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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
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Momilani Community Center)
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 3
|
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.
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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
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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
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If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
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Jon
Jones Wants and Will Get Glover Teixeira Next; Likely Super Bowl
Weekend
by Ken
Pishna
All
the Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson immediate rematch talk
can stop. As initially planned, Jones will next defend his belt
against Glover Teixeira.
Before
the scorecards were read at UFC 165 on Saturday night in Toronto,
those who witnessed the brutal five-round bout between the UFC’s
reigning light heavyweight champion and his Swedish challenger
began yammering for a rematch.
It
really didn’t matter who won – although Jones did by
unanimous decision – an overwhelming majority wants to see
that fight again.
Even
UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight press conference
that he would like to see the rematch, although he was non-committal
about when, having already promised Teixeira the next shot.
Teixeira
will be the next challenger for the belt, but it all came down
to the champion’s wishes. Jones asked for and was granted
the Brazilian as his next challenger.
Immediately
after the fight, Jones was leaning towards granting Gustafsson
a rematch. He told UFC Tonight, however, that after watching
replays of the fight about ten times, Jones believes he decisively
won the second, fourth, and fifth rounds, so he wants to move
on and fight Teixeira next.
White
on Wednesday night confirmed to ESPN that Jones made the request
and that fight is what the UFC intends for him.
“That’s
what the champ wants,” White said. “We’ll probably
have that fight on the Super Bowl card in New Jersey.”
The
UFC has traditionally done its Super Bowl weekend events in Las
Vegas, but Fox has the rights to the Super Bowl this season,
which takes place Feb. 2, 2014, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford,
N.J. Fox is looking to take over the sports world that week,
doubling down with the Super Bowl and what is typically one of
the UFC’s biggest shows of the year.
Gustafsson
is not completely out of the picture though. White told ESPN
that the Swede would likely fight on his home turf around the
same time, insinuating that he could be back in the Octagon against
the Jones/Gustafsson victor.
“Around
the same time of the Jones-Teixeira fight, Gustafsson will fight
in Sweden,” White said. “I don’t have an official
date for that yet.”
The
UFC has operated shows in Stockholm the past two years, each
time in April.
Jones,
in a statement from the UFC, also confirmed his intent to rematch
Gustafsson after fighting Teixeira despite believing he won decisively
in Toronto.
“I
said before the (Gustafsson) fight my sights were set on breaking
the record,” Jones said in the statement. “I want to
crush the record. I want to beat the record so bad it can never
be broken.
“I’m
going to fight Glover and I will answer all the critics about
the Gustafsson fight. I will fight Gustafsson after I fight Glover.
I won the fight, but I look at it as a blemish on my record because
some people think I didn’t. I promise you, he will be next.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Mario
Sperry: ‘Jacare’ is a More Difficult Matchup for Chris
Weidman Than Anderson Silva
By Marcelo
Alonso
As
the founder of Brazilian Top Team and former trainer of the Blackzilians,
Mario Sperry is still considered one of the most respected MMA
coaches in Brazil. The 46-year-old Pride Fighting Championships
veteran is currently training at X-Gym for a superfight against
Fabio Gurgel at the 2013 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling
World Championships.
Shortly
after a sparring session last week, Sperry talked to Sherdog.com
about Ronaldo Souza’s development and the rematch between
Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson. He also speculates on the futures
of two other talented Brazilians: Rousimar Palhares and Junior
dos Santos
What
did you think of Jacare´s victory against Okami?
Jacare is becoming a unpredictable fighter. Everyone expected
the ground game against Okami, but he came in striking and surprised.
Jacare and Vitor Belfort are the big names who will compete for
the belt soon.
Josuel
Distak said that if Anderson Silva beats Chris Weidman, Jacare
would move to light heavyweight. What do you think about that?
I am conservative. I always liked to see my athletes in the category
in which they are used to fighting. Today MMA is more business
than sport, so if Jacare has to move to 205 pounds, he will.
But I think his [best] division is 185. He will remain competitive
in the division above, but there will be stronger athletes. I'd
rather see him at middleweight.
How
do you see Vitor Belfort’s bout against Dan Henderson at
UFC Fight Night 32 going down?
The fight favors Vitor now. He has a [lot of momentum], the best
of his career. Vitor is like wine: the older he gets the better
he gets.
Who
do you favor in the Silva-Weidman rematch?
It will once again be a tough fight for Anderson due to the abilities
of Weidman. The first fight was not easy, and the second will
not be. Weidman will come even more prepared.
In
our last talk you said Jacare is a tougher opponent for Weidman
than Silva. Why do you think so?
Comparisons are complicated, but I think their styles match.
What does Weidman do best? Takedowns. What Jacare do best? Jiu
- jitsu. So that's why I think Jacare would be more complicated.
Against Jacare, Weidman would be insecure, unsure if the fight
would unfold standing or on the ground. Against Anderson, he
can expect to fight standing. And this unpredictability makes,
for me, Jacare more dangerous for Weidman. Also, I´m really
impressed the way Jacaré is developing his MMA game. I
see him training here every day. His ground game is amazing.
He has dangerous weapons standing up, his cardio is absolutely
impressive and his heart is scary. I see him with all the tools
to be a champion.
I
remember when you introduced me to Junior dos Santos and Rousimar
Palhares. After seeing their first sparring sessions, you told
me they would be Top 10 fighters in the world soon. A few years
later, they proved you were right. How do you see their futures
now ?
Cain Velasquez will combine wrestling with boxing [when he faces
dos Santos at UFC 166]. I think Cigano could try the same thing:
try takedowns and also use boxing. I still find it a difficult
fight for Cigano. I see Cain as a favorite. Not to take anything
away from Junior, but the first fight was very fast, and there
was no way to assess properly what he did right. In the second
fight, Cain had a successful strategy. Junior took a punch and
was lost. It is difficult, but not impossible. The early rounds
will be critical.
What
about Palhares? What do you expect from him in the welterweight
division?
I have not followed Rousimar, but I have heard that he is well.
Toquinho changed teams, and we hope that all change is for the
betterr . Team Nogueira has a great coach, Everaldo Penco, who
came from jiu-jitsu and understands MMA. Toquinho had good times
and bad times and did not show everything he knows. But changing
divisions and teams can benefit him.
You
have already created Brazilian Top Team and coached the Blackzilians.
What can we expect from Mario Sperry the coach in the near future?
I'm training at X-Gym for my fight against Fabio Gurgel. Being
in the middle of the fight is a huge satisfaction; I feel young
beside the young kids. I feel good because people respect me
as an athlete, even at 46 years old. As a coach I have nothing
set. I have no intention of working with athletes now but if
opportunities appear, I'm here to help.
And
as a fighter: what do you expect of the fight against Gurgel
?
Fabio is great athlete; it will be a war. He's training, I'm
also training. He has a great chance to beat me. He's in a good
era, living the fight game a studying a more modern jiu-jitsu.
But I have my history in the fight, and I'm confident. So let´s
see what happens in China.
Source:
Sherdog
|
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
|
UFC
president Dana White blasts Ken Shamrock, 'Super Friends'
Ken
Shamrock and UFC President Dana White have had a rocky relationship
over the past few years. In 2009, Shamrock filed a lawsuit against
Zuffa LLC, claiming the UFC violated contractual agreements for
his final fight. Shamrock lost the lawsuit, and a year later,
a Nevada court ordered Shamrock to pay $175,000 in legal costs
to Zuffa.
Recently
Shamrock revived his feud against the UFC, lobbing a series of
inflammatory statements and tweets at White. On Tuesday, White
responded.
"I
don't even want to mention this guy's f--king name," White
said at a post-press conference scrum. "But it's just like,
Ken Shamrock burst back on the scene. ‘Hey everybody, I'm
here to save everybody,' or whatever. No, you're trying to become
relevant again is what you're trying to do. Let's not forget
that Ken Shamrock tried to sue us, that he said that his contract
-- Ken Shamrock owes me $175,000. And I'm coming for it, Ken.
I'm coming for the f--king money, you piece of s--t.
"You
should have f--king stayed wherever you were, hidden under the
f--king porch somewhere. The guy owes me $175,000 because him
and his f--king scumbag lawyer put together some phony lawsuit
that he lost. And he owes me $175,000 in attorney's fees. And
he's out there talking about what he doesn't have and what guys
aren't getting and all this s--t. He's trying to make himself
relevant again and if anybody can't see that, you're just f--king
stupid."
Shamrock,
along with Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture, further took to Twitter
this earlier week, attempting to rally a quintet of former UFC
stars, including Frank Shamrock and Rampage Jackson, to "crash"
the UFC's 20th anniversary show in November.
"Wooo,
they're gonna crash it. What are they going to do? They're going
to come in and sit in their seats and f--king watch the fight,"
White said.
"The
f--king Super Friends. ‘We're going to come to the 20th
anniversary, we're going to save the world.' No, you're going
to walk through the front door, sit in your seats and watch the
fights, maybe take some pictures and sign some autographs. Good
for you. Have fun at the fights."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
165 Prelims TV Ratings Down Slightly, but Still a Strong Draw
for Fox Sports 1
The
TV ratings are in for the UFC 165 Prelims on Fox Sports 1.
The
UFC 165 Prelims broadcast netted 722,000 total viewers, according
to the Nielsen TV ratings service.
That
number is a slight decrease from the UFC 164 Prelims, which attracted
809,000 viewers. Like UFC 164, however, it was the most-watched
program of the day on Fox Sports 1.
While
the overall viewership was about 12 percent less than the UFC
164 Prelims, the UFC 165 Prelims increased viewership in the
key Men 18-49 advertising demographic by roughly 10 percent,
drawing 414,000 viewers vs. 378,000 viewers.
The
overall numbers are lower than when the prelims aired on FX,
but UFC and Fox officials have been pleased with the strength
of UFC programming on the new sports network. UFC programming
has consistently been a leader on FS1, alongside the popularity
of its college football and NASCAR programming.
The
UFC’s programming often puts FS1 in the top spot among ad
supported cable sports networks.
Myles
Jury topped the UFC 165 Prelims on FS1 with a split decision
victory over Mike Ricci.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Why
are the Ultimate Fighter ratings on FS1 lower than expected?
By Zach
Arnold
We’re
a month into the Ronda Rousey/Miesha Tate Ultimate Fighter series
and so far, the numbers are… inconsistently consistent.
Low, yes, but fluctuating. Unlike other UFC programming on Fox
networks, this is the show where the suits look at the live airing
numbers plus the DVR figures. We only get a glimpse at the live
airing ratings, so let’s take a look at numbers from MMA
Payout about the first month:
Week
1: 762,000
Week 2: 870,000
Week 3: 639,000
Week 4: 778,000
We
know all about the problems with Ultimate Fighter. The show has
worn out its welcome. It doesn’t recruit the best young
talent because if you’re good enough to fight in the UFC,
the UFC has already signed you. The show has bounced from network
to network. The concept of a “6-figure contract” holds
little regard in terms of credibility.
With
this season of Ultimate Fighter, some new dynamics entered into
the equation.
The
show is airing on a new channel (Fox Sports 1). The argument
is that the network is growing its audience. The problem with
this argument is that when the channel launched, UFC blew the
roof off the ratings with their Boston event headlined by Chael
Sonnen with 1.8 million viewers. So, hiding behind the “FS1
is a new channel” line of reasoning doesn’t hold water
for UFC because of UFC’s proven strength to mobilize its
hardcore fan base.
The
show has multiple airings on Fox Sports 1. The show airs “live”
on all coasts, so the 10 PM airing on the East Coast is 7 PM
on the West Coast. I like it, but it undoubtedly has an impact
on the ratings.
The
obvious twist from this season of Ultimate Fighter is that men
and women are in the same house and there are both male &
female fights on the show. The hope was that the show would attract
the hardcore fans plus draw in the casual fans who might be interested
in seeing the ‘novelty’ of women fighting. The problem
with that strategy is that there are already female fights in
the UFC and they’ve been pretty good for the most part,
so the novelty factor with Ultimate Fighter is gone.
Having
female fighters on Ultimate Fighter was supposed to be the hook
for attracting viewers. Instead, it has failed.
