surprises, lost opportunities and total chaos
LAS
VEGAS -- You only had to see Frankie Edgar's face to know what
disappointment looks like. As he always does, Edgar gave his
everything in pursuit of victory, but for the third straight
time in a title fight, he lost. After completing his post-fight
medicals, but before a likely trip to the hospital to get checked
out, he walked into the UFC 156 post-fight press conference about
two-thirds of the way through it, owing nothing to anyone but
appearing out of a sense of duty. This is part of what makes
Edgar great. He is accountable for his actions, whether in the
gym, in victory or in defeat.
It
was painful for him to be there, that much was clear. He sat
down and stared ahead blankly until Demian Maia tapped him on
the leg. That seemed to briefly awaken Edgar, who turned and
shook his hand, glumly offering congratulations to the victorious
Brazilian that sat alongside him. Then he turned back towards
the media and fell into the same trance. He wore a black sweatshirt
with a hood over his head, and covered his mouth with his right
hand, but he could not hide his chagrin or the damage. There
was the swollen left eye, and cuts and bruises, and strained
pride.
Edgar
answered each question that came his way in his typically condensed
speaking style, saying all the right things. That there was no
point in second-guessing the judges' decision. That he felt fine
as a featherweight. That Aldo was a deserving champion. And then
as soon as the press conference ended, he was the first one to
dart off the stage.
It
was that kind of night, one in which you left the arena or turned
off your television only to ask, "What just happened?"
Did Demian Maia easily out-grapple Jon Fitch? Did Antonio Silva
really knock Alistair Overeem's block off? Did Antonio Rogerio
Nogueira just upset Rashad Evans? Yes, yes and yes, and that
wasn't nearly all of it. In 10 fights with legitimate betting
favorites, underdogs won six times. Debuting Strikeforce fighters
went 3-0 against UFC veterans. Brazil went 4-0 on the main card.
Tyron Woodley had a 36-second starching of Jay Hieron and didn't
even win a Knockout of the Night bonus.
What
just happened? How about a night of surprises, lost opportunities
and chaos.
In
the arena, the night's most electric moment came courtesy of
the heavyweights when Silva brutalized Overeem, folded him right
in half with some brutal strikes against the cage.
Partly
due to his superhero build, Overeem had seemed prime to become
a superstar in the UFC. He had already crushed Brock Lesnar,
and fans had little issue with forgiving him for his suspension
for elevated testosterone levels a few months later. He got a
star reaction when he walked out to the cage, and a win would
have set up a major money matchup against Cain Velasquez. But
Overeem was fairly flat in the first two rounds, even though
he won both on all three judges' scorecards. It looked as though
he'd cruise to a unanimous decision when Silva caught him with
a giant right hand early in the third and mauled him until the
finish, leaving Overeem crumpled on the floor and the division
in tatters.
"When
he punches, he’s a lion. When I punch him, he’s a cat,"
Silva said.
Of
course the quiet Brazilian guy who has spoken English the shortest
amount of time got off the line of the night. Of course he did.
Overeem
wasn't the only one to lose out on a major fight due to an unexpected
loss. His teammate Rashad Evans suffered a similar fate when
he was upset by the biggest underdog on the card, Antonio Rogerio
Nogueira.
Before
the fight, Dana White said that Evans could move on to fight
Anderson Silva. All he had to do was win. But if Overeem was
flat, Evans was downright bad in a performance that was incongruous
with his talent level. Over 15 minutes of action, Evans landed
only 22 strikes.
"Rashad
looked worse than I’ve ever seen him tonight," White
said. "He looked terrible."
It
doesn't help that Evans' performance came on the heels of a mini-bombshell
he revealed days ago, that he considered retirement in the wake
of his loss to Jon Jones because he'd struggled to rediscover
his passion for the sport.
"The
fact that he even said the 'R' word, it shows you where his head
is at and what he's thinking," White said.
Who
knows what lies ahead now? We're now living in a world where
Edgar is no longer a title contender, Overeem's aura is shattered,
and Evans could suddenly be over the hill at age 33.
To
be fair, there was the good news, too. Aldo wrote another chapter
in his blossoming legacy, Nogueira earned a signature win, and
Silva came off as the most lovably scary giant since Fezzik in
"The Princess Bride."
But
the best-laid plans? Those were shattered. No record-tying second
divisional title for Edgar. No Overeem-Velasquez mega-match.
No Evans vs. Silva. What comes next? Who knows, right Frankie?
"I
don't know what I'm doing, man," he said. "To be honest
with you, it's just too soon."
The
disappointment was reflected on his swollen face. At that moment,
staring back at him were a sea of faces that registered a similar
feeling: confusion. The rest of us are going to need time to
digest it, too, the night that the answers only led to more questions.
Source: MMA Fighting |
Matches
to Make After UFC 156
Not
even Frankie Edgar could answer the Jose Aldo riddle.
Edgar
drew the featherweight champion into the deepest waters to no
avail, as he lost a unanimous decision to Aldo in the UFC 156
main event on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las
Vegas. All three Nevada Athletic Commission judges -- Adelaide
Byrd, Jeff Collins and Junichiro Kamijo -- ruled in the Brazilian’s
favor, casting 49-46, 48-47 and 49-46 nods in his direction.
Aldo
was measured in spots, utterly spectacular in others. His leg
kicks and jab were his most effective weapons as he posted his
15th consecutive victory. However, the triumph was not without
its trials. Aldo, who has made no secret about his difficultly
in cutting to the 145-pound limit, slowed noticeably in the late
rounds and allowed Edgar to re-establish himself in the fight.
Edgar
enjoyed his greatest success in the fourth round, where he hoisted
and slammed the Brazilian and found a home for his punching combinations.
Undeterred, Aldo responded with more jabs, right crosses and
the most dynamic strike of the match: a springing Superman punch
off the cage in the waning moments of round five.
Aldo
has no shortage of potential suitors -- even top lightweight
contender Anthony Pettis threw his name into the hat following
UFC 156 -- but Ricardo Lamas appears to be next in line. The
rugged Chicago-based featherweight brutalized Roufusport prospect
Erik Koch with a violent volley of ground-and-pound elbows at
UFC on Fox 6 on Jan. 26. Lamas has won all four of his bouts
since joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship as part of the
World Extreme Cagefighting merger, finishing three of them.
In
the wake of UFC 156 “Aldo vs. Edgar,” here are seven
other matchups that ought to be made:
Frankie
Edgar vs. Cub Swanson-Dustin Poirier loser: Edgar has dropped
three difficult-to-stomach decisions in succession, but remains
entrenched as one of the Top 10 pound-for-pound mixed martial
artists. According to FightMetric figures, “The Answer”
actually outlanded Aldo in terms of total strikes and significant
strikes in rounds three, four and five. However, the considerable
damage the champion inflicted seemed to carry far more weight
on the scorecards. Statistics aside, Edgar provides an instant
boost to the featherweight division and becomes a difficult proposition
for anyone at 145 pounds. Swanson and Poirier will throw leather
at UFC on Fuel TV 7 on Feb. 16 in London.
Nogueira
slipped by Evans.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua: Nogueira notched arguably
the most significant win of his 12-year career, as he outpointed
former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans in the co-headliner.
Crisp boxing and stellar takedown defense carried the Pride Fighting
Championships veteran in his first Octagon appearance in more
than a year. Rua defeated Nogueira in one of the more memorable
encounters in Pride history back in 2005, but finds himself in
no man’s land at 205 pounds, having lost a unanimous decision
to surging Swede Alexander Gustafsson in December.
Rashad
Evans vs. Dan Henderson-Lyoto Machida loser: Evans’ stock
took a significant hit in his loss to Nogueira. He entered the
cage as a strong favorite, elected to box with a superior boxer
and walked out saddled by a second consecutive defeat. Evans
turns 34 in September and one has to at least consider whether
or not the former champion has made the turn towards the backside
of his career. Henderson will lock horns with Machida in the
UFC 157 co-main event on Feb. 23.
Antonio
Silva vs. Josh Barnett: Silva made one-time Strikeforce and Dream
champion Alistair Overeem pay an embarrassing price for his overconfidence
in their heavyweight showcase, as he handed the Dutchman his
first defeat in more than five years. “Bigfoot” went
berserk early in the third round, burying Overeem under an avalanche
of power punches en route to shocking knockout. Silva and Barnett
have traded their share of verbal barbs over the years. Perhaps
the time has come to let them settle their differences with their
fists.
Alistair
Overeem vs. Daniel Cormier-Frank Mir loser: With two rounds in
the bank, Overeem flipped the autopilot switch and sank under
the weight of “Bigfoot” Silva’s heavy hands. The
defeat, his first since September 2007, cost Overeem a shot at
UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, along with a massive
payday. Instead, the Dutchman returns to a pool of contenders
that includes Cormier and Mir. Those two will iron out their
differences at UFC on Fox 7 on April 20 in San Jose, Calif.
Demian
Maia vs. Rory MacDonald-Carlos Condit winner: It was far from
pleasing to the eye, but it was effective. A gold medalist at
the 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships,
Maia put his grappling expertise to use against grizzled American
Kickboxing Academy veteran Jon Fitch. Unable to tie down the
submission, Maia instead grounded, nullified and smothered the
onetime welterweight title contender, improving to 3-0 at 170
pounds. MacDonald and Condit will toe the line against one another
for the second time at UFC 158 next month.
Joseph
Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson: Benavidez survived a second-round
scare to outpoint Ian McCall in a pivotal battle between two
Top 5 flyweights. The Team Alpha Male standout landed with more
volume and authority, wobbling “Uncle Creepy” with
a crisp left hook in the first round and a clubbing right in
the third. Was it enough to earn him a rematch with “Mighty
Mouse” Johnson, who retained his flyweight championship
with a unanimous decision over John Dodson at UFC on Fox 6? Time
will tell.
Source: Sherdog |
Diego
Moraes Seminar at O2 Today!
When: Sunday, February
3
Time: 11:00am to 1:00pm
Cost: $50
Where: O2 Martial Arts Academy
98-019 Kamehameha Hwy Unit 208A
Aiea, HI 96701
Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, Diego Moraes will be doing a seminar at
O2 Martial Arts Academy from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm on Sunday, February
3.
Everyone is invited. The cost is $50. Please spread the word.
Here
is a bio of Diego:
My name is Diego Vaz Correia, better known as Diego Moraes. I'm
27 years old and was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
I started training jiu jitsu with the Gracie family when i was
5 years old, grew up in the match and Jiu jitsu competitions.
I have several national and international titles as World and
Pan American.
Now I have a training center in Rio de Janeiro, the team moraes,
with approximately 400 students. (www.teammoraes.com.br).
I
have a project that teaches jiu-jitsu to needy children that
started 6 years ago, besides giving lectures at schools and brazilian
special police forces. I train many Brazilian fighters for MMA
and great names in UFC, like Alan Belcher, Scott Jorgensen, Anthony
Pettis, Erik Koch, Chris Camozzi and Paskal Krauss and Bellator's
champions
Joe Warren and Ben Askren
Panamerican
champion
5x brazilian national champion
3 medals worlds Ibjjf
3x Arnold Gracie champion (2x pro division + gi division)
Worlds
no gi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsWrWYUGg-A&sns=em
Brazilian
national, final
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXAZcarsw1c&sns=em
UFC
http://www.ufc.com/media/UFC-on-FOX-5--Facebook-Prelim-Post-Fight-Interview
|
UFC
159 Co-Main Event Features Michael Bisping vs. Alan Belcher
by Ken
Pishna
Two
men than were both zeroing in on a shot at UFC middleweight champion
Anderson Silva will now instead face each other in the co-main
event of UFC 159 on April 27 in New Jersey.
Michael
Bisping and Alan Belcher will both look to repair the damage
done by recent losses when they square off at UFC 159. UFC officials
confirmed the fight first reported by ESPN on Wednesday.
Bisping
(23-5) was stung the worst by his loss to Vitor Belfort in the
main event of UFC on FX 7 earlier this month. His career has
been centered on the UFC title, and he had been guaranteed the
next shot at Silva had he won.
One
stunning head kick later and Bisping was on the mat and out of
title contention.
Belcher
(18-7) was nearing that same position, returning from injury
with a masterful performance against Rousimar Palhares. That
victory put him on a four-fight winning streak and one or two
wins away from the coveted shot at the belt.
Yushin
Okami put a halt to Belcher’s streak, closing out Belcher’s
2012 with a loss at UFC 155.
Both
men are now in rebuild mode, so a win in this fight will be crucial
to either one getting back in the title mix any time over the
next year or two.
UFC
light heavyweight champion Jon Jones headlines UFC 159, putting
his belt on the line against fellow Ultimate Fighter 17 coach
Chael Sonnen.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Burgeoning
UFC 159 Bill Gets Vinny Magalhaes-Phil Davis, Roy Nelson-Cheick
Kongo
By Mike
Whitman
Two
more additions have been made to the growing UFC 159 bill.
Middleweights
Vinny Magalhaes and Phil Davis will square off at the April 27
show, as will heavyweights Roy Nelson and Cheick Kongo.
UFC
officials recently revealed the matchups, which join a headlining
light heavyweight title showdown between Jon Jones and Chael
Sonnen, as well as a pivotal 185-pound tilt pitting Michael Bisping
against Alan Belcher. The show takes place at Prudential Center
in Newark, N.J., and the evening’s main card airs live on
pay-per-view immediately following the prelims on FX and Facebook.
A
meeting between Magalhaes and Davis has been anticipated for
several months, as both men have publicly expressed a desire
to fight. The reigning ADCC heavyweight submission grappling
champion, Magalhaes captured the M-1 Global light heavyweight
crown in 2011 and returned to the UFC last September to take
out Igor Pokrajac with a slick second-round armbar at UFC 152.
Davis
was last seen on Oct. 13, when he rematched Brazilian newcomer
Wagner Prado after their first fight ended with an accidental
eye poke. The former NCAA Division I champion took care of business
in their return bout, submitting the overmatched Prado with a
second-round anaconda choke at UFC 153 to earn his sixth Octagon
victory in eight outings.
Nelson
enters the cage fresh off a first-round knockout of Matt Mitrione
at “The Ultimate Fighter 16” finale, as “Big Country”
felled “Meathead” with a solid uppercut to earn his
11th career knockout. The hard-hitting 36-year-old has won back-to-back
bouts, previously knocking out Dave Herman at UFC 146.
Kongo
has won three of his last four fights. The Frenchman was victorious
over Shawn Jordan in his most recent appearance at UFC 149, taking
a lackluster unanimous nod from the former LSU fullback this
past July.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Field
set for season 8 Bellator featherweight tourney
By Dave
Doyle
The
field is set for Bellator's next featherweight tournament.
