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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2013
November
Aloha
State Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(tba)
10/19/13
NAGA
Hawaiian Grappling Championship
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(tba)
10/5-6/13
Senior
Master World Championships
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, Cal State Unversity at Long Beach, Long Beach,
CA)
9/28/13
Maui
Open Championship
(Lahaina Civic Center)
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
9/21/13
Man Up Stand Up
(Filcom Center)
(MMA, Kickboxing)
9/14/13
Mad Skillz
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
9/7/13
The Quest for Champions 2013 Tournament
(Pearl City High School Gym)
(Featuring Sport Pankration, Submission Grappling, Continuous
Sparring)
8/24-25/13
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
8/24/13
DESTINY:Proving Grounds II
(MMA)
(Aloha Tower Pier 10)
Battle At The Bay
(BJJ)
(Hilo Armory, Hilo)
8/23/13
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
August
Maui
Open Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(tba)
7/27/13
State
of Hawaii Championship
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Pearl Cityh H.S. Gym)
7/13/13
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Momilani Community Center)
6/22/13
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Kalakaua District Park 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)
5/19/13
Amateur Boxing Event this (Boxing)
(Palolo District Park 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)
|
|
September
2013 News Part 2
|
O2 Martial Arts Academy
provides 7 days a week training! Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu classes
taught by Black Belts Kaleo Hosaka and Chris & Mike Onzuka
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi.
Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with PJ Dean &
Chris Slavens!
Wrestling program (Folk Style) taught by Cedric Yogi on Wednesdays
and Thursdays.
Kids Classes are also
available!
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O2
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Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Kaleo Hosaka as
well as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
is unmatched. Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA competitor PJ Dean
as well as master boxing instructor Chris Slavens provide incredibly
detailed instruction of the sweet science.
To top it off, Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi heads our Kali-Escrima
classes (Filipino Knife & Stickfighting) who were directly
trained under the legendary Snookie Sanchez.
Our wrestling program is headed by Cedric Yogi who was previously
the head coach of the Pearl City High School Wrestling Team.
Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
the ground up!
Experienced martial artist that wants to fine tune your skill?
Our school is for you!
Mix and match your classes so you can try all the martial arts
classes offered at O2!
If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
a friendly and family environment, O2 Martial Arts Academy is
the place for you!
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Source: Romolo Barros
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Jacare
Souza Wants the Winner of Bisping vs. Munoz; If Not, Light Heavyweight
Could Be on Tap
Former
Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare”
Souza has been nothing short of outstanding since the UFC gobbled
up Strikeforce and put him in the Octagon.
In
fact, he’s been on an amazing run since losing the Strikeforce
belt to Luke Rockhold in September of 2011.
After
the loss to Rockhold, Jacare has finished all five opponents
that he has faced, and now he wants to gun for the top of the
UFC’s middleweight division or jump ship.
Jacare
submitted a then-red-hot Chris Camozzi at UFC on FX 8: Belfort
vs. Rockhold, and followed that up by knocking out Yushin Okami
in the first round of their fight at the recent UFC on Fight
Night 28: Teixeira vs. Bader.
Jacare’s
manager, Gilberto Faria, told UFC Tonight that his fighter now
wants to face the winner of the upcoming UFC on Fight Night 30
main event, which pits Michael Bisping vs. Mark Munoz. That fight
takes place on Oct. 26 in Manchester, England.
If
a fight against the winner of that bout or another suitable middleweight
opponent doesn’t come to fruition, Faria said that Jacare
is more than willing to skip out of the middleweight division
and move up to 205 pounds for his next challenge.
The
UFC has yet to comment on Jacare’s next bout.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
LYMAN:
Sounding off on the UFC booking B.J. Penn-Frankie Edgar III at
145 lbs after TUF 19
By: Cameron
Lyman, MMATorch Columnist
The
UFC handed us our most recent WTF moment last night, when it
announced that Frankie Edgar would be coaching opposite B.J.
Penn on The Ultimate Fighter 19, setting up a featherweight show
down. My immediate response was, as I said, what... the... f***?
Penn, the former Welterweight and Lightweight Champion, has never
competed at 145 lbs. His last four fights all took place at 170
lbs., a run that started with a 21 second knockout which sent
Matt Hughes directly into an office chair. However, his run at
170 lbs. would leave the Hawaiian with a record of 1-2-1, where
he would get badly beat up in his last two losses against Nick
Diaz and Rory MacDonald.
All
four of these fights came between November 2010 and December
2012, with Penn leaving sport after the MacDonald and Diaz fights.
Not to mention the fact that Penn is coming out of "retirement"
to debut in a weight class 25 pounds lighter than we most recently
saw him, at the age of 34. At first glance, it is a head scratcher.
The confusion of this situation is compounded by the fact that
his opponent will be Frankie Edgar, a man who has already beaten
Penn twice. However, when you look at their careers, and more
importantly the marketing of Frankie Edgar and the state of the
145 pound division, this starts to form some semblance of a good...
scratch that... an idea.
Let's
take a step back to look at a little history here. B.J. Penn
was once considered one of the best pound for pound fighters
on the planet, and is considered one of the all-time greats at
155 lbs. While he was never a slouch with his hands, he impressed
us most with his ground skills over most of his legendary career.
However, during his wins against Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian, and
especially Diego Sanchez, Penn showed his greatly improved striking
game and looked like he was going to rein atop 155 lbs. for years
to come. After his Sanchez win, we all pitied his next opponent,
and he was handed a name he was supposed to beat: Frankie Edgar.
Edgar
wasn't exactly undeserving of his title shot. He was 6-1 in his
UFC run, 12-1 in his career and was on a three fight winning
streak. He was very technical, well rounded, and was very fun
to watch. The thing about Edgar is that he was just building
a name for himself and has always been an undersized lightweight.
I was an Edgar fan at the time, but I have to admit I didn't
give him much of a chance. At the same time, I was looking for
B.J. Penn to put on another performance like he did in the Sanchez
fight, but we all know that's not what happened.
Penn
didn't look quite like himself at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, and instead
of relying on his bread and butter ground game, chose to strike
with the pint sized challenger. Edgar looked great in many of
the exchanges with his speed, footwork, and head movement, but
the fight overall was very close. Edgar earned the UD from the
judges, but many deemed the fight too close to call and the rematch
was put together for UFC 118. Something important to note here
is that the UFC cashes in on dominant champions. The only thing
better is a dominant champion trying to avenge a loss. Penn again
chose to stand and trade with Edgar, who this time made a much
more convincing bid, out-striking Penn and taking him down multiple
times.
This
is where Penn's aforementioned run at 170 lbs. began. The match
with Hughes was a bout of aging veterans capping off their trilogy.
It was meant to advance Hughes' recent success at 170 lbs. and
welcome Penn back to that division for a potential title run.
That win gave us some hope that we would see a return of B.J.
the blood licking savage Penn; however, he opted to return to
his ground work in his next bout with Jon Fitch, a bout that
ended in a draw.
Next,
Penn was slated to face Carlos Condit, but since Nick Diaz no-showed
his presser with GSP, the UFC swapped opponents and Penn faced
Diaz instead. That was the first fight where B.J. physically
looked beat up after a fight, and he himself declared "retirement."
Of course, he would come out of retirement to face Rory MacDonald
a year later, a fighter who would beat him up much worse than
Diaz, sending him back to the beach. I - along with many other
observers - did not want to see Penn return. We wanted to remember
the B.J. Penn who kicked a hole in Diego Sanchez's head, not
the sluggish and chubby man, wincing against the cage while getting
teed off on by oversized competition.
Starting
with Penn-Edgar II, Edgar's career began to trend #rematch. For
his first title defence, he would rematch the only man to hand
him a loss: Gray Maynard. Right off the bat, an undersized Frankie
Edgar was rocked multiple times in a 10-8 round for Maynard.
Maynard won the next round, but Edgar began to win some exchanges.
Edgar took the next three rounds and the bout was declared a
draw, forcing a rematch. Edgar showed so much heart and Maynard
showed he had the ability to finish Edgar. In a title fight with
an oversized lightweight versus an undersized lightweight, the
rematch simply had to happen.
Happen
it did, with similar results in the beginning. Edgar again got
badly rocked, but this time he came back to shock us all and
finish Maynard in the fourth round. Edgar avenged a loss, finished
his opponent, and was officially a star in the UFC. Everyone
likes to see the little guy with the big heart, and that was
the story that Edgar showed us and was reflected in his marketing.
For his next fight, he again faced an oversized lightweight in
Ben Henderson. I myself really wanted to see Edgar beat another
opponent much bigger than him; that was part of his draw. Edgar
lost the bout in a UD, but many people argued that he won the
bout. To be the champion, you have to beat the champion and so
on.
After
the bout, Dana White again stated he wanted to see Edgar at 145.
I loved the fact that Edgar competed at his natural weight class,
and am a believer that weigh-ins should take place the night
of the bout. Fighters are able to dehydrate and put on upwards
of 20 pounds between weigh –ins and fight night, but that's
another story all together. Edgar was seen in his third straight
rematch, and even though he was fairly convincing is his bout,
he was handed a SD loss. After all, to be the champion you have
to beat the champion and so forth. Before the first Henderson
loss, White teased a superfight between Aldo and Edgar at 145
lbs.. With the second loss to Henderson, Edgar would finally
oblige White and make the drop to 145 lbs. to face Jose Aldo.
Edgar
replaced an injured Erik Koch, and made his 145 lb. debut in
a title fight, coming off of two losses. Many gave him the win
in the second Henderson fight and he was a marketable opponent
in a fight with Aldo that fans wanted to see. Edgar started slow,
but was getting the better of Aldo in the later rounds. His efforts
were simply not enough and Edgar was handed his third straight
loss in a title fight.
This
left us wondering what was next for Edgar? He made his highly
anticipated debut in the superfight for the belt but came up
short, again letting the fight go to the scorecards. 145 lbs.
was just starting to look deep before he took that title fight
and he definitely jumped in line. He had to go to the back of
the line, having lost three straight title fights.
Edgar
recently rebounded with a win over former lightweight Charles
Oliveira. He again faced an oversized opponent, but showed off
his heart and speed, winning the fight impressively. At the post-event
presser, White mentioned an Edgar drop to 135 lbs., and Edgar
scoffed at that notion. As it sits right now, nobody is in a
hurry to see Frankie Edgar in another title fight. Edgar was
paid $120k to show and $120k to win against Oliveira, who made
only $21K for his efforts. What is one to do with a marketable,
expensive fighter who refuses to again drop weights for a title
run but who nobody wants to see fight for the title in his own
weight class? Well put him on TUF against a man from another
division whom he has already beaten twice, of course. One has
to ask, what is in it for all parties involved?
The
waters at the top of 145 lbs. are filled with blood and sharks,
and the baddest shark is Jose Aldo. He has his hands full with
potential opponents in Cub Swanson, Ricardo Lamas, and Chad Mendes.
With Aldo's injury, we will likely see Lamas square off against
Mendes, while Swanson takes a stay busy fight. In the lower half
of the top 10, there are some fighters like Nik Lentz, Darren
Elkins, Dennis Bermudez, and Dustin Poirier who are a few convincing
wins away from being in the title talks. Any way you cut it,
this division is stacked, and is no longer in need of the influx
in star power that Edgar provided. The UFC doesn't need him there,
with White stating he would like to see him at 135 lbs. What
does this mean for Edgar?
Edgar
seems to get the crappy end of the stick here. Apparently, this
fight was put together after B.J. Penn stated to White that he
really wanted to avenge the Edgar loss. How does Edgar benefit
from this fight? Well clearly the UFC and the fans are tired
of Edgar title fight talk for now. This layoff will keep Edgar
out for a year while 145 lbs. sorts itself out. If he can return
victorious against Penn, then I suppose he will be a win or two
away from a 2015 title shot at 145 lbs., or maybe even 135 lbs.
He will earn his salary with his TUF showing and against a big
name opponent in Penn.
While
absolutely nobody was clamouring to see Penn-Edgar III, I can't
say I'm not intrigued. A recent MMATorch poll showed that 30%
of respondents shared my sentiments while 32% shared my desire
to see Penn stay retired. However, I and many others didn't want
to see Penn get beat up by oversized welterweights anymore. He
had his greatest success at 155 but didn't seem to have the drive
required to make that weight anymore. Motivation has always been
an issue for Penn and if he can make 135, then he will clearly
be motivated. A driven B.J. Penn is a scary one; one who we haven't
seen since the Sanchez fight. Will we see that Penn again? Probably
not. Will Penn, with this fight, go on a title run and capture
the Featherweight Title, making him the first ever three division
champion? Not bloody likely. Does this fight "make sense"?
Not really. But it is not without intrigue, and that will be
enough to make me and everyone else tune in to their showdown...
just not TUF 19.
Source:
MMA Torch
|
ESPN
laments boxing’s future with no union while praising UFC
(with no union)
By Zach
Arnold
It’s
fight week for a big boxing bout and you know what that means…
really awkard media banter about boxing’s future, boxing
vs. MMA, and boxing fans going after MMA fans online because
Floyd is making a lot of money.
I
don’t know how or why it came to this, but it has.
1.5
million PPV buys. 2 million PPV buys. Whatever the number is,
it will easily eclipse anything UFC has presented this year.
So, why the rush to bury the fight? Mayweather is edging towards
3-to-1 status, which is closer than previous contests he has
had. Certainly moreso than the fight with Robert Guerrero. Chris
Mannix, the Sports Illustrated & NBC Sports Network guy who
hinted that there could have been a fix in the Anderson Silva/Chris
Weidman fight, says that hyperbole has run amuck for Canelo Alvarez.
Floyd Mayweather Sr. says that Canelo is not as good as Cotto.
Not sure why that made headlines, but it did. Here’s a Deadspin
article on the making of the Canelo myth.
And
then there’s the whole “boxing is dying” meme
that Floyd Mayweather addressed recently.
Unfortunately,
Oscar De La Hoya won’t be at Saturday’s fight because
of going back to rehab and that’s generating buzz. The Nevada
State Athletic Commission will make an estimated $1.25 million
dollars from the fight, but Keith Kizer’s too busy to celebrate
that benchmark because he’s on the media warpath against
Georges St. Pierre over drug testing due to his pathological
hatred of Margaret Goodman. More on that debacle from Brent Brookhouse
& Matt Roth. Promoters foot the bill for drug testing in
Nevada for events.
USA
Today published an article stating that boxing isn’t dying
and that Money Mayweather will make $19,000 a second. Michael
Wilbon, the elder statesman of blowhards on ESPN, continues to
say that boxing is dying. Tony Kornheiser continues to use lingo
that fights are happening on barges.
Al
Bernstein, who used to work at ESPN, has had enough of the “boxing
is dying” meme on ESPN platforms.
“You
can’t create a narrative that boxing is dying when the sport
is producing great fight after great fight, drawing great numbers,”
Bernstein said. “You can’t just create that narrative
because you want to create it. It’s lazy, stupid journalism.
… It’s endemic now in the ESPN system to create a narrative
and push it forward.”
In
response to Bernstein’s remark, ESPN sent their Embrace
Debate squad to defend the network. The omnipresent overlord
of verbosity, Stephen A. Smith, fired back at Bernstein this
morning on ESPN2 (audio here).
Smith
stated that boxing is not dying globally but is stagnant in America,
the country hosting the Mayweather/Canelo fight. SAS said that
boxing has allowed three promoters to dominant the sport and
“eradicate it from the American conscience.” He ripped
into sanctioning bodies, Don King, Bob Arum, Lou DiBella, and
Golden Boy.
“Look
at the advent of the UFC with Dana White” and said that
it was a reflection of boxing’s decline in the States. He
claimed that Dana White can make a fight at any time that the
fans want to see, something which doesn’t always happen
in boxing. More on this claim in a minute when we address an
ESPN poll of MMA fighters.
Skip
Bayless chimed in and said that all boxing has for a mega-headliner
is Floyd Mayweather.
“Why
have so many kids, let’s say over (the last) 20 years, turned
to football and basketball and ignored the sport of boxing?”
He said that boxing used to be “the quickest way to become
a multi-millionaire.” Bayless argues that the public has
seen the effects of Dementia pugilistica and don’t want
to get involved in boxing.
SAS
countered by stating that a lot of young kids don’t want
to get into boxing because there is no “representation”
and that not everyone is as smart or well-connected as you need
to be like Floyd Mayweather or Oscar De La Hoya to survive in
the boxing industry. He praised Mayweather for controlling his
own brand and that all other fighters should admire him. Smith
further stated that Mayweather had every right to ask for a higher
purse split than Manny Pacquiao when they were negotiating to
fight.
“This
dude is the one cutting the checks.”
ESPN’s
mysterious poll of 38 MMA fighters
Which
brings us to a new poll released by ESPN yesterday where 38 MMA
fighters were anonymously polled on a variety of subjects. The
results are interesting on various levels.
The
fact that staph infections aren’t the #1 concern amongst
fighters in terms of safety issues, even labeled as “the
grossest thing you deal with,” is alarming.
Only
2 out of 38 fighters think that Fallon Fox should be allowed
to fight UFC female fighters. The overwhelming conventional wisdom
amongst MMA fighters is anti-transgender in terms of allowing
transgenders to fight female fighters. As one respected official
put it, “Would you allow a man to beat on your daughter
in the cage?” This sentiment is not changing any time soon.
The
fighters polled believe that just over half of the fighters currently
in the sport are using drugs like testosterone. That’s entirely
plausible.
However,
by far the biggest takeaway was the response to two questions.
3 out of every 4 fighters do not believe that Dana White should
have the power to force super fights. 3 out of every 4 fighters
is in favor of a union for MMA fighters. Whether the fighters
polled realize it or not, there seems to be some symmetry between
the two responses. And that symmetry goes against what Stephen
A. Smith says is the strength of the UFC. He laments boxers not
having union representation but praises Dana White for booking
whatever big fights he wants to. And yet a union would give fighters
representation and protections from monopolistic promoters. You
can’t have it both ways.
Am
I surprised that 3 out of every 4 fighters would in favor of
an MMA union? Actually, yes. Given the dog-eats-dog nature of
the business and the spin from current agents against an MMA
union or a potential entity like Rob Maysey’s MMAFA, I’m
surprised the number is only 24% against a union. However, the
76% number is useless. Why? There will never be a day when 76%
of fighters polled would publicly be willing to put their name
out there and say, “Yeah, I want a union.” The fear
of repercussions is enormous. And the only way fight promoters
survive in the game is by acting as the equivalent of benevolent
third-world dictators.
The
reality is that maybe 10% of fighters, at most, would be willing
to put their name out there publicly in favor of a union. The
24% of fighters who said they didn’t want an union are also
the reason why a union will likely never happen in Mixed Martial
Arts. Everyone wants to become a One Percenter and going along
with what a promoter or a money mark tells you what to do to
achieve that is all that matters. And those power sources will
always do what they can to destroy the creation of a union or
fighter’s association.
The
Ali Act hasn’t been what it’s cracked up to be because
lawyers in positions of prosecutorial power don’t want to
enforce the law on the books. Promoters constantly break the
law when it comes to the way they structure contracts. Why can
they get away with it? Because prosecutors won’t enforce
provisions of the Ali Act. The only hope for the Ali Act having
teeth is through civil lawsuits — and if the Ali Act was
amended to include MMA, just how many fighters would actually
be willing to risk their entire life savings challenging Zuffa
in court?
In
order for a union or fighter’s association in MMA, you would
need a strong external force to create change. A politician or
political party. That’s not going to happen. You would need
a rival promotion willing to challenge the status quo and play
a role in developing or supporting such an organization. In MMA,
there’s only one super power and the small rival that does
have access to big Viacom resources is even less likely to encourage
the propspects of a fighter association than the UFC itself.
There is no NBA/ABA or NFL/AFL situation here. Additionally,
the idea of big name fighters creating their own promotion ala
Golden Boy wouldn’t stay fighter-owned for very long. There’s
a reason Richard Schaefer is the power broker in Golden Boy and
Oscar is largely the cheerleader.
The
same amount of fighters who want an MMA union also don’t
believe in Dana White forcing fighters to face each other if
it means mega-money PPV bouts. At least there isn’t cognitive
dissonance at stake here. Just don’t expect the current
crop of MMA agents to tell their clients not to go along with
what Uncle Dana wants. Want a strong external force creating
change in the MMA space? The fastest way to do it is to bring
in the heavy hitters of sports management. Right now, that’s
not happening because many top sports agents don’t see enough
money to be made.
There’s
a reason current high-profile, bloviating agents do not want
to see an MMA union or fighter’s association. The current
agents & managers don’t want heavy scrutiny. They don’t
want competition from big agencies like William Morris or CAA.
And as long as there isn’t a union or fighter’s association,
the quality of agents in the MMA space is going to be remain
substandard compared to other sports. That helps these current
agents & managers maintain their power & longevity in
the sport. In the fight business. low-quality representation
is a plus for promoters in preventing a union or fighter’s
association from getting developed. Until the big boy sports
agents (like Jay-Z/CAA) decide to take the risk and get involved
in representing multiple big-name MMA fighters, don’t expect
the current MMA business landscape to change.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Travis
Browne vs. Stipe Miocic targeted for December UFC event
A
heavyweight bout between Travis Browne (15-1-1 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC)
and Stipe Miocic (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) could be part of a December
UFC card.
The
potential matchup, revealed on Wednesday's edition of "UFC
Tonight," could take place at either UFC on FOX 9 or UFC
168, though nothing has been finalized.
UFC
on FOX 9 airs Dec. 14 on FOX from Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento,
Calif. UFC 168 airs Dec. 28 on pay-per-view from MGM Grand Garden
Arena in Las Vegas.
Browne
is ranked No. 7 and Miocic No. 11 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com
MMA heavyweight rankings.
Browne
recently scored a come-from-behind victory over Alistair Overeem
via front-kick knockout. He's now 2-0 with two knockouts since
his lone career loss, which came in 2012 after he suffered a
leg injury and eventual TKO to Antonio Silva. Overall, the 31-year-old
Team Jackson-Winkeljohn fighter owns 13 stoppages (including
11 knockouts) in 15 career wins. He's won three "Fight of
the Night" bonuses in the process.
Miocic
also recently rebounded from his first career defeat, which came
via TKO to Stefan Struve. At UFC 161 earlier this year, the Ohio-based
Strong Style Fight Team fighter posted a pivotal decision victory
over notable Roy Nelson, which gave the 31-year-old Miocic a
boost in the rankings. Like Browne, Miocic has posted a high
finishing rate (eight stoppages in 10 career wins) while racking
up a pair of fight-night bonuses.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Vuyisile
Colossa Aims to Get Back on ONE FC Title Track by Knocking Out
Kotetsu Boku
by JamesGoyder
Sometimes
fighters who already excel in one discipline struggle to make
the transition to MMA because they are used to success coming
naturally and don’t want to subject themselves to the grinding,
grueling process of becoming a well-rounded mixed martial artist.
Vuyisile
Colossa is a Muay Thai world champion who has been in with some
of the biggest names in the sport. His stand-up credentials are
impeccable, but he has learned the hard way that, when it comes
to the cage, man cannot survive with striking alone.
The
South African’s 5-4 record might not be the most impressive,
but every single loss has been handed to him by one of the best
lightweights in Asia and not once has Colossa looked like he
was outclassed or out of his depth.
In
his third fight, he took on Eduard Folayang, who at the time
was 8-1 and the best pound-for-pound fighter in the Philippines,
and after getting outwrestled in the opening two rounds, Colossa
picked apart the URCC champion in the third round. Many in attendance
that night felt he had finished strongly enough to secure a draw,
but all three judges scored it 29-28 for the Filipino.
Then,
in his sixth fight, he took on Yui Chul Nam, whose 12-3-1 record
marked him as the best lightweight in Korea. Again, Colossa went
the distance, but lost on points. Two fights later he faced the
same opponent in a rematch and this time it was so close that
the South African was only on the wrong end of a split decision.
At
ONE FC: Return of Warriors in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year,
Colossa took on 3-0 Hawaiian state wrestling champion Lowen Tynanes.
Stylistically it was the worst possible match-up for him, but
he still put on a “fight of the night” performance
and came close to stopping his unbeaten opponent with strikes
before being submitted late in the third round.
The
good news for Colossa is that he has the biggest MMA fight of
his career booked for Sept. 13, as the co-main event at ONE FC:
Champions and Warriors. The bad news is that he will once again
be an underdog against vastly experienced fighter in the shape
of former lightweight champion Kotetsu Boku.
It’s
a make-or-break fight for Colossa, as he takes on the 20-8-2
Shooto veteran, but with risk comes reward and he is relishing
the opportunity to potentially turn his entire career around
in front of 15,000 fans in Jakarta.
“Since
the fight with Tynanes, I finally now understand what MMA is.
I learned a lot from the experience and it really pushed me to
be a greater fighter. It will be an honor to fight Boku and I
hope knocking him out will increase my chances of a title shot,”
he said.
Boku
has four times as many wins as Colossa and nine years more MMA
experience. On paper, it is arguably a mismatch, but “The
Cheetah” can take comfort from the knowledge that Zorobabel
Moreira was able to do severe damage to the Japanese fighter’s
left leg with low kicks in their ONE FC 155-pound title match.
Colossa
could be forgiven for thinking “if a BJJ black belt can
cause that sort of devastation to Boku with his striking, what
might a Muay Thai champion be able to do?” And he has certainly
studied footage of that fight.
“I
watched the fight and both fighters did a good job. I was surprised
with Zorobabel’s striking game and it was just unfortunate
that he took a big over right from Boku. As for our fight, we’ll
see how the training goes and will take it from there.”
That
title bout between Boku and Moreira was arguably the 2012 Asian
MMA Fight of the Year with the Japanese fighter showing real
tenacity to survive the early onslaught and then devastating
power to finish the fight with a brutal third-round flurry.
Boku
only has one submission win to his name. So, for once, Colossa
will be facing an opponent who feels more comfortable keeping
the fight standing and he thinks that could make for some fireworks.
“It’s
going to be a striking war and I think it will be fight of the
night because neither of us is afraid to stand and bang,”
he said.
Colossa
has been based in Hong Kong for five years and with Asia’s
biggest MMA promotion reportedly close to confirming a card there,
he is hoping to get a chance to fight for ONE FC in his adopted
homeland.
“It’s
not an easy market because people here are still learning about
MMA. I think Hong Kong needs a big show like ONE FC to come here,
and when it does, I definitely want to be on it. You can’t
leave ‘The Cheetah’ out on his playground.”
Before
Colossa can think about fighting in Hong Kong, he has urgent
business in Jakarta to attend to. A win over Boku would get him
back on track for a prospective future ONE FC title shot. He
says he is ready to tear up his striking roots in order to become
a truly well rounded mixed martial artist.
“I
am kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter by heart, but I am not taking
as many of those fights lately because of the MMA training. The
transition has begun.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Master
Francisco Sa, 77, passes away in Brazil
Ivan Trindade
Jiu-Jitsu
lost one of its Masters this past Tuesday in Brazil.
Francisco
Sá, 77, passed away due to a heart failure at home in
Fortaleza, Ceará.
The
red-belt was one of the most respected Professors in Brazil.
In
the last months, master Sá was battling a skin cancer.
His
son, black belt Francisco Sá (Sazinho), wrote about his
father on Facebook: “He was an example in everything he
did, and leaves a legacy of endless struggles with morals and
honor in martial arts and in particular our Jiu-Jitsu. Dad, thanks
for everything, I’m sorry for all the work that I gave to
you. Know that my brothers and I will honor your name and its
history until the last day of our lives. I do not say goodbye
but see you soon. God be with Dad and know that I mirrored myself
on you all my life! The pain and the missing is indescribable.”
Master
Sá is survived by three sons, black belts Francisco Sazinho,
Guybson Sá and purple-belt Róbson Sá.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Nik
Lentz on Conor McGregor: Beat A Few Guys Before You Start Sounding
Off
by Mike
Drahota
There’s
been a ton of people who’ve been quick to anoint Conor McGregor
the next big thing in the UFC at Featherweight, but No.8-ranked
Nik Lentz is definitely not one of them. Lentz recently met up
with Bloody Elbow for a candid interview, and he did not mince
words when clarifying his feeling about “The Notorious”:
“First
order of business is to slow your stroll, sonnyboy. Beat a few
guys before you start sounding off. You had the perfect venue,
a receptive crowd, and all the time in the world to prepare.
And what did you do? What did you prove? You landed every punch
you know how to throw and the guy didn't blink. “
“Same
with your dazzling arsenal of impact-free kicks. Then you went
to your so-called "wrestling skills" and did absolute
squat on the mat as well. Then you got HURT! So you have no punching
power, your kicks wouldn't stagger a baby flamingo, you can't
wrestle, and you're as fragile as an overdone egg. You blew your
knee out PLANTING YOUR LEG to KICK. And you think you can stand
up to the wear-and-tear of genuine, top-level competition? Please.”
Lentz
has a highly varying view from the sentiment of those who think
McGregor has one of the most dynamic skillsets at 145-pounds.
But it’s hard to deny Lentz’ claims, as McGregor did
unleash a varied torrent of strikes upon Max Holloway to little
fanfare at last month’s UFC Fight Night 26 from Boston.
McGregor also ended up on the disabled list with a major knee
injury that will sideline him until 2014, so it wasn’t exactly
a rousing U.S. debut for the UFC’s Irish-born prospect.
There’s
no doubting that McGregor has a front row seat on the UFC’s
hype train thanks to his ultra-marketable heritage and personality.
However, he’s called out virtually everyone in the stacked
division while turning in a rather pedestrian performance against
Holloway, at least compared to the hype he was carrying.
That
hype may have been impossible to live up to in some ways, but
a finish would have at least kept it rolling quite substantially.
Perhaps
McGregor should own a victory over a Top-10 opponent before he
anoints himself the next big thing in MMA. There’s nothing
wrong with being confident, just like there’s nothing wrong
with being pushed by the UFC. But when you fail to live up to
the massive hype, a letdown can be imminent. Unfortunately McGregor
was hurt so he’ll have to wait quite some time before being
able to prove his worthiness to hang with the Featherweight division’s
elite.
Lentz’ statements may be a bit overblown, but they may also
have some good weight behind them. As usual, the truth is usually
in between both sides of the tale, but we’ve seen highly
touted fighters rise and fall like the temperature in a desert.
Good examples of this are Brandon Vera and Brock Lesnar, whom
Dana White actually compared McGregor’s hype to.
McGregor
may come back and win the title to prove Lentz wrong, but he’ll
have to fight a top name and win in order to do so. Obviously
Lentz is targeting McGregor, so that could be a good place to
start. But that’s a long way off right now. Do you agree
with Lentz that McGregor is overrated, or is the hype still justified?
Source:
Low Kick MMA
|
Japanese
legend 'Minowaman' schedules 100th career fight for ROAD FC 013
Japanese
legend Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa (56-35-8) will fight
for the 100th time as a professional later this year.
Officials
from South Korea's ROAD FC organization today announced Minowa
will face an opponent yet to be named at ROAD FC 013, which takes
place Oct. 12 at J.H. Park Stadium in Gumi, South Korea.
Fighting
professionally since 1996, Minowa tasted victory in just two
of his first 14 pro contests. At 37 years old, the 5-foot-9 Minowa
has notably competed in more than 20 openweight matchups, routinely
taking on massive opponents who enjoyed incredible size advantages.
Most notably, Minowa was the shocking winner DREAM's 2009 Super
Hulk grand prix, where "Minowaman" claimed a tournament
title with wins over Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Hong Man Choi
and Bob Sapp.
Past
Minowa opponents also inclue Phil Baroni, Murilo Bustamante,
Paulo Filho, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Don Frye, Masakatsu
Funaki, Ryan Gracie, Kendall Grove, Satshi Ishii, Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson, Kimo Leopoldo, Chris Lytle, Semmy Schilt, Alexander
Shlemenko, Wanderlei Silva, Kazushi Sakuraba, Evan Tanner and
Gilbert Yvel, among others.
The
passionate support for Minowa in his home country evolved from
his willingness to fight any opponent and offer a game effort,
regardless of the result of the contest.
Among
his 56 career wins, Minowa boast 40 submission victories.
The
complete ROAD FC 013 lineup currently includes:
Lightweight champ Yui Chul Nam vs. Takasuke Kume
Andrews Nakahara vs. Jung Hwan Cha
Bae Young Kwon vs. Kosuke Umeda
Young Bok Gil vs. Mu Gyum Choi
Issei Tamura vs. Min Jung Song
Riki Fukuda vs. TBA
Ikuhisa Minowa vs. TBA
Yun Jun Lee vs. Makoto Kamaya
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Dana
White: Nick Diaz just isn't interested in fighting right now
By Shaun Al-Shatti
Fight
fans holding out hope of seeing Nick Diaz emerge from his self-imposed
retirement before the end of the calendar year appear to be setting
themselves up for disappointment.
"Nick's
obviously still on the roster," UFC President Dana White
said on Thursday's FOXSports Google Hangout. "He's still
an active fighter here in the UFC, but as far as I know, he's
just not interested in fighting right now."
Diaz
has competed just once thus far in 2013, losing a lopsided unanimous
decision to UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC
158. Though the matchmaking for the bout drew initial criticism,
St-Pierre vs. Diaz ultimately gathered the year's highest UFC
pay-per-view buyrate, easily besting the next two closest contenders,
UFC 159 and UFC 162, by a wide margin.
In
White's eyes, the significant payday Diaz received from the event
could be one of the main reasons Diaz remains on the sidelines.
"When
Nick finally fought Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz made some money.
So Nick Diaz has some kickback money," White said. "He
can probably take as long as he wants to fight again. I would
assume that's why (he's not fighting).
"You're
fighting to make a living, you're fighting to pay your bills,
you're fighting to get things that you want out of life. And
with the money that Nick Diaz made in his last fight, I'm sure
he's got everything he wants right now."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Alexander
Gustafsson Says Jon Jones Is A Little Brat In A Man's Body
by Rory
Kernaghan
Alexander
Gustafsson will have the chance to do what no man has done yet,
and that is to defeat the champion Jon Jones at UFC 165. If Gus
is successful at 165, he will likely be counted among the top
three fighters on the planet.
With
so much on the line, intensity must be brewing between the two
top ranked fighters at 205 , right? Well Jon Jones thinks that
it is a healthy and sportsman like rivalry, check out what he
had to say to Rick J.Lee:
"Me and Alexander have no problem with each other to be
honest with you. There's intensity between me and him that I
love; it's nice, it's refreshing to have, it's a motivational
field for us. But, no real problem with him, I actually respect
him, he's a cool kid. I've had beef with a lot of different opponents,
but, the way I find my motivation with fighting a guy like Gus
is, he wants what I have. I can't allow that to happen. The sponsors
that I've got aligned with myself, just the life that I'm trying
to build for my family's future; I can't allow someone to crush
that, so, I need to stay on the prowl."
Jones
is right about Gus wanting the title that he has but, according
to Gus via Kimura.se, there is plenty of bad blood on Gustafsson’s
part:
"He's
a little brat in an adult's body. A very immature boy in a grown
man's body. It is Jones. It's like you give a shit kid everything.
Why do you not speak up, you just say 'yes, yes,' everything
that a kid asks for. Since there are no limits, it is all haywire.
No, his behavior then ... No, I'm not a fan of it, if I may say
so."
Somebody
better tell Jones that Gus won’t be looking to bro hug in
the pre fight press conference, or things could get really awkward.
Like Urijah Faber on TUF awkward. Much has also been said about
Jones’ reach advantage, something that all of his former
foes were unable to overcome.
Gus seems to be staying focused on the overall picture, probably
a good move in the lead up to the biggest fight of his career
to date.
"I
am a professional and have great respect for Jones as a fighter.
There are not many who can do what he has done and he deserves
all the respect. But as a person, as a role model, I'm really
not a fan, I try not to have feelings when I go off, whether
good or bad. You should never fight with emotions, then you lose
focus and then you lose. I will win. There's nothing else for
me. I will not go match against Jones with the attitude of 'I'll
make a good match.' I will win, it's that simple."
I
have to say that I like Gus’ new trash talking ways, and
his attitude towards the title shot itself is probably as good
as anyone can expect. Jones is seeing this fight as business,
whereas Gus feels like he needs to teach the young champion a
lesson.
Who
will prevail in the battle at UFC 165? Gustafsson is winning
the war of words thus far.
Source:
Low Kick MMA
|
Promoters
bracing for higher taxes from the California State Athletic Commission
By Zach
Arnold
To
read all CSAC-related articles, dating back to May 2012, CLICK
HERE.
Amidst
the good news of UFC running Arco Arena for a Saturday, December
14th Fox network broadcast event, some interesting developments
are brewing for promoters in the Golden State.
The
tabloid stories about kid’s Pankration in California and
the lingering media scandal has set the stage for Assembly Bill
1186. AB 1186 would give the California State Athletic Commission
power in overseeing such fights. This has made parents involved
in kid’s Pankration extremely unhappy.
The
current state of financial affairs for CSAC is tenuous. The commission
currently has about $300,000 in the bank and is slotted for $1.2M
a year from the Governor’s Budget for the foreseeable future.
That means margins are extremely tight, given the volume of shows
in the State and how much geography there is to cover. One mistake
and the budget can blow up in a hurry.
With
financial constraints at the forefront, Sacramento politicians
at the Capitol are readying for a modification of the athletic
commission’s current tax structure & enforcement policies.
One look at the state House’s Sunset Bill, which would extend
CSAC’s future for two years, lays out what changes are coming.
Taxes
on live gates and on TV/PPV broadcast rights are on the table
for alteration. Enforcement of taxation on WWE shows, which has
always been on the books, is on the table. WWE is a walking target
for Sacramento politicians looking for a cash gusher for the
athletic commission.
The
back story on what is going to happen in the near future and
what is going to happen in the next couple of years is complicated
but needs to be told.
Sunset
Bill changes
Currently
in the state Assembly, SB 309 (read full text of bill here) brings
some new changes to the athletic commission’s business affairs.
For example, there is no longer any sort of requirement for the
athletic commission to give lawmakers a report on comments from
stakeholders at various commission meetings regarding new laws
or changes in business practices.
The
issue of licensing transgender fighters is also about to get
resolved in this manner:
Under
existing law, only a natural person may be licensed as a boxer
and martial arts fighter. This bill would eliminate that natural
person limitation on who may be licensed as a boxer and martial
arts fighter.
The
Sunset Bill also deals with the neurological & boxer pension
slush funds. These bank accounts are growing in size because
promoters have to pay a tax on ticket sales for each show they
run. The money goes into these accounts. Way more cash is being
collected into these accounts than money being distributed from
them to beneficiaries.
SB
309 also creates a new licensing hurdle in which anyone who is
training a fighter must pay $200 or else disciplinary action
will be launched. How the state will actually enforce this provision,
your guess is as good as mine. Here’s the text:
The
bill would prohibit a person from training a professional boxer
or kickboxer or martial arts athlete unless he or she has been
licensed by the commission. The bill would make the application
and renewal fee for a licensed professional trainer $200.
While
all of the changes proposed will have an impact on business affairs,
the biggest change to come will have the most impact on just
how many fights happen in the state in future years. That change
is in regards to the cap on the state’s television/PPV tax
that promoters have to pay in order to run a live event in California.
Changes
in live gate & television taxes
As
stated in SB 309:
The
bill would require the commission to report to the Legislature
on the fiscal impact of that $100,000 limitation during its next
sunset review. The bill would increase the limit on the 5% fee
for the sale, lease, or other exploitation of broadcasting or
television rights to $35,000.
Let’s
address the live gate tax situation first, since that is less
difficult to discuss. Right now, there is a $100,000 cap on live
gates with a 5% tax as the benchmark. This means that the exposure
of the live gate tax is for any gate up to $2 million dollars.
Anything over $2 million dollars would not be taxed.
What
the politicians in Sacramento are quickly going to discover is
that modifying the live gate tax isn’t going to really change
the financial affairs of the state athletic commission. Why?
The state simply isn’t attracting fight events that draw
$2 million gates. Therefore, the only way you could rake more
money in from the live gate is if you raise the 5% tax rate.
In
the grand scheme of business affairs, the live gate tax is not
where the money is. The money is with the television tax. And
this is where the promoters who run events in California are
getting nervous.
The
TV tax rate is currently 5% and the cap is $25,000. SB 309 raises
the cap to $35,000. This means the capture zone for TV show revenue
goes up from a $500,000 limit to a $700,000 limit.
According
to several industry sources, there was a significant fight between
Sacramento, the commission, and the promoters over the changes
in the TV tax cap. The politicians were interested in raising
the cap to $50,000 per show, which would have raised the capture
zone to $1 million. Major promoters like UFC allegedly agreed
to a cap raise of $35,000 but no more. If the cap gets higher
or the 5% tax rate is bumped up further, promoters are signaling
that they are ready to take their business elsewhere.
For
boxing & MMA promoters, the TV tax fee is basically a sunk
cost. For HBO, Showtime, ESPN, and PPV events, promoters are
cutting checks ahead of time to the commission to pay the TV
tax. It’s the easiest money a commission can ever make.
In
California, many of the televised events bringing TV tax revenue
to the commission are hosted on tribal land. Those shows are
site fee/sold show deals for promoters. Boxing promoters rarely
are interested in “four wall deals” where the live
gate revenue is a variable rather than a fixed number. Promoters
want their live gate revenue to cover the costs for booking the
undercard fights. Promoters would rather obtain a sold show deal
and have a third party take on the financial risk of making money
from the live gate (like a casino or a rich person who is a fight
fan).
The
TV money is where it’s at for the promoters. For the tribes,
boxing events are a tool for increasing cash flow from gambling
activity. MMA events don’t carry the punch that boxing events
carry when it comes to increasing casino revenue. The tribes
are willing to give promoters good deals and the networks paying
the promoters television money for events are happy with the
shows.
A
perfect example of this in action is the deal Golden Boy has
with Fantasy Springs in Indio, California. They ran a show there
on Saturday night with Chris Arreola vs. Seth Mitchell. The tribal
shows such as events at Chumash in Santa Ynez, Morongo in Cabazon,
Pechanga in Temecula, Fantasy Springs, Agua Caliente in Rancho
Mirage, and San Manuel Casino are the easiest sources of revenue
for the state athletic commission. $4,500 for a minimum fee plus
5% TV tax.
The
impact of California taxation
What
makes the situation in California so precarious is the current
system of city & state taxation. California has tremendous
fight fans, a big population base, and a lot of available venues.
Unfortunately, taxation has crippled many opportunities for major
events to be hosted in the state.
Most
fighters don’t want to fight in California because of the
high state income tax. Most promoters will still consider running
shows in California if they don’t have to deal with city
taxes. And that’s where the problems begin. Staples Center
should be hosting major fights all the time. Unfortunately, promoters
don’t want to run the venue due to tax issues. In Los Angeles,
there is a 5% special events/gross receipts tax. Put CSAC’s
5% TV & gate tax on top of that along with federal taxes
and you have a mess on your hands. A perfect example of this
was back in 2000 when Bob Arum booked Staples Center for a fight
between Oscar De La Hoya & Shane Mosley. The live gate was
$8 million dollars. The 5% CSAC live gate tax translated to $400,000.
Los Angeles wanted their own check of $400,000. Arum painstakingly
negotiated the city tax down from 5% to 3%, which meant he still
paid $240,000. He didn’t want to pay the tax at all and
thought he could convince politicians to help him out. Not so
much. The city/state taxation problems created an environment
where Arum struggled to convince anyone into doing a site fee/sold
show deal.
Because
of the situation in Los Angeles with taxation, many fights are
now being hosted at the Home Depot/Stub Hub Center in Carson,
California. It’s an 8,000-seat venue. It’s not the
kind of venue that’s going to get you a $2M gate. However,
the television money is still good — and that’s the
gusher the Sacramento politicians are desperately trying to tap
into.
California
versus other states
The
politicians in Sacramento would like to jack up taxation rates
for fight shows to levels you see in other states like Nevada.
They would like to raise the TV tax cap up to $50,000. What the
pols don’t get or don’t want to comprehend is that
promoters aren’t sweating the $50,000 TV tax check in a
place like Nevada or New Jersey because the casino is the one
paying the bill. The casino is the one paying the site fee for
shows, so Nevada can get away with an uncapped 6% live event
gate tax and get away with a $50,000 cap.
What
isn’t discussed when it comes to Nevada’s TV tax cap
is that it’s on a generous sliding scale — and it takes
up to $3 million dollars in TV money before you hit the $50,000
cap. If California kept the 5% tax rate but lifted the cap, they’d
hit the $50,000 cap if TV money reached $1M. Now you can see
why the politicians are so interested in future changes to the
CSAC TV tax.
Time
to compare and contrast various states & their taxation levels:
California
– $1,250 minimum fee to run a show plus 5% live gate tax,
capped at $100k (capture zone up to $2M). $4,500 for fee to manage
a show on tribal land. 5% TV tax, minimum fee $1,000 and capped
at $35,000 (capture zone up to $700,000).
Nevada
– $4,000 minimum fee to run a show w/ officials. Throw in
$1,000-$2,000 for drug testing. 6% live gate tax (paid &
comped tickets), no cap. 3% TV tax for first $1M exposed, 1%
of next 2M, capped at $50k (capture zone up to $3M).
Texas
– 3% live gate tax, no cap. 3% TV tax, capped at $30k (capture
zone up to $1M).
Florida
– $1,800 minimum fee to run a show and 5% tax on total gross
receipts INCLUDING concessions. 5% TV tax, capped at $40k (capture
zone up to $800,000).
New
Jersey – sliding scale w/ top end as 6% for any gate over
$200,000. Capped at $100k for fees (exposure up to $1.6M). TV
Tax is sliding scale. 5% of up to $50k, 3% for next $100k, 2%
next $100k, and then 1% for anything over $250,000.
Examples
of taxation at work
With
California raising the capture zone from $500,000 to $700,000
on collecting the TV tax, let’s do a simple apples-to-apples
comparison. The impact of raising the capture zone on the TV
tax will hit about 10 shows on California’s calendar. The
hope is that as long as the schedule activity remains static
that the revenue raised from the capture zone increase will be
somewhere near 6-figures in revenue. However, that net increase
could easily get neutralized if a few of the scheduled shows
go away.
The
impact of the capture zone increase hits the upper B-level events
the most. For a show with a $500,000 TV check, the breakdown
goes like this:
California
& Florida – $25,000
Nevada & Texas – $15,000
New Jersey – $10,000
What about a show that has a $700,000 TV check?
California
& Florida – $35,000
Nevada & Texas – $21,000
New Jersey – $12,000
The gamble by the Sacramento power brokers is that the $35,000
cap is the bend-but-don’t-break point for promoters. The
one advantage that the cesspool of an athletic commission in
Florida has over California is no state income tax.
Where
this is all heading
With
the politicians at the Capitol interested in tinkering with live
gate & TV tax rates, they have to be careful not to burn
the boxing & MMA promoters too much. Sacramento is looking
for gushers of cash right now. There aren’t many left to
touch… except for WWE.
The
excuse in the past for not sending athletic inspectors to WWE
shows was that it was too much of a hassle to send an inspector,
pay for a couple of hours of travel & wages, and have them
collect a check from the arena box office for a wrestling show.
For a revenue-hungry state, California’s intentional hands-off
approach of WWE has cost them a lot of money — and there
are those at the Capitol who are reconsidering this approach.
If the commission spends a couple of hundred bucks sending an
athletic inspector to go to a show like Summerslam in order to
collect a $35,000 TV tax check & $100,000 live gate check,
it would fill the commission’s coffers in a hurry.
In
the past, the politicians haven’t had the stomach to go
after WWE money. However, the laws have always been on the books
and the commission needs a cash infusion. WWE is the fat, easy
target. Raising the TV tax capture zone level is one thing, as
the returns will be limited at best the way it is currently structured.
The real money is going after all the WWE shows in California
each year (RAWs, Smackdowns, PPVs). It’s a much easier way
of getting a cash infusion.
Sacramento
can direct the commission can go after the easy cash (WWE) or
they can continue to fiddle around with the tax rates and chase
boxing & MMA promoters away from the state. California can’t
get the major A-level fights and the TV tax changes will be less
enticing for promoters to bring the upper B-level events. Promoters
like UFC will always run California because the TV tax is a little
nuisance and not a significant impact on their bottom line. It’s
everyone else who runs a voluminous schedule in the state that
is more concerned about what’s coming down the pike.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Heading
into Bellator 99, Vladimir Matyushenko Doesn’t See the End,
He Sees the Future
by Mick
Hammond
Motivation to continue fighting following back-to-back losses
for the first time in his 16-year career is not difficult for
former UFC light heavyweight title contender Vladimir “The
Janitor” Matyushenko to find.
It’s
those very losses that drive him to continue competing.
“That’s
the reason I’m still fighting; I want to turn things around,”
he said. “I don’t want to finish my career losing two
fights. I just want to show the fans and my team that I’m
capable of kicking some butt.”
Matyushenko
doesn’t think a major overhaul is needed to keep going,
but just little fixes here and there can remedy the situation.
“The
last couple of fights they were honest mistakes, technical mistakes,
but a fight is a fight and they go fast, so what are you going
to do?” he commented. “I’m just going to work
more and learn more and train myself so things become automatic.
I know a lot of things, but sometimes it’s too late and
reactions are too slow.”
Matyushenko
(26-7) looks to pick up his first win in nearly two years when
he makes his Bellator debut on Friday in Temecula, Calif., against
fellow UFC veteran Houston Alexander (15-9).
“I
think he’s an impressive fighter. He’s a very good
opponent who has some knockouts on his record, but he’s
been knocked out too, so he’s vulnerable there,” said
Matyushenko of Alexander. “I’m not afraid to stand
up, that’s for sure, but I’ll try to utilize my wrestling
as much for sure, too.”
Despite
all he’s accomplished in his career, Matyushenko doesn’t
feel like the time to retire is at hand just yet.
He
told MMAWeekly.com that he wants to right the ship on Friday
night and after that keep going for as long as he can because
retired life doesn’t suit him well.
“For
this fight, number one, I want to win, because after those losses
I can’t sleep right. So if I win that’s a cure for
the sickness,” said Matyushenko. “Also, I’m a
student of the game, I’m still learning a lot and it’s
becoming such a big sport, it’s great to be part of it.
“I’m
not ready to give in yet. I tried a couple times, but I get too
bored and I start training again. It’s something I’ve
been doing so long; it’s a part of me, I guess.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Mark
Munoz Parts Ways with Jason Miller, Hopes He Can Find His Way
Out of Recent Turmoil
by Ryan
McKinnell
Former
UFC middleweight Jason Miller and current UFC contender Mark
Munoz were once the closest of friends and training partners.
At one time, they even went as far as to call each other brothers.
The two trained side by side at Reign, Munoz’s gym in Lake
Forrest, Calif., as they battled their way up the MMA ladder
as UFC employees.
Over
the last few weeks, Miller, who goes by the moniker “Mayhem,”
has found himself behind bars on more than one occasion –
three to be exact. The charges seem to stem from a relationship
with a female friend that has rapidly turned sour and cost Mayhem
a good portion of his time, money, and perhaps his sanity as
well.
Over
this time, the once solid relationship between Munoz and Miller
became strained. Munoz had a gym to look after, and Miller’s
behavior and subsequent run-ins with the law became too much
to bear. So Munoz asked Miller to leave Reign.
As
Miller’s journey began to take an ugly turn of late night
Twitter sessions and erratic behavior, he lashed out on social
media to confront Munoz.
“You
are such a *******@markmunoz how do you expect to do anything
with your life other than be your wife’s gimp?” he
tweeted.
Miller
then went on to rant about Munoz’s relationship with the
UFC, and had a few other choice words for him, none of which
were particularly complimentary.
In
a recent interview, Miller also went as far to question Munoz’s
Christian faith and his loyalty.
“You
know, I would have done anything for him at one point. But I
live by a code,” said Miller. “A code of loyalty, honor,
and respect, and when I say I’m someone’s brother I
mean it. I’m your brother.”
MMAWeekly.com
spoke with Munoz just hours after Miller’s latest arrest
earlier this week. And although Munoz is visibly uncomfortable
talking about the troubled fighter, he makes it clear that he
tried to remedy.
“It
is personal,” Munoz said when asked about their tenuous
relationship. “But I will share this: I tried to help.
“Unfortunately,
I do own a business. If I didn’t own business… there
were decisions that needed to be made to keep the integrity of
my business and those were some of the things he referenced in
those tweets – that, and that I always said I was going
to be there for him. So things went south from him there, and
I tried, I really tried. There’s definitely consequences
for your actions, and that’s something he needs to know.
“It
doesn’t negate the fact that I care about him. I care about
him. I really do,” he said as he looked on with somber eyes.
“But
I do have people to protect. I have people and a business I need
to provide for, and there are decisions that had to be made.
I wish that it was different, but it’s not. I hope the best
for him, but at the same time he’s been in trouble with
the law on a number of occasions and it’s a direct reflection
of the behaviors he’s been doing.
“I
always say, ‘You reap what you sow.’ If you sow bad
deeds, you’re gonna reap bad things; it’s not complicated.
I truly hope he turns a corner, or changes something, because
he’s been referencing verses in the bible a lot. Hopefully
he really does something and has a change of heart about some
of the things he’s been deciding to do. I pray for him,
I think about him a lot, and I truly hope the best for him.”
It’s
obvious that Munoz still cares about Jason Miller. You can see
it in his eyes, and you can hear it when he talks. After all,
at one point, Miller was willing to sacrifice his career and
financial future to help his former training partner and brother.
According
to Munoz, as he was preparing for his fight with Demian Maia
in June 2011 at UFC 131, Mayhem was being recruited for a stint
on The Ultimate Fighter 14, coaching opposite the brash Brit
Michael Bisping. Word came down from the UFC that Miller needed
to begin filming at a certain time, but Miller refused. Instead
he explained to the UFC that he would need more time to help
train Munoz for his upcoming fight – a fight that, at the
time, was the biggest of Munoz’s still-blossoming career.
“The
fact of the matter is, I truly care about him. You know, he gave
back to me when we were training here,” recalled Munoz.
“There
was a time when he was on The Ultimate Fighter and I was training
for Demian Maia at the time. Well, he told the UFC, ‘I need
to be here for Mark’s training camp.’ I’m like,
‘No! You go ahead and take this opportunity, because this
opportunity is there for you, you do it. If not, they may get
a different coach.’
“And
he told the UFC, ‘No, I want to be here for two more weeks
until Mark’s fight.’ And he did. And yet, he was still
able to coach The Ultimate Fighter, but there was a chance someone
else would get to be a coach. So there’s things he did…
he was a great training partner to me. He showed me a lot of
things. And I was able to reciprocate that and show him a lot
of things. And I considered him a true friend, and I still care
about him.”
But
as much as Munoz cares about Miller, he’s not really sure
what can be done to help him out of his recent tailspin.
“You
can lead a guy to water, (but) you can’t force him to drink,”
said Munoz.
“We
just got to present to him what’s right, and if he takes
it, he takes it. I tried. We tried — this whole gym tried.
And this whole gym cares about him because he was a big part
of this gym.
“He
knows what to do. He’s not a dumb guy. He’s very smart.
He’s very bright. I just hope he makes decisions that actually
improve his future.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
Fight Night 33 Gets Light Heavyweights Mauricio ‘Shogun’
Rua, James Te Huna
By Mike
Whitman
Light
heavyweights Mauricio Rua and James Te Huna will co-headline
the UFC’s next trip Down Under.
UFC
officials announced Wednesday that “Shogun” and Te
Huna are slated to collide at UFC Fight Night 33, which takes
place Dec. 7 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane,
Australia. The event is headlined by a heavyweight showdown between
New Zealander Mark Hunt and former UFC title challenger Antonio
Silva.
Rua,
31, has struggled to find consistency of late, stumbling in three
of his last four fights, albeit against top competition. The
former light heavyweight champion last competed on Aug. 17, when
he was submitted by Chael Sonnen in the main event of UFC Fight
Night 26. A veteran of 29 pro outings, “Shogun” owns
18 of his 21 wins by form of knockout and has gone the distance
just five times in nearly 11 years as a pro.
Also
known for his knockout power, Te Huna has finished 10 of his
16 victims with strikes. The 31-year-old joined the UFC in 2009
and has thus far posted a promotional record of 6-2, though he
saw a four-fight winning streak snapped when he was submitted
by Glover Teixeira in his most recent outing this past May. Te
Huna has never been knocked out in 24 career outings and owns
notable wins over Ryan Jimmo, Joey Beltran and Igor Pokrajac.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Juanito
Ibarra goes to court to order Rampage Jackson’s cooperation
in deposition
By Zach
Arnold
Remember
the defamation lawsuit John “Juanito” Ibarra filed
against Tito Ortiz (and many others) in June of 2009? Rampage
Jackson apparently remembers and, according to court documents
filed last month, allegedly isn’t being very cooperative
in the discovery & deposition process.
The
lawsuit (BC415273), filed in Superior Court of Los Angeles County,
has a show cause hearing next week. On Halloween, there is a
drop date dead for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to produce
documents asked for by Ibarra’s attorney, Sam Smith, and
also to give a deposition that supposedly has been put off for
several months after multiple requests. In other words, the motion
to compel & sanctions filing. The irony, of course, is that
Rampage and Tito are fighting each other in Bellator, were friends
but are now enemies in TNA, and are co-defendants in Juanito
Ibarra’s lawsuit. A small world.
On
June 5th, 2009, Ibarra filed the instant lawsuit against Defendant
Ortiz and his company Punishment Athletic Enterprises (“PAE”)
and numerous media outlets alleging, inter alia, causes of action
for defamation, invasion of privacy (false light), intentional
infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of
emotional distress.
While
the lawsuit is filed against Ortiz, Rampage Jackson is a key
defendant. The lawsuit lists a ton of defendants (here are a
few for example): Yahoo Inc, The Hearst Corporation, Punishment
Athletics, Punch Drunk Gamer, Kris Karkoski, Houston Chronicle,
Sam Caplan (Bellator matchmaker), Cage Potato, Break Media, Bloody
Elbow, and Ballhype.
On
July 20, 2010, media defendant Punch Drunk Gamer objected to
discovery moving forward pending resolution of its appeal. The
Court again stayed all discovery in the case. Since that stay,
discovery in this litigation has been repeatedly stayed as a
result of anti-SLAPP motions and pending appeals. On May 1, 2013,
the Court of Appeal issued its remittur in the most recent appeal,
at which time discovery could continue.
If
no settlement is reached, a tentative jury trial date would be
next Spring/Summer. We’re probably looking at another 8-10
months at least in waiting time, probably 14-16 months more likely.
Filing
notes
From
the Points and Authorities:
This
is a straightforward motion to compel Defendant Quinton Ramone
Jackson (“Jackson”), the original publisher of libelous
statements made of and concerning Plaintiff JOHN IBARRA (“Plaintiff”),
to sit for his duly noticed deposition. Although Defendant Jackson
continues to make time to speak to media outlets to make defamatory
remarks about Plaintiff, Mr. Jackson refuses to make time to
attend his deposition.
Mr.
Jackson has failed and refused, and continues to fail and refuse,
to provide a single date that Mr. Jackson and his counsel are
willing to appear. After making false and defamatory comments
about Plaintiff, Defendant Jackson should be eager to testify
about the purported true facts supporting disparaging statements
about Plaintiff.
Next,
the requests for documents & deposition:
On
May 23, 2013, Plaintiff served Defendant Jackson with a deposition
notice and document requests.
On
June 7, 2013, Defendant served boilerplate and deficient responses
to Plaintiff’s Notice.
On
June 10, 2013, Samuel J. Smith (“Smith”), Plaintiff’s
counsel, sent an email to counsel for Defendant Jackson, seeking
to obtain alternative dates for Defendants Jackson to sit for
his duly noticed deposition. Therein, Mr. Smith explained that
Mr. Jackson failed and refused to appear for deposition in response
to a properly served deposition notice. Mr. Smith informed counsel
for Jackson that in order to avoid filing of a motion to compel
seeking appropriate sanctions, he needed to receive dates of
availability for counsel and Mr. Jackson to appear for deposition.
Mr. Smith also noted that Mr. Jackson’s solitary objection
to the entirety of the request for production of documents was
improper.
Mr.
Smith received no response to his June 10, 2013, effort to meet
and confer with Mr. Jackson’s counsel.
On
August 1, 2013, Mr. Smith renewed his efforts to meet and confer
with Mr. Jackson’s counsel, via email. Mr. Smith again explained
that he wished to avoid a motion to compel and needed alternative
dates from Mr. Jackson’s counsel.
On
August 2, 2013, Defendant’s counsel explained that he had
relayed the need for alternative dates to this client, but had
not received a response.
On
August 5, 2013, Mr. Smith again sought dates from Defendant and
his counsel, but Defendant’s counsel was apparently unable
to provide such dates, instead offering to “work out”
an extension. Mr. Smith’s subsequent email and telephone
call to work out such an arrangement went unreturned by Defendant’s
counsel.
Whether
Mr. Jackson’s refusal to make himself available for his
deposition is the result of gamesmanship or a failure to take
the legal process seriously, the Court should not countenance
his ongoing conduct.
Conclusion:
Plaintiff’s
request is simple: he should be permitted to take the depositions
of the original speaker of false and defamatory allegations at
the core of this litigation. Despite all efforts to avoid bringing
a matter as trivial as scheduling before the Court, Plaintiff
has been left with no other option. This Court should not permit
a party to refuse to appear for deposition and subsequently refuse
to agree to appear at a mutually-convenient time. The court should
order Defendant Jackson to produce all documents responsive to
Plaintiff’s requests accompanying the notice and to appear
for deposition within ten (10) days of the order.
With
Halloween as the drop dead date for Jackson to cooperate with
Ibarra’s side on document production & deposition, the
clock is ticking. Once the depositions start, that is when the
real fun begins. Quinton doesn’t strike me as someone who
I would be very comfortable with getting grilled hour after hour
in a law office as a lawyer is setting him up for a line of questioning
with documentation to fall into a trap of his own making. Just
an opinion.
Rampage
apparently has no trouble flying to wherever TNA and Bellator
wants him to go. I don’t think a judge will look very favorably
at him not cooperating with a deposition request.
Since
the filing last month, nothing has allegedly changed in terms
of response from Rampage’s side.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Dana
White: Nick Diaz just isn't interested in fighting right now
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
Fight
fans holding out hope of seeing Nick Diaz emerge from his self-imposed
retirement before the end of the calendar year appear to be setting
themselves up for disappointment.
"Nick's
obviously still on the roster," UFC President Dana White
said on Thursday's FOXSports Google Hangout. "He's still
an active fighter here in the UFC, but as far as I know, he's
just not interested in fighting right now."
Diaz
has competed just once thus far in 2013, losing a lopsided unanimous
decision to UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC
158. Though the matchmaking for the bout drew initial criticism,
St-Pierre vs. Diaz ultimately gathered the year's highest UFC
pay-per-view buyrate, easily besting the next two closest contenders,
UFC 159 and UFC 162, by a wide margin.
In
White's eyes, the significant payday Diaz received from the event
could be one of the main reasons Diaz remains on the sidelines.
"When
Nick finally fought Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz made some money.
So Nick Diaz has some kickback money," White said. "He
can probably take as long as he wants to fight again. I would
assume that's why (he's not fighting).
"You're
fighting to make a living, you're fighting to pay your bills,
you're fighting to get things that you want out of life. And
with the money that Nick Diaz made in his last fight, I'm sure
he's got everything he wants right now."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Who
is the Real UFC Bantamweight Champion: Dominick Cruz or Renan
Barao?
by Jeff
Cain
Who
is the real UFC bantamweight champion?
That
question is getting harder to answer with official titleholder
Dominick Cruz on the sidelines for nearly two years due to consecutive
knee surgeries, while interim champion Renan Barao defends his
title for the second time at UFC 165 on Sept. 21.
Cruz
(19-1) won the 135-pound world title in March 2010 by defeating
then-champion Brian Bowles. He defended the belt four times
with wins over Joseph Benavidez, Scott Jorgensen, Urijah Faber
and Demetrious Johnson.
After
coaching The Ultimate Fighter: Live opposite his rival, Faber,
the two were scheduled to face off for a third time at UFC 148.
Faber handed Cruz his one and only loss in 2007, but the fight
took place in the featherweight division. Cruz is undefeated
as a bantamweight. While preparing for the rubber match, Cruz
suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
When
the first surgery to repair the damage failed, Cruz then had
to undergo a second procedure, prolonging his return. Cruz last
fought on Oct. 1, 2011.
Former
UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes coined the phrase that
you’re not really a champion until you defend the belt.
Barao
(30-1, 1 No Contest) hasn’t lost since his professional
debut on April 14, 2005. The Brazilian is essentially on a 30-fight
winning streak. He won the interim bantamweight title by defeating
Urijah Faber at UFC 149 by unanimous decision. He defended the
title on Feb. 16 by submitting Michael McDonald in the fourth
round.
Barao
puts his interim title on the line for the second time at UFC
165 against Eddie Wineland. And if you ask him who is the real
UFC bantamweight champion, it’s not Dominick Cruz.
“Seriously,
Dominick has been out for a while. It’s going to be two
years now,” said Barao during a media conference call on
Tuesday. “I mean no disrespect to him, but from the moment
I won this belt, and I have defended it once, I’ve considered
myself the champion, for sure.”
Cruz
is expected to make his extra-long-awaited return at the beginning
of 2014.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Mark
Hunt on fighting American Top Team cohort “Bigfoot”
Silva: It’s a job
Sometimes,
you have to do a job that you don’t typically want to do.
But you do it because, well, it’s best for you.
That’s
basically what’s going on with Mark Hunt and his upcoming
“UFC: Brisbane” main event against Antonio “Bigfoot”
Silva. He may not have wanted to fight Silva before, but Hunt
was presented the opportunity to fight him and reluctantly accepted
the bout against his American Top Team colleague.
“It’s
just one of those things – it’s an opportunity,”
Hunt said during a press conference to promote the UFC card.
“He’s a top-four fighter [and] I don’t think I’m
in the top 10 at all. It’s a good opportunity for me …
This is a sport and we both want to be the best fighters on the
planet and it’s just another step forward for me. It’s
one of those things, it’s a job. To be the best fighter
you have to sometimes fight people.
“It
is what it is.”
The
two have shared an affiliation with the Florida-based MMA gym
for quite some time now, and affiliates from said gym rarely
fight each other. Hunt admitted that he said in previous interviews
the he refused to fight “Bigfoot” unless it was for
a title.
But
it’s part of the job, Hunt said, and beating Silva is something
that has to take place. At the end of the night, it won’t
matter where the win puts Hunt – just as long as he’s
not still ranked outside the top 10.
“For
me, it doesn’t matter where it places me,” he said.
“If ‘Bigfoot’s’ No. 4 and I beat him, just
put me somewhere above him.”
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
165
Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Saturday, September 21, 2013
TV: Fox Sports 2/Fox Sports 1/PPV
Heavyweights:
Nandor Guelmino vs. Daniel Omielanczuk
Bantamweights: Roland Delorme vs. Alex Caceres
Welterweights: Michel Prazeres vs. Mark Bocek
Lightweights: John Makdessi vs. Renee Forte
Bantamweights: Mitch Gagnon vs. Dustin Kimura
Welterweights: Chris Clements vs. Stephen Thompson
Bantamweights: Ivan Menjivar vs. Norifumi Kid Yamamoto
Lightweights: Mike Ricci vs. Myles Jury
Lightweights: Pat Healy vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Middleweights: Costa Philippou vs. Francis Carmont
Heavyweights: Brendan Schaub vs. Matt Mitrione
Bantamweights: Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland
UFC Light Heavyweight title match: Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Dana
White on GSP-Hendricks drug testing dispute: 'It makes them both
look stupid'
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
Georges
St-Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks is, by all accounts, one of the
biggest fights of 2013. Yet a few months out from UFC 167's main
event, most of the discussion has revolved around St-Pierre and
Hendricks' disastrous attempt to enlist the Voluntary Anti-Doping
Association (VADA) for extensive out-of-competition drug testing.
In
the opinion of UFC President Dana White, St-Pierre's efforts
have thus far been a waste of time.
"I
think it makes them both look stupid. These guys are going to
get tested by the athletic commission," White said on Thursday's
FOXSports Google Hangout.
"This
is something that Georges St-Pierre wants to prove to everybody,
because for years people have been saying (he's on PEDs). When
he fought B.J. (Penn), B.J. talked smack about him. Other people
have talked stuff. The kid, not only is he another guy that's
been with us since day one, he's never tested positive for anything
even remotely close to anything bad. He's never tested positive
for anything. He's always been a straight shooter and always
professional, yet people keep talking smack about him. I just
think it's crazy for him to even do this."
St-Pierre
first proposed additional VADA testing in early July, then told
MMAFighting.com in August that he planned to pay for any auxiliary
costs out of his own pocket.
"I'm
ready to pay [for our testing] myself, because I'm the champion,"
St-Pierre said at the time. "All from my purse, I paid for
the tests because I'm the champion. That's why I'm ready, I'm
ready to do it. That's a point I want to make.
"I
want to prove also that it's possible to be champion without
using drugs, and I know VADA is the most professional, it is
the best for that."
Hendricks
initially accepted the testing, however he later recanted, citing
concerns with VADA's impartiality.
St-Pierre
is featured expansively on VADA's website, and for Hendricks,
the risk of putting his long-awaited UFC title shot in the hands
of a third-party with obvious ties to St-Pierre was too suspicious.
"I
don't know GSP and for him to say, ‘Yeah, let's go take
the test over here and nowhere else that I suggested or that
even the UFC suggested,' that's a little suspect to me,"
Hendricks recently said on The MMA Hour. "My career is held
in his hands and here he has a foot in the door with the VADA
group."
Hendricks'
hesitance coupled with St-Pierre's staunchness and the ensuing
exposé conducted by SB Nation's Brent Brookhouse and Matt
Roth have now created a backdrop of suspicion behind the bout.
It's one that White believes could've been avoided if St-Pierre
hadn't extended his reach beyond that of the standard system.
"I
just think it makes everything cloudy, man," White said.
"There's a system in place by the government for combat
sports, and it's just a pain in the ass for them.
"They
can do whatever they want. They want to do it, they don't want
to do it, I could care less."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
The
Philadelphia Experiment
By Doug
McKay
Philadelphia
can have an interesting effect on a man. Just ask Waylon Lowe.
Lowe
will put his four-fight winning streak on the line when he meets
Georgi Karakhanyan in a featherweight showcase at World Series
of Fighting 5 on Saturday at the Revel Resort and Casino in Atlantic
City, N.J. The main draw airs live on NBC Sports at 9 p.m. ET/6
p.m. PT, while the prelims stream for free on Sherdog.com at
6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
A
decorated amateur wrestler, Lowe won three NCAA championships
at the Div. II level. However, his transition to mixed martial
arts was anything but seamless.
“Early
in my career, I hated striking,” he said. “I didn’t
know anything about it, so I’d get pummeled, which probably
had something to do with why [I hated it].”
In
early 2010, Lowe left his small hometown in Jefferson City, Tenn.,
for boxing-centric Philadelphia, the land of Sonny Liston, Bernard
Hopkins, Joe Frazier and Meldrick Taylor. Not coincidentally,
his career in MMA took a turn for the better.
“I
moved to Philly and saw there’s such a rich history in boxing,”
Lowe said. “I started reading the books and studying the
history. I’d never been exposed to that, so I started learning
it, and I loved it.”
Thus
began his transformation from a collegiate wrestling champion
who despised striking to a mixed martial artist who has knocked
out his last four opponents. It was quite leap for someone who
had never boxed a day in his life.
“I
grew up in rural Appalachia,” Lowe said. “I didn’t
have boxing available to me.”
During
his formative years, Lowe was an “extremely hyper”
child who got kicked out of fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth
grades before his mother moved him to a school that had a wrestling
program.
“Right
away, I started getting good grades and getting disciplined,
and wresting just took over my life,” he said. “It
was the work ethic and the focus. I owe everything to wrestling.”
The
commitment led Lowe to a state wrestling championship in high
school before he moved on to the University of Findlay in Ohio.
He was exposed to MMA after meeting 2000 Olympic silver medalist
Matt Lindland at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. Lindland
invited him to workout at Team Quest, and Lowe later served as
a wrestling coach for former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight
titleholder Rich Franklin in Cincinnati.
However,
the discovery of his love for boxing turned around his MMA career.
Lowe has even made an effort to engage in some professional boxing
matches, though the crossover has proven to be a challenge.
“Everybody
knows everybody in Philly,” Lowe said. “I’ve gotten
on four different cards, and I’ve had my opponents drop
out all four times. At first, I think people feel, ‘Oh,
I’ll kill an MMA guy,’ but then people hear gym stories.
They hear I can really box.”
As
he approaches his second World Series of Fighting appearance,
Lowe wants to maintain the momentum he has gathered during his
current tear. Karakhanyan has a streak of his own working, having
rattled off seven wins in a row.
“He’s
a tough guy,” Lowe said, “and he fights hard.”
Lowe
takes steps to limit outside distractions, keeping his life centered
on fighting and family. However, there is more than a little
blurring of the lines. His wife, Jamie Lowe, made her professional
MMA debut in February, when she stopped Sumie Sakai on third-round
punches at a Cage Fury Fighting Championships event.
“We
don’t have cable TV or Internet,” Lowe said. “I’ve
gone months without even turning on my phone. I’m just with
my family and training. I’m very focused.”
Lowe
credits his recent successes to his ability to train on a full-time
basis. For most of his career, he worked a variety of farming
and factory jobs.
“I
only got to train a couple of days a week,” he said. “I
could go at lunchtime and then I’d have to run back to work.”
His
regimen changed with a 10-month stint in the UFC. Lowe compiled
a 2-2 record inside the Octagon, with wins over Steve Lopez and
Willamy Freire, but he was released following a submission loss
to Nik Lentz at UFC Fight Night 24 in March 2011.
“When
I went to the UFC, I saved every bit of my money,” he said,
“so when I got cut I had money and I was really, really
strict with it.”
That
discipline -- a calling card ever since his wild middle school
days -- carried him through his next few fights, until he signed
with the World Series of Fighting. He debuted with the promotion
in March, when he knocked out “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 9 alum Cameron Dollar at WSOF 2. While the discipline
and ability to train more frequently are major factors in Lowe’s
rise, he does nothing to hide what really excites him.
“I
love boxing,” he said in a tone one might expect from a
kid about to visit Disneyland for the first time. “I’m
in the boxing gym all the time. I go to all the gyms in Philly
to spar. I really do love it. I’m a huge fan.”
Source
Sherdog
|
GSP
camp clarifies drug-testing questions, trainer says GSP open
to VADA or WADA
by Steven
Marrocco
Four
days after a report detailing a split between Georges St-Pierre
and Johny Hendricks on drug testing for UFC 167, reps for the
welterweight champ said their questions about a Nevada State
Athletic Commission-approved and enhanced drug testing program
were to eliminate any doubts he is a clean fighter.
Rodolphe
Beaulieu and Firas Zahabi, who respectively manage and train
the French-Canadian UFC welterweight champion, specifically said
they wanted to prove the fighter isn't taking human growth hormone
(HGH).
"I
just wanted to guarantee that the most highly effective drug
is taken off the table," Zahabi told ESPN.com. "We
were asking for the highest degree of testing. We were just trying
to be as honest and get the right answers. I think there was
a misunderstanding and different opinions."
Hendricks,
as first reported by MMAjunkie.com, declined to participate in
the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association's program offered by St-Pierre
in advance of the Nov. 16 pay-per-view event, which takes place
at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena. The champ, in turn, hedged
on participating in the NSAC's enhanced program.
Zahabi
announced on Sunday that the fighter should do both programs,
which utilize WADA-accredited labs and conduct random, unannounced
testing for banned substances.
"VADA
& NSAC are both good but also have their pros and cons,"
he wrote on Twitter. "Let's do both test and make everyone
happy. This is the plan."
But
according to Hendricks and his reps, the plan is to proceed as
usual with commission-mandated testing, which often includes
in- and out-of-competition testing.
In
the buildup to the UFC 167 fight, St-Pierre offered to enroll
them with VADA for out-of-competition testing at his expense.
Hendricks' rep, however, bowed out following a conference call
set up by the UFC that included reps for both fighters, the promotion's
co-COO, and the head of the Nevada State Athletic Commission,
who is tasked with regulating the event.
The
parties were there to decide a course of action on enhanced testing,
as was suggested by St-Pierre. But Hendricks' manager, Ted Ehrhardt,
said no to VADA when Zahabi reportedly claimed that the third-party
testing firm was footing the bill of the program, which was first
quoted at $20,000, but later lowered to $16,000 due to a shortened
testing timeframe.
NSAC
head Keith Kizer then suggested an enhanced-testing program utilizing
a WADA-accredited lab in Salt Lake City, which was contracted
for a title bout on Oct. 12 in Las Vegas between boxers Tim Bradley
and Juan Manuel Marquez. Kizer said the UFC had contacted him
prior to the conference call about the program's potential use
for St-Pierre vs. Hendricks.
The
process broke down completely after a series of emails between
Kizer and Beaulieu that were seen by all parties. In addition
to stating that Zahabi had misspoke about VADA's sponsorship
of St-Pierre, Beaulieu asked a series of questions about the
WADA-accredited lab's testing procedures, including what drugs
were being tested for.
Kizer
was concerned about the inquiries and ultimately was unconvinced
the manager was serious about enrolling in the NSAC-approved
program. Kizer withdrew the offer and stressed that St-Pierre
would be subject to the commission's existing program.
In
his interview with ESPN, Beaulieu said his questions were meant
to clarify what St-Pierre was agreeing to with the NSAC program
and what his rights were during the process, which he described
as "an act of faith."
According
to VADA President Margaret Goodman, St-Pierre is enrolled in
the program and has paid $16,000 to test both himself and Hendricks,
$8,000 of which will be refunded with the title challenger's
decision not to follow. As to Zahabi's claim of VADA sponsorship,
she ventured it was "a miscommunication" and said the
agency never agreed to pay for St-Pierre's testing.
Goodman
added that while Zahabi requested a quote on VADA's costs on
July 2, after July 15, she only dealt with Beaulieu and had never
spoken to anyone on St-Pierre's team prior to that.
One
year ago, St-Pierre flirted with enhanced testing, including
VADA and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) prior to his title
defense against interim champ Carlos Condit at UFC 154. Condit
agreed to use USADA, but his reps said VADA "have certain
relationships that would throw up red flags from our end."
In
an interview with MMAjunkie.com, Zahabi was unclear on the costs
of enhanced programs and suggested the agencies should sponsor
testing, as they did when St-Pierre's training partner, Rory
MacDonald, fought B.J. Penn at UFC on FOX 5.
"I
think it will help clean up our sport," Zahabi then said.
"Now it's up to VADA or another group to sponsor the fight."
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Jackson’s
MMA and Evolve MMA Form Strategic Partnership
by JamesGoyder
Evolve
Mixed Martial Arts and Jacksons Mixed Martial Arts have formed
a strategic partnership that could potentially see the likes
of Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Carlos Condit, Donald Cerrone
and Clay Guida traveling from Albuquerque, N.M., to Singapore
to train.
According
to the press release released jointly by the two powerhouse camps,
the partnership between Evolve MMA and Jackson’s MMA will
kick off with the “Elite Fighters Exchange Program.”
The professional fighters, world champions and coaches from both
camps will be able to train at Evolve MMA and Jackson’s
MMA to create a diverse learning environment for everyone.
Evolve
MMA is headed by Chatri Sityodtong, who works alongside former
wrestling Olympian Heath Sims, while 2010 MMA Coach of the Year
Greg Jackson is the man behind Jackson’s MMA.
According
to Chatri, this partnership will see some of the biggest names
in the sport coming to Evolve MMA to train.
“I
look forward to welcoming Greg Jackson’s top students at
Evolve MMA, such as Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Carlos Condit,
Donald Cerrone, Clay Guida, and others. Our world championship
coaching staff here at Evolve MMA will do everything to help
Greg’s students to add to their arsenal of tools for the
cage,” he said.
Jackson
conducted a seminar at Evolve MMA in Singapore last year when
he was in Asia to corner Rustam Khabilov at ONE FC: Battle of
Heroes in Jakarta and says he believes the relationship will
be mutually beneficial.
“It
is a wonderful partnership that truly brings together the best
of the West and the best of the East in terms of martial arts
knowledge and experience. The combined wealth of championship
experience from both of our coaching staffs will really accelerate
the learning, progress and development of fighters for both Evolve
MMA and Jackson’s MMA. I am really looking forward to working
more closely with the best team in Asia.”
The
two camps actually collided for the first time at UFC Fight Night
27, when Rafael Dos Anjos, who divides his training time between
Singapore, Rio de Janeiro and Los Angeles, won a hard fought
decision over Jackson’s MMA veteran Donald Cerrone.
Fighters
competing in the same division in the same organization will
always be reluctant to train together, but with so many Jackson’s
MMA fighters signed to the UFC and a high percentage of the Evolve
MMA fight team contracted to ONE FC, the path is open for the
likes of Eddie Ng, Leandro Issa, Jake Butler and Shinya Aoki
to travel from Singapore to Albuquerque and Jones, Condit and
Guida to head in the opposite direction.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
B.J.
Penn and Frankie Edgar to Coach TUF 19, Trilogy to Take Place
at Featherweight
by Jeff
Cain
The
UFC has signed B.J. Penn to a new contract and the former two-division
champion’s first fight back will be against former lightweight
titleholder Frankie Edgar in a featherweight bout.
Not
only will Penn and Edgar fight for a third time, the two will
coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.
UFC
Tonight first reported the development on Wednesday.
“We
were putting together The Ultimate Fighter coaches for this season
and it was going to be Urijah Faber and Frankie Edgar. Urijah
Faber is at 135-pounds. Edgar is at 145. Edgar didn’t
want to go to 135 and Urijah Faber wasn’t crazy about going
to 145. They were talking about a catchweight fight. I don’t
kike catchweight fights,” explained UFC president Dana White.
“This
thing was all in limbo and then all of a sudden I get a text
from B.J. Penn. B.J. Penn texted me and says, ‘Hey Dana,
I want to fight Ben Henderson.’ My question to B.J. is
why? You’ve accomplished so much. You’ve won the
title two times in two different weight classes.
“He
said the reason why is ‘I think if I beat Ben Henderson
you’ll give me that fight that I want, which is Frankie
Edgar,’” added White.
Edgar
and then-champion Penn first fought at UFC 112 in April 2010.
Edgar defeated Penn by unanimous decision to capture the UFC
lightweight title. The fight was extremely close and an immediate
rematch was scheduled for UFC 118 where Edgar defeated Penn again
to retain the belt.
“He
says, ‘Frankie Edgar, I can beat Frankie Edgar. Those two
first fights were B.S. I want that fight again. I want to beat
this guy so bad. It’s all I want.’ You know how B.J.
is,” said White. “I started thinking. I’m like,
that fight is at 145 B.J. He’s a 145-pounder. He goes,
‘I want to move to 145, beat Frankie Edgar, and fight for
that title.’
“He
wants this thing worse than anything. He believes he can beat
Frankie Edgar. He wants to fight at 145-pounds. It’s tough
to say no to B.J,” added the UFC president.
The
next season of The Ultimate fighter will premier on Fox Sports
1 in April 2014 and feature middleweight and light heavyweight
contestants.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
World
Series of Fighting 5 Preview
By Tristen
Critchfield
For
those seeking caged combat outside the Ultimate Fighting Championship,
World Series of Fighting is proving to be a consistent alternative,
as the Las Vegas-based promotion offers its fourth card in as
many months on Saturday at the Revel Resort and Casino in Atlantic
City, N.J.
In
addition to a heavyweight showdown between sluggers Mike Kyle
and Andrei Arlovksi, WSOF 5 also launches the organization’s
first tournament, with middleweights David Branch, Danillo Villefort,
Elvis Mutapcic and Jesse Taylor all beginning their quests for
185-pound gold. The main draw airs live on NBC Sports at 9 p.m.
ET/6 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream for free on Sherdog.com
beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
Here
is a closer look at the WSOF 5 lineup, with analysis and picks:
Heavyweights
Andrei
Arlovski (19-10-1, 1-1 WSOF) vs. Mike Kyle (20-9-1, 0-0 WSOF)
The
Matchup: This was originally scheduled to be a 205-pound affair
pitting Kyle against Anthony Johnson, but it was changed to a
heavyweight contest when Arlovski replaced an injured “Rumble.”
Despite
losing a unanimous decision to Johnson at WSOF 2, Arlovski displayed
admirable resilience, battling through a broken jaw, as well
as a timekeeping error that allowed his opponent approximately
eight extra seconds to unload on him at the end of round one.
The final two rounds of that matchup hardly constituted a blowout;
in fact, a case can be made for “The Pit Bull” winning
both of the final two frames.
In
Kyle, Arlovski faces an opponent who figures to make a point
of trying to test the Belarusian’s chin. A former King of
the Cage titlist, Kyle favors a straightforward style that allows
him to pressure his foes with power punches. As someone who once
dropped Antonio Silva, Kyle certainly has the power to put Arlovski
in peril, and his overall speed and athleticism as a natural
light heavyweight could also pose problems. However, if Kyle
is not able to rock Arlovski and establish himself early, he
could falter down the stretch. The American Kickboxing Academy
product is a much more formidable adversary when things are going
his way.
When
it comes to technical standup, give Arlovski the edge. While
Kyle is more of a brawling type, the former UFC heavyweight champion
is capable of landing crisp combinations while utilizing solid
movement and angles. Arlovski might also want to vary his attack
by mixing in kicks in order to keep Kyle off-balance. Of course,
the mental aspect of the fight is also pivotal for the Belarusian,
as he can sometimes be hesitant to open up in exchanges.
Arlovski
utilized takedowns in a recent victory over Mike Hayes in Russia,
but that is not the normal approach for the 34-year-old heavyweight.
Although he might want to plant the smaller man on his back if
he gets wobbled here, Kyle’s wrestling -- thanks to drilling
with the likes of Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier -- should
be more than adequate. However, Kyle will find it difficult to
employ his heavy ground-and-pound against Arlovski, whose sambo
background has equipped him with solid takedown defense.
The
Pick: Both men have earned the majority of their victories by
knockout or technical knockout, and nothing should change here.
While a three-round scrap would favor the more technical Arlovski,
Kyle will look check his opponent’s chin early. In the end,
it will come down to who can keep his head in a firefight. Arlovski
does his best when he is not threatened by his opponent’s
power, but that will not be the case in this one. Kyle wins by
KO or TKO in round one or two.
WSOF
Middleweight Tournament Semifinal
David
Branch (12-3, 2-0 WSOF) vs. Danillo Villefort (14-4, 1-0 WSOF)
The
Matchup: Branch has earned a pair of unanimous verdicts in as
many WSOF outings, but the Renzo Gracie protégé
has been far from overwhelming. Especially perplexing was his
last fight, a lopsided triumph over a listless Paulo Filho in
which Branch was counting out his punches but still unable to
earn a stoppage. That Branch is not a feared finisher is nothing
new, as five of his last six victories have gone the distance.
Villefort,
meanwhile, returned to the cage for the first time in more than
a year and a half at WSOF 2, where he captured a hard-fought
split decision over Kris McCray. In addition to his active ground
game, the Blackzilians representative dropped McCray twice in
the bout, once with a high kick and once with a punch. It is
this overall aggression that should give him an edge against
Branch, who generally favors a conservative approach.
While
both combatants are Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts, Branch might
struggle to control the range against his Brazilian opponent.
The Brooklyn native has a decent jab, but he rarely throws strikes
in enough volume to discourage forward movement. Branch would
like to use straight punches as a means to close distance and
get takedowns, but even when this tactic is successful, he does
not always take advantage of dominant positions as much as he
should.
This
all could prove to be detrimental against Villefort, who will
not hesitate to attack on the feet. Villefort figures to have
the edge in the clinch, as well, as he can land knees or rely
on his judo to execute trips or throws. If Branch does get a
takedown, Villefort’s ability to sweep or submit will limit
his offense from above.
The
Pick: Villefort is not necessarily the most consistent commodity,
and if Branch can counter effectively when his opponent rushes
forward and force him to work from his back, a decision could
be his. However, Villefort’s willingness to engage and take
chances gives him more ways to score points. Villefort wins by
decision.
WSOF
Middleweight Tournament Semifinal
Jesse
Taylor (26-9, 0-0 UFC) vs. Elvis Mutapcic (13-2, 0-0 WSOF)
The
Matchup: With victories over the likes Sam Alvey, Cezar Ferreira,
Joseph Henle and Zak Cummings already under his belt, Mutapcic
has a history of taking out veterans from “The Ultimate
Fighter” reality series. He will look to make Taylor, a
Season 7 alum, yet another victim when they square off in the
other half of the WSOF’s 185-pound mini bracket.
The
Maximum Fighting Championship middleweight king, Mutapcic is
a fearsome striker with the ability to end fights with his hands
and feet. Perhaps the most impressive triumph for the Iowa-based
Bosnian came at Superior Cage Combat 2 in August 2011, when “The
King” floored Ferreira with a counter left hook before finishing
his opponent with a brutal follow-up right on the ground just
25 seconds into the fight. He also wields an array of wicked
kicks, which he used to attack the legs and body of Alvey in
his first MFC title defense in February; that victory came on
the heels of a win over Henle in which Mutapcic injured his opponent’s
knee with a low kick.
All
of Mutapcic’s weapons on the feet mean nothing if he is
unable to remain upright against Taylor, who enters the bout
riding a six-fight winning streak. The former Cage Warriors Fighting
Championship ruler rarely wastes time in shooting for a takedown,
and he is at his best when controlling the action with ground-and-pound
as he attempts to advance position in hopes of securing a submission.
The Team Quest member can be overwhelming with his brute strength,
and he will often take his foe’s back after softening him
with strikes from above.
The
recurring theme of Taylor’s career has been his vulnerability
to submissions. While known primarily for his kickboxing abilities,
Mutapcic’s six career victories via submission are evidence
that he might be capable of exposing Taylor’s Achilles’
heel. Additionally, “JT Money” is single-minded enough
that he can sometimes telegraph his takedown attempts, which
could give Mutapcic opportunities to sprawl and counter or transition
to submissions.
The
Pick: Mutapcic can struggle against an opponent with a heavy
top game, so he should look to use his kicks to control distance
and slow Taylor’s shot. Still, his best chance at victory
will be to force Taylor to tap. Mutapcic wins by submission in
round two or three.
Heavyweights
Rolles
Gracie (8-1, 0-0 WSOF) vs. Derrick Mehmen (15-5, 0-0 WSOF)
The
Matchup: Gracie is 5-0 since gassing badly in the second round
against Joey Beltran in his lone UFC appearance, but do not be
deceived. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt’s success has
come largely against opposition that was undersized, overmatched
or both. While Gracie has claimed that an injury suffered during
training camp was to blame for his lackluster showing versus
Beltran, he has not really been tested since then.
That
should change against Mehmen, an American Top Team-based wrestler
who has faced solid competition during his professional career.
Mehman has won three straight since losing a unanimous verdict
to Gian Villante at Strikeforce “Barnett vs. Cormier”
in May 2012 in a bout in which Mehman was victimized repeatedly
by right hands and leg kicks. “Caveman” struggles when
faced with a superior striker who can nullify his takedowns,
but if he can use his wrestling to remain upright against Gracie,
he has a good chance of wearing down his opponent as the bout
progresses.
Gracie’s
striking consists primarily of straight punches, which he uses
to move into clinch range. In addition to his BJJ black belt,
Gracie’s judo skills give him a number of ways to get the
fight to the floor. By itself, his takedown shot is not especially
troublesome because he has few means by which to disguise his
intentions; it is in the clinch where he will most likely do
his best work against Mehman. Gracie will have the size edge
against Mehman, a natural light heavyweight, but if the former
Strikeforce talent can drain his foe’s gas tank by defending
takedowns, he should have opportunities to do damage in the second
half of the fight.
Mehman’s
standup is not polished, by any means. He throws with ill-intent
but often misses wildly, leaving opportunities for timely counters
or level changes. If Gracie can capitalize and move into top
position, where his ability to advance position and hunt for
submissions is about what one would expect for someone bearing
his name, Mehman will be in trouble.
The
Pick: After Gracie tires, Mehman blends solid defensive wrestling
with heavy-handed striking and takedowns to win via decision
or late TKO.
Featherweights
Georgi
Karakhanyan (21-3-1, 0-0 WSOF) vs. Waylon Lowe (14-4, 1-0 WSOF)
The
Matchup: A four-time UFC veteran, Lowe enters this bout riding
a four-fight winning streak in which all of his triumphs have
come via knockout or technical knockout. Lowe’s combination
of heavy hands and wrestling aptitude -- he was a three-time
Div. II national champion -- have allowed him to quietly fashion
a successful career. Since 2008, only Melvin Guillard and Nik
Lentz have beaten the American Top Team representative.
While
Karakhanyan might not be able to starch Lowe on the feet the
way Guillard once did, the former Tachi Palace Fights featherweight
king is versatile enough offensively to give the Philadelphia
native problems by mixing up his attacks. Additionally, if he
can time Lowe’s takedowns, as Lentz did, it only increases
the likelihood that “Insane” can expose Lowe’s
mediocre submission defense. Karakhanyan owns 11 victories by
way of tapout.
Lowe
is an able counterpuncher with good boxing in close quarters,
but his arsenal is not as varied as his opponent’s. Karakhanyan
can attack from distance with kicks, land shots in the clinch
or land takedowns and work from top position. If the latter fails
against Lowe, Karakhanyan is adept at scrambling into dominant
positions and threatening with submissions.
While
Lowe might be able to get his share of takedowns, he must be
wary of leaving openings for Karakhanyan to create space and
escape when he postures up to land strikes in guard.
The
Pick: Karakhanyan will be forced to respect Lowe’s power
on the feet, but he has more than enough tools with which to
win the fight if he avoids the kill shot. Karakhanyan captures
a decision.
Bantamweights
Sidemar
Honorio (8-3, 0-0 WSOF) vs. Jimmie Rivera (12-1, 0-0 WSOF): A
former King of the Cage and CFFC titlist, Rivera has won 11 straight
fights, including a pair of victories under the Bellator MMA
banner. The Team Tiger Schulmann representative also competed
on Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” where he fell
to Dennis Bermudez in the preliminary round. Honorio is an aggressive
fighter who throws heavy punches, but Rivera’s overall experience
could prove to be the difference. Rivera takes a decision.
Welterweights
Gregor
Gracie (7-3, 0-1 WSOF) vs. Richard Patishnock (5-1, 1-0 WSOF):
While he is not quite in Kazushi Sakuraba territory just yet,
Patishnock will attempt to earn his second consecutive victory
over MMA’s First Family. Patishnock’s triumph against
Igor Gracie at WSOF 2 was not especially impressive, however,
as Gracie controlled most of the opening frame before a shoulder
injury left him unable to continue. Gregor Gracie, meanwhile,
looks to rebound from a first-round TKO loss to Tyson Steele
at WSOF 1. Getting Patishnock down and advancing position should
not be the issue, but doing so consistently and looking to finish
without gassing will determine Gracie’s fate. Gracie wins
by decision.
Middleweights
Neiman
Gracie (0-0, 0-0 WSOF) vs. Darren Costa (0-1, 0-0 WSOF): In a
bout featuring two fighters with almost no professional experience
between them, it is difficult to know what to expect. Given his
name, one can assume that Gracie will be a proficient grappler,
but how he incorporates that with the various elements of MMA
remains to be seen. Costa made his pro debut in May, suffering
a first-round knockout loss to Jose Pinto in a light heavyweight
clash within the Cage Fury Fighting Championships promotion.
WSOF brass is not setting up Gracie for failure; he wins by submission
in round two or three.
Featherweights
Rick
Glenn (13-2-1, 1-0 WSOF) vs. Artur Rofi (6-0, 0-0 WSOF): A Roufusport
product, Glenn authored a brilliant comeback to defeat Jungle
Fight veteran Alexandre Pimentel at WSOF 2, using a head kick-right
hook combination and follow-up hammerfists to stun the Brazilian
in March. Rofi has competed five times on the Cage Fury Fighting
Championships circuit, winning each of those outings by way of
submission. Glenn, who was taken down repeatedly in the first
two rounds by Pimentel, will need to stay on his feet and make
Rofi exchange with him. Glenn wins by KO or TKO.
Lightweights
Ozzy
Dugulubgov (4-1, 1-0 WSOF) vs. Andrew Osborne (7-5, 0-0 WSOF):
Dugulubgov proved to be a well-rounded competitor in his WSOF
debut, displaying a solid top game, heavy hands and good submission
defense in taking a unanimous verdict over Chris Wade in March.
The Renzo Gracie product mixes striking and takedowns to take
a decision over Osborne for his fourth consecutive victory.
*
* *
TRACKING
TRISTEN 2013
Overall
Record: 167-104
Last Event (UFC Fight Night 28): 5-6
Best Event (Strikeforce “Marquardt vs. Saffiedine): 9-2
Worst Event (UFC 156/UFC on Fuel TV 8/UFC Fight Night 28): 5-6
Source:
Sherdog
|
Bellator
99: What to Watch For
By Mike
Whitman
Bellator
MMA’s second Season 9 offering will see the promotion settle
into its Friday-night timeslot, as Bellator 99 goes down from
the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif.
Although
no titles will be on the line, the card nevertheless contains
matchups and subplots worth your time as an MMA viewer. The main
draw airs live on Spike TV and is highlighted by the debut of
Bellator’s latest featherweight tournament, while the preliminary
card streams immediately prior on Spike.com.
Here
is what to watch for at Bellator 99:
Enter
the Gun
Diego
Nunes will make his Bellator debut against countryman Patricio
Freire in the featherweight tournament quarterfinals. If that
last sentence did not get you fired up for some mixed fighting,
then you might want to see a doctor and have your heart checked.
While
it is true that Nunes departed the Ultimate Fighting Championship
on the heels of a one-sided loss to Nik Lentz, there is little
shame in such a defeat. Lentz has looked quite sharp since dropping
to 145 pounds, and I would not be surprised if the grappler works
his way into the UFC title picture in the coming year.
It
should also be noted that before his loss to Lentz, Nunes was
putting on some of the most exciting fights of his career. His
bout with Bart Palaszewski, in particular, brought the house
down and earned the Brazilian “Fight of the Night”
honors in October.
Can
“The Gun” grab a victory over one of Bellator’s
best featherweights in his first appearance with the company?
Pitbull
Primed
In
Freire, Nunes faces a man I feel confident in calling Bellator’s
second-best 145-pounder.
You
all know the rap sheet on “Pitbull” by now. He is fast,
explosive, powerful, aggressive and accurate with his strikes.
He is a pain to take down, and his wrestling has only improved
during his Bellator tenure.
Freire’s
two career losses could have easily been wins had the cageside
judges seen things a little differently. Both defeats came by
split decision, and both decisions cost “Pitbull” either
a shot at the championship or the title belt itself. Following
his razor-thin split decision loss to reigning champion Pat Curran,
Freire returned to the cage on July 31, knocking Jared Downing
senseless in a brutal second-round stoppage.
In
my view, the winner of Freire’s collision with Nunes has
to be considered one of two tournament favorites heading into
the semifinals. The Season 9 featherweight bracket is filled
with several fresh, promising faces, but I do not think they
will have anything for either “Pitbull” or Nunes.
Now
in his third tournament try, will Freire take his first step
toward another title shot?
Smaller
Silverback
How
will Justin Wilcox look in both his featherweight and Bellator
debut?
“The
Silverback” returns to the cage as a tournament replacement
for Shamhalaev, taking on Akop Stepanyan in the Season 9 quarterfinals.
A former bodybuilder and nine-time Strikeforce veteran, Wilcox
was never short on power as a lightweight, but I always felt
that his highly muscled physique may have hurt his endurance.
Now
making his debut at 145 pounds, the hulking American Kickboxing
Academy rep figures to enter the cage a bit slimmer, which I
think will bode well for his complete MMA game and give him some
more steam should the fight reach the third round, provided he
avoided a tough weight cut. The 34-year-old has not competed
since July 2012, when Jorge Masvidal handed him his second straight
defeat, so I am curious to see what, if any, ring rust Wilcox
brings with him.
Wilcox
should have his work cut out for him against game RusFighters
Sport Club representative Stepanyan, who I felt was robbed against
Marlon Sandro in February.
The
winner of Nunes-Freire might be my tournament favorite, but I
would not sleep on either Wilcox or Stepanyan making some noise.
A
Janitor and an Assassin
Although
I am definitely on the fence about this one, I do think that
Houston Alexander and Vladimir Matyushenko making their Bellator
debuts is worth a look.
This
does not figure to be the finest example of athleticism based
on the advanced age of both men and Alexander’s limited
tools. It should also be noted that this fight will take place
at heavyweight, opening the door for a potential gas-out for
both men.
However,
if this fight is decided within the first five minutes, I think
it could turn into a pretty enjoyable experience for everybody.
We know Alexander hits like a truck, and Matyushenko’s abilities
and experience should provide an interesting counterbalance to
the American’s raw power.
As
Tough as They Come
Legit
heavyweight prospect Blagoi Ivanov will return to the cage for
the first time since his near-fatal stabbing outside a restaurant
in Bulgaria. The 2008 combat sambo world champion was stabbed
under his armpit in February 2012, with the blade of the knife
reportedly penetrating his heart.
After
spending several months in the hospital, Ivanov was released
and began his long road to recovery. Before he was attacked,
Ivanov looked like he might rule Bellator’s heavyweight
division. What can we expect from Ivanov when he meets Manny
Lara during the Spike.com-streamed prelims?
Speaking
of tough guys, Strikeforce veteran Virgil Zwicker is another
man worth your time during the undercard broadcast. For those
who did not see his Rocky Balboa-level display of manhood against
Carlos Augusto Filho in 2012, you should feel both regret and
relief. It was the type of brutal and bloody spectacle that takes
years off a fighter’s career. “Rezdog” will now
return to action for the first time in more than 15 months against
Nick Moghaddam. Tune in for a scrappy good time.
Source:
Sherdog
|
California
State Athletic Commission denying athletic inspectors travel
compensation
By Zach
Arnold
To
read all CSAC-related articles, dating back to May 2012, CLICK
HERE.
Last
October, I wrote an extensive article regarding a U-turn from
the Department of Consumer Affairs regarding the way they pay
athletic inspectors. When DCA went all-in in ousting George Dodd
from his position as Executive Officer of the California State
Athletic Commission, one of the major reasons they dumped all
over him in the press is because of an exploding budget. And
one of the major contributing factors to that exploding budget
was the way athletic inspectors were booked for shows throughout
the state.
The
protocol for paying athletic inspectors: non-state employees
got paid a certain wage per hour plus travel & mileage expenses.
Full-time state employees working as inspectors got time-and-a-half
for wages. According to California’s Labor Code, athletic
inspectors for the AC are considered permanent intermittent state
employees.
After
ousting Dodd from his position as E.O., the Department of Consumer
Affairs decided to get a bogus legal opinion from CalHR claiming
that DCA no longer needed to pay time-and-a-half to full-time
state employees and that it was no longer necessary to pay athletic
inspectors for travel/mileage expenses. On top of that, DCA ordered
inspectors to sign documents stating that they agreed to this
new policy or else they weren’t going to work. When DCA
attempted to implement this scheme, I tore apart the legality
of it by actually citing state legal opinions & case law.
One
of the weasel tricks used by Consumer Affairs and their state
brethren in going after the athletic inspectors was to hide behind
the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act), which is federal law. Unlike
most federal laws where they trump state law in court, the FLSA
was meant as a floor and not a ceiling for labor rights. If a
state, such as California, has more generous labor laws protecting
workers then those state laws trump federal law in court. The
higher standard prevails.
So,
what’s changed?
After
receiving a complaint, the federal Department of Labor did an
investigation into DCA’s policies regarding compensating
athletic inspectors. The DOL investigation focused on FLSA and
not California state labor code/case law. This is important to
stress. The DOL conducted an audit and DCA, in return, sent out
a memo to athletic inspectors on Monday claiming that what DCA
& CalHR did in regarding to stiffing athletic inspectors
on travel was entirely legal.
What
the memo sent out to athletic inspectors didn’t include
is just as important as what it stated. First, the actual DOL
audit was not included in the memo to inspectors. Second, the
memo was written by a personnel stooge from Consumer Affairs,
not a lawyer from DCA’s legal office.
The
analyst who wrote the memo on Monday, Jeff Sears, was the same
person who admitted last February that the Department of Consumer
Affairs was still “researching the legal basis” for
trying to confiscate back pay to athletic inspectors who were
paid time-and-a-half wages up to three years ago. Once his admission
went public on our web site, DCA immediately backed off from
their letters of confiscation. It was smoke and mirrors.
Seven
months later, Sears is going after the athletic inspectors again
on behalf of Consumer Affairs. This time, he’s the hatchet
man for explaining why DCA won’t pay travel expenses to
athletic inspectors any longer.
Putting
your words in writing
In
an effort to illustrate (and humiliate) Jeff Sears, we have a
collection of memos he and others have written over the years
regarding payment policy to athletic inspectors. The California
Labor Code regarding athletic inspectors hasn’t changed
in the last six years. What’s changed is DCA’s pathetic
attempt to wiggle out of following standard operating procedure
by coming up with new legal interpretations that are not based
on case law or actual changes in the law.
Exhibit
A – Jeff Sears memo from April 24th, 2007
Claim:
All athletic inspectors can get paid their work wages plus travel
& mileage compension.
CALIFORNIA
DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
MEMORANDUM
To:
California State Athletic Commission staff
From:
Jeffrey Sears, Classification & Pay Manager, Department of
Consumer Affairs, Office of Human Resources
Subject:
Salary and Mileage Compensation for Athletic Inspectors’
Travel
At
the request of Commission management, the DCA Office of Human
Resources and the Accounting Office have prepared the attached
document, “Compensation and Mileage Guidelines for Athletic
Inspectors.”
This
document was developed to explain the compensation for both the
salary and mileage to be paid to Athletic Inspectors in the performance
of their required duties of attending events on behalf of the
Commission.
We
recognize that some of these guidelines may not be what you are
used to administering; however, these are the compensation rules
DPA has adopted for use in assignments where there is no fixed
work location.
Please
refer any questions you may have regarding the implementation
of these guidelines to Susan Lancara, Assistant Executive Officer
or Bill Douglas, Staff Services Analyst at 916-263-2195.
cc:
Debbie Sullivan, Debbie Baumbach, Ginger Eisenbeisz
COMPENSATION
and MILEAGE GUIDELINES FOR ATHLETIC INSPECTORS
GUIDELINES:
Travel to/from a CSAC Event
State
and Federal compensation rules for work-related travel are determined
by whether an employee has a headquarters “office”
location or whether the employee’s home is designated as
their HQ.
Per
the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA), since Athletic
Inspectors do not go to work at a central “office”
location or have a regularly scheduled work site, the employees
are designated as having their “home as headquarters.”
On
all “work days” (day in which an Inspector is scheduled
to work an authorized CSAC event), the Inspector may claim all
travel time and mileage for the entire round trip, regardless
of the mileage, plus the actual time worked at the event.
EXAMPLE:
If an Inspector spends 6 hours traveling to/from an event on
a Saturday (300 miles round trip), s/he would be paid for all
travel time (and mileage) plus the time spent working the event
(5 hours). In this example, this would equal (11) total hours
of compensation for the event.
NOTE:
If an employee leaves home early to avoid traffic and gets to
an event two hours before work is to commence, s/he would not
be compensated for the two hours spent waiting to begin work.
DOCUMENTATION
For
each event worked in a month:
1.
Time reported on the automated HRIS system and employee timesheets
should include:
Total
hours (hours of travel plus hours of work)
2.
Travel Expense Claims (TEC, Std. 262) should indicate:
HQ
address should be the same as employee home address
Round trip mileage from Inspector’s home address (as determined
by Mapquest or Yahoo)
Per diem expenses (food, lodging, etc.) in accordance with State
travel rules.
QUESTIONS
Inspectors:
Please direct questions on this information to the appropriate
California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) headquarters staff
person.
CSAC
staff: Please direct questions to the appropriate DCA Accounting
Office or Human Resources staff.
Exhibit
B – March 2010 memo on time-and-a-half wages
You
can read the memo here from Casey Tichy, Labor Relations Counsel,
to then-DCA lawyer James Maynard. The answer? All full-time state
employees are entitled to time-and-a-half wages when they are
working as permanent intermittent state employees in their role
as athletic inspectors.
Exhibit
C – September 2013 Jeff Sears memo saying no more travel
compensation
Six
years after stating the obvious, which is that athletic inspectors
are eligible for travel compensation, this dog-and-pony memo
is released.
Date:
September 9th, 2013
To:
All athletic inspectors
From:
Jeffrey Sears, Personnel Officer, Office of Human Resources (DCA)
Subject:
CSAC Athletic Inspector Overtime – DOL Audit Results
The
federal Department of Labor (DOL), Wages and Hours Division has
completed an audit of overtime payments made to Athletic Inspectors
(Inspectors) of the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC).
The audit is a result of Inspector complaints arising from the
October 2012 change to overtime payment practices at CSC spurred
by a legal opinion DCA received from the Department of Human
Resources (CalHR)>
At
issue was the payment of premium overtime (1.5 pay) to Inspectors
who also hold full time employment in other state positions.
The DOL audit concluded that one of the two factors for exemption
from premium overtime payment under the federal Fair Labor Standards
Act (FLSA) – that the work is “occasional and sporadic”
was met. in order for occasional and sporadic employment to be
exempt from the overtime payment requirement, however, a second
FLSA factor must be met – that the work is in a “different
capacity.” The DOL concluded that four CSAC Inspectors who
are also employed by the state in “the same general occupation
category” of conducting inspections, shall receive overtime
payments for Athletic Inspector work performed between October
2012 and the present.
In
addition, as part of the audit, the DOL investigator affirmed
the CSAC was correctly interpreting the FLSA by not compensating
Inspectors for “normal commute to and from the workplace,”
except in certain specific situations. For CSAC Inspector work,
the workday of Lead Inspectors (Event Leads) begins at home when
the Lead is required to perform work prior to leaving his or
her home for an event. At CSAC, this specific situation is the
only compensable travel time, in accordance with the Continuous
Workday Doctrine, as CSAC has directed post-even work to be performed
at the event site or the next day. This was previously correctly
communicated to Inspectors in the October 2, 2012, memo from
prior Executive Officer Kathy (sic) Burns.
In
the future, CSAC will follow these DOL directives in the payment
of overtime to Athletic Inspectors.
The
state’s sleight of hand
The
2007 memo correctly asserts the following — since athletic
inspectors go to shows from home and there is no fixed location
for a work office, home is headquarters. And when home is your
workplace/headquarters, therefore any travel to and from shows
for travel means you can get paid to cover the costs.
What
DCA is pulling with the 2013 memo is the following stunt —
only “lead inspectors” are allowed to call home headquarters
because they do paperwork preparation at home before traveling
to events. Therefore, only leads can get travel compension while
other athletic inspectors cannot. There is no change in the law,
either on the state or federal level. The only change is DCA
twisting their previous legal interpretations on the law. And
rather than cite state labor code or case law, they are continuing
to hide behind FLSA (federal) opinions on the matter when state
labor law trumps federal labor law for higher standards.
This
item at Foley & Lardner LLP breaks down what the state is
trying to pull here:
An
additional problem spawned by such activity at home is that once
an employee does any work during a workday, activities that come
after — such as commuting — that might otherwise not
normally be considered “work” may become compensable.
This is because once work has commenced on a given workday, under
the FLSA’s “continuous workday” doctrine, time
that might otherwise be non-compensable (such as normal commuting
time) can become compensable. Driving time from home to work
is not compensable. But if “home” has become a “workplace,”
it is treated just like any other workplace — and driving
time between workplaces has always been compensable. Similarly,
when employers require employees to put on a specific uniform
at work, the continuous workday can commence, and all (non-break)
time until that uniform is taken off can become compensable.
Since
DCA has performed their U-turn last year on travel compensation
against athletic inspectors, they have never once cited California
labor code nor case law. If/when they get challenged in court
(through the usage of the Private Attorney General Act in California’s
Labor Code), I suspect the one item of case law that DCA will
attempt to use for justification is the following case:
Mike
Rutti vs. Lojack, Inc.
In
2009, Rutti sued private company Lojack, Inc. over the issue
of travel compensation & the continuous workday doctrine
given that he and other employees travel from home to go to various
job sites. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2009 ruled that
Rutti and others could not be compensated for travel expenses.
The
court determined that the technicians’ travel in the company
van from home to the first job and to home after the last job
of the day was normal commute time and was not compensable. Under
the 1996 Employee Commuting Flexibility Act (ECFA) amendments
to the federal Portal-to-Portal Act, an employee’s use of
an employer’s vehicle for commuting is not compensable if
the travel is within the normal commuting area for the employer’s
business and the use of the company vehicle is subject to an
agreement between the employer and the employee. The court found
that the “agreement” required by ECFA may be a condition
of the employee’s employment. Thus, the technicians’
claim that they should be compensated for travel time at the
beginning and the end of the day in the company van was rejected.
The
court reached the same conclusion applying California law. Unlike
the facts in Morillion v. Royal Packing Co., 22 Cal. 4th 575
(2000), which found travel time on a mandated company bus to
be compensable because the employees were “subject to the
control of the employer” while traveling, the facts in Rutti
show that the Lojack technicians were not required to meet at
a specific departure point or at a certain time. Rather, the
technicians were free to determine when they left, the routes
they took, and which assignments to visit first. Thus, they were
not subject to the “control of the employer,” and the
travel time was not compensable under California law.
After
the Ninth Circuit Court came up with their initial ruling, an
intriguing development happened — the three judges on the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals couldn’t agree with each
other on the case and issued a second opinion.
In
Rutti II, two of the judges cited case law and determined that
Rutti and other employees could be compensated for travel &
mileage to the first work site of the day. As the item at Davis
Wright Tremaine LLP explains, the case law cited the most in
these kinds of disputes is Morillion v. Royal Packing Company,
22 Cal. 4th 575, 586 (2000). As you can read in this article
by lawyer Bryan Schwartz, the issues raised from California Labor
Law regarding compensation for travel are not clear cut. Therefore,
judges in the state tend to side with those seeking travel compensation
because California Labor Law is of a higher standard than FLSA
federal law.
The
DWT LLP summary of Rutti II from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
states the following:
One:
State law, if more favorable to the employee, can override federal
law. Even if something is permitted, or is not compensable, under
the Fair Labor Standards Act or some other federal wage-and-hour
law, the result may be different under state law—and often
is in California.
What
puts DCA in a precarious position here is that their legal team
would have to argue that since they don’t provide athletic
inspectors with a state company car that therefore they shouldn’t
have to pay for travel compensation. Given the distances that
many athletic inspectors in the state have to travel to attend
shows, I find it difficult to believe that a judge will be sympathetic
to the state’s plea of stingy behavior.
Making
DCA’s case even tougher is that they are the state of California.
Rutti vs. Lojack Inc. was about an employee versus a private
employer in California. The protections state employees have
over private employees is greater. Since the state’s labor
law classifies athletic inspectors as permanent intermittent
state employees, it means that they are state employees when
they are on the clock. Furthermore, a 2002 California state legal
opinion on this topic sided with paying compensation for travel
time.
Why
DCA’s U-turn will backfire
On
a legal basis, DCA is setting themselves up for a court challenge
from the inspectors. This is a prime situation for a request
of a writ of mandate to fix the situation.
The
situation was created entirely by DCA. They established years
ago that inspectors could get time-and-a-half and travel/mileage
compensation based on state labor law in 2007. When money is
tight, now the state agencies want to hide the weaker FLSA federal
law in order to not follow state labor code in order to pay the
inspectors what they are entitled to.
What
we have here with DCA strong-arming athletic inspectors is a
classic case of an agency being penny-wise and pound-foolish.
In an attempt to nickel-and-dime those working for the commission,
they’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest. Morale sucks right
now. The majority of athletic inspectors and officials in California
right now are extremely unhappy. They’re unhappy about the
pay situation and they’re unhappy with what they see as
a disorganized, last-minute system of chaotic scheduling of assignments
to work shows.
The
end result is that the veteran athletic inspectors who can do
the job and know what they are doing are completely demoralized
& discouraged. They’ll end fading away while getting
replaced by fresh-faced newcomers who, more often than not, are
disorganized and simply not equipped to do the job properly.
The
situation in California requires sound logic and good management.
Twisting the enforcement of laws by coming up with different
legal opinions rather than actually making changes to the law
is not the right way to go about making the appropriate changes
needed in the state. Sacramento continues to shoot itself in
the foot.
Exit
question (from one official): “If we get paid mileage from
our homes to the venue, how are we not on work time?”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Dana
White: B.J. Penn is ‘fighting some demons right now'
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
B.J.
Penn's latest retirement ended sooner than expected, as the former
two-division UFC champion is set to coach against Frankie Edgar
on The Ultimate Fighter 19 prior to making his featherweight
debut against Edgar in the first quarter of 2014.
The
announcement, first made on Wednesday's edition of UFC Tonight,
came abruptly, but none were more surprised than UFC President
Dana White.
"B.J.
sends me a text that says, ‘Dana, I want to fight Ben Henderson.'
So I immediately pick up my phone and call him, and he doesn't
answer. This was two days ago," White explained on Thursday's
FOXSports Google Hangout.
"So
then B.J. calls me 45 minutes later. He's like, ‘Hey Dana,
I didn't answer your phone call because I don't want you to talk
me out of this. I know how you are. I know what you're going
to say, and you're going to talk me out of it.' I was like, you're
damn right I'm going to talk you out of it. He says, ‘The
reason I want to fight Ben Henderson is because I believe if
I beat Ben Henderson, you'll give me a shot to fight Frankie
Edgar.' I'm like, ‘Frankie Edgar?' And he goes, ‘Yeah,
I want this Frankie Edgar fight worse than anything. Those two
losses are a rock in my shoe. He should've never beat me. That
guy can't beat me.'"
Edgar
and Penn fought twice in 2010, with Edgar stunningly dethroning
the then-champion Penn via decision before outpointing him more
convincingly in the rematch. Penn then shifted back to the UFC's
welterweight division, where he largely struggled, ending his
run with a pair of brutal losses to Nick Diaz and Rory MacDonald.
Now,
with Penn having won just once in six contests since 2009, White
believes the 34-year-old carries major regrets about the manner
in which he ended his career, and they could be the reason Penn
has decided to give it one last shot.
"B.J.
is one of these guys who, I think, is fighting some demons right
now, in that, if he could go back and do it all over again, I
think he'd do it differently," White said.
"I'll
tell you again. B.J. Penn is a legend. He's been here since the
day we bought the company. Me and B.J. have had our times when
we butted heads on many things. (But) if he wants it, I'm going
to give it to him."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
The
Ultimate Fighter 18 TV Ratings Up 14-Percent Week-Over-Week
The
second episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team
Tate bucked a historical trend, becoming only the fifth season
in the life of the reality series to improve its audience from
episode one to episode two.
Episode
two, which featured Team Tate’s Julianna Pena upsetting
Team Rousey’s Shayna Baszler, scored an audience of 870,000
viewers, improving upon the premier episode’s 762,000 viewers,
according to the Nielsen Ratings. That represents a 14-percent
increase in viewership week-over-week.
TUF
18’s premier was the lowest ever in the series’ history,
accompanying the show’s move from FX to the recently launched
Fox Sports 1, a new 24/7 sports network.
Those
numbers may sound bleak when compared to past seasons, but UFC
president Dana White recently told MMAFighting.com that it wasn’t
unexpected when you factor in the move to a new network.
“This
is all part of the building process (of Fox Sports 1),”
said White. “We’ve made a commitment to work with FOX
to build this network.
“If
you look at all of the other networks we’ve ever been on
we consistently pull strong ratings. The first time we put our
prelims on FX we pulled 880,000 viewers and it grew, depending
on the fight, up to 1.9 million viewers for UFC 156. Also, the
TUF season with Carwin and Big Country averaged 822,000 viewers
then Jones vs. Sonnen averaged 1.3 million viewers. We currently
hold the top four most watched telecasts on FS1 since the network
launched.”
Despite
perception, FS1 officials point to several positives when assessing
The Ultimate Fighter on the new network.
Each
of the first two episodes was the most watched program of the
day on FS1, and propelled the network to the top spot among ad-supported
cable sports networks key advertiser demographics.
Fox
Sports also replayed the two-hour premier episode immediately
before Episode 2. The replay drew an audience of 374,000 viewers,
making it the most-watched non-live event program in the Wednesday
8-10 p.m. time period on FOX Sports 1 or SPEED over the past
12 months. FOX Sports 1 is a rebranding of the SPEED channel,
which was also a FOX property.
The
Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate airs each Wednesday
night at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT on FOX Sports 1.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Dana
White: Decisions have to be made if Dominick Cruz can’t
defend UFC title by 2014
Dominick
Cruz currently has an injured knee, but if it stays that way
into 2014 he may lose his UFC belt.
UFC
President Dana White said on a Tuesday conference call that if
Cruz isn’t ready to fight by next year, the company will
have to make an executive decision with what to do about the
champion.
“We’re
expecting his return by the beginning of the year,” White
said, adding, “and if he can’t return at the beginning
of the year then we’re going to have to make a decision.”
White
didn’t go into detail about what the options are in terms
of what they have in mind for Cruz, but much of the talk from
media types lately has been about stripping the fighter of the
135-pound UFC title. In the case that he’s stripped of the
title, interim champion Renan Barao, if he beats Eddie Wineland
at UFC 165 later this month, would likely be considered champion.
Cruz
last competed in October 2011, a fight that saw him earn a decision
win over now-flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson. With nearly
two years since his last fight, many have called in to question
the reasoning behind the UFC allowing Cruz to hold the title.
White,
however, explained that he sensed confidence from Cruz when the
two last conversed about when the fighter would return.
“He
came in here a few weeks ago and had lunch with me and Lorenzo
[Fertitta], and he was very confident that he’d be ready
to go at the beginning of the year.”
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
After
sketchy past, WSOF 5's Mike Kyle wants to leave MMA with respected
career
by Steven
Marrocco
Usually,
fighters are cagey when it comes to their gameplans. But with
Mike Kyle, you don't need to worry about that.
Although
he said he's not about inflicting damage on his opponents, Kyle
is, and has been for his entire career, a knockout artist.
Kyle
(20-9-1) knows that when he meets Andrei Arlovski (19-10) at
World Series of Fighting 5, he'll be looking to find the ex-UFC
champ's chin, which he's previously called "weak."
"I'm
sure that's the way it's going to work," he told MMAjunkie.com
Radio in advance of Saturday's fight, which headlines the NBC
Sports Network-televised event at Revel Atlantic City in New
Jersey. "We know what each other has, what we have to offer.
We're both confident strikers, so I don't really see the fight
going any other way than us throwing bombs at each other."
The
only difference Kyle sees between his early career and his work
of today is his approach to doing what he's already good at:
knocking out people. He's done it 13 times in 20 career wins.
"Now,
I've honed in my skills and really started working on my skills
and throwing more combos," he said. "That's really
the secret to the fight. Arlovski is more of a one-two type of
guy, and now, I'm able to put more combos together with three
or four punches."
He's
also had good incentive to improve in his longtime gym at American
Kickboxing Academy, where a bevy of UFC fighters hone their skills.
"It's
mainly working with those heavyweights and having to run from
(UFC champ) Cain Velasquez all the time," Kyle said. "That's
kind of what picked up my footwork."
After
12 years in MMA, Kyle has seen whole eras come and go in the
sport. The UFC and Strikeforce vet was around for the bar-brawling
days of the early 2000s, the dominance of wrestlers, the return
of strikers, and now, the hybrid athletes who today populate
the cage. The journey hasn't always been easy on his body. Even
at 33, he said he suffers aches and pains not only from fighting,
but from his days as a four-sport athlete in school.
Some
of Kyle's injuries have been self-inflicted. He was forced away
from the sport seven years ago after being disqualified and banned
from the sport for 18 months. And he admits that in his earlier
life, he partied just as hard as he trained.
"It
took a lot to grow up and realize the things I was doing to my
body and putting in my body isn't the best way to be recovering,"
he said. "If you train hard every day, your body needs to
recover, and you need to put good nutrients in your body. So
I learned the hard way."
But
with that experience, he said he's a wiser fighter. And with
less time, he's driven to end his career with respectable achievements.
Beating Arlovski, who steps in for an injured Anthony Johnson,
and one day winning the WSOF's title are two of those.
"I'm
in this sport to get something out of it," Kyle said. "Now,
I'm toward the end of my career, so it's me (with) focused time,
and try to get something out of this sport and don't cheat myself
out of my whole career. I feel like I'd be cheating myself if
I did anything else.
"It's
time for me to put up and get on track and do the things that
are needed to be successful, and do what I'm capable and what
the promoters know what I'm capable of."
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Andrei
Arlovski sick of comments about his chin
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
Andrei
Arlovski has heard it before. For years, actually. In the land
of heavyweights, knockouts just come with the territory -- a
causality of behemoth lunchbox fists hurtling towards human skulls
at high speed. Yet fairly or unfairly, somewhere along the line
Arlovski got plastered with that grim distinction: weak chinned.
"It's
f--ked," Arlovski angrily told MMAFighting.com. "I'm
really getting f--king sick of all these comments about my chin.
I broke my jaw in two f--king places and f--king Anthony Johnson
couldn't f--king knock me out. So if you're going to talk to
Mike Kyle, you can just tell him to shut his f--king mouth and
be ready for the f--king fight. That's it. Period."
You
can probably guess the culprit for that sudden burst of rage.
Ahead of WSOF 5, yet another opponent, this time Mike Kyle, repeated
the same stock line about Arlovski's "questionable"
chin.
"It
kind of bothers me," explained Arlovski, whose seven knockout
losses total one less than Alistair Overeem, equal Frank Mir,
and fall one shy of UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.
"People
who say or write those comments about me are people who spend
all the time on their couch all day long laying down and watching
TV.
"It
kind of pisses me off. I don't read those comments like I used
to read those comments. I showed my chin was fine when I fought
Tim Sylvia in the Philippines, when our fight was a no contest.
He landed a good straight right hand at the end of the first
round and I was fine. I survived and knocked him out. Those people
say [I don't] have a good chin, now this guy? It's okay. Just
fine. To be honest with you, I don't know what to say in a nice
way. It's one of those bad spots in my mind."
To
his credit, Arlovski understands how the criticism first started.
From early-2009 to early-2011, right after he became the first,
and still only man to knockout Roy Nelson, the Belarusian dropped
four consecutive contests, three of which ended with Arlovski
either dazed or unconscious on mat.
In
the two years since, however, Arlovski has been knockout free
-- other than the ones he's handed out himself. And Arlovski
is quick to mention, he suffered a broken jaw against Johnson
and still kept trudging forward. Yet the meme about his glass
jaw continues to make the rounds.
"People
say to me, ‘Oh, you're Arlovski? Right? I remember you were
the s--t. Now you're just a good fighter.' Those comments piss
me of so bad. People say, ‘Arlovski is done. No more fire
in his eyes.' I try to prove to those guys that they're wrong,"
he explained.
"I
was a champion several years ago. I remember the taste. I remember
the feeling of being on top of the world. I want to be again
a champion. After those four losses, people said that's it.
"I
have the right people," Arlovski continued. "I have
great sparring partners. Everything's fine. I'm not going to
finish my MMA career like that."
Down
south in Albuquerque, NM, Arlovski still grinds away his days
at Jackson/Winkeljohn's. He served as one of Jon Jones' main
sparring partners before the pound-for-pound titan puts his belt
on line against Alexander Gustafsson, so Arlovski isn't lying
when he compliments his teammates.
Still,
it says something that even at age 34, Arlovski either headlines
or co-headlines nearly every show he competes in. Albeit, they
may not be the star-studded pay-per-views he championed in his
younger days. But he isn't ready to let the dream die.
"My
body feels great," Arlovski said. "The most important
thing, I still want to fight. I still want to train hard.
"Now
I'm more hungry. I have more reasons to be a better fighter right
now than I used to be; more reasons right now to be a champion
again, to reach my goals. Five or ten years ago, I was younger.
... Now I'm older. I guess I have at least some good life experience.
I became, I think, smarter -- a smarter fighter. Now everything
around me is to help me be a better fighter; to reach my goals
and to do it in a right way."
Arlovski's
ultimate goal is to return to the UFC. At the moment he may be
under WSOF contract, but he isn't shy to say it.
Arlovski
knows it'll take time. He wants to fight until age 40. He figures
that's as good a number as any. But Arlovski admits, he hasn't
started thinking about life after fighting, if only because he
has so much left he wants to do.
Within
the past five months, a trio of men Arlovski defeated in a past
life -- Nelson, Fabricio Werdum and Ben Rothwell -- all tasted
the sweet taste of UFC glory. Arlovski, though, isn't bitter.
He considers WSOF to be the "right place for right now."
What happens a few years down the line is anyone's guess.
"Everybody
has his own destiny. Like I like to say, everything happens for
a reason. We'll see," Arlovski said.
"Maybe
one day I'm going to be in the UFC again.
"I
know it's a long way. I just have to beat all of my opponents.
Mike Kyle is the first one on Saturday."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Rising
from the Unrest
By James
Goyder
The
epicenter of a full-blown political and constitutional crisis,
Cairo remains dangerously close to descending into complete chaos.
Against this backdrop, Egyptian heavyweight Mahmoud Hassan prepares
for the most important fight of his life.
Amid
the political upheaval, street protests, violence, bloodshed
and curfews, he will try to become the first Egyptian mixed martial
artist to win inside the One Fighting Championship cage on Friday,
when he takes on former muay Thai world champion Alain Ngalaini
at One FC 10 “Kojima vs. Leone” in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The show’s undercard will stream live and free to Sherdog.com
at 7:30 a.m. ET/4:30 a.m. PT.
While
many of his compatriots have taken to the streets to voice their
anger over the manner in which power was wrestled from Mohamed
Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan decided to hit the pavement
to put in his work and try to make the best of a bad situation.
“If
you want to be the champ, you should only focus on your training,
you should forget everything except your training because this
is your life,” he said. “Many of our training sessions
have been postponed, but if you want to be a champion, you will
train on your bed if you have to.”
One
FC has to this point focused primarily on the lighter divisions
because of the comparative lack of larger fighters in the region.
Historically, heavyweight bouts have always held a certain allure,
and Asia’s most prominent mixed martial arts promotion has
taken gradual steps towards expanding its roster in that direction.
Hassan
in 2012 fought twice for the Extreme Fighting Championship organization
in Africa, posting a win and a loss. Now, he has an opportunity
to carve out a place in One FC, with an eye towards eventually
challenging for heavyweight gold.
“Of
course I am excited because I am the first fighter from the Middle
East to fight for One FC,” Hassan said, “and my dream
and my team’s dream is to get the belt in my gym.”
Hassan
operates out of Egyptian Top Team in Nasr City, one of many areas
directly affected by the unrest in Egypt. The camp is run by
Khalel Abdel Hamid, who has endured the frustration of watching
the turmoil wreak havoc on his student’s training schedule.
“Many
of our training sessions have been postponed, but if you want
to be a champion, you will train on your bed if you have to.”
-- Mahmoud Hassan, Egyptian heavyweight
“Now,
it is difficult for our fighters to train. How can you focus
on training when you are afraid for your future?” Hamid
asked. “But we do the best we can, even though we have had
to postpone our training, change the time [and] change the places.
Also, there is a curfew which is new to all Egyptians, and this
has affected us, too.”
Hamid
is also the man behind the Egyptian Fighting Championship promotion,
which was recently re-launched and rebranded as Evolution Fighting
Championship. Events had been held regularly at Cairo University,
but during the ongoing instability, the school has become the
scene of barricades, marches and a serious fire. It even served
as a makeshift morgue. Hamid can hardly think about putting on
cage fights in the midst of such turmoil and carnage. As a result,
his country’s burgeoning MMA scene has grinded to a halt.
“More
fans here are starting to like MMA,” Hamid said, “but
the revolution in Egypt stopped everything and we have had to
postpone our Evolution Fighting Championship events.”
Egyptian
Fighting Championship was founded in 2011 and was the first-ever
fully fledged MMA organization in a country that stretches from
the northeastern corner of Africa to the southwestern edge of
Asia. According to Hamid, the promotion was growing in strength,
until it was forced to put everything on hold.
“We
were the first freelance MMA organization in Egypt at a time
when there were no other organizations supporting MMA in the
country,” he said, “and EFC rapidly started to gain
interest from fighters and fans in Egypt who got us to where
we are today.”
Egypt
is not a country that has traditionally been associated with
competitive fighting, and Hamid admits the success of his fledgling
organization came almost out of the blue.
“Against
all odds, we made it happen,” he said. “It was the
biggest surprise for fighters and fans in Egypt, and we earned
the respect of everyone in the region. I can’t tell you
how many people were working very hard to get in the cage, craving
an opportunity to prove themselves, and they trained hard and
made it happen.”
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship has not returned to the Middle
East since it held a 2010 event in the United Arab Emirates.
UFC 112 was notable for Anderson Silva’s bizarre performance
against Demian Maia and Frankie Edgar’s controversial victory
over B.J. Penn.
In
the three years since, a number of MMA promotions have emerged
in the region. The most notable among them, Dubai Fighting Championship,
has featured British striker Paul Daley and former UFC heavyweight
champion Ricco Rodriguez. Meanwhile, the Desert Force Championship
organization has held eight events in Jordan. Hamid hopes his
Evolution Fighting Championship becomes an integral part of the
MMA scene in the Middle East. Undaunted by recent setbacks, he
presses forward with ambitious plans.
“Many
upcoming events are already planned with experienced professional
fighters and referees, and we will start to use an octagonal
cage, which the crowd will love,” Hamid said. “Fights
will be broadcast on multiple local channels.”
First
on the agenda: Hassan’s bout at One FC 10. There, he will
battle Ngalani, a seasoned kickboxer who has never before competed
in mixed martial arts. Hamid believes his understudy can put
forth a strong enough performance to win the fight and win over
the Asian fans. While portrayals of the current situation in
Egypt depict it as a country hell-bent on tearing itself apart,
Hassan hopes he can rise above the most volatile of environments
to make a name for himself inside the One Fighting Championship
heavyweight division.
“Mahmoud
is always ready to fight,” Hamid said. “He is good
at boxing, and even though he is fighting a muay Thai and K-1
champion, I expect him to make big noise at the One FC event.”
Source
Sherdog
|
GSP,
Hendricks at odds over testing
By Josh
Gross | ESPN.com
Two
months out from Georges St-Pierre's UFC welterweight championship
defense in Las Vegas against Johny Hendricks, a dust-up has emerged
over drug testing ahead of their anticipated five-round title
fight.
St-Pierre,
the long-reigning 170-pound French-Canadian star, wants the world
to see he's drug-free. So the 32-year-old mixed martial artist
officially agreed late last month to undergo random testing through
the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, a Nevada-based nonprofit
that designs and runs drug-screening programs for athletes.
When
St-Pierre first mentioned his intention to participate in the
VADA program, which features World Anti-Doping Association protocols
and laboratory testing, Hendricks, 29, claimed he would follow
suit. However, the welterweight challenger has yet to enroll
in VADA after "red flags" prompted him and his team
to move away from the program.
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During
a conference call on Aug. 13 arranged by the UFC to raise awareness
of an alternate supplemental screening program conducted by the
Nevada State Athletic Commission, tensions were raised after
St-Pierre's trainer, Firas Zahabi, spoke about the expense of
VADA versus NSAC testing. According to NSAC executive director
Keith Kizer and Hendricks' manager, Ted Ehrhardt, Zahabi claimed
VADA agreed to pick up the full cost. This surprised Ehrhardt,
who had been led to believe the UFC champion was committed to
paying for everything himself.
Three
days after the conference call, St-Pierre's co-manager, Rodolphe
Beaulieu, emailed Kizer, Ehrhardt, and UFC attorney Michael Mersch
to clarify that Zahabi's statement was a "misunderstanding."
Kizer classified it as a "misrepresentation."
"I
may have been unclear. I should have been more clear," Zahabi
told ESPN.com. "I should have repeated myself. But I didn't
think about it at the time. What I said was VADA was willing
to sponsor some of it."
The
original quoted price by VADA to St-Pierre's camp in early July
was $20,000 for a four-month program. The fee per fighter was
$7,500, while VADA agreed to use funds at its disposal to cover
the other 25 percent. Since St-Pierre didn't officially sign
on until Aug. 29, the price dropped to $16,000, though VADA,
headed by neurologist and former NSAC ringside physician Dr.
Margaret Goodman, could no longer help with the fee.
Currently,
VADA is holding a check that covers costs for testing both men
through Nov. 16. St-Pierre would receive an $8,000 refund if
Hendricks holds firm and opts against working with the independent
group.
As
far as Ehrhardt was concerned, the damage had been done and Hendricks
isn't going to enroll with VADA because he cannot trust the relationship
it shares with the UFC champion. Hendricks also told MMAfighting.com
that UFC advised him against agreeing to VADA testing.
On
Sept. 4, Canadian Web site TVAsports.ca reported Hendricks had
yet to become a "member" of VADA. Then over the weekend
Ehrhardt publicly expressed his concerns to MMAJunkie.com, which
first reported the call and St-Pierre's apparent refusal to participate
in NSAC's program.
Like
VADA, the NSAC would utilize WADA-accredited facilities and guidelines.
Fighters are required to be accessible at all times for random
urine and blood collection.
Unlike
VADA, where there are no consequences outside of bad press for
failing a test, NSAC's program enrolls fighters into a much more
penal process. VADA is expected to report results to the appropriate
regulatory bodies, which take the information under advisement,
but an NSAC campaign could include fines, suspensions, or other
commission-prescribed punishment for a failed test, or failing
to take a test.
During
the conference call, and in a subsequent email chain, Beaulieu
and Zahabi said they only wanted to understand the limits of
NSAC testing because they hoped it was as stringent as possible.
St-Pierre's agreement with VADA calls for screening of human
growth hormone in every test. Zahabi desired this in Nevada as
well because HGH is the substance most often rumored in connection
with St-Pierre.
"I
just wanted to guarantee that the most highly effective drug
is taken off the table," Zahabi said. "Test everyone
for it.
"We
were asking for the highest degree of testing. We were just trying
to be as honest and get the right answers. I think there was
a misunderstanding and different opinions."
Kizer
declined to discuss specifics of what would be screened for,
and he took umbrage at Beaulieu's repeated inquiries, which included
references to HGH, EPO and testosterone.
"You
don't get the details before the test," Kizer told ESPN.com.
In
an email sent to the group on Aug. 16, the executive director
expressed NSAC "does not allow any licensee to dictate or
craft the testing. Not only is this inappropriate, it is not
something the Commission would even consider."
"I
will take the latest email as a refusal by Mr. St. Pierre [sic]
to request enhanced steroid and drug testing by the Commission,
which is his choice," Kizer continued. "Of course Mr.
St-Pierre and Mr. Hendricks must comply with any and all testing
by the Commission."
St-Pierre
is a "very specific" person, said Bealieu. Their intention
wasn't to craft the process, only to understand exactly what
he was agreeing to. Compared to the program outlined by VADA,
NSAC testing felt like an "act of faith," Beaulieu
said, because certain policies and procedures, such as urine
and blood collection and a fighter's rights in those instances,
had not been spelled out to their satisfaction.
Beaulieu
declared to Kizer, Mersch, and Ehrdhardt on Aug. 17 that "Georges
has decided that if Johny Hendricks does not want to do VADA
and prefers your proposed enhanced steroid and drug testing by
the Nevada Athletic Commission, Georges will also do it, in addition
to VADA." He asked for "all documentation, a detailed
invoice and payment instructions necessary to proceed" be
sent to him in Montreal.
Kizer
balked at the idea of sending a detailed invoice, because, he
said, it could tip off some manner of testing. He has not responded
to Beaulieu.
After
receiving Beaulieu's final email, Kizer informed Mersch that
the process "was done," but if UFC, St-Pierre and Hendricks
came to an agreement -- like Top Rank had with boxers Timothy
Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez ahead of an Oct. 12 contest in
Las Vegas -- then they should bring him into the fold.
Zuffa,
which promotes the UFC, would have to wire the fee directly to
NSAC's WADA-accredited lab in Salt Lake City, and the commission
would step in from there.
Source:
ESPN
|
Knees
and Kicks to a Downed Fighter Rule Reinterpreted by Athletic
Commissions
by Jeff
Cain
How
athletic commissions interpret the rule about knees and kicks
to a downed fighter and how referees enforce the rule has changed.
UFC
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and former Executive Director
of the Nevada State Athletic Commission Marc Ratner appeared
on a recent edition of UFC Tonight on Wednesday and explained
the new interpretation of what is a foul and what isn’t
in regards to kneeing and kicking a “downed” fighter.
The
Unified Rules of mixed martial arts describes a “downed”
fighter as a fighter who has more than just the soles of their
feet on the ground.
The
Association of Boxing Commissions website defines a downed fighter
as, “A grounded opponent is any fighter who has more than
just the soles of their feet on the ground. (i.e. could have
one shin or one finger down to be considered a downed fighter)
If the referee determines that a fighter would be a grounded
fighter, but is not solely because the ring ropes or cage fence
has held fighter from the ground, the referee can instruct the
combatants that he is treating the fighter held up solely by
the cage or ropes as a grounded fighter.”
The
wording of the rule and the rule’s intent has not changed,
but the way the rule is interpreted and enforced has.
“The
rule is really the same,” said Ratner. “The interpretation
that we’ve come up with, with the Association of Boxing
Commissions, which should be called the Association of Combat
Commissions – they should change that – but the spirit
of the rule has been violated by a lot of fighters.
“Obviously
if you’re downed and you have a hand on the deck, and you
have three points there and you get kicked or kneed, that’s
a foul,” he said. “But we have fighters now who are
putting their hand down, bringing it up, putting it back down
again.
“I
call it, if you’re talking basketball, trying to draw the
foul. They’re hoping that the referee will see it and call
a foul and maybe disqualify the other guy,” added Ratner.
“So we’re telling the referees before the fights,
go into the dressing rooms and say, ‘look, if you do this
you’re doing it at your own peril and in my judgment as
a referee, if you’re doing it, I’m going to call it
legal.’”
It
is now up to the referee’s discretion whether or not a kick
or knee to a “downed” fighter is illegal.
“It’s
a judgment call,” said Ratner.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
|