The
plan was to draw hardcore & casual fan support. If you can’t
attract all the hardcore fans, then at least attract enough casual
fans who might not watch the UFC and somehow convert them into
hardcores. That hasn’t happened. The twist with promoting
women’s fights is that on a mixed male/female fight card,
you’ll get your standard predominantly 18-to-34-year-old
white male audience to watch. If you promote an all female card
or a card heavily focused with multiple women’s fights,
you attract a different kind of audience. Much like the WNBA
or women’s college basketball attracts a very different
audience than men’s basketball, a card with a lot of female
fighters or personalities highlighted is not appealing enough
to the Standard UFC Male Fan and so you have to hope that you
can draw in new viewers, hopefully female, to watch the show.
There’s
also the element of some female UFC fans who don’t want
to watch women punching each other in the face. Same with some
male UFC fans.
I
asked our friend at MMA Payout about the demographic splits for
this season and the claim is that the ratio of female viewers
is largely unchanged from past seasons. What that indicates is
that the UFC has not been able to reach out to casual viewers
in hopes of converting them into new fight fans. We know that,
according to Fox suits, that 80% of UFC’s audience on Fox
is male. If you can’t attract more female viewers and the
hardcore male viewers are tuning out, the ratings will remain
low.
There
just simply aren’t enough viewers who find this season of
Ultimate Fighter entertaining. Personally, I’ve really enjoyed
watching the show and watching the veterans go through their
roller coaster ride of emotions. However, covering combat sports
has always been my life so of course I’m going to watch
the show with the new dynamics in place. What I find interesting
this season about the show isn’t interesting enough to UFC’s
hardcore audience.
Which
brings us to the last factor: Ronda Rousey. She’s come off
terribly on the show. The show could have either given her a
positive boost (like Georges St. Pierre) or given her a negative
boost. So far, horribly negative charisma. Instead of coming
off as a great champion with a likeable personality (St. Pierre
— despite those ridiculous NOS drink commercials), she’s
coming off more like Jon Jones (great champion with mercurial
personality and an artificial ceiling on attracting fan support).
Naturally,
her mother is coming to her defense:
On
Wednesday, she wrote this article defending her daughter’s
behavior:
Ronda
cares if she wins. When she loses it feels like the whole world
fell in. She’s extremely loyal to people and when they are
hurt, it hurts her.
People
are sometimes offended by Ronda because she does not fit how
they think she should act. At Ronda’s age, given the same
degree of provocation, I would have punched out a few people,
hit someone with a chair, told everyone to fuck off and walked
out. This is why our family cannot do a reality TV show. So,
no, I am the LAST person to ask don’t I think she should
behave differently.
The
problem is that when you agree to do a reality show, you know
what the hazards are coming in and you have to be emotionally
disciplined to not come off like an idiot given what the television
editors are hoping to accomplish. Look at the track record of
the show and the people involved in management. Many people have
come off horribly bad on the Ultimate Fighter. The portrayal
of Ronda, real or fake, has been a negative. It’s not going
to cost her a lot of fans necessarily but as the days go by it’s
harder and harder for her to lift the ceiling on what kind of
fan support she can obtain. She and Jon Jones are great at what
they do in the cage but they will have a ceiling on how many
PPV buys they can attract on their own unless they are matched
up against a great rival or opponent who can bring their own
PPV buys to the table.
The
Fox suits may be happy with the ratings for this season of Ultimate
Fighter given how poorly FS1 is performing right now. However,
the show isn’t helping to create new UFC fans and the impact
it will have in bringing in PPV buys specifically for the Ronda/Tate
fight may be smaller than first thought. Ronda’s still a
10-to-1 favorite at the sportsbooks. Not exactly the new “hottest
rivalry in sports,” but I give Fox credit for trying to
promote a show that seemingly isn’t appealing to UFC’s
hardcore fan base.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Following
back-to-back losses, UFC releases Ryan Couture
by Steven
Marrocco
After
migrating from the defunct Strikeforce to the UFC, lightweight
Ryan Couture (6-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) hoped to build a career in the
promotion where his father was a champion and star.
But
after two straight losses in the octagon, Couture's time in the
UFC has, for now, come to an end. The fighter this past week
received a letter releasing him from his contract, manager Sam
Spira today told MMAjunkie.com.
Couture,
the son of multi-time champ and UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture,
amassed a 6-1 record in Strikeforce and met increasingly stiff
challenges when the promotion was acquired by UFC parent Zuffa
in 2011. In his final three performances, he notched wins over
more experienced competitors such as Conor Heun, Joe Duarte and
K.J. Noons.
Shortly
after moving to the UFC, the 31-year-old Couture was caught in
the middle of a nasty fallout between UFC President Dana White
and his father, who was banned from UFC events by White after
he signed a multi-platform deal with Bellator broadcast partner
Spike TV.
White
said his enmity toward the elder Couture wouldn't extend to the
retired fighter's son, although he forbid "The Natural"
from acting as a corner when Ryan Couture debuted in the octagon
at UFC on FUEL TV 9.
Ryan
Couture faced "The Ultimate Fighter 9" winner Ross
Pearson, who had twice his professional experience and had faced
a bevy of high-level opposition. He lost via second-round TKO.
Three
months later, at UFC 164, Ryan Couture returned to meet "The
Ultimate Fighter 15" finalist Al Iaquinta, who replaced
an injured Quinn Mulhern. He was dominated en route to losing
a unanimous decision.
Spira
said the younger Couture will regroup and look to gain more experience
on a smaller platform before deciding whether to make another
push to win another contract with the UFC.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Cris
Cyborg: 'Ronda Rousey is a little mentally sick'
By Guilherme
Cruz
RIO
DE JANEIRO -- Ronda Rousey was worried about how the fans would
see her on the current season of The Ultimate Fighter, and her
long-time rival Cris Cyborg is surprised with what she has seen.
Invicta
FC’s featherweight champion believes the mental aspect could
be a decisive factor in Rousey’s second title defense in
the UFC against Miesha Tate on Dec. 28, and that Tate would have
the advantage.
"Ronda
is a little mentally sick," Cyborg told MMAFighting.com.
"Miesha is more focused. I don’t know if that’s
because Ronda is younger, more competitive. The mental aspect
can affect her, but what makes you win inside the Octagon is
training. The better prepared fighter will win."
Rousey
has submitted Tate in their first fight in Strikeforce, but Cyborg
hopes that the challenger has learned the lesson.
"Everybody
knows what Ronda does and I believe Miesha will come more prepared
this time," she said. "Unfortunately, everybody knows
what she’ll do and still let her do it. I’m watching
the TUF season, and I believe Miesha has more weapons to defeat
Ronda. But I don’t really care who wins this fight, though."
Rousey’s
division is 10 pounds lighter than Justino’s, but the Brazilian
still wants to fight the judo specialist.
"The
only thing stopping this fight to happen now is the weight, but
I don’t care about the belt," she said. "I want
to this fight for the fans in a catchweight because she used
to fight in my division and then dropped. I’d fight her
(in the UFC) and then return to my home, Invicta."
Cyborg
is managed by Tito Ortiz, and the former UFC champion doesn’t
have a good relationship with UFC president Dana White. However,
the muay thai specialist believes that wouldn’t be enough
to keep her away from the Octagon.
"If
I keep knocking people out, nothing will hide what I’m doing,"
she said. "(Dana White) won’t stop me. Every MMA fan
wants to watch to see me in the UFC. I’m happy at Invicta
FC, and I want to represent Invicta FC in the UFC. The more I
grow, they won’t be able to protect Ronda from me anymore."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Dennis
Siver-Manny Gamburyan Featherweight Scrap Added to UFC 168
By Mike
Whitman
The
UFC 168 bill continues to develop, as promotion officials recently
announced that Dennis Siver will do battle with Manny Gamburyan
at the Dec. 28 event.
The
MGM Grand Garden arena will host the pay-per-view offering, which
is topped by an anticipated middleweight title rematch between
reigning champion Chris Weidman and former longtime divisional
king Anderson Silva. The show will also see Ronda Rousey defend
her women’s bantamweight belt against Miesha Tate, while
Josh Barnett locks horns with Travis Browne in a pivotal heavyweight
pairing.
Siver,
34, saw a two-fight winning streak snapped on July 6, when Cub
Swanson handed the Russian-born German his first loss at 145
pounds in a third-round technical knockout. Prior to that setback,
Siver had won six of his last seven fights, scoring unanimous
decision wins over Diego Nunes and Nam Phan after dropping to
featherweight last year.
Gamburyan,
32, earned a controversial unanimous decision win over Cole Miller
in his most recent outing, which marked his return to the Octagon
after a year on the sideline. Following a failed WEC title bid
against Jose Aldo, “The Anvil” suffered back-to-back
defeats to begin his UFC career before halting the skid by outpointing
Michihiro Omigawa last year.
Source
Sherdog
|
Shayna
Baszler says Ronda Rousey is giving her advice on dealing with
the spotlight
By Zach
Arnold
Last
week’s edition of The Ultimate Fighter was great television.
I still believe that the show in general has outlived its usefulness
and that the shelf life is pretty much done. On Spike or FX,
that would be a correct assertion. However, given the low ratings
that Fox Sports 1 attracts, The Ultimate Fighter is going nowhere
and will be around for a long time because drawing a 0.7 on FS1
makes FS1 happy. When Fox is happy, UFC is happy.
Everyone,
except maybe the participants involved, was happy with last week’s
show. It was high drama, both real and scripted. It was 60 minutes
of Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler bragging about what was
going to happen against Miesha Tate fighter Julianna Pena. In
round one of the fight, Baszler pretty much got close to scoring
a 10-8 round. In round two, it was a different story. As Mike
Tyson famously stated, everybody has a plan until they get punched
in the mouth. Pena ended up submitting Baszler and shocked everyone.
With
that context in mind, Shayna Baszler’s radio interview with
Sherdog on Monday was really interesting to listen to. Shayna
explained why things went south in round two of her TUF fight.
“I
never realized how many fight experts follow me on Twitter until
that fight aired but… regardless of what anyone’s opinions
are and what they say, I didn’t get tired. I just didn’t…
turn it up to 5th gear. I don’t know why and I can’t
explain it and I’m not making excuses. I just didn’t
do that. I beat her the first round… you know, pretty handily,
I think. I felt good. But when she came out the second round
and knew she had to fight for her life and did that, I didn’t
and I think in some weird way and obviously not literally in
the fight but I think in some weird way I was like, ‘what
does she think she’s doing fighting like this? this is dumb,’
and so, you know, I kind of checked out and was like, ‘all
right, I’ll let her get this out of her system.’ When
she cracked me and kind of rocked me a little bit that one time
at the beginning of the second round, I was like, ‘well,
she has this round so I’m just going to tap her out in the
third round’ and that’s a bad attitude to have. I mean,
that’s something I should have known with my experience
and everything that you can’t check out in the middle of
a fight and so I mean, I don’t know, that’s what happened
and she took advantage, you know, and I feel like it’s one
of the biggest upsets that’s ever been on the show.”
The
obvious next question: how could someone, on the biggest television
platform she’s ever been on, not ratchet up the motivation
to finish an opponent she was handily beating in the first round?
“What
people aren’t understanding is that, um, you know, a show
like The Ultimate Fighter is kind of built for up-and-comers
to come up and prove themselves and work their way up, you know?
But on the women’s side it’s not like that because
you haven’t even tapped, you guys haven’t even seen
the tip of the iceberg of the talent that women have. So, the
fact that we all knew each other and, you know, had seen each
fight, I mean this was… every girl on that show is a higher-level
fighter than you’re ever going to see ever again, I think.
Even if they bring women on again, you had the cream-of-the-crop
there. And so… you know, you can’t count anybody out
but I just, I don’t know. Maybe it’s that I felt comfortable
like I knew I had management that could have, you know, I talked
about it with some of my management and stuff, ‘we can get
you in the UFC, we can do that, but this is going to be way better
for you.’ You know? So, maybe I just didn’t, you know,
I didn’t fight for my life. I didn’t… I don’t
know. I just, it’s… I liken it to like end-of-the-season
football when you have that team that HAS to win this game to
get in the playoffs and the other team is like throwing their
second-string in because they’re already in, you know? That’s
kind of what it was. I just didn’t… I wasn’t fighting
for my life, I wasn’t.”
The
radio host (TJ) asked her the following: “Did it feel more
like a sparring session with Pena?”
“It
really did and that’s something I really don’t think
you can ever understand unless you go on the show. You know,
I fought on some huge cards in huge arenas in front of big crowds
and to go into the same exact gym we train in twice a day in
front of like maybe 20 people, no music, no cheering, roaring
crowd, it’s… it’s a weird feeling. I mean, at
the time I was like, ‘wow, I am super relaxed, this is great.’
But I think in the end that’s what bit me in the tail. I
didn’t, you know, I couldn’t get up. I didn’t
get up for the fight and Julianna did a good job, took advantage
of it, and you know did what she had to do.”
The
aftermath of the loss proved to be as memorable on the show as
the finish to the fight itself. Pena was exuding confidence,
despite not feeling as if anyone gave her a chance of winning.
Tate was celebratory (and rightfully so). Rousey, who largely
has been in a miserable mood on the show (at least the way UFC
has edited & produced the show so far), had a meltdown. Shayna
and Ronda had a conversation on the couch talking about the loss.
“Every
emotion that you think you might feel ever in life is, for whatever
reason, heightened by 1,000 on The Ultimate Fighter. The environment
creates it that way, I think. But, you know, right away I didn’t
take offense at Miesha (Tate) of course celebrating for her team’s
win and all that and I don’t really think she meant any
offense towards me. But Ronda took it that way and what really
spoke to me was that whether true or not Ronda believed 100%,
you know, that was an offense that Miesha was celebrating during
my time of loss. And whether true or not, Ronda believed it and
she had my back and I can’t explain to you, you know, Ronda
knows the ultimate goal for me is to fight her for her belt one
day and she knows that I just horribly let the team down. I mean,
they had so faith in me, you know, I just… and for her to
still step up and get my back… was, I don’t know. It
really spoke volumes about Ronda to me and the cameras will paint
her as this villain that they have but the truth is everybody’s
a villain, it’s just that some people care when the cameras
are on them while they’re being a villain and others don’t
and Ronda’s one that doesn’t. She won me over that
day … the speech, the talk we had on the couch at the end
was a lot longer than what they showed and then just her, you
know, the way she had my back I just, um, she really won me over.”
Damon
Martin, one of my favorite MMA writers, asked Shayna if she viewed
herself as a veteran in comparison to Ronda given how much longer
she’s been around the business. Her answer might surprise
you.
“As
experienced as I am in the ring, truthfully Ronda has a lot more
experience being in the spotlight. Her spotlight’s been
a lot bigger than mine ever has been, ever, and so, you know,
we’ve been in contact about, you know, since the show, ‘make
sure you turn this time off your Twitter’ or ‘ha ha
ha, aren’t those people ridiculous?’ and stuff like
that. But she’s really given me a lot of advice on how to
deal with all this, you know, new-found attention on my life
and stuff and in that aspect she is very much ahead of me. And
on a training aspect on the show, there was never a time where
I felt like we were competing or where she was trying to prove
herself to me or I was trying to prove myself to her, it was
never like that. From the start, I mean the very first practice
we had we rolled and for people that grapple, it was a nice flow-roll,
we were having a recovery practice, kind of do what you want
because we had fought the day before and whatnot. … It was
like that the whole time, sparring, training, everything was
very… she trained alongside with us, as one of us, and her
coach ran the practice, so… I don’t think she, you
know, thought of herself as all high-and-mighty on us at all.
“I
mean, we’re friendly and everything but I don’t think
she takes any offense. I told her the whole season that I was
going to see her across the cage one day and we actually joked
about the epic trash-talking battles we could have with each
other. So, she knows and I know and I think, again, it’s
something that I think only as a fighter you understand. I think
the fact that we are friends mean we’re going to try to
beat the snot out of each other even more so than before. So,
my goals are still the same. I just don’t hate her as much
as every one else, I guess.”
It’s
interesting that Ronda is giving advice on dealing with the spotlight
because it’s probably been the biggest (and only) knock
on her as a fighter. It’s undeniable that she knows about
the pressures of being in the Zuffa marketing spotlight, though,
and I’m sure her advice to Shayna has been substantive.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
TUF
18 TV Ratings Swing Upward in Week 4
The
fourth episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team
Tate attracted an audience of 778,000 viewers, according to the
Nielsen TV ratings service. That number is a 22-percent improvement
over the previous week’s 639,000 viewers, which marked a
historical low for the reality series.
The
TUF 18 TV ratings this week also propelled FOX Sports 1 to the
top spot amongst all ad-supported cable sports networks in its
10-11 p.m. time period. It was also No. 4 amongst all ad supported
cable networks, not just sports networks, in the key advertising
demographics of Men 18-49 and Men 25-54 in its time period.
As
has become the norm for UFC programming, The Ultimate Fighter
was once again the most watched show of the day on FOX Sports
1.
Four
weeks into the season, The Ultimate Fighter is averaging 762,250
viewers per episode.
The Ultimate Fighter 18 TV Ratings:
Week
1: 762,000
Week 2: 870,000
Week 3: 639,000
Week 4: 778,000
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Source: Romolo Barros
|
UFC
Fight Night 30: Bisping vs. Munoz Fight Card Rumors
UFC
Fight Night 30
Bisping vs. Munoz
Date: October 26, 2013
Venue: Phones 4u Arena (formerly Manchester Arena)
Location: Manchester, England
Main
Bots (Fox Sports 2):
-Michael Bisping (24-5) vs. Mark Munoz (13-3)
-Ross Pearson (15-6) vs. Melvin Guillard (31-12-2)
-Jimi Manuwa (13-0) vs. Ryan Jimmo (18-2)
-Norman Parke (18-2) vs. Jon Tuck (7-0)
-Alessio Sakara (19-10) vs. Magnus Cedenblad (11-4)
-Phil Harris (22-10) vs. John Lineker (22-6)
Preliminary
Bouts (Online):
-Luke Barnatt (6-0) vs. Andrew Craig (9-1)
-Rosi Sexton (13-3) vs. Jessica Andrade (9-3)
-Andy Ogle (9-2) vs. Cole Miller (19-8)
-Mike Wilkinson (8-1) vs. Jimy Hettes (10-1)
-Brad Scott (8-2) vs. Michael Kuiper (12-2)
-Al Iaquinta (6-2-1) vs. Piotr Hallmann (14-1)
UFC
Fight Night 30 Bisping vs. Munoz Times:
Preliminary Bout: 11:45 a.m. ET / 8:45 a.m. PT
Main Card on Fox Sports 2: 3 p.m. ET / Noon PT
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Glover
Teixeira Scored UFC 165 Headliner for Jones, Eagerly Awaits Title
Shot
By Gleidson
Venga
Having
presumably earned a chance to fight for the light heavyweight
belt with his victory over Ryan Bader last month, Glover Teixeira
went to Toronto on Saturday to watch the title bout between Jon
Jones and Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165.
The
fight resonated with the Brazilian, who was surprised by the
performance of the challenger.
"It
surprised me a lot, especially in wrestling with the takedown
defense. I knew [Gustafsson] would hit hard, but the wrestling
was unexpected," he said. "I thought it was the best
fight of the night, and one of the best I've attended. I can
even see some fights that were similar to this, but surely this
was one of the best that ever happened in the UFC."
It
was Jones who emerged with a closely-contested unanimous decision
triumph, although more than a few onlookers believed Gustafsson
deserved the nod. Teixeira sided with the judges on the controversial
ruling.
"I
agreed with the judges' decision. I gave the first and third
round to Gustafsson, the second was well balanced, but as Jon
Jones is the champion -- he won. And the fourth and fifth rounds
were to Jones. He won 48-47."
With
a title shot promised before the fight, Teixeira is awaiting
the UFC to call and schedule his long-awaited fight for the belt.
Recently ESPN.com reported reported that Teixeira – not
Gustafsson – will get the next crack at the reigning champion
on the promotion’s traditional Super Bowl weekend card.
However, nothing has been officially announced by the UFC.
"Dana
White didn't talk to me yet, but I'm hoping for them to call.
If God wants it, then I will fight for the belt, because that's
what they promised me," he said.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Intervention
time: Keith Kizer in self-presevation mode after Cynthia Ross
exits
By Zach
Arnold
As
with every scandal in today’s 24/7 news cycle, we have the
general pattern: scandal happens, mea culpa or excuse, fighting
over response, and then basic ‘we’ll investigate’
or ‘we’ll fix the problem’ response. Then the
audience tunes away from the story and moves onto something else.
We
know what happened with judge Cynthia Ross scoring the Mayweather/Canelo
fight a 114-114 draw. Ross butchered the score for the Tim Bradley/Manny
Pacquiao fight. I knew that as soon as she scored Mayweather/Canelo
a draw, all the attention would go on her. It’s a fool’s
errand. The real culprit is Keith Kizer and everyone, deep down,
knows it. Kizer, in the past, has always defended his officials
and judges — partially to create loyalty and partially because
he has always figured that blowing off the critics was easy to
do and that his job security was always in tact.
Then
came Saturday night… and Sunday afternoon… and Kizer
was defending Ross as a judge. Even the best con men discover
that one cover-up too many can bite you in the ass. Rather than
diffusing the situation and taking the heat off of his booking
of judges, Kizer says what he always does in these kinds of controversies
and defended Ross by blaming the 10-point must system. And in
the process, Kizer exposed himself for others who held their
fire back in the past to go after him this time because there
was nothing to lose.
Realizing
that his job security actually is at risk this time around, Kizer
embraced a scenario where Ross would take an ‘indefinite
leave of absence’. The whole thing is a farce. Keith Kizer
is the man who runs the operation and has ran the ship since
Marc Ratner left to go work for UFC. It doesn’t always mean
that he is in total control, however.
In
addition to embracing the departure of Ross, Kizer is claiming
that he will hold a seminar for judges & officials either
next month or in November in Las Vegas. A seminar. Talk about
the blind leading the blind. If you have no leader and no leadership,
then it’s useless. Kizer hopes that this sales pitch will
cause the media to back off of him and relieve some of the public
outcry.
Now
is not the time to stay silent.
The
art of self-preservation
When
I wrote the article about Keith Kizer’s job security, I
got a lot of insider reaction adding fuel to the fire. In short,
I stated that if the major casino bosses and promoters like Bob
Arum, Lorenzo Fertitta, and others threatened to not run shows
in Nevada then Kizer would be fired the next day. However, that
threat isn’t going to be taken seriously because nobody
is going to stop running shows in Nevada because of the state’s
great tax structure for hosting events. With Floyd Mayweather
Jr. vs. Amir Khan in the works, it looks more likely that the
fight will happen in Las Vegas and not in London.
Reaction
to our Keith Kizer job security article from insiders pointed
out that if political players like Sig Rogich (a Ronald Reagan
political fixer who currently backs the World Series of Fighting
promotion) and Skip Avansino wanted Kizer fired, they could supposedly
make the call tomorrow and get the move done.
So
why haven’t the major power brokers made the effort to go
after Kizer? Because, up until this point, his actions haven’t
damaged their credibility. Even though the quality of the commission
is degrading in front of our eyes with Kizer at the helm, his
actions never put a horrible spotlight on the politicos who influence
the fight game in Las Vegas. However, Keith Kizer is now a real
public liability and he’s starting to drag their reputations
through the political mud. It’s perfectly understandable
why guys like Mr. Avansino stuck with Kizer in the past. Sometimes
it’s hard to admit making a mistake, especially such a high-profile
one.