The
company recently announced the full field of eight fighters for
the 145-pound tourney, the winner of which will receive a title
shot at current champion Pat Curran.
All
four-first round fights will take place at Bellator 88 on Feb.
7 at the Gwinnett Center in Atlanta.
Marlon
Sandro is the biggest name in the tournament. He'll face Akop
Stepanyan (12-4) on Feb. 7.
"There
is nothing in this world I want more than the Bellator Featherweight
Title, and this is my road," said Sandro, who was a finalist
in the most recent Bellator featherweight tourney. "I love
Bellator with all my heart and I know my opportunity is now."
The
remaining bouts feature Fabricio Guerrero (17-1) against Frodo
Khasabulaev (18-5); Pop Bezerra (14-2) against Genair DaSilva
(13-4), and Mike Richman (13-2) vs. Mitch Jackson (19-2).
Bellator
88 will be headlined by a fight for the vacant middleweight title,
as Alexander Shlemenko, who is on a nine-fight win streak, meets
Maiquel "Big Rig" Falcao. The belt was vacated when
Hector Lombard left the company for the UFC.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Rampage
Jackson Resolute in Leaving the UFC, but Promotion Holds Matching
Rights
by Ken
Pishna
Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson made no bones about it leading up
to his UFC on Fox 6 bout with Glover Teixeira. The last fight
on his UFC contract would be his last fight in the Octagon.
Citing
his unhappiness and what he perceived as a lack of respect from
his employers, Rampage decided, win or lose, it was time to go.
His
tune didn’t change much after losing to Teixeira either.
In
fact, he sounded resigned to becoming a gun for higher to the
top bidder.
“I
been fighting for 13 years and the game has changed a lot. Maybe
I’ll just be one of those fighters that come and incite
the crowd and be like Gary Goodridge, one of the guys that just
come on and put on a great show,” he said in his post-fight
interview on Fuel TV.
“I’ll
be one of those middle range fighters. If I’m a free agent,
if a show wants to pick me up, want to put on exciting fights
for their fans, I’m their guy.”
Rampage
would, however, have to spend some time on the sidelines if he
is headed to another promotion.
Although
the Teixeira bout was the final one of his contract, the UFC
still has time to match other offers if he signs elsewhere in
the near term.
“I
treated Rampage the exact same that I always have,” said
UFC president Dana White on Tuesday’s episode of UFC Tonight.
“And yes, we do have the right to match. I think we have
a three-month right to match.”
Despite
Rampage’s desire to fight elsewhere, White doesn’t
sound fazed by the former light heavyweight champion’s puzzling
attitude about fighting for the UFC.
He
holds no grudge.
He
even sounded like he hasn’t given up the idea that Rampage
may change his mind and return to the fold.
“I
talked to his manager yesterday,” White continued. “I
don’t hate Rampage. I’m not out to hurt Rampage. We’ll
see how this thing plays out.”
Rampage,
however, sounded resolute in his decision to leave the Octagon
behind. He sounded like this would play out with him finding
out if the grass is any greener on the other side.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Mike
& Tracey Fowler: The Newest Black Belt Power Couple
Erin Herle
For
Tracey Goodell and Mike Fowler, their year of 2013 started off
with huge changes– a new belt, a new bond and new name!
On
New Year’s Eve, Tracey received her black belt from her
then fiance Mike Fowler, after training for about six years.
Mike achieved his own black belt in three and a half years and
is a well-known American black belt competitor. The couple met
through Jiu-Jitsu and flourished with accomplishments while training
together as teammates. Today, they have accomplished much outside
of the mat including the addition of another family member–
their son, Thor.
If
you read our article about Tracey’s break from Jiu-Jitsu
in 2011, you will note her dedication to the art of Jiu-Jitsu.
Her training regiments were adjusted but the drive to continue
her goals maintained.
We
asked Tracey about her new life as not only a fresh black belt,
but also as a wife. The marriage of Mike and Tracey Fowler was
made official in their island wedding on January 20, 2013. Congratulations
to both of you!
Here
is what Tracey had to say about the recent changes made in her
life and what we can expect from the family in 2013:
How does it feel to be married, any difference?
No
real difference being married, besides the fact that I have been
practicing how to write Fowler everyday! lol It definitely was
a very special and perfect day that we will both never forget!
And I just think that we are growing as a couple/family more
and more every day.
When will we see you competing next?
I
plan on competing in the Hawaii Abu Dhabi Trials, and the Pan
Ams, and the Worlds, not quite sure what else. I want to compete
as much as possible!
What are your plans in terms of teaching?
As
far as teaching I have really began to take up strength and conditioning
workouts a lot more. I love it! I have a crew of girls who have
gotten great results and some have transitioned into training
Jiu-Jitsu now as well! It’s awesome because for a while
I was the only female! I have also been doing a lot of private
lessons lately here in Hawaii for some girls. They are looking
really good.
What is next for the Fowler family?
Next
for us will be the Trials, Feb. 2 and then Pan Kids in Cali.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Despite
Silva 'avoiding it at all costs,' Weidman hopeful for July title
shot
by Matt
Erickson
Chris
Weidman wants to fight Anderson Silva. We've known as much for
months now.
But
Weidman believes Silva doesn't want to fight him, and he thinks
he knows the reason why.
"It
seems like he's avoiding it at all costs at this point,"
Weidman told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) on Saturday in
Chicago. "I'm a big, strong, young, athletic wrestler with
good submissions. I think it's a bad matchup for him, I think
he knows that, and he's making millions of dollars outside the
cage being the undefeated UFC champion – untouchable. And
if Chris Weidman, who a lot of people don't know, goes in there
and takes that away from him, it's not good for him."
Weidman
(9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) currently is on the sidelines following shoulder
surgery to repair a torn labrum and clean up his rotator cuff.
It's an injury he suffered this past fall while training for
a UFC 155 fight against Tim Boetsch.
Weidman
was hoping a win over Boetsch would get him the next crack at
Silva (33-4 MMA, 16-0 UFC), the middleweight champ who really
has been tested just once in his 16-fight UFC career.
Weidman
believes that title fight still will happen for him. And with
Michael Bisping's loss to Vitor Belfort earlier this month in
Brazil, Weidman may have worked his way back to the front of
the line, even though he won't be ready to start training at
full speed until later this spring.
"I
really wanted that fight with Boetsch," Weidman said. "I
think it was a good time for me to shine, and it really just
solidified the fact that I want Anderson Silva. But I think everything
happens for a reason. Somehow, I'm back in this position of being
No. 1 contender again with Bisping losing."
Weidman
began asking for Silva after his devastating knockout win over
Mark Munoz in July. He picked up a "Knockout of the Night"
bonus in the main event on FUEL TV and stayed unbeaten.
But
back then, he was hearing Silva wanted to sit out until 2013
following his win over Chael Sonnen the week prior.
"Before
my Boetsch fight, I wanted to fight him straight up, right away,"
he said. "He said he didn't want to fight until 2013. I
had elbow surgery, and then he took the fight with Stephan Bonnar
in 2012, out of nowhere, and I ended up getting the Boetsch fight."
But
now, like Weidman said, perhaps everything happens for a reason.
Perhaps things still could play out in his favor.
Although
UFC President Dana White told MMAjunkie.com this past week that
Silva wants to fight in April, and the UFC plans to find someone
for him, Weidman is hopeful he still could be the man to challenge
the champ in July after a full training camp.
Buzz
has been that Silva and his camp would like a fight with Cung
Le.
"I
mean, I guess if I was him, I'd rather fight him (than me), too,"
Weidman said. "I mean, no disrespect to Cung Le, but that's
a good matchup for him. I think if Dana White wants (me fighting
Silva) to happen and the UFC wants to make it happen, it'll happen.
But it's a little different with Anderson, him being who he is."
But
as for that July timetable, Weidman has things pretty well plotted
out. Put simply, in his ideal world, he'd fight Silva in July,
win the title, see MMA legislation passed in his home state of
New York, and give Silva his rematch on his home turf.
"I
just had shoulder surgery and I'm two months in from the operation,
and in another two months I'll be 100 percent," he said.
"So I'm looking at July 4 weekend, Anderson Silva, and give
him an immediate rematch in November at Madison Square Garden."
A
dream scenario? Sure. But crazier things have happened.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Spike
TV to announce new deal with Randy Couture
By Dave
Meltzer
Spike
TV today announced a Feb. 5 press conference involving UFC Hall
of Famer Randy Couture. It is being reported Couture will coach
the first season of Bellator's new reality show, which starts
filming next month.
Spike
TV today announced a press conference on Feb. 5 involving the
establishment of a new partnership between the network and UFC
Hall of Famer Randy Couture.
It
was reported Tuesday by Loretta Hunt at SI.com, who was the c-oauthor
of Couture's autobiography, that Couture has signed a muti-year
contract with the network to appear in multiple projects, with
the first being an upcoming Bellator reality show.
Other
sources in the fight community have confirmed Spike and Bellator
had reached out to other retired legendary fighters to be coaches
for the new show, which starts filming in early February. No
name for the show, details, or when the show will air have been
released by Spike. It is believed the show will include more
than two coaches, and in that way differ from The Ultimate Fighter
(TUF). It is also believed Spike and Viacom are offering significantly
more money to coaches than they earned when The Ultimate Fighter
was on Spike.
Court
documents in the Eddie Alvarez contract dispute showed he was
offered $100,000 to be a coach on the second season of the show.
When
asked about the show a several weeks ago, Kevin Kay, the President
of Spike TV, noted announcements would be coming and hinted they
are hesitant to reveal key details or a time slot early.
Couture,
49, was one of the most popular and successful fighters in MMA
history. While his 19-11 record doesn't appear impressive, he
is the only five-time world champion in company history. More
remarkable is that he was a month before his 34th birthday when
he started his career, and won his final title at the age of
43.
During
a career that ended with a loss to Lyoto Machida on April 30,
2011, in Toronto, Couture had two major splits with the organization.
He defeated Maurice Smith for his first heavyweight title in
his fourth pro fight on December 21, 1997, in Tokyo. But that
version of UFC ran into financial difficulties. Couture never
defended the title, and instead started fighting in Japan.
He
returned three years later, just before the Fertitta Brothers
and Dana White took over the floundering company, capturing the
heavyweight title a second time from Kevin Randleman. During
the early Zuffa run, Couture, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz were
the company's three big stars, battling over the light heavyweight
title, which was the company's marquee belt. In 2005, Couture
and Liddell coached the first season of TUF on Spike, the television
show that completely turned the fortunes of the sport around
in the U.S. They also headlined the first UFC show since the
early days of the sport to top 250,000 buys, and a later rematch
was the first to top 400,000.
After
retiring in early 2006 while going through a messy divorce, Couture
remained with the company as a broadcaster. But in 2007, he was
brought out of retirement for a heavyweight title shot at Tim
Sylvia. Today the idea that a retired 43-year-old fighter who
had been knocked out in two of his three previous bouts as a
light heavyweight, would get a title shot a weight class up would
be heavily criticized. But it was a huge box office success,
a legendary moment in company history before what is still the
U.S. attendance record for the sport, 19,079 fans, in Columbus,
Ohio. Couture scored a major upset winning his final championship.
He
quit the promotion later that year, in an attempt to market a
superfight with Fedor Emelianenko outside the UFC. He returned
a year later after a costly legal battle that was going nowhere,
losing the title to Brock Lesnar.
Couture
had been on the FOX UFC broadcasts as an analyst, but was replaced
on Saturday's show by Chael Sonnen.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Knee
Injury Knocks Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Out of Bellator 87;
Saad Awad Granted LW Tourney Berth
By Mike
Whitman
Patricky
“Pitbull” Freire will not compete in his scheduled
lightweight tournament quarterfinal tomorrow night at Bellator
87, as the Brazilian has suffered a knee injury that will prevent
him from taking on Guillaume DeLorenzi in the evening’s
main event.
In
Freire’s place steps Saad Awad, who had initially been scheduled
to meet Jason Fischer on the undercard. Sherdog.com confirmed
the development Wednesday with a source close to the fighters
following an initial report from MMAJunkie.com.
According
to Sherdog’s source, Freire hurt his knee weeks ago and
notified Bellator. However, the fighter thought he might be able
to work through the injury in time for his bout, so the fight
was not called off. As the fight date neared, it became clear
that it would not be safe for the lightweight to compete.
Bellator
87 takes place at Soaring Eagle Casino Resort in Mount Pleasant,
Mich., and the evening’s main card airs live on Spike TV.
Due to Freire’s injury, the broadcast will now be topped
by a lightweight tournament quarterfinal pitting two-time tournament
vet Lloyd Woodard against former welterweight David Rickels.
Awad
enters his first Bellator tournament on the strength of a four-fight
winning streak, last competing on Oct. 20, when he submitted
King of the Cage vet Daniel McWilliams in just 76 seconds. The
onetime Strikeforce talent last competed for Bellator during
the promotion’s first season, submitting to a Diego Garijo
rear-naked choke at Bellator 10. The Millennia MMA representative
competed thrice last year, stopping Andy Morales and Matt Shorey
before besting McWilliams.
Source
Sherdog
|
Michael
Chandler Wants to Face the Best and The Best Go Through the “Toughest
Tournament in Sports”
by Damon
Martin
Michael
Chandler made a pretty strong statement in his last fight for
Bellator when he dismantled and submitted former Olympian Rick
Hawn to make the first successful defense of his lightweight
title.
Undefeated
as a professional, Chandler is rated as one of the top 155lb
fighters in the world, and he’s still developing as a fighter,
learning new tricks each day he steps in the gym.
Now
coming off a dominant win, Chandler is ready to accept the next
challenge that Bellator throws at him via the “toughest
tournament in sports”.
“I
worry about the challenge of waking up every morning, brushing
my teeth, and going to the gym. That’s the challenge, every
single day is the challenge, and I only have so many years in
this sport, and everyday I get to wake up and become a better
fighter is a challenge I get to overcome. I’m going to continue
to get better,” Chandler told MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday.
“Luckily,
it’s not up to me to worry about who I’m going to fight.
I’ve got great management, I’m fighting for an organization
that is hopefully, as they’ve already promised, they’re
going to keep pumping out tournament champions this year, and
they are definitely showing signs of doing that with the Marcin
Held/Dave Jansen (fight) and another tournament starting this
week.”
Some
have said that the names that currently litter the Bellator lightweight
tournament aren’t the kind of fighters that will push Chandler
further in his career, but he vehemently disagrees. You see once
upon a time, Chandler was the young guy making his way in the
sport by going through the Bellator lightweight tournament, and
there’s no better path than earning your way to a title
shot.
“Anybody
who can go through a tournament, fight three times in three months,
take your injuries from the first fight into the second fight,
and take those injuries from the first and second fight into
a third fight is in itself something to hold with pride. To be
able to do that, it says a lot about a man’s competiveness,”
Chandler stated.
While
Chandler’s next fight will likely come against the winner
of the next Bellator tournament final pitting Marcin Held against
Dave Jansen, one name that never escapes the champion is former
title holder Eddie Alvarez.
Chandler
beat Alvarez in one of the best fights for all of 2011, and it’s
still regarded as the greatest fight of all time to take place
in Bellator. Currently, Alvarez is embroiled in a legal dispute
between Bellator and the UFC for his contract rights, and it’s
unclear when he will compete again.
Still,
it’s hard to ignore some of the statements made in court
recently as Bellator argued to block an injunction filed by Alvarez
as he tried to break free of the promotion and sign with the
UFC, and one point of contention was the promotion’s intent
to produce a pay-per-view featuring the former champion in a
rematch against Chandler.
According
to Chandler, Bellator putting him in a rematch on pay-per-view
against Alvarez is news to him.
“No
to be quite honest absolutely not,” Chandler responded when
asked about a potential offer to face Alvarez again. “I
haven’t talked to anybody about that, I try to stay as far
away from reading and getting involved in all the hooplah, and
that kind of stuff. I have not talked to anyone from Bellator
or Spike, I’ve talked to my management numerous times and
they haven’t talked to anyone at Spike or Bellator about
that.
Chandler
has no problem facing Alvarez again if he earns his way back
to a title shot, but as of now that fight hasn’t been presented
to him.
“I
wish him the best, I know he’s been in the sport for a while,
and he deserves great things in this sport, and if it’s
coming back to Bellator and going back through the tournament
and fighting me, so be it, I’m ready. I’m going to
take on all comers,” said Chandler.
The
million dollar question seems to remain would Eddie Alvarez go
back through a tournament or would Bellator offer Chandler the
same kinds of incentives to face the former champion in a lucrative
rematch?
Chandler
opts out of that subject and says he’ll leave it up to his
management team and Bellator to decide what comes next, but there’s
no doubt he had to earn his way to a title shot, and the fighters
currently in the next rounds of the lightweight tournament are
doing the same thing.
“I
try to stay out of all that stuff, the stuff outside of fighting,
I just step into the cage and fight another man, whoever Bellator
and my manager tell me to fight, but I definitely know Bellator
and Bjorn (Rebney) were set in their ways, you had to go through
the tournament, to become the No. 1 contender to fight the champion,”
said Chandler.
“I
know there is a new rule (championship rematch clause) but that
is a new rule. Mine and Eddie’s fight was over a year ago.
He should probably have to go through the tournament, but I just
want to fight the best in the world.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Today!
Abu Dhabi
Pro Info
Weigh
In WITHOUT your GI ONCE before your First Match
Weigh In Saturday 1hr Prior To Match Time, February 2, 2013 at
McKinley High School
All competitors must be at the event venue, checked-in and weighed-in
1 hour before their scheduled fight time or they will be disqualified.
All competitors are welcome to weigh-in Friday, and you only
need to weigh-in one time.
If you weigh in Friday, you do not need to weigh in again on
Saturday, but you will still need to check-in 1 hour before the
start time of your bracket.
COMPETITORS HAVE ONLY 1 CHANCE TO MAKE WEIGHT, IF YOU ARE OVER
WEIGHT YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.
If you do not weigh-in on Friday, you may weigh-in on Saturday,
but only on the day you are competing.
And, you must weigh-in when you check-in 1 hour before the start
time of your bracket, no earlier or later.
MANDATORY CHECK-IN
All competitors must check-in at the event venue 1 hour before
the start time of the bracket.
If you have not weighed-in, you may do so at that time.
If you weighed in Friday, you still need to check-in 1 hour before
the start time of your bracket.
If you do not check-in 1 hour before the start time of the bracket,
you will be disqualified.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2, 2013 – starting at 9:00am
All divisions on Saturday will go all the way through the finals.
Kids, Teens Belt Breakdown - White and Grey Belts, Yellow Belts,
Orange Belts, Green Belts
Juvenile Belt Breakdown - White Belts, Blue Belts, Purple Belts
Adult Female Belt Breakdown - White and Blue Belts, Purple and
Brown and Black Belts
Adult Male Belt Breakdowns - White Belts, Blue Belts, Purple
Belts, Brown and Black Belts
Master and Senior Belt Breakdowns - White Belts, Blue Belts,
Purple Belts, Brown Belts, Black Belts
|
Diego
Moraes Seminar at O2 Tomorrow
When: Sunday, February
3
Time: 11:00am to 1:00pm
Cost: $50
Where: O2 Martial Arts Academy
98-019 Kamehameha Hwy Unit 208A
Aiea, HI 96701
Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, Diego Moraes will be doing a seminar at
O2 Martial Arts Academy from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm on Sunday, February
3.
Everyone is invited. The cost is $50. Please spread the word.
Here
is a bio of Diego:
My name is Diego Vaz Correia, better known as Diego Moraes. I'm
27 years old and was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
I started training jiu jitsu with the Gracie family when i was
5 years old, grew up in the match and Jiu jitsu competitions.
I have several national and international titles as World and
Pan American.
Now I have a training center in Rio de Janeiro, the team moraes,
with approximately 400 students. (www.teammoraes.com.br).
I
have a project that teaches jiu-jitsu to needy children that
started 6 years ago, besides giving lectures at schools and brazilian
special police forces. I train many Brazilian fighters for MMA
and great names in UFC, like Alan Belcher, Scott Jorgensen, Anthony
Pettis, Erik Koch, Chris Camozzi and Paskal Krauss and Bellator's
champions
Joe Warren and Ben Askren
Panamerican
champion
5x brazilian national champion
3 medals worlds Ibjjf
3x Arnold Gracie champion (2x pro division + gi division)
Worlds
no gi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsWrWYUGg-A&sns=em
Brazilian
national, final
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXAZcarsw1c&sns=em
UFC
http://www.ufc.com/media/UFC-on-FOX-5--Facebook-Prelim-Post-Fight-Interview
|
UFC
156 ‘Aldo vs. Edgar’ Preview
By Tristen
Critchfield
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship offers its second loaded card
in as many weeks with UFC 156, which features a highly anticipated
featherweight title tilt between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar.
It took some doing, but now that Aldo is finally healthy and
Edgar is finally convinced that 145 pounds is the place for him,
we might just have an early candidate for “Fight of the
Year” on our hands.
UFC
156 has plenty more marquee value on its pay-per-view card, including
the return of massive heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem,
who attempts to re-launch his title campaign by knocking out
the equally large Antonio Silva in a featured bout. Also, former
205-pound kingpin Rashad Evans attempts to bounce back from his
loss to former training partner Jon Jones by taking out Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira. Rounding out the main bill at the Mandalay
Bay Events Center in Las Vegas is a pair of interesting matchups,
as Jon Fitch meets Demian Maia at welterweight and Joseph Benavidez
locks horns with Ian McCall at 125 pounds.
Here
is a closer look at the UFC 156 “Aldo vs. Edgar,” with
analysis and picks:
UFC Featherweight Championship
Jose
Aldo (21-1, 3-0 UFC) vs. Frankie Edgar (15-3-1, 9-3-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: There was a reason UFC President Dana White lobbied
so hard for Edgar to drop to 145 pounds: fights like this one.
Sure, White wanted to see the former lightweight champion pick
on people his own size, but he was more interested in making
the most lucrative bout possible. For now, this is the closest
thing we get to a super fight in 2013.
Back-to-back
losses to Benson Henderson -- another bigger, stronger lightweight
-- forced Edgar’s hand. He was competitive in both bouts,
and he probably had a solid case for winning the rematch. Edgar’s
run at lightweight was a true underdog story, but the Toms River,
N.J., native seemed to thrive in that role. At 145 pounds, he
will be favored against practically everyone in the division,
with the exception of the man he is facing here.
Aldo
is a large featherweight, and a move upward could be in his future
as the Brazilian grows older. Injuries have been the Nova Uniao
product’s most daunting foe so far in his career. He only
competed once in 2012, scoring a first-round knockout against
Chad Mendes at UFC 142. A productive 2013 would see the 26-year-old
step into the Octagon at least three times, allowing the promotion
to give one of its brightest talents the push he deserves.
First,
there is the matter of getting past Edgar, who is arguably the
toughest test of Aldo’s Zuffa tenure. If Mark Hominick --
a kickboxer with little wrestling -- was able to wear down the
Brazilian and launch a ground-and-pound assault in the fifth
round of their UFC 129 encounter, what could Edgar do in a similar
situation?
Aldo
has three five-round bouts under his belt, and while his conditioning
is solid, it is not on the level of Edgar’s. The Ricardo
Almeida Jiu-Jitsu representative sets a rapid pace on the feet
and his crisp boxing is backed by a use of footwork and angles
to keep his foes off-balance. It remains to be seen if Edgar
will carry more power to the featherweight division. At lightweight,
he was rarely a knockout threat, but he did a good job of racking
up points on the feet by working his boxing. He can do the same
against Aldo by staying busy and finding a home for his quick
right hand. While his strikes might not always hurt the champion,
landing with consistent volume will force the cageside judges
to take notice.
Another
point to consider is that Edgar had a clear-cut speed advantage
against virtually every opponent he faced at 155 pounds. That
edge might not be as pronounced at featherweight, and how he
handles Aldo’s striking will be telling.
“Scarface”
is comfortable standing in the pocket, where he lands powerful
kicks and counters with blinding speed. Aldo foes are often handcuffed
because of the variety of weapons at his disposal, and those
who insist on pressing forward will be met with devastating knees
for their troubles. Aldo is probably well aware of the success
Henderson had attacking Edgar with kicks to the legs and body
in their two meetings. Although Edgar began to counter Henderson’s
kicks more successfully in their second bout, no one has had
an answer for Aldo’s kicks, which he uses to control distance
beautifully.
Perhaps
Hominick ‘s brief comeback against Aldo was an anomaly,
but his ability to survive an onslaught of punishment for multiple
rounds and mount one final salvo in the fifth round sounds eerily
similar to something Edgar might do -- only better. Edgar is
a solid wrestler with a quick shot and a keen sense of timing
on his takedowns. The longer the fight with Aldo goes, the better
chance he has to implement his wrestling. The question: how far
behind will he be on the scorecards before he can make a dent
in Aldo’s conditioning?
The
Pick: Gray Maynard proved that Edgar is vulnerable to well-placed
power punches, and Henderson exposed his weakness to leg kicks.
The bad news is Aldo is adept at landing both in combination.
Edgar will get rocked in this bout, perhaps on multiple occasions.
He is not one to go away easily, and he will continue to battle,
perhaps even stealing a round or two late. Still, it will not
be enough. Aldo does his damage early and then holds on to take
a decision.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship offers its second loaded card
in as many weeks with UFC 156, which features a highly anticipated
featherweight title tilt between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar.
It took some doing, but now that Aldo is finally healthy and
Edgar is finally convinced that 145 pounds is the place for him,
we might just have an early candidate for “Fight of the
Year” on our hands.
UFC
156 has plenty more marquee value on its pay-per-view card, including
the return of massive heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem,
who attempts to re-launch his title campaign by knocking out
the equally large Antonio Silva in a featured bout. Also, former
205-pound kingpin Rashad Evans attempts to bounce back from his
loss to former training partner Jon Jones by taking out Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira. Rounding out the main bill at the Mandalay
Bay Events Center in Las Vegas is a pair of interesting matchups,
as Jon Fitch meets Demian Maia at welterweight and Joseph Benavidez
locks horns with Ian McCall at 125 pounds.
Here
is a closer look at the UFC 156 “Aldo vs. Edgar,” with
analysis and picks:
Light
Heavyweights
Rashad
Evans (17-2-1, 12-2-1 UFC) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (20-5,
3-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: After a lopsided decision loss to Jon Jones at UFC 145,
there does not seem to be much left for Evans to do at 205 pounds
as long as his former training partner has the title. As an undersized
light heavyweight, a move to 185 pounds could prove to be both
prudent and lucrative for “The Ultimate Fighter” Season
2 winner. For now, a potential showdown with Anderson Silva will
have to wait, as the former titleholder squares off with Nogueira.
“Minotoro”
has not been seen since UFC 140, when he blasted Tito Ortiz with
a knee to the body and finished the hall of famer with punches
and elbows to the ribs on the ground to halt a two-fight skid.
Now 36 years old, the former Pride Fighting Championships standout’s
best days are probably behind him, but he reminds a solid gatekeeper
in the division.
The
problem for Nogueira here is that he is facing an opponent who
still possesses serious title aspirations, either at light heavyweight
or middleweight. The Brazilian remains confident in his ability
to execute submissions from his crafty guard, but he was clearly
outwrestled in previous losses to Phil Davis and Ryan Bader.
Like those two, Evans has the ability to plant Nogueira on his
back, but his blend of movement, speed and balance on the feet
makes Davis and Bader look robotic by comparison. While Nogueira
made Davis and Bader work hard for their takedowns, Evans speed
and ability to land quick combinations should make implementing
his wrestling that much easier. While Nogueira is competent at
sweeping and returning to his feet after being taken down, he
still finds himself losing rounds against persistent wrestlers.
Evans
is not generally a high-volume striker on the feet, but he will
not have to be versus Nogueira, who often allows his opponents
time to find a rhythm as he waits for countering opportunities.
This will not work against the faster Evans, as the Blackzilians
member should be able to move in and out of danger against the
southpaw. Evans might want to mix in kicks to the body, as Davis
had some success there early in his meeting with Nogueira.
Nogueira’s
best chance is to be the aggressor and work his solid boxing
before forcing tie-ups, where he can land punishing knees to
the body. Evans will not be a stationary target, however, and
his one-shot knockout potential will give his adversary pause.
The
Pick: If Evans finds the right opening, he could end this via
knockout or technical knockout early. Otherwise, he blends striking
and takedowns to take a dominant decision.
Heavyweights
Alistair
Overeem (36-11, 1-0 UFC) vs. Antonio Silva (17-4, 1-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: A major hurdle was cleared at the beginning of January,
when the Nevada Athletic Commission announced it had granted
Overeem a fight license. Considering the licensing difficulties
the Dutchman had prior to his bout with Brock Lesnar at UFC 141
and the nine-month suspension he received for failing a pre-fight
drug screen prior to UFC 146, this is no small victory.
With
his imposing physique and knockout power, Overeem is clearly
the guy the UFC would like to eventually challenge reigning champion
Cain Velasquez. However, “The Demolition Man” had been
out of action for too long to warrant an immediate title shot.
Overeem
was the destructive force he was advertised to be in his first
Octagon appearance, battering Lesnar with knees to the gut before
finishing the bout with a devastating kick to the liver. Overeem
easily defended Lesnar’s only takedown attempt and showed
total disdain for his opponent’s striking as he imposed
his will in the clinch. As impressive as the victory was, one
has to wonder how much Lesnar truly had left after multiple battles
with diverticulitis.
Meanwhile,
Silva showed just how dangerous he can be when presented with
an immobile target. After Travis Browne tore his hamstring attempting
a kick at UFC on FX 5, “Bigfoot” wasted little time
in pouncing on his injured foe, buckling him with a big right
hand against the fence before finishing the fight with strikes
on the ground. The victory had to come as a relief for Silva,
who had suffered lopsided losses at the hands of Velasquez and
Daniel Cormier in his previous two outings.
The
Brazilian will face a familiar problem against Overeem, as he
will struggle to close the distance against a quicker, more skilled
opponent. While Overeem is not likely to suddenly change levels
for a takedown as Velasquez did, he has a diverse set of tools
with which to work on the feet -- and many of them are capable
of ending a fight at a moment’s notice.
Silva
is accustomed to having a significant size advantage come fight
night, but even that will not be as pronounced as it usually
is against the massive Overeem. “Bigfoot” will want
to pressure Overeem, landing strikes so he can close the gap
and force his foe against the fence. Doing so will require Silva
to wade through heavy fire, however, and Overeem will be able
to test the Brazilian’s suspect chin before he can drag
the bout into his comfort zone.
In
addition to his ability to land kicks, knees and various combos
when upright, Overeem usually has a good sense of timing when
it comes to defending takedowns. Silva will not want to labor
too long in the clinch, as he risks eating the same powerful
knees that eventually felled Lesnar.
The
Pick: If Silva can avoid the knockout and test Overeem’s
gas tank with his heavy top game, this fight could become interesting
in rounds two and three. Getting there will prove to be too difficult
of a task for Silva, as Overeem connects when the Brazilian attempts
to press the action, winning by knockout or technical knockout
in round one.
Welterweights
Jon
Fitch (24-4-1, 14-2-1 UFC) vs. Demian Maia (17-4, 11-4 UFC)
The
Matchup: This matchup pairs two fighters who were responsible
for two of the most enduring moments of UFC 153. For Fitch, it
was escaping from a rear-naked choke from highly regarded prospect
Erick Silva en route to an enthralling decision victory. For
Maia, it was squeezing the blood from the visage of Rick Story
via neck crank in a first-round submission triumph.
While
Fitch, with one title shot on his resume, has been there and
done that in the welterweight division, Maia, a former Top 10
contender at middleweight, looks rejuvenated at 170 pounds after
wins over Story and Dong Hyun Kim.
Both
fighters have gotten to this point by executing one aspect of
MMA extremely well. Fitch uses constant pressure to wear down
opponents, grinding them down in clinches before dragging them
to the mat. It is rarely crowd pleasing but almost always effective;
by the third round of his bout with Silva, the Brazilian was
completely spent, and Fitch was left to unleash a steady stream
and ground-and-pound in a decisive final frame.
Maia
has improved his standup over the years, and now he is adept
at using his strikes to close the distance. From there, he can
score takedowns using trips or throws. An extended striking war
is not in the game plan of either man, but whoever is able to
land more effectively will have a significant advantage as the
bout unfolds.
Since
Maia does not pose the knockout threat that Silva did, Fitch
can be the aggressor while looking to move into tie-up and takedown
range. The American Kickboxing Academy product is not an especially
fluid athlete, so Maia should look to counter as Fitch moves
forward.
If
Maia is unable to get the best of Fitch in the clinch, he can
also resort to pulling guard. The Brazilian is comfortable on
his back and will force Fitch to defend a multitude of submission
attempts from above. Maia needs to capitalize on small openings
to impose his grappling, because Fitch will be in his face from
the outset of the bout.
The
Pick: Fitch has not been submitted since Mike Pyle tapped him
with a rear-naked choke in his first professional bout. It is
that submission defense that will carry him through a few tough
moments and allow him to gradually outwork Maia to earn a close
decision victory.
Flyweights
Joseph
Benavidez (16-3, 3-1 UFC) vs. Ian McCall (11-3-1, 0-1-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: Leftovers from the promotion’s 125-pound tournament
square off here, with both men having succumbed to the speed
and accurate striking of Demetrious Johnson. McCall probably
had the best chance of the two to finish off “Mighty Mouse”
in their first meeting at UFC on FX 2. In round three, “Uncle
Creepy” flattened out Johnson and pounded away with punches,
setting the stage for a sudden victory round that never happened.
When the two met again, Johnson beat McCall to the punch consistently
while mixing in takedowns to take a clear-cut victory.
Benavidez
entered UFC 152 as the flyweight title favorite, but he, too,
was out-struck and outwrestled by the current titlist. McCall
and Benavidez are still two of the top 125-pounders in the world,
but a loss figures to knock one man out the title picture for
foreseeable future.
While
not as fast as Johnson, Benavidez will likely have the speed
edge against McCall. The Team Alpha Male product likes to set
the tone on the feet early before switching gears and scoring
takedowns as the bout progresses. His right hand is particularly
dangerous; it knocked out Yashuhiro Urushitani at UFC on FX 2
and staggered Johnson at UFC 152. McCall has solid power in his
hands, as well, but he does better fighting in close quarters,
where he can work his dirty boxing and land knees in the clinch.
McCall also times his takedowns well, but the key for him will
be holding down Benavidez if he achieves a dominant position.
Benavidez
is excellent in scrambles and transitions, and McCall should
be especially wary of his guillotine and rear-naked chokes. In
addition to excellent conditioning and a high work rate, Benavidez
is extremely durable: he has never been finished in 19 professional
bouts. McCall has proven to be similarly tough since moving to
flyweight, meaning this will come down to which fighter can outwork
the other.
In
that case, Benavidez should have the edge, as he can bang on
the feet while mixing in kicks, and it is rare that he is outwrestled
on the mat.
The
Pick: McCall will have his moments, but Benavidez will land more
on the feet and win enough of the scrambles on the floor to earn
a decision.
Lightweights
Evan
Dunham (13-3, 6-3 UFC) vs. Gleison Tibau (26-8, 10-5 UFC): Were
it not for a contentious decision loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov,
Tibau could conceivably be on a five-fight winning streak heading
into this bout. The muscular Brazilian is one of the most prolific
takedown artists in the UFC, and he will look to close the distance
and overpower Dunham. Tibau is vulnerable to aggressive standup,
as he was rocked by Francisco Trinaldo in his most recent fight,
and Dunham has shown that he is willing to bang on the feet.
Dunham wins by decision.
Welterweights
Jay
Hieron (23-6, 0-3 UFC) vs. Tyron Woodley (10-1, 0-0 UFC): Hieron
has not received too many easy assignments in the UFC, and that
does not change here. “The Thoroughbred” must control
distance and stay upright against Woodley, an NCAA All-American
wrestler at the University of Missouri. After trading on the
feet with Nate Marquardt in a Strikeforce welterweight title
defeat in July, Woodley returns to his roots and relies on his
speed and athleticism to keep Hieron on his back for the majority
of the contest. Woodley takes this by decision.
Lightweights
Yves
Edwards (42-18-1, 10-6 UFC) vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg (13-3-1, 0-0
UFC): Even with 61 professional fights under his belt, the 36-year-old
Edwards keeps going strong. Most recently, the “Thugjitsu
Master” was able score a knockout against the usually durable
Jeremy Stephens at UFC on Fox 5. Meanwhile, Vallie-Flagg is getting
his first shot in the Octagon after a 2-0 stint with Strikeforce.
The Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts product earned the biggest
win of his career against Gesias Cavalcante in May, utilizing
a varied arsenal of strikes to capture a split verdict. Expect
some spirited exchanges on the feet, with Vallie-Flagg having
a legitimate chance at the upset as long as he avoids the knockout
blow. Edwards holds off his hard-charging foe for a narrow decision.
Lightweights
Jacob
Volkmann (15-3, 6-3 UFC) vs. Bobby Green (19-5, 0-0 UFC): Green
carries a four-fight winning streak into his UFC debut, and the
former two-division King of the Cage champion has the potential
to give Volkmann some trouble if the fight remains standing.
Eventually, Volkmann takes down Green and controls the bout with
his wrestling before catching his foe with a submission in round
two.
Bantamweights
Francisco
Rivera (8-2, 1-1 UFC) vs. Edwin Figueroa (9-1, 2-1 UFC): Figueroa
offered little in terms of meaningful offense in his last outing
against Alex Caceres, but a two-point deduction for groin strikes
allowed him to emerge with a decision. Figueroa’s most impressive
performance remains his Octagon debut against Michael McDonald,
where he battled the highly regarded prospect tooth-and-nail
before falling via decision. He will have to bring some of that
fire against Rivera, who has dangerous knockout power. Rivera
gets the best of exchanges and wins via second-round technical
knockout.
Bantamweights
Chico
Camus (12-3, 1-0 UFC) vs. Dustin Kimura (9-0, 0-0 UFC): A Roufusport
product, Camus used a heavy top game to defeat Dustin Pague in
his promotional debut at UFC 150. He will have to put the same
solid submission defense he displayed against Pague to use against
Kimura, who has earned six of his nine career victories via tapout.
Camus wins by decision.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Dana
White: Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman “Closer and More
Possible Than People Think”
by Damon
Martin
Chris
Weidman has made it clear that he wants to fight UFC middleweight
champion Anderson Silva next, and the fight may be closer to
reality that ever before.
Ever
since his win over Mark Munoz last summer, Weidman has been vocal
about landing a shot at Silva, and remarking how he believes
he would be a nightmare match-up for the greatest champion in
UFC history.
Currently,
Weidman is on the sidelines nursing a surgically repaired shoulder,
but after meeting with UFC President Dana White last weekend,
it sounds like the fight he’s been wishing for could happen
in the near future.
“I
think that fight’s closer and more possible than people
think. I actually thought Weidman was going to be out a lot longer
than he was because of his injury, but he’s healed up pretty
well and is claiming he’ll be ready to start training again
in a couple months,” White revealed when speaking to UFC
Tonight.
“We’re
looking at a couple of different options right now, some options
that we like, and Weidman’s one of them.”
Now,
White has mentioned as recently as last weekend that there is
some mystery scenario the UFC is awaiting to be played out before
they announce who will next face Anderson Silva in the Octagon.
“We’re
waiting on something, we want to see if this thing pans out,
and when we’re ready to announce it, we’ll announce
it,” White said about Silva’s next title defense.
The
caveat that most people keep believing that White is referencing
is former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, who faces
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at this weekend’s UFC 156 card.
Evans
has hinted at a possible move to middleweight so long as the
fight was either for the title or against a top contender. Fighting
Anderson Silva would obviously accomplish that goal, and if Evans
can win this weekend, he could be the mystery fighter the UFC
is waiting on.
Only
time will tell however who Anderson Silva will face next, and
if Chris Weidman is indeed the choice.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Dana
White on 'Cyborg' Santos: 'She does not want to fight Ronda Rousey'
By Dave
Doyle
The
way UFC president Dana White sees it, former Strikeforce women's
champion Cristiane 'Cyborg' Santos isn't too eager to step into
the Octagon with UFC women's bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey.
Ever
since talks of a Santos-Rousey women's superfight have surfaced,
Santos has been adamant in her desire to fight at a weight higher
than 135. In recent weeks, her manager, Tito Ortiz, has said
her fighter will try to make it down to 135, but won't go through
with it if it isn't safe.
In
response, White said on Tuesday's edition of UFC Tonight that
it's basically 135 pounds or nothing for Santos.
"[Bantamweight]
is the only division we have," White said. "It's been
real interesting. You know, I've been in the fight game since
I was 19 years old and I've been doing this for 15 years and
what I get out of this deal with Cyborg is that she wants nothing
to do with Ronda Rousey. She does not want to fight Ronda Rousey.
White
said he's ultimately not sure how this will end up.
"We
don't have a 145-pound women's division, so I don't know how
this is going to end up. It's been weird."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
EXCLUSIVE:
Hatsu Hioki Responds to Fan Criticism of Clay Guida
by Mick
Hammond
At
the recent UFC on Fox 6 event, one of the most hotly contested
bouts of the evening came between Hatsu Hioki and Clay Guida.
It
appeared in the fight that Hioki managed to work significantly
to land damage and finish the fight from the bottom position,
yet the judges ruled the fight in Guida’s favor via split
decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28).
Shortly
after the fight, Hioki spoke to MMAWeekly.com about the loss.
And while he gave all credit to his opponent for the win, comments
made by readers regarding Guida’s perceived stall tactics
has Hioki wishing to further express his feelings about the bout.
Below
is the full, unedited statement MMAWeekly.com received from Hioki:
I
hear a lot of people criticizing Guida’s strategy to lie
on top; however, it was ultimately my lack of skills to get back
on (to my) feet, stop these takedowns and submit an opponent
who was staying tight while being on top to put myself on the
losing end. I say this again: Guida won the fight fair and square.
He was better than me at that night.
I
have respected him before and I respect him more now.
I
spent a lot of time to develop takedown defense, and I think
my takedown defense skill got better than before, but just fell
short on Guida. That’s the truth, but I can say that my
takedown defense is a lot better than before because we were
into prepping for him takedowns. If it weren’t for this
fight prep, my takedown defense would have been unchanged and
undeveloped, so I would like to (say) thank you (to) him for
being a great wrestler.
All
that said, I would like to thank all the support from fans who
have watched the fight and Guida-san for the competitive match.
Thank
you very much,
Hatsu Hioki
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Return
of 'King Mo' Lawal, featherweight tourney final set for Bellator
90
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
Muhammed
"King Mo" Lawal (9-1, 1 NC) will make his return to
the Bellator cage against Emanuel Newton (19-7-1) in the semifinals
of Bellator's season eight light heavyweight tournament on February
21st at the Maverik Center in Salt Lake City, UT, promotion officials
announced on Tuesday. The bout will air on Spike TV as the co-main
event of Bellator 90.
Both
Lawal and Newton made quick work of their opening round match-ups
at Bellator 85. Fighting in his Bellator debut, former Strikeforce
champion Lawal, 32, easily dispatched Przemyslaw Mysiala with
strikes midway through round 1. Likewise, Newton, 29, required
just one additional round to submit Atanas Djambazov via rear-naked
choke.
"I
said it after my quarterfinal win, and I'll say it again, I'm
looking to smash this dude," Lawal stated. "Emmanuel
is a tough guy, but I know where my game is at, and if I focus
on me, we won't have any issues on February 21st. I'm always
looking for that first round knockout, and that's it."
"This
is my time," responded Newton. "Everyone knows Mo and
what he brings to the table, and he's the guy I have to get through
to get to my belt. The belt is what I'm here for, and it doesn't
matter who is in my way to get there."
Bellator
90 is slated to be headlined by season seven's long-awaited featherweight
tournament final, which pits Utah native Rad Martinez (14-2)
against Russian knockout artist Shahbulat Shamhalaev (11-1-1)
for a $100,000 grand prize and a guaranteed featherweight title
shot. The final was initially booked to take place at Bellator
83, however a last-minute bout of food poisoning from Shamhalaev
ultimately caused the match to be delayed.
Martinez,
34, defeated Nazareno Malegarie and Wagnney Fabiano via unanimous
decision to reach the finals, while Shamhalaev, 29, knocked out
Cody Bollinger and Mike Richman in rapid succession.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Let’s
Make a Deal: UFC Open to Bringing Josh Barnett Back, If They
Can Come to Terms
by Ken
Pishna
While
the vast majority of Strikeforce fighters already know their
fates – and that fate includes at least a shot in the UFC
for many of them – Josh Barnett is still one elite fighter
Strikeforce veteran that has yet to declare a new home.
Barnett
decimated Nandor Guelmino at the final Strikeforce event earlier
this month, but with the doors of that promotion now shuttered,
the former UFC heavyweight champion is still sorting out whether
he will be back in the Octagon or not.
“So
you’re asking me if I’m going to go over to the UFC
like every other schmuck-jabroni reporter has been asking me
this whole time,” said Barnett following his win over Guelmino.
“Am
I going to go to the UFC? I have no idea where I’m going
to end up at this point.”
Barnett
has a sordid past with UFC brass, leaving many to wonder if he
would be welcomed back or not.
UFC
president Dana White, however, has indicated that Barnett’s
return was possible. On Tuesday night’s edition of UFC Tonight,
he sounded as if Barnett’s return might even be imminent,
but the devil is in the details.
“We’re
talking to Josh Barnett right now,” said White. “Yes,
we’re open to bringing Josh Barnett to the UFC; it’s
about making a deal now.”
Barnett
has been fighting professionally since 1997. He became the UFC
heavyweight champion by defeating Randy Couture. He rose to prominence,
however, while fighting on the Japanese circuit, particularly
under the Pride FC banner.
He
has squared off with many of the top fighters in the world over
the years, amassing a 32-6 overall record.
Barnett
would be a solid addition to the UFC, immediately stepping into
the upper echelon of the heavyweight division in the Octagon,
with any number of marquee match-ups waiting to be made.
Now,
it just remains to be seen if Barnett and the UFC can come to
terms.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Rômulo
Explains Absence in Absolute and Teaches Gold Medal-Winning Lesson
Contributor:
Junior Samurai
Barral
applies a basic choke on Rodrigo Pimpolho in the medium-heavyweight
final of the 2013 European Championship. (Photo by Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG.com)
Appearing
for the first time in the ten-year history of the tournament,
Gracie Barra black belt Romulo Barral went to Portugal and didn’t
go home empty handed.
On
Sunday, the Brazil-California transplant sent himself through
to the medium-heavyweight final. The problem was that at the
other end of the bracket there was another Gracie Barra professor,
the black belt from Curitiba Rodrigo Fajardo, then the European
champion of the division. The solution? They locked horns to
see who is best between the four lines.
“We’re
from Gracie Barra but hail from different cities. We’ve
never trained together and both want to be champions, so there’s
nothing more fitting than for us to fight,” Romulo told
GRACIEMAG.com. “I had a sensation of having accomplished
my duty. I had an excellent campaign; I managed to win all my
matches with the choke from the mount. Nothing’s more meat-and-potatoes
than that.”
To
Barral the greatest lesson he derived from the European Championship
was precisely that: believe in the traditional and most basic.
“It’s
a tip that’s valid for practitioners of all belts. Don’t
worry about learning only the modern positions. First you have
to get good at the basics,” he said in teaching the lesson.
His
only regret was having not entered the absolute.
“I
wasn’t sure whether to compete in the absolute, because
I caught a nasty flu on the week of the tournament. As I wasn’t
feeling quite 100%, I chose not to risk it. But it was hard to
decide while watching everything from the sidelines,” remembered
Romulo, who will next try his hand at the Feb. 9 and 10 Abu Dhabi
WPJJC tryouts in Miami.
For
the time being, though, he’ll be celebrating his first gold
medal at a European Open:
“It
was awesome to be here to enjoy my first European Championship.
I feel I did a great job of preparing. I had an attacking game
without leaving any openings or making any mistakes my opponents
could capitalize on. Hence the result,” said the GB ace
in closing.
Complete results from the 2013 European Open.
Academy
Results
Adult
Male:
1 - Alliance - 114
2 - Team Lloyd Irvin - 71
3 - Gracie Barra - 64
Adult
Female:
1 - CheckMat - 71
2 - Alliance - 68
3 - Gracie Barra - 44
Juvenile:
1 - Gracie Barra - 27
2 - Frontline Academy - 16
3 - Icon Jiu-Jitsu Team - 15
Master
and Senior:
1 - Gracie Barra - 245
2 - Alliance - 156
3 - CheckMat - 131
Novice:
1 - Gracie Barra - 42
2 - Nova União - 31
3 - CheckMat - 30
Athletes results by Category
BLACK - Adult - Male
Rooster
FIRST
Brandon
Mullins -Gracie Barra
SECOND
Koji
Shibamoto -Tri-Force Jiu-Jitsu Academy
THIRD
Jordy
A. Jean Antoon Peute -Gracie Barra
THIRD
Takahito
Yoshioka -Tokushima BJJ
Light-Feather
FIRST
Laercio
Fernandes -Alliance
SECOND
Carlos
Vieira Holanda -CheckMat
THIRD
Thomas
Lincoln Correa Lisboa -Alliance
THIRD
Andre
Carvalho Monteiro -BJJ Revolution Team
Feather
FIRST
Rubens
Charles Maciel -Alliance
SECOND
Augusto
Lopes Mendes -Soul Fighters BJJ
THIRD
Osvaldo
Augusto Honorio Moizinho -Institute of Martial Arts - Caio Terra
THIRD
Eduardo
Ramos da Silva -Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Light
FIRST
Michael
Alexandre Langhi -Alliance
SECOND
Vinícius
Tavares Marinho -GF Team
THIRD
Gabriel
Rodrigues A. Goulart -Alliance
THIRD
Maxime
Silvére Olivier -CheckMat
Middle
FIRST
Claudio
Calasans Camargo Júnior -Atos Jiu-Jitsu
SECOND
Fernando
Augusto da Silva -Alliance
THIRD
Mathias
Fernandes Ribeiro -Alliance
THIRD
Alan
Douglas Pereira do Nascimento -CheckMat
Medium-Heavy
FIRST
Rômulo
Claudio Barral -Gracie Barra
SECOND
Rodrigo
Fajardo -Gracie Barra
THIRD
Renato
Guimaraes Cardoso -CheckMat
THIRD
Vitor
Fabio Martins Toledo -Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Heavy
FIRST
Dimitrius
Soares Souza -Alliance
SECOND
Leonardo
da Costa Maciel -GF Team
THIRD
Fabiano
Junior Leite de Souza -Alliance
THIRD
Marcelo
da Silva Bernardo -United BJJ
Super-Heavy
FIRST
Bernardo
Augusto Rocha de Faria -Alliance
SECOND
Lucio
Furtado Rodrigues -Gracie Barra
THIRD
Mauricio
Henrique Cristo Lima -PSLPB Cicero Costha
THIRD
Filippi
Soto Mattos -Barbosa JJ
Ultra-Heavy
FIRST
Alexander
Riis Hilligsoe Trans -CheckMat
SECOND
Rodrigo
Henrique Cavaca -CheckMat
THIRD
José
Ferreira da Silva Júnior -UAE Jiu-jitsu Team
THIRD
Leonardo Pires Nogueira -Alliance
Open Class
FIRST
Leonardo
Pires Nogueira -Alliance
SECOND
Bernardo
Augusto Rocha de Faria -Alliance
THIRD
Alexander
Riis Hilligsoe Trans -CheckMat
THIRD
Claudio
Calasans Camargo Júnior -Atos Jiu-Jitsu
BLACK
- Adult - Female
Light-Feather
FIRST
Yasmin
Tahira Sewgobind -Jiu Jitsu Factory
SECOND
Angelica
Vieira Ferreira -Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Feather
FIRST
Mackenzie
Lynne Dern -Gracie Humaita
SECOND
Michelle
Zonato Nicolini -CheckMat
THIRD
Nyjah
Easton -Team Lloyd Irvin
Light
FIRST
Marina
Soares de Araujo Ribeiro -CheckMat
Middle
FIRST
Luanna
Alzuguir Marton Moraes -Alliance
SECOND
Ida
Josefin Hansson -CheckMat
Medium-Heavy
FIRST
Caroline
de Lazzer Cardoso -UAE Jiu-jitsu Team
SECOND
Polyana
Lago Barbosa -Alliance
THIRD
Shanti
A. D. Abelha -CheckMat
THIRD
Erika
Carrarine Correia -De La Riva / BA
Open Class
FIRST
Luanna
Alzuguir Marton Moraes -Alliance
SECOND
Michelle
Zonato Nicolini -CheckMat
THIRD
Marina
Soares de Araujo Ribeiro -CheckMat
THIRD
Polyana Lago Barbosa -Alliance
BLACK
- Master - Male
Light-Feather
FIRST
Marcel
Sasso de Oliveira -Cia Paulista - International
SECOND
Alexsandro
Silva de Almeida -Gracie Barra
THIRD
Herminio
Garcia Roncero -Nova União
THIRD
Gil
Sandro Justino Porto -Team Gil Catarino
Feather
FIRST
Bruno
Lopes da Silva -UAE Jiu-jitsu Team
SECOND
Emmanuel
Fernandez -Academie Pythagore
THIRD
Vugner Amador da Silva -GF Team
THIRD
Claudemir
José De Souza -Icon Jiu-Jitsu Team
Light
FIRST
Cesar
Andrade dos Santos -Caveirinha Jiu-Jitsu Family
SECOND
Helio
Perdigao -Royce Gracie Portugal
THIRD
Pablo
Cerino Lopes Da Cunha -Icon Jiu-Jitsu Team
THIRD
Rogerio
Yoski Suto -Impacto Japan B.J.J.
Middle
FIRST
Miogre
Tavares Coronheiro -Gracie Barra
SECOND
Wim
Louis Deputter -Brasa
THIRD
Frederik
Petersen -CheckMat
THIRD
Luiz
Antônio Nunes de O. Filho -CheckMat
Medium-Heavy
FIRST
Igor
Araújo Ferreira de Castro -Gracie Barra
SECOND
Lucio
Sergio dos Santos -Gracie Barra
THIRD
Iran
Caldas Mascarenhas -Nova União
THIRD
Alexandre
Sousa Izidro da Silva -Icon Jiu-Jitsu Team
Heavy
FIRST
Juan
Miguel Iturralde -Alliance
SECOND
Zumbi
Lara Machado Silva -UAE Jiu-jitsu Team
THIRD
Pedro
David Mendes Romana -Jiu-jitsu Romana
THIRD
Leonardo
Queiroz da Cunha -Cia Paulista - International
Super-Heavy
FIRST
Victor
Dias Vieira da Costa -CheckMat
SECOND
Grzegorz
Henryk Szatkowski -Gold Team Fighters
THIRD
Gilberto
Ferraz Bastos Junior -Cia Paulista - International
THIRD
Emilio
Carlos da Silva Junior -De La Riva JJ
Ultra-Heavy
FIRST
Rodrigo
Munduruca -Gracie Humaita Canadá
SECOND
Marcos
Vinicius Lima de Oliveira -UAE Jiu-jitsu Team
THIRD
Ronaldo
António Carlos -RAC Jiu Jitsu / Aveiro
THIRD
Davi
Emanuel de Souza Cavalcante -Cia Paulista - International
Open Class
FIRST
Lucio
Sergio dos Santos -Gracie Barra
THIRD
Miogre
Tavares Coronheiro -Gracie Barra
THIRD
Rodrigo
Munduruca -Gracie Humaita Canadá
BLACK
- Master - Female
Light
FIRST
Patrícia
de Oliveira Lage -Barbosa JJ
SECOND
Esther
Huong Tang -Gracie Barra
Open Class
FIRST
Patrícia
de Oliveira Lage -Barbosa JJ
SECOND
Esther
Huong Tang -Gracie Barra
BLACK
- Senior 1 - Male
Light-Feather
FIRST
Paulo
Cezar Alves Pinheiro -Gracie Barra
SECOND
Cristian
Migovan -Nova União
Feather
FIRST
Ezekiel
Zayas Latorre -Brasa
SECOND
Carlos
Kazuo Kihara -Impacto Japan B.J.J.
THIRD
Hugo
Leonardo Alves Martins -Academy Caveirinha
THIRD
Kevin
Henry Capel -Roger Gracie Academy
Light
FIRST
Julien
Roger Louis Fouché -Gracie Barra
SECOND
Fabrizio
Screpante -Tribe Jiu-Jitsu Roma
THIRD
Dario
Bacci -Budo Clan
THIRD
Jair
Corrêa de Magalhães -Blakz Team
Middle
FIRST
Rodrigo
Thiago de Souza -Alliance
SECOND
Wander
Braga Corrêa da Costa -Braga Jiu-Jitsu
THIRD
John
Scott Pickering -Mario Sukata International
THIRD
Ido
Pariente -MMA Israel BJJ
Medium-Heavy
FIRST
Antônio
Sérgio Zimmermann Cardoso -Pound for Pound
SECOND
Gustavo
José Lima Villanova -Carlson Gracie Team
THIRD
Piotr
Sebastian Baginski -Brasa
THIRD
Shimon
Mochizuki -CheckMat
Heavy
FIRST
Flavio
Roberto Ferreira e Silva -Brazilian Top Team
SECOND
Carlos
Alberto C. Dias -2 Brothers BFC
THIRD
Fabrício
Nascimento de Moraes -
Nova
Uniao Italia Team
THIRD
Monte
Edmund Massey -Alliance
Super-Heavy
FIRST
Arthur
Ward Ruff -BJJ Revolution Team
SECOND
Julio
Cesar Santana Guimarães -Banni Club JJ
THIRD
Kornel
Zapadka -De La Riva International
THIRD
Flavio
de Carvalho Reis -Renato Ferro JJ
Ultra-Heavy
FIRST
Kristian
Torres Cestaro -Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu International
SECOND
Rodrigo
de Mattos Mendes -Gracie Barra
Open Class
FIRST
Antônio
Sérgio Zimmermann Cardoso -Pound for Pound
SECOND
Fabrício
Nascimento de Moraes -Nova Uniao Italia Team
THIRD
Monte
Edmund Massey -Alliance
THIRD
Piotr
Sebastian Baginski -Brasa
BLACK
- Senior 2 - Male
Feather
FIRST
Jose
Joaquim Paes Ferrari -Escola de JJ Leão Teixeira
SECOND
Marc
David Walder -Mauricio Gomes Origin BJJ Team
THIRD
Juan
Eduardo Neves -Batatinha Team Italia
THIRD
Antônio
Rodrigues P. Neto -Pantera Negra Jiu-Jitsu
Light
FIRST
Andre
Luiz Leite -Andre Maneco BJJ
SECOND
Philippe
Nativel -Gracie Reunion
THIRD
Andre
Galdino Figueira -Gracie Barra
THIRD
Narisco
Garcia Salcedo -Taz BJJ
Middle
FIRST
Michael
Haselein -Coelhao Jiu-Jitsu
SECOND
Luiz
Osvaldo Ribeiro Duo -CheckMat
THIRD
Thomas
Holtmann -Draculino Team Marbella
THIRD
Stefano
Meneghel -Nova União
Medium-Heavy
FIRST
Eduardo
Alexandre Machado -UAE Jiu-jitsu Team
SECOND
Henrique
Nelson de Lima -CheckMat
THIRD
Juan
Carmen P Grizzo -Icon Jiu-Jitsu Team
THIRD
Sebahatin
Derebey -Icon Jiu-Jitsu Team
Heavy
FIRST
Mariusz
Ryszard Linke -Gold Team Fighters
SECOND
David
Armendariz Arauzo -Taz BJJ
THIRD
Mato
David Glasnovic -Nova União
THIRD
José
Everaldo Gonçalves -Clan Jiu-Jitsu
Super-Heavy
FIRST
Bengt
Ake Ingemar Zaar -Hiltifightcenter
SECOND
Alexandre
Manuel Pinto Machado -Gracie Barra
Ultra-Heavy
FIRST
Nicolai
John Holt -Roger Gracie Academy
Open Class
FIRST
Eduardo
Alexandre Machado -UAE Jiu-jitsu Team
SECOND
Stefano
Meneghel -Nova União
THIRD
Nicolai
John Holt -Roger Gracie Academy
THIRD
Thomas
Holtmann -Draculino Team Marbella
BLACK
- Senior 3 - Male
Light
FIRST
Wellington
Leal Dias -Megaton BJJ Academy
SECOND
Marco
A. B. Carneiro -Icon Jiu-Jitsu Team
THIRD
Patrik
Isberg -Hilti BJJ Stockholm
THIRD
Sami
Muhi Eddin Mohammad Al Jamal -The Source MMA Team
Middle
FIRST
M.
I. David Onuma -CFS BJJ
SECOND
Jefferson
Emanuel Barros -CheckMat
THIRD
Mordechai
Glam -Renzo Gracie Israel
THIRD
Itabora
Ferreira -Alliance
Medium-Heavy
FIRST
Stephen
Mark Muckle -Combat Base UK
Heavy
FIRST
Nicholas
Hunter Brooks -Roger Gracie Academy
SECOND
John
Paul Hartley -Gracie Barra
THIRD
Pericles
da Silva Pereira Neto -Alliance
Open Class
FIRST
Wellington
Leal Dias -Megaton BJJ Academy
SECOND
Stephen
Mark Muckle -Combat Base UK
THIRD
Jefferson
Emanuel Barros -CheckMat
THIRD
Pericles da Silva Pereira Neto -Alliance
BLACK
- Senior 4 - Male
Super-Heavy
FIRST
Kelly Don Rundle -Alliance
Open Class
FIRST
Kelly Don Rundle - Alliance
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
IBJJF
Referee Clinic at O2 Today!
When: Friday, February
1
Time: 7:00pm to 10:00pm
Cost: $30
Where: O2 Martial Arts Academy
98-019 Kamehameha Hwy Unit 208A
Aiea, HI 96701
This
clinic is not only for Referees, it is essential for instructors
and competitors. Every BJJ tournament uses IBJJF rules and it
is a must to learn the intricacies of these rules in order to
prepare and implement your tournament strategy.
IBJJF Referee Certification Seminar - Friday, February 1st -
7-10 pm @ O2 Martial Arts Academy.
Come one, come all to those who want to get certified to be an
official IBJJF Referee! Invitation goes out to all the coaches
who have their students competing so that there is understanding
of the rules. Cost is $30 for certification.
See you there!
|
Tomorrow
Abu Dhabi
Pro Info
Weigh
In WITHOUT your GI ONCE before your First Match
Weigh In Friday 5pm - 8pm, February 1, 2013 at McKinley High
School
Weigh In Saturday 1hr Prior To Match Time, February 2, 2013 at
McKinley High School
All competitors must be at the event venue, checked-in and weighed-in
1 hour before their scheduled fight time or they will be disqualified.
All competitors are welcome to weigh-in Friday, and you only
need to weigh-in one time.
If you weigh in Friday, you do not need to weigh in again on
Saturday, but you will still need to check-in 1 hour before the
start time of your bracket.
COMPETITORS HAVE ONLY 1 CHANCE TO MAKE WEIGHT, IF YOU ARE OVER
WEIGHT YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.
If you do not weigh-in on Friday, you may weigh-in on Saturday,
but only on the day you are competing.
And, you must weigh-in when you check-in 1 hour before the start
time of your bracket, no earlier or later.
MANDATORY CHECK-IN
All competitors must check-in at the event venue 1 hour before
the start time of the bracket.
If you have not weighed-in, you may do so at that time.
If you weighed in Friday, you still need to check-in 1 hour before
the start time of your bracket.
If you do not check-in 1 hour before the start time of the bracket,
you will be disqualified.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2, 2013 – starting at 9:00am
All divisions on Saturday will go all the way through the finals.
Kids, Teens Belt Breakdown - White and Grey Belts, Yellow Belts,
Orange Belts, Green Belts
Juvenile Belt Breakdown - White Belts, Blue Belts, Purple Belts
Adult Female Belt Breakdown - White and Blue Belts, Purple and
Brown and Black Belts
Adult Male Belt Breakdowns - White Belts, Blue Belts, Purple
Belts, Brown and Black Belts
Master and Senior Belt Breakdowns - White Belts, Blue Belts,
Purple Belts, Brown Belts, Black Belts
|
UFC
156 predictions
By Luke
Thomas
Is
it a superfight? Is it not a superfight? I don't know. It depends
on how you want to define what a superfight is or isn't. I can
see a case for both, frankly.
Here's
what I know for sure: Jose Aldo defending his featherweight title
against former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar is an incredible
fight no matter the nomenclature or label. The bout pits two
of the UFC's best pound-for-pound fighters against one another
in a bout that isn't contrived and fairly meaningless like the
proposed Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre bout would be.
Aldo
and Edgar are, for fighting purposes, roughly the same size.
They are both in their primes. Their battle for supremacy is
real and arguably if somewhat controversially, very deserved.
A bout like this can do wonders for the development not simply
of featherweight, but lighter divisions generally.
Can
Edgar get back to his winning ways after disappointing decision
losses at lightweight? Is Aldo truly the best featherweight in
the world? I try to answer these questions and more with predictions
for Saturday's event.
What:
UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar
Where:
The Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
When:
Saturday, the two-fight Facebook card starts at 7 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.
Jose
Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar
Let
me state up front I've been on the wrong end as far as predicting
Frankie Edgar fights are concerned. I've not been wrong every
time, but certainly a healthy portion. Today could be no different.
Still,
I've got to go with my gut and I like the featherweight champion
to retain his crown. I believe Aldo could fade and Edgar's pressure
game could end up taking a round or two at the end of a five-round
fight, but I don't see him dominating the champion for the first
fifteen minutes or winning enough of the striking exchanges.
What
makes Aldo special is his reflexive decision making, which itself
is facilitated by his explosive athleticism. Edgar, by contrast,
gets hit a lot and more so at the beginning and middle of fights.
I don't see how Edgar escapes the early rounds without taking
a fair amount of abuse, particularly in the leg kick department.
In
addition, Aldo's takedown defense is good not just because it's
consistent, but because he creates separation after stopping
a takedown very quickly. People don't typically pin Aldo to the
cage and force him to fight off a protracted attempt.
Edgar
could make things very interesting late, but I'm betting he loses
early and long enough to make winning the entire thing unlikely.
Pick:
Aldo
Rashad
Evans vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
I
don't see this as particularly competitive. Evans has been off
for sometime and could be rusty. I also suspect spending too
much time at range with a decently accurate, combination southpaw
like Nogueira could be trouble. We further know the Brazilian's
double leg takedown defense is very good. But Evans can transition
to the level change better than almost anyone at light heavyweight
as well as switch from double to knee tap to single if need be.
Things might be hairy early, but it's hard to see how Evans will
be offensively muted for very long. He'll get the takedowns he
needs and will land enough shots to score the points necessary
for a decision victory.
Pick:
Evans
Alistair
Overeem vs. Antonio Silva
Neither
heavyweight is particularly fast, but one is very proficient
in one facet of the game, namely, striking. And that heavyweight
is Overeem. Silva's only real shot is a Hail Mary punch or damage
on top from ground and pound. I don't rule out the possibility
of the latter, but I see it as unlikely. What seems more plausible
is that Overeem will stalk Silva and overwhelm him with superior
combos and well-placed, heavy punches with enough takedown defense
to earn a stoppage TKO.
Pick:
Overeem
Demian
Maia vs. Jon Fitch
This
fight is probably the hardest to figure out of all on the main
card. I think a compelling case can be made for either fighter,
but I'm siding with the proven commodity at welterweight. There's
no denying Maia has looked quick and strong at 170 pounds, but
Fitch is a different animal. He's going to be hard to take down
and as we've seen, ultra hard if not impossible to submit. Maia
is a better submission finisher than Erick Silva, but Fitch has
ungodly abilities to work out of bad submission spots (particularly
chokes). I also think Fitch's wrestling and superb scrambling
will help him work from a spot where Maia is far less dangerous:
his own guard. Look, Maia's guard is world-class and he could
catch almost anyone on the right day from it, but relative to
top or back control, his guard isn't as potent. If Fitch is proactive
and disciplined in his attack, Maia should fold.
Pick:
Fitch
Joseph
Benavidez vs. Ian McCall
Two
really excellent flyweight fighters, but I'm going with the Team
Alpha Male product. I actually believe McCall could outstrike
him as he has the cleaner technique while Benavidez tends to
rely on athleticism for combinations and distance management.
But Benavidez's wrestling will be too much for McCall. It's true
'Uncle Creepy' is a very good MMA wrestler himself, but people
routinely discount how good Benavidez' strength and control actually
is. He'll use it for either a decision or submission victory.
Pick:
Benavidez
From
the preliminary card:
Evan
Dunham < Gleison Tibau
Jay Hieron > Tyron Woodley
Edwin Figueroa > Francisco Rivera
Bobby Green < Jacob Volkmann
Isaac Vallie-Flagg < Yves Edwards
Chico Camus > Dustin
Kimura
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Smartest
Guy at the Bar: UFC 156 Edition
By RJ Clifford
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship keeps alive its tradition of ensuring
fight fans enter Super Bowl Sunday with a hangover, as it brings
together another loaded pay-per-view on the eve of the big game.
Featuring a blockbuster featherweight title bout, along with
appearances by two former champions and two others who once fought
for promotional gold, UFC 156 “Aldo vs. Edgar” goes
down this Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
How
We Got Here: Former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar finally
heeded the endless pleading from UFC President Dana White, fans,
coaches and diet books everywhere. The New Jersey native decided
to push aside the second helping of bacon and drop to 145 pounds
to challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight throne. Always undersized
for 155, Edgar is a welcome addition to a fledgling division
in desperate need of star power on viable challengers for a champion
who has won 14 fights in a row ... Rashad Evans and Antonio Rogerio
Nogueira will duke it out in the co-main event. The historically
dominant fighters are in the rare position of trying to get back
on the winning track; Evans is coming off a one-sided loss to
205-pound champion Jon Jones, while “Minotoro” has
lost two of three ... Antonio Silva is marked as the sacrificial
lamb for the return of Alistair Overeem. The hulking Dutchman
was next in line for a title shot after he kicked Brock Lesnar
into retirement, but a Nevada Athletic Commission suspension
curbed that enthusiasm. The former Strikeforce champion is all
but guaranteed a crack at the UFC heavyweight crown if he leaves
this one with his hand raised.
Useless
Fact: Edgar has been the betting underdog six times in his last
eight bouts. Despite his 5-2-1 record in those fights, oddsmakers
never have faith in the guy. Maybe it’s his size; maybe
it’s his style of fighting; maybe it’s his mellow personality.
Whatever the case, Toms River, N.J., should be home to the richest
people in America by now.
Say
What: Evans is quietly putting together one of the best careers
in MMA history. He has fought the cream of the crop at 205 pounds
and has begun fielding questions about the possibility of moving
to the middleweight division to face pound-for-pound king Anderson
Silva. During a pre-fight media call for UFC 156, Evans admitted
the idea was alluring on a number of fronts: “It’d
be a tremendous honor to have held the belt in two different
divisions, but [it would] also [be about] the chance to compete
against Anderson Silva; he’s one of my favorite fighters
to watch. I get excited every single time I have a chance to
watch him fight. When my career is all said and done, I want
to be able to say I competed against some of the best guys ever
in history. For me to get the chance to compete against Anderson
Silva would just be an amazing experience and something I’ll
take with me forever.”
Mass
Exodus: Edgar joins 53 other fighters listed as featherweights
on UFC.com. Of those 54, 12 have competed at least one time at
155 pounds in the UFC, including former title challenger Kenny
Florian, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 15 alum Justin
Lawrence and perennial lightweight contender Clay Guida. The
lightweight division is bursting at the seams with talent and
boasts an 82-man roster. If physically able to drop 10 pounds
and relocate to featherweight, why would any lightweight choose
to swim with the great white sharks at 155? The featherweight
class needs new stars to vie for the title; the lightweight division
needs a cattle prod just to corral all the potential contenders.
Holding
Pattern: Evans is one of the top non-champion draws for the UFC.
The former titleholder has headlined pay-per-views against other
box office draws, like Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson and Tito
Ortiz. In fact, this will mark the first time that Evans will
not be part of a main event since UFC 73 back in July 2007, ending
a streak of nine consecutive headlining appearances. “The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 2 winner finds himself in the co-main
event at UFC 156. Since losing to Jones, the Blackzilians representative
has been forced to play a waiting game. A matchup with “The
Spider” for the middleweight championship has been floated,
but Silva’s immediate future remains unclear. A rematch
with “Bones” is certainly possible, but he is currently
tied up with Chael Sonnen. Should Jones ever vacate the 205-pound
title for a move to the heavyweight division, Evans would be
on a short list of contenders to fill the void. Fighting Nogueira,
a 36-year-old underdog in the midst of a 13-month layoff, will
serve to keep Evans busy. Can “Minotoro” catch him
twiddling his thumbs?
Go
Ahead, Book the Immediate Rematch: Let us call a spade a spade.
Edgar has appeared in back-to-back-to-back rematches; that is
six fights against just three opponents. His upset against B.J.
Penn at UFC 112 was labeled a robbery, so a do-over was ordered.
An immediate rematch was a no-brainer after “The Answer”
battled Gray Maynard to a draw at UFC 125. By the time Edgar
surrendered his title to Benson Henderson on narrow scorecards
at UFC 144, he had built up so much goodwill, he probably could
have demanded a rematch in his own backyard and Zuffa brass would
have capitulated. The guy just has a style of fighting that lends
itself to razor-thin decisions, as he strikes with volume but
oftentimes little damage and scores takedowns but rarely controls
foes on the mat. UFC 156 will unfold under the watchful eye of
a state commission that hired two judges who thought they saw
Timothy Bradley defeat Manny Pacquiao. Throw in referee Steve
Mazzagatti, the third man in the Octagon for the Aldo-Edgar fight,
and you have the potential for problems.
Awards
Watch: Edgar has become a master at scoring “Fight of the
Night” bonuses after three- and five-round wars. In addition,
his footwork makes him an easy mark for Aldo’s leg kicks.
A couple close-ups of the bruising likely to form around the
thigh of “The Answer” will give this fight the layer
of toughness it needs to edge out other thrill-seeking matchups
on the card, like Joseph Benavidez-Ian McCall ... “Knockout
of the Night” seems all but a cinch for Overeem. While “Bigfoot”
Silva is no walk in the park for anyone, his lack of head movement
combined with his enormous head makes for a tantalizing target
... Do not be suckered into thinking the Demian Maia-Jon Fitch
bout will end with a choke from the Brazilian. Chew on this:
Fitch has not been submitted since his 2002 professional debut,
and Maia has delivered only one tapout win in his past nine outings.
Expect one of the wrestlers on the preliminary portion of the
card to wear down his opponent and put him away for the “Submission
of the Night.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Randy
Couture Signs Partnership with Spike, Will Coach on New Bellator
Reality Series
by Ken
Pishna
Randy
Couture has signed a new deal to keep him involved in mixed martial
arts, but what may or may not come as a surprise, is the company
he signed the deal with.
Spike
TV officials on Tuesday morning sent out a release confirming
a new partnership between the network and the former UFC champion,
although they didn’t yet announce the scope of the partnership.
The
crux of the deal, however, is Couture’s involvement as a
coach on the upcoming Bellator MMA reality series that begins
filming in February.
The
partnership, according to a report by Sports Illustrated and
confirmed by MMAWeekly.com sources, is a multi-year agreement
that involves multiple projects. The Bellator coaching stint
is just the launching pad.
Seeing
as how Spike TV and Bellator MMA are properties under the Viacom
umbrella, Couture’s involvement will likely heavily revolve
around Bellator, but may include many other opportunities.
Viacom
is a multi-billion-dollar media company that includes BET Networks,
MTV Networks, and Paramount Pictures, among other interests.
MMAWeekly.com’s
sources said Couture’s position as one of the first two
coaches on Bellator’s new reality series on Spike TV is
set, and further indicated that his opposing coach is likely
to be another pioneering figure in mixed martial arts.
Official
details of Couture’s new partnership with Spike will be
revealed on Tuesday, Feb. 5, during a media conference call.
UFC
president Dana White, when asked about the possibility of his
company being a monopoly, along with citing a Federal investigation
that determined it is not, has often noted that part of Bellator’s
ownership includes Viacom, and that Viacom is sitting on billions
of dollars that the UFC isn’t.
It
now seems that Viacom is ready to start utilizing some of that
money and it’s position in the entertainment industry to
build Bellator into a viable competitor.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Rashad
Evans knows he'd beat Anderson Silva, not gunning for 'bittersweet'
fight
by John
Morgan
With
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva seemingly running short
on contenders in his own division, fans and pundits alike have
begun to look at other classes to bring him a proper challenge.
Rashad
Evans (17-2-1 MMA, 12-2-1 UFC) is one the of the names being
tossed about, but "Suga" isn't so sure he'd take the
fight – even though he feels confident he'd walk away victorious.
"I'm
not a good matchup for him," Evans told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
"I'm sure he's not chomping at the bit to fight me. He doesn't
really have anything to gain from fighting me, so I don't know
if he would even want to fight me. I don't know why he would
go out of his way to fight somebody like me. If the UFC is not
going to make him fight me, then I don't see why he would fight
me.
"Besides
that, I love Anderson. He's a great guy outside of the cage,
and he's one of my favorite fighters to watch inside the cage.
To me, to fight him would be a little bittersweet because I know
I would beat him. I know I would beat him."
The
5-foot-11 Evans actually made his UFC debut as a heavyweight,
defeating Brad Imes in the final bout of "The Ultimate Fighter
2" to claim that season's tournament title. He immediately
dropped to light heavyweight, where he became UFC champion in
2008 with a win over Forrest Griffin. He would later surrender
the title to Lyoto Machida, and he recently failed in a bid to
gain it back by losing a unanimous decision to former friend
and training partner Jon Jones.
That
was nine months ago, and Evans admits he needed a little time
away from the sport to again find his motivation.
"After
you climb the top of the mountain and you don't get where you
want to go and you kind of fall down a bit, it takes a little
bit of a mental break to help to kind of recuperate and get yourself
feeling right to get back out there and climb that mountain again,"
Evans admitted. "I did find the motivation again, but it
was difficult.
"That
fight with Jones, it took a lot out of me emotionally more than
anything. Not having the results I wanted, it was a bit of a
heartbreak for me. It was just more a relief that that part was
over in my life. I had to kind of come to peace with everything
and the way things happened, and it was kind of closing a chapter
in my life. That was something important for me to have happen."
Evans
kept busy by working with FUEL TV as a UFC analyst, and he hopes
he can transition in a full-time broadcasting gig when his fighting
days are over. But he's not ready to make that switch just yet.
Instead,
he now meets Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (20-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at
this weekend's UFC 156 event in Las Vegas. The bout serves as
the co-main event on the evening's pay-per-view broadcast.
Evans
is a heavy favorite in the fight, and some pundits wondered aloud
why the fight was booked with "Little Nog" struggling
through a 1-2 stretch. However, Evans said the fight booking
provided plenty of motivation for him, and he's looking forward
to competing against such a respected opponent.
"I
have huge respect for the Nogueira brothers and the legacies
that both of them have created," Evans said. "At the
end of the day, when my career is said and done, I want to say
that I competed against some of the best guys in the business,
and he's somebody that I consider one of the best guys in the
business. He and his brother are both legends, and I'm excited
to compete against him.
"'Little
Nog' took some time off, and I think that kind of refreshes the
body both physically and mentally. With the time off and a fresh
feel, not to mention the fact that he's got incredible heart,
I'm expecting a good fight. I'm going to go out there and put
on a good performance and bring it."
But
what comes next isn't exactly clear. His fight with Jones was
one of the most anticipated of 2012, but the champ's victory
was undeniable. A rematch wouldn't seem to be in the cards for
quite some time, but Evans isn't fully letting go of the possibility.
"I
still watch Jon, and I love to see him fight," Evans said.
"I love to see his creativity. I still watch him, and I
still want to get a chance to fight him again. I know and I believe
that if I fight him again, things will definitely be different.
I feel like I've got what it takes to beat him. I've studied
his game, and I know it. I feel like it would be a different
fight this time around.
"I'm
just excited to climb the ladder again, and however long it takes,
it takes, but I'm a student of the game, and that's what I want
to continue to be. I want another chance to fight for the belt,
and when I do, it will be worthwhile for me."
So
what about a quick trip to middleweight for a meeting with Silva?
While fans have asked about it, the matchup doesn't seem to be
a part of the UFC's immediate plans. And for that matter, Evans
isn't even sure he could make the weight.
"I
would have to do a practice cut and see what would happen before
I even would agree to something like that," Evans said.
"It's kind of hard for me to make 205 sometimes. So 185,
I don't know what I'd have to do. I'd probably have to lose some
weight in my legs or something, and I don't know how to do that."
He's
also not looking past the challenge ahead of him this weekend,
even if others might be.
"They're
overlooking Nogueira, but I'm not," Evans said. "They've
already got me winning the fight and wanting to fight at 185.
But for me, it's first things first, and that's fighting Nogueira.
That's the only thing I really care about right now. Anderson
is I guess a fantasy fight. It has to be the right deal for it
to even happen.
"It's
just a matter of getting that belt back around my waist. I just
want to go out there and compete with the best guys. If I get
a chance to fight Jon Jones or Anderson Silva or whoever may
have the belt at the time, that's what it's about. I just want
to go out there and compete and have fun competing."
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
UFC
on Fox 6 and Prelim TV Ratings Remain Strong
UFC
on Fox 6 held strong in the TV ratings compared to December’s
UFC on Fox event, dipping just slightly, but still returning
strong results.
Saturday
night’s UFC on Fox 6 drew an average audience of 4.2 million
viewers, according to MMAWeekly.com industry sources. That number
is narrowly below the 4.4 million viewers that watched UFC on
Fox 5 on Dec. 8.
The
UFC on Fox 6 main event peaked at 5.2 million viewers, setting
the high mark for the broadcast.
The
combination of a stacked main card and heavy promotion by Fox
seems to be paying off in a significant uptick in the ratings.
UFC
on Fox 5 marked the first time since the special UFC on Fox 1
event that a Fox card was headlined by a championship bout and
featured a main card rivaling pay-per-view fight cards. The promotion
for the event followed suit, finding heavy rotation during NFL
games on the network.
Headlining
with UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson defending his
belt against John Dodson, UFC on Fox 6 emulated that strategy,
again giving fans a pay-per-view worthy fight card on the Fox
network.
The
new tack produced ratings that were nearly double those of the
promotion’s third and fourth events on Fox, which featured
solid main cards, but no title bouts.
The
two-hour preliminary bout on telecast on FX returned the same
type of results, drawing 1.2 million viewers, as did the preliminary
bouts for UFC on Fox 5.
UFC
on Fox 7 features lightweight champ Benson Henderson – as
did UFC on Fox 5 – putting his belt on the line in the main
event against Gilbert Melendez, utilizing the new approach once
again.
The
April 20 event will be the first that won’t have the power
of the NFL on Fox viewership behind it for promotion, so it will
be interesting to see the TV ratings results with the championship
fight card minus the NFL’s leverage.
But
for now, the fine-tuning done by UFC and Fox officials is paying
off.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Rogerio
Nogueira Enlists GSP’s Wrestling Coach for UFC 156
Carlos
Arthur
With
a card brimming with first-rate match-ups, UFC 156 features more
than just one major clash of styles. On Feb. 2 in Las Vegas,
Rogerio Nogueira, a star from the days of Pride FC, takes on
Rashad Evans, a former champion of the promotion’s light-heavyweight
division. Not unfamiliar with his opponent’s solid takedown
game, “Minotouro” brought in reinforcements to make
sure he keeps his back off the canvas during the fight.
Kethag
Pilev and Nick Johson joined forces with Nogueira at his Rio
de Janeiro training camp to unravel the techniques Evans brings
to the table.
Pilev
placed in the top five at the 2012 London Olympics, and Johson
has coached some big names in the UFC, such as welterweight champion
Georges St-Pierre. In an interview with O Globo, Minotouro explains
that the work they are doing together is meant to keep Rashad
from undermining his endurance.
“Rashad
is going to stand and trade but may want to take it to the ground,
too, to tire me out,” Nogueira said. “I have to be
careful not to get taken down, and to try and impose my game,”
However,
as he told GRACIEMAG.com in a recent interview, Minotouro isn’t
afraid of a ground war.
“I
may get taken down, the Brazilian said, “but if I fall I’ll
get up or try to sweep using my Jiu-Jitsu.”
Source
Gracie Magazine
|
Per
‘Rampage’ Jackson’s Request, Glover Teixeira Moves
On to ‘Get the Belt’
Carlos
Arthur
A
brotherly mood settled in behind the scenes following UFC on
Fox 6.
At
the post-fight press conference that followed the Jan. 26 event
in Chicago, Glover Teixeira revealed that he’s a fan of
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and also underscored the
good work he carried out in the cage.
“It
was a great fight. Rampage is a legend of the sport and I’m
glad to have gone there and fought him,” Teixeira said during
the presser on Saturday night. “I fought standing, took
him down, did a bit of everything, and I feel great about it.”
The
black belt, who with the fight notched his 18th win in a row,
was congratulated on his performance from all sides, even by
Rampage, who joins the crowd rooting for Glover’s ascension
to take him to the top of the light-heavyweight ranks.
“Now
I’m your fan. Go get the belt,” the former champion
of the division told Teixeira after the fight.
Now
we’ll just have to wait and see how the rest of the race
to the belt currently held by Jon Jones goes. And there’s
no lack of people in line for their crack at it.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Mike
Dolce breaks down TRT and its place in MMA
by Ben
Fowlkes
As
readers of my columns already know, I'm no fan of testosterone-replacement
therapy (TRT) for professional fighters. The prevalence of TRT
in MMA seems like a dangerous loophole to me, and one I suspect
we might look back on with horror and embarrassment in the coming
years.
That's
why I was surprised when Mike Dolce, the noted nutrition and
weight-cutting consultant to the MMA stars, voiced a passionate
support of TRT on the MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio)
show and on his own podcast last week. I've known Mike for years
and have always respected his opinion, so I called him up to
find out how a man whose philosophy shuns supplements in favor
of food could possibly think testosterone injections for pro
fighters is a good idea.
What
follows here is part interview and part debate, but mostly a
conversation between two people who will probably never agree
on this issue, but can still find common ground for a productive
discussion on it.
FOWLKES:
One of the things that seems odd about the current TRT situation
in MMA is how many guys – and you've worked with some of
them – suddenly claim to need it. We're talking about a
powerful hormone that is essential in helping people become big,
strong, explosive athletes in the first place, and now all these
big, strong, explosive athletes say they have chronically low
levels of the very hormone they'd need just to get to this point?
It seems like either this sport is lowering people's testosterone
the longer they stay in it, or else they don't really need it
in the first place.
DOLCE:
I'm with you 100 percent. That's why I think the list of the
criteria to enter into the TRT program should be extremely stringent.
But the athlete's need, the patient's need, in some cases is
legitimate. Those are the guys I believe are stepping up and
they're risking the public scrutiny by saying, hey, I'm doing
this because my doctor says I should and the athletic commissions
have legal remedies to allow someone in my situation to do this.
The guys who are actually speaking up and being above-board with
it, I don't think they should be vilified. That was really the
point of my rant on the podcast. They shouldn't be vilified.
They're coming forward, letting their blood be reviewed by multiple
agencies and entities. The media can be skeptical, but they're
being above-board about it and then they're just getting kicked
in the nuts.
I
think that's the wrong way to go to truly clean up the sport.
I think there should be tremendous oversight. I believe guys
in the TRT program should be tested every four weeks, 12 months
out of the year. If you're in it, you're in it for life. You
get tested year-round, and if you're above you get suspended.
No fine, just straight to a safety suspension for four months,
which seems like a good starting point. And while you're suspended,
you should still have to produce four months worth of blood work
before you're allowed to compete again. Because there are guys
with a legitimate need, and they're the ones getting vilified.
FOWLKES:
You mention being in the program for life. If we look at a guy
like Nate Marquardt, who made that same claim everyone makes,
saying his levels were low according to his doctor, got a legitimate
prescription, all that. But then when it caused him some career
problems, he got off it. Doesn't that just prove, at least in
his case, that he never really needed it? If you can be off of
it and still compete at that level, how legitimate could the
need have been?
DOLCE:
I'm not a doctor and I don't have access to his blood work or
health history, so I'm just going to speak from an outside perspective.
I believe Nate stopped using it based on the external, not because
of how it made him feel or his blood work – all the internal
stuff. He stopped, I think, because of all the extra baggage
and the media scrutiny. That's exactly what I'm talking about.
He became vilified and left a medically sanctioned program because
it was just easier. I'm assuming that Nate did everything above-board,
that it was all legitimate. If it was legitimate and if it was
agreed to by the commission, why shouldn't he be allowed to do
it? He got off it, which I would argue makes him less healthy
now. Now he could be at risk, and look at his last performance.
He had a sluggish, poor performance against [Tarec] Saffiedine,
who's amazing. A fight's a fight, but that one additional point
against him, I could say that did him a disservice.
FOWLKES:
But OK, so say he looks sluggish because he's not injecting testosterone.
Does that alone make it justifiable? What's the worst that happens
to a fighter with legitimately low testosterone levels if we
don't allow him to artificially raise his levels?
DOLCE:
It's not just athletes; it's humans. A decline in testosterone
creates a whole array of physical, mental, emotional issues.
Those are well-documented, more than I could give service to
in this conversation, but things like depression are very common.
Fatigue. Increased likelihood of injury. Those are all very high
up on the list, and that's not good if you just feel like crap
every day, not so unlike a diabetic who goes without insulin.
Something happened to you to make your hormone levels that way.
Now, whether it was self-caused or not, that's tough to prove.
But for whatever reason, their body is not producing this essential
hormone that allows them to feel good and operate at a normal
level. Never should anyone be above normal. Guys in the TRT program,
they're sub-normal, not just for their own reading, but for all
men in their age group.
FOWLKES:
The issue of the root cause, though, seems especially problematic.
As you mention, it's tough to prove what caused it, but one thing
we know is that abusing performance-enhancing drugs can cause
this. If you abuse steroids or testosterone and then get off
of it, your hormone levels plummet. How do we know, when we look
at somebody applying for TRT, that we aren't looking at someone
who has done this to himself? Doesn't that matter?
DOLCE:
It does matter. Unfortunately, it would be very hard to go backwards
on that. Very hard. But we can start moving forward by doing
those four-week blood tests to see how his levels change. It's
hard to determine the root cause. It could be from excessive
weight-cutting, which is not uncommon. It could be from concussive
blows to the head, which is another thing that can cause hormone
levels to go down over time.
FOWLKES:
Let me stop you right there, with the point about concussive
blows to the head. It seems like an insane argument to say, well,
this guy has suffered so much head trauma as a fighter that we
must allow him to inject testosterone in order to allow him to
suffer more head trauma as a fighter. That's crazy, isn't it?
DOLCE:
I agree, and that's something I've said before, is that all fighters
should get a CT scan immediately after every fight. We need to
see, are there any spots? Is anything changed? That should be
done immediately after the fight, not when they start forgetting
their kids' names or slurring their speech. I'm a big advocate
of fighter safety. I only want healthy people in this, and that's
why I talk about TRT. I want us to be as healthy as we can be
due to both lifestyle and the advances of modern medicine, which
we just can't deny. But we should do it with the least amount
of medicine and doing as much as we can through lifestyle.
FOWLKES:
But then there's the issue from the other side, from the guy
who's not on it but has to fight a guy who is. You're a fighter.
You know what it's like to stand in there and look across at
some other guy who's there to hurt you. Would you want to be
in there with a guy who had been injecting testosterone for the
last few months while he got ready to fight you?
DOLCE:
You know, in the gym we train with guys who are taking a hell
of a lot more than TRT. I would much rather myself, or my athletes
fight a guy in the TRT program, because at least then you know
he's being monitored by these agencies and I know exactly what
he's doing. The guy who's not in any program but is trying to
fulfill a need in a different way, who knows what he's doing?
That guy's scary, because he's doing it in the dark. I want it
to be above-board. And the amount of testosterone these guys
are taking, it's a relatively minuscule amount because they cannot
exceed normal. That's another point I made on the podcast.
FOWLKES:
But what Nevada defines as normal is as high as 6-to-1 for a
testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio. Most people are at 1-to-1.
Most other states do 4-to-1. So it seems like if you're a normal
guy walking around at 1-to-1 and you go up to 4-to-1, you're
still under normal in Nevada, but that's four times what you
started with. That seems like the definition of performance-enhancing.
DOLCE:
As I understand it, that's not the criteria that the commission
and the doctors use. I understand – and I'm not on the commission,
but this is what I get from the fighters and their teams, since
it affects what I do – but it's a different number. I believe
it's their total testosterone level. It's what's actually inside
their body, regardless of the ratio. I believe that number, the
high end is around 800. I believe that guys below 300 are the
ones considered for the TRT program. Some of those guys are in
the low hundreds. That gives you an idea how low they are. I
think the ratio, as I understand it, is not used to determine
inclusion in the program. That just opens them up for further
testing as an initial flag.
FOWLKES:
Yes, that's true, the ratio is not how they determine whether
you should be allowed to use testosterone, but it is how they
look at your drug test sample to determine whether you're over.
They look at that ratio and that flags you as positive for elevated
testosterone levels. That's how Chael Sonnen got caught. That's
how Alistair Overeem got caught. What I wonder with you is how
you square TRT with the rest of your philosophy, because I know
your approach is so holistic and food-based. As you told me once
before, the first thing you do when you come in to work with
a new fighter is to get rid of "the powders, potions and
pills" that they might be on as far as supplements and the
like. It seems to me that that approach and the approach that
says, hey, some guys need injections of synthetic testosterone,
those two things seem in direct opposition to one another.
DOLCE:
It's no different than injecting insulin if you need it. I see
the science, I see the medical need, I don't see it as anything
different than insulin. In fact, insulin is much more of a PED.
There's a lot of research on that. Insulin can be a major PED,
and that's easy to get and take. That's no problem. Look at bodybuilding,
and it's everywhere. Testosterone, I think, isn't in the same
category. There should be a stringent program to determine and
monitor who does it and how they do it. I'm not saying that everybody
should get on testosterone. But the guys who need it shouldn't
be vilified. That's my main point. These guys are giving their
blood work. Think about it, you can't ask for someone's blood
work. That's one of the most private things in the world. These
guys are willingly giving it.
FOWLKES:
But they're giving it to a state athletic commission, and one
of the major issues I have is with the competency of those commissions
to deal with something like this. I don't know if you've heard
when the Nevada State Athletic Commission reviews applications
for therapeutic-use exemptions, but they use a doctor who is
not an endocrinologist. This isn't even his field. And plenty
of fighters, they get these prescriptions in the first place
from their personal doctor, who is not an endocrinologist. I've
heard of fighters who got them from spine specialists. People
aren't seeking out the experts on this stuff. If we're looking
to the athletic commissions to tell us what's justified and what
isn't, I don't know how much faith we should really have that
these commissions are even qualified to do this.
DOLCE:
I agree. By and large, the commissions, the government agencies,
the bureaucracy, they do a terrible job. As individuals, the
commissioners themselves are good guys doing the best they can.
But the agencies get absolutely nothing done. I mean, look at
the judging. My mother can tell a bad call, and that happens
all the time under the commission's oversight. They have no criteria
to fix it. People's careers are on the line, millions of dollars,
and this happens. But with the TRT program, I agree, the most
brilliant minds in the field should be attached to this. It seems
like a simple issue. I say everyone should be tested more, let's
find out what everyone's issues and intentions are, and let multiple
agencies with different agendas oversee it and determine if it's
good or not. I think it's important so that the fans know the
doctors, the commissions are all on the same page. No one's stepping
up to do it, but the guys who are coming forward and being public
about their use, they don't deserve to be vilified because of
that.
FOWLKES:
What I wonder is, since we're talking about a violent combat
sport where the consequences could be so dire – I mean,
we're not talking about baseball here, where the worst thing
that happens from PED use is you hit a ball farther or throw
it faster – this is people hitting each other in the head.
At what point do the risks of allowing it outweigh the benefits
to the few who need it? If we had to let a few fighters' low
testosterone go untreated, would that be worth it to ensure that
other fighters aren't risking brain damage by being punched in
the head by people who are on this powerful hormone?
DOLCE:
The question of combat sports is difficult. It is different.
When we're talking about combat sports or football or rugby –
even NASCAR – the athletes assume a specific risk. That
drives the sport. People watch for the risks, for the crashes,
for the contusions. Good or bad, that's the risk, and these athletes
know it. They're signing up to hurt and be hurt. The TRT program,
with proper oversight, I don't believe will adversely affect
the opponent's probability of getting hurt, or getting hurt worse.
If anything, I think it would protect their safety more because
of the oversight and regulation. I mean, it's still punching
and kicking at the end of the day. It's a rough business.
FOWLKES:
But say you're a young guy who wants to be a pro fighter. Say
you're 22, maybe you've had a couple pro fights, and you dream
of getting to the UFC. You hear about all these UFC fighters
on testosterone – more and more lately, it seems, and we
always seem to hear about it after they fight rather than before
– but how are you not going to feel like, even if you don't
want to, you might have to do this stuff just to compete at that
level? Doesn't that seem like the really pernicious part of it,
the way it makes the guys who want to compete clean feel like
they can't?
DOLCE:
Yeah, that's a good point, and that's part of a whole other conversation.
That's part of why I talk about it, because we need to talk about
this in the open and be honest. The kids out there in their teens,
whether they're just trying to gain weight because they're sick
of getting bullied, or whether they're pursuing a career in mixed
martial arts, guys at that stage of life just want to get bigger
and stronger. We need to communicate to them that drugs are the
wrong way to go. There are so many natural processes happening
at that stage of life. The guys that take drugs ruin it, and
they will end up needing something like the TRT program down
the road. Don't shut off your own supply.
FOWLKES:
Last question: I don't know how closely you follow other sports,
but in the recent voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, no one
was elected. Several players from baseball's "steroid era”
were eligible, but looking back at them now it seems like baseball
is shutting those guys out, maybe due to a collective sense of
shame of what went on there and how long it was allowed to go
on unimpeded. Are you not worried that we're in that same kind
of era right now in MMA with all this TRT? How many high-profile
fighters need to be on TRT before we get to a point that will
embarrass us when we look back a few years from now?
DOLCE:
I agree, but I think we might feel that way about insulin, which
nobody is doing much about, regardless of its powerful anabolic
effects. ...Insulin is the most powerful anabolic agent in existence.
Testosterone is its less powerful younger brother, truly.
FOWLKES:
But that's like saying that because one substance is poorly regulated,
we shouldn't worry about other substances. If we aren't doing
enough about insulin, that does not form an argument for doing
less about testosterone.
DOLCE:
We should do more about everything. That's what we could do if
we have them submit a complete blood panel every four weeks.
We need to know, are you a robot or not? Are you a real, legitimate,
healthy athlete? Are you healthy for your own safety? Then we
could catch some of these other issues, things like kidney problems
from tough weight cuts. I wish the commissions and everyone else
would jump on board. The blood work is not that expensive, not
to make sure everyone is healthy. I think the only thing we can
do here is move forward with proper oversight and regulation.
I don't think it's possible to go backwards.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Shinya
Aoki to challenge for lightweight title against Kotetsu Boku
at ONE FC 8
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
Former
DREAM champion Shinya Aoki (32-6, 1 NC) is slated to challenge
Kotetsu Boku (20-7-2) for the ONE FC lightweight title at ONE
FC: Kings and Champions, which takes place on April 5, 2013 at
the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. ONE FC officials
announced the long-rumored bout on Wednesday.
Aoki,
29, needed just 85 seconds to coax a tapout from French submission
specialist Arnaud Lepont via triangle choke in his ONE FC debut
last October. Since then Aoki picked up an additional victory,
defeating Antonio McKee via punches on DREAM's year-end supercard.
Likewise,
Boku, 35, rides his own two-fight win streak into the bout, having
knocked out Shin Kochiwa in 67 seconds before upsetting Aoki's
Evolve MMA teammate, Zorobabel Moreira, to claim the inaugural
ONE FC lightweight belt.
The
card will be broadcast live throughout 28 Asian countries by
ESPN Star Sports, and will be the second of 12 planned ONE FC
events in 2013.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Nate
Diaz vs. Josh Thomson Added to UFC on Fox 7
The
theme of UFC vs. Strikeforce continues for the upcoming UFC on
Fox 7 show as Nate Diaz will face Josh Thomson in a lightweight
battle on April 20.
UFC
officials announced the fight on Tuesday.
Technically,
Josh Thomson moves to the UFC from Strikeforce, but at one time
he was considered the uncrowned champion of the lightweight division
that competed inside the Octagon.
Unfortunately
at the time, the UFC opted to do away with the 155-pound weight
class, so Thomson moved on and ended up winning the Strikeforce
title. He also managed to engage in an epic trilogy of fights
with current Strikeforce titleholder Gilbert Melendez.
Now
Thomson faces a tough test for his return to the UFC as he faces
off with former Ultimate Fighter winner Nate Diaz.
Diaz
books his next fight just over a month after his loss to UFC
lightweight champion Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 5 in December.
Now Diaz will try to get back on track and face a fellow local
area fighter in Thomson, who trains out of the American Kickboxing
Academy in San Jose, Calif.
Diaz
vs. Thomson is the latest addition to the UFC on Fox 7 card taking
place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose on April 20, which features
several UFC vs. Strikeforce fights including the main event pitting
Benson Henderson against Gilbert Melendez.
Source:
MMA Weekly
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