You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested
in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other
people interested in you.
Dale Carnegie
Royce
Gracie to fight in Japan
Pop
Quiz Hot Shot: 'What do you get when you put together Grandmaster
Helio, Royler, Rolker & Robin Gracie?
Answer:
You get the makings of Royce Gracie's corner for his next fight
! ! !
A
solid but yet unconfirmed rumor has reached the ear of Kid Peligro:
BJJ Legend Royce Gracie is about to sign for a fight in Japan
! At this point we haven't been able to contact Royce's camp
but a VERY reliable source informed us that Royce is about to
sign for a fight against Hidehiko Yoshida. A 1992 Olympic Judo
Champion (81 KG) and 1999 World Judo Champion (90 KG), the 210
lb. Yoshida is a veritable legend in the land of the rising sun.
According
to our sources, both camps agreed to a novel set of rules that
include limited striking while standing and submission only on
the ground, setting up the Battle of All Times: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
v Judo. History in the making . . . A little over 50 years ago
Royce's father Helio fought against Japanese legend Kimura in
Brazil in the original battle of the styles, now, over a half
a century later, his son Royce is going to the Tokyo, Japan to
fight their Champion.
We
are hot on the capture of Royce and will have a statement and
an interview as soon as possible.
Source:
Abu Dhabi
You
can help wrestling by contacting the Office of Civil Rights now!
As
you may know, the Department of Education has created a blue-ribbon
panel to look at Title IX and its enforcement. This panel is
starting its work soon, and will be making a final report in
January.
We
have received word that it is very important that those who care
about the issue contact the Office of Civil Rights with our letters
and emails right away. Those who favor the current enforcement
quota have sent in many, many more letters and emails than those
who oppose proportionality. Those that seek change must make
their voice heard, or it will drowned out by those fighting for
the status quo.
We
ask that you take time some time today to send in an email and
a FAX a letter to the OCR. It can be short, but must stress that
you oppose the quota and seek change.
PLEASE
NOTE (from OCR web page): Due to recent changes in mail processing,
delivery and handling times have increased. We encourage students
and parents, representatives of education institutions, and other
OCR customers to use e-mail or fax to communicate with OCR when
possible.
SEND
LETTERS TO:
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Mary E. Switzer Building
Washington D.C. 20202
A
few points to consider in your short message to the OCR:
* Title IX is a good law that is being enforced in a way that
is very bad and unfair. The unintended consequences of the law?s
enforcement are harming sports opportunities for men. It does
not reflect the original intent of the law, to provide fair opportunity
for all.
* Proportionality, the primary enforcement mechanism for Title
IX compliance, is a strict gender quota which should be abolished.
* The loss of men?s sports opportunity due to the Title IX quota
is harming the U.S. Olympic movement.
* If you can give a personal example of lost sports opportunity,
you should include this in the letter.
* Ask the blue-ribbon panel to restore Title IX to its original
intent by eliminating proportionality and developing a more fair
method for compliance.
Take
the challenge. Register your opinion on this issue... Please
share this message with your friends and acquaintances who might
wish to participate!
Source:
Abu Dhabi
MaxPreview:
UFC 38
Zuffa Heads Overseas for First Time
It's
been nearly two years since the UFC ventured outside the United
States, when Tito Ortiz defended his title against Yuki Kondo
in a December 2000 Japan outing. On July 13, Zuffa will take
their brand on the road for the first time when "The Brawl
at the Royal Albert Hall" takes place in the famed London,
England arena. Headlining the eight-fight card will be the hoped-for
resolution to the infamous Carlos Newton/Matt Hughes fiasco from
November.
Naturally,
the card will be heavy on the UK talent, with England's countrymen
taking on some of the roughest blokes from the States.
The
bouts expected to take place:
Main
Event
For the UFC Welterweight (169 lb. and under) Title
Matt Hughes (Champion) vs. Carlos Newton (Challenger)
Hughes
the Champ? Newton the challenger? Those roles were reversed back
in November, when Newton made his first defense after submitting
Pat Miletich in May of 2001. Most of the match had a game Newton
being powered to the mat by grappler Hughes. In the second round,
Hughes was caught in a triangle choke. He lifted Newton to the
sky and slammed him down to the mat, just as he himself was losing
consciousness. In a bizarre UFC first, the bout seemed to have
ended in a dual KO. But it was Hughes who came to his senses
immediately, and referee John McCarthy dubbed him the winner
and new title holder.
Has
a closer match even been contested? The rematch was inevitable.
Since
then, both men have earned massive victories: Hughes stopped
Hayato Sakurai for the first time in Sak's career back in March.
Newton armbarred the ever-dangerous Jose "Pele" Landi
just a few weeks prior.
At
Stake: A solid, decisive conclusion to the Newton/Hughes saga,
and the Welterweight belt.
Edge
To: Hughes, who, like all Miletich trainees, values the win over
flash. He'll do what's necessary to come out ahead.
How
Will It End? Hughes slams Newton decisively this time. Hughes
by TKO.
Light
Heavyweight (205 lb. and under) Bout
Elvis Sinosic vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral
Sinosic
comes in on the heels of a frustrating March bout with Evan Tanner.
Tanner quickly gained a dominant position and hit Sinosic with
several elbows, forcing a doctor's stoppage early. Sinosic (and
fans) later complained of a premature halt to the proceedings.
In June of 2001, he was bested by Tito Ortiz. Earlier that year,
Sinosic quickly submitted top contender Jeremy Horn and went
the distance with a game Frank Shamrock overseas. Sinosic brings
technical ground work and solid strikes.
Sobral
is a RINGS veteran who has posted a 1-1 record in the UFC, losing
a decision to Kevin Randleman and winning one over Maurice Smith.
At
Stake: Should Sinosic's or Sobral's respective losing streaks
continue, it could mean a loss of interest from UFC promoters.
Edge
To: Sobral, who has solid striking skills and didn't let Randleman
get the best of him on the ground.
How
Could It End? If Babalu is aggressive, he could overwhelm Sinosic
in his guard. Babalu by TKO.
Light
Heavyweight Bout
Evan Tanner vs. Chris Haseman
Haseman
steps in for an injured Vladimir Matyushenko. The RINGS vet has
fought nearly anyone and everyone during his tenure there, with
losses to Jeremy Horn and Matt Hughes, and wins over Carlos Barreto
and Joe Slick. Coming from the submission-centric organization,
Haseman brings in solid ground work, but has no KO finishes to
his record.
Tanner,
on the other hand, often comes in with brutal strikes: opponents
would do well to watch out for his vicious knees and short elbows.
He boasts recent wins over Elvis Sinosic and Homer Moore.
At
Stake: Tanner wants to continue to rebound from his devastating
KO slam loss to Tito Ortiz over a year ago. Many feel that despite
the setback, he has the tools to compete with the world's best
in his class.
Edge
To: Tanner, a competent ground worker who should be able to escape
sub attempts and bang away on the feet.
How
Could It End? Tanner by TKO.
Middleweight
(185 lb. and under) Bout
Mark Weir vs. Eugene Jackson
Jackson
returns after a seat-of-his-pants win against rookie Keith Rockel
in January. He had previously suffered a three-fight losing streak
in the UFC, against Jeremy Horn, Ricardo Almeida, and Sanae Kikuta.
Jackson often gets criticism for his ground game, which lacks,
but his strikes are among the heaviest at 185, and he only recently
dropped from the 205 class. The strength advantage over the lighter
guys could turn his luck around.
Weir
comes in with a journeyman's record, having defeated Shannon
Ritch and CJ Fernandes in overseas competition.
At
Stake: Jackson's future in the Ultimate.
Edge
To: Heavy hitter Jackson.
How
Could It End? Weir is enough of an unknown to make picking a
winner a problem. Jackson has a string of losses, but against
top names. Jackson could pull it out by KO.
Heavyweight
(205 lb. and over) Bout
Ian Freeman vs. Frank Mir
Freeman
returns to the UFC after successful outings elsewhere, including
a victory over Carlos Barreto in Holland. The former bouncer
is notorious for his heavy hitting, and it's been said that he's
picked up more of a ground game in recent years. He's 2-1 in
the UFC.
He'll
need it against Mir, one of the Heavyweight division's most promising
new stars. Mir had fans shocked when he submitted JJ master Roberto
Traven in seconds, and he performed a hell of an encore by being
the first guy to submit a Lion's Den member (Pete Williams) in
MMA competition.
At
Stake: Mir's meteoric rise in the UFC.
Edge
To: Mir, the ground expert, and a big boy.
How
Could It End? How could we say otherwise? Mir by submission.
Lightweight
(155 lb. and under) Bout
Leigh Remedios vs. Genki Sudo
Remedios
comes in with a winning record and a career spent mostly in Hook
'N Shoot and smaller events. He enjoys his submissions.
Sudo
is a Japanese star with victories in RINGS and Pancrase, and
also plies a submission trade.
At
Stake: UFC debuts for both mean they're looking to make a strong
impression.
Edge
To: Sudo, the more accomplished athlete at this point in time.
How
Could It End? Sudo by armbar.
Light
Heavyweight Bout
James Zikic vs. Philip Miller
Miller
comes in with a stellar record earned in IFC, WVC and KOTC bouts.
Zikic
studies submission fighting with Frank Shamrock, and also has
an impressive history overseas.
At
Stake: Another UFC debut, another chance to look good for fans
and promoters.
Edge
To: Miller has fought often, and likes the 'W.'
How
Could It End? Miller by submission.
Welterweight
Bout
Gil Castillo vs. Tony De Souza
Castillo
is 1-1 in the UFC, suffering the first loss of his career to
Dave Menne in a hard-fought battle last September. He later decisioned
Chris Brennan. Prior victories include Nathan Marquardt and Joe
Hurley.
De
Souza followed up his victories over Paul Rodriguez and Steve
Berger with a loss to Jutaro Nakao, then rebounded with a win
over Chatt Lavender. De Souza brings in a good ground game and
submissions.
At
Stake: More undercard bouts with the UFC.
Edge
To: Castillo, who controls most fights with relative ease. He's
a dominant grappler, but is getting older and has expressed an
interest in hanging it up once his current contract expires.
Is the will to win there?
How
Could It End? Castillo by decision.
Source:
Maxfighting
The
Rise of Frank Mir Continues Saturday in London
If UK boxing crowds are any indication, Las Vegas' rising heavyweight
contender Frank Mir is in for quite a unique experience when
he takes on Ian "The Machine" Freeman at the Royal
Albert Hall in London at UFC 38 Saturday.
Just
ask any American fighter who has seen and heard the nationalistic
fervor, the soccer chants, and the general enthusiasm by the
fans for their hometown heroes. And against Freeman, Mir will
undoubtedly be the villain in their three round bout.
"A
lot of things will be going on outside the ring, I'm sure, but
not too many things that I'm going to be paying attention to,"
Mir told MaxFighting. "My job is what happens in the ring.
As far as the different cultures, or the expectations of the
crowd, I'm really not going to pay too much attention to it.
It really doesn't play too much of a factor in what happens inside
the cage."
Against
Freeman, a raw fighter who returns to the Octagon for the third
time (he's 2-0 in UFC bouts), Mir will hope to keep the momentum
he's built in scoring two impressive UFC victories of his own.
"I feel like he's going to come out with the mentality that
he's going to nullify my submissions and then try to keep the
fight on the feet, and work his hands," Mir said of Freeman.
"That's what he has the most confidence in - his punching
ability."
But
won't Freeman's unorthodox style coupled with a partisan crowd
wreck havoc on any fighter's gameplan? "Not really,"
said Mir. "A punch is a punch, a kick is a kick. Preparation
is more internal; making sure your own mind is focused. As far
as what your opponent does, you really can't control that. All
you can do is show up the best you can."
It's
a mature mental attitude, especially for a 23-year-old. Fortunately
for the sport, Mir is a typical of the younger breed of athlete
that is coming into the sport - not brawler, but athlete. Foregoing
other sports that may bring more material rewards, athletes like
Mir are looking for something more, something that the combat
of mixed martial arts provides.
"All
sports try to represent fighting," said Mir. "If you
look at a football game, it represents war. Different sports
have more rules and they get more abstract from combat, but they
still have the mindset behind it. Tennis is a one on one thing,
people battle each other, but the rules are basically a ball
and a racquet. Whereas what I do is pretty much as pure as you
can get to the form it was supposed to be originally - two men
fighting each other and duking it out; seeing who is the better
warrior. And that's where the appeal comes from. There are guys
that can make more money playing football, but there has to be
a time when it all isn't just about money. There has to be something
that you value more. Money will eventually get spent, but it's
how you feel about yourself when you look back at your life."
So
in a growing sport where previously the most successful practitioners
were in their thirties, can a young breed of stronger, faster,
and more marketable athletes make the sport appealing to a younger
crowd?
"I
definitely think so," said Mir. "Especially in the
American culture, I think people are looking for something to
change their lives a little bit. I think the average American
kid growing up is put in a vacuum that violence is evil, violence
is bad - turn the other cheek, take it. And all of a sudden,
now they can see these guys go ahead and be what everybody writes
about. Everybody goes to action movies, everybody buys comic
books, and everybody has their fantasy heroes. But nobody can
really live that life. And here are a select few guys that put
it on the line and live that life. We are the modern-day superheroes.
We're the knights, the warriors, and the samurais of the modern
age."
And
fortunately for the UFC publicists, Mir's story does come straight
out of the movies.
Born
and raised in Vegas, Mir's parents owned and operated a local
Kenpo school, exposing their son to martial arts at an early
age. Mir later wound up at the Las Vegas Combat Club, where he
studied jiu-jitsu under the tutelage of Ricardo Pires.
"He
showed me jiu-jitsu, which is very important if you've seen my
style," said Mir of Pires. "I like to be able to finish
a fight with submissions. What he bestowed upon me is the ability
to do so."
Mir
rapidly improved with each passing day at the LVCC, and while
he was set foot in MMA circles with victories in Hook and Shoot
and IFC in 2001, a chance visitor to the gym changed his life
forever.
"Joe
Silva (UFC matchmaker) stopped by our gym, saw me training and
it worked out that a fighter pulled out of a fight against (Roberto)
Traven," Mir recalls. "I was a hometown guy, and a
heavyweight in a division that is weak right now in the UFC in
terms of quantity of fighters. It was kind of like the luck of
the draw to get my shot in the UFC."
Coming
into UFC 34 as a virtual unknown, Mir sensed that the veteran
Traven was expecting an easy night with the local kid. "I
don't think he really expected too much out of me as far as being
able to handle the pressure, going from the smallest of shows
to the biggest of shows," said Mir. "I don 't think
he expected me to handle that mentally. He expected me to break.
That snuck up on him."
That's
an understatement. In just 65 seconds, an armbar forced Traven
into submission, and Mir had made quite an impression on UFC
followers. And even the skeptics were convinced by Mir's next
bout, an easy victory over Pete Williams at UFC 36. And now it's
onward and upward for the heavyweight contender, assuming he
gets by Freeman on Saturday.
"I
want to fight a bigger and better opponent; that's what every
step is right now in the UFC," said Mir of his future plans.
"My next opponent will be a higher caliber one, more of
a name opponent, somebody hopefully ranked in the Top Ten. Probably
like a Pedro Rizzo or Randy Couture, then Ricco Rodriguez. And
then after that I'll hopefully be lined up for a title shot,
after showing that I legitimately belong in there."
Fighting
and beating any of the aforementioned names will definitely put
Mir on the short list of top heavyweight title challengers, and
the Las Vegan has every of intention of staying in the UFC fold,
despite the Freeman fight being the final one of his three fight
contract.
"I
feel that the UFC has the right exposure and marketability as
far as a fighter wanting to get his name out, especially among
the American crowd," said Mir. "Pride is another big
organization, but as far as notoriety here in the States, it
really has very little. Only the hardcore fans even know who
the Pride heavyweight champion is right now. But you can bring
up the name Tito Ortiz and everyone knows who Tito Ortiz is.
You bring up the name "Minotauro" and everybody looks
at you like you're speaking a different language."
But
as a fighter whose stock is rising with each impressive victory,
isn't there a temptation to test the waters once his contract
is up? "Of course making money is important," Mir admits.
"There are only so many times I can step in the cage and
I want to get as much out of it as I can. There's money in different
avenues of it. As far as the UFC is going, I'm still banking
on the fact that it's going to be the most popular show and have
the most revenue. Right now the UFC went through a lot of changes
where Pride didn't have a lot of those changes. There are a lot
of advantages that Pride has over the UFC that allows them to
pay more money. If those advantages stay true, we'll see where
it goes. But right now, my loyalties are pretty much with the
UFC. They're the ones who have done the most for me and they're
the ones that I believe will be the powerhouse in the future."
Mir's
maturity and focus has made him one of the top prospects in the
sport. And while there are sacrifices to be made, he's willing
to do whatever it takes. "You do have to change your life
for it," Mir admits. "It's not like I can go out tonight
and go party. I have a fight in two weeks so there are definitely
sacrifices you have to make. Those aren't that enjoyable, but
they're really not that bad when you look at the whole scheme
of things."
With
fighters like middleweight contender Phil Baroni traveling to
Vegas to train with the Pires team, things should only get better
for Mir, the fighter. "A big thing is that I was able to
hook up with my teammate Phil Baroni," said Mir of the perks
of his increasing notoriety. "That has definitely launched
me forward in my fighting ability. And now it's different prospects
and different fighters that want to come train at our gym. The
thing I think I've enjoyed the most is having a little bit more
respect as far as other fighters. One of the biggest tributes
anybody can give you is when they say they want to train with
you. That's definitely a sign of respect."
It's
a respect earned in one-on-one combat.
He
likes it that way.
"I'm
master of my own fate," said Mir. "Once you close the
cage it's up to me, and that's the part I enjoy the most."
Source: Maxfighting
Weekend
Injury Update
Both Tim Lajcik and Joey Villasenor are recovering nicely after
serious injuries during their WFA bouts Friday night required
trips to a local Las Vegas hospital. According to the Chairman
of Nevada State Athletic Commission Medical Advisory Board and
ringside physician Dr. Margaret Goodman, Lajick suffered a severely
dislocated toe. Orthopedist Maryann Shannon was unable to reduce
the injury in the emergency room, so Lajcik had to be taken to
the operating room where he underwent a fluoroscopy. A pin was
inserted to stabilize the digit. Goodman was unsure of his time
table for recovery, but she did say he would heal 100%.
Villasenor suffered
a fracture to the posterior alteral malleolus (right ankle) after
he landed awkwardly following a huge slam by Jermaine Andre just
seconds into their middleweight championship bout. Villasenor's
ankle was set and casted. Goodman notes that he may have some
future problems due to ankle laxity. The New Mexico native will
need several months of rest and intensive therapy to recover.
Source: Maxfighting
7/9/02
Quote
of the Day
Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again.
Henry Ford
Moving
In Party!
It's funny how many more people show up if you say it's a party
(Well I hope they do). This coming Saturday we will be painting
my house. I don't think I will need guys for this, but we are
shooting for moving in on next Sunday, July 21 starting at 9:00 am. If you have time, please
stop by. You can either meet us at our Palisades house or Mililani
house. If you have a truck, we would appreciate it if you could
bring that as well. I am working on getting a flat bed, but I
have not gotten confirmation on that yet. We do not have nearly
as much as Chris had so don't fret too much. We will not be able
to fill up the house just yet.
We
are leaving for Brazil on July 22 so we need to be moved in on
the 21st.
Either
give me a call on my cells (381-9530 or 479-0434, Private id
40434) or email me for directions.
As
always, I will feed you all for your hard work! Thanks in advance!
Mike
RATNER:
PRIDE WILL HAVE TO FOLLOW UNIFIED MMA RULES IN NEVADA
The June 21
meeting of the Nevada State Athletic Commission unanimously approved
the granting of a mixed martial arts promoter's license to Dream
Stage Entertainment, the parent company of the Pride Fighting
Championships. I recently spoke to Marc Ratner, the Nevada commission's
executive director, to get his explanation of the issues involved.
'They answered
all the questions satisfactorily,' he said. 'We're looking forward
to having them here. They understand our rules. They will certainly
comply with everything. If a fighter is suspended in America,
he will not fight on a Pride card on Japan. They're going to
do everything they can to make it a first-class show, and the
State of Nevada is very excited about having them here.'
Some people
have been confused about just which rules Pride will have to
follow in Nevada, but Ratner confirmed that they will have to
abide by the same rules as any other mixed martial arts promotions
that run in that state.
'Absolutely,'
he stressed. 'It will be the unified rules, the same MMA rules,
King of the Cage, Ultimate, and now they will be using them.'
As in Japan, Pride shows in Nevada will be held in a ring.
I also raised
the issue of fixed fights. 'We went through all that with them,
and they answered the questions satisfactorily, about worked
fights,' said Ratner. 'And they understand that will not be even
talked about here. It cannot happen here. They know where we're
coming from. We talked to them at length about that, and they
were very open. They had quite a few Japanese people here, as
well as their attorneys. And we're very confident that everything
will be right here.'
But it was not
clear whether or not they had admitted that they had staged fixed,
or worked, fights in Japan, even after I asked for a clarification.
'There's a lot
of stuff that happened before Dream Stage took over,' Ratner
contended. 'You got to remember that Pride goes back a long ways.
And they know that there's been some rumors of, and talk about
some fights in Japan that have been worked. And we went through
that with them. [Commission member] Dr. Homansky asked them a
lot of direct questions, and they know exactly where we're coming
from. We talked about that at some time that if the sport gets
big enough, there will be some betting on these fights, and they
must be on the up-and-up.'
But, I pressed,
did they admit running fixed fights? 'Everything was talked about,
and they answered the questions satisfactorily, and we're going
to go forward and have some great fights here. I'm looking forward
to it,' Ratner replied ever so diplomatically.
I also asked
about allegations, mainly emanating from Japan, of alleged connections
between Dream Stage officials and the Yakuza, the Japanