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2013
November
Aloha
State Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
October
NAGA:
Hawaiian Grappling Championships
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Radford H.S. Gym)
August
Maui
Open Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(tba)
June
State
of Hawaii Championship
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
6/8/13
King of the Cage
(MMA)
(Maui)
5/30/13 - 6/2/13
World
BJJ Championships
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, University of California at Long Beach)
5/25-26/13
NAGA:
Pacific Grappling Championships
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Radford H.S. Gym)
5/4/13
Mad Skillz
(Triple Threat)
(Waipahu Filcom)
4/27/13
Star Elite Cagefighting: The Foundation
(Kickboxing)
(Aloha Tower Waterfront)
4/13/13
Hawaiian
Open Championship
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
Denny Prokopos
Eddie Bravo Black Belt Seminar
9AM-11AM
$50
@ O2 Martial Arts Academy
3/23/13
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
3/20-24/13
Pan
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(Irvine, CA)
3/20/13
David Kama Seminar
Rickson Gracie Black Belt
8-10PM
$50
@ O2 Martial Arts Academy
2/23/13
Got Skills
(MMA, Kickboxing, Triple Threat)
(Waipahu Filcom)
2/16/13
Mayhem At The Mansion
Kauai Cage Match 14
(MMA)
(Kilohana Carriage House, Lihue, Kauai)
Boxing Event
(Boxing)
(Palolo Gym District Park Gym)
Uncle Frank Ordonez’s Birthday Tournament
(Palama Settlement Gym)
(Grappling, Sport-Pankration and Continuous sparring)
2/3/13
Diego Moraes Semainr
(BJJ)
(O2MAA)
2/2/13
World
Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship: Hawaii Trials
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(McKinley H.S. Gym)
2/1/13
IBJJF Referee Clinic
(O2MAA)
1/19/13
Destiny
Na Koa 2
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
1/12/13
Reuben "Cobrinha" Charles Seminar
4-7PM
(Ku Lokahi Wrestling Club)
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May
2013 News Part 3
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UFC
President Dana White Wants BJ Penn to Retire: “He’s
Too Tough for His Own Good”
“He
didn’t say it tonight, but I think BJ is probably going
to retire, and I wouldn’t mind seeing that.”
So
said UFC president Dana White following BJ Penn’s loss to
Rory MacDonald at UFC on Fox 5. That was five months ago, and
despite a rash of recent retirement announcements, Penn has yet
to make any declaration about his career.
Forrest
Griffin announced his retirement on Saturday night following
UFC 160 in Las Vegas. His announcement followed those of Matt
Serra, John Cholish, and Shane Carwin.
Penn,
however, remains silent.
“I
want BJ Penn to retire,” White reiterated during a UFC 160
post-fight scrum with members of the media.
“You’ve
won belts in two different weight classes. You’re one of
the greatest ever,” he continued, pointing out just a fraction
of the legendary Hawaiian’s accomplishments. “You have
money; you have a beautiful family.”
White
understands why Penn finds it difficult to turn his back and
walk away.
Penn
has already tried. He retired following his UFC 137 loss to Nick
Diaz, but returned little more than a year later for the fight
with MacDonald.
The
allure of competition and the allure of the crowd are magnetic.
“It’s
hard. It’s hard to walk out of that,” said White. “That
arena’s packed, everybody’s screaming your name, you’re
making tons of money, and it’s hard to walk away from that.”
Warrior
is an overused word in combat sports, but in BJ Penn’s case,
none fits better… and that’s both a good and a bad
thing.
It’s
good in that Penn never quits, fighting to the final bell, entertaining
the fans that have come to love him.
It’s
bad in that Penn never quits, fighting to the final bell, often
taken tremendous amounts of punishment.
“BJ
is too tough for his own good,” White declared. “BJ
might not be knocked out, but the shots BJ took would have knocked
out a normal human being. He’s had his head bounced off
the canvas like a basketball by Matt Hughes, by Georges St-Pierre.
“BJ
Penn has left that Octagon looking like a (expletive) alien.
He’s too tough for his own good.”
And
that is exactly why White wants Penn to retire. He wants Penn
to ride off into the sunset and enjoy his growing family before
his warrior spirit gets the better of him in the Octagon.
“You
don’t knock out BJ Penn. BJ Penn absorbs every amount of
punishment you can give him, doesn’t mean he hasn’t
taken damage. He’s taken a lot of damage and I don’t
want to see him take anymore.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
Bigfoot
Silva Claims Early Stoppage, Illegal Blows and Calls for Referee
Reform Following UFC 160
UFC
champion Cain Velasquez caught challenger Antonio “Bigfoot”
Silva with a right hand while exchanging in the pocket early
in the first round of the UFC 160 main event in Las Vegas on
Saturday.
The
punch knocked Silva to the canvas and Velasquez quickly swooped
in on him. Silva turtled up, trying to avoid the barrage of punches.
Silva claims, during the final seconds of the fight, before referee
Mario Yamasaki stepped in to stop the action, that he received
several illegal blows.
“I
do agree that the fight was stopped too early,” said Silva
during the UFC 160 post-fight press conference.
“I
don’t want to say too much. I’d rather you each watch
the fight playback. It’s clear watching it that took several
illegal blows to the back of my neck,” said Silva. “And
the referee explained to me that the first illegal blow is a
warning that should be issued. The second should be penalized
on points. But in seeing the playback, you can see I took several
illegal blows to the back of my neck.”
UFC
president Dana White doesn’t think anyone who watched the
fight will be “outraged” by the stoppage.
“I’ve
seen worse stoppages,” he said.
Silva
stands by his comments, however, and believes that referees should
be held accountable for making mistakes, as in some other major
sports.
“My
way of thinking is that the same that applies to athletes that
are penalized when they do something wrong or illegal should
also apply to referees when they do something wrong. They too
should be penalized,” he said.
Despite
thinking the fight was stopped early and he was the victim of
illegal strikes, Silva didn’t want to take anything away
from Velasquez.
“Cain
Velasquez is a tremendous athlete and I don’t want my grievance
on the illegal blows issue to take away from his tremendous athleticism,”
said the 33-year-old Brazilian.
Switching
gears from the past and looking to the future, Silva hopes to
be back in action soon.
“I’m
looking forward to my next big opportunity in the UFC, and I
hope I can do a great fight for you guys in the near future.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
Lightweight Reza Madadi Arrested in Sweden for Alleged Involvement
in Burglary
Swedish
UFC lightweight Reza Madadi has been arrested following a smash
and grab that he was allegedly involved in at a handbag boutique,
Bottega Veneta, in Stockholm.
On
Friday morning, Expressen.se alleges that Madadi and his accomplices
were banging against the door of the shop for five minutes before
obtaining entry. Once inside a staff member said they cleared
the store of expensive handbags estimated to be around the value
of 1 million kronor ($150,000 USD).
The
police set upon tracking down the get-away vehicle and were successful.
“We
have two in custody. One of them is suspected of aggravated theft,
and the other for abetting larceny,” prosecutor Olof Calmvik
said.
It’s
not the first time that Madadi has been in trouble with the law.
He was charged for various offenses in the early 2000s, before
being suspected of involvement in a cash coupe in 2009, but was
acquitted of the latter charge.
“My
client denied the charges against him. I cannot say much more
until we see how this evolved,” Madadi’s lawyer Ivan
Fialdini said.
Madadi
last fought in April against Michael Johnson in Stockholm, where
he won via submission in round three. It was the 32-year-old’s
second win in three UFC fights since joining the company in 2012.
He was due to fight Michael Chiesa at UFC on Fox 8 on July 27,
but the fight was called off two weeks ago after Madadi encountered
visa issues.
UFC
officials were unavailable for comment at the time of publishing.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Former
Shooto Champion Koetsu Okazaki Enters One FC Cage Gunning for
Bantamweight Belt
Following
his first loss in four years, which happened last May, Shooto
veteran Koetsu Okazaki is looking to return to fighting for the
first time in a year and get back on the winning track.
While
some fighters might make big changes following a loss, Okazaki
has stayed the course and continued to work on his game to help
him rebound.
“I
have absolutely no plans about making changes,” he said.
“Last year was bad for me, but this year will be better.
I just need to improve my skills and take it to the next level
and I’m sure that I will be successful again.”
Okazaki
will get his chance to return to form on May 31 when he makes
his debut for One FC in an interim bantamweight title match against
Dream veteran Bibiano Fernandes.
“Of
course I feel pressure (debuting for a new promotion), but I
feel more excited than I feel pressure,” said Okazaki. “I
can’t wait for that opportunity to step into the One FC
cage and perform in front of thousands of fans.”
Okazaki
knows that heading into his fight with Fernandes he cannot get
behind early and make mistakes trying to catch up as the fight
progresses.
“It’s
always an honor to get a chance to fight an internationally well-known
name,” said Okazaki of Fernandes. “I must not let him
control the fight.
“With
his jiu-jitsu expertise, I’m sure he will try to implement
that style. I must make him fight how I want to fight and that
is what I am training extensively for.”
While
fighting for a title in One FC is a big thing for Okazaki, he
told MMAWeekly.com that gaining a victory over a high-ranking
opponent like Fernandes could be the bigger step forward for
his career.
“Winning
the belt at this big opportunity is very important, but so is
defeating Bibiano, which is more important for me,” said
Okazaki. “Bibiano is the biggest name I have ever fought,
and to defeat him will be a huge accomplishment.
“I
am still (an internationally unknown) fighter, so I would like
to win this fight and create a huge splash and have the MMA community
talking about me. Watch me on May 31 online at onefc.livesport.tv.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
Mark
Hunt Suffered a Broken Toe in UFC 160 Co-main Event, Says Dos
Santos was Too “Slick”
Heavyweight
Mark Hunt suffered a broken toe in the first round of the UFC
160 co-main event bout with former champion Junior dos Santos
on Saturday.
Hunt
(9-8) posted the news about the injury on his official facebook
page following the fight.
“Thanks
for the support, apologies about the result, junior was too slick
for me, got a broken toe first round, and had no movement, but
like i said before, if i am going out i am out on my back thanks
again 1luv,” Hunt wrote.
Hunt’s
assessment is accurate. dos Santos was a little too slick and
too quick for the Samoan. He was able to use his speed advantage
to move in and out, land his jab and combinations, and avoid
most of Hunt’s power shots.
Hunt
pressed forward the entire fight, while dos Santos circled on
the outside.
The
end came in the closing minute of the final round when dos Santos
landed a wheel kick to Hunt’s head sending the 39-year-old
New Zealander crashing to the canvas. He followed with a well-placed
right hand that left Hunt unconscious.
The
win earned dos Santos a third match with UFC heavyweight titleholder
Cain Velasquez. Velasquez defended his title against Antonio
“Bigfoot” Silva in the UFC 160 main event. The trilogy
is expected to take place later this year.
Source: MMA Weekly |
'Jacare'
Souza accepts Yushin Okami challenge
If
the UFC wants Ronaldo Souza to fight Yushin Okami next, "Jacare"
will happily oblige.
After
UFC president Dana White told media members prior to UFC 160
that the promotion wanted to book Souza vs. Okami next, Souza'a
manager Gilberto Faria told MMAFighting.com that he called UFC
matchmaker Joe Silva to inform him that they liked the idea and
would accept the fight.
"It
is up to them now to make that happen," he said.
Faria
said he would like the fight to happen in four months because
Souza (18-3) wants to take a month off and then needs three months
to get ready for Okami. The former Strikeforce champion made
quick work of Chris Camozzi on May 18 in his UFC debut, winning
the fight via first-round arm-triangle choke.
Okami
(29-7) has won his last three fights in a row and most recently
defeated Hector Lombard via split decision in March.
Source: MMA Fighting |
Bjorn
Rebney Expects ‘King Mo’ to Rebound from Loss, Doesn’t
Regret Matchmaking
Bellator’s
Summer Series is fast approaching with the first card set for
June 19 at Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla.
Ahead
of the event, CEO Bjorn Rebney joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s
“Beatdown” show on May 1 to discuss Muhammed Lawal,
Chael Sonnen’s title shot against Jon Jones and more.
On
“King Mo” Lawal, who suffered an upset loss to Emanuel
Newton in February and is returning June 19 against Seth Petruzelli:
“I think he’ll rebound well. Look, Seth has got a pretty
long and storied history of knocking off guys who he wasn’t
supposed to knock off in big fights. Mo is a tall order and Mo
has been back training since about 24 hours after the spinning
back fist loss to Emanuel. I know Mo’s 100-percent focused.
I know Mo’s working on every conceivable part of his game.
I know he’s just been studying tape like a wild dog and
he’s been training like his life depends on it, which it
does. This is a huge, important fight for King Mo, and equally
it’s a huge, important fight for Seth. … I think Mo
is going to be as prepared for this fight as we have ever seen
him prepared for any fight in the MMA space. He recognizes the
significance. He wasn’t supposed to lose in that tournament,
and that spinning back fist from Emanuel and Emanuel’s prep
won that fight.”
On
both Lawal and Renato “Babalu” Sobral losing in the
light heavyweight tournament last season: “If you look at
that last tournament, everybody had Mo pegged to fight Babalu
in the final. That’s the way the brackets were setup was
Mo was going to fight Babalu. Welcome to the world of Mikhail
Zayats and Emanuel Newton. Suddenly you had a final between two
guys nobody had ever heard of but can fight at a wicked level
at 205. So both of these guys have got a huge amount to prove.
Both of these guys never anticipated that they were going to
get bounced out of that tournament when they did.”
On
whether Lawal took Newton lightly: “I just think he got
caught right on the button with a spinning back fist that nobody
saw coming. I don’t think Emanuel planned to throw it until
he turned and saw the opening. I just think he got caught. Look,
it can happen to anybody, but do I think we’ll see it again
anytime soon? No, I don’t. I don’t think he was ill
prepared. He was in incredible shape. … I just think he
got caught by a really good, really talented fighter.”
On
Lawal-Babalu not happening after they weren’t matched against
each other immediately and both lost: “You know what it
breeds, it breeds honesty. It breeds real sports competition.
It breeds legitimate sports competition. Yeah, you could have
very easily just stepped up and gone, ‘You know what, we’ll
make Babalu versus Mo.’ Last weekend we saw a fight that
was exactly like that [Jones vs. Sonnen at UFC 159]. You just
make the fight for the sake of the fact that there’s recognizable
names and one of the guys has got the ability to create a lot
of media [attention], but you come off two losses back to back
at 185 and then you get a shot at the greatest pound-for-pound
fighter in the world at a weight class 20 pounds north of 185?
I don’t understand the logic in that, and we saw the result.
That doesn’t make sense to me. It makes sense to me in the
WWE, but it doesn’t make sense to me from a real sport perspective.”
On
Sonnen vs. Jones: “Chael Sonnen gets a shot at the title
against Jon Jones because of what he could say, not how he could
fight. It’s a different situation. There’s nothing
inherently wrong with that situation. I don’t fault it.
I don’t look at it and go, ‘Whoa, there’s just
something inherently wrong and bad about matchmaking and about
the way that formula works.’ But it is not sports competition
… the way that we understand it in every other sport that
we watch. It’s a sports entertainment vehicle. I happen
to think that there’s a lot of space and a lot of fan excitement,
a lot of fan interest in a different alternative that more closely
resembles what real sports is all about.”
Source: Sherdog
|
After
latest close decision, Benson Henderson expects plenty of Frankie
Edgar-style gameplans against him in the future
Benson
Henderson knew the next defense of his UFC lightweight title
would come against either T.J. Grant or Gray Maynard. He just
never expected Grant to settle the discussion so decisively.
"I
won't lie, I am a little bit surprised," Henderson admitted
on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour. "I think most people
had Gray winning, most people picked Gray to win. Not only did
T.J. prove everybody wrong, but the manner and the fashion in
which he did it, pretty impressive performance for him."
Grant
needed just two minutes to knock out Maynard at UFC 160, penning
the latest chapter in an unbeaten run at lightweight that virtually
no one in the UFC expected, least of all Henderson.
"I
was already kind of mentally preparing for [Maynard]," Henderson
said. "And now I've got a new guy to mentally prepare for.
"I
don't know a whole lot about T.J., to be honest. I know he's,
what, 5-0 at 155 now. He used to be a '70 pounder. From what
I've seen of him, just the little promos and hype and stuff,
doesn't seem too flashy but just one of those guys, a grinder,
good fundamentals, solid. It's going to be my job to learn all
about him the next month or so."
So
it goes for Henderson. Already among of the most active of the
current crop of UFC champions, "Smooth" eyes his next
challenge just a month after conquering his latest, when he defeated
longtime Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez in Melendez's
backyard at UFC on FOX 7.
Following
the closely contested contest, Henderson proposed to his girlfriend
Maria Magana in the center of the Octagon. The heartwarming moment
was broadcast on national television, but quickly became drowned
out by booing San Jose fans peeved at their hometown fighter's
loss.
"I
actually didn't notice at all," Henderson reflected. "I
was pretty in the moment, pretty tunnel vision. I had my heart
beating, freakin', 100 miles an hour. But didn't even notice
at all. I was just focused on making sure she said those three
little letters. For me it couldn't have been any better. It was
the perfect moment, perfect time, everything around it was awesome."
The
strange dichotomy of the scene, a well-intentioned gesture overshadowed
by vocal fan unrest, served as a bizarrely fitting encapsulation
of Henderson's reign as UFC champion, which began with a close
decision against Frankie Edgar and has grown increasingly polarizing
with each passing victory. Only against Nate Diaz, who Henderson
unrelentingly dominated for 25 minutes, did the 29-year-old emerge
unscathed in the court of public opinion.
"People
tend to kind of gloss over that one, but whatever, it's fine.
I don't really care," Henderson said of the criticism he
receives for winning close decisions.
"I
think a lot of it is stylistic match-ups. Actually what's going
to happen, I think, sadly, is that a lot of guys, they're going
to do the Frankie Edgar gameplan. We thought that Gilbert was
going to be super aggressive, like hyper aggressive -- come out
and go get me, and be after me the entire time. But if you watch
the fight, he was a lot more elusive. He was bouncing around,
kind of waited for his shots.
"We
think, actually, a lot of our fights are sadly going to be that
way because guys are going to see, as far as gameplan-wise, how
to beat us."
For
years Henderson was considered among the most exciting fighters
in the lightweight division, a mantle he wore proudly. His natural
inclination is still to compete that way, so it frustrates him
to continue putting on these types of performances.
"The
closest fight was probably that Frankie Edgar second fight. Some
guys are going to stick to that gameplan. They're going to try
to do what he did," Henderson explained. "Be elusive,
be in and out, not give me a whole chance to come forward, get
my hands on him. If I can go forward and get my hands on somebody,
like Nate Diaz, I'll do that all day long. Trust me. I like to
put on entertaining fights, I like beating the crap out of people,
but if they're not conducive to that, then it is what it is.
I've got to do what I've got to do to get the ‘W.' If they
don't want to come forward and scrap, just throw down the way
Nate and I did, then what am I going to do?.
"It's
stylistic match-ups. Somebody like Nate, who's a fighter's fighter,
who walks forward and gets after it, him and I brought a heck
of an entertaining show. Gilbert, I think his camp is very smart.
Hats off to him, he's a tough fighter. I got nothing bad to say
about the guy. [He just had] a little more of a Frankie Edgar
gameplan, and it made for that same kind of close decision."
Other
than B.J. Penn, no lightweight fighter in UFC history ever fully
established themselves as a pay-per-view star. Henderson's résumé
has the makings of the next major 155-pound draw, yet the constant
discussion regarding his decisions has seemingly slowed momentum
on that front, which made it unsurprising when UFC President
Dana White announced that Henderson vs. Grant may headline the
debut UFC event on FOX's new athletic vehicle, FOX Sports 1.
If
that booking comes to fruition, it would mark the third straight
non-pay-per-view title defense for Henderson. However, where
some fighters would protest, Henderson welcomes the idea.
"I
feel secure as a UFC champ. I think I get the same recognition,"
Henderson said. "Obviously, (Georges) St-Pierre and Jon
Jones, those guys ... we're talking about guys who've kind of
crossed that mainstream. Maybe I haven't crossed the mainstream
yet. It's cool with me. Whatever, I don't necessarily fight just
for money. I've proven that a bunch of times, choosing not to
fight on pay-per-views. Dana White and Lorenzo (Fertitta) asked
me, ‘Hey, do you mind fighting on this FOX card?' ‘I
would love it. No problem.' In my contract I do have pay-per-view
points, but when I fight for FOX and those guys, they want me
on there to be an ambassador for the sport. I have no problem
with that.
"I
actually love fighting on a bigger stage. I love having a bigger
audience, a broader audience besides just the core demographic
of males 18-34. ... The last fight, what was it? 5.5 million
people? You can't beat that, that kind of a stage, that kind
of an audience. FOX Sports 1, you know how big of a deal FOX
is going to make that? FOX is going to promote the crap out of
that. It's going to be a huge stage. It's going to be ginormous,
so I would love to fight on the card."
UFC
officials have yet to confirm whether Henderson will indeed headline
August's inaugural FOX Sports 1 event. According to UFC President
Dana White, four match-ups are currently under consideration
for the card's main event, with Henderson vs. Grant among them.
Nonetheless,
Henderson knows his next title defense will mark an important
moment in his career. Henderson's critics grow increasingly vocal
with every tight decision, so this time around, he's not going
to give them the chance.
"I
don't think I need a finish. I think I just need to have a great
performance," Henderson finished.
"As
long as I have a great performance, it'll all take care of itself."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
160: Cain Velasquez batters 'Bigfoot' Silva again, winning by
first-round knockout
LAS
VEGAS – Cain Velasquez scored another highlight-reel knockout
of Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, but this time it was his
boxing that led him to the first-round win.
Velasquez
landed a perfectly placed right cross on the chin of the Brazilian.
Silva crumpled to the mat. Velasquez quickly moved into position
and finished him with ground and pound, forcing referee Mario
Yamasaki to stop it just 1:21 after it started.
On
May 26, 2012, Velasquez also beat Silva in the first round. In
that bout, he caught a Silva kick early, took him down, opened
a massive cut with an elbow and then pounded on him until it
was stopped at 3:38.
This
time around, Velasquez didn't need a takedown.
Silva
had no answer once he was hit and simply turtled until the fight
was called.
The
Velasquez win, coupled with a win by Junior dos Santos over Mark
Hunt in the co-main event, will likely lead to a rubber match
between the two. Dos Santos won the title from Velasquez via
knockout in 2011, but Velasquez won a wide decision last year.
Junior dos Santos lands a punch against Mark Hunt. Junior dos
Santos lands a punch against Mark Hunt.
Dos
Santos earned another shot at the heavyweight title in spectacular
fashion, landing a spinning wheel kick to the head to finish
a game Hunt in the third round.
The
pair were firing power shots at each other for the majority of
the fight. Dos Santos knocked Hunt down with a massive right
in the first, but Hunt showed his incredible chin and got right
up.
But
he couldn't get up in the third. Dos Santos landed a left hook
that sent him staggering back to the middle of the ring. He missed
a jab, but then spun and caught Hunt on top of the head with
the kick.
Hunt
went down and dos Santos went for the kill. He landed one shot
from the top before referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped it at 4:18
of the third.
"I
really believe I can be the champion again," dos Santos
said as the crowd roared.
He
was cautious in going after Hunt, a powerful striker with one
of the strongest chins in the game. He kept his distance, not
choosing to exchange toe-to-toe, a move that would have played
into Hunt's hands.
Dos
Santos used his jab well and was scoring points, though he occasionally
took good shots from Hunt. Hunt's best was a left hook along
the cage that wobbled the ex-champion.
But
dos Santos was in marvelous condition and that paid off. He hurt
Hunt with the hook, then finished him with the kick that he used
for the first time in competition.
"Never
before have I tried that," an exultant dos Santos said in
the Octagon after the fight.
Earlier,
Glover Texeira scored an impressive first-round submission victory
over James Te Huna that puts him on a collision course with light
heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Teixeira
caught Te Huna in a guillotine choke and finished it quickly
at 2:38 of the first. He seemed more excited afterward that boxing
Hall of Famer Mike Tyson jumped into the cage to congratulate
him after the win than he did by his performance.
"I
can't believe Mike Tyson was here for me," said Teixeira,
a protégé of ex-UFC light heavyweight champion
Chuck Liddell.
The
referee stops the fight as Glover Teixeira, right, locks James
Te Huna into a submission. (AP)The referee stops the fight as
Glover Teixeira, right, locks James Te Huna into a submission.
(AP)Tyson saw Teixeira and Te Huna come out quickly and throw
bombs at each other. But as soon as Teixeira saw the opening
for the choke, he jumped on it.
Later,
he didn't want to call anyone out after winning his fourth consecutive
UFC bout.
"My
job is to do what I do in here [not make fights]," he said.
"I come to finish fights. I did the job well tonight."
In
the lightweight category, the late betting action was on T.J.
Grant in his No. 1 contender's fight with Gray Maynard. By the
time it closed, Maynard only went off as an 8-5 favorite.
And
Grant showed why the bettors were backing him with a shockingly
one-sided beatdown of Gray Maynard. Grant did most of his work
on his feet, and finished it by raining punches on Maynard. The
bout was stopped at 2:07 of the first.
"I
knew exactly what he would do," an ebullient Grant said
after earning a shot at lightweight champion Benson Henderson.
"He hit me with some good shots, but I knew he would be
flat-footed [in front of me]."
And
that allowed Grant to batter Maynard with strikes. Grant started
the finishing sequence with a perfect right on the chin. When
it was over, he landed several punishing shots and Maynard turtled
in the corner before it was mercifully stopped.
"This
is like a dream come true but the dream isn't over yet,"
Grant said. "There is still work to do. I knew if I left
it all out there, the fans would love it. Gray is not a guy I
wanted to go to the ground with and I saw he didn't move his
feet too well so I knew there were openings.
"I
wasn't necessarily looking for the knockout. I was just looking
to connect to the face. I felt good things would come from that."
TJ Grant knees Gray Maynard during their fight. (USA Today)TJ
Grant knees Gray Maynard during their fight. (USA Today)
In
the pay-per-view opener, Donald Cerrone rebounded from a first-round
knockout loss to Anthony Pettis with a one-sided unanimous decision
over K.J. Noons in a three-round lightweight bout.
Cerrone
kept Noons off balance all night, working on his feet and on
the ground, to win going away. Judges had it 30-27, 30-27 and
30-26 for Cerrone, who has now won four of his last five.
Cerrone
opened two major cuts on Noons' face and battered him for pretty
much the entire 15 minutes.
Noons
credited Cerrone with a solid game plan, but Cerrone said he
got away from it early.
"I
was kind of in a scramble mode at first and strayed away from
my game plan," Cerrone said. "[Coach] Greg [Jackson]
got me back on track after that first round. I just hope I gave
a good performance for the fans. That kid is tough."
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Will
Velasquez-dos Santos III actually deliver?
LAS
VEGAS – Neither of the first two bouts between Cain Velasquez
and Junior dos Santos were close to classics, but many people
in the MMA industry have been fixated on a third fight between
the two heavyweights.
In
2011, dos Santos won the UFC title from Velasquez in 64 seconds,
knocking him out with a right hand to the head in a bout in which
both men were fighting with very badly injured knees.
Last
year, Velasquez turned the tables and regained the belt, pummeling
dos Santos over five rounds in a stunningly one-sided match.
There
was little drama, suspense or sustained two-way action in either
of them.
Yet
the third fight is on the way, and everyone seems to be excited
about it.
"No
brainer," UFC president Dana White said of a third Velasquez-dos
Santos match after both men won by highlight-reel knockouts in
the co-main and main events before 11,089 at UFC 160 at the MGM
Grand Garden. "If ever there was a trilogy, that's it right
there."
Dos
Santos earned his spot with a rousing win over Mark Hunt in which
he could never take a breath because the threat of a Hunt knockout
was so real every second of the bout. But as the fight was winding
down, dos Santos caught Hunt with a left hook to begin the closing
sequence.
Hunt
has one of the best chins in the sport and didn't go down, but
he was clearly hurt. Dos Santos missed a jab, but then quickly
spun and landed a wheel kick to the head that dropped Hunt. Dos
Santos landed a shot from the top before referee Steve Mazzagatti
quickly stopped it. Junior Dos Santos squares off against Mark
Hunt at UFC 160. (USA Today)Junior Dos Santos squares off against
Mark Hunt at UFC 160. (USA Today)
It
was a move dos Santos had never tried in competition previously.
"I
trained that [kick] a lot in my gym, all the time," dos
Santos said. "I train kicks in the gym, but I train everything:
Wrestling, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai. I never felt very confident
to do that during a fight. Normally, my hands work. Tonight,
I saw the moment to throw the kick, and I did, and it brought
me to victory."
The
hands were what worked for Velasquez on Saturday. An All-American
wrestler before turning pro, Velasquez has spent countless hours
working on his striking at the American Kickboxing Academy in
San Jose, Calif., with coach Javier Mendez.
On
Saturday, the fruit of his labor was evident. He caught Antonio
"Bigfoot" Silva with a beautiful right hand that came
behind a solid jab and dropped the massive Brazilian. Velasquez
quickly ended it with ground and pound, forcing referee Mario
Yamasaki to stop it at 1:21 of the first.
Silva
complained that Velasquez hit him with illegal blows on the back
of the neck, and he sat at the post-fight news conference with
an ice pack on it.
Velasquez,
though, wasn't buying it.
"The
ref came in [to the dressing room before the fight], and he told
me that anything to the ear was all good, so that's what I tried
to do," Velasquez said calmly.
The
finish guaranteed a third fight between them, much to dos Santos'
delight. He was beaming the moment his fight with Hunt ended
and the grin didn't leave his face throughout the news conference.
The
build-up will be massive – it always is for a title fight
between a champion and a former champion who also happen to be
the two best men in the division – but it could also be
a setup up for a major letdown.
There
wasn't anything compelling in either of those first two fights.
White, though, began the sales pitch from the podium at the news
conference on Saturday.
"Junior
dos Santos proved himself big time tonight," White said.
"I wondered what would happen if he stood in front of Mark
Hunt and took those big shots. I actually thought Junior would
come out and shoot and take this thing to the ground right away.
Much respect to Junior dos Santos. He stood in the pocket, he
stood in there and exchanged big punches. He has an unbelievable
chin and unbelievable power. Cain Velasquez speaks to media following
UFC 160. (USA Today)Cain Velasquez speaks to media following
UFC 160. (USA Today)
"Cain
has proven himself. People have questioned Cain's chin, because
of the first Junior fight and that Cheick Kongo fight. Cain has
an awesome chin. And in that second fight, I didn't think Cain
would stand up with Junior, and he did and hurt him with punches.
This is what I'm talking about. When you talk about a trilogy
between two heavyweights, this is a trilogy."
Each
of them has delivered many brilliant moments in the cage during
their careers, but despite five-plus rounds with each other,
they haven't put together that memorable battle against each
other.
Typically,
Velasquez was low key and said only, "That fight makes sense.
I'm all up for that fight."
Dos
Santos, though, was thrilled to have another shot at the belt.
He said he wants to fight until he's in his mid-to-late 40s and
dreams of making a series of title fights.
To
him, there is no better way to start than against the man who
may ultimately define his career.
"My
next fight is for the title and that's what I want," he
said. "I believe so much I can stay on top of the division
for a long time, and I'll do my best to get there."
It's
always great whenever the best fight the best.
Hopefully,
a fight for the ages between them isn't too much to ask.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Tyron
Woodley: Jake Shields Is on His Way Out
Coming
off a 36-second knockout of Jay Hieron in his UFC debut, Tyron
Woodley will be looking to deliver another impressive performance
when he meets former welterweight title challenger Jake Shields
on June 15 at UFC 161.
Ahead
of the matchup, Woodley joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s
“Beatdown” show to discuss his opponent and much more.
On
Shields: “He’s on his way out. He’s a specialist.
That’s what happened with Royce Gracie-Matt Hughes and when
Matt Hughes met GSP, and that’s what’s going to happen
when Jake meets me on June 15.”
On
Shields’ style: “He’s the Last of the Mohicans.
He’s like Royce Gracie -- he’s the last grappler left
in the game, if you think about it. He’s the last specialist.
The problem is that I’m a good wrestler. I’m a good
grappler. I’m a good striker. I’m in the best shape.
… I think those things are the elements that he can’t
control. When he tries to take me down and get me on the ground
and get me to the one spot where he can win, and he can’t
do that, now you’ve got to stand up. Now you’ve got
to get hit. You’ve got to get kicked in the face. That’s
the anxiety I want to put into his head, to say, ‘Hey, man,
you can only win one way and you can’t even get to that
spot to even have success.’ I think that’s going to
give me the opportunity to exploit him and get him out of there.”
On
whether Shields will be offended by these comments: “Well,
I’m not too worried about it. I’m not disrespecting
him. The reason why I wanted to fight him is not because he’s
a chump. I saw him as a top fighter, and that’s why I wanted
to fight him. That’s why I wanted to fight him in Strikeforce.
Truth be told, he should have fought me then, before I had a
loss, before I went through the Nate Marquardt fight, before
I went to a spot where I just basically started believing and
having confidence in myself, where I’m at right now. He
would have had a better opportunity and the odds would have been
better.”
On
why Shields has been so successful: “I’m giving him
credit for what he is. He’s a great grappler. He’s
probably the best grappler, especially on top, in the 170 division.
Not many guys have his craftiness on top. It’s just streaming
basics. He’s doing the basics. He’s not doing any crazy
De La Riva or any kind of rubber guard. He’s just doing
stuff and he’s consistent and he has great pressure.”
On
whether Shields has improved in his time off: “I’ve
got to expect his striking to be better. I’ve got to expect
him to push me forward, try to take me down and try to make an
ugly fight. If none of those things happen, it’s good for
me. I’m already prepared for the worst: the chance he might
take me down, the chance he might take my back, the chance he
might mount me, the chance he might get me in a submission I
have to get out of. Those are the situations I’m preparing
for, and if I have to fight through those things, I’m still
going to have gas and energy and power to try to go upside his
head when I get back to my feet.”
Source: MMA Fighting |
Forrest
Griffin and Stephan Bonnar Will Enter UFC Hall of Fame Together
in July
Forrest
Griffin and Stephan Bonnar entered the UFC together and they
will exit the UFC together… walking straight into the UFC
Hall of Fame.
The
original Ultimate Fighter, Forrest Griffin called it quits at
UFC 160 on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
UFC
president Dana White introduced Griffin at the post-fight press
conference, revealing that the man to win the first season of
The Ultimate Fighter had decided to call it quits.
A
short time later, in a media scrum with reporters, White announced
that Griffin and his TUF Season 1 cohort, Stephan Bonnar, would
enter the UFC Hall of Fame during Fight Week in Las Vegas in
early July.
“I’m
inducting (Griffin) and Stephan Bonnar into the Hall of Fame
this year, together,” White declared.
At
33 years of age, Griffin finishes his professional career with
an overall record of 19-7. He won the inaugural season of The
Ultimate Fighter, captured the UFC light heavyweight championship,
and won Fight of the Night honors on five occasions.
Bonnar,
36, amassed a record of 15-8, and called it a career following
his loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 153 in October of 2012.
He
was runner-up to Griffin on the original Ultimate Fighter. The
two fought an epic, brawling battle in the first season finale,
launching the UFC into the consciousness of mainstream America,
saving the UFC in the process. The company was 40-plus million
dollars in the red at the time.
That
fact alone tips Bonnar into the UFC Hall of Fame, despite him
falling short of the honors that Griffin has earned.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
160: Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2 Attendance and Live Gate
Everybody loves the big men. That’s the adage of combat
sports.
For
some reason, it didn’t hold true for UFC 160: Velasquez
vs. Bigfoot 2… at least, it didn’t hold as true as
it had in the past.
UFC
160 was the promotion’s seventh consecutive annual Memorial
Day Weekend event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Despite
a UFC heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez and Antonio
“Bigfoot” Silva headlining the fight card, and Junior
dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt in the heavyweight co-main event, it
was the lowest attended Memorial Day Weekend event that the UFC
has held at the MGM Grand, by far.
UFC
160 had an announced crowd of 11,089 for a live gate of $2.94
million, according to UFC president Dana White.
The
attendance was well below the next lowest, which was 12,606 for
UFC 98: Rampage vs. Machida.
Only
UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill had lower gate receipts, amassing
just $2.58 million. No other Memorial Day Weekend UFC event in
Las Vegas has accounted for less than $3.249 million.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
160 Results: Donald Cerrone Dominates K.J. Noons On Route to
Decision Win
Donald
“Cowboy” Cerrone dominated former EliteXC champion
K.J. Noons en route to claiming an unanimous decision on the
main card at UFC 160 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas
on Saturday night.
A
tally of 102 significant strikes to Noons’ 58 helped Cerrone
claim the judges decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26).
Cerrone,
a dominant kickboxer, showed his abilities on the feet, on the
mat, and in the ever-improving wrestling department, although
Noons gave it everything he had to stay in the fight.
Noons,
30, who was strong with his leg kicks and jab in the opening
round, began to tire in round two as Cerrone showed off his ground
game, which has been underestimated in the past. Cowboy pounded
a bloody Noons on the mat, notching up his third win from his
last four outings in the UFC Octagon.
“Today
I tried to work my takedowns. I feel good,” Cerrone said.
“My grandma called me today and said, ‘Cowboy, there’s
a bunch of guys out there watching tonight wishing they could
be you, do you want to be you today?’ I said, ‘Yeah
grandma, I do.’”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
160 Results: TJ Grant Blasts His Way into UFC Lightweight Title
Fight
If
people mentioned TJ Grant in the UFC lightweight title talk and
you said to yourself, “Who?” You’re no longer
saying that after Saturday night.
Grant
took the fight to former title contender Gray Maynard and put
his lights out in the opening round of their UFC 160 bout at
the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Maynard
started off the fight looking sharp, landing an early right uppercut
and following with a few more good shots as the two tried to
settle into a rhythm.
It
was Grant, however, that found the wobble button first, dropping
Maynard with a big right hand. Maynard quickly returned to his
feet, but Grant kept his foot on the gas pedal, firing combination
after combination.
He
dropped Maynard again, and again Maynard returned to his feet.
A
knee to the face and several punches later, however, and the
fight was over, Grant finishing one of the top lightweights in
the world.
“I’m
so happy right now,” said Grant after the fight. “I
practiced that for the last eight weeks straight… and it
worked.”
With
the victory, according to UFC president Dana White, Grant earned
a shot at UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson.
“I
know what Dana said,” Grant stated. “I wanna fight
Benson Henderson for the title. I wanna fight the champ. I want
to be the champ.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
160 Results: Glover Teixeira Moves into Title Contention With
Submission Over Te Huna
Glover
Teixeira extended his unbeaten streak to 19 fights with a first-round
submission victory over James Te Huna at UFC 160 from the MGM
Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Fighting
in front of his hero, Mike Tyson, Teixeira poured on the pressure
from the opening bell, looking for the single-leg takedown before
rocking Te Huna with a right hand.
Teixeira,
a BJJ black belt, worked the Australian resident to the mat before
wrestling his way into guard. Te Huna was able to get back to
his feet, but Texeira took the initiative and locked in the head
and arm of Te Huna before taking him to the mat again, forcing
the tapout at 2:38 of round one.
“I
couldn’t be happier. Mike Tyson was here,” Teixeira
said post-fight. “I can’t believe it, I’m going
to cry right now.”
For
Teixeira, the victory puts him on the short list of names in
contention for a shot at UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Mike
Tyson's lobbying earns TJ Grant an extra $50K after his knockout
win over Gray Maynard
LAS
VEGAS -- TJ Grant knew that a strong performance against tough
veteran Gray Maynard on Saturday would make him a legitimate
title contender in the UFC lightweight division.
But
little did he suspect that his decisive first-round technical
knockout of the cagey veteran would get the attention of the
Punch-Out king himself.
Grant
used a relentless flurry of fists and knees to score the win
over Maynard at 2:07 of the first round of their UFC 160 bout
at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, earning the next shot at 155-pound
champion Benson Henderson.
In
doing so, he also made a fan of legendary knockout artist Mike
Tyson, who helped put an extra $50,000 in Grant’s pocket.
Tyson,
who attended the fights, was in the room with UFC president Dana
White and co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta after the show when White
declared Junior dos Santos’ knockout of Mark Hunt the winner
of the evening’s Knockout of the Night award.
That’s
when the former heavyweight boxing champ exercised a veto of
the UFC boss’s decision.
“Tyson's
like, 'What? No way. That other kid [Grant] won,'" White
said. "Me and Lorenzo were like, 'Alright.' What, are we
going to say no to Mike? I wasn't going to argue with him."
With
the help of his famous new fan, Grant completed a remarkable
journey that’s brought him to the brink of a title shot.
A native of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia (best known for producing
Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby), Grant won his fifth-straight
fight since making the decision to drop down to lightweight two
years ago after a middling stint at welterweight.
“I
just never lost faith in myself,” said the 29-year-old Grant
(21-5). “I always knew who I was and what I was capable
of; it was just a matter of having it all come together.”
When
White announced on April 20 that the winner of Saturday’s
Maynard-Grant fight would get a title shot against Henderson,
the fighters got plenty of brushback from fans and media alike.
White made the decision that evening on the heels of an event
in San Jose in which Gilbert Melendez came a whisker from taking
the Henderson’s title and Josh Thomson scored an impressive
knockout of Nate Diaz.
As
far as White was concerned, though, Grant’s performance
at UFC 160 justified the decision.
"I
wanted to make sure the next contender for the title was putting
on great fights," White said. "Obviously, Josh Thomson
just had a great performance against Diaz. I wanted to see something
good tonight. I wanted to see something special. And I saw it
tonight. [Grant] is getting the next title shot." TJ Grant
reacts to his victory over Gray Maynard. (USA Today)
Grant,
for his part, never took exception to the online reaction over
the title-shot news. He knew the only thing he could do was go
out and make believers out of the skeptics. Which is precisely
what he did. ??
“It
didn’t bother me at all,” Grant said of the controversy.
“Coming into this fight, I was able to block out all the
other things that were out there. I knew I had to beat Gray Maynard,
someone who’s incredibly fast and skilled. I knew if I went
out there and fought the way I always do, you know, I had the
best preparation of my life coming into this fight. I wanted
to come out and make a statement, but I also had to just go out
there and fight my fight.”
It
certainly helped that Maynard, who twice came close to defeating
then-lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in a pair of memorable
bouts, abandoned his usual methodical approach and came out swinging.
Maynard, a three-time NCAA All-America wrestler at Michigan State,
appeared to lack respect for Grant’s standup skills, and
he tagged Grant a couple times in the early going.
But
that only served to have the effect of waving a red flag in front
of a bull, as Grant charged forward and took control of the fight.
“Gray
is not a guy I wanted to go to the ground with, and I saw he
didn’t move his feet too well so I knew there were openings,”
said Grant. “I wasn’t necessarily looking for the knockout,
I was just looking to connect to the face. I felt good things
would come from that.”
Those
good things include the bout’s aftermath. A date isn’t
yet set for the Henderson-Grant bout, although White indicated
it’s one of several potential fights being considered for
the main event slot of the UFC on Fox Sports 1 debut card in
Boston on Aug. 17.
“This
is like a dream come true, but the dream isn’t over yet,”
said Grant. “There is still work to do. I know what Dana
said. I want to fight Benson Henderson for the title. Nothing
but respect, but I want to fight the champ.
“I’ve
watched all [Henderson’s] fights because I’m a fan
of the UFC, but I’ll give the same answer I gave before
the fight: I don’t ever look past my opponent. I’m
going to enjoy this for a couple days, then I’m going to
go back to work and do my job. I know what type of champion Benson
Henderson is.”
Far
be it from us to suggest what Grant do with his free time, but
we wouldn’t blame him if he dusted off an old Nintendo and
played a few rounds of Punch-Out.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Fortunes
changed for five at UFC 160
UFC
160 solidified who the top two fighters in the heavyweight division
are now, and looking into the future, it could remain this way
for years to come.
If
there was any doubt going into Saturday that Cain Velasquez and
Junior Dos Santos were the two best heavyweights in mixed martial
arts, it was gone when both men scored decisive wins in the big
two fights at UFC 160 in Las Vegas.
The
wins set up a third meeting between the two, likely barring an
injury, for sometime in the fall. What's notable about each man's
wins on Saturday is neither showed any indication of what would
happen in a third meeting.
Velasquez
wasn't able to take Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva down, but
his hand speed was such that he was able to crack him in the
jaw, the key blow that led to the end of the fight in just 81
seconds. Going in there relying on boxing as he did with Silva
would put Velasquez at a disadvantage against Dos Santos, the
best pure boxer in UFC's heavyweight division.
Dos
Santos laid back, picking away at Mark Hunt, and keeping a pace
up that led to Hunt tiring as the fight wore on. At that point
Hunt took several solid shots, and was knocked out with a spinning
wheel kick. Laying back against Velasquez and countering is likely
to see Velasquez keeping Dos Santos on his heels while putting
on pressure. That's essentially the same losing fight style Dos
Santos fought in his second meeting with Velasquez. Waiting for
Velasquez to tire would be playing the wrong game.
Velasquez
has been virtually untouched aside from his knockout loss to
Dos Santos. Dos Santos was untouched going into his second fight
with Velasquez aside from an armbar loss back in 2007, long before
he hit his prime.
If
you take away his last fight with Velasquez, Dos Santos hasn't
even lost a round in UFC competition. Ditto, taking away the
knockout loss by Velasquez in the first meeting between the two,
Velasquez hasn't lost a round his entire career.
With
Velasquez two months shy of his 31st birthday, and Dos Santos
a little more than two years younger, a question needs to be
asked. Will three fights ended up deciding it?
The
reality is there needs to be a regular schedule of heavyweight
title bouts, two a year, perhaps three. While there is always
the puncher's chance, there is nobody in the UFC heavyweight
division who will be anything but a significant underdog against
either. And looking to the future, the idea this next fight will
be their last against each other looks unlikely.
The
long-term question is will one of the two end up dominating the
other in the series. And how long will it be until injuries and
age, the ultimate ending of every great fighter, rears its head.
But
while the two were the stars of Saturday's show, their fortunes
didn't really change. Both were expected to win, and they did
in impressive fashion. But others saw major career changes.
T.J.
GRANT - Nobody's stock went up more on Saturday than the native
of Eastern Canada. Grant, formerly a journeyman welterweight,
has made a convincing case to get the next lightweight title
shot at Benson Henderson.
Even
though the Grant (21-5) vs. favored Gray Maynard (12-2-1, 1 no
contest) fight was billed as the winner getting the next shot,
after the fact, Dana White said he was looking for something
impressive. White noted that Josh Thomson had also been under
consideration for a title shot after his win over Nate Diaz on
April 20 in San Jose, Calif.
But
there was no denying Grant as the top contender. He became only
the second fighter to finish Maynard, battering him with punches,
scoring two knockdowns, as well as landing a vicious knee, before
it was stopped at 2:07.
It
was Grant's fifth win in a row since moving down. Grant is a
big lightweight, bigger than Maynard, whose size and power led
him to success in the division. He's also bigger than lightweight
champion Benson Henderson.
White
said Henderson vs. Grant was one of four fights under consideration
for the first show on Fox Sports 1 on Aug. 17 from Boston. But
even if it's not the headliner for that show, there are so many
shows between early August and early September on the UFC schedule
that it's likely to headline one of them.
GLOVER
TEIXEIRA - Teixeira (21-2), now has 19 wins in a row, dating
back to 2005. He was expected to beat James Te Huna. It was the
way he did it that opened yes. He out struck his opponent, grabbed
a standing guillotine, went to the ground while holding the move
to add leverage, and getting a submission in 2:38.
Teixeira's
management was talking about wanting to face the winner of the
June 15 fight between Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans. Since both
Alexander Gustafsson and Lyoto Machida are ahead of Teixeira
when it comes to getting the next shot at light heavyweight champion
Jon Jones, that direction looks to make sense.
While
Teixeira got a high-profile win over Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson on FOX, he's still trying to make himself famous. Henderson
and Evans have names big enough that a win over either would
be a big step in building his name.
The
question in the division is twofold. The first is, does Jon Jones
move to heavyweight, as he's talked about, in 2014, before the
earliest point Teixeira gets a shot? The second revolves around
Daniel Cormier, who with training partner Velasquez as heavyweight
champion, is cutting to 205 and could be an immediate force in
the title picture.
GRAY
MAYNARD - At 34, Maynard's loss to Grant may be difficult to
rebound from. Maynard in many ways is the quieter version of
the Chael Sonnen career path. An outstanding wrestler from his
youth, winning a high school national title in 1998, his goals
of an NCAA title and going to the Olympics never transpired.
Then he went into MMA, and came as close to winning a title as
anyone possibly could, without actually tasting gold.
Maynard
gave Frankie Edgar one of the worst beatings anyone in UFC ever
survived in round one of their Jan. 1, 2011 title fight. But
Edgar recovered and the fight ended up a draw. After delays,
a rematch started out the same way, with Maynard having Edgar
as close to defeat as possible in round one. Once again, Edgar
came back, and won via knockout in the fourth round.
It's
now been three years since Maynard's last win where he looked
like a future champion, a dominant win over perennial contender
Kenny Florian. Since then, he looked great in two opening rounds
with Edgar but didn't do enough to win either fight from there.
With so much depth in the division, his road back to the top
isn't going to be one to easily navigate.
DONALD
CERRONE - A perennial lightweight favorite, Cerrone (20-5, 1
no contest) scored a unanimous decision over K.J. Noons, rebounding
from a devastating loss to Anthony Pettis.
Cerrone
fought a smart fight against Noons, combining punches and kicks
with takedowns, taking Noons out of his game. After the fight,
the name Josh Thomson was battered around, since Thomson wasn't
getting the next title shot. That's where Cerrone's popularity
comes into play. He's had losses to Pettis and Nate Diaz. But
with Pettis having moved down to featherweight, a win over Thomson
would get him in at least shooting distance of contendership.
KHABIB
NURMAGOMEDOV - Nurmagomedov (20-0) has as impressive a record
on paper as any fighter in the promotion. He put on a takedown
clinic in beating Abel Trujillo. Depending on what you consider
a takedown, over three rounds he finished somewhere between 21
and 28 takedowns, breaking the listed company record of 16 set
by Sean Sherk, in a five-round fight UFC lightweight title win
over Hermes Franca on July 7, 2007, in Sacramento.
Setting
the record wasn't well received. Dana White made a reference
comparing him to Fitch, a former welterweight star who had a
great winning record but was known for not having exciting bouts.
There
is another aspect of Nurmagomedov's rise to the top. For years,
there was frustration on the UFC side, and to a degree with fans,
when Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch were two of the top welterweights.
They were teammates, close friends and said on a number of occasions
they would never fight each other.
The
American Kickboxing Association camp in San Jose now has not
two, but three of the top lightweights in the world, in Thomson,
Maynard and Nurmagomedov. This can create havoc when it comes
to matchmaking, particularly since it is very conceivable all
three could be in the top 10 at the same time.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
2013
NAGA PACIFIC GRAPPLING CHAMPIONSHIP
WEIGH-IN OPTIONS FOR COMPETITORS
NAGA is offering all competitors the option of registering and
weighing-in FRIDAY NIGHT at the High School. On Friday, weigh-ins
and registration will start at 6 PM and continue until 8 PM sharp.
The Friday weigh-in will be open to all competitors regardless
if you pre-registered or not. Adults please have a photo ID on
hand when weighing-in. If you are not able to weigh-in on Friday,
you can still weigh-in on Saturday (Adults & Children/Teens)
or Sunday (Children/Teens) at the venue. Doors open at 8 AM Sat/Sun
and weigh-in is open throughout the day. Children/Teens can weigh-in
on Saturday for Sunday's competition.
DIVISION
SCHEDULE (Doors open at 8 AM)
SATURDAY (5/25/13) – ADULT COMPETITION (times are just estimates)
10:00 AM – All Women’s, Executives (50 years +) &
Directors (40 years+) Divisions start at 10:00 AM
10:00
AM – All Adult (18 years +) & Master (30 years+) Novice
divisions start at 10:00 AM Sharp NAGA has a new method for bracketing
the Adult & Masters No-Gi & Gi Divisions. The intent
is to have all divisions take place as quickly as possible utilizing
all rings at once. The divisions will be bracketed by skill level
in this order:
·
Men’s & Master’s No-Gi Novice (Estimated Start
Time is 10:30 AM) - Must be ready to compete by 10 AM
·
Men’s and Master’s No-Gi Beginner (Estimated Start
Time is 11:30 AM)
·
Men’s & Master’s No-Gi Intermediate (Estimated
Start Time is Noon)
·
Men’s & Master’s No-Gi Expert (Estimated Start
Time is 1 PM)
·
Men’s & Master’s White Belt (Estimated Start Time
is 2:00 PM)
·
Men’s & Master’s Blue Belt (Estimated Start Time
is 2:30 PM)
·
Men’s and Master’s Gi Purple, Brown, Black Belt (Estimated
Start Time is 3:00 PM)
SUNDAY
(5/26/13) – KIDS (13 yrs & under) & Teens (14 to
17 yrs.) – Doors open 8 AM
·
All children & teens must be weighed-in and be ready to compete
by 10 AM Sharp.
IMPORTANT:
It is difficult to estimate the start time for each division.
As a general rule, get there early and be prepared to stay late.
There are NO REFUNDS given for those who have to leave early.
The North American Grappling Association (NAGA) is the world’s
largest mixed grappling tournament circuit with over 170,000
competitors worldwide. On Saturday & Sunday, May 25 &
26, 2013, NAGA comes to Honolulu, Hawaii for its 1st annual NAGA
South Pacific Grappling Championship No-Gi & Gi tournament.
NAGA is inviting teams from Japan, Guam and other countries to
make it Hawaii's largest grappling tournament of all time! Come
as an individual or as a team to compete. You do not have to
live in Hawaii to participate in this event. This event is nationally
RANKED!
DOWNLOAD EVENT FLYER/REGISTRATION FORM
PRE-REGISTER
ONLINE HERE or download the registration form, print it out and
mail it in to the address on the form along with your check.
1
Division = $80; 2 Divisions = $100. Spectator passes are $10.
The price goes up to $15 after the pre-registration deadline.
For family rates, download the event flyer/registration form,
or click the Pre-Register Online link. Pre-registration closes
at 5PM on Friday, May 17.
For
weight classes, age category, and skill level information click
the DIVISIONS tab above.
For
weigh-in and registration location and times click the DIVISIONS
tab above.
TWO DAY TOURNAMENT: ADULTS ON SATURDAY / CHILDREN/TEENS ON SUNDAY
Due to the large amount of competitors that this NAGA tournament
attracts, this event will have 12 competition rings and will
take place over two days. All adults (both gi and no-gi) will
compete on Saturday. All children 13 yrs. & under and teens
14-17 years old (gi & no-gi) will compete on Sunday. The
2 day tournament format makes both days end much earlier than
a one day tournament.
100 CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS AWARDED
NAGA is very pleased to be awarding 100 CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS to
all its Children, Teen, Adult, Masters, Directors and Executive
Expert Division Winners.
SAMURAI SWORDS TO CHILDREN & TEENS WINNERS
NAGA is awarding custom engraved SAMURAI SWORDS to all non-expert
Children & Teen 1st place winners. Medals will be awarded
to all 2nd & 3rd place winners along with non-expert Adult
division winners. Adult competitors who place 1st-3rd will have
the opportunity to obtain a samurai sword at the NAGA T-shirt
booth for a nominal fee. For having the courage to compete, all
children and teens who do not place 1st through 3rd will take
home an award.
TEAM
CHAMPIONSHIP CUPS AWARDED
NAGA awards customized championship cups to the tournament team
champions. A cup can be won in: Adult Overall, Adult No-Gi, Adult
Gi, and Children & Teens Overall. We are also awarding an
overall Individual Team award. This will be awarded to a team/school
with a single location that scores the most team points. Please
make sure your team registers under the same team name.
CHAMPION GI PATCH
All Children, Teens & Adults who place 1st in any NAGA Gi
Division (White Belt through Black Belt) will receive a NAGA
Champion Gi patch. These patches are not sold, only earned by
the best Gi competitors.
GET YOUR GRAPPLING GEAR AT THE EVENT
NAGA is bringing a truckload of grappling gear (Board shorts,
gi bags, rash guards, t-shirts, hats, gi hoodies, patches, skull
caps, stickers, dog tags, etc.) in children and adults sizes,
for males and females. Check out the huge selection of gear and
apparel at the NAGA event.
NAGA ON THE WEB
NAGA has established a presence online through our website and
social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. We
are expanding the material that is offered on these sites outside
of the NAGA website. If you use any of these sites, please join
us and be kept up to date with the latest NAGA news.
- Get the monthly NAGA email by filling out this form. If you
have already competed in NAGA you do not need to fill this out:
http://www.nagafighter.com/index.php?module=joinpage
- "Like" NAGA on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nagafighter. You will be notified
of the latest NAGA news and events.
- Follow NAGA on Twitter: http://twitter.com/naga_fighter or @NAGA_FIGHTER.
We will start to tweet what divisions are coming up at tournaments
to help you as a competitor or fan stay informed.
- Our YouTube page is: http://www.youtube.com/user/nagagrappling Submit links to YouTube
videos of you competing in NAGA to youtube@nagafighter.com so
that we can share your video with the rest of the NAGA community.
NATIONALLY RANKED EVENT
All NAGA events are part of the nationwide ranking system entitled
RANKED. Our goal is to determine who the best grapplers in the
country are for various age, gender, and skill levels. This tournament
will be nationally ranked so do not miss your opportunity to
gain points towards a true national title. More details can be
found at www.nationallyranked.com.
SANDBAGGERS BEWARE
NAGA works diligently to prevent "sandbagging", or
the practice of fighting down skill levels to ensure one takes
home an award. NAGA has been working with RANKED to track all
fighters and ranked grappling events to produce true "national
standings." A by-product of these standings is our knowledge
of who has competed and at which level. Front door personnel
will use RANKED data to determine whether or not individuals
who have fought in past events belong in a higher skill level
(i.e. placed 1st at a prior NAGA event).
|
Daniel
Cormier Thinks Jon Jones Would Beat Anderson Silva, Challenges
Jones to Fight Now
by Jeff
Cain
UFC
heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier thinks Jon Jones would beat
Anderson Silva if a superfight between the two ever happens,
but added that he would fight Jones today at a catchweight of
220 pounds.
“Jon
and Anderson would be a good fight. Regardless of what you think
of Jon Jones personally, whether you like him or you don’t
like him, he’s a fantastic fighter,” said Cormier during
a question and answer session prior to the UFC 160 weigh-ins
on Friday.
“I
truly do believe that Jon is, I think he’s the best. He’s
the best. Anderson’s going to be too small. Jon’s a
good wrestler and he’s a great finisher. I think Jon can
beat Anderson.”
Cormier has hinted at an eventual drop to the light heavyweight
division. Following his final Strikeforce fight on Jan. 12, Cormier
laid out his plans during his post-fight interview, saying he
intends to beat Frank Mir in his UFC debut, which he did, and
then drop down to the 205-pound division and defeat Jones.
He’s
since backtracked on those comments and plans to stay in the
heavyweight division for at least one more fight, but would fight
Jones at a catchweight of 220 pounds.
“I
was on Twitter and Jon Jones took another shot at me. He does
it all the time,” said Cormier. “He said, ‘guys,
would someone ask DC if he’s started cutting weight yet.’
So your question is to ask me for Jon Jones, have I started cutting
weight yet.
“Jon,
I haven’t started cutting weight yet, but we can fight at
220 tomorrow if you want,” he responded. “We can fight
at any weight. He can walk off the street whatever he weighs
now and we can get down to that weight. Let’s fight at any
weight Jon, you and I.”
Cormier
walks around at 235 pounds and expects to fight in August weighing-in
around 220 pounds, and anticipates a light heavyweight debut
“by the end of the year.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
White:
Ligament damage slowing timeline of Jon Jones' return; MRI should
offer more clarity
By Mike
Chiappetta
LAS VEGAS -- UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones is still
on the mend after an injury in the final seconds of his recent
title defense against Chael Sonnen. While his left big toe was
originally believed to be broken, it was later diagnosed as a
dislocation. And while Jones hopes to return to the cage soon,
there is not yet a timetable to his return, according to UFC
president Dana White, who spoke to the champ on Wednesday.
White
offered up some previously unrevealed information on the injury
on Thursday, when he told the media following a UFC 160 press
conference that Jones had also suffered ligament damage in addition
to the gruesome dislocation.
"He
says he feels great, the toe's healing good, but the problem
is that ligament," he said. "That ligament popped.
Anytime you tear a ligament, blood flow helps repair the thing
and heal, and you don't get a lot of blood flow to the toe. Who
knows? This thing could be six weeks, it could be six months.
It's a pain in the ass, man. Always some little, crazy thing."
Jones,
who is currently in Russia for a personal appearance, recently
had the stitches taken out of his toe. White said that he plans
to get an MRI on his toe when he returns. That could offer the
fighter and the promotion more clarity on when he'll be able
to return. Jones has repeatedly said in interviews that he hopes
to fight Alexander Gustafsson in his next time out.
Jones'
successful defense over Sonnen in April marked his fifth overall,
tying him with Tito Ortiz for most in the division's history.
He has said that he intends to break that record and then consider
a possible move to heavyweight.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC:
Belfort vs. Silva-Weidman winner 'makes sense,' could happen
in Las Vegas
by John
Morgan
LAS
VEGAS – UFC President Dana White said the promotion currently
has no plans for Vitor Belfort's next fight, but it could include
a title shot – and it could happen in Las Vegas.
"There's
no plans right now with Vitor," White said at Thursday's
pre-UFC 160 media day. "He just fought. We'll see what happens.
"It
would make sense for [Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman] fight,
and that's not far away. Those two fight, and we see what happens,
or Vitor could fight again. I don't know. But he could fight
either one of those guys."
Belfort,
of course, fought this past weekend in Brazil and earned an impressive
first-round TKO win over former Strikeforce champ Luke Rockhold.
The result moved Belfort to 4-0 in his past four middleweight
contest (though his UFC 142 win over Anthony Johnson was actually
contested at 197 pounds), with all four wins coming by way of
stoppage.
Silva
and Weidman headline July's UFC 162 event, and while "The
Spider" has teased a few long-rumored superfights, White
suggested Belfort could very well be the No. 1 contender at 185
pounds and earn a rematch with the champ, who knocked out "The
Phenom" at 2011's UFC 126 event.
"Vitor
looked great," White said. "Spinning back kick –
he looked awesome."
Where
the fight would take place is another story. Three of Belfort's
past four contests have taken place in Brazil, where the Comissao
Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA) is still setting up its roots,
leading some pundits to question whether or not the new commission
is capable or properly monitoring Belfort's approved use of testosterone
replacement therapy. Some observers have contested that UFC officials
are purposely keeping Belfort in Brazil for that exact reason,
but White insisted that was simply not true.
"We're
not keeping Vitor out of fighting from anywhere," White
said. "We had Vitor fight in Brazil because Vitor sells
out in Brazil. It's all a bunch of conspiracy theory crock of
s--t."
Still,
Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer
has previously stated he doesn't believe the NSAC would offer
a therapeutic-use exemption to Belfort based on his previous
issues with anabolic steroid use.
White
said he doesn't see the issue. Sure, the commission would likely
require extensive documentation, but he doesn't see why licensure
would be an issue.
"It's
not that they're going to have a problem licensing him,"
White said. "They're going to rake him over the coals is
what they're going to do."
Of
course, all of the talk is largely conjecture. Silva vs. Weidman
needs to happen, and an upset might command an instant rematch.
If Silva is victorious, he could potentially ask to wait until
December or January to fight again, at which point Belfort may
instead choose to pick a new opponent and remain active.
But
if Belfort does make sense as the next contender to the middleweight
title, White said he'll have no problem booking the bout, even
as he remains an outspoken critic of the TRT that has become
a part of Belfort's routine.
"The
whole TRT thing with Vitor has just become this huge – people
are going after Vitor Belfort, is what they're doing," White
said. "TRT is legal. Everybody knows that. Vitor Belfort
was tested leading all the way up to the fight. He was tested
during the fight. We're waiting for those results to come back,
and I'm positive he's going to be fine.
"Vitor
doesn't want this. He's aggravated and pissed off about this
stuff. He doesn't want to be smeared. I don't like TRT. I'm not
a fan of it. I don't like it at all. … (But) Vitor Belfort
followed the rules and did everything he's supposed to do. …
What I don't like is guys using this TRT exemption as a loophole
to get all jacked up during training and then come back to normal
levels before the fight. That's what I don't like, and that's
what I don't want."
Source: MMA Junkie
|
A
new wrinkle in proposed MMA legislation for New York
By Zach
Arnold
Last week, we noted that there would be a bill proposed in New
York’s state senate regarding the establishment of a healthcare
fund for fighters should Mixed Martial Arts become regulated
in the state. The bill is in the Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks
and Recreation committee.
You can read the bill for yourself right here: BILL S5055-2013:
Establishes protocols for combative sports; authorizes mixed
martial arts events in this state
Establishes protocols for combative sports; authorizes mixed
martial arts events in this state; establishes the New York Mixed
Martial Arts Injury Compensation Fund, Inc.; establishes procedures
for applications for licenses; establishes penalties for violations;
imposes taxes on gross receipts of such events.
I would advise you to simply copy the bill text into a program
like Notepad, Wordpad, gedit, or a word processing app so you
can make the text easier to read.
The nuts and bolts of the proposed bill — a non-profit C-corp
with a 7-member panel would be created and qualified fighters
who suffer from neurological damage due to bouts they participate
in could end up receiving payment from the fund. The fund would
be financed by promoters based on a tax.
“Section Three of the bill amends Chapter 912 of the laws
of 1920 to add a new section 5-B to create a New York mixed martial
arts injury compensation fund. Further, it shall be presumed
any Professional mixed martial artist who participates in a New
York state sanctioned event and receives any form of neurological
damage during the course of his or her lifetime, that the damage
was the direct causation of the sanctioned match and is entitled
to the full benefits of the fund over the course of his or her
lifetime for all necessary medical treatment and rehabilitation.”
“Section Six of the bill amends section 452 of the tax law
to impose a 8.5% tax on receipts on ticket sales as well as 3%
of gross receipts from broadcasting rights”
“Section Seven provides for an effective date of 90 days
after it shall have become a law, and shall expire and be deemed
repealed 3 years after it shall take effect.”
The big question regarding this bill is whether or not the creating
of a corporation to distribute money for health care to fighters
would be any less troublesome than the mess that California’s
boxer’s pension fund (or the neurological cash slush fund)
has turned out to be.
Of course, when it comes to fighter safety the state’s athletic
commission is supposed to do an adequate job in protecting the
fighters… and New York’s commission, rightfully, has
an awful track record. The track record came into question this
week with a report from the state’s Inspector General.
In May 2012, the Inspector General received allegations from
Bryant Pappas, a professional boxer, regarding his May 12, 2012
match against Josh Williams that was regulated by the New York
State Athletic Commission. Pappas alleged that Williams was improperly
allowed to use non-promoter supplied boxing gloves, purportedly
in violation of Athletic Commission regulations. Pappas further
alleged that, although he outboxed Williams, as a result of Williams’s
use of the gloves and alleged bias by the Athletic Commission,
Williams was awarded a win by decision.
This
is the kind of thing we got used to seeing last year in California
with some athletic inspectors not figuring out how to properly
look at hand wraps, figure out appropriate glove sizes, or determine
whether or not fighters were skinning their gloves.
Check out this politically-inspired answer by the IG’s office
to the New York fighter’s complaint:
Upon investigation, the Inspector General determined that while
Pappas’s allegations were not substantiated, a number of
the Athletic Commission’s rules and procedures regarding
boxing gloves were deficient and required updating, uniformity,
and publication. These include the Athletic Commission’s
process for approval of new brands or styles of boxing gloves,
as well as the processes for the inspection of gloves and the
taping of boxers’ hands before matches.
The
8-page document from the IG’s office is worth reading simply
because the problems addressed by Bryant Pappas are unfortunately
issues that are popping up in many of the states where big fights
are being held.
Although the Inspector General found Pappas’s allegations
to be unsubstantiated, a review of Athletic Commission rules
revealed a number of deficiencies in the approval, use, and application
of boxing gloves. Indeed, this case is illustrative of the confusion
that can arise absent clear and comprehensive rules and procedures.
Wait
until New York’s commission starts regulating MMA.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
10-fight
deal commits Anderson Silva and Dana White to lengthening ‘crazy
relationship’
Erik Fontanez
Anderson
Silva is locked in for 10 more fights with the UFC and Dana White.
LAS
VEGAS — When reports of Anderson Silva signing a 10-fight
deal with the UFC first surfaced, it let the collective MMA world
that the consensus greatest fighter of all time found himself
a home for the rest of his career.
For
UFC President Dana White, it sealed the deal on keeping what
has been a hot and cold relationship with arguably his most famous
fighter.
Oh,
the fun of dealing with a superstar.
“We
have that crazy relationship with Anderson,” White told
reporters at a UFC media function during UFC 160 fight week.
“But he’s a fun guy.”
The
craziness that White referred to will now likely go on until
Silva decides to hang up his gloves, leaving behind a legacy
filled with knockouts, submissions and many more memories caged
in the Octagon.
The
word “crazy” runs in the same circles as the term “commitment,”
which is something Silva’s manager, Ed Soares, said their
camp wanted to show to the UFC.
Originally
offered an eight-fight contract in their most recent negotiations,
Soares and his business partner, Jorge Guimaraes, went to UFC
executives and said they’ll see their eight fights and raise
them two.
Camp
Silva, the manager explained, offered to sign on for 10 fights
in an effort to show their devotion to the mixed martial arts
leader.
“The
dealing was … to show our commitment to them,” Soares
told GRACIEMAG.com at UFC 160 Media Day, adding, “and they
stepped up and showed their commitment to us.”
The
contract negotiations, Soares said, had parts that went back
and forth before the deal was finalized. Like any contract, it’s
not all black and white — that is, apart from the ink and
paper, of course.
And
now it’s all done, according to all interested parties.
Silva’s career is locked into the UFC, and the 38-year-old
won’t be going anywhere else to showcase his talents.
Where
would Silva go, anyway? That’s a question White posted to
those wondering, giving an answer just a moment after.
“He
wants to be here,” said the UFC boss. “Why would he
not want to be here? He’s doing OK.”
And
by “doing OK,” White means Silva and his camp are happy
with what they were offered and will receive over the next 10
fights. There’s no doubt about it from either side of the
asylum.
“Yeah,”
Soares said when asked if they were happy with the deal they
got with Silva’s new contract. “Very happy.”
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
‘MINOTAURO’
DEFENDS BELFORT IN TRT MATTER, SUGGESTS STRATEGIES FOR DOS SANTOS,
SILVA
BY MARCELO
ALONSO
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira faces a high-profile rematch of his own in a
matter of weeks.
Color
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira impressed.
Vitor
Belfort flattened former Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold with
a spectacular spinning heel kick in the UFC on FX 8 main event
on May 18 at the Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil. Before
and after the bout, observers of “The Phenom” pointed
out his use of testosterone replacement therapy.
Two
weeks ahead of his UFC on Fuel TV 10 main event against Fabricio
Werdum, Nogueira sat down with Sherdog.com to discuss the controversy
surrounding Belfort and the forthcoming UFC 160 bouts for Brazilian
countrymen Junior dos Santos and Antonio Silva, as they meet
Mark Hunt and Cain Velasquez on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena in Las Vegas.
On
Belfort’s use of TRT: “Once the commission has authorized
it, each athlete will decide. I personally don’t think about
using it, but I will not attack Vitor for having used it because
it was something permitted by the athletic commission, which
has authorized several other fighters. Congratulations to Vitor.
There’s no doubt it was one of the most spectacular knockouts
in UFC history.”
On
Silva’s path to victory: “I think ‘Bigfoot’
has to keep the fight standing and use speed to frustrate Velasquez’s
takedown attempts. I think by connecting with good shots ‘Bigfoot’
can put the champion down and beat him. He comes into the fight
in a great place after knocking out two very tough guys. He’s
more confident every day. [Vitelmo] ‘Katel’ Kubis [Bandeira]
has been working well with his agility and strength. I had the
opportunity to train with him the first three weeks of his camp
and could watch his development closely. He has a very powerful
fight rhythm, and that may be one of the differences. Fans can
expect a different fight from their first one, when ‘Bigfoot’
trained for his UFC debut against Roy Nelson for three weeks
and the opponent was changed to Velasquez.”
On
dos Santos’ best strategy: “I think ‘Cigano’s’
ground game is the big difference in this fight, and he can take
it. ‘Cigano’ and Hunt are two great strikers. Hunt
has very heavy hands and is a great counterpuncher. ‘Cigano’
has to try to keep the fight at a distance, using his larger
size, and go for the takedown when they’re in the clinch.
‘Cigano’ has a great game on the floor. This is his
fourth camp with Ramon Lemos, who’s an excellent ground
coach. I believe that taking Hunt to the ground is his great
advantage in this fight. ‘Cigano’ has the best boxing
in MMA, with sharp hands, but Hunt also has good hands. I also
believe that if this fight goes past the second round ‘Cigano’
will physically overwhelm him.”
Source: Sherdog
|
IMMAF
Announces 2014 World Championships in Conjunction with UFC Las
Vegas Fight Week
The
International Mixed Martial Arts Federation on Friday announced
the first World Championships in Amateur MMA for early July 2014
in Las Vegas, during the Las Vegas Fight week in conjunction
with the UFC Fan Expo.
The
International MMA Federation was founded in February 2012 to
provide a non-profit, democratic foundation for MMA to grow into
an internationally recognized sport that is on par with other
major sports.
“We
are very happy to announce this much anticipated and great step
forward for the sport of MMA,” said IMMAF President August
Wallén. “MMA deserves the same opportunities to develop
as all other world sports and MMA athletes deserve the same chances
to excel in international competition.
“We
are dedicated in providing the MMA community with the first of
many top level World Championships that will meet international
quality standards as well as excite MMA practitioners and followers
around the world. Las Vegas as the location provides for an excellent
setting for athletes and spectators alike.”
The UFC’s Las Vegas Fight Week has become an annual event
that encompasses several different functions spanning the week
leading up to a major UFC event that takes place around the Fourth
of July holiday in the United States. There are exhibitions,
training sessions, special events and competitions, a UFC Fan
Expo, and more. Now the IMMAF World Championships will be added
to the schedule.
The
World Championships are open to national teams consisting of
amateur athletes representing a national federation affiliated
to the IMMAF. An athlete is eligible to compete if he/she is
on the amateur level, is 18 years or older, meets the requirements
regarding experience posed by the IMMAF amateur MMA rules and
has been fairly selected by a national federation.
The
tournament will run for a week with each weight division as a
single elimination tournament that, depending on the size of
the division, will run for four or five days before reaching
the finals on the Saturday.
Each
weight division will run one full round of competitions per day,
which means that all contestants will participate in a maximum
of one match per day and a total of four or five matches over
the course of the week for those who reach the final. One gold,
one silver, and two bronze medals will be awarded in each weight
division.
There
are currently 21 IMMAF member federations. The IMMAF currently
has over 140 pending applications for membership and estimates
that the number of approved federations will have reached 40
by the time registration has closed for the 2014 World Championships.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
RENAN
BARAO VOWS TO RETURN EVEN STRONGER AFTER UFC 161 INJURY WITHDRAWAL
BY MIKE
WHITMAN
Renan
Barao may currently be down, but he is by no means out.
Shortly
following his withdrawal from the UFC 161 main event, the interim
bantamweight champion took to Twitter to reassure fans that he
will return action as soon as his foot injury is fully healed.
“That's
it, guys. Unfortunately I am out of UFC 161. But my injury is
not as severe, and soon I'll be back. I would like to thank everyone
[for their] support,” wrote Barao. “Thank you for [the]
caring and concern. I'll come back even stronger. It's a pity,
because I'm dying to train. [It] is a test of my will, but it
is better to recover fully as soon as possible.”
Barao
was supposed to square off with ex-WEC champion Eddie Wineland
in the UFC 161 headliner, but top billing has now been given
to Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans in light of Barao’s withdrawal.
UFC 161 takes place at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba,
and will also see Antonio Rogerio Nogueira clash with Mauricio
Rua in a rematch nearly eight years in the making.
Just
26 years old, Barao has already competed more than 30 times as
a professional and has not lost since his debut back in 2005.
The Nova Uniao ace joined the UFC two years ago and rifled off
a trio of victories before outpointing Urijah Faber to win the
interim bantamweight belt last July. Barao most recently defended
that title for the first time against young gun Michael McDonald,
submitting the Californian with a fourth-round arm-triangle choke
this past February at UFC on Fuel TV 7.
Source: Sherdog
|
Gov.
Brown picks lobbyist, money man for California State Athletic
Commission
By Zach
Arnold
Details
from this press release:
John Carvelli, 51, of Newport Beach, has been appointed to the
California State Athletic Commission. Carvelli has been executive
vice president at LIBERTY Dental Plan since 2004. He was president
of Medimanager Inc. from 1999 to 2003 and a health care consultant
at Empire Pacific LLC from 1995 to 1999. He is a member of the
Team 100 Food for Kids Board of Directors and the Parents Television
Council Advisory Board. This position requires Senate confirmation
and the compensation is $100 per diem. Carvelli is a Republican.
Here is his bio from the PTC:
John is a Director and EVP of the Liberty Dental group of companies.
Liberty Dental is a dental managed care insurance company.
John
recently completed a multi-year project as President and director
of the former Lincoln Hospital Medical Center, Inc. in Los Angeles,
CA. The project included the management and work-out of one of
the oldest and largest community clinic organizations known as
Clinica Medica Familiar.
In
1996 Carvelli established Empire Pacific, LLC, a business and
public affairs consulting company. Empire Pacific and affiliates,
provide business and public affairs services for healthcare,
financial and information technology companies.
Carvelli
has been active in numerous political, legislative and campaign
activities for approximately 25 years. He served as a press aide
to former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey and for a member
of the California State Assembly in 1986, John served as manager
of a CA statewide political campaign for Lt. Governor. Carvelli
was a delegate to the CA State Republican Party and is the Chairman
Emeritus of the ‘400 Club of the Republican Party of Orange
County.
In
1984, Carvelli received a BA degree from The Catholic University
of America in Washington, D.C. While in Washington, D.C., Carvelli
also worked for the Republican National Committee and in The
House of Representatives.
During
the 1980’s, John took part in a fact-finding mission in
war torn Nicaragua with the National Conservative Foundation.
John
and his wife Kate and three daughters, live in Newport Beach,
CA.
The
three things you need to know on John Carvelli: 1) he’s
rich, really rich; 2) he’s a lobbyist & wheeler ‘n
dealer for many years in politics; 3) he’s being brought
on board to help out with analyzing the finances for the California
State Athletic Commission. Given his lobbyist background, Carvelli
will have a better understanding of how the stooges at the Department
of Consumer Affairs operate. CSAC is DCA’s puppet.
For further proof of Carvelli’s background as a wheeler
‘n dealer, here’s his lobbyist profile regarding working
on issues related to Medi-Cal:
John is also a member of the Board of Directors of the International
Foundation for Science, Health and the Environment (IFSHE). IFSHE
is a non-profit corporation engaged in scientific research through
Department of Defense and Department of Interior awarded contracts.
He’s
been a money man for a long time. Read this June 1993 Los Angeles
Times article regarding Carvelli’s ventures into the card
club/casino world to see how deep the pockets are.
Carvelli is mentioned in this April 14th Sacramento Bee piece
titled “Dental program for poor children improving.”
Dental managed care plans that came under fire last year for
failing to treat large numbers of poor children in Sacramento
and Los Angeles counties have made significant strides toward
getting those children into dentists’ chairs, according
to a report submitted to the state Legislature last week.
In
a February 2012 story, the Sacramento Bee highlighted problems
with the local managed care dental system, featuring stories
of children who waited months or years to receive treatment for
broken or badly decayed teeth. State Senate President Pro Tem
Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, called on the Department of
Health Care Services to take “immediate steps” to fix
the situation.
The
key name here is Steinberg. Obviously, Carvelli is on Steinberg’s
political radar screen when it comes to Carvelli’s business.
Without Steinberg’s support, Carvelli isn’t even placed
in the position that he is with the CSAC appointment. It also
means that whatever the Capitol wants done in terms of votes
on the CSAC board, Carvelli will follow with the political program
or else he will get jettisoned out like Gene Hernandez &
Mike Munoz, two honorable guys who stood up to the bureaucrats
and got kicked out for their efforts.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
CSAC 7-board panel: John Frierson (Chairman – Los Angeles),
Dr. VanBuren Ross Lemons (Sacramento), Dr. Christopher Giza (UCLA),
Dean Grafilo (SEIU guy/California Medical Association, Sacramento),
Mary Lehman (former boxer, attorney in San Diego), Martha Shen-Urquidez
(long-time lawyer with Los Angeles Housing Authority/Chinese
businesswoman), and now John Carvelli (money man & lobbyist
in Southern California).
Source: Fight Opinion
|
What
motivates a rookie to enroll in the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship?
The
2013 World Championship promises to break all records for number
of athletes, with athletes of all ages, belts and nations, veterans
and rookies.
In
addition to young talents, in blue and white belt, there are
also experienced professors ready to test themselves for the
first time.
GRACIEMAG,
for example, found a black belt that will make his debut in the
Worlds. Right in the heavy division, infused with athletes like
Xande Ribeiro and Rodolfo Vieira.
We
are talking about professor Nathan Basseto, 30 years old, who
lives in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo. He explained his motivations:
“It
is the most important Jiu-Jitsu championship on the planet. It
will be an honor to represent Ribeirao Preto and my sponsors.
I will do my best to make everyone proud. I’m not enrolling
just to participate and I’m not going just for fun. I’m
going for the medal,” says Nathan, who has been training
Jiu-Jitsu for 16 years. He even managed to gain support from
the local soccer team Botafogo FC, which will have their logo
printed on his gi.
“I
was dedicating myself to training athletes and social projects
here in São Paulo for a long time. Now I feel the need
to compete more. I felt unfulfilled and competition will solve
that problem. I am in search of it. I want to further motivate
my students to follow the same paths. The level of competition
is high, but I will do everything possible to fight on equal
terms against all,” said the experienced rookie, who travels
on Wednesday in the company of brown belt Evandro Nunes “Pezao”,
who fights in the super heavyweight division.
Nathan
Basseto became a black belt in April 2009.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Morning
Report: Dana White defends UFC decision to rescind Pat Healy's
bonuses after positive marijuana test
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
There have been countless positive drug tests for marijuana in
MMA since the year began, but none led to as polarizing of an
outcome as Pat Healy's failed test at UFC 159. In addition to
having his career-altering win over Jim Miller overturned into
a no contest, Healy lost at least $130,000 in post-fight UFC
bonuses due to his mistake.
The
decision to rescind nearly 80-percent of Healy's reported earnings
sparked controversy across the MMA community, but at Thursday's
UFC 160 pre-fight scrum, UFC President Dana White vehemently
defended the way in which the situation was handled.
"There
are f--king rules," White said. "Whether it's TRT,
didn't get an exemption, whether it's steroids, diuretics, whether
it's pain pills, there's things that are banned substances. And
whether you like it or not, marijuana is one of them. And somebody
said, ‘they took 90-percent of his purse.' We didn't take
f--king zero from his purse. We took 100-percent of the bonus
that he wasn't eligible for."
An
increasingly animated White went on to explain his point.
"It's
f--king illegal. You can't do it, it's a banned substance. Should
it be? I don't necessary think so. I don't think it's performance
[enhancing]," he declared, his voice rising. " [But]
it doesn't give a s--t what I think! It doesn't matter! It's
a banned substance. Every fighter knows that you go in, and you
use marijuana, and you get caught, you're busted. Now the commission's
going to come in -- they took that fight away from him -- and
he's going to get fined by the commission. He wasn't eligible
for that bonus.
"I
know nobody likes Bryan Caraway, right?" White continued.
"‘Bryan Caraway, they don't like him. Boo, Bryan Caraway.'
Bryan Caraway followed the rules. He had a submission that night,
and he followed the rules. He absolutely, 100-percent deserves
that bonus. What would it say if I gave that kid $130,000 for
testing positive for marijuana and the guy who followed the rules
doesn't get it?! How does that make sense?"
White
followed by pointing out that the UFC is actively working to
remove marijuana from the banned substances list, acknowledging
that it has become a somewhat antiquated and overblown rule.
Nonetheless, at least for the time being, it remains the rule,
and fighters are expecting to follow it.
"There
definitely a culture everywhere now. I would have to say, and
this is just my opinion from where I grew up, more people are
smoking weed now than ever in the history of, that I can remember,"
White said in closing.
"Nothing's
fair. Life isn't fair. Smoke a bunch of weed at f--king work.
See what happens to you. No matter where you work, I don't care
where you work. Alright? Unless you work at a place that's selling
weed, you're going to get in big f--king trouble for smoking
it."
6
MUST-READ STORIES
Hunt
doing just fine. UFC heavyweight contender Mark Hunt explained
the meaning of his bleached blonde hair, agreed that he deserves
a title shot if he wins over the weekend, and said that despite
the many complications securing a visa to travel to America,
he's feeling just fine.
Jacare's
next move. According to UFC President Dana White, a middleweight
bout between former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo "Jacare"
Souza and Yushin Okami "will happen." No timetable
has been set for the match-up.
Leites
is back. Former middleweight title challenger Thales Leites has
re-signed with the UFC, according to a report from SporTV. The
Brazilian grappling ace racked up a 6-1 record since exiting
the UFC in 2009, finishing four of those victories via submission.
Belfort
could be next. Fresh off his dazzling victory over Luke Rockhold,
the old lion, Vitor Belfort, could very well fight the winner
of Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman, according to UFC President
Dana White. White added that "the location of Belfort's
next bout would not be influenced by Belfort's use of testosterone
replacement therapy."
UFC
160 referee assignments. Veteran referee Mario Yamasaki will
oversee the main event of UFC 160, which features a rematch between
UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio 'Bigfoot'
Silva.
Jones
update. Asked about a timetable for Jon Jones' return from toe
injury, UFC President Dana White revealed: "He says he feels
great, the toe's healing good, but the problem is that ligament.
That ligament popped. Anytime you tear a ligament, blood flow
helps repair the thing and heal, and you don't get a lot of blood
flow to the toe. Who knows? This thing could be six weeks, it
could be six months. It's a pain in the ass, man. Always some
little, crazy thing."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
USA
TODAY: Despite life-threatening condition, 'Bigfoot' Silva eyes
UFC title
by John
Morgan
(This
story appeared in today's edition of USA TODAY.)
When
Alex Davis first laid his eyes on 6-4 Antonio Silva, years before
the fighter signed with the UFC, he saw an athlete with special
physical tools.
What
he soon would learn is that "Bigfoot" was in need of
treatment for a potentially life-threatening condition.
"I
found it out in his first fight in Japan," Davis told MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com). "The promoters there asked for an MRI,
and we found out. He did not know."
Davis
and Silva crossed paths in 2006, and the then-super-heavyweight
fighter was five bouts into a professional career that included
five first-round stoppages in his favor.
Davis
thought the larger-than-life fighter had the skills to become
a superstar in the sport and took a role as Silva's manager.
Shortly
after, Silva fought in Japan, and the prefight medical exam revealed
an abnormality with the pituitary gland, known as acromegaly,
in which tumors on the gland cause excessive creation of growth
hormone in the body.
"I
was ignorant about what acromegaly was," Davis says. "I
just saw a big guy with big extremities, but it never dawned
on me what that was. So we talked to the Japanese doctors a little
bit, and then I went deep into it and started looking into it.
"I
started educating myself about it. Then we got into a doctor,
and we've been treating it ever since in some way."
If
developed in teenage years, acromegaly results in a condition
known as gigantism, which is associated with excess height. Because
Silva developed it later in life, the Brazilian's symptoms include
pronounced growth of the hands, feet and skull, as well as a
general thickening of the skin.
Silva,
33, has had surgery to remove the tumors around his pituitary
gland and is on medication to prevent further complications.
"It
was a successful operation, but still some of the cysts came
back," Davis says. "So we got him on a government program
where he gets a monthly injection, and after he's finished fighting
he'll need to probably go through radiotherapy or have further
surgery.
"The
thing is, if someone has acromegaly and does not treat it, it
will lead to diabetes, heart problems — all kinds of problems.
It will actually kill you. But if it's taken care of, it will
be fine."
Silva's
condition has led to complications in his professional career.
In 2008, in an apparent attempt to boost lagging testosterone
levels caused by his condition, Silva and his team said, he ingested
an over-the-counter supplement known as Novedex. He then tested
positive for Boldenone, a banned substance usually used as a
horse steroid.
Davis
contends the failed result was a result of how Novedex metabolizes
in the body.
"If
we were going to give him a steroid, it wouldn't be a horse steroid,"
Davis says. "The truth is, he's probably the only guy on
the whole UFC roster who should actually be using testosterone-replacement
therapy."
But
those days are behind, and Silva (18-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is scheduled
to challenge UFC heavyweight titleholder Cain Velasquez (11-1
MMA, 9-1 UFC) on Saturday in the UFC 160 main event at Las Vegas'
MGM Grand Garden Arena (pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET).
The
bout is a rematch of their meeting a year ago in which Silva
made his UFC debut but was quickly taken to the floor on an early
kick and badly bloodied with strikes in the first round. Silva
said it was a valuable lesson. He's eager to correct his mistakes
and especially fueled by a scar from that night.
"The
first thing is the title. I want to win the title," Silva
said. "The second thing, every day I look in the mirror
and I see a big cut on my face. I'm very angry at that.
"This
time I trained with the same strategy I trained before. The problem
then was my mind, my adrenaline, my nerves. I was very nervous.
It was my first fight in the UFC. But I'm going to do the same
thing as before, and I know I have the skills to win this fight."
Oddsmakers
have pegged Silva as a significant underdog, but that's nothing
new for him. After all, he was the underdog in previous signature
wins against Alistair Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko, too, not
to mention in his battle against the condition largely responsible
for his nickname. In short, it's a role that suits the challenger
just fine.
"Cain's
a really top-level fighter. It's a tough match," Davis says.
"He's a great opponent from a great camp. It's a very tough
fight, but Bigfoot has proven that he can take tough fights and
be the underdog and overcome. He has a perfect chance of winning
this title.
"I
think he's really hungry, and if Cain gets complacent, Bigfoot
is going to take it."
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Randy
Couture Helps Wounded Soldiers and Their Families
by Jeff
Cain
UFC
Hall of Famer Randy Couture’s Xtreme Couture sixth annual
poker ride raises money for wounded soldiers and their families.
The
Xtreme Couture GI Foundation was established “to honor veterans
of America’s armed forced. The foundation was especially
formed to raise money and awareness for those wounded in action
and their families,” it reads on the foundation’s official
website. And it has done that.
On
Sunday, the foundation hosts its sixth annual poker ride.
“It’s
an all-day event. We go to five different stops and it’s
about 20 to 30 miles between stops. It’s a little over a
hundred miles,” explained Couture.
Having
served in the Army from 1982 to 1988 and reaching the rank of
Sergeant, Couture has long supported the armed forces. After
meeting wounded soldiers returning home and visiting the troops
overseas, the MMA legend and actor felt an overwhelming obligation
to use his celebrity status to raise money and awareness for
those injured in combat.
“I
wore the uniform for six years in the mid-80s. And there was
nothing going on at the time but a Cold War with the Russians.
I never had to put it on the line. Did a lot of training, air
assault school and what have you, and never found myself in a
position to need to defend myself or our country. Now, over 20
years later, I find myself in a completely different place in
life. Those were a pretty formative six years,” Couture
told MMAWeekly.com.
“Having
gone to Iraq and spent some time with some of the guys there,
been to the hospitals in D.C. on several occasions and met some
of those guys who had come back wounded. The desire to want to
get involved, raise awareness about those guys and the sacrifices
they’ve made and raise some money is where the foundation
came out of,” he explained.
The
Xtreme Couture GI Foundation has raised more than a half million
dollars since forming nearly six years ago and has aided several
soldiers and families. It’s a small non-profit, but the
lack of overhead expenses translates into a much higher percentage
of money making its way to the hands of soldiers.
“It’s
a very small foundation. It’s just my gym staff that runs
the events that we do. And because we’re small and have
very little overhead just about every cent goes to soldiers,”
he said.
To
help identify potential soldiers in need, the foundation draws
on the assistance of Walter Reed Military Hospital’s cooperation.
“Every year I make a trip out to Walter Reed National Military
Medical Center and some of the staff there helps me identify
families that may or may not need a leg up and we write checks
and give them right to soldiers and their families,” said
Couture.
But
there are several ways to seek assistance from the foundation
if you’re a veteran or a veteran’s family.
“You
can do it through the application process or writing a letter,
but any way you want to reach out to us is fine by us. We don’t
have a lot of red tape or anything,” said the GI Foundation’s
founder. “Reaching out to us through email or sending a
letter to the gym, anything pretty much works.
“It’s
pretty rewarding to be involved in. You can’t meet one of
these guys and the patriotism they exhibit and not be motivated
and touched by that. It’s something I feel like I needed
to do,” said Couture.
The
event takes place on Sunday, May 26, starting from the Extreme
Couture Gym in Las Vegas.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
2013
NAGA PACIFIC GRAPPLING CHAMPIONSHIP
WEIGH-IN OPTIONS FOR COMPETITORS
NAGA is offering all competitors the option of registering and
weighing-in FRIDAY NIGHT at the High School. On Friday, weigh-ins
and registration will start at 6 PM and continue until 8 PM sharp.
The Friday weigh-in will be open to all competitors regardless
if you pre-registered or not. Adults please have a photo ID on
hand when weighing-in. If you are not able to weigh-in on Friday,
you can still weigh-in on Saturday (Adults & Children/Teens)
or Sunday (Children/Teens) at the venue. Doors open at 8 AM Sat/Sun
and weigh-in is open throughout the day. Children/Teens can weigh-in
on Saturday for Sunday's competition.
DIVISION
SCHEDULE (Doors open at 8 AM)
SATURDAY (5/25/13) – ADULT COMPETITION (times are just estimates)
10:00 AM – All Women’s, Executives (50 years +) &
Directors (40 years+) Divisions start at 10:00 AM
10:00
AM – All Adult (18 years +) & Master (30 years+) Novice
divisions start at 10:00 AM Sharp NAGA has a new method for bracketing
the Adult & Masters No-Gi & Gi Divisions. The intent
is to have all divisions take place as quickly as possible utilizing
all rings at once. The divisions will be bracketed by skill level
in this order:
·
Men’s & Master’s No-Gi Novice (Estimated Start
Time is 10:30 AM) - Must be ready to compete by 10 AM
·
Men’s and Master’s No-Gi Beginner (Estimated Start
Time is 11:30 AM)
·
Men’s & Master’s No-Gi Intermediate (Estimated
Start Time is Noon)
·
Men’s & Master’s No-Gi Expert (Estimated Start
Time is 1 PM)
·
Men’s & Master’s White Belt (Estimated Start Time
is 2:00 PM)
·
Men’s & Master’s Blue Belt (Estimated Start Time
is 2:30 PM)
·
Men’s and Master’s Gi Purple, Brown, Black Belt (Estimated
Start Time is 3:00 PM)
SUNDAY
(5/26/13) – KIDS (13 yrs & under) & Teens (14 to
17 yrs.) – Doors open 8 AM
·
All children & teens must be weighed-in and be ready to compete
by 10 AM Sharp.
IMPORTANT:
It is difficult to estimate the start time for each division.
As a general rule, get there early and be prepared to stay late.
There are NO REFUNDS given for those who have to leave early.
The North American Grappling Association (NAGA) is the world’s
largest mixed grappling tournament circuit with over 170,000
competitors worldwide. On Saturday & Sunday, May 25 &
26, 2013, NAGA comes to Honolulu, Hawaii for its 1st annual NAGA
South Pacific Grappling Championship No-Gi & Gi tournament.
NAGA is inviting teams from Japan, Guam and other countries to
make it Hawaii's largest grappling tournament of all time! Come
as an individual or as a team to compete. You do not have to
live in Hawaii to participate in this event. This event is nationally
RANKED!
DOWNLOAD EVENT FLYER/REGISTRATION FORM
PRE-REGISTER
ONLINE HERE or download the registration form, print it out and
mail it in to the address on the form along with your check.
1
Division = $80; 2 Divisions = $100. Spectator passes are $10.
The price goes up to $15 after the pre-registration deadline.
For family rates, download the event flyer/registration form,
or click the Pre-Register Online link. Pre-registration closes
at 5PM on Friday, May 17.
For
weight classes, age category, and skill level information click
the DIVISIONS tab above.
For
weigh-in and registration location and times click the DIVISIONS
tab above.
TWO DAY TOURNAMENT: ADULTS ON SATURDAY / CHILDREN/TEENS ON SUNDAY
Due to the large amount of competitors that this NAGA tournament
attracts, this event will have 12 competition rings and will
take place over two days. All adults (both gi and no-gi) will
compete on Saturday. All children 13 yrs. & under and teens
14-17 years old (gi & no-gi) will compete on Sunday. The
2 day tournament format makes both days end much earlier than
a one day tournament.
100 CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS AWARDED
NAGA is very pleased to be awarding 100 CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS to
all its Children, Teen, Adult, Masters, Directors and Executive
Expert Division Winners.
SAMURAI SWORDS TO CHILDREN & TEENS WINNERS
NAGA is awarding custom engraved SAMURAI SWORDS to all non-expert
Children & Teen 1st place winners. Medals will be awarded
to all 2nd & 3rd place winners along with non-expert Adult
division winners. Adult competitors who place 1st-3rd will have
the opportunity to obtain a samurai sword at the NAGA T-shirt
booth for a nominal fee. For having the courage to compete, all
children and teens who do not place 1st through 3rd will take
home an award.
TEAM
CHAMPIONSHIP CUPS AWARDED
NAGA awards customized championship cups to the tournament team
champions. A cup can be won in: Adult Overall, Adult No-Gi, Adult
Gi, and Children & Teens Overall. We are also awarding an
overall Individual Team award. This will be awarded to a team/school
with a single location that scores the most team points. Please
make sure your team registers under the same team name.
CHAMPION GI PATCH
All Children, Teens & Adults who place 1st in any NAGA Gi
Division (White Belt through Black Belt) will receive a NAGA
Champion Gi patch. These patches are not sold, only earned by
the best Gi competitors.
GET YOUR GRAPPLING GEAR AT THE EVENT
NAGA is bringing a truckload of grappling gear (Board shorts,
gi bags, rash guards, t-shirts, hats, gi hoodies, patches, skull
caps, stickers, dog tags, etc.) in children and adults sizes,
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NAGA has established a presence online through our website and
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NATIONALLY RANKED EVENT
All NAGA events are part of the nationwide ranking system entitled
RANKED. Our goal is to determine who the best grapplers in the
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will be nationally ranked so do not miss your opportunity to
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found at www.nationallyranked.com.
SANDBAGGERS BEWARE
NAGA works diligently to prevent "sandbagging", or
the practice of fighting down skill levels to ensure one takes
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standings." A by-product of these standings is our knowledge
of who has competed and at which level. Front door personnel
will use RANKED data to determine whether or not individuals
who have fought in past events belong in a higher skill level
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|
UFC
160: Velasquez vs. Silva II
Date: May
25, 2013
Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Main
Bouts (on Pay-Per-View):
-Cain Velasquez (11-1; #1 Heavyweight) vs. Antonio “Bigfoot”
Silva (18-4; #4 Heavyweight)
-Junior dos Santos (15-2; #2 Heavyweight) vs. Mark Hunt (9-7)
-Glover Teixeira (20-2; #7 Light Heavyweight) vs. James Te Huna
(16-5)
-Gray Maynard (11-1-1; #4 Lightweight) vs. T.J. Grant (20-5;
#10 Lightweight)
-Donald Cerrone (19-5) vs. K.J. Noons (11-6)
Preliminary
Bouts (on FX):
-Mike Pyle (24-8-1) vs. Rick Story (15-6)
-Dennis Bermudez (10-3) vs. Max Holloway (7-1)
-Colton Smith (6-1) vs. Robert Whittaker (11-2)
-Khabib Nurmagomedov (19-0; #9 Lightweight) vs. Abel Trujillo
(10-4)
Preliminary
Bouts (on Facebook):
-Stephen Thompson (6-1) vs. Nah-Shon Burrell (9-2)
-Brian Bowles (10-2) vs. George Roop (13-9-1)
-Jeremy Stephens (20-9) vs. Estevan Payan (14-3)
UFC
160 Start Times:
Preliminary Bouts on Facebook: 6:35 p.m. ET/3:35 p.m. PT
Preliminary Bouts on FX: 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT
Main Card on Pay-Per-View: 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m PT
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Dana
White Says Jacare Souza vs. Yushin Okami “Is the Fight We’re
Gonna Make”
by Ken
Pishna
Following
an impressive first-round submission of Chris Camozzi in his
Octagon debut, former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo
“Jacare” Souza may not be far removed from a UFC title
shot.
UFC
president Dana White on Thursday confirmed that Jacare’s
next bout would likely be against fellow Top 10 middleweight
Yushin Okami. A win over Okami would make it difficult to deny
that Jacare was ready for a shot at the belt.
“That
fight will happen, Okami and Jacare,” said White at the
UFC 160 media day in Las Vegas. “That’s the fight we’re
gonna to make.”
As he alluded to, the fight has yet to hit the home stretch,
and White said he wasn’t sure what the target date or location
was.
The
victory over Camozzi put Jacare (18-3) on a four-fight winning
streak since losing his Strikeforce belt to Luke Rockhold in
2011.
He
is widely considered one of, if not thee, most dangerous submission
ace in the middleweight division.
About
the same time Jacare lost his Strikeforce belt, Okami ran into
the brick wall that is Anderson Silva when trying to capture
UFC middleweight gold. He followed that up with a surprising
loss to Tim Boetsch, but has since returned to form.
Okami
has currently won three consecutive bouts, defeating Buddy Roberts,
Alan Belcher, and Hector Lombard. A victory over Jacare would
put him right back in the thick of UFC title talk.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
160 main event breakdown: Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva II
By Mike
Chiappetta
LAS VEGAS -- A year ago, it would have been unthinkable to imagine
that we would be here again. Last May, Cain Velasquez thrashed
Antonio Silva so violently, so decisively, that it wouldn't have
been out of line to suggest that Silva was finished as a heavyweight
title contender. After losing to Velasquez, he'd been routed
in two straight fights, yet so soon afterward here we are, with
Velasquez and Silva matched again, and with the stakes even higher
than the last time, when both men were looking to avoid two-fight
losing streaks.
Silva
worked his way back into the spotlight the hard way, with two
upset wins. First, he knocked out Travis Browne last October.
Then, in February, he pulled off an even bigger stunner, coming
back from two rounds down to knock out Alistair Overeem in one
of the most buzzworthy moments of 2013. All of the sudden, he
was a legitimate contender again, and the landscape of the division
vaulted him all the way into a title shot.
But
that doesn't erase what came last year. This is how one-sided
Velasquez vs. Silva I was: in 3:36 of action, Velasquez out-landed
Silva 53-3. That's no misprint, Silva was only able to land three
strikes.
Since
the fight, Silva's team has suggested that the fight's outcome
was affected by an early cut that spurted blood in his eyes and
rendered him unable to see, but by the time the cut occurred,
Velasquez had already taken him down and hurt him with elbows.
Velasquez
actually took Silva down during the first seconds of the bout
after catching a lazy low kick. Silva never got back to his feet.
Finding success in the sequel will require him to stay on his
feet for much longer stretches.
His
wins over Browne and Overeem, while impressive, didn't require
the need to stop an aggressive wrestler. He was fighting strikers,
and simply caught them before they caught him. The bad news?
Even Overeem, who is not nearly the wrestler Velasquez is, was
able to take Silva down. In other words, there is no evidence
that Silva has improved enough in that discipline to stop a repeat
performance of being grinded out on the mat.
As
anyone who's watched Velasquez more than a few times knows, his
game is predicated upon a fairly complete offensive arsenal paired
with peerless conditioning among those in the division. According
to FightMetric, Velasquez holds the UFC records for both strikes
landed per minute (6.37) and strike differential (4.76). Those
numbers make it clear that he puts his opponent on the defensive
from the get-go and rarely lets up. Essentially, he is a bully.
He comes at you, and beats you up until you say uncle.
And
the thing about him is, he is going to put you on your back over
and over. Despite the fact that most of his fights go quickly
-- six of his 11 UFC bouts have ended inside of one round --
he averages 2.7 successful takedowns per fight. He's shown no
signs of trouble with defending submissions there. Not in the
brief time he fought Silva, and not in the 25 minutes he spent
pounding on Junior dos Santos in his last bout. Both of those
gentlemen are black belts, and could do nothing but try to withstand
his endless barrages.
Silva
doesn't have a very active guard, a fact that Velasquez took
full advantage of the first time around. Silva rarely looks for
submissions, and instead searches for sweeps. Experienced grapplers
like Velasquez are often able to feel out the position, break
his grip and then reset from the top. Even when he gets that
space, Silva is slow enough that he can't quickly return to his
feet, and he ends up stuck on the bottom. In this case, he's
going to have an energized Velasquez diving back in with strikes.
If
"Bigfoot" does manage to get a sweep, he's murder on
top with his clubbing hands and massive frame. But Velasquez
is so well schooled that seems like a slim proposition. So does
the possibility of Silva taking him down with his wrestling.
Silva
is a massive underdog in the fight, as Velasquez will go off
at around -600. It should be noted that the last time Silva faced
that kind of odds, he ripped through Fedor Emelianenko. So when
you factor that in along with his Overeem and Browne wins, you
must credit him for coming through in big situations many times
in his career.
He
obviously has fight-changing power, and Velasquez is easier to
hit than some other, more defensive-minded champions like Anderson
Silva and Jon Jones. So as long as Silva stays in the fight,
he will always have the possibility of landing a heat-seeking
missile. If he can find a way to put his five-inch read advantage
to use, that will help his cause. Judicious use of his kicks
would also be wise.
Bottom
line: it's going to take a nearly perfect performance for Silva
to win. Velasquez has most of the clear paths to victory. He
has the superior wrestling and conditioning, and he's already
proven that he's capable of dominating the challenger. The sequel
should be very much like the original. Velasquez via TKO, Rd.
2.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
160 preview: How can 'Bigfoot' Silva upset champ Cain Velasquez?
by Steven
Marrocco
Antonio
Silva's first meeting with heavyweight champiob Cain Velasquez
at UFC 146 wasn't much of a fight, and the rematch won't be either
if Silva doesn't make some big changes in his approach.
Velasquez
(11-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) is the favorite leading into UFC 160 for
a reason: He's an incredibly talented fighter. He's a well-rounded
wrestler and fierce striker, a takedown and ground-and-pound
artist, and not too shabby in the stamina department, as evidenced
by his revenge win at UFC 155 over Junior dos Santos that put
the belt back around his waist. But his fate at the Saturday
pay-per-view event will be greatly aided or hindered by whether
Silva (18-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC), whose power is undercut by his underwhelming
speed, does what he's done in recent fights: wait.
UFC
160 takes place Saturday at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Main-card fights air live on PPV following prelims on FX and
Facebook.
Recently,
Silva has lived up to his imposing appearance when his opponents
have been on the ropes. When Travis Browne tore his hamstring
at UFC on FX 5, Silva closed in for the finish. When Alistair
Overeem left his guard down at UC 156, he capitalized with big
punches. If we've learned anything from his recent run, it's
that "Bigfoot" has the power to put anybody in trouble
on a moment's notice.
But
his timing needs to be on point, especially against the smaller,
faster Velasquez. Whether he's pressuring the champion or countering
attacks, he can't wait a moment to pull the trigger.
Silva
didn't get any sort of chance at UFC 146. Velasquez deposited
him to the mat on his first kick, and from there, the fight essentially
was over. Velasquez quickly landed an elbow that altered the
course of the fight, sending blood cascading into Silva's eyes
and taking him out of his game. When he didn't move fast to move
his considerable bulk from the canvas, it was only a matter of
time before Velasquez landed a telling blow.
Would
the fight have been different if Silva had gotten to his feet?
Maybe, and maybe not. But it surely would have been more competitive.
Their
first matchup was Velasquez's first since the loss of his title
to dos Santos at UFC on FOX 1 in November 2011. It was put together
to rebuild his confidence on the road back to a title, and he
wasted little time in putting the fight where he was most comfortable.
Now, the champ may afford Silva more time on his feet, especially
since he managed to dominate the division's most heavily hyped
striker in dos Santos when they met late this past year. That
means Silva has a chance to land the kind of fight-altering punches
that have paved the way for his improbable rise in the heavyweight
division. But he won't do it if he's on his heels.
Velasquez
twice has been felled by big punchers (though only one officially
beat him). Cheick Kongo came a punch or two away from knocking
him out at UFC 99, and Velasquez wrestled his way to safety.
Dos Santos caught him with an overhand right and took his title.
So he's hittable.
If
Silva can't land the big shot, he could use his bulk to smother
the champ against the cage before getting top position on the
mat, where his heaviness would be a severe problem for the smaller
Velasquez. But it's a tall proposition, and bettors aren't giving
the challenger much of a chance to pull off another upset. Velasquez
is as big as an 8-to-1 favorite.
Title-eliminator
co-main sets up rematch – or 'Rocky' remake
Former
champ dos Santos (15-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) now knows how Velasquez
felt in his first fight with Silva; he's in the same spot. But
it remains to be seen how he'll handle his position.
The
Brazilian's bout with Mark Hunt (9-7 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is more than
a fight to rebuild his confidence – it's a near-official
title eliminator, though some doubt has been cast on whether
the surging Hunt will get the nod if victorious. Nevertheless,
a loss would certainly torpedo a big-money rematch with Velasquez,
so the stakes are almost as high as can be.
And
given that he has so much to lose, it would be understandable
if dos Santos did as Velasquez against Silva in taking the fight
southward. The difference, of course, is that dos Santos is not
especially known for his grappling. But with the threats that
Hunt presents, it might be a better option than anything else.
Hunt,
who replaced an injured Alistair Overeem, doesn't have the well-chiseled
abs of the strapping young heavyweight. He's getting old. He
doesn't exactly have the record of a title contender, either.
But he has an unbelievable chin and lunch boxes for hands. One
shot to the jaw from him, and you might forget your name, let
alone the fact that you came to fight that night.
After
racking up an abysmal 5-7 record, Hunt has won his past four
fights, knocking out three of them in style. Dos Santos, meanwhile,
was outpointed by Velasquez, which snapped a 10-fight win streak
that included eight stoppages.
Sure,
dos Santos has heavy hands, and it could be that he feels confident
enough to stand and trade punches with Hunt. But if he's serious
about letting nothing in the way of another shot at Velasquez,
he's much better served stuffing the New Zealand native against
the cage and taking the fight down. As much as Hunt's takedown
defense and grappling skills have improved, they're still average
at best when compared to most fighters at the top of their divisions.
Not too much is known about dos Santos' ground game, but at the
very least, the fight is a toss-up on the mat.
Takedowns
might not be the only thing fans get to see more of from dos
Santos. They could also catch more of his kicks, which would
help him stay away from Hunt's bombs.
For
Hunt, the job is simple: get inside and land. He's not going
to go for a submission, though he might try a takedown. The thing
is just to do damage and stay out of trouble long enough to strike.
Other
main-card bouts
Glover
Teixeira (20-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) vs. James Te Huna (16-5 MMA, 5-1
UFC): Anybody seen a light-heavyweight contender? With most of
them trampled underfoot by champ Jon Jones, and Alexander Gustafsson
queued up for the next try, this bout could earmark the guy one
step behind Lyoto Machida in the ladder of hopefuls. The heavily
hyped Teixeira didn't wow in his previous fight against ex-champ
Quinton Jackson, but he did earn his second straight octagon
win after a five-year win streak in regional competition. That
puts him on the radar for a future title shot, but Te Huna, who's
won his past four and replaced an injured Ryan Bader, is poised
to steal that thunder. Both of them bring heavy hands to the
matchup, but Teixeira might choose the path of less resistance
and take the fight to the ground. Still, it's a fight that could
end suddenly and explosively, or drag out to the scorecards.
A middle ground seems unlikely.
Gray
Maynard (11-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) vs. T.J. Grant (20-5 MMA, 7-3
UFC): Despite star power higher on the event's main card, this
lightweight matchup is one of the most significant fights of
the evening given its implications in the division. The winner
of the bout is set to fight champ Benson Henderson, which could
net Maynard his third shot at the title after two failed bids
against Frankie Edgar. Grant, meanwhile, could come out as the
underdog story of the year. Once an inconsistent welterweight,
he's won four straight at 155 pounds, including a pair of impressive
wins over Evan Dunham and Matt Wiman. In Maynard, he gets the
biggest challenge of his career. Stylistically, "The Bully"
brings a boxing-heavy striking attack to a first-class wrestling
game while Grant relies on muay Thai and jiu-jitsu. Maynard,
of course, has more experience with top-tier opposition. But
he's also fought more sporadically in the past two years as he's
moved from Xtreme Couture to American Kickboxing Academy. Grant,
meanwhile, carries the type of momentum that can't be discounted
in one of the deepest divisions in the sport. Although he's the
decided underdog, an upset isn't out of the realm of possibility.
Donald
Cerrone (19-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) vs. KJ Noons (11-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC):
Both lightweights are in need of an adrenaline shot for their
careers, which recently have seen major setbacks. For Cerrone,
it was a loss to red-hot contender Anthony Pettis. Noons, a onetime
welterweight title challenger and former EliteXC champ, got a
bad call in a fight against Ryan Couture in Strikeforce's final
event. Cerrone has more to lose than Noons, who is 1-4 in his
past five outings. Still, it's more of a lose-lose for "Cowboy,"
who was widely considered to be on the fast track to a title
shot before Nate Diaz out-struck him at UFC 141. Noons, who brings
sharp hands from his former life as a pro boxer, needs to get
inside on the lanky Cerrone, who recently said he expects his
opponent to take him to the mat. That wouldn't necessarily be
a problem for Cerrone, who's no slouch in the submission game.
But for Noons, it might not be the best option for convincing
the UFC brass to keep him around. In any event, this should be
an action-packed affair.
The
full UFC 160 card includes:
MAIN
CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva - for heavyweight title
Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt
James Te Huna vs. Glover Teixeira
T.J. Grant vs. Gray Maynard
Donald Cerrone vs. KJ Noons
PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET)
Mike Pyle vs. Rick Story
Dennis Bermudez vs. Max Holloway
Colton Smith vs. Robert Whittaker
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Abel Trujillo
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 6:35 p.m. ET)
Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Stephen Thompson
Brian Bowles vs. George Roop
Estevan Payan vs. Jeremy Stephens
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Former
champion Josh Barnett returns to the UFC after 11 years
Lilian
Caparroz
Former
heavyweight champion Josh Barnett is back in the UFC.
The
last time the Jiu-Jitsu black belt stepped into the cage was
in January this year, when he beat Nandor Guelmino, at Strikeforce.
In
2002, the American felt what it’s like to have the title
of “most feared man in the world” by defeating Randy
Couture by TKO, taking the belt. But the joy was short lived.
The fighter was caught in a drug test, and ended up losing not
only the title, but his job at the UFC.
Now,
after 11 years, the veteran returns to the biggest MMA event
in the world, seeking to continue a successful career, marked
by 32 wins in 38 fights. In the UFC, Barnett suffered only one
setback, the first of his record, against Brazilian Pedro Rizzo.
The
heavyweight has no scheduled fight yet, but according to MMAjunkie.com
the contract includes several fights.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
The
preposterous anti-marijuana, pro-testosterone regulatory standard
in combat sports
By Zach
Arnold
On Tuesday, Jonathan Snowden published a hell of an article regarding
UFC fighter contracts. Just remember as you read the piece that
fighters praise the quality of UFC’s contracts in relations
to Bellator/Viacom fighter contracts.
Who knew that article would be viewed as positive public relations
compared to the news that broke on Tuesday night. Another marijuana
meltdown for UFC management.
We know Nick Diaz’s history and how he has tried to fight
the Nevada State Athletic Commission. UFC went after Thiago Silva
for failing a marijuana drug test in Macau. Matt Riddle found
himself kicked to the curb after failing tests. Dave Herman has
tested positive for marijuana metabolites after his Brazil fight
and was sent to rehab for 30 days. Then there was Robert Peralta
in Sweden. Now, we have Pat Healy. Not only did New Jersey suspend
him for 90 days, the UFC is reportedly set to confiscate a lot
of bonus money away from him. Six figures worth of cash lost.
Over testing positive for marijuana. Not cocaine. Not a performance-enhancing
drug. Marijuana.
“I would like to start off by apologizing to the UFC, Jim
Miller, the MMA community, its fans, my family, teammates and
coaches for my positive testing for marijuana after my UFC 159
fight with Jim Miller,” he stated. “I was fully aware
of the UFC and state commission’s drug policies and made
poor life choices.
“I
stand behind the UFC and state commission’s disciplinary
actions. I support efforts to make MMA (and sports) a clean,
safe and fair place to compete.
“I
made a very poor choice to socially use marijuana and now I must
face the consequences of that choice. I can assure you that I
will do everything the UFC and state commission asks of me and
beyond. I will make a conscious effort to be a better role model
within the MMA community.”
Marijuana
is not a performance-enhancing drug, despite what Keith Kizer
and Joe Rogan continue to claim publicly. The reason athletic
commissions test for marijuana is because it’s easy to detect
the metabolites and it’s a quick way to confiscate cash.
The only logical reason to test for marijuana with fighters is
if you have a pre-fight drug testing policy in which you get
drug testing results before a bout takes place and if the presence
of said metabolites is so recent that it could de-hance (if you
want to call it that) the performance of the fighter in question
who is caught using marijuana.
However, that is not the system we have right now in place. Athletic
commissions (along with the UFC for overseas events) do pre-fight
and post-fight drug tests. The point of drug testing should be
to prevent those using performance-enhancing substances from
actually fighting in the cage when they’re on something.
Instead, the drug testing protocols are completely backwards.
The UFC’s attitude of prosecuting fighters for marijuana
usage by confiscating cash, having them apologize publicly, and
sending them to rehab is something out of the 1980s war on drugs
playbook. If the UFC & athletic commissions can prove that
a fighter is competing while immediately under the influence
of weed, that is one thing. However, they can’t. So why
are they in the business of regulating weed usage? $, $, and
more $. The UFC isn’t law enforcement trying to stop an
idiot for DUI behind the wheel of a car. They’re busting
the chops of fighters who use marijuana recreationally because
it’s a quick cash grab and an even quicker PR stunt.
It’s easy to go after fighters for marijuana usage and not
so easy to go after testosterone users if they aren’t using
Carbon Isotope Ratio testing to catch fighters who are using
testosterone gels, creams, or pellets via micro-dosing.
Chael Sonnen, the poster boy for testosterone usage in MMA, headlined
the UFC 159 PPV in Newark, New Jersey. He continues to get rewarded
for being a .500 fighter who uses the base chemical for all anabolic
steroids. Juxtapose that with the reported $135,000 hit UFC will
unleash on Pat Healy for the presence of marijuana metabolites
in a drug test. The message UFC is sending about an anti-marijuana,
pro-testosterone tolerance policy is so absurdly irrational and
dangerous… and the various state athletic commissions go
along with the charade because they want to continue doing business
with the UFC and not lose that PPV & TV cash.
Which brings us back to how the UFC structures their fighter
contracts & bonus system for as much leverage as possible
with the fighters they use. Because of a positive drug test for
marijuana metabolites, the UFC will be able to confiscate $135,000
in bonus cash from Pat Healy? It would be one thing if the company
used their power and leveraged it against fighters who abuse
testosterone & other performance-enhancing drugs. Instead,
they are leveraging their power to go after fighters over marijuana
usage.
The irony of this company drug policy, given the prime demographic
they target (18 to 34 year old males), is incredible.
The
only thing worse is that $900,000 fine against Julio Cesar Chavez
Jr. in Nevada. When Chavez got hammered, the boxing press &
political advocacy groups went hard after Keith Kizer. So far,
the reaction amongst the MMA writers at-large over Healy’s
suspension has been muted. We’ll see if that changes.
With
the testosterone passes flowing in Nevada and other prominent
state athletic commissions, I found a touch of irony in this
self-serving press release about what a great doctor Tim Trainor,
Keith Kizer’s right-hand man, is. You read that right —
Trainor posted a press release about how he is America’s
top sports doctor. I’m sure Dan Henderson (fighting on June
15th in Winnipeg), Frank Mir, and many other testosterone-using
fighters would agree.
Have a permission slip to use testosterone? Things are peachy.
Get busted for elevated levels of testosterone without a permission
slip? You’re a horrible person. That’s the standard
we have now in combat sports.
The UFC’s company policy of confiscating cash from fighters
who test positive for marijuana metabolites, along with sending
them to rehab and having some of them apologize publicly, is
quite different from their level of inconsistency when it comes
to dealing with steroid users.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Focused
on UFC Light Heavyweight Record, Jon Jones Could be Out Six Weeks…
or Six Months
by Ken
Pishna
UFC
light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has long said that he would
one day move up to heavyweight, but first he wants to claim sole
possession of the record for most 205-pound title defenses.
He
is currently tied at five defenses with UFC Hall of Famer Tito
Ortiz.
Jones
injured his toe in his last title defense, a first-round drubbing
of Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 on April 27 in New Jersey.
Limping
over to do his post-fight interview with UFC broadcaster Joe
Rogan, Jones’ toe was jutting out at an unnatural angle,
bleeding, the bone trying to sneak a peak through his skin. It
caused more than a few stomachs to churn when the cameras focused
on his injured foot.
The
injury, which most believed was a fracture, was actually a severe
dislocation.
That
sounds as if it’s a better scenario, but it may not be.
UFC president Dana White on Thursday noted that Jones could be
out of action for as little as six weeks, but it could also turn
the other direction and be six months.
“He
feels great. The toe is healing good. But the problem was that
ligament,” White explained. “That ligament popped.
The thing could be six weeks; it could be six months.”
Jones
is due for another MRI on his foot next week. He’s currently
in Russia, but is due back over the weekend.
His
manager, Malki Kawa, is optimistic when it comes to Jones’
recovery.
“One
thing about Jon is he’s not going to take any chances whatsoever.
As long as his foot heals properly and he’s got no issues
with it, it shouldn’t delay anything,” he said on a
recent edition of MMA’s Great Debate Radio.
“I’ll
just tell you this, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jon fights
two more times this year. That’s very aggressive and I know
that’s crazy, but it’s something that he discussed
with me and we talked about it.
“I
told Superman to relax a little bit, you’re injured right
now, but he’s got an aggressive timeline in his head, certain
goals and accomplishments that he wants, and we’re looking
to get that record.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
For
Mark Hunt, proving the doubters wrong has been a lifelong quest
By Mike
Chiappetta
LAS VEGAS -- The chip on his shoulder never falls far away. When
Mark Hunt was a child, growing up poor in New Zealand, it first
surfaced. He would look at some of the other kids, the well-off
ones, and wonder why he couldn't have what they had. It continued
on as he grew, and was constantly the odd man out. Told he wasn't
good enough, Hunt would do what came naturally. He fought.
As
it turned out, that was his gift. Things began to change when
he found martial arts. Suddenly, he had purpose, and at least
to the rest of the world, he had value. He was an instrument
of destruction, capable of crushing knockouts. By the end of
2005, by all accounts he was one of the scariest men on the planet,
and Hunt was sure he was the best fighter in the world.
But
a funny thing happened on the way to proving it. He lost. And
lost. And lost some more. So much so that by the time the UFC
bought PRIDE and acquired his contractual rights, they told him
they didn't want him or his losing record, and that they were
willing to pay him to go away. Hunt declined the offer, saying
he would rather earn his money the hard way. Finally, they acquiesced,
and he lost one more time. By the time his skid was over, Hunt
had lost seven straight fights overall -- six MMA matches and
one kickboxing bout. At the time, he was 36 years old, and it
appeared, he was broken.
But
that chip was now squarely back on his shoulder, and all the
people talking up his demise became his rocket fuel.
"I've
always been a fighter," he told MMA Fighting. "Even
after losing six fights in a row, to still think inside my head
that I'd be the best fighter in this world is kind of ridiculous.
But even when I was declined from the UFC, saying, 'We don't
want you,' do you know how that feels to be not wanted by any
employer? You don’t want me? Wait a minute, I’m the
best fighter in the world. It felt really disheartening but I
had a lot to prove. It's really hard to sit there and think you’re
not wanted because you’re not good enough. And not just
fighting, at anything. If someone says you're not good enough
in your whole life, you feel upset. It makes me angry. What do
you mean I'm not good enough?"
Since
that time, Hunt has been on fire. He crushed Chris Tuchscherer,
beat up Ben Rothwell and then smashed Cheick Kongo and Stefan
Struve.
Along
the way, he has become a cult hero. After beating Kongo last
February, an online movement began to get Hunt in UFC 146 as
the title challenger to Junior dos Santos after Alistair Overeem
failed a drug test and was ruled out of the match. Though the
"Rally for Hunt" fell short, Hunt's bandwagon has grown
exponentially.
It's
not quite clear what caused the phenomenon. Perhaps it's an appealing
combination of a quiet, unassuming personality combined with
his savage in-cage skills, or perhaps it was just a case of right
place, right time.
"It
feels good, man," he said. "I feel I get appreciation
from the 'Army of Doom. And like I said, no one wants to be told
they’re not good enough. No one."
Of
course, those good feelings about a stunning career comeback
only go so far. Hunt is still a sizable underdog by most estimates.
Dos Santos is around a 4-to-1 favorite. According to betting
lines, it marks the fifth straight fight he's expected to lose.
Hunt
wouldn't have it any other way, saying that if he ever gets to
a point where he's the consistent favorite, he wouldn't want
to fight anymore. Those are the kinds of endearing things he
says. On Thursday, he also told the media he hadn't heard of
TRT (testosterone replacement therapy), which is one of the sport's
most controversial topics, and admitted that he feels nerves
about the enormity of the fight.
dos
Santos' hand speed has been frequently cited as a possible deciding
factor between the two. Hunt admitted it was impressive, but
said that, "when someone gets hit really hard on the head
a few times, a lot of the time their speed as well as fitness
goes out the door."
In
giving his thoughts on his opponent, Hunt also mentioned that
he's only watched two of dos Santos' fights. That's several less
fights than Dana White watched the other night, when he decided
to log on to Youtube for a minute to view something, but ended
up staying on for four hours, checking out several of Hunt's
PRIDE and K-1 bouts.
"I
think it’s one of the great stories in sports right now.
I really do," he said. "It’s unbelievable."
The
UFC president may have been won over, but the chip on Hunt's
shoulder remains. Even when he had a losing record, he felt he
was the best heavyweight in the world. With one more win, he'll
have the chance to prove it. If he can only get past Saturday.
If he can only get past the former champion, the heavy favorite.
dos Santos is the natural, the vaunted talent. In some ways,
he is the embodiment of those kids in his youth who had what
he wanted, and of all those people who told him he wasn't good
enough. For him, those have always been fighting words.
"I’m
here to war," he said. "I'm here to take what’s
mine. Whatever I want here, I have to go and get it. Ain't no
one going to give it to me on a platter. Can I have this? I'm
not going to put my hand out. If I want that, I'm going to go
take that."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Daniel
Cormier says he's interested in Werdum-Nogueira winner next
by Matt
Erickson
LAS
VEGAS – While he's still interested in dropping from heavyweight
to light heavyweight, Daniel Cormier has a fight in mind before
that happens.
The
UFC heavyweight contender and former Strikeforce grand prix tournament
winner on Friday said he'd be interested in a fight with the
winner of next month's bout between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
and Fabricio Werdum.
Nogueira
(34-7-1 MMA, 5-3 UFC) and Werdum (16-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) meet in
the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 10 on June 8, which takes place
at Ginasio Paulo Sarasate in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil. Their
fight will come on the heels of coaching stints on "The
Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2."
At
a question-and-answer session with UFC FIght Club fans prior
to the weigh-ins for UFC 160 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las
Vegas, Cormier (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) said he doesn't have a time
table in place for a potential drop to 205 pounds.
But
when pressed, he said he has interest in the Nogueira-Werdum
winner if he fights again at heavyweight for his next bout.
But
Cormier also said that when the time comes for him to drop to
light heavyweight, he doesn't believe he'll have to worry about
who he might have to face at 205 pounds. He believes he'll be
fighting for the title straight away.
"I
think when I get down to that weight, they're going to put me
right in there for the belt," Cormier said.
And
he later sent a message to light heavyweight champion Jon Jones,
who is a month removed from the fifth defense of his title –
a first-round TKO of Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 in Newark, N.J.
"I
haven't started cutting weight yet, but we'll fight at 220 tomorrow
if he wants," Cormier said. "He can walk in off the
street and we'll fight at any weight."
Cormier
said he plans to be fighting at 205 pounds by the end of the
year.
Cormier
made his UFC debut this past month with a unanimous decision
victory over former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir at UFC
on FOX 7 in San Jose, Calif., where he trains.
Prior
to coming to the UFC from Strikeforce, Cormier went 8-0 in that
promotion, including a knockout win over Antonio Silva and a
five-round decision win over Josh Barnett. At Strikeforce's finale
in January, Cormier stopped Dion Staring with a second-round
TKO.
But
the big talk always has been on when Cormier will drop down to
light heavyweight – not really if he'll drop down. A heavyweight
fight against the Nogueira-Werdum winner would put that off for
a significant stretch.
Source: MMA Junkie
|
A
mature and intelligent Langhi explains the training to win another
World title
Vitor Freitas
Lightweight
double world champion in 2009 and 2010, Michael Langhi returns
to the largest event of Jiu-Jitsu relieved and happy after fixing
his visa, a problem that kept him out of the Worlds in 2012.
The
prodigy who is a student of Rubens Cobrinha at Alliance already
dreams of returning to feel the weight of the gold on his chest,
in the Worlds that begins by the end of May. And if possible,
Langhi wants to have an “easier” work.
“Alliance
is coming with a squad in the light division. It would be nice
to close with my teammates. It is a pleasure and makes the work
easier,” he says. See what else we learned from him:
GRACIEMAG:
You were the world champion in 2009 and 2010, got the bronze
in 2011, in the reign of Gilbert Durinho, and finally saw Leandro
Lo at the top of the category. How has your training changed
since 2009?
MICHAEL
LANGHI: I’m training a lot more than before, but I’m
smarter too. My training is very well designed and divided; I’m
able to train all aspects the best possible way. I’m back
stronger than ever and willing to fight. The strategy is to go
for it and stay ahead of my opponents the whole time.
Is
“maturity” the key word this year?
I’m
certainly more mature and experienced, that’s why the goal
is to always be ahead of my opponents, both on the scoreboard
and the positions. But in fact, the difference will be the desire
to win. I couldn’t fight last year due to some problems
with my visa. All settled, I’m back and I’m sure nobody
wants that gold more than I do. You can expect a lot of will
and Langhi doing his best to win another Worlds. I’m willing
to do whatever it takes to get out of there as the champ. I’m
training all aspects and all situations that may occur in the
fight, so I’ll be prepared for anything.
How
do you see this rivalry with Leandro Lo, who will also be fighting
for the lightweight gold?
Actually,
there is no rivalry. Lo is an excellent athlete whom I have fought
three times and have yet to defeat, but that’s it. I don’t
think we have a rivalry; we get along really well and have had
the opportunity to talk a lot. He has my respect, and the greatest
way I can prove this is to prepare myself as much as possible
if we fight again. If the fight happens, I will do my best and
I won’t think about anything but the victory. He will also
come with the same thought, so who will gain from it is the public,
because they will see a war.
Who
should decide the category, in your opinion?
My
goal and Alliance’s goal is to close the lightweight category.
We have several athletes enrolled in this division and it would
be nice to close with my teammates. I’m eager to get there,
after all, as I said I lived a nightmare and I couldn’t
fight. So with that, I’m willing be world champion.
What’s
on your mind minutes before facing an opponent at the Worlds?
I
just try to think of everything I have done to be there. I think
about my training and outlined strategy for that fight, I recall
that I gave my best and I prepared the best I could. I have nothing
to fear. The psychological side is covered in my training. The
more I train, the more confident I get. I try to talk a lot with
my family, wife and my coaches. Fabio (Gurgel) is always advising
me and helping me closely. And another person who helps me and
gives me a lot of confidence is my professor, Cobrinha. He always
says I need to listen and keeps me confident always.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
160 NOTEBOOK: FIRST THINGS FIRST
BY BRIAN
KNAPP
Can
Junior dos Santos rebound from his first loss since 2007?
Like
most professional mixed martial artists, Junior dos Santos finds
motivation in the pursuit of championship gold.
The
former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder
aims to take the first step towards reclaiming his crown when
he meets resurgent 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix winner Mark Hunt
in the UFC 160 co-main event this Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena in Las Vegas. Five months removed from his unanimous decision
loss to Cain Velasquez, dos Santos understands he must first
bring down Hunt in order to secure his desired rematch with the
champion.
“It’s
motivation, but I don’t think about that right now,”
dos Santos said during a pre-fight media call. “I think
about my fight with Mark. He’s the one I need to focus on.
It’ll be great to have a title shot again if I beat Mark.
For sure that motivates me, but that’s not what I’m
thinking about right now.”
The
one-sided loss to Velasquez, which saw dos Santos succumb to
11 takedowns and absorb more than 200 strikes, halted the Brazilian’s
career-best 10-fight winning streak. The run included wins over
Velasquez, former heavyweight champion Frank Mir, onetime International
Fight League titleholder Roy Nelson, 2006 Pride Fighting Championships
open weight grand prix winner Mirko Filipovic and two-time Abu
Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold
medalist Fabricio Werdum.
“It
was very difficult to accept my loss to Cain,” dos Santo
said. “The first week was very tough, but Cain was better
than me. He fought better than me, did a better job and deserved
to win. Once you see that, you realize that’s what this
sport is all about. Cain was the better fighter that day, and
it was easy for me to accept that it’s just part of the
sport.”
Velasquez
has his own hurdle to clear. The American Kickboxing Academy
will defend his championship in a rematch against Antonio Silva
in the UFC 160 headliner. Velasquez won the first matchup between
the two a little more than a year ago, as he ravaged “Bigfoot”
with brutal ground-and-pound en route to a first-round technical
knockout at UFC 146. Win or lose, dos Santos expects to face
the 30-year-old Californian again in the near future.
“I
don’t think I’m the only one who can beat Cain, but
I’m sure I’m one of the people who is capable of doing
that,” dos Santos said. “Cain and I will fight each
other several times throughout our careers, because we’re
both at another level.”
Opportunity
Knocks
Te
Huna is 5-1 in the UFC.
Ryan Bader’s loss was James Te Huna’s gain.
Te
Huna will serve as an injury replacement for “The Ultimate
Fighter” Season 8 winner, as he confronts Glover Teixeira
in a pivotal showdown at 205 pounds. The 31-year-old Australia-based
kiwi will enter the Octagon on the strength of a four-fight winning
streak. Te Huna last appeared at UFC on Fuel TV 7 in February,
when he weathered a damaging first-round head kick from Ryan
Jimmo and snapped the former Maximum Fighting Championship kingpin’s
streak of 17 consecutive victories with a unanimous decision
at Wembley Arena in London.
Teixeira,
a heavy-handed Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who has won 18
straight and emerged as one of the sport’s premier light
heavyweights, poses even more of a threat. The 33-year-old Brazilian
has stopped 13 of his last 18 foes in the first round.
“Glover
is one of the most feared fighters in the light heavyweight division,”
Te Huna said in his pre-fight interview with UFC.com. “He
has the ability to control the fight and sets his own pace. It’ll
be a great match.”
This
& That
The
MGM Grand Garden Arena has hosted 25 Ultimate Fighting Championship
events, one less than the Mandalay Bay Events Center ... Among
UFC lightweights who have faced at least 20 attempts, Gray Maynard
ranks second in percentage of takedowns defended (86.4) ... When
former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Brian Bowles climbs
into the cage to battle George Roop, 553 days will have passed
since his last appearance inside the Octagon ... Robert Whittaker
trains in Sydney, 7,717 miles from Las Vegas ... Stephen Thompson
was a five-time world kickboxing champion, with a 57-0 career
record ... When Hawaiian featherweight Max Holloway was born
on Dec. 4, 1991, “The Addams Family” was the No. 1
movie at the box office and Michael Jackson’s “Black
or White” topped Billboard Magazine’s music charts
... Mike Pyle’s hometown of Dresden, Tenn., encompasses
a little more than five square miles and is home to roughly 3,000
people ... Undefeated Russian lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov
has finished 10 opponents inside one round ... Jackson’s
Mixed Martial Arts standout Donald Cerrone was a national muay
Thai champion, but he has delivered 13 of his 19 professional
MMA victories by submission ... Arizona Combat Sports featherweight
Estevan Payan has held regional titles in two weight classes.
Source: Sherdog
|
John
Cholish Explains the Costs of Being a UFC Fighter
by Bleacher
Report
Courtesy
of Damon Martin and official MMAWeekly.com content partner Bleacher
Report.
The
subject of fighter pay in the sport of mixed martial arts has
been an ongoing debate for several years with no one coming to
a consensus on whether the salaries are good, bad or otherwise.
Most
recently, former UFC lightweight John Cholish, who retired following
his last fight at UFC on FX 8, came out against what he perceived
to be poor fighter pay structures, and it eventually led to his
exit from the sport.
Cholish,
who still works a full-time job as a commodities broker on Wall
Street, says that he didn’t even break even for his most
recent fight where he traveled to Brazil to face Gleison Tibau
on the undercard at UFC on FX 8.
He’s
spoken out quite a bit lately about the fighter pay issues since
his fight on Saturday, but he doesn’t expect many others
to follow suit because of their need for the UFC paycheck.
“Zuffa
is a private company so they don’t have to disclose a lot
of their information, and again this is my personal opinion,
I’m not saying it’s for anyone else but I’ve spoken
to a vast array of fighters from top level guys to mid-tier guys
to lower level guys and I feel at least the guys I’ve spoken
with kind of have that same feeling of maybe they’re not
being fully compensated the way that they should be. But guys
are scared,” Cholish stated when speaking to MMA‘s
Great Debate Radio.
“If
you don’t have a secondary source of income, if this is
your primary source of income and your full-time job and Dana
(White) has been very clear this past year they are going to
be cutting a lot of guys from the roster. Top name guys like
Jon Fitch that was a huge debate at the time when it happened
when he got cut and moved to a different organization.
“I
think people are scared and fear the repercussions. I’m
in a position where I can kind of speak out and I don’t
need the fighter income.”
Instead
of just making a blanket statement about what he believes is
poor pay for the fighters, Cholish broke down exactly what it
costs (in his case at least) to train, travel and prepare for
a fight in the UFC.
The
money involved in Cholish’s case are probably similar to
other fighters, but he makes it clear that he can only speak
towards what his contract and financial situation with the UFC
was for his fighting career.
“Just
to be clear I’ve not seen any other fighter’s contracts,
maybe I’m this one guy that has this terrible contract,”
Cholis said. “Although I doubt it because it’s probably
a carbon copy, but this is just kind of my experience and what
I’ve dealt with.”
(It
also must be noted these figures do not account for sponsorships
that Cholish may have received, only the base pay he reported
from the UFC.)
Training
Camp Costs: $8,000 to $12,000
Before
a fighter even steps foot in the Octagon, there is a long process
of getting ready for the bout. Typically a fighter will receive
six to eight weeks to prepare for a bout (although that timeline
can be shorter or longer depending on the notice given for a
fight), and that’s how he structures a camp to get ready.
Cholish
trains primarily out of the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York
City under coaches like famed jiu-jitsu instructor John Danaher,
and with other trainers like Phil Nurse, who works with several
high-profile UFC fighters including welterweight champion Georges
St-Pierre.
“This
is just gym fees, travel expenses, making sure you’re eating
the right stuff, and not talking day-to-day stuff like breakfast,
lunch and dinner. More like supplements, training gear, all that
top to bottom. I’d say roughly between $4,000 to $6,000
a month when you look at it,” Cholish revealed. “Again,
I live in New York City so I understand costs may be a little
bit higher than they are other places, but it’s expensive
to train at top places and with individuals.”
Those
numbers seem in line with what other fighters have stated in
the past regarding a top-notch training camp.
UFC
featherweight Chad Mendes, who was supposed to fight at UFC 157
before several opponents dropped out due to injury, had to postpone
his training camp to prepare instead for a fight in late April
at UFC on Fox 7. Speaking with MMAJunkie.com at the time, Mendes’
numbers were very similar to those given by Cholish for what
a professional training camp should cost.
Pre-Fight
Medicals
Before
a fighter steps into the cage to compete in the UFC, he must
first undergo a series of medical exams to gain clearance for
a fight. Those tests can range from a typical physical to blood
tests to a CAT scan or eye exam if necessary.
Cholish
says after suffering an injury before his last scheduled fight
in December 2012, he had all of his pre-fight medicals done,
but some of the tests required by the commission expired before
his next bout so he had to redo many of them again.
While
he can’t speak to the exact costs of medicals required because
his own personal insurance (paid by his brokerage house employer)
picked up the tab, he did happen to get a bill by accident for
some of the bloodwork that was required before he traveled to
Brazil.
“I
actually had my medicals for the Yves Edwards fight, which expired
by a very brief period of time and I had to get my medicals done
again,” Cholish explained. “Fortunately, I have insurance
that is kind of able to cover it, but the bloodwork alone I got
a bill that they misprocessed and didn’t go to my insurance
was almost $800. Just for the bloodwork.”
Cholish
says that while he did not incur the costs of the medicals because
of his own insurance, his understanding is that fighters are
responsible for the cost of those tests out of pocket.
“It’s
not cheap and it’s not free. From my understanding (medicals)
yes it is (the fighter’s responsibility),” Cholish
said.
Travel
Expenses: Estimated for Brazil Near $4,000
As
part of his contract for a fight, Cholish explains that the UFC
will pay for his flight and hotel for a fight (in this case his
trip to Brazil) along with one coach or corner person. In addition
to those costs, the UFC will cover the expenses to pay for a
visa to travel to Brazil for both the fighter and his coach (price
is $500 a piece).
Cholish
explains however that while the UFC does pay for him and a coach
to make the trip, almost no fighter will go into a bout at that
level without at least two other coaches or corner people to
work the fight.
“For
me how it was set up for Brazil, I have two flights covered so
for me and for one coach and then you get one hotel room. The
hotel we’re actually staying at only had two single beds
in it so there weren’t any queen-sized beds, not that I
would have four grown men sleep together in a bed.
“So,
for example, when I had my fight in Toronto, you have to pay
for two additional flights for two coaches. You have to pay for
another hotel room, which they make you get there on Monday or
Tuesday. So it’s usually for four or five nights so that
adds up,” Cholish explained.
“I
choose to take care of my coaches’ meals while they are
there. Again, I don’t think they should have to pay out
of pocket to be there. For Brazil as well there was a $500 visa
fee, that was included for coaches.
“You
also have to pay for your corner licensing, you have to pay for
your medicals before the fight, so it might not seem like a lot
but when you start adding it together. Especially a flight to
Brazil costs $1,500 or $1,600 a piece and you’re only making
$8,000, it chips away pretty quickly.
International
Taxes: $2,160
When
the UFC travels internationally, the fighters that compete there
must also pay additional taxes to the country where the card
takes place. When a fight takes place in Canada, the competitors
traveling there from the United States have to pay Canadian taxes
before getting their money for the fights.
Fighting
in Brazil, Cholish explains that the tax is 27 percent of the
take home pay. In his case his contracted rate to fight was $8,000
(he would have won an additional $8000 with a win). Before he
receives any pay from the UFC, Brazil taxes take $2,160 from
his $8,000 paycheck.
“Brazil
takes 27 percent before you even get the money. That comes right
out,” Cholish said. “Same thing as Canada, they take
their money before you leave.”
On
top of the taxes taken by each individual country, the fighters
are still responsible for paying taxes in their home country
of origin as well. So after paying the $2,160 to Brazil, Cholish
still owes taxes to the United States government as well for
income earned.
Final
Analysis
While
there are no hard numbers on what each individual fighter spends
on a training camp, in Cholish’s case based on the dollar
amounts he gave, his bout at UFC on FX 8 would end up costing
him more than $6,000 out of pocket ($8,000 show money –
$2,160 for taxes = gross pay of $5,840. $8,000 for training camp
+ $4,000 for travel with coaches).
Those
figures also don’t reflect any additional money Cholish
would have paid for his coaches to eat in Brazil or other expenditures,
such as medical costs that in this case he did not have to pay
for before the fight.
Cholish
isn’t sure there is a perfect answer to this problem either
outside of the UFC paying their fighters a higher sum of money
or possibly setting up to pay some sort of fees for training
camps, travel costs, etc.
Many experts point to a fighter union that would run in similar
fashion to those in other major sports like the NFL or Major
League Baseball, but Cholish admits that at the heart of it all
MMA is an individual sport, not a team sport, and that’s
going to make it harder to convince the fighters making the most
to give up something for those making the least.
“I
am in no means asking them to step down, you can’t blame
them,” Cholish said about the UFC’s top earners. “They
worked really hard to get where they’re at and they’re
finally getting paid. Why should they stick their neck out especially
when if one ore two of them does it, is it really going to be
enough? So unfortunately I don’t think a union is a base
way to go.”
Cholish
believes that the fans are the real voice that will force the
UFC to change the way they pay fighters. He’s started a
campaign on Twitter called #PayTheFighters hoping to bring this
subject up more often to the higher ups at the UFC.
“I
think the biggest impact will be fans and social media,”
Cholish stated. “UFC is a private company, they work for
money, where do they get their money from? The fans.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
160 ‘VELASQUEZ VS. SILVA 2’ PREVIEW
BY TRISTEN
CRITCHFIELD
Speed,
technique and cardio are calling cards for Cain Velasquez.
For
the second consecutive year, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s
traditional Memorial Day Weekend card puts the spotlight directly
on the heavyweight division. While UFC 160 does not feature an
all big-man main card like UFC 146, it does include two pivotal
matchups on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas:
a title contest pairing reigning champion Cain Velasquez with
Antonio Silva and a co-feature pitting former titleholder Junior
dos Santos against cult hero Mark Hunt.
Silva,
for one, hopes that this card turns out nothing like the one
a year ago, when Velasquez bludgeoned him with heavy ground-and-pound
on the canvas for a first-round technical knockout victory. Meanwhile,
dos Santos hopes to set up a third meeting with the heavyweight
champion by winning impressively against Hunt, the unlikeliest
of title contenders.
Here
is a closer look at UFC 160, with analysis and picks.
UFC
Heavyweight Championship
Cain
Velasquez (11-1, 9-1 UFC) vs. Antonio Silva (18-4, 2-1 UFC)
Silva
has won two straight.
The Matchup: It was only a matter of seconds before Velasquez
planted Silva on his back in their first encounter at UFC 146.
An elbow from the American Kickboxing Academy standout had Silva
bleeding almost immediately, and the rout was on from there.
Velasquez continued to batter his larger foe with vicious ground-and-pound
from above, staining the Octagon floor with the Brazilian’s
blood. Silva was granted a brief respite when referee Josh Rosenthal
temporarily halted the beating to allow a doctor to examine “Bigfoot,”
but that only delayed the inevitable, as Velasquez emerged with
a TKO triumph 3:36 into round one.
Velasquez
fought with a purpose that night: to re-establish that he was
the top heavyweight in the world after losing his belt to Junior
dos Santos at UFC on Fox 1. He reached his goal in December,
dominating dos Santos over five rounds at UFC 155 to regain heavyweight
gold. In just two bouts, Velasquez showed his ability to impose
his will in both abbreviated and extended fashion.
Nothing
about the first meeting between these two heavyweights suggested
a rematch would be necessary a year later. However, a third bout
with dos Santos needs time before it can become appealing, and
Silva ruined plans of a Velasquez-Alistair Overeem showdown when
he stopped the hulking Dutchman in the third round at UFC 156.
Couple that with a victory over rising talent Travis Browne in
October and suddenly, Silva was the best available contender.
Silva
will never be the most athletic heavyweight in the division,
but when an opponent refuses to take him seriously, the results
can be disastrous, as Overeem learned. The American Top Team
product has big power in his massive fists and is capable of
hurting anyone when given the opportunity.
Complacency
will not be an issue for Velasquez, however. The champion will
not drop his hands and taunt “Bigfoot,” and unless
he suffers a catastrophic injury that limits his mobility --
Browne tore his hamstring early in his bout with Silva -- he
should be able to follow a similar game plan to the one that
worked so well at UFC 146.
There
is no doubt that Silva will have worked diligently to improve
his takedown defense coming into this fight, but Velasquez is
simply too quick, too relentless and too well-conditioned for
it to matter. Dos Santos was forced to defend a whopping 33 takedown
attempts against Velasquez at UFC 155, and although he was successful
on 22 occasions, his opponent’s work rate gradually sapped
his cardio.
Silva
struggles at keeping more agile opponents from getting inside
on him, while Velasquez is adept at throwing punches and kicks
in combination before changing levels at a moment’s notice.
Once he has an opponent planted, his ground-and-pound is nearly
unstoppable, as Silva himself can attest.
Silva’s
best chance lies in his ability to make Velasquez work from the
bottom, whether that comes from rocking the champion with a counter
right hand, wearing him down in the clinch or using his jiu-jitsu
to sweep and reverse. Silva is not fast enough to win prolonged
exchanges, and he cannot afford to spend a significant amount
of time on his back, either. Employing a heavy top game is by
far his best chance at scoring an upset.
The
Pick: Silva was clearly limited by the amount of blood gushing
into his eyes the first time around. Even if Velasquez does not
open a cut of that severity again, the challenger will not be
able to match the champion’s pace. Silva lasts longer, but
loses via TKO in round two or three.
Heavyweights
Junior
dos Santos (15-2, 9-1 UFC) vs. Mark Hunt (9-7, 4-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: If dos Santos hopes to set up a potential title trilogy
with Cain Velasquez, he will have to get through a heavy-handed
former K-1 World Grand Prix winner who has become a cult hero
in MMA circles. It would have been laughable to call Hunt a major
player on the heavyweight scene some three years ago, but with
four straight Octagon victories -- three by knockout -- that
is exactly what he is.
While
Velasquez and dos Santos remain the cream of the UFC’s big
man crop -- especially if Daniel Cormier still plans on eventually
dropping to 205 pounds -- the race to move up the divisional
ladder now includes unconventional types such as Hunt and Roy
Nelson. Nelson has been close before but absorbed hellish beatings
against “Cigano” and Fabricio Werdum that earned him
accolades for his toughness but also demonstrated how far he
is from truly being a title contender.
Now
Hunt, coming off a knockout of Stefan Struve in which he broke
the Dutchman’s jaw, has a chance to defy the odds. “The
Super Samoan” has improved his submission defense to a point
where it is no longer a glaring liability, allowing him more
opportunity to unleash the thunder in his fists. Conditioning
remains an issue for the New Zealand native, however, as he was
obviously fatigued by the third round of his confrontation with
Struve. Still, he had enough juice left to finish off his equally
tired opponent on that night.
Although
he suffered a lopsided defeat in his loss to Cain Velasquez at
UFC 155, dos Santos showed resilience in lasting the full five
rounds; plenty of lesser fighters would have wilted under the
withering pressure of the champion before then. The Brazilian
will have a clear edge in stamina, but he must be careful not
to be baited into a brawl with Hunt.
Dos
Santos, of course, is far more technical than Hunt’s recent
victims, and he has survived a combined six rounds with knockout-minded
foes Nelson and Shane Carwin in previous bouts. Hunt lacks the
jiu-jitsu game of Nelson and the wrestling chops of Carwin, but
he does have an uncanny ability to lure opponents into his kind
of fight. A cast-iron chin allows him to trade shots with most
anyone, and he will be emboldened by the fact that dos Santos,
a Team Nogueira protégé, rarely looks to land takedowns,
although he was 2-for-2 against Carwin at UFC 131.
Dos
Santos does not usually need to employ any sort of ground game
because of his skilled and quick hands. He uses his jab to set
up powerful hooks and uppercuts and is willing to work the body
with his strikes, as well. Dos Santos’ use of movement and
angles should limit countering opportunities for Hunt.
The
Pick: Dos Santos’ precision will be evident throughout,
and his output will only increase as Hunt becomes winded down
the stretch. Hunt may be too tough to be finished by strikes,
but he will absorb a fair amount of damage in losing a unanimous
verdict.
Light Heavyweights
Glover
Teixeira (20-2, 3-0 UFC) vs. James Te Huna (16-5, 5-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: Teixeira was initially booked to face Ryan Bader, but
an injury suffered by the Power MMA Team representative allowed
Te Huna a chance at his highest-profile bout to date. The Australia-based
kiwi has reeled off four consecutive wins in the Octagon, besting
Ricardo Romero, Aaron Rosa, Joey Beltran and Ryan Jimmo in succession.
None
of the above fighters is at the level of Teixeira, however, and
Te Huna will have to start much more quickly than he did at UFC
on Fuel TV 7, where a Jimmo head kick had him fighting for survival
for the majority of the opening round.
Teixeira
has won 18 straight fights -- three in the UFC -- and earned
the signature triumph of his career against Quinton Jackson at
UFC on Fox 6 in January. The 33-year-old Brazilian attacks with
power punches on the feet -- his left hook is especially dangerous
-- and understands how to deliver strikes at various levels.
Teixeira is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and his ground
game that could ultimately give Te Huna the most trouble.
Te
Huna’s lone Octagon defeat came via a rear-naked choke from
Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 127; the Pirtek Athletic Allstars
representative is much more comfortable working ground-and-pound
from top position than he is defending from his back. Teixeira,
who averages more than four takedowns per 15 minutes, can unload
with heavy punches and elbows from above while looking to advance
position. Absorbing a barrage of strikes will take its toll,
and Te Huna will become increasingly vulnerable to submission
attempts as the fight progresses.
A
stand-up brawl does not necessarily favor Te Huna, but it does
give him a better chance to win. The powerful Te Huna must utilize
effective defensive wrestling to keep the fight upright, but
even then, he could struggle to match the accuracy and volume
of Teixeira, who tends to be overwhelming while targeting both
the head and body with hooks and uppercuts.
The
Pick: Expect some powerful exchanges in the center of the cage,
with Teixeira gradually getting the best of his foe before sealing
the deal with his ground game. The Brazilian wins via submission
in round one or two.
Lightweights
Gray
Maynard (11-1-1, 9-1-1 UFC) vs. T.J. Grant (20-5, 7-3 UFC)
The
Matchup: The stakes for an already interesting 155-pound matchup
were raised significantly when UFC President Dana White announced
that the Maynard-Grant winner would receive the next shot at
reigning lightweight king Benson Henderson.
A
knee injury forced Maynard out of a matchup with Joe Lauzon at
UFC 155, so it will have been nearly a year since “The Bully”
last stepped into cage at UFC on FX 4. Maynard struggled to chase
down Clay Guida in a painful-to-watch bout, ultimately earning
a split verdict that pleased virtually no one. After coming up
short in two attempts to wrest the belt from then-champion Frankie
Edgar, this could be Maynard’s last hurrah as far as title
contention goes.
After
a .500 stint at welterweight, Grant has reinvented himself at
lightweight, posting a 4-0 record and looking increasingly impressive
with each outing. Once known primarily as a grappling specialist,
the Canadian has showcased aggressive standup in his last two
fights, earning wins over Evan Dunham and Matt Wiman.
Though
he had Edgar reeling in both of their fights, Maynard has not
developed much of a reputation as a finisher during his tenure
with the UFC. His lone stoppage came in 2007, when he scored
a nine-second knockout of Joe Veres at UFC Fight Night 11. Most
of the American Kickboxing Academy representative’s success
has come from an ability to neutralize foes with his strength
and wrestling. Grant is the more accurate and diverse striker
of the two, as he demonstrated in utilizing punches, leg kicks
and knees to the body against Dunham. He can more than hold his
own in close quarters, both with knees and nasty standing elbows.
Maynard
has a left hook and right uppercut that can rock most anyone,
but his striking is mostly tailored to set up his wrestling.
Few opponents can match his physicality, but Grant might be better
equipped than most, having come down from a division above.
If
Maynard is able to get takedowns, he will be appropriately conservative,
attempting only enough offense to avoid a standup. Grant has
a solid butterfly guard, and his ability to sweep and chain together
submission attempts will give his foe pause.
The
Pick: Maynard enters as the favorite, but Grant will do his best
to pressure his foe in all aspects of the fight. In a mild upset,
the Canadian limits Maynard’s ground control, hunts for
submissions and lands enough offense on the feet to earn a narrow
decision victory.
Lightweights
Donald
Cerrone (19-5, 6-2 UFC) vs. K.J. Noons (11-6, 0-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: Twice Cerrone has been on the verge of challenging for
the lightweight title in the UFC, and both times he has come
up short in high-profile bouts. His last loss was especially
painful, as Anthony Pettis became the first person to knock out
“Cowboy” with a perfectly placed liver kick at UFC
on Fox 6. Cerrone recently hired a sports psychologist, an acknowledgment
that his shortcomings are as much mental as they are physical.
Noons,
meanwhile, was brought over by the UFC despite having lost four
of his last five fights, although a split decision defeat to
Ryan Couture at Strikeforce “Marquardt vs. Saffiedeine”
was controversial. Noons’ value to the promotion lies in
his ability to engage in fan-friendly striking battles, and pairing
him with Cerrone, a former muay Thai world champion, could produce
fireworks.
Noons’
most memorable victory remains a doctor stoppage triumph over
Nick Diaz at EliteXC “Renegade” in 2007, and although
his last five fights have gone the distance, “King”
has plenty of knockout power, as evidenced by his eight career
KO or TKO wins. The Arena representative is at his best when
he can get comfortable and establish a rhythm in the pocket.
His boxing technique is among the best in the sport, as he uses
feints and movement and fires off combinations at odd angles.
Where
Noons has struggled is against opponents who can either keep
him off balance with versatile striking attacks or grind him
down with heavy top games. Even Couture, an average athlete,
had his moments landing kicks on the outside against Noons. Cerrone,
who has a three-inch reach advantage, is far more proficient
than Couture when it comes to kicking. The Jackson’s Mixed
Martial Arts product takes pleasure in attacking all levels with
his feet, and he is also adept at punctuating punching combinations
with whipping low kicks. Factor in Cerrone’s knees to the
body and chest, and Noons suddenly has an entire toolbox of techniques
for which to prepare.
Cerrone
is also the better wrestler and grappler, but the Coloradoan
may very well eschew the ground game altogether to engage in
a striking battle with a like-minded foe. It is a strategy that
can work for the World Extreme Cagefighting veteran as long as
he does not allow Noons to establish a rhythm.
The
Pick: Cerrone is able to fight tactically, picking his spots
and landing kicks from the outside. A couple takedowns late in
rounds seal the victory, as “Cowboy” wins via decision.
Welterweights
Mike
Pyle (24-8-1, 7-3 UFC) vs. Rick Story (15-6, 8-4 UFC): Story
steps in for Gunnar Nelson after the Icelandic standout withdrew
from the bout due to a knee injury. The Brave Legion representative
rebounded from a thrashing at the hands of Demian Maia to score
a first-round TKO against lanky grappler Quinn Mulhern at UFC
158. He faces a crafty veteran in Pyle, who has won six of his
last seven Octagon outings, including three straight by first-round
stoppage. Story will try to land heavy punches and outmuscle
Pyle in tie-ups, but “Quicksand” is adept at controlling
the tempo of a fight. Pyle wins via decision or late submission.
Featherweights
Max
Holloway (7-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Dennis Bermudez (10-3, 3-1 UFC):
Bermudez’s last bout, a “Fight of the Night” scrap
with Matt Grice at UFC 157, showcased “The Ultimate Fighter
14” finalist’s power punching and resilience. Against
Holloway, a gifted striker with a four-inch reach advantage,
Bermudez should look to return to his wrestling base to nullify
his opponent’s offense. Bermudez lands steady ground-and-pound,
works to advance position and wins via TKO in round two.
Welterweights
Robert
Whittaker (10-2, 1-0 UFC) vs. Colton Smith (3-1, 1-0 UFC): Smith
is not the most entertaining talent to ever emerge from “The
Ultimate Fighter,” but he certainly is effective. At “The
Ultimate Fighter 16” Finale, Smith utilized a steady diet
of takedowns and positional control to cruise to a unanimous
decision against Mike Ricci. Whittaker, the winner of “The
Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes,” will have to create space
to land the combinations that worked for him against Brad Scott
in his last outing. Unless Whittaker can land something significant
and hurt his opponent early, Smith grinds his way to a decision
victory.
Lightweights
Khabib
Nurmagomedov (19-0, 3-0 UFC) vs. Abel Trujillo (10-4, 1-0 UFC):
Nurmagomedov looks to be one of the most promising new stars
in the lightweight division. Most recently, the American Kickboxing
Academy product used a leaping uppercut and follow-up ground
strikes to dispatch Thiago Tavares at UFC on FX 7 for his third
straight win in the Octagon. Meanwhile, Trujillo displayed quick
hands and an ability to land offense in close quarters in his
second-round TKO of Marcus LeVesseur at UFC on Fox 5. Nurmagomedov
takes this by submission in the first or second round.
Welterweights
Nah-Shon
Burrell (9-2, 1-0 UFC) vs. Stephen Thompson (6-1, 1-1 UFC): After
a spectacular head-kick knockout of Daniel Stittgen to begin
his UFC career, Thompson came down to earth in dropping a unanimous
verdict to Matt Brown at UFC 145. “Wonderboy” has not
fought since, conceivably giving him plenty of time to shore
up the glaring holes in his ground game. Burrell, coming off
a hard-fought triumph over Yuri Villefort at UFC 157, has a solid
jab, good hand speed and a varied overall striking arsenal. Burrell’s
ability to mix in takedowns will help carry him to a decision
victory.
Bantamweights
Brian
Bowles (10-2, 2-1 UFC) vs. George Roop (13-9-1, 3-5 UFC): Bowles
returns to action for the first time since losing to Urijah Faber
in November 2011. The former WEC 135-pound king is a good athlete
with a solid power in his right hand and decent wrestling; staying
healthy has been his greatest obstacle. In his first fight at
bantamweight since a loss to Eddie Wineland at WEC 46, Roop earned
a unanimous decision over Reuben Duran at UFC 158. Bowles wins
by decision.
Featherweights
Jeremy
Stephens (20-9, 7-8 UFC) vs. Estevan Payan (14-3, 0-0 UFC): After
suffering three losses in a row, Stephens has elected to test
the featherweight waters against Payan, who recently earned triumphs
over Alonzo Martinez and Mike Bravo under the Strikeforce banner.
Payan seems like the type of guy who will not hesitate to engage
the heavy-handed Stephens, and for that, he will pay a price.
Stephens wins by KO orTKO in round two.
*
* *
TRACKING
TRISTEN 2013
Overall
Record: 103-58
Last Event (UFC on FX 8): 9-4
Best Event (Strikeforce “Marquardt vs. Saffiedine): 9-2
Worst Event (UFC 156/UFC on Fuel TV 8): 5-6
Source: Sherdog
|
Unless
Madison Square Garden Beckons, Matt Serra is Retired from Fighting
by Ken
Pishna
He
can’t quite get himself to say it, but for all intents and
purposes – save for Madison Square Garden opening up to
mixed martial arts – former UFC welterweight champion Matt
Serra is retired.
Serra
hasn’t fought since losing a unanimous decision to Chris
Lytle at UFC 119 on Sept. 25, 2010, but has yet to actually utter
the dreaded “R word.”
“It’s
like you can’t say it, even though it probably is true,”
Serra recently told Newsday when asked if he was retired. “I
would love to put closure on my career with one last fight at
(Madison Square Garden), but at the same time, if that doesn’t
happen, I definitely consider myself done. It’s hard to
say the ‘R word.’ I might never say the ‘R word.’”
A
recent health scare gave Serra – who had long been contemplating
one more fight – a new perspective on his career. Serra
had been experiencing pain in his left arm. It flared while cornering
one of his fighters at a recent Ring of Combat event and didn’t
go away. In fact, it got bad enough that he went to the emergency
room.
Doctors
discovered two blood clots in his arm and another in his lungs.
Serra
wound up staying in the hospital for four days, had one of his
ribs surgically removed, and was put on blood thinners.
“Serra’s
collarbone and first rib were compressing a blood vessel and
restricting blood flow, a condition known as thoracic outlet
syndrome,” Newsday reported. “Serra had the first rib
on his left side removed in early May.”
It
will take approximately six to eight weeks to recover from the
rib removal, and he must remain on blood thinners for about another
month after that.
“You
don’t catch that (and) after the lung, that stops your heart
or your brain,” said Serra. “Then you’re done.
I’m very fortunate to, basically, be here. Sounds kind of
morbid. If I didn’t catch that – I was about to go
to bed.”
The
doctors did catch it, however, and Serra is expected to make
a full recovery and return to teaching at his jiu-jitsu schools.
The
allure of fighting is always there, the tug of one more shot
at glory for the only man to have ever knocked out UFC welterweight
champion Georges St-Pierre. But at the end of the day, Matt Serra
has bigger, better, if less glamorous, plans for himself.
“I
know I can be beat by some of these guys, but I know I can still
knock some of these guys out and be a threat on the ground. But
at the same time, it used to be that the thing that made me happiest
was the next fight,” said Serra. “Now, I whistle to
work going to my schools. I love hanging out with my kids, my
family. That’s something you never really anticipate or
understand it until you have a family. I love spending time with
my girls. I’m a very involved dad.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Fightweets:
How to honor Matt Serra's MMA legacy
By Dave
Doyle
Matt Serra's UFC welterweight title upset over Georges St-Pierre
at UFC 67 was so improbable that it overshadowed the fact that
it took an improbable sequence of events simply for Serra to
meet GSP in the Octagon in the first place.
The
Long Islander's first UFC run, from 2001-05, produced a respectable
5-4 record, but was remembered as much for weirdness in his losses
as anything else. There was the spinning back fist loss to Shonie
Carter at UFC 31 with nine seconds left in a bout Serra was winning
handily. And there was a split decision loss to Din Thomas at
UFC 41 in a bout that was announced in the cage as a Serra victory
before a scoring error was later noticed and the result changed.
Serra's
UFC 53 loss to Karo Parisyan might have been the last we saw
from him in Zuffa, had it not been for The Ultimate Fighter Season
4, the comeback season. Simply being placed on TUF 4 was improbable
step one toward the title. Then he won a bizarre split decision
in the finale against Chris Lytle, with two 30-27 scores going
his way and another going in Lytle's favor. That was the next
hurdle. Then there was the postponement of the original date
for Serra's title fight with GSP at UFC 67. If St-Pierre doesn't
injure a knee in training and the fight isn't put off, does Serra
pull off the upset two months later? Yet another "what if."
This
chain of events, of course, culminated in one of the most memorable
moments in mixed martial arts history, Serra's first round, title-winning
TKO. Sure, St-Pierre convincingly proved the better man in the
rematch. But Matt Serra will go down as the guy who forever proves
that anything can happen in MMA, and that's a pretty cool spot
to have.
Serra
announced his retirement Wednesday via Newsday. The story details
recent health issues I wouldn't wish on anyone. Just about anyone
in this business who has crossed paths with Serra will tell you
he's one of the most standup guys in the sport and an all-around
good person. So here's best wishes Matt, both that you return
to health and enjoy your retirement.
If
the UFC wants to honor the career legacy of a fighter like Serra,
then it should consider another "comeback" season of
TUF somewhere down the road. There's a bigger pool of talented
fighters for such a season than there was in 2006, and who knows?
Maybe it will produce the sport's next Matt Serra Moment.
Where's
the buzz for 160?
@Ryan211:
Just me or is there little buzz surrounding UFC 160? It's a stacked
card in my opinion!
I
remember hearing the same thing about a lack of buzz before UFC
155, and the Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos fight ended
up doing nearly 600,000 buys, a very healthy figure.
No
doubt the UFC is a bit hampered by having a rematch of a fight
that was a mismatch the first time out, and Silva's a first-time
pay-per-view headliner, to boot. This adda up to one of those
events that catches the public imagination early in the week
and makes it seem like a hot item to the mainstream.
Bottom
line, Velasquez has a superstar following among Latino fans in
California and the Southwest. Maybe those fans don't devour everything
that comes up in the MMA bubble the way other fans do, and thus
fly under the radar. But they're the ones responsible for driving
the Velasquez-dos Santos buys and I wouldn't be surprised if
they push UFC 160 to bigger-than-expected numbers as well.
Heavyweight
matchmaking
@ELcujorino:
What are your thoughts on the UFC not giving Big Country an opponent
he deserves? Top 10 HW should've gotten Barnett or DC!
@Dpop2:
Sooooo.... Barnett vs mir? I wish it was Barnett vs Nelson. U?
Yeah,
the late UFC 161 addition of Roy Nelson vs. Stipe Miocic is a
bit of a head-scratcher. My best educated guess on this is that
the UFC wanted to add a little bit of star power to the card
after the interim bantamweight title fight fell through. Likewise,
it's a reasonable bet that Nelson feels he can get a fight in,
stay busy, get another paycheck, then be able to turn back around
in time to face someone off this weekend's heavyweight doubleheader.
All things considered, it's not the worst choice he could have
made.
As
for Barnett, a fight with Frank Mir seems a natural, doesn't
it? Barnett returning and fighting a guy who held the title during
an era many expected to dominate, with two guys who have a strong
history of selling their fights, would make for a strong co-feature-type
bout.
Volkmann's
complaints
@crazedfishUK:
Between Denis, Cummo, Cholish and Serra's retirement due to health/finance,
is Volkman's argument a legitimate one?
Man,
Jacob Volkmann really is a piece of work. Let me get this straight:
Volkmann got a ton of attention by being anti-Obamacare, pro-Republican,
and a "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" individual
... until the pro-business, anti-union policies fostered by his
very belief system came back to bite him. Now's he's complaining
about poor healthcare? C'mon, man. At least have some consistency.
I've
said it before, but the bottom line is, the only way anything
changes is if the fighters at the top of the ladder, the ones
making the big money, choose to use their power to act on behalf
of guys like Josh Cholish or Nick Denis. Otherwise, nothing's
going to change. Given that the system is weighted in a manner
the Jacob Volkmann of 2010 would have applauded, don't hold your
breath waiting for it to happen.
Next
up for ‘Money'
@Jared_W21:
Where does C.Mendes go from here? he's in limbo in FW. Does he
get the next title shot? Or face winner of Lamas/Zombie?
Chad
Mendes has won three fights in a row since his loss to Jose Aldo
and is clearly ready to get back into the Octagon with one of
the top guys at featherweight. On paper, it appears his best
bet is actually the loser of the Ricardo Lamas-Chan Sung Jung
fight at UFC 162. The Lamas-Zombie winner figures to get a title
shot, so the loser makes sense, at least from the perspective
of the divisional scheme of things.
Of
course, Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson both have fights at UFC
162 as well, and you wouldn't have to twist my arm too hard to
get me to watch Mendes fight either of them. Either way, come
July 7, Mendes should have his pick of top-tier opponents.
No
FX
@ynneKrepmatS:
What do you think about George Roop vs Brian Bowles fighting
on Facebook? I think it should at least be on FX.
Ehh
... I can see both sides of this. Bowles hasn't fought in two
years and Roop has dropped two of his past three, so one's been
off the grid and the other hasn't exactly been blazing a trail.
Looking at the FX card, the only fight I really see as one that
could potentially be bumped for Bowles-Roop is Colton Smith vs.
Robert Whittaker. But I can understand the UFC wanted to give
a guy who was a TUF finalist last year a look on cable. The Bowles
fight probably shouldn't be on Facebook, but I'm not going to
lose sleep over this one.
Ramp
it up
@DestroyKillBurn:
Would pro-wrestling style entrances help or hurt the UFC? Remember,
the general public is downright stupid
Elaborate,
theatrical arena entrances aren't my cup of tea. I get that they
were part of the experience of watching PRIDE, and that's cool,
but it just wasn't my thing.
Back
in the early days of Zuffa, they actually used props like a stage,
ramp, pyrotechnics, etc. Dana White recently admitted the company
did it in part because it filled space in the arena during a
time it wasn't selling many tickets. Let's put it this way: Once
they were gone, I don't recall anyone ever saying they weren't
going to buy a UFC event because the ramp was gone, except maybe
from the occasional nut who takes the supposed similarities between
pro rasslin' and MMA too seriously.
White
and Lorenzo Fertitta are fans of the old-school boxing style
entrances, where everyone in the arena had to peer toward the
entrance way and see the fighters emerge from the woodwork. It's
highly unlikely they ever go back to elaborate entrances, and
that's fine by me.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Couture:
As I learned with Lesnar, Velasquez can't gamble with Silva at
UFC 160
by Steven
Marrocco
Randy
Couture still pays close attention to the UFC heavyweight division,
and he doesn't see Cain Velasquez giving up his title any time
soon.
"I
feel like Cain is the guy to beat," Couture told MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com). "Even in his loss to Junior (dos Santos)
the first time, I was very surprised it went that way and expected
it to go a lot more like their second fight."
Velasquez
(11-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) dominated dos Santos at UFC 155 to regain
the title he lost to the Brazilian at UFC on FOX 1. Now, the
Mexican-American champ rematches another Brazilian opponent,
Antonio Silva (18-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC), whom he badly beat one year
ago at UFC 146.
The
bout headlines UFC 160, which takes place Saturday at MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas (10 p.m. ET, pay-per-view).
Couture,
who spent the latter part of his career switching from light
heavyweight to heavyweight before retiring in 2011, admits he's
partial to wrestlers such as Velasquez, who like him segued from
the mats to the cage.
In
Velasquez's first meeting with Silva, it was ground and pound
that carried the day as he took the fight to the mat early and
landed big shots from overhead.
But
when breaking down the now-champ's second meeting with "Bigfoot,"
he believes Silva has a chance to pull off the upset if his fist
connects with Velasquez's jaw.
"You
can't afford to play around with guys that size," Couture
said. "Trust me. I know."
After
a contract dispute with the UFC in 2007 that saw him briefly
walk away from the sport, Couture returned to the heavyweight
division in 2008 to face the 265-pound Brock Lesnar. After early
success taking down the massive former wrestler, he was caught
with a punch while trading punches in the second and suffered
a TKO loss.
Couture
fought twice more as a heavyweight, facing the smaller Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira and the bloated James Toney, but light heavyweight
was from then on where he was considered to be most competitive.
The
6-foot-4, 260-pound Silva is just the type of menace whom Couture
would try to take down to avoid the result he met against Lesnar.
Interestingly, he believes Silva might be best served doing the
same against Velasquez.
"He
has to come out, close the distance and get on Cain, especially
if he can knock him down or take him down and get on top of him,"
Couture said. "Establish a good top game, which if Cain
wants to get up, he's probably going to be able to do that, which
would force Silva to do it again. He's going to have be able
to do it over and over in each and every round."
But
with Velasquez's superior mat credentials, Couture believes it
probably will be Silva on his back more often than not.
"I
just think that athletically, Cain is just too much for him,"
he said. "[Silva] is dangerous. He's big, he's strong, and
he can hit hard, and if Cain gets caught up in that kind of fight
and wants to trade with him, it could be a surprise. But I think
Cain is smart. I think he's going to have a game plan and do
the appropriate thing he needs to do: implement the striking
he has, but use wrestling to win that fight."
Source: MMA Junkie
|
UFC
160: Will the main events last longer than two rounds each?
By Zach
Arnold
I
pose that question because it’s the only one that the oddsmakers
(those who do prop bets) seem interested in. Long story short,
the heat is muted for this event. As you will be able to see
by the odds listed next to the fighters, it’s a card where
most of the bettors are pretty sure on who is going to win.
For example, Cain/Bigfoot is a fight where there are 9-to-5 odds
that it won’t go to round three and 7-to-1 odds that it
won’t go to a decision. For JDS/Hunt, it’s even money
as to whether or not it will go to round three and 8-to-5 odds
that it won’t go the distance. For Glover Teixeira/James
Te Huna, it’s even money as to whether or not that fight
will make it to round three. Juxtapose that with the 2-to-1 odds
that Gray Maynard’s bout with TJ Grant will go to the score
cards, which are the same odds that he has for actually winning
the fight. If Maynard wins, he’ll likely be fighting Ben
Henderson in Boston for the Fox Sports 1 debut show.
For the Cerrone/Noons fight, the odds are fascinating. Cerrone
is a 3-to-1 favorite. It’s even money as to whether or not
it goes to a decision. If Cerrone wins, the odds of it being
a submission finish are 16-to-1 in favor.
Mark Hunt did get his visa and arrived late but is in good spirits.
In one interview he did (which I will not link to because of
who conducted it), Hunt teased the idea of hopping aboard the
testosterone bandwagon.
Event: UFC 160 (MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada)
on Saturday, May 25th
TV: FX (undercard fights), PPV (main card)
Featherweights: Jeremy Stephens vs. Estevan Payan
Bantamweights: Brian Bowles vs. George Roop
Welterweights: Stephen Thompson vs. Nah-Shon Burrell
Lightweights: Khabib Nurmagomedov (-280, 14 to 5 favorite) vs.
Abel Trujillo (+230)
Welterweights: Colton Smith (-220, 11 to 5 favorite) vs. Robert
Whittaker (+170)
Featherweights: Dennis Bermudez (-300, 3 to 1 favorite) vs. Max
Holloway (+250)
Welterweights: Mike Pyle (+120) vs. Rick Story (-150, 3-to-2
favorite)
Welterweights: Donald Cerrone (-300, 3 to 1 favorite) vs. KJ
Noons (+240)
Lightweights: Gray Maynard (-200, 2 to 1 favorite) vs. TJ Grant
(+170)
Light Heavyweights: Glover Teixeira (-300, 3 to 1 favorite) vs.
James Te Huna (+250)
Heavyweights: Junior Dos Santos (-400, 4 to 1 favorite) vs. Mark
Hunt (+350)
UFC Heavyweight title match: Cain Velasquez (-800, 8 to 1 favorite)
vs. Bigfoot Silva (+500)
Event: UFC Fuel 10 (Paulo Sarasate Arena in Fortaleza, Brazil)
on Saturday, June 8th
TV: Fuel TV (cable/satellite)
Middleweights: Antonio Braga Neto vs. Anthony Smith
Middleweights: Caio Magalhaes vs. Karlos Vemola
Featherweights: Rodrigo Damm vs. Mizuto Hirota
Welterweights: Ildemar Alcantara vs. Leandro Silva
Featherweights: Godofredo Pepey vs. Felipe Arantes
Middleweights: Ronny Markes vs. Derek Brunson
Bantamweights: Raphael Assuncao vs. Vaughan Lee
Lightweights: Rony Jason vs. Mike Wilkinson
Welterweights: Erick Silva vs. Jason High
Middleweights: Daniel Sarafian vs. Eddie Mendez
Light Heavyweights: Thiago Silva vs. Rafael Cavalcante
Heavyweights: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Fabricio Werdum
Event: UFC 161 (MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) on
Saturday, June 15th
TV: FX (undercard fights), PPV (main card)
Bantamweights: Roland Delorme vs. Edwin Figueroa
Lightweights: Mitch Clarke vs. John Maguire
Welterweights: Sean Pierson vs. Kenny Robertson
Bantamweights: Yves Jabouin vs. Dustin Pague
Light Heavyweights: Ryan Jimmo vs. Igor Pokrajac
Heavyweights: Stipe Miocic vs. Soa Palelei
Lightweights: Sam Stout vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
Welterweights: Jake Shields vs. Tyron Woodley
Ladies (135 pounds): Alexis Davis vs. Rosi Sexton
Heavyweights: Pat Barry vs. Shawn Jordan
Light Heavyweights: Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson
Light Heavyweights: Mauricio Shogun vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Bantamweights: Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland
UFC in Brazil: The T in Vitor stands for…
There’s a reason I’m always ahead of the curve when
it comes to scandals in combat sports. Mock me at your own peril.
My radar is that of a bloodhound.
For those who wanted MMA to be accepted as a mainstream sport,
well… the one sport whose drug testing policy most resembles
combat sports right now is horse racing. A baseball player gets
busted for testosterone and all hell breaks loose. A testosterone
user in UFC gets a promotional push.
The fruits of UFC’s drug policy (marijuana = bad, testosterone
= OK) is bizarrely Japanese-like. It all starts from the top.
In WWE, Vince McMahon wants a certain look and if you want to
work for him, you have to provide that look. He is very image-conscious
himself. Same deal with UFC management. They want muscular guys
to market to the masses. They want a certain look. It’s
why Roy Nelson stands out so much from the rest of the pack.
The fighters take their cues from the top. They know that the
lifespan of a fighting career in MMA is very short. If testosterone
usage was simply a placebo effect, fighters would have stopped
using it by now. Instead, the usage continues to increase. If
it didn’t have some sort if impact, nobody would be using
it now.
Just don’t say that I didn’t warn you ahead of time.
I strongly believe that the fans deserve the truth and that you
shouldn’t treat your readers as idiots. Sometimes, it means
talking about uncomfortable topics or topics that you may be
disinterested in. Bottom line? The masses (and the media) are
coming around on the testosterone (anabolic steroids) topic.
It doesn’t mean that fans still won’t show up to watch
fights but it does indicate that the facade being produced for
television is being understood for what it is.
So, when will the press start going after Jeff Davidson and Tim
Trainor with vigor?
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Alistair
Overeem vs. Travis Browne Slated for Fox Sports 1 Card in Boston
by Jeff
Cain
Heavyweights
Alistair Overeem and Travis Browne will meet on the UFC on Fox
Sports 1 fight card on Aug. 17 in Boston.
MMAWeekly.com
confirmed the match-up – first reported by MMAJunkie.com
– through independent sources.
Overeem
(36-12-1) was originally scheduled to face Junior dos Santos
on this weekend’s UFC 160 fight card in Las Vegas, but was
forced out of the bout due to an injury suffered in training.
He
was then expected to return to action at UFC 164 on Aug. 31 in
Milwaukee. The former Strikeforce and K-1 champion tweeted on
May 16, “Training hard and looking forward to aug 31!”
The
Dutch-British striker had an 11-fight winning streak snapped
in his last outing, losing to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva
by knockout on Feb. 2 at UFC 156.
Browne
(14-1-1) bounced back from the first loss of his career –
also to Silva in his last fight – by knocking out Gabriel
Gonzaga in the first round of their The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale
bout on April 13.
The
UFC’s debut event on Fox Sports 1 coincides with the network’s
official launch. It takes place at the TD Garden in Boston.
While
Overeem vs. Browne is a match-up worthy of main event status
on most fight cards, UFC official are soon expected to announce
an even bigger bout to headline n Fox Sports 1.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Mundials
Motivation #16: View the younger generation as they take on the
legends
Erin Herle
Andre
Galvao versus Romulo Barral at the 2012 IBJJ Pro League, two
middle-heavyweight legends. Photo: Erin Herle
The
16th reason for following the 2013 World Championship from May
29 – June 2 pertains to the underdogs. Watch the matches
to see how the newer generation of black belts can take on the
legends on the mats of the Long Beach Walter Pyramid.
Reason
#16: Watch the black belt division filled with new and experienced
to see who takes the top spot.
Every
year we have newer black belts who enter the realm at the World
Championships to test themselves against the best. It’s
one thing to go against the best purple belts or the top level
brown belts, but black belt has no limits. Whether you are a
“solid” black belt or not, whether you’ve won
at every other belt or not, whether you’ve never won a championship
in all your years of training, you are entering a serious division
and there is no easy route.
With
that said, there is always a time for upsets to happen and there
are always competitors who enter the black belt division as an
underdog and do exceptionally well. When Rodolfo Vieira initially
came into the spotlight, he was considered the black belt hunter
for his outstanding performance in the World Pro beating top
black belts to get the gold even before having the black belt
around his own waist. And on the same token, when he came into
the black belt division he was still stopped early on before
the podium. But still, after only two years, he took the top
spot against guys who have been winning in the division for years.
This
year at the 2013 World Championship, the divisions are full with
both fresh black belts and veterans. In the middleweight division,
DJ Jackson will be fighting his first Mundials and facing some
big names like Claudio Calasans, Clark Gracie, Lucas Leite, Otavio
Souza the champion of 2012, and Marcelo Garcia who was the champion
for three years in a row prior. While Marcelo may or not be present
this year, we have all these names who have protected the podium
year after year. DJ Jackson has made a quick ride to black belt
but has won Worlds at both purple and brown including the 2012
No-Gi Worlds at black belt. Magid Hage can also do damage with
his baseball choke in the middleweight division at his first
black belt Mundials, as well.
In
the middle-heavy division we could see Felipe Pena do well against
such names as Andre Galvao, who has ruled that division before
as well as Felipe’s coach, Romulo Barral. We have other
big names and champions like Rafael Lovato, Jr., Sergio Moraes
who won at 2012, Tarsis Humphries, Braulio Estima in the past
and more. Felipe has done well winning the past two years at
purple and brown in both weight and absolute.
At
black belt it’s anyone’s game but it’s always
a very cool sight to see the newer generation take on the legends.
There is no such thing as taking a title because in Jiu-Jitsu,
your titles are always yours, never replaced.
See
who does well at the 2013 World Championship whether they’re
seasoned or fresh by following our Google+ page for live coverage.
And
if you’re a last minute procrastinator, you still have a
chance to register yourself for the most prestigious championship
in our sport by clicking here. It is the last day, ending at
midnight PST.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Fallon
Fox submits Allanna Jones in round three at CFA 11
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
Allanna Jones struck the first blow, electing to walk out to
Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like a Lady" prior to her bout
against transgender mixed martial artist Fallon Fox at CFA 11.
But from there it was Fox's fight to win.
Despite
fading late, Fox controlled the action from pillar to post, submitting
Jones with a modified north/south choke midway through the final
round to pick up her third professional victory at the BankUnited
Center in Coral Gables, Florida.
Fox
kicked off the opening two frames tenderizing Jones' lead thigh
with unchecked kicks and backing her up with straight punches.
Jones, however, proved not be an easy mark, successfully defending
several takedown attempts while avoiding any significant damage,
leaving Fox fatigued and flat-footed.
Fox
seemed to grow frustrated early in round three, missing her mark
with a series of high kicks and front kicks before finally securing
a takedown, working a series of short elbows from guard, then
advancing into north/south position. From there it was easy pickings,
as Fox trapped Jones left arm and slid a knee across her throat
on the right side, coaxing a tapout at 3:36 of the final frame.
"It's
just kind of a knee-ride choke that I picked up," Fox said
of the finish. "It works pretty well, chokes ‘em out
pretty good. That looks pretty good. I like that.
"I
noticed she tried to get away from me a lot so it was hard catching
up to her, but I did it in the end, so that was pretty awesome."
With
the win, Fox extends her unbeaten record to 3-0, all three coming
by way of finish. Jones, meanwhile, falls to 2-2.
In
the night's main event, former Strikeforce fighter Mike Kyle
(20-9-1, 2 NC) made short of Travis Wiuff (68-18, 1 NC), knocking
out the former Bellator contender just 21 seconds into the pair's
heavyweight contest.
Fighting
for the first time since coming out of retirement, Kyle floored
Wiuff with a left hook that clipped him behind the head, before
finishing the job with a few extra shots. Wiuff remained down
on the canvas for several minutes following the knockout, eventually
walking away under his own power, while Kyle teed off on referee
Troy Waugh for what he perceived to be a late stoppage.
"I'm
just thankful to be out here fighting," Kyle said. "It
can go either way at anytime, so I just really don't want to
hurt anyone, man."
Check out the CFA 11 results below.
Main
card (AXS TV at 9 p.m. ET)
Mike Kyle def. Travis Wiuff via knockout (punches) at 0:21 of
round 1
Fallon Fox def. Allanna Jones via submission (modified north/south
choke) at 3:36 of round 3
Luis Palomino def. Robert Washington via knockout (punch) at
3:26 of round 1
Sean Soriano def. Elvin Leon Brito via unanimous decision
Alexis Vila def. Czar Sklavos via unanimous decision
Ed Gordon def. Oscar Delgado via submission (rear-naked choke)
at 1:32 of round 2
Undercard
Frank Carrillo vs. Ailton Barbosa
Yosdenis Cedeno def. Trent McCown via unanimous decision
Valdir Araujo def. Alik Tseiko via knockout at 3:47 of round
3
Charles Rosa def. Aaron Steadman via submission (triangle choke)
at 3:26 of round 1
Jose Caceres def. Kamaru Usman via submission (rear-naked choke)
at 3:47 of round 1
Gleidson DeJesus def. Yvon Agneord via split decision
Rico Farrington def. Jake Gombocz via unanimous decision
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Memory
of first UFC championship loss haunts Cain Velasquez's current
run
by Ben
Fowlkes
Considering
what we already know about how hard it is to hold onto the UFC
heavyweight title for any length of time, it's a little insane
that Cain Velasquez once thought he could defend it with a bum
knee.
That
was the first time he fought Junior dos Santos, back when the
UFC made its debut on the FOX network in November of 2011 and
the heavyweight title fight was the one and only attraction on
the broadcast.
Before
the fight, there were rumors. Rumors about training injuries.
Rumors that, if the UFC didn't have so much riding on this one
fight, Velasquez would have pulled out. Rumors that the Velasquez
camp quietly denied, and kept denying or at least declining to
discuss in detail even after their fighter suffered a 64-second
knockout loss.
"We
knew," fellow heavyweight and AKA training partner Daniel
Cormier told MMAjunkie.com (mmajunkie.com). "Everybody knew
he was hurt. But he's just not the guy who's going to say he
can't fight. It was the first FOX fight and it was a huge deal
for the UFC. If you know Cain, he's all about representing that
company. He was going to go out there and give it his all, just
do what he could. But he was kind of forced into a situation
where he had to stand with a guy you really don't want to stand
with."
After
the fight, we learned that dos Santos had a knee injury of his
own, one that might have forced him out of any other bout, but
not that one. Of course, due to the difference in their styles
it probably didn't affect his game plan nearly as much as it
affected Velasquez's, and anyway he won. When you win those fights
the lesson you take away tends to be one about persevering, pushing
through adversity, all that stuff. When you lose it's different.
Maybe
that's why, now that he's reclaimed the UFC heavyweight title,
Velasquez's takeaway from his first experience with the belt
is pretty specific.
"With
the injuries I had, trying to defend it the first time, and knowing
that when I have a game plan I have to go execute it right away
and not wait around, all that stuff is something I can bring
in to my next fight," Velasquez said.
Or,
as head trainer Javier Mendez put it, "The difference this
time around is, I don't think he's going to put himself in jeopardy
ever again. He's not going to fight unless he's 100 percent healthy
and ready to go."
Maybe
it's a bit of revisionist history to place that much blame for
the loss on the injury. You could argue that a bad knee might
have kept him from being as mobile or aggressive as usual, but
it was still a JDS punch to the head – not the knee –
that put him face-down on the canvas in Anaheim, Calif., that
night.
Still,
you look at their rematch, when Velasquez was healthy, and you
can't help but wonder if there's some truth to it. If he really
did push himself into a fight he never should have taken, all
so the UFC didn't lose the fight it had been hyping for weeks
on FOX, how does that change our perspective on Velasquez's place
among UFC heavyweights? How does it change our notion of the
volatility of the weight class in general?
If
you buy the explanation that the injury beat Velasquez as much
as dos Santos did, then it's easier to imagine an alternate universe
where Velasquez is still undefeated, where he never lost the
UFC heavyweight title, where our concept of the UFC heavyweight
strap as the toughest belt to maintain ownership of is being
slowly eradicated by each new Velasquez win.
It's
just that, back here in the universe we actually live in, it's
not that way at all. Because of that one loss, we still think
of UFC heavyweight champion as a temp job, just like we still
think of Velasquez as the guy who's 1-1 against dos Santos and
still in need of a rubber match. And one thing we know about
MMA fans is that they don't want to hear a word about your injuries
after you lose a fight, so they definitely don't want to sit
around pondering what might have been if only you'd stayed home
that night.
That
doesn't mean Velasquez and his team don't think about it, though.
MMA fighters show up to work injured all the time. We know this.
But that doesn't mean it's necessarily a good idea, especially
if you've got a belt to defend and a knockout artist to deal
with.
Velasquez
says he's learned that lesson the hard way, and won't make the
same mistake twice. Whether that's the missing piece that finally
results in a UFC heavyweight championship run that's more like
a dynasty than a summer rental, we've have to wait and see.
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Mundials
Motivation #17: Will we see the greatest match ever?
Erin Herle
Marcus
Buchecha vs. Rodolfo Vieira 2012 Worlds absolute division. Photo:
Dan Rod
As
we come to a close with our eighteen reasons to support/follow/enter
the 2013 World Championship May 29 – June 2, we ask you
this question: Will we see the greatest match ever?
This
motivation arrives from the match in 2012 between Rodolfo Vieira
and Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida in the open weight black
belt division. This match-up was highly anticipated being that
Buchecha was a rising star and Rodolfo was the most popular name
on the BJJ crowd’s tongue. With both gentleman making a
scene in their own right, the clash was a beautiful sight to
see on the mats of the Long Beach Walter Pyramid.
I
won’t spill too much because if you haven’t seen the
duel yet, it will get you to jump off your seat, find a gi and
get to training right away. Full intensity, with a passion for
submission is the driving force in this match and there were
no stalling calls, no hesitations and no passivity. Therefore,
it will always make you want to train, regardless of whether
you’ve seen it before.
So
be at the Worlds (or watching the livestream) to be there for
perhaps the next big match to be considered the greatest match
ever. Do you think this one can be topped?
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
VELASQUEZ-SILVA
AND THE HISTORY OF UFC REMATCHES
BY TODD
MARTIN
Cain
Velasquez and Antonio Silva first met in May 2012, and it was
not pretty.
When
Cain Velasquez and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva enter the
Octagon for the UFC 160 main event on Saturday at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas, it will be the 102nd rematch in Ultimate
Fighting Championship history.
Given
that the UFC has put on that many fights since February alone,
it is a relatively uncommon occurrence. From the first rematch
at UFC 5 between Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie to the most recent
sequel pitting Urijah Faber against Ivan Menjivar at UFC 157,
fighters have sought to avenge past setbacks and prove their
superiority against familiar foes.
More
often than not, history ends up repeating itself. Setting aside
draws and no contests, the fighters who won their previous bout
went 54-39 in the rematch. That 58 percent winning percentage
is a solid indicator that Silva has an uphill battle ahead of
him, but even it may be a little deceptive.
Rematches,
after all, do not occur randomly. Rather, they are selected by
matchmakers for specific reasons. Often, there is some sort of
freak occurrence that prevented the original fight from proving
the better fighter. There have been disqualifications (Yushin
Okami-Anderson Silva), eye injury TKOs (Anthony Johnson-Kevin
Burns and Randy Couture-Vitor Belfort), accidental head butt
TKOs (Stephan Bonnar/Krzysztof Soszynski), terrible referee stoppages
(Aaron Riley-Shane Nelson) and even fighters accidentally knocking
themselves out (Matt Lindland-Falaniko Vitale). These instances
were a far cry from a decisive TKO or submission.
Even
in cases where a fighter fairly won a bout, there is usually
a strong reason to expect things will go differently when a rematch
is made. There have been heavily criticized decisions like Leonard
Garcia-Chan Sung Jung, Garcia-Nam Phan and Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua-Lyoto Machida. Then there have been decisions that were simply
very close, like Couture-Pedro Rizzo, Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard
2, Sam Stout-Spencer Fisher, Stout-Fisher 2 and Edgar-Benson
Henderson.
Liddell
had his share of rematches.
Rematches where one fighter beat his opponent as decisively as
Velasquez beat Silva are rare, and they do not favor the once
defeated very often. Still, with that small sample size, there
are some clear examples of the sorts of circumstances that led
fighters to successfully avenge prior losses.
The
first and most obvious way fighters have changed their fortunes
in rematches is by switching up game plans. MMA is a sport with
no shortage of ways to win, and finding the right strategy against
a given opponent is crucial to success. More often than not,
rematches have gone differently because the initial loser decided
to make it a different sort of fight.
When
Chuck Liddell first fought Jeremy Horn, he still relied heavily
on his offensive wrestling. He willingly went to the ground with
“Gumby,” and Horn choked him out with an arm-triangle
from the bottom. The second time around, Liddell took a completely
different approach. Liddell made avoiding the ground game his
priority and punished Horn with strikes until he could no longer
continue.
“The
Iceman” fought the first fight on Horn’s terms and
the second on his own.
The
opposite basic pattern occurred when Georges St. Pierre rematched
Matt Serra. In their first fight, St. Pierre seemed content to
stand and trade with Serra. He was likely thinking that Serra
had knockout power but was a smaller man and lacked a particularly
refined standup game. Unfortunately for St. Pierre, he was cracked
with a punch, and Serra quickly secured one of the biggest upsets
in the history of the sport.
GSP
has avenged his only two losses.
When St. Pierre and Serra fought for a second time, GSP wasted
no time taking the fight to the ground. He neutralized Serra’s
jiu-jitsu and pounded out a decisive victory. Before St. Pierre
and Serra ever fought, one would not have necessarily expected
the Canadian’s second fight strategy to be that much better
than his first. Finding the right approach is not always obvious.
Brock
Lesnar took a different approach to his second fight with Frank
Mir than he did to the first. Lesnar was extremely aggressive
in attacking Mir in his UFC debut, peppering shots until he was
caught in a kneebar by the submission specialist. In the rematch,
Lesnar was more cautious and showed respect for the submission
ability of the UFC interim heavyweight champion. By not giving
Mir easy openings, he was able to impose his will over time and
finish Mir with strikes in the second round. Lesnar did not switch
strategies as dramatically as St. Pierre or Liddell, but it was
still a marked change in approach that turned around his fortunes.
Can
Silva effectively alter his approach against Velasquez? That
is a difficult challenge. It was not as if Silva made any overt
mistakes the first time around. Velasquez’s pressure and
wrestling simply overwhelmed him. Silva is unlikely to have improved
his takedown defense enough over the course of just one year,
and he would have difficulty turning the tables on Velasquez
and pushing the pace himself.
Silva’s
best chance is likely to time a counter perfectly like Junior
dos Santos once did, but that is not much different than the
way “Bigfoot” approached the first fight. If there
is a way for Silva to dictate an entirely different fight than
the first, it is not terribly obvious. However, even if Silva
does not implement an entirely new strategy, that does not mean
he cannot still win the fight.
A
key for a number of fighters who had success in rematches was
to find a way to strongly distinguish the previous fight from
the later one. Even if the opponent presents the same challenge,
a fighter can improve enough to bridge the distance.
Cruz
grew out of adversity.
When Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz fought the first time, Cruz
was undefeated but Faber was the American featherweight division’s
unquestioned best. It did not take long for Faber to catch Cruz
in a scramble for the submission. When they rematched four years
later, Faber was still on top of his game and had the same strengths
as an athlete. However, Cruz had improved more. Cruz was now
the UFC bantamweight champion. He had honed his particular style
of fleet-footed technical striking. Faber was chasing him, and
Cruz fought like he knew it. Faber was game, but Cruz had surpassed
him. He had pulled away.
In
World Extreme Cagefighting, Brian Stann and Steve Cantwell were
evenly matched foes with similar styles. They traded wins and
were perceived to be at the same basic level. However, while
Cantwell largely stayed in his comfort zone and kept doing the
same things, Stann sought out training with Greg Jackson and
kept improving as a fighter. Stann solidly won their rubber match
in the UFC and went on to become a middleweight contender. Cantwell,
on the other hand, lost five straight fights. Cantwell was the
same fighter, but Stann was different.
“Bigfoot,”
to his credit, has markedly improved his technique from his early
MMA career when he relied heavily on size and strength. However,
it does not feel like he is in a very different place than when
he first fought Velasquez a year ago. His wins in the interim
are impressive on paper, but Alistair Overeem beat him for two
rounds and Travis Browne tore his hamstring during their fight.
Velasquez is the fighter who looks to be on more of an upward
trajectory.
If
nothing else, a fighter can hope for overconfidence or overaggression
from his opponent. Andrei Arlovski beat Tim Sylvia in less than
a minute in 2005 by dropping him with a shot and then submitting
him. When they rematched a year later and Arlovski again dropped
Sylvia with a punch, he had reason to be extremely confident.
Arlovski recklessly charged in for a finish without sufficiently
protecting himself and was caught with a short Sylvia counterpunch
that knocked out the Belarusian. It was a remarkable turn of
events.
Couture
was known for his cerebral approach to fighting, but a similar
fate befell him in his second fight against Liddell. Couture
dominated Liddell in their first fight by pressuring “The
Iceman.” Liddell was never able to land the sorts of power
shots that defined his career. In the second fight, Couture again
tried to back up Liddell, but he did so wildly. As Couture quickly
pressed forward, Liddell put out his lights with a counter. Couture
is not one to overlook opponents, but his tremendous success
against Liddell the first time around was not to his advantage
in the rematch.
One
of the hardest workers in the sport, Velasquez is not likely
to fall to his own hubris. With that said, it is just the slightest
bit harder to summon up motivation against an opponent you have
already dispatched in the manner that Velasquez beat Silva. That
could help “Bigfoot.” Overeem did not take Silva seriously
as an opponent and paid for it. Velasquez needs to set up takedowns
with caution and avoid Silva’s power. Just because he did
not get caught the first time does not mean he could not get
caught in the future.
Velasquez-Silva
2 was not a fight UFC was pining to make. Overeem got upset,
and dos Santos needed another win after a decisive loss. Still,
Silva will get his opportunity all the same. He can make rematch
history of his own and show future fighters that past results
can be overcome no matter how seemingly improbable.
Source: Sherdog
|
Gegard
Mousasi’s New Frontier: Knee Surgery Behind Him, He Eyes
Quickest Path to a UFC Title
by Ryan
McKinnell
Immediately
following his UFC debut against Ilir Latifi at UFC on Fuel TV
8 in April, Gegard Mousasi quietly revealed that he had been
dealing with a knee injury leading up to the bout.
During his post-fight speech that night in Stockholm, the soft-spoken
stand-up artist expressed his excitement in finally making his
UFC debut after toiling for various overseas promotions for the
majority of his career.
Only
briefly did Mousasi mention the injury that plagued him coming
into the fight.
In
a conversation with Mousasi leading up to the Latifi bout –
a fight that was originally scheduled against light heavyweight
standout Alexander Gustafsson, until the Swede was forced out
due to injury – it was evident that things weren’t
going as planned. He wouldn’t elaborate, but there was a
hint of discontent in his voice.
Now
that the fight is over with Mousasi winning a dominant three-round
decision, the Armenian-Dutch fighter elaborated on his angst
leading up to the bout.
“I
wasn’t hesitating to fight, because I wanted to fight,”
Mousasi told MMAWeekly.com. “I trained for a fight, and
I already had my schedule for my operation. I didn’t have
an ACL.”
Mousasi
fully intended to fight Gustafsson with a blown-out knee.
“At
the end of my training, my knee, on the ground, was giving me
trouble. My knee would pop out, and I would have to stretch it
and put it back in. It was hurtful. (But) I just wanted to fight,
because I had put a lot of work in.”
Being
a heavy favorite over Latifi, people could assume that “The
Dreamcatcher” only took a fight with the late replacement
because of a presumed lack of risk.
That
was simply not the case. For Mousasi, this was a once-in-a-lifetime
chance to make his UFC debut. He was prepared to fight Gustafsson,
and he would have fought anybody.
“I
trained for a fight. I just wanted to fight,” stated the
27-year-old. “Wanderlei Silva was joking about taking the
fight; I would have gladly fought Wanderlei Silva. My manager
told me that Vitor Belfort was talking about taking the fight
– Vitor wanted to step up – I would have gladly fought
him also.”
Now
with the surgery completed, Mousasi is back to training and slowly
returning to the routine of being a professional fighter, although
he is tight-lipped when discussing details of his recovery.
“I
feel very good. I’m training two times a day, and I’m
taking (the recovery) very serious,” said Mousasi.
“I
know I’ll be 100-percent by the end of the year. If I can’t
fight in November, December, then hopefully January. I feel very
good. The operation was successful and I expect a full recovery.”
That
timetable could line Mousasi up to fight in one of the few places
he’s never fought: The Fight Capital of the World. The Iranian-born
contender has fought across the globe, but surprisingly, never
in Sin City.
“You
know, I’ve never fought in Vegas. I think that would be
a cool experience,” said Mousasi with a hint of excitement,
a rarity for the often-stoic UFC newcomer. “I’d like
to fight in the U.S. I’d like to fight in Vegas. That would
be a new experience.”
Whether
he gets to fight in Las Vegas next or not, Mousasi’s sights
are set on one thing: the quickest road to a title… any
title.
“Maybe
I need to prove more since I haven’t fought in the UFC often,”
he stated. “So, maybe another win would get me a (light
heavyweight) title shot. The same thing at middleweight, I have
a history.
“I’ve
won belts outside the UFC in Japan at middleweight. I have a
history behind me, so I could also fight at middleweight. Maybe
even at middleweight – if I get one or two big name wins
under me – I could get a title shot.”
He
mentions middleweight names like Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei
Silva, but Mousasi is quick to point out that his interest in
middleweight is finding the quickest route to UFC gold. He isn’t
running away from the light heavyweight division’s reigning
resident of destruction, Jon Jones.
“People
are acting like I’m scared to fight Jon Jones,” said
the irritated veteran.
“I’ve
fought heavier guys. I’ve fought K-1. I’m all for challenges.
I’m not scared of anyone,” he declared. “If they
give me a fight, I fight.
“At
the highest level, I don’t want to give any advantage to
my opponent. Style-wise, I match up also better with Anderson
Silva. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to fight Jon
Jones, or whatever. If the UFC gives me the (quickest) way to
the title, that’s the way I’m going to go. Whoever
they give me, I’m going to fight.”
And
what if the quickest route happens to be a fight with “The
Spider”?
“Anderson
Silva is more of a stand-up fighter. I feel a size advantage,
I won’t be giving him,” explains Mousasi. “I feel
strength-wise it won’t be any different. So strength and
size, I don’t think will be an issue, and I feel he’s
much more of a stand-up fighter.
“So it’s much easier to be aggressive and go forward
and fight him. Style-wise, he’s a much better match-up.
When you fight Jon Jones, he constantly wants to bring you down
(to the ground), so it’s a different style. It’s a
different way of fighting. I feel I would match up better against
Anderson Silva, but that’s just my opinion.”
Having
amassed 21 victories, one defeat, and one draw since 2006, Mousasi
is primed for a title shot. With the current lay of the land
in the UFC, however, he is admittedly at least one fight removed
either champion. But fighters get injured on a regular basis
and title fights at times pop up on a moment’s notice. That
fact, Mousasi’s ability to move between weight classes with
ease, and his willingness to fight anybody, could put the international
standout in a battle for a belt sooner rather than later.
“I
wouldn’t mind either; as long as I get a title shot,”
he commented. “I’m willing to fight anybody.
“Of
course I have to go step by step, but my goal is the title. I
don’t want to be just another fighter in the UFC.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
2013
NAGA PACIFIC GRAPPLING CHAMPIONSHIP
The North American Grappling Association (NAGA) is the world’s
largest mixed grappling tournament circuit with over 170,000
competitors worldwide. On Saturday & Sunday, May 25 &
26, 2013, NAGA comes to Honolulu, Hawaii for its 1st annual NAGA
South Pacific Grappling Championship No-Gi & Gi tournament.
NAGA is inviting teams from Japan, Guam and other countries to
make it Hawaii's largest grappling tournament of all time! Come
as an individual or as a team to compete. You do not have to
live in Hawaii to participate in this event. This event is nationally
RANKED!
DOWNLOAD EVENT FLYER/REGISTRATION FORM
PRE-REGISTER
ONLINE HERE or download the registration form, print it out and
mail it in to the address on the form along with your check.
1
Division = $80; 2 Divisions = $100. Spectator passes are $10.
The price goes up to $15 after the pre-registration deadline.
For family rates, download the event flyer/registration form,
or click the Pre-Register Online link. Pre-registration closes
at 5PM on Friday, May 17.
For
weight classes, age category, and skill level information click
the DIVISIONS tab above.
For
weigh-in and registration location and times click the DIVISIONS
tab above.
TWO DAY TOURNAMENT: ADULTS ON SATURDAY / CHILDREN/TEENS ON SUNDAY
Due to the large amount of competitors that this NAGA tournament
attracts, this event will have 12 competition rings and will
take place over two days. All adults (both gi and no-gi) will
compete on Saturday. All children 13 yrs. & under and teens
14-17 years old (gi & no-gi) will compete on Sunday. The
2 day tournament format makes both days end much earlier than
a one day tournament.
100 CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS AWARDED
NAGA is very pleased to be awarding 100 CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS to
all its Children, Teen, Adult, Masters, Directors and Executive
Expert Division Winners.
SAMURAI SWORDS TO CHILDREN & TEENS WINNERS
NAGA is awarding custom engraved SAMURAI SWORDS to all non-expert
Children & Teen 1st place winners. Medals will be awarded
to all 2nd & 3rd place winners along with non-expert Adult
division winners. Adult competitors who place 1st-3rd will have
the opportunity to obtain a samurai sword at the NAGA T-shirt
booth for a nominal fee. For having the courage to compete, all
children and teens who do not place 1st through 3rd will take
home an award.
TEAM
CHAMPIONSHIP CUPS AWARDED
NAGA awards customized championship cups to the tournament team
champions. A cup can be won in: Adult Overall, Adult No-Gi, Adult
Gi, and Children & Teens Overall. We are also awarding an
overall Individual Team award. This will be awarded to a team/school
with a single location that scores the most team points. Please
make sure your team registers under the same team name.
CHAMPION GI PATCH
All Children, Teens & Adults who place 1st in any NAGA Gi
Division (White Belt through Black Belt) will receive a NAGA
Champion Gi patch. These patches are not sold, only earned by
the best Gi competitors.
GET YOUR GRAPPLING GEAR AT THE EVENT
NAGA is bringing a truckload of grappling gear (Board shorts,
gi bags, rash guards, t-shirts, hats, gi hoodies, patches, skull
caps, stickers, dog tags, etc.) in children and adults sizes,
for males and females. Check out the huge selection of gear and
apparel at the NAGA event.
NAGA ON THE WEB
NAGA has established a presence online through our website and
social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. We
are expanding the material that is offered on these sites outside
of the NAGA website. If you use any of these sites, please join
us and be kept up to date with the latest NAGA news.
- Get the monthly NAGA email by filling out this form. If you
have already competed in NAGA you do not need to fill this out:
http://www.nagafighter.com/index.php?module=joinpage
- "Like" NAGA on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nagafighter. You will be notified
of the latest NAGA news and events.
- Follow NAGA on Twitter: http://twitter.com/naga_fighter or @NAGA_FIGHTER.
We will start to tweet what divisions are coming up at tournaments
to help you as a competitor or fan stay informed.
- Our YouTube page is: http://www.youtube.com/user/nagagrappling Submit links to YouTube
videos of you competing in NAGA to youtube@nagafighter.com so
that we can share your video with the rest of the NAGA community.
NATIONALLY RANKED EVENT
All NAGA events are part of the nationwide ranking system entitled
RANKED. Our goal is to determine who the best grapplers in the
country are for various age, gender, and skill levels. This tournament
will be nationally ranked so do not miss your opportunity to
gain points towards a true national title. More details can be
found at www.nationallyranked.com.
SANDBAGGERS BEWARE
NAGA works diligently to prevent "sandbagging", or
the practice of fighting down skill levels to ensure one takes
home an award. NAGA has been working with RANKED to track all
fighters and ranked grappling events to produce true "national
standings." A by-product of these standings is our knowledge
of who has competed and at which level. Front door personnel
will use RANKED data to determine whether or not individuals
who have fought in past events belong in a higher skill level
(i.e. placed 1st at a prior NAGA event).
|
UFC
on FX 8 Results: Jacare Souza Makes Quick Work of Camozzi, Calls
for Main Event Winner
Ronaldo
“Jacare” Souza finally made his UFC debut on Saturday
night, making quick work of Chris Camozzi at UFC on FX 8 in Jaragua
do Sul, Brazil.
Since
debuting as a professional fighter in 2003, the highly decorated
Brazilian jiu-jitsu wizard has been one of, if not the most decorated
ground fighters in mixed martial arts.
With
a laundry list of grappling world titles to his credit, Souza
has always been pegged as a fighter with nearly unlimited potential.
In
his already storied career, the former Strikeforce middleweight
champion has dispatched MMA stalwarts such as Robbie Lawler,
Matt Lindland, Tim Kennedy and Jason “Mayhem” Miller,
to name a few.
If
you had never witnessed Jacare in action, he quickly showed what
all the fuss was about.
Early
into the opening frame, Jacare used his ever-improving stand-up
skills as he calmly peppered Camozzi, effectively breaking any
rhythm the 26-year-old American had hoped to muster. As Souza
set the pace, he landed a set of overhand rights that wobbled
Camozzi.
Smelling
weakness, Souza moved in, securing a quick takedown, leading
to his ground magic.
Souza
used consistent ground and pound to soften Camozzi before employing
his anaconda-like prowess. But when it happened, it was smooth.
In an almost effortless display of jiu-jitsu, Souza put his knee
on Camozzi’s belly, transitioned to side control, and locked
in the fight-ending arm-triangle choke.
“I
was waiting for him to give me the opportunity, and I saw his
neck out there, and I just went for it,” said Souza matter-of-factly
after the fight.
With
14 of Souza’s 18 wins coming by way of submission, it’s
safe to say he “just goes for it” with uncanny ease,
unlike any other fighter in the Octagon.
Souza
credited the hometown Brazilian fans for keeping any “UFC
jitters” at bay, as the 33-year-old finally made his promotional
debut.
“Everyone
was asking me if I was going to get the UFC jitters,” said
Jacare. “But I didn’t because this crowd is awesome.
It’s fantastic.”
With
sights shifting to the top-ranked middleweight, Jacare was asked
about whom he would like to fight next. When the subject of the
night’s main event between Vitor Belfort and – one
of the only three men to beat Souza – Luke Rockhold, the
confident Brazilian said he knew exactly who he wanted his next
scrap the be against.
“With
the winner.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Disappointed
Luke Rockhold targets quick return following UFC on FX 8 defeat
JARAGUA
DO SUL, Brazil – Prior to Saturday night, Luke Rockhold
(10-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) hadn't lost in the past five-and-a-half years.
After suffering a first-round TKO loss to Vitor Belfort (23-10
MMA, 12-6 UFC), he's anxious to erase that feeling from his mind.
"It
doesn't feel good," Rockhold said. "I haven't lost
in a long time. I don't like losing.
"I
train to win, and I came to win. It definitely doesn't feel good."
Rockhold
and Belfort faced off in the main event of Saturday's UFC on
FX 8 card, which took place at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul,
Brazil. Rockhold was making his UFC debut and hoped to make a
statement against MMA legend Belfort, who boasts a near-17-year
history in the sport and is a former UFC champion.
After
a brief feeling-out process, a patient Belfort unleashed a pinpoint
spinning wheel kick that landed flush to the face and sent Rockhold
toppling to the floor. Belfort seized the opportunity and swarmed
with punches until the fight was waved off at the 2:32 mark of
the opening round.
Rockhold
said he wasn't exactly sure how it all went wrong.
"I
mean it's hard to say what went wrong," Rockhold told MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com). "I was feeling good. I was finding
my timing. I felt like I was controlling things, and then he
landed a spinning heel kick to my head."
Rockhold
and Belfort had endured a spirited build-up to the fight with
the former Strikeforce champ openly questioning the legitimacy
of the Brazilian's commission-approved use of testosterone-replacement
therapy.
Things
got more heated during fight week. A press conference staredown
saw Belfort put his fist next to Rockhold's chin. Rockhold countered
at the following day's weigh-ins by pressing into his opponent's
face, earning a shove from Belfort in the process. Despite the
emotion, Rockhold said he didn't believe he fought recklessly.
"I
felt good in this fight," Rockhold said. "I had a great
camp. I felt good in the fight. I was focused. I don't know if
I got overconfident or what exactly happened. I don't know. I
thought I had it.
"I
felt good. I saw his punches. I saw everything. I was landing
some shots. I felt like I was starting to control things, and
then I got caught. It happens."
Rockhold
offered a bit of an olive branch after the fight by crediting
his opponent's skills – and not TRT – for earning Belfort
the win.
"TRT
had nothing to do with that kick," Rockhold said.
Still,
he admits the sting of the loss is difficult to swallow, and
he hopes to return to action as quickly as possible.
"It
sucks right now," Rockhold said. "I don't know. I want
to get back in there. I want to fight, obviously. Everyone says
it, but what can you do at this point? I want to get in there.
I want to fight. I want to redeem myself."
Brazilian
media members suggested a potential rematch with Ronaldo "Jacare"
Souza, a fellow former Strikeforce champ who Rockhold beat in
2011. However, UFC officials tends to match fighters with similar
recent results when arranging bouts.
Rockhold
could have potentially earned a fight with the winner of July's
UFC middleweight title fight between champ Anderson Silva and
challenger Chris Weidman, but now his next move is unclear.
Rockhold
kept his head down for most of the evening's post-event presser,
and his emotion was evident. But he also seemed to deal with
the reality of his position, and he said he now hopes to get
back to work as quickly as possible.
"I
lost to one of the best guys in the world, and it was something
pretty spectacular," Rockhold said. "I don't know what
to really think about anything right now. I just want to get
back and fight and beat someone up. That's what I'm focused on.
Good job by Vitor. What can I say?"
Source: MMA Junkie
|
UFC
on FX 8 Results: Rafael Natal Outpaces Newcomer João Zeferino
Coming
into his UFC on FX 8 bout with Rafael Natal, most gave newcomer
João Zeferino little to no chance against the veteran
middleweight.
Zeferino
came in to Saturday night’s bout in Brazil serving as a
late replacement for Chris Camozzi, who was pulled from the fight
to meet Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in the co-main event
after Souza’s original opponent was forced to withdraw due
to injury.
Just
before fight time, Zeferino closed as a +270 underdog, but as
the opening bell sounded, it was obvious that the “Brazilian
Samurai” would not be fighting like one.
Zeferino
came out aggressive and looked to establish Octagon control from
the outset. Just seconds into the round, Zeferino landed a slick
straight right that snapped Natal’s head back and briefly
wobbled him. As the opening frame wore on, Zeferino looked calm
and collected as he used an array of strikes, including a well-timed
head kick, to set the pace.
As
round two began, however, the late replacement started to show
signs of fatigue. Natal weathered an early push from his opponent
in the first few moments of the round and took control soon after.
As
Zeferino slowed to a snail’s pace, Natal took advantage,
wearing the 27-year-old down. Towards the end of the second stanza,
Zeferino was so gassed that he flopped to the mat, exhausted,
and let Natal beat on him for the remainder of the frame.
Round
three saw more of the same, as Zeferino opened aggressive and
then backed away looking for one fight-ending straight right
hand. The tenured Natal saw the approach Zeferino was taking,
and waited for him to tire.
Natal
had done more than enough to win in the judges’ eyes, earning
a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
“I
knew that being called in, in such short notice, he wouldn’t
have enough time to get in shape,” said Natal after the
fight. “So I thought that although I lost the first round
I was going to get the second and third, and that’s what
happened.”
Zeferino
gave a spirited performance and surprised many with his early
aggression. Given the fact he was a newcomer, fighting against
a well-rounded veteran, one can’t help but wonder what the
fight could have been if Zeferino had been afforded a full training
camp.
For
Natal, this marks his fourth victory in his last five fights,
and puts him right back in the mix for a fight with someone farther
up the middleweight ladder.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UPDATED:
UFC Releases Official Statement Confirming Pat Healy’s Suspension
and Rescinded Bonuses
UFC
lightweight Pat Healy recently admitted to testing positive for
marijuana use following his UFC 159 victory over Jim Miller on
April 27 in New Jersey.
“I
would like to start off by apologizing to the UFC, Jim Miller,
the MMA community, it’s fans, my family, teammates and coaches
for my positive testing for marijuana after my UFC 159 fight
with Jim Miller,” Healy said in a prepared statement.
His
camp confirmed that Healy was suspended for 90 days, had his
fight overturned to a no contest, and had $130,000 in post-fight
bonus money rescinded.
The
New Jersey State Athletic Control Board has not commented on
the positive drug test, but Zuffa, LLC, owner of the UFC, on
Friday issued an official statement on the matter, confirming
the sanctions.
“The
UFC has been informed by the NJSACB that lightweight Pat Healy
tested positive for marijuana metabolites following his bout
against Jim Miller at UFC 159. The NJSACB issued Healy a 90-day
suspension retroactive to the date of the event. He must pass
a drug test upon completion of the suspension before receiving
clearance to compete again. The outcome of his bout against Miller
will be changed to a no contest and he will forfeit $130,000
in bonus money from Fight of the Night and Submission of the
Night. Miller will keep his Fight of the Night bonus and Bryan
Caraway will receive the $65,000 Submission of the Night bonus.
The
UFC organization has a strict, consistent policy against the
use of any illegal and/or performance-enhancing drugs, stimulants
or masking agents. The UFC also fully supports the drug testing
efforts of all regulatory agencies including NJSACB. All fighters
on the UFC 159 card were drug tested at the event. The results
of all positive tests are reported to the official Association
of Boxing Commissions record-keeper.”
UPDATE:
An MMAWeekly.com source with knowledge of the situation said
that the UFC did not try to rescind Healy’s win bonus, which
was paid on the night of the fight. The amount of the bonus was
not revealed, and New Jersey does not release that information
like some state’s do, but Healy made $27,000 to show and
another $15,000 to win for his last Strikeforce fight in January.
The
UFC holds post-fight “of the night” award bonus checks
until drug test results are confirmed, so Healy did not have
to return any money, but he will not receive the post-fight award
bonus checks.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Anderson
Silva vs. Jon Jones: Longevity puts the pound-for-pound question
to rest
UFC
light heavyweight champion Jon Jones already has one loss and
nearly suffered another Saturday, but no one has even come close
to defeating him in the cage.
Despite
his dominance of Chael Sonnen on Saturday at UFC 159 at the Prudential
Center in Newark, N.J., Jones was only 27 seconds away from losing
his belt. Jon Jones attends a press conference after UFC 159.
(USA Today Sports)He suffered a broken toe while taking Sonnen
down in the first round. Had referee Keith Peterson not stopped
the bout at 4:33 as Jones was pounding on Sonnen, it is highly
unlikely that the New Jersey commission would have allowed Jones
to come out for the second round because of the gruesome injury.
As
a result, Jones would have lost the bout by knockout, even though
a novice could see he was the far superior fighter.
Jones'
one defeat came in a non-title bout in 2009 as a result of a
highly controversial disqualification during a match with Matt
"The Hammer" Hamill. Jones was disqualified for throwing
an illegal elbow that caused Hamill to be injured. After reviewing
a replay, referee Steve Mazzagatti ordered the disqualification.
Mazzagatti's
call has been hotly disputed in the three-plus years since, but
what that defeat points to is the fine line between winning and
losing in mixed martial arts and the difficulty of compiling
a lengthy winning streak against top opposition. There are so
many ways to win and lose a bout that it's virtually impossible
to remain unbeaten for long. Women's bantamweight champion Ronda
Rousey is the only one of the eight UFC titleholders without
a defeat.
It's
also evidence of the remarkable nature of Anderson Silva's almost
eight-year winning streak in the UFC.
Silva
joined the UFC in 2006 amid much acclaim. And while his signing
was a significant one for the company at the time, it's not like
he was held then in the same regard he's held in now, in which
he's widely considered the best fighter in the world.
Silva
was 17-4 prior to joining the UFC, but his record since his debut
against Chris Leben on June 28, 2006, in Las Vegas is nothing
short of staggering.
Anderson
Silva toys with an opponent during a fight. (MMAWeekly)Silva
has gone 16-0 in the UFC, including 11-0 in title bouts.
Given
his remarkable two-year reign as champion, Jones is the flavor
of the month. But even he admitted following his win over Sonnen
on Saturday that Silva's streak deserves to keep him atop the
rankings.
"I
celebrated my two-year anniversary as champion this year, and
Anderson has been doing it for about six years," Jones said.
"That's phenomenal. That's phenomenal pressure that he's
been able to [endure] and continue moving forward with. I admire
him so much.
"Yes,
I've had some great fights, and I've had a great career, but
Anderson is still an amazing guy. He's still my idol and I'm
not going to disregard what he's done."
Jones
would likely be favored to defeat Silva were they to meet, as
he's physically bigger and is a dominant wrestler. Silva struggled
with Sonnen's wrestling in two title defenses, and Sonnen didn't
seem to be near Jones' league on Saturday.
MMA
oddsmaker Joey Oddessa said he'd open Jones as a "minimum
3-1 favorite" against Silva, potentially as high as minus-375.
According
to FightMetric, Jones was three of six for takedowns against
Sonnen, who was on his heels the entire fight. Sonnen, by contrast,
was 4-for-11 in takedowns over two fights against Silva.
All
the hype for Jones is deserved, but as UFC president Dana White
points out, that makes it easy to overlook what Silva has accomplished.
"Anderson
has made a lot of really good middleweights look really bad,
but that is not the most impressive thing he's done," White
said. "He's also gone up to 205 [pounds] and he's done the
same thing to guys there. He's won his fights just as easily.
"Now,
can Jon Jones move up to heavyweight and be knocking guys out
in the first round? Well, he wants to go there and try it, but
we don't know if he can do it because he hasn't done it yet.
How many 155-pounders can go up to 170 and take out guys there?
That doesn't really happen in this sport, but it's what Anderson
has done."
Silva
has to defend his title on July 6 in Las Vegas at UFC 162 against
top contender Chris Weidman. If he gets by him, there is a great
likelihood that he'll fight Jones later in the year. UFC titleholders
Cain Velasquez, Jon Jones and Anderson Silva pose for the media.
(AP)
White
wouldn't commit to Silva fighting either Jones or welterweight
champion Georges St-Pierre – the other champion mentioned
as an opponent for a potential "superfight" with Silva
– but said he thought it was reasonable to expect that one
or the other could happen sometime in 2013 if Silva gets by Weidman.
If
he does, imagine a Silva-Jones fight on Nov. 9 at the Rogers
Centre in Toronto as the potential headliner for the UFC's 20th
anniversary show. It would be a massive event.
That
Silva is still good enough at 38 years old to be involved in
those kinds of matches says much about his greatness.
That's
easy to overlook in light of the hoopla over Jones' greatness.
"His
longevity and the guys he's beaten and everything, how can he
not be the No. 1 pound-for-pound guy?" White said of Silva.
"Jones is a great story and he's an incredible physical
specimen. He's got the size, the strength and the athleticism.
But it's not all about being big and strong. It's about being
an unbelievable athlete and Jon has that athleticism.
"Anderson
Silva, though, is almost 40 years old and he's beating these
guys and making it look easy. Year after year, you wonder, 'Is
this the year [he may lose],' but he keeps going on and on. The
guy is a freak of nature, man. He's incredible."
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Vitor
Belfort: “TRT Doesn’t Win Fights”
Former
UFC light heavyweight titleholder Vitor Belfort rejuvenated his
career when he dropped down to the middleweight division in 2008.
Since making the move, “The Phenom” has only been defeated
by Anderson Silva at 185-pounds.
His
success at middleweight came under recent scrutiny when it was
revealed that the 36-year-old Brazilian uses testosterone replacement
therapy.
Athletes
can request a therapeutic use exemption to use TRT, but what
makes Belfort’s use more controversial than others who have
been granted the exemption is that he tested positive to the
banned substance 4-Hydroxytestosterone in 2006.
Having
a previous positive test would rule out a therapeutic exemption
by some athletic commissions, but he’s able to use TRT in
his home country of Brazil.
Belfort
asserts that he isn’t doing anything illegal.
“I
don’t have much to talk about it. It’s the rules. I’m
following the rules and it’s fight time. TRT doesn’t
win fights. A lot of guys on TRT are losing fights,” he
said during the UFC on FX 8 pre-fight press conference on Thursday.
“It’s hard work. People that know me know how hard
I work, and I’m just following the rules and doing everything
legal.”
His
UFC on FX 8 opponent, former Strikeforce middleweight champion
Luke Rockhold, doesn’t agree with the use of TRT by any
athlete, and definitely not by Belfort. But he’s stated
that TRT isn’t an issue and he knew about Belfort’s
use of it well before signing the bout agreement.
The
topic has been brought up so often that Belfort has refused to
field questions on the issue and says he’s just focused
on the fight at hand.
“I’m
focused on winning,” he said. “I definitely know I’m
ready and focused on this fight.”
Rockhold
says he’s done his homework on Belfort and knows what to
expect when the Octagon door closes behind them on Saturday,
but Belfort believes he has changed his fighting style and is
ever evolving, making it difficult to know what to expect.
“Those
who have known me for a long time and see me today have no idea
about what I have changed,” said Belfort. “It’s
as the bible says, a thousand years is as if it were a day. If
you give me one day to improve, I’ll do that. What’s
important in life is to grow, to be humble.
“We
never really know what we can learn. We never know what we can’t
learn, so I believe it has to be like a silent storm. That’s
what a fight is. Right when we are in there, that’s when
we will decide things,” he added.
“I’m
ready and I’ve done everything that I can. Now I’ve
crushed all the grapes and now I just need to drink the wine.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on FX 8: Belfort vs. Rockhold Attendance
UFC
on FX 8: Belfort vs. Rockhold took place Saturday night at Arena
Jaraguá in Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
before an announced crowd of 7,642.
UFC
officials announced the attendance at the UFC on FX 8 post-fight
press conference.
The
gate was not announced.
Former
UFC champion Vitor Belfort faced former Strikeforce champion
Luke Rockhold in the night’s main event. Belfort continued
his career resurgence, knocking Rockhold out with a stunning
heel kick to the head at 2:32 of the first round.
The
event was the second of at least four scheduled for Brazil in
2013. It also marked the second time that Belfort has headlined
a UFC on FX card in his home country this year.
The
promotion returns to Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 3 for UFC 163, which
features featherweight champion Jose Aldo putting his belt on
the line against Anthony Pettis, who is making his 145-pound
debut.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on FX 8: Quick Results for Belfort vs. Rockhold
Main
Card (FX):
Vitor
Belfort def. Luke Rockhold via KO (spinning back kick, strikes)
at 2:32, R1
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza def. Chris Camozzi via submission
(arm triangle) at 3:37, R1
Rafael dos Anjos def. Evan Dunham via unanimous decision (29-28
x3)
Rafael Natal def. João Zeferino via unanimous decision
(30-27, 29-28 x2)
Preliminary
Card (Fuel TV):
Nik
Lentz def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision (28-27, 29-28 x2)
Francisco Trinaldo def. Mike Rio via submission (arm triangle)
at 3:08, R1
Gleison Tibau def. John Cholish via submission (guillotine) at
2:34, R2
Paulo Thiago def. Mitchel Prazeres via unanimous decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)
Yuri Alcantara def. Iliarde Santos via TKO (strikes) at 2:31,
R1
Fabio Maldonado def. Roger Hollet via unanimous decision (29-27
x2, 29-28)
Preliminary
Card (Facebook):
John
Lineker def. Azamat Gashimov via TKO (strikes) at 1:07, R2
Jussier Formiga def. Chris Cariaso via unanimous decision (29-28
x3)
Lucas Martins def. Jeremy Larsen via knockout (punch) at 0:13,
R3
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Vitor
Belfort: The legitimate No. 1 contender in the UFC's middleweight
division
COMMENTARY
| With his first-round knockout victory against Luke Rockhold
at UFC on FX 8, Vitor Belfort has clearly separated himself from
the rest of the pack in the 185-pound division. He didn't even
take any damage during his bout against Rockhold, putting the
last Strikeforce middleweight champion away with a perfectly
executed spinning heel kick.
In
a perfect world, Vitor's back-to-back wins against top middleweight
contenders should automatically put him in line for a title shot,
but things don't always work that way in the Ultimate Fighting
Championship. UFC president Dana White – or fans for that
matter – haven't seemed interested in seeing "The Phenom"
get a second crack at MMA's pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva
in the past, given the fact "The Spider" made quick
work of Belfort during their UFC 126 encounter, finishing him
with a beautiful front kick to the face.
However,
it's worth noting that today's Vitor is considerably better that
the guy who faced Anderson back in 2011. He's more confident,
his physique has never looked better, and he's deepened his striking
arsenal by adding a variety of kicks which clearly have knockout
power behind them.
"I
was part of two jungles. I'm the T-Rex, surviving in this new
jungle, so I'm rebuilding myself, and God has given me the strength,"
Belfort said during a post-fight interview. "Just as I used
to be strong then, I am strong now."Vitor Belfort celebrates
after beating Luke Rockhold. (USA Today)
Belfort's
critics will attribute his recent success to testosterone replacement
therapy (which the Brazilian admitted to prior to his UFC on
FX 7 bout against Michael Bisping), but they don't have a solid
case. For one, Vitor's improved technique is primarily responsible
for his recent success inside the Octagon, not any physical attributes
that might have been improved with TRT.
Then
factor in the fact that Jones -- who was almost submitted during
the first round of their UFC 152 encounter -- and Silva are the
only two men who have been able to defeat Belfort in the past
six years.
The
reality is: Belfort and Silva are the two best middleweights
in the world, and the "Old Lion" is the only 185-pounder
who has a legitimate chance against Anderson right now. If "The
Spider" gets past Chris Weidman at UFC 162 -- which he should
-- anything less than a Silva vs. Belfort II bout will be a great
injustice.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
'Jacare'
Souza heard Chris Camozzi's neck 'snapping', but isn't ready
for Vitor Belfort just yet
It's
going to be difficult for fighters to have better UFC debuts
than the one former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo
'Jacare' Souza had on Saturday night. The submission grappling
ace easily dispatched with Chris Camozzi at 3:37 of the first
round with an academic head and arm triangle at UFC on FX 8 in
Jaragua do Sul, Brazil, earning not only a victory but $50,000
through his Submission of the Night award.
"All
my life I was very good in that move. Now I'm really practicing
it a lot," Souza said at the event's post-fight press conference.
"I'm also doing a lot of cardio work, so obviously I'm much
stronger. When I held my opponent, I heard his neck snapping,
so I knew he was either going to tap out or pass out."
Despite
his nearly unmatched grappling pedigree, Jacare was able to win
in virtually all phases of the game. He not only earned the submission
after wrestling Camozzi to the floor, but his attack was made
possible by the damage he was inflicting with his hands.
"I
started moving very well when I was standing, but when I realized
that he didn't respect my hands, I showed him my calling card,"
Souza recalled. "When he went down, I just did the groundwork
very easily. I knew that sooner or later, something would be
there for me, and that's what happened. I was able to submit
him."
For
Jacare, the moment - a victory in his UFC debut, which took place
in his home country of Brazil - was difficult to articulate.
It's increasingly rare for a fighter of this caliber to have
spent this much time out of the UFC. It was also emotional for
him to be at this particular juncture in his career in Brazil.
"The
emotion I felt when I was going into the cage, there are no words
to explain it. I could just tell I was exploding with happiness,"
Souza said. "When I walked in and I heard the crowd, there
was a moment when I just started jumping, and I said, 'Now I
cannot let this crowd down. This crowd is fantastic, and I have
to do my best.'"
The
question facing Souza now is 'what's next?' He is certainly one
of the middleweight division's top contenders, but if Jacare
gets his way, he isn't in any rush for a title shot. The jiu-jitsu
black belt wouldn't necessarily turn down the opportunity to
fight Saturday's winning headliner in Vitor Belfort. In fact,
in his post-fight interview with UFC commentator Jon Anik, Jacare
said he wanted the winner of the bout between Belfort and Luke
Rockhold. As it turns out, however, he would rather get some
experience against some of the other best middleweights in the
world first.
"I'm
a real professional, and I think that rivalry is just natural.
If I have to fight against him, I'll fight against him,"
Jacare said of a potential bout with Belfort. "But I'm still
not ready to fight Vitor. Vitor is just ready to go for a title
bout, so I hope one day to be ready and be competent. If the
UFC thinks I'm ready, I'll do it. I'll fight happily with the
champion Vitor Belfort. But I just said it because we don't want
to get the loser. We want to get the winner."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Matches
to Make After UFC on FX 8
By Brian
Knapp
Vitor Belfort will likely get another title shot.
Luke
Rockhold will have to wait for his moment in the Ultimate Fighting
Championship sun. Vitor Belfort’s left foot blotted it out.
Belfort
knocked out the former Strikeforce middleweight champion with
an exquisite spinning heel kick and follow-up punches on the
ground in the UFC on FX 8 main event on Saturday at the Arena
Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil. The 36-year-old Brazilian
drew the curtain on Rockhold 2:32 into round one, as he won for
the ninth time in 11 appearances with an early frontrunner for
“Knockout of the Year.”
Rockhold
expected speed, power and precision from more traditional strikes,
Belfort’s straight left chief among them. However, the kick,
perfectly measured and accurately applied, came out of left field,
and it did the job. Caught with his hands low, Rockhold absorbed
the blow and fell to the canvas in a still-conscious state. He
could not weather the swarm of punches Belfort levied against
him next.
The
win likely moves “The Phenom” back to the front of
the line in terms of middleweight title contenders, with longstanding
champion Anderson Silva -- the last man to defeat Belfort at
185 pounds -- set to defend his crown against the undefeated
Chris Weidman at UFC 162 on July 6. Silva has held the championship
since Oct. 14, 2006, defending it a record 10 times.
Rockhold,
meanwhile, must patch up the damage and somehow revive the momentum
that accompanied his arrival in the Octagon. The 28-year-old
American Kickboxing Academy export saw his nine-fight winning
streak grind to a halt, as he experienced defeat for the first
time in more than five years. Still, Rockhold remains one of
the sport’s most promising young middleweights and would
seem a prime candidate to face the loser of the forthcoming Mark
Munoz-Tim Boetsch matchup in July.
In
the wake of UFC on FX 8 “Belfort vs. Rockhold,” here
are five other matchups that ought to be made:
Ronaldo
“Jacare” Souza vs. Yushin Okami: Souza was nothing
short of sensational in his promotional debut, as he choked the
consciousness out of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season
11 alum Chris Camozzi in the co-headliner. The 33-year-old former
Strikeforce champion has finished his last four opponents, three
of them inside one round, and could move fast within the UFC
middleweight division. Okami last appeared at UFC on Fuel TV
8 in March, when he captured a split decision from onetime Bellator
MMA titleholder Hector Lombard at the Saitama Super Arena in
Saitama, Japan. Only seven active UFC fighters have more wins
inside the Octagon than Okami’s 13.
Rafael
dos Anjos vs. Donald Cerrone: Dos Anjos continues to hover on
the periphery of the top 10 at 155 pounds. The 28-year-old Brazilian
jiu-jitsu black belt posted his fourth straight victory in a
unanimous decision over Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts export
Evan Dunham. Since losing his first two UFC bouts to Jeremy Stephens
and Tyson Griffin, dos Anjos has quietly compiled an 8-2 mark
and established himself as a player inside the promotion’s
deepest division. Cerrone will return to the cage against former
EliteXC champion K.J. Noons at UFC 160.
Iuri
Alcantara vs. Eddie Wineland: Alcantara sliced through Iliarde
Santos -- a natural flyweight who replaced Marcos Vinicius --
as he stopped his fellow Brazilian on punches in just over half
a round. The potential withdrawal of injured interim bantamweight
champion Renan Barao could leave Wineland without an opponent
for UFC 161 on June 15. The rugged 28-year-old Duneland Vale
Tudo representative secured his title shot with back-to-back
wins over Scott Jorgensen and Brad Pickett.
Nik
Lentz vs. Cub Swanson-Dennis Siver winner: Lentz has been nothing
short of a revelation since downshifting from 155 pounds. The
American Top Team product improved to 3-0 as a featherweight
with a unanimous verdict over Nova Uniao’s Hacran Dias.
Moreover, Lentz snapped the heralded Dias’ nine-fight winning
streak as a short-notice replacement for “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 5 finalist Manny Gamburyan. All factors considered, his
next call from UFC brass figures to pair him with a big-ticket
player at 145 pounds. Swanson and Siver will meet in a high-stakes
matchup at UFC 162 on July 6.
John
Lineker vs. Jussier da Silva: Some project Lineker as a future
title contender at 125 pounds, and the 23-year-old Brazilian
did nothing to dispel those notions while dissecting Russian
import Azamat Gashimov with a pair of vicious blows to the body
-- one a kick, the other a punch. Lineker has won 15 of his last
16 fights, a guillotine choke submission loss to Team Tiger Schulmann’s
Louis Gaudinot the lone hiccup. Once regarded as the world’s
top flyweight, da Silva was impressive in his own right, as he
put his prodigious grappling skills on display in a unanimous
decision over the underappreciated Chris Cariaso.
Source: Sherdog
|
Vitor
Belfort's latest win fuels testosterone debate, which may be
a good thing
Why
not? We're thinking about it, whether we want to admit it or
not. How could we not be, when it's right there staring us in
the face?
Vitor
Belfort pulls off an amazing spinning heel kick against Luke
Rockhold at UFC on FX 8, then declares that he's "stronger
than ever," and it's like he's begging us to talk about
it. On the broadcast we hear references to his impressive career
turnaround, and it feels like they're hinting at the things they
can't or don't dare say.
Or
maybe they aren't. At least not intentionally. Maybe it's a Freudian
slip, or no slip at all. Maybe it's just that when you get an
elephant this big in a room this small – and when that elephant
keeps stomping on the heads of all who come near it – anything
you say feels like it's either directed right at the damn thing
or else conspicuously avoiding mention of it.
That's
where we are with Belfort and his testosterone usage. Tucked
away in Brazil, where the commission is brand new and therapeutic-use
exemptions for former steroid cheats are apparently no problem,
he faces a problem he doesn't seem to want to acknowledge. The
more fights he wins and the more highlight-reel finishes he stacks
up, the more he stokes a fire that he'd rather we just ignore.
The
thing is, we probably would ignore it if we could. We'd rather
watch and enjoy and be awed by these finishes that look like
something out of a video game. But knowing what we know, it's
impossible to come away from Belfort's recent performances without
wondering how much of what we just saw came from him and how
much came from a syringe.
And
honestly, that's what really sucks about testosterone use in
MMA – for the fans, anyway. The fighters, sure, they have
to worry about the concussions and the competitive imbalance
and all the rest of it. Those of us on the couch get stuck with
the nagging doubt and bitter aftertaste. Guys like Belfort are
making this sport hard for a thinking fan to relax and enjoy.
We
see him pull off some fantastic move and we can't appreciate
it for what it is. We just can't. Unless we want to become the
willing marks in this little PED carnival, we have to ask whether
he could have done that without a steady injection of steroids
(and for the last time, while the testosterone that occurs naturally
in your body is a hormone, the synthesized testosterone that
MMA fighters are injecting is a steroid; let's stop dancing around
it and call it what it is).
But
testosterone doesn't kick people in the head, right? You need
to skill to do that. And that's true. You also need skill to
hit a baseball over a fence, but I think we've learned that it
doesn't hurt to get an infusion of chemically-enhanced power
and explosiveness to give that existing skill a little extra
push. It also doesn't hurt to get that push all through training
camp.
That's
the thing about performance-enhancing drugs. They take what you
already have and improve it with the help of some stuff you don't.
That's why athletes use them. You think Belfort would be putting
up with all the scrutiny from the media and the criticism from
fans if this stuff didn't work?
It's
worth noting how Belfort is handling that scrutiny, by the way.
With the UFC's help, he's managed to avoid the prying eyes of
the various U.S. state athletic commissions, many of which aren't
exactly all that strict to begin with. But when John Morgan of
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) asked him about his testosterone
use after his win over Rockhold, Belfort's response was to try
to silence him as quickly as possible.
"Can
somebody beat him up for me, please?" Belfort said of Morgan
at the post-fight news conference. "Can somebody beat him
up?"
Right,
because nothing says "I'm using a totally legitimate medical
treatment" quite like threatening those who ask questions
about it. It's not just immediately after the fight that Belfort
avoids these questions, either. Let's not forget, back before
the UFC confirmed that he was using testosterone, Belfort refused
to admit it, even when asked point blank about it by ESPN. It
was only after the UFC outed him that he voiced his support for
full public disclosure for all testosterone users. If the UFC
hadn't put his business in the streets, he'd probably still be
doing it in secret.
The
sad part is, Belfort doesn't seem to realize how much the controversy
is hurting him. He seems genuinely oblivious to the fact that,
in the minds of many fans, there's an asterisk next to all these
wins. Maybe he didn't need the testosterone to beat Rockhold.
Maybe he could have pulled off that kick without it. But the
thing is, we'll never know. Neither will he. He can tell us that
it's all him, that the testosterone has nothing to do with his
career resurgence. But if that's true then why doesn't he get
off the juice? If it's not responsible for his success, then
it shouldn't matter if he stops using it. And if he won't stop
using it, then he can't be surprised when we won't quit talking
about it.
Maybe
that's the silver lining here, is the enduring force of the conversation.
The more fights Belfort wins while on testosterone – and
the more violent, spectacular finishes he reels off in the process
– the more he fuels the debate. Looking at Twitter on Saturday
night, the first response to his knockout of Rockhold was a kind
of stunned amazement. The second response was skepticism and
suspicion. By Sunday morning, it was the suspicion that lingered.
It'll
keep lingering, too. Just ask all those power hitters from baseball's
steroid era. Performance-enhancers like testosterone might be
fast-acting, but the stain they leave behind is a stubborn one.
The way Belfort's headed, he'll still be staring at it long after
his fighting days are done.
Source: MMA Junkie
|
UFC
on FX 8 Results: Vitor Belfort Adds to Phenom Legacy with Stunning
Heel Kick KO
Vitor
Belfort earned his nickname “The Phenom” early in his
career, a fiery young man, with blazing speed and knockout power.
Now, at 36 years of age, he continues to add credence to his
moniker.
Belfort
entered Saturday night’s UFC on FX 8 in Brazil having knocked
out middleweight title contender Michael Bisping at UFC on FX
7. He continued his resurgence by knocking out final Strikeforce
middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, but it was the manner in
which he did it that really added to The Phenom’s legacy.
Belfort
looked comfortable and confident from the opening bell, sprawling
an early takedown attempt, and just missing with a spinning heel
kick to the head. He did, however, land a flurry of punches that
backed Rockhold into the fence.
Rockhold
fought out of it, but seemed to have trouble finding his rhythm,
moving flat-footed around the Octagon. Belfort was circling and
bouncing on his toes the entire time.
Just
as the fight appeared to be falling into a rhythm all its own,
Belfort launched another spinning heel kick, this time landing
squarely on Rockhold’s jaw, immediately putting him on the
mat. Belfort pounced and landed several more punches as the referee
jumped in to stop the fight.
Belfort
was elated after the fight, saying, “I want to thank everyone.
I’m stronger than ever.”
He
certainly looked it, but steered clear of calling for a return
shot at the middleweight title. He did, however, make his pick
for the UFC 162 battle between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman
in July.
“I’m
here to fight. I don’t pick fights. I accept fights. The
fans decide it, Dana White,” Belfort declared. “I’m
very happy. I’m going to root for Anderson.”
The
victory gives Belfort back-to-back wins over Top 10 middleweights,
and makes him 4-1 since losing to Anderson Silva at UFC 126 in
early 2011.
Rockhold,
hoping that a victory would have launched him into a title fight
in his next bout, will instead go back to the drawing board.
“I
didn’t see that one coming,” he admitted after the
fight. “I thought I was finding my timing, but what can
I say, he landed a spinning heel kick to my head.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
on FX 8 Fighter Bonuses: Vitor Belfort and Jacare Souza Lead
Fighters Banking $50,000
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded $50,000 fighter bonuses
following UFC on FX 8 in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil, on Saturday.
Lucas Martins, Jeremy Larsen, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza,
and Vitor Belfort took home the bonus awards for their performances.
Fight
of the Night honors went to the first fight of the night, Lucas
Martins vs. Jeremy Larsen. It was a back-and-forth fight with
both men having their moments. Martins overcame being knocked
down twice in the opening round to score a third-round knockout
early in the final stanza.
The
Submission of the Night bonus was awarded to UFC newcomer Ronaldo
“Jacare” Souza for his co-main event submission of
Chris Camozzi. Souza was able to get the fight to the ground
and put his grappling prowess on display. Souza mounted Camozzi
and locked on an arm-triangle choke that put Camozzi to sleep.
The
Knockout of the Night came in the main event on the card. Former
UFC light heavyweight titleholder Vitor Belfort landed a spinning
heel kick to the jaw of former Strikeforce middleweight champion
Luke Rockhold. Rockhold was dropped by the kick and Belfort finished
with a series of punches on the ground.
The
amount of bonus money awarded following UFC on FX 8 totaled $200,000.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Renan
Barao injured, out of UFC 161 interim title defense
Renan
Barao has sustained an undisclosed injury and been forced out
of his UFC 161 interim title defense against Eddie Wineland,
according to reports.
Barao
and Wineland were scheduled to headline the card, which takes
place on June 15 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
No
replacements have been confirmed for the match, and the UFC is
yet to announce a change to the UFC 161 card.
At
the time of this publication, a bout between Dan Henderson and
Rashad Evans is tabbed to co-main event the card, preceded by
a rematch between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
By
the Numbers: UFC on FX 8
Put
Vitor Belfort on a UFC on FX card in Brazil, and what do you
get? Spectacular head-kick knockouts, that’s what.
For
the second consecutive fight, “The Phenom” laid waste
to a promising contender in the UFC’s middleweight division,
as he stopped former Strikeforce 185-pound king Luke Rockhold
with a spinning heel kick and follow-up punches in the UFC on
FX 8 headliner at the Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil,
on Saturday night. In January, the Blackzilians representative
dispatched Michael Bisping with a head kick and follow-up strikes
at UFC on FX 7.
With
the win, Belfort appears to be in position for another title
shot, but much depends on what happens when reigning champion
Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman square off at < a href="http://www.sherdog.com/events/UFC-162-Silva-vs-Weidman-28459">UFC
162 in July. Here is a by-the-numbers look at UFC on FX 8, with
statistics courtesy of FightMetric.com.
11:
First round finishes for Belfort in the UFC, the most of anyone
in the promotion. “The Phenom” landed a spectacular
spinning heel kick on Rockhold and pounced for follow-up strikes
on the mat to earn a knockout victory 2:32 into round one.
9.27:
Average significant strikes landed by Belfort in those 11 triumphs.
The Brazilian landed nine significant strikes against Rockhold.
2,020:
Days since Rockhold’s last professional defeat, a first-round
TKO loss to Tony Rubalcava at “Melee on the Mountain”
in Friant, Calif. The former Strikeforce titlist had won nine
consecutive fights before falling to Belfort.
16:
Brazilians who competed at UFC on FX 8, tying it with UFC 153
for second most all-time in promotion history. Only UFC 147 featured
more athletes from the South American country (21).
9-1:
Record for Brazilians in bouts against opposition from other
countries on Saturday. Only Hacran Dias, who dropped a unanimous
verdict to American Nik Lentz, came up short on his home soil.
.555:
Finishing percentage on submissions in one UFC and eight Strikeforce
bouts for Ronaldo Souza, who is 5-for-9 on submission attempts
during that time. “Jacare” earned a technical submission
against Chris Camozzi in the first round of their middleweight
clash on Saturday night.
2:
Significant strikes by which Evan Dunham outlanded Rafael dos
Anjos over the course of their three-round lightweight matchup.
Dunham outlanded his foe in round three (37 to 26), but dos Anjos
had the edge in rounds one (20-12) and two (20-19) in winning
a controversial unanimous decision. Dunham also landed the only
three takedowns of the fight.
499:
Total strikes thrown by Dunham and dos Anjos combined. Dunham
went 90 for 295, while dos Anjos was 86 of 204.
18:
Takedowns landed by Nik Lentz in three 145-pound appearances.
The American Top Team representative had landed just three in
his previous three outings at lightweight, which resulted in
two losses and a no contest. Lentz landed four takedowns in his
victory over Hacran Dias.
8:
Difference in significant strikes landed by Dias in round three
(24) and rounds one and two combined (16). The Brazilian fighter’s
corner urged him to pursue the finish prior to the final frame,
but Lentz survived to get the unanimous decision win.
68:
Career takedowns landed by Gleison Tibau, No. 2 all-time in the
UFC behind Georges St. Pierre (84). Tibau landed two takedowns
in four attempts during his second-round submission victory over
John Cholish.
.931:
Takedown defense rate for Tibau, No. 1 in the promotion among
those with at least five fights and 20 takedowns defended. He
has now faced 59 takedowns in his UFC tenure, stuffing Cholish’s
lone attempt in round two.
98:
Total strikes landed by Paulo Thiago in his three-round triumph
over Michel Richard dos Prazeres, just two less than he had landed
in his previous five Octagon appearances combined.
.857:
Percentage of Iuri Alcantara’s 28 career victories that
have resulted in a knockout, technical knockout or submission.
“Marajo” earned his 24th finish by stopping Iliarde
Santos with punches 2:31 into the opening round of their bantamweight
showdown.
71:
Significant strikes by which Fabio Maldonado outlanded Roger
Hollett in their light heavyweight scrap. The former professional
boxer dominated the final two frames, outlanding his Canadian
opponent 95 to 24 in significant strikes en route to earning
a unanimous decision.
18-3:
Combined record of Jussier da Silva (8-1) and Chris Cariaso (10-2)
in bouts that go the distance. “Formiga” held off a
hard-charging Cariaso to earn a unanimous verdict in a preliminary
flyweight contest.
Source: Sherdog
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Koji
Oishi Hell Bent on Taking One FC Belt From Honorio Banario
For
most American fans, the last time they saw Koji Oishi on a major
MMA stage was when he, a then 28-year-old, faced Nick Diaz at
UFC 53 in June 2005. Now, at 35, Oishi gets another chance at
the big time when he faces Honorio Banario at One FC 9 on May
31 for the promotion’s featherweight title.
A
welterweight when he fought in the UFC, the now 145-pound Oishi
was asked how he has changed since his fight with Diaz.
“I
have definitely improved a lot since then, both as a person as
well as a fighter,” responded Oishi. “I am much more
experienced now, so I approach each fight far more calm than
I did back then.
“I
have also honed and refined my craft and this version of me will
definitely defeat the 2005 version easily.”
Coming
into One FC, Oishi had won two in a row prior to drawing with
Takumi Nakayama this past March in Pancrase.
“I
did all my best at that fight,” said Oishi. “But I
am overcoming my weak points after the fight and I feel that
I have really been improving, especially for this training camp,
and I am sure I’ll peak at the right time.”
When
it comes to facing Banario, Oishi told MMAWeekly.com that the
key to the fight could very well be equalizing his opponent’s
physical advantages.
“I
have to be prepared for Honorio’s reach,” Oishi said.
“He has a sizable reach and I will need to work my way through
that. I am certain that I can defeat him if I fight a smart fight.
“I
am hell bent on taking that belt from him and becoming the new
champion.”
And
it is that drive to claim the title that could very well be what
takes Oishi to the peak of his abilities at fight time.
“Banario
is the current featherweight champion, but I am coming to dethrone
him,” said Oishi. “I want to claim that belt and prove
that our team Pancraseism is the best team in Asia. I am proud
to fight for my team and I want to give my fans something to
cheer about.
“Thank
you for One FC for this opportunity and tune in on May 31 because
I will put on a great show.”
Source: MMA Weekly
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John
Cholish Retires Following UFC on FX 8
John
Cholish on Saturday announced his retirement from fighting…
before he stepped into the Octagon to fight Gleison Tibau.
“Looking
forward to my last fight today, Win, Lose, or Draw,” he
wrote on Twitter. “I’ll do my best to put on a strong
performance and of course be Having Fun!”
That
may seem a little odd for a 29-year-old with an 8-3 record (following
a loss to Tibau at UFC on FX 8 in Brazil), but Cholish has always
stood out in the MMA world as much for his “day job”
as he did for his competitive fire in the Octagon.
A
graduate of Cornell University, Cholish’s day job is on
Wall Street in the financial industry. He’s worked for the
likes of Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, and attacks his job
with the same passion that he always brought into the Octagon.
A
standout on the Cornell wrestling team, for Cholish, MMA was
the next logical step as a competitive outlet for his athletic
side of him that Wall Street couldn’t fulfill.
Before
he ever entered the Octagon, he told MMAWeekly.com that he intended
to keep both careers going at full steam, at least for a couple
years.
“I’m
only 26 and I think I can burn the candle at both ends, at least
for a couple more years. I don’t think there’s any
reason to be lazy about it,” Cholish told MMAWeekly.com
in 2010. “As long as I can be successful here, keep doing
my job, and then train at night, I think I can keep both things
going.”
Now,
three years later, he’s gotten to a level were keeping up
both is maybe just a little too much. He’s not at the top
end of the pay scale, banking pay-per-view bonus bucks, and Wall
Street still pays the bills quite nicely.
So
for John Cholish, it’s back to the financial sector.
“Had
fun tonight, wish I could have done better,” he added on
Twitter following the fight. “Hats off to @TibauATT on great
job & Brazilian fans were incredible!”
Source: MMA Weekly
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