On
three key levels as a regulator, Keith Kizer’s performance
has been substandard. On booking officials, he’s lousy except
for when he books Kenny Bayless or Jay Nady — and that’s
kind of impossible to screw that up. On recruiting fights &
being respected by promoters, I’d hardly call him much of
a success. The structure of the commission molded by Marc Ratner
basically works on auto-pilot as long as you don’t massively
screw things up. On drug testing, Kizer’s legacy is downright
terrible. The image of the Nevada State Athletic Commission today
is a commission where fighters can get permission to use testosterone
(anabolic steroids) and Kizer will come out and defend such steroid
usage by telling the press that it shouldn’t be used as
a scarlet letter against such users. When fighters aren’t
getting hall passes for testosterone, standard Nevada drug tests
aren’t catching the users who are microdosing on drugs like
synthetic testosterone. Instead, it’s outside drug testing
from an organization like the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association
that is catching fighters who volunteer to be part of the drug
testing program. In addition to having difficulty dealing with
anabolic steroid usage, Kizer has had protracted fights with
fighters Nick Diaz & Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. over positive
marijuana tests. These fights drew the ire of political interest
groups because of how excessive the fines were and how excessive
the fines are still going to be for a positive marijuana test,
despite updating their policy on marijuana metabolites to match
modified World Anti-Doping Agency standards. And then there’s
the mess with Kizer getting involved in the GSP/Johny Hendricks
battle over drug testing.
If
you’re going to be a front man for politicos, you should
at least attempt to be a savvy manipulator. He’s attempted
to try to accomplish this and, unfortunately for him, Keith Kizer
has zero ability to manipulate the press, the public, and the
fighters.
If
Bill Brady can express remorse and regret that he let Keith Kizer
appoint judges for the Floyd Mayweather/Canelo Alvarez fight,
isn’t that a signal to everyone else that Keith Kizer’s
performance & judgment isn’t up to par with the standards
that Nevada’s athletic commission expects an Executive Director
to abide by? Jordan Breen on Sherdog radio tore into Kizer making
excuses about how the 10-point must system contributed to Cynthia
Ross’s 114-114 score card for Mayweather/Canelo:
“CJ
Ross shouldn’t have been there in the first place. That’s
the question that no one seems to ask, like, why was she even
there, why was she judging this fight? It’s ludicrous. And
to me that says a lot about Keith Kizer. I don’t want to
make him sound like some sort of Walter White figure but you
got some balls on you, you got some real F-U to the world type
attitude when right after Bradley and Pacquiao you’re going
to turn around and put CJ Ross in there. What, it’s not
like boxing fans are going to forget. No one did. The minute
that score card came out, everyone was like, ‘Oh, CJ Ross,
from the Pacquiao and Bradley fight,’ took two seconds.
“But
if you roll in the world where you protect everybody and everybody
protects you, everything’s all good in the hood I guess.
Cronyism reigns, nothing’s wrong. This guy lost but, ‘oh,
what if it was a hockey playoff (game) and one team won in double
overtime by 1 goal but then another team won by 5…’
Who cares, it’s fighting. Get it right or go home. That’s
it. No time for any of this other stuff. I’m sick of hearing
Keith Kizer talk about tennis scores and all this other [palaver]
that has nothing to do with MMA or boxing.
“Make
an effort, review your judges. Because here’s the thing
— you can act like you have some kind of internal auditing
process all you want. When CJ Ross gets this gig after that,
the next big fight that CJ Ross gets unless Kizer wises up…
Just all the proof you need that nothing’s going to happen.
They don’t care. It’s going to be the same homies being
recycled day in, day out. If they screw up, there’s going
to be some, “Well, in tennis…” No one cares. Just
find judges who can do it right or at least do it right with
a greatest frequency and less of an inclination to screw up in
catastrophic-type fashion.”
Both
selfish & justifiable reasons to make a change at the top
Keith
Kizer has been Executive Director for over seven years.
The
powers-that-be have a chance to fix the situation now. They have
a chance to restore their good name. All they have to do is say,
hey, we made a mistake and let’s clean house by getting
rid of our biggest liability. Rather than drawing scorn, power
brokers like Mr. Avansino & Mr. Rogich would draw praise
from everyone in the fight industry and the fans that support
combat sports.
If
you’re Skip Avansino, ask yourself any of the following
questions:
Would
Keith Kizer’s removal help improve the image of the Nevada
State Athletic Commission? Yes.
Would Keith Kizer’s removal decrease the amount of revenue
from big fights? No.
Would the quality of officiating & judging on major combat
shows in the state improve on the MMA side of the ledger? Yes.
Is Nevada still considered the top commission in combat sports
since the hiring of Keith Kizer as Executive Director? Debatably,
no. Nevada’s back to joining the pack.
If
I’m a member of the Nevada commission, I would take a look
at the events calendar and look at the level of show activity
in the state. Nevada still attracts the major shows because of
the tax structure but where are all the small and mid-level events?
Those events are important in developing a new crop of officials
who can take center stage for bigger events down the road. Without
that ecosystem of minor events, it’s hard to staff the major
events with quality officiating unless you start poaching officials
from other states.
Nevada
is losing smaller and mid-sized shows to Florida and Texas. Florida,
that hellhole of regulatory chaos where anything practically
goes at this point. Florida, a state that is lucky to regulate
one professional show a week, is now starting to attract Golden
Boy events that Nevada should be getting instead? It’s inexcusable.
With
the exodus of Cynthia Ross, Keith Kizer is hoping for a timeout
and a reprieve from those in political power who helped him get
his job. It’s time for those responsible putting Kizer in
power to admit that they made a mistake, repair the commission’s
image, and find a new leader who best represents the state and
also the image of the powers-that-be. On all levels, Keith Kizer
has been a failure as a leader and that leadership deficit will
continue to grow as long as he in power as the Executive Director.
The
Nevada State Athletic Commission used to be the role model for
other athletic commissions. It used to be an example of exceptional
regulation. It’s time for a deus ex machina moment.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Morning
Report: Benson Henderson hopeful for February 2014 return
By David
St. Martin
After
dropping his title to Anthony Pettis at UFC 164 in August, it
sounds like former lightweight champion Ben Henderson will be
taking some time off before returning to action.
As
reported by Ariel Helwani on Wednesday's UFC Tonight, Henderson
is eyeing February 2014 as a possible return window. According
to his manager, Malki Kawa, Henderson doesn't have a specific
opponent in mind, but wants 'someone who puts them back into
the title picture.'
Henderson,
who was armbarred into submission by Pettis, seemed to be in
agony following the bout, unable to even fully put his arm into
his shirt sleeve at the post-fight press conference. Initially
cleared by Dr. Brian Shafer, an elbow specialist, Henderson was
told he suffered only a minor injury with no real structural
damage.
"My
elbow isn't going to be an issue," Henderson said in a statement.
"Dr. Shafer said I can resume training immediately, but
to take it slow and steady for a couple of weeks and do my rehab
work. Of course, I am anxious to get going full speed again but
I will be smart and patient about it as well."
Of
course, each fighter's situation is unique, but keep in mind
the UFC doesn't have a tendency to rush dethroned champions back
into action. Cain Velasquez (six months), Junior dos Santos (six
months), Mauricio Rua (five months) and Anderson Silva (six months)
have all had lengthy layoffs after losing their straps.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Chris
Weidman Knew He’d Have to Beat Anderson Silva Twice to Silence
the Doubters
by Jeff
Cain
Heading
into the UFC 162 middleweight title fight between Anderson Silva
and Chris Weidman, it was known that if Silva lost there would
be an immediate rematch.
“Guy
hasn’t lost in the UFC ever; has beat everybody. He loses
that fight, he’s the guy for a rematch if he wants it,”
said UFC president Dana White during a media luncheon days prior
to the July 6 event.
Silva
initially indicated that he didn’t want a rematch, but changed
his mind after some reflection. Weidman always knew he’d
have to defeat Silva twice to prove it was no fluke the first
time.
“He’s
the greatest of all time. People can’t fathom the fact that
he lost. I knew going into that fight we were going to have to
have a rematch. I was going to have to prove people wrong again,”
said Weidman during a press conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Almost
as fast as Silva’s body came crashing to the canvas following
the left hand of Weidman in the second round of the UFC 162 main
event, critics were saying Silva beat himself. Doubters were
voicing their opinions and the criticisms have served as motivation
for Weidman.
“I
have a lot of motivation just stemming from myself and family
and other things like that, but definitely, it motivates me,”
he said. “I want to prove people wrong. I like being the
underdog. I like having that feeling where people think you’re
going to lose, and I’ll prove them wrong.”
The
rematch is set for UFC 168 on Dec. 28 at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena in Las Vegas. And while Weidman wants to prove people wrong
again, he knows he won’t ever be able to silence them all.
“Even
after this next fight, when I win, there’s still going to
be a lot of doubters out there. No matter what, there’s
always going to be excuses out there for why you got the W. That’s
just part of the sport,” said the champion.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Lifetime
appointment: Keith Kizer’s job remains safe with Nevada
politicos
By Zach
Arnold
On
Monday, Big John McCarthy stated the obvious when he ripped into
Keith Kizer as a man who simply is clueless about combat sports.
His comments backed up what we wrote about Kizer over the past
week about the man’s job security and just who exactly is
politically protecting him. I even made a prediction as to what
kind of dog-and-pony show the five-person Nevada State Athletic
Commission panel would present to keep Kizer in power.
My
prediction turned out to be half-right. He’s keeping his
job. What I didn’t expect is that there wouldn’t even
be an attempt at a dog-and-pony show in the first place as a
symbolic slap on the wrist for Keith Kizer.
At
Wednesday’s Nevada State Athletic Commission meeting in
Las Vegas, Chairman Bill Brady stated that fighter camps &
promoters will be approached before big fights with pool lists
of officials and will be given an opportunity to voice any displeasure
with certain officials. (In other words, nothing has changed).
Kizer was asked to provide pool lists and background information
on officials he nominates into pool lists for the commissioners.
Kizer, amusingly, told the commissioners that if they want information
on the officials he books that they can go to Boxrec and check
out the information themselves. Skip Avansino, who basically
is treated as the don of the commission, said that he didn’t
have time to go to Boxrec and wanted information supplied to
him directly on officials. Brady said that the process Kizer
has been using for selecting officials and notifying others about
the process has been ’somewhat sloppy.’ That was the
only official criticism stated publicly on Wednesday.
Brady
acknowledged a meeting the day before at the Nevada AG’s
office in Las Vegas, which is next door to the NSAC office.
Kizer
was asked for his pool list of officials for the Tim Bradley/Juan
Manuel Marquez fight coming up in a couple of weeks. For referees,
he listed three: Kenny Bayless, Robert Byrd, and Tony Weeks.
His issues with Jay Nady continue. After listing a slew of judges,
Kizer ended up selecting Byrd as the referee and judges which
included Patricia Morse Jarman and Glenn Feldman. Kizer stated
that JMM’s purse is $6 million USD and Tim Bradley’s
purse is $4.1 million. Cameron Dunkin was called upon by the
commission to voice any objections and none were voiced. Commissioner
Francisco Aguilar asked Kizer why he doesn’t book foreign
officials for top shows.
Keith
Kizer’s job security remains unscathed. Marc Ratner, Skip
Avansino, Lorenzo Fertitta, and Sig Rogich apparently won’t
pull the plug on the guy and neither will the Attorney General
or Governor offices. When Bob Arum rants and raves about the
commission being controlled by Republicans, he’s actually
telling the truth. It’s a very close-knit community and
the political glue is Sig Rogich, a self-styled political fixer
for Ronald Reagan & George H.W. Bush. Rogich is the classical
political fixer who brings celebrities & pols to big fights
and has a school named after him in Las Vegas. Rogich has lobbied
the Nevada state legislature to legalize gay marriage & raise
state taxes & increase immigration; he’s pretty much
your classic Establishment Republican who has the ear of every
state pol & wannabe pol nationally because of his public
relations operation, Rogich Communications Group, and his background
in advertising. So, while Bob Arum is right that Republicans
controls the Nevada State Athletic Commission, he’s entirely
wrong about Rogich being a racist if you look at his track record
on immigration.
When
it comes to advertising, Sig Rogich is a man whose claim to fame
is coming up with the infamous Michael Dukakis “tank”
campaign ad in 1988 despite Roger Ailes reportedly being involved
in the process.
Mr.
Rogich is the money man behind the World Series of Fighting,
the unofficial bastard child of UFC & semi-stalking horse
of Bellator. He is very close to the Zuffa family. He also is
the former Chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Rogich
and his allies have apparently decided that Keith Kizer isn’t
enough of a political liability to stain their reputations. They’re
wrong and eventually something horrible, like a death in the
ring, will have to occur before they decide to pull the plug
on what has been an embarrassing spectacle over the last seven
years. The casinos are legitimately concerned about the reputation
of the commission because they don’t want to lose activity
for big fights at the sportsbooks. However, Rogich & Lorenzo
& Ratner & Avansino apparently have no qualms about keeping
Keith Kizer in place at the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
As
one close Nevada insider stated, “What else did you think
would happen? If [the political fixers] admit [Kizer] isn’t
good enough, they have to get rid of him now. That doesn’t
mean they won’t move him on if he continues to screw up
but these guys are experts as how to handle all of this and Sig
is one of the finest PR guys in the world for crisis management.”
Most
PR firms tell their clients to publicly admit that they have
a problem and then ask for public forgiveness. The political
fixers that control the Nevada State Athletic Commission won’t
even do that. Hell, they allegedly can’t even get Keith
Kizer to attend yearly Assocation of Boxing Commission meetings.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Renan
Barao hopes to earn
‘Mayweather money’ one day
By Guilherme
Cruz
RIO
DE JANEIRO -- Dana White said Renan Barao might be the closest
to Floyd Mayweather the UFC has in terms of winning streaks,
but the Brazilian doesn’t see himself that way.
Following
his second-round TKO victory over Eddie Wineland at UFC 165,
the interim bantamweight champion spoke to MMAFighting.com about
the UFC president’s compliments for his second title defense
inside the Octagon.
"It’s
an honor to be compared to a legend like Mayweather," Barao
said. "It feels great to be compared to a man that made
history in the sport."
Mayweather
last fought one week before UFC 165, moving to 45-0 with a decision
win over Saul Canelo. Barao hasn’t lost since his MMA debut
in 2005, and the win over Wineland improved his undefeated fight
streak to 32.
"I
don’t think so," he said when asked if he sees himself
as UFC’s Mayweather. "I have a lot of work to do yet,
and I keep my feet on the ground. But the goal is stay unbeaten
for a long time. I will work hard to stay this way."
Barao
might be closer to Mayweather’s undefeated streak, but he’s
nowhere near the boxing champion’s $41.5 million dollars
check for his last fight.
"I
hope I can make something like that one day," he said with
a laugh. "I’ll pray for this to happen one day. It’s
already way better now that it was in the past. MMA is growing
a lot so maybe we will get closer to a purse like this. Who knows?"
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Teixeira
next, but Winkeljohn says Jones wants Gustafsson again to fix
mistakes
by Steven
Marrocco
Striking
coach Mike Winkeljohn speaks in code to his fighters between
rounds. It's his way of keeping them on track without potentially
giving opponents the upper hand.
"The
sport is getting like the NFL," he told MMAjunkie.com. "For
all I know, somebody is letting the other corner know what I'm
saying between rounds."
Sometimes,
his instructions are deliberately confusing to the uninitiated.
But this past Saturday, he admits they were less than clear even
for their intended recipient, UFC light heavyweight champion
Jon Jones.
"We
got a little too crazy with too many voices telling him what
to do," Winkeljohn said.
Winkeljohn
was the sole person in the cage between rounds with Jones (19-1
MMA, 13-1 UFC) for much of his fight with Alexander Gustafsson
(15-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) at UFC 165, which took place at Toronto's
Air Canada Centre. The striking coach said a mixup with the overseeing
athletic commission forced him to relay the instructions of Jones'
other coaches, Greg Jackson and Israel "Izzy" Martinez,
during the fight.
Two
people are normally allowed in the cage between rounds, but a
cut Jones sustained in the first round became more severe and
forced Jackson to cede his place to cutman Jacob "Stitch"
Duran. Then a representative from the commission told Jones'
corner there were too many people outside the cage, as well.
"They
normally have three (cornermen) in Toronto," Winkeljohn
said. "The UFC and most places always let us have four.
We asked them if it would be OK if we had four ... and we had
the OK. Greg was actually on the corner list. They had approved
it.
"But
whoever the extra gentleman was that asked one person to get
out of the corner, apparently he wasn't aware of that. And it's
not worth fighting at the time because I'd hate to lose a title
fight over the fact that we argued in the middle of a fight."
It
was just one challenge in a fight Winkeljohn called one of the
more stressful nights of his career.
There
were others, however. When the 26-year-old Jones' injured his
foot somewhere in the second round, Winkeljohn tried to acknowledge
the fighter's pain while not tipping the audiences' hand to the
problem. Somewhere in there, he encouraged Jones to continue,
as well.
"He
was not able to push off left foot as hard," Winkeljohn
said of the champ. "We were having a hard time throwing
the second punch, because Jon had the energy, but it was hard
to throw the second and the third strike. We had him hurt a couple
of times, and Gustafsson made it happen. He's the one that checked
that leg kick, so he's the one that's responsible for hurting
Jon. That's a compliment on what he did."
Even
more than defending strikes, the 26-year-old Swedish fighter
surprised Winkeljohn at his ability to press Jones and deny takedowns.
The champ largely was unable to have his way with the challenger
on the ground and even was taken to the mat for the first time
in his UFC career.
Meanwhile,
Gustafsson landed dozens of hard left hooks that caused Jones'
face and lips to swell and worsened the cut above his eye.
"I
really thought John would be able to take him down easier than
he did, and that was a little frustrating for Jon," Winkeljohn
said. "In the long run, it's going to make Jon a much, much
better fighter. Gustafsson, he's the real deal. He's going to
be there for a long time."
On
Wednesday, it was revealed that Jones' foot injury is not as
initially thought, which means Winkeljohn will resume his conversation
with the champion soon enough at Jackson-Winkeljohn's MMA in
Albuquerque, N.M. He's already got a few things he'd like to
talk about when it comes to sharpening Jones' skills for his
next bout, which will be against No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira
(22-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC), likely Super Bowl weekend in New Jersey.
But after that, Jones wants Gustafsson in a rematch.
"What
kicks to throw from what range," Winkeljohn said of what
he thinks Jones may improve upon. "We've got to work a little
bit more on it, because we're fighting these guys that are little
bit longer, so it's a different range game. I'd like to see a
little more combinations out of him.
"I
think there's some details I don't want to let out, but those
are pretty simple to say. I'd to see Jon throw more of his strikes
in combinations, especially when pressing forward, and get the
takedowns better."
Although
Jones took more hard punches than in any previous UFC bout, Winkeljohn
isn't concerned that the fighter is setting a precedent that's
ultimately unsustainable.
"I
don't want to see any of my fighters get hit; that's kind of
the style I've developed with them," he said. "That
being said, Jon has not taken a lot of damage in his fights over
and above what's happened. His elbow got popped; his foot got
popped. But honestly, he hasn't been hit in the head hard like
a lot of fighters, and that to me is what I'm worried about.
"There's
things that are career-enders, but there's things that are life-enders.
I feel good that Jon has not been hit with those type of things
that are much, much more important than bone and ligaments."
The
coach added: "Jon's got a pretty good chin. I'd like to
see him never have to use that chin again."
When
Winkeljohn spoke to MMAjunkie.com, the UFC was undecided whether
Jones would next meet Gustafsson or Teixeira. From Winkeljohn's
initial impression, the champ's preference was the former –
even if that now has proven to be something Jones wants, but
not until after he fights Teixeira.
"I
think Jon is motivated to fight Gustafsson again to show everybody
that he can fix all those mistakes," Winkeljohn said. "Gustafsson's
got some mistakes to fix, as well. He's got to win the fight.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Gustafsson’s
Trainer Scored Bout for Jones Initially, But Changed Mind
Eric
Del Fierro was in Alexander Gustafsson’s corner Saturday
for his UFC light heavyweight title bout against champion Jon
Jones, and although plenty of viewers believe the Swede deserved
the decision, that wasn’t his trainer’s initial opinion.
“When
I was there, I scored it, I think, the way it came through: 3-2
for Jones,” Del Fierro told the Sherdog Radio Network’s
“Beatdown” show on Wednesday. “I had Jones winning
the fifth round. It was such a grinding fight. When I was there,
I even scored round two in Alex’s favor. It was weird. The
way it ended, I saw it going 3-2 to Jones. I just thought he’d
finished strong, and to be the champ, you’ve got to take
that fifth round. That’s one of the most important rounds
of that whole fight.”
Jones
won a unanimous decision on 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 scorecards.
Although Del Fierro agreed while watching the fight cageside,
he later changed his view after watching video of the fight.
“Don’t
get me wrong,” he said. “I’ll tell you what I
saw in the corner is, I always err on the side of caution. Obviously
we’re fighting the greatest of all time. We’re fighting
the champion and we need to decisively own those rounds. At the
fight, that fifth round, I felt, killed us. But when I went back
and watched it on video, I can see the argument for Alex winning
3-2 because on video, I have Alex winning 3-2. But when I was
there, I definitely thought that fifth round cost us and I thought
that was the deciding factor.”
Gustafsson
put on a fantastic performance regardless. He stopped takedown
after takedown and scored early and often on the feet.
“I
don’t know if Jones expected Alex’s speed or even his
pressure, to just get in his face right away,” Del Fierro
said. “Usually everybody tends to sit back and let Jones
establish that long range. They just respect his wrestling so
much that they won’t go inside on him. Alex just decided
we’re going to go forward right away.”
The
strategy worked, but Gustafsson still came up just a little short
in the judges’ eyes. While Del Fierro ultimately disagrees
with the call, the Alliance MMA head coach can’t help but
be impressed by his fighter’s performance against one of
the sport’s best.
“This
fight Alex was so calm, prepared and just confident going into
it,” Del Fierro said. “… It was almost eerie how
confident he was. Part of it is his evolution. When he fought
in Sweden in front of his home country and he went from being
on undercards to a main event, basically carrying the whole country
of Sweden on his shoulders, that was the most nervous I’ve
ever seen Alex before a fight. In a sense, that prepared him
for this stage. There was no pressure that he was feeling bigger
than what he felt in Sweden. I just felt super confident going
into this fight. I honestly really knew we were going to beat
him. The only thing I could not game plan [for], or any of the
other coaches, was Jones’ ability to take a punch and stay
in the fight.”
Source
Sherdog
|
What
to expect at next Wednesday’s dog & pony show with Keith
Kizer
By Zach
Arnold
The
early estimates for the Floyd Mayweather/Canelo Alvarez PPV are
extraordinary. 2.2 million PPV buys, a $20 million dollar gate
at MGM, and over $2 million in closed circuit TV revenue. Plus,
22 million television viewers in Mexico watched the fight. In
today’s languishing economy, these numbers are staggering
and vindicate all the business decisions being made in Mayweather’s
camp.
Which
is why I highly suspect that Keith Kizer, the Executive Director
of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, will attempt to use
the figures in an attempt to save his job by claiming that he
somehow is partly responsible for the fight’s big business.
It’s
time for Skip Avansino, Sig Rogich, Bill Brady, and Bob Arum
to pick up the phone and make the call to get Kizer fired. Keith
Kizer is a political liability. He’s not respected by any
of the major fight promoters. They know it or are at least starting
to come to the realization that he makes them look bad. If you’re
a fight fan or industry insider and want to see Keith Kizer get
fired, don’t make a case based on morality or superficial
respect. Make the case to the powers-that-be that it’s in
their best self-interests to remove him from power. Appeal to
their id that it’s in their best interests to get rid of
the guy.
Keith
Kizer’s track record over the last seven years has been
absolutely lousy. However, why is his job in jeopardy? Because
he made the political fixers and the casino bosses look bad with
the Cynthia Ross judge booking. The regulators in Las Vegas are
always going to be accused, to a degree, of being corrupt. If
you’re going to be accused of being corrupt, then at least
make sure that your critics don’t accuse you of incompetence
or the appearance of incompetence. By defending Cynthia Ross
after the Mayweather/Canelo fight, Kizer put a big bright media
spotlight on what we’ve known all along in terms of his
incompetence & tone-deafness. He’s being accused of
being corrupt and accused of incompetence. That’s the kind
of double whammy that’s simply untenable to the power brokers.
Kizer’s not very competent as a public relations spinster.
He loves to pick fights and alienate potential allies. He’s
also not competent in terms of recruiting and attracting business
to his state. Most importantly to the powers-that-be, he’s
not very good at making the commission look qualified with the
officials he books for fights.
If
you’re going to be a front man that pretends to be the Godfather
of regulators, act more like Tom Hagen and less like Fredo Corleone.
Keith
Kizer’s biggest blunder for maintaining job security was
defending Cynthia Ross. He went a bridge too far and allowed
his enemies the opportunity to go after him with vigor because
it’s politically safe to do so. Kizer’s made many enemies
over the years but lots of scribes bit their tongue because who
is really interested in reading a bunch of anti-Kizer screeds?
Once Kizer gave an opening, game on. In our article five days
ago about Keith Kizer’s job security, we noted how he is
prone to spending plenty of time on boxing & MMA message
boards rather than, say, accomplishing productivity at the office.
Ask
yourself the following: if Keith Kizer was fired tomorrow from
the commission, would the amount of revenue the commission takes
in from shows really change? Of course not. He has zero positive
impact on business affairs. The way Marc Ratner molded Nevada’s
commission basically makes it easy to run on auto-pilot as long
as you don’t massively screw up paperwork. Why do you think
Keith Kizer sits on his ass and goes on boxing & MMA message
boards and web sites every day? He has time to kill while drawing
a paycheck he simply doesn’t have to do much work for.
Ed
Graney of the Las Vegas Review-Journal just happened to make
a similar point about Kizer in his latest column. Graney says
that Kizer gave him a sermon about taking pleasure in writing
negative things (about topics like UNLV football). Don’t
worry, Ed, you’re not the only one wondering why Keith has
so much free time. It’s easy to have free time when other
states are poaching some shows from your calendar to fill their
event calendars. What’s next, Kizer disguising his voice
in order to be a regular caller on Steve Cofield’s excellent
ESPN 1100 AM radio show?
Next
Wednesday’s dog-and-pony show
The
other day, I wrote an article stating that it was intervention
time for Sig Rogich, Skip Avansino, and other politicos to step
in and remove Keith Kizer from the commission. They have the
power to make the call and it would self their best interests
to do so. Every day that passes that Kizer remains in power,
the worse they look to the general public. Kizer’s poor
performance will be viewed as poor political performance on their
behalf.
Next
Wednesday in Las Vegas at 3 PM local time, Keith Kizer will assign
officials to work the Tim Bradley/Juan Manuel Marquez fight.
An award for great timing considering that Cynthia Ross, as a
judge, scored the Bradley/Pacquiao fight in favor of TB and Marquez
would go on to KO Pacquiao. The chickens are coming home to roost.
The
predictable move from politicos like Bill Brady & Skip Avansino
is to put on a front for the media attending by making it look
as if Keith Kizer will endure this horrible scrutiny that will
force him to sweat a bit. A dog-and-pony show, in other words.
It’ll give the commission members, who do not run the day-to-day
operations, a chance to look tough in public. It would be easy
to do. It would also not be a good long-term move in the self-interests
of those who really wield power.
The
correct move from the politicos would be to announce a vote of
no-confidence for Keith Kizer and to grease the wheels for removal
behind-the-scenes. When the meeting starts at 3 PM, it will start
out with a session for public comment. That means anyone can
show up, if they so desire, and basically have a couple of minutes
to say what they want about commission affairs. Most people are
not going to take time off of work to attend a commission meeting
but all it takes is one person to actually show up and address
the elephant in the room while pointing out why the guy is a
political liability. Kizer is vulnerable right now and only one
person needs to make the case in an eloquent manner to tell the
politicians that the guy’s days should be numbered. It would
have more impact if a fighter, active or retired, made such remarks.
Grant
Sawyer State Office Building
555 East Washington Avenue, Suite 3200, 3rd Floor
Las Vegas, NV 89101
555
E WASHINGTON AVE STE 3200
LAS VEGAS NV 89101-1066
I
suspect at least one television camera will be at the meeting.
If you’re a Vegas local, it’s now-or-never to push
the weakened Kizer out of office. Showing up is half the battle.
Convincing the powers-that-be that it’s in their best political
interests to ditch the guy is the other half.
Prediction:
Keith Kizer will announce what has already been reported, which
is a seminar for officials next month in Las Vegas. Amusing that
Kizer, who’s never worked as a judge, will find a way to
remain the selector of officials. There will laughingly be a
“sub-committee’ created amongst the 5 members to work
with Kizer on picking officials and creating an unofficial list
of criteria that officials must be compatible with. In other
words, a bunch of public relations spin.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Inaugural
Welterweight Title to be Awarded at ONE FC: Warrior Spirit
by JamesGoyder
The
inaugural ONE FC 170-pound title will be on the line when Adam
Kayoom and Nobutatsu Suzuki clash in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 15.
Their title match will headline ONE FC: Warrior Spirit, which
will be the promotion’s third card in Malaysia and the second
in the 15,000-seat Stadium Putra.
Kayoom
(4-1) was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur and shot to prominence
with a hard fought decision win over Gregor Gracie at ONE FC:
Destiny of Warriors. The BJJ black belt and former Muay Thai
world champion is aiming to become Malaysia’s first-ever
MMA champion.
He
will be in for the toughest test of his career when he takes
on Suzuki (10-1-2), who is a Zst veteran and is coming off a
first-round stoppage win over Phil Baroni at ONE FC: Rise to
Power. The Japanese fighter’s 10 wins have all come by way
of knockout and he has never fought more than two rounds.
Kayoom
has one of the most diverse skillsets of any fighter in the region
and also holds a black belt in Taekwondo. He is a seasoned martial
artist who has won tournaments and competitions in numerous disciplines
and traveled to Asia, Australasia and South America to train
and compete.
Suzuki
has a background in Kyukoshin Karate and has proven how effective
this particular skillset can be by registering six first-round
stoppage wins due to strikes in his career to date. His stand-up
skills are unorthodox and he is extremely adept at stepping in
with long knees, a technique which is relatively rare in MMA.
Kayoom
has a diverse range of kicks himself and is unlikely to be intimidated
by his opponent’s striking credentials, but with a black
belt in BJJ, the Malaysian might feel that his key to victory
will be to take Suzuki down and try to submit him.
ONE
FC: Warrior Spirit sees Asia’s biggest promotion renew its
commercial partnership with Tune Talk. The Malaysian Telco has
invested heavily in local MMA and earlier this year launched
its own amateur series of events entitled Malaysian Invasion.
No
other fights have been officially announced for Nov. 15, but
featherweights Jian Kai Chee (4-4) and Melvin Yeoh (7-1) are
likely to fight in the final of the four-man tournament that
was started earlier this year to crown the inaugural Malaysian
145-pound champion.
ONE
FC CEO Victor Cui stated that he was looking forward to returning
to Stadium Putra for the second time in 2013.
“We
are coming back to the capital of Malaysia to put on one of the
greatest fight cards in Asian MMA history,” he said. “We
will finally settle the question of who deserves to be called
the top welterweight fighter on the planet. ONE FC is putting
together a fight card that will blow away the millions of passionate
fight fans all around the world.”
He
also hailed the significance of Tune Talk’s continued involvement
in the sport.
“Of
course, we are also extremely excited to have Tune Talk as an
official partner of ONE FC once again. Tune Talk has proven time
and time again that they are the top mobile prepaid operator
in Malaysia with their forward-thinking strategies and mass market
appeal.”
ONE
FC: Warrior Spirit will be broadcast live in Asia by Star Sports
and will be available to view online for 9.99 USD with the first
two fights streamed free of charge.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Tomorrow
on Maui
Source: Romolo Barros
|
Jon
Jones Reports No Major Injuries to His Foot Following UFC 165
Title Defense
by Ken
Pishna
UFC
light heavyweight champion Jon Jones injured his foot in his
UFC 165 bout with Alexander Gustafsson, but reported on Wednesday
that an MRI revealed the injury was not significant.
“Just
got back from a MRI, Great news! my foot is not broken or fractured..
Focusing on a full recovery,” Jones tweeted.
Later
on Wednesday, UFC Tonight reported that Jones confirmed the injury
was a deep bone bruise.
The
fight with Gustafsson at UFC 165 on Saturday night in Toronto
went the full five rounds. The lanky Swede put Jones and his
belt in jeopardy like no opponent before him. He consistently
took Jones to the mat, but also peppered him with heavy punch
combinations when standing.
Jones
got his licks in as well, especially in the later rounds when
he landed some heavy blows that left Gustafsson staggering around
the Octagon.
“I’ve
been asking for a dog fight for a long time, and tonight I got
one,” said the 26-year-old champion following the fight.
“Hats
off to Alex, that was by far the toughest fight I’ve ever
had.”
And
it showed all over Jones’ face, with a cut above his left
eye that nearly caused a halt to the fight prior to the fifth
round, and massive swelling. Jones limped away from the Octagon,
was put on a stretcher, and carted off to the hospital, as was
Gustafsson.
Gustafsson
had to get several staples to close a gash in his scalp, but
like Jones, escaped primarily with superficial wounds.
It’s
a rarity in mixed martial arts, but despite the challenger losing
the fight, there were calls for an immediate rematch, an idea
that UFC officials are entertaining.
With
no significant injuries to either fighter, it appears that the
door is wide open for a rematch, if the UFC opts to go that route.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Bellator
101: What to Watch For
By Mike
Whitman
Bellator
MMA makes its debut in Portland, Ore., on Friday from the newly
named Moda Center.
As
both a sportswriter and a native Oregonian, I think I speak for
most Portlanders when I say that sports fans were tired of calling
the city’s venue the Rose Garden. In no way was it a perfect
complement to the city’s love for the Portland Trail Blazers,
and it certainly did not sound like home. No, Moda Center is
much better. Everyone is absolutely nuts about it.
The
Bellator 101 main draw airs live on Spike TV and is headlined
by a delayed bantamweight tournament semifinal between Joe Warren
and Nick Kirk. The televised card will also feature the Season
9 lightweight quarterfinals, while the undercard streams immediately
prior on Spike.com.
Here
are five reasons to fire up your technology and scope Bellator
101:
Bad
Man
I
am not quite sure what to expect from Warren at this point.
Although
many months have passed since his brutal knockout losses at the
hands of Alexis Vila and Pat Curran, I am left wondering what
type of shape Warren is in after “The Baddest Man on the
Planet” was not cleared to compete at Bellator 98. Regardless
of the reason why Warren was pulled, I must admit it caught me
off guard, considering the former featherweight champion sustained
virtually no damage against the overmatched Owen Evinger in his
last in-cage appearance, which came roughly 10 months ago.
Going
into Bellator 98, I was happy that Warren played his cards the
right way and took the time he needed to properly recover before
jumping back into the fire, but now I feel uncertainty, whereas
before I was really looking forward to watching that cocky little
man try to win himself another belt.
I
assume Bellator officials would not have made the announcement
if it was not a sure thing that Warren will be medically cleared
this time around. I, for one, am interested to see how he performs.
No
Love for Retirement.
Retirement?
Forget that garbage.
Rich
Clementi will return to the Bellator cage for the first time
since Marcin Held tore up his ankle something fierce with a nasty
toe hold last year, knocking “No Love” out of the Season
7 tournament. A veteran of 58 professional fights, Clementi has
seen much in his time as a mixed martial artist. The submission
specialist began his career in 1999 and fought 10 times for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship, last competing in the Octagon
in February 2009.
With
his injury now apparently healed fully and his passion for fighting
reinvigorated by the time off, Clementi will compete for the
first time since November 2012 when he meets Ricardo Tirloni.
Can the 37-year-old turn back the clock and make some noise in
the Season 9 draw?
Backs
to the Wall
I
think several of these lightweight tournament participants are
in serious need of a victory, including Tirloni.
Although
the Brazilian is in one sense playing with house money after
stepping up on short notice to replace the injured Rob Sinclair,
it is nevertheless difficult to overlook the fact that Tirloni
has lost three of his last four fights and is currently on a
two-fight losing streak.
John
Alessio is also riding back-to-back defeats, as “The Natural”
was bounced from his most recent run with the UFC on the heels
of losses to Mark Bocek and Shane Roller. Like Clementi, Alessio
has not fought since November, and I think this new chance with
Bellator could prove to be a profitable opportunity for the 34-year-old
if he can get his ducks in a row. Likewise, if the former UFC
and World Extreme Cagefighting title contender squanders this
opportunity, it could be the last time we see him in a major
organization.
Alessio
should have his hands full with Will Brooks, who still appears
to be a work in progress, though his potential for excellence
is no doubt well-founded. Brooks returned to the win column in
his last fight after suffering a 43-second knockout to Saad Awad,
but his win over Cris Leyva -- one-sided as it was -- seemed
disjointed to me. I think there are some questions yet to be
answered by the prospect, and this Season 9 draw should tell
us much about his development as a fighter.
Rounding
out the tournament field, Alexander Sarnavskiy will face Marcus
Davis in a clichéd but nonetheless compelling showdown
of youth versus experience. Like Alessio and Clementi, Davis
has taken his lumps throughout a 32-fight career, and I think
this Bellator run could serve as the last hurrah for the 40-year-old.
By contrast, Sarnavskiy, 24, suffered his first pro loss to Clementi
in October and then saw a busted hand spoil his run in the Season
8 tournament earlier this year. “Tiger” is a talented
youngster, to be sure, and I think his best is yet to come. Will
he show it against Davis?
Throw
in hard-hitting wildcard Awad and debuting Brit Martin Stapleton,
and this is undoubtedly an interesting plot of lightweights.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Is
Josh Barnett one win away from a heavyweight title shot?
By Zach
Arnold
So
far, we have six matches announced for the UFC 168 event on December
28th at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. A look at the card so far:
Middleweights:
Uriah Hall vs. Chris Leben
Lightweights: Gleison Tibau vs. Michael Johnson
Featherweights: Dustin Poirier vs. Diego Brandao
Heavyweights: Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne
Women (135 pounds): Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate
UFC Middleweight title match: Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva
With
Jon Jones having a bruising battle against Alexander Gustafsson
in Toronto at UFC 165, it’s clear that he’s not ready
to make a move to Heavyweight. Which means that depth of quality
heavyweights is non-existent at this point and it’s why
UFC is rushing to sign a lot of new heavyweights who the company
probably would have never considered booking in the past.
All
of this leads to a situation that is prime for Josh Barnett,
the wily veteran, to take advantage of. Despite his drug testing
failures and business differences with the Zuffa empire, Barnett
has the leverage in the business relationship right now and could
gain even more leverage if he gets a win over Travis Browne.
Browne is coming off a ballsy comeback performance in Boston
against Alistair Overeem. Browne’s fight was on the same
FS1 telecast as Chael Sonnen vs. Mauricio Shogun, which means
a whole lot of people watched the fight. And a whole lot of people
are going to be watching the UFC 168 PPV as well. Weidman/Anderson
is a pick ‘em fight and Ronda is a 10-to-1 favorite over
Tate.
As
for Barnett, Jordan Breen says he’s a slight favorite…
a very slight favorite.
“I
still imagine Josh Barnett being able to get Travis Browne to
the ground, even though I don’t think Josh Barnett is as
good a wrestler as maybe as advertised sometimes. Barnett just
isn’t a good outside wrestler, he’s not a guy with
a power-double, he doesn’t maul guys to the ground. He basically
has to punch his way in, get there, and then find ways to get
leverage inside, trip guys to the canvas. Nothing wrong with
that, just a tough order against Travis Brown who’s a big,
athletic guy. He’s not just some lumbering 6?7?, 6?8? idiot.
This is a guy that’s got some real athletic acumen, has
slimmed down, is more aerodynamic and can do some different stuff
in there. And we know that he’s not just going to submit
to the odds, take a beating and crumble and die. Otherwise, Alistair
Overeem would have beaten him. Travis Browne, when he came back,
put a teep in his face.
“I
still feel like Barnett probably deserves a little early favoritism.
I see a lot of clinching, I think Barnett tries to smother him,
take that reach away. Barnett’s a clever guy and I think
he’ll do a good job of that but the question is how much
offense can he actually rack up? Because we’ve seen some
Josh Barnett fights historically, can’t get a guy to the
ground, end up clinching along the fence, the ropes, and it’s
not the most appetizing look and more than that, Travis Browne
is someone that can actually hit hard and do some things close
inside. I wouldn’t want to get caught with a Travis Browne
knee to the face, to be sure. So, I favor Josh Barnett.
“The
other part of the question is if he won, is he getting a title
shot? I think so. How many other heavyweight options do you have?
We’re going to have Cain Velasquez & Junior Dos Santos
fight for a third time. That’ll be over. Daniel Cormier’s
still got his eye on 205 pounds and he’s not going to fight
Cain Velasquez, so short of JDS pulling it off in the third fight
surprising people again, that ain’t going to happen. Who
else is there? Fabricio Werdum? I mean, I have… I think
Fabricio Werdum has shown his worth as a MMA heavyweight time
and time again. I’d love to see him get that fight. If it
means that him and Barnett have to do some kind of title eliminator,
cool, but that’s really it. That’s the only other really
feasible competition he has for a heavyweight title shot right
now.
“This
isn’t true just of Josh Barnett. I mean, I don’t think
that his past with Dana White being prickly and, you know, saying
some unsavory things about him in public in the past is going
to hurt him based on the fact that they just need guys to fight
for the heavyweight title. They love Cain Velasquez, they want
to push him. You always want interesting challengers, worthwhile
challengers for your champion. There’s just no one else.
After the JDS/Velasquez III fight, it’s pretty much Browne,
Barnett, Werdum, or bust. Stipe Miocic isn’t there as a
contender quite yet. I mean, who are the UFC’s other prospects?
I don’t know, maybe Shawn Jordan really gets it all together
and turns into the guy but I’m not seeing it. There’s
not that many options and when you don’t have that many
options, it forces your hand. Josh Barnett, even if he was still
publicly miserable to Dana White, if he went out and performed
against Travis Browne in the worst case scenario, the very worst,
title eliminator and I still don’t think that happens because
we often talk about, ‘well, what if we do a title eliminator
in this situation? what if we do a title eliminator in that situation?’
and the reputation of it or the shooting down of the idea is
typically, ‘well, if we do that, we only have one contender
where we used to have two.’ If there’s any division
where that is always going to stand up where that’s going
to always be a factor where you’re always going to have
to consider how important it is to have two contenders instead
of one, heavyweight’s going to be the division. It’s
going to be one lacking depth and more than that you get a guy
like Cain Velasquez who comes on the scene, rolls strong, beats
up a lot of good guys fast… there’s not as many clear
answers.”
How
would you set the odds for the Barnett/Browne fight if you were
an oddsmaker?
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Joe
Warren details grievous doctor's error that caused his withdrawal
from Bellator 98
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
In
the midst of an emotional and financial nightmare, Joe Warren
suddenly found something extra on his plate.
Following
his last-second withdrawal from Bellator 98, Warren heard reports
out of the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulations that
the reason for his removal was simple: Warren had been knocked
out in sparring.
"Nothing
like that ever happened," Warren told MMAFighting.com.
"I
was never knocked out at all. This whole camp has been structured
around me not getting hurt, me not taking any punishment, me
slipping punches, making sure that I'm not in any danger. I'm
the safest athlete I've ever been."
Unfortunately,
in comparison to the initial story, the one critics were so quick
to ridicule him for, Warren's version of events is far more miserable.
The
week of the fight, Warren was in his car, on his way to the airport
when he received a phone call from Bellator officials. Doctors
had discovered an irregularity, something small and unsettling
on the 36-year-old's MRIs. The Connecticut commission refused
to clear him. Warren was to immediately see a neurosurgeon in
Denver.
"They
were telling me that I had a stroke. That I was never fighting
(again)," Warren says. "It was crazy."
In
truth, it was nothing. An overblown slip-up, a false needle in
a haystack. But it'd be a while before Warren would come to realize
that.
Warren
booked the first flight out to Denver. There, neurosurgeons ran
a slew of tests, including a continuous series of MRIs. For days,
Warren and his family worried about his livelihood. He shuttled
from doctor to doctor, conducted exams, watched as the results
shipped from location to location.
Ultimately,
neurosurgeons reached a staggering diagnosis.
"It
was all a mistake," Warren bitterly recalls. "We had
three different doctors reading the image wrong from thousands
of miles away.
"My
coach and everyone were so upset. We've been doing everything
humanely possible to get ready for this fight, and then this
happens. Then they won't even tell me why."
But
somehow, it didn't matter. Connecticut officials stood firm in
their reluctance to clear Warren, despite the fact that doctors
treating Warren in person did so without hesitation. Fight day
came and went, and Warren was forced to continue paying for tests
and MRIs out of pocket.
"It
cost me so much money that Bellator stepped in and took over
the bills, all the MRI bills and everything," a grateful
Warren says.
"All
the other doctors, professionals and neurosurgeons were actually
clearing me, but Connecticut.
"These
guys were having me do MRIs, back and forth, all kinds of different
neurosurgeons and things. It's a lot of money. I paid for all
that stuff myself, so it was a huge burden for me and my family,
for them to make a mistake and then weed me out of my profession,
my job, and tell me I was never going to fight again."
At
that point, the incompetence was palpable to Warren.
He
knew he was alright. He didn't have a stroke. Warren understood
his health better than anyone, and he figured things would work
themselves out, one way or another. And when they did, Bellator
would rebook the fight.
Though
truthfully, that's the part that worried him.
Warren
had already cut weight once. Now the constant anxiety from a
prolonged state of limbo had started playing tricks on his body.
"Every
week I thought I was going to fight," Warren says.
"I
peaked. My coaches, my sports physiologists, they had to re-peak
me. We were peaked, then I had to maintain a peak because I wasn't
if I was fighting that next week, and then it took a few weeks
to be able to get where I am now. The weight was up and down,
plus just dealing with the stress issue."
Finally,
after a painfully slow few weeks, things worked themselves out.
Connecticut was satisfied and cleared Warren. Bellator rescheduled
the fight for September 27.
The
medical industry is notoriously slow, and largely unapologetic.
Doctors called Warren's case an "image abnormality."
Warren isn't quite sure what it means -- they never gave him
a good explanation -- but he repeats the phrase with disdain.
"It
sounds to me like they read the image wrong," he flatly
says.
Regardless,
Warren is trying to take the experience in stride. For a brief
moment, he stared eye-to-eye with the end of his professional
career. In comparison, a cage fight doesn't seem like such a
big deal.
"This
is a very unpredictable sport. A lot of s--t happens in it, so
I just roll with the punches, pretty much. Try to stay positive,"
Warren concludes.
"My
main concern is to win this tournament championship, and the
first step is to get through this Nick Kirk, to get to that first
round and just get this fight started. I'm real excited that
I'm here. It's actually going to happen."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Chris
Weidman Was Not 100-Percent When He Defeated Anderson Silva at
UFC 162
by Jeff
Cain
UFC
middleweight champion Chris Weidman was able to do what no other
185-pound fighter could before him, hand former titleholder Anderson
Silva his first UFC loss in seven years of competition when the
two fought at UFC 162 on July 6.
The
29-year-old New Yorker secured an early takedown in the title
fight. He attempted two submissions and knocked out the greatest
of all time with a left hook in the second frame. It was an amazing
feat, but made more incredible by Weidman not being in top form
for the fight.
“I
think I went out there and worked hard and went for everything
that I felt. In the first round, I went for the heel hook and
knee bar. I didn’t get it, but I went for it. I felt a little
sluggish in there,” said Weidman during the UFC World Tour:
Weidman vs. Silva 2 Press Conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Prior
to the UFC 162 showdown with Silva, Weidman was sidelined with
a shoulder injury and the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
“I
had a year off. I had two back-to-back surgeries. So I didn’t
feel 100-percent, but I still felt good enough to get the win,”
he said.
Weidman
was well prepared and in excellent condition when he stepped
into the cage to face Silva at UFC 162. Conditioning and training
were not the issue. Weidman was experiencing ring rust.
“I
was prepared to go five rounds in the last fight. I didn’t
necessarily feel tired. I just felt off. I felt a little sluggish,
a little slower,” said Weidman.
With
the time off, the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, and the nagging
shoulder injury behind him, Weidman looks forward to the Dec.
28 rematch with Silva.
“I’m
excited to have a full camp and be able to not have to nurse
an injury and I’m excited for this next fight,” said
the champion.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Chris
Weidman Was Not 100-Percent When He Defeated Anderson Silva at
UFC 162
by Jeff
Cain
UFC
middleweight champion Chris Weidman was able to do what no other
185-pound fighter could before him, hand former titleholder Anderson
Silva his first UFC loss in seven years of competition when the
two fought at UFC 162 on July 6.
The
29-year-old New Yorker secured an early takedown in the title
fight. He attempted two submissions and knocked out the greatest
of all time with a left hook in the second frame. It was an amazing
feat, but made more incredible by Weidman not being in top form
for the fight.
“I
think I went out there and worked hard and went for everything
that I felt. In the first round, I went for the heel hook and
knee bar. I didn’t get it, but I went for it. I felt a little
sluggish in there,” said Weidman during the UFC World Tour:
Weidman vs. Silva 2 Press Conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Prior
to the UFC 162 showdown with Silva, Weidman was sidelined with
a shoulder injury and the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
“I
had a year off. I had two back-to-back surgeries. So I didn’t
feel 100-percent, but I still felt good enough to get the win,”
he said.
Weidman
was well prepared and in excellent condition when he stepped
into the cage to face Silva at UFC 162. Conditioning and training
were not the issue. Weidman was experiencing ring rust.
“I
was prepared to go five rounds in the last fight. I didn’t
necessarily feel tired. I just felt off. I felt a little sluggish,
a little slower,” said Weidman.
With
the time off, the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, and the nagging
shoulder injury behind him, Weidman looks forward to the Dec.
28 rematch with Silva.
“I’m
excited to have a full camp and be able to not have to nurse
an injury and I’m excited for this next fight,” said
the champion.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Trainer
Pederneiras: Renan Barao losing money, Jose Aldo still wants
Pettis
by Steven
Marrocco
Nova
Uniao head trainer Andre Pederneiras said most of his fighters
come from the favela, and they're literally fighting to put food
on their tables.
One
star pupil, UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao (31-1
MMA, 6-0 UFC), grew up poor, but no longer needs to live hand
to mouth. Pederneiras, however, said the fighter isn't maximizing
opportunity while he's very near the top of the 135-pound class.
Just
this past weekend at UFC 165, Barao became the first fighter
in UFC history to twice defend an interim belt when he stopped
Eddie Wineland. The performance won Barao a $50,000 bonus for
"Knockout of the Night" as well as his show and win
purses.
Barao
is making more money as he continues to dominate the competition
in the UFC, but according to Pederneiras, he could be making
far more from other sources.
"He's
very frustrated because he needs to make money," Pederneiras
told MMAjunkie.com Radio. "So many sponsors here in Brazil
are not sponsoring him because he's not the real champion from
the UFC. He's the interim champion. He's losing money every day.
"The
sponsors here want a real champion. A linear champion."
At
the moment, circumstances don't allow for that possibility, but
change appears to be on the horizon. Undisputed champ Dominick
Cruz (19-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) estimates he'll be able to return to
defend his title in January, and UFC President Dana White has
said the promotion will strip him of the belt if he's unable
to meet that deadline.
For
Pederneiras and Barao, the time can't come soon enough.
"I
don't want another opponent," Pederneiras said. "I
want to make the fight happen by February, or I need to talk
to Dana to take his belt, because more than two-and-a-half years,
I don't understand. But he said he was probably going to be fighting
in February.
"I've
been waiting for that and praying every day for it to happen.
Renan wants to fight Dominick."
Meanwhile,
Pederneiras' other UFC champion, featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo
(23-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), is gunning for a previously booked match.
He said Aldo is still set on fighting recently minted lightweight
champion Anthony Pettis, whom he was scheduled to fight before
Pettis withdrew with a knee injury.
Pettis,
of course, was able to recover in time to make a lightweight
title fight with now-former champ Benson Henderson, whom he submitted
inside one round at this past month's UFC 164.
"Aldo
wants to fight Pettis, but I don't know if the UFC wants to put
Ricardo Lamas first," said Pederneiras.
Pederneiras
said Aldo would fight Pettis at lightweight if he wasn't required
to give up his title, as White earlier proposed. But if Pettis
could drop to featherweight, Aldo would take the fight in a heartbeat.
"We
just need to talk to Dana," Pederneiras said. "If he
doesn't need to give back his belt to the UFC, like Dana offered
last time, he wants to fight at 155. If he needs to give the
belt back, he wants Pettis to drop to 145. But he can't give
up his belt when he goes up."
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
MMA
fighter dies moments before Shooto’s weigh-ins in Brazil
By Guilherme
Cruz
Tragedy
has struck the Brazilian MMA community.
MMA
fighter Leandro "Feijao" Souza (1-1), a member of Nova
Uniao and Delfim Cacadores, died on Thursday while cutting weight
for Friday's Shoot Brazil 43 card in Rio de Janeiro. The 26-year-old
fighter, who was slated to fight Gabriel Brasil (1-1) in flyweight
action, was cutting the final two pounds for the official weigh-ins
when he passed out, and his death was confirmed moments later.
"We
are sad to report the death of Leandro Caetano de Souza,"
Shooto president Andre Pederneiras wrote on his Facebook page.
"The athlete has passed away in Botafogo’s UPA. We
don’t know the reasons why yet. We would like to express
our condolences to all friends and family."
MMAFighting.com
confirmed the news with Shooto officials, but there is still
no information on the cause of the death.
"We
don’t have much information yet," Feijao’s teammate
Andre Santos told MMAFighting.com, "but we do know that
is related to his weight cut. He’s my student but he also
trains at Nova Uniao for about a year. I wasn’t with him
during this process because I have a fight scheduled in Russia,
so he spent the night at Nova Uniao’s gym. His sister called
me saying that he had passed out so I went to the hospital, but
he was already dead when I got there."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Fact
Check: Bellator 101
By Brian
Knapp
If
success in mixed martial arts depended solely on confidence,
Joe Warren’s exploits would be unrivaled.
The
self-professed “Baddest Man on the Planet” will lock
horns with Nick Kirk in the Bellator MMA Season 9 bantamweight
tournament semifinals at Bellator 101 on Friday at the Moda Center
in Portland, Ore. The event, which airs on Spike TV, will also
feature the opening round in the promotion’s latest eight-man
lightweight draw.
Warren
last appeared at Bellator 80 in November, when he cruised to
a unanimous decision over the outmatched Owen Evinger at the
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. The performance
came on the heels of back-to-back horrific knockout losses to
Alexis Vila and Pat Curran that had some calling for Warren to
retire. A decorated amateur wrestler, the 36-year-old transitioned
to MMA in 2009. His resume includes wins over former World Extreme
Cagefighting titleholder Chase Beebe, onetime K-1 Hero’s
grand prix winner Norifumi Yamamoto, Team Nogueira’s Patricio
Freire and two-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Marcos
Galvao. Warren has compiled a 6-2 mark in Bellator.
The
twice-beaten Kirk last fought at an Impact Fighting Championship
event in April, when he submitted Ben Miller with a second-round
triangle choke at the Bismarck Civic Center in Bismarck, N.D.
Nicknamed “The Big Hurt,” the 30-year-old has yet to
taste victory inside the Bellator cage, having dropped decisions
to David Harris and Tony Zelinski. Kirk trains under Greg Nelson
at The Academy -- the same respected Minnesota camp that oversaw
the careers of former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight
titleholder Sean Sherk and onetime UFC heavyweight boss Brock
Lesnar.
With
the Warren-Kirk semifinal on the marquee, here are 10 facts surrounding
Bellator 101:
FACT
1: Warren was an NCAA All-American at the University of Michigan
and went on to win three national titles and a world championship
in Greco-Roman wrestling.
FACT
2: Kirk has gone the distance eight times in 12 appearances.
FACT
3: Oregon will be the 20th state in which Rich Clementi has fought
during his 68-bout professional career, along with Rhode Island,
Pennsylvania, Nevada, Massachusetts, Texas, Kansas, Louisiana,
Wisconsin, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, Illinois,
California, New Jersey, Iowa, Mississippi, Indiana and Virginia.
He has also competed in four foreign countries (Canada, Japan,
Sweden and Northern Ireland) and one United States territory
(Guam).
FACT
4: John Alessio fought Pat Miletich for the UFC welterweight
crown in June 2000 and challenged Carlos Condit for his WEC 170-pound
title seven years later, losing both by second-round submission.
FACT
5: Russian lightweight prospect Alexander Sarnavskiy has finished
16 opponents inside one round, five of them in less than a minute.
FACT
6: Marcus Davis owns a 17-2-1 record as a professional boxer.
FACT
7: American Top Team’s Nathan Coy, who owns victories over
current UFC welterweights Rick Story and Mike Pierce, has held
titles inside the SportFight and Maximum Fighting Championship
promotions.
FACT
8: Jeremiah Riggs and Martin Stapleton appeared on “The
Ultimate Fighter” reality series, Riggs on Season 7 and
Stapleton as part of the United Kingdom contingent on Season
9.
FACT
9: Polish prodigy Marcin Held debuted as a 16-year-old in September
2008 and won his first eight fights.
FACT
10: Ryan Healy is the twin brother of UFC lightweight contender
Pat Healy. They have combined for 52 wins between them.
Source
Sherdog
|
Marcus
Davis Returns to Lightweight Against the “Most Dangerous
Guy” in Bellator Tournament
by Mick
Hammond
Over
this past year, former UFC welterweight Marcus “Irish Hand
Grenade” Davis has overcome an issue with weight, which
he feels cost him in his time with the promotion.
Previously
having had to cut down from over 200 pounds, Davis discovered
medical issues which kept him heavy going into fights, and having
since worked to overcome those issues, things have gone much
better for him.
“It’s
been since about September 2012 since my health really turned
around and I haven’t had any relapse of the issues I’ve
had since then and I haven’t been above 185 pounds since
then,” he said. “It’s a huge difference to have
that 30-40 pound difference of weight to walk around at.”
In
three fights since getting his issues under control, Davis has
won two (with one no contest) in dominating fashion.
“When
I fought David Bielkheden, I went into his hometown and dropped
him three times in the first round and then I took him right
to the ground and beat him the whole time on the ground,”
said Davis. “It showed how good my jiu-jitsu defense and
my wrestling have become; I got every takedown on him and dominated
him.
“Against
Darrius Heylinger, I’ve always had problems against guys
over six feet, but I was able to work out a very good game plan
against him and out-struck him and out-wrestled him, and once
again won every round.”
Davis
(22-9) is feeling so good these days that he’s made the
decision to drop down to 155 pounds and will make his debut at
the weight in the opening round of this season’s Bellator
lightweight tournament on Friday against top Russian fighter
Alexander “Tiger” Sarnavskiy (23-1).
“(Sarnavskiy)
is going to be taller than me, but his reach is only like two
inches longer than mine, so I don’t think that’s going
to matter much in the fight,” said Davis. “I know everybody
talks about how strong this kid is, but I guarantee he’s
not going to be as strong as I am.
“I
have strength and experience on my side, so I’m looking
forward to this fight.”
In
the past, Davis admittedly has gotten caught up in trying to
make a fight as exciting as possible and gotten into exchanges
he probably should have. For this fight and tournament in general,
Davis told MMAWeekly.com that he’s going to avoid such tactics
and fight as intelligently as possible.
“I
don’t think it’s going to be a slugfest, or at least
I don’t intend it to be,” he said. “When I fought
in the UFC, I did fight to entertain and I did take it to the
point to where the UFC was giving huge (finish) bonuses, so I
got into this groove where I was paid to do that, and that’s
what I did.
“I’m
fighting, in my opinion, the most dangerous guy in the tournament
stylistically, so I’ve got to go out there, be smart, not
get hit a lot and look to finish this kid any way that comes
up.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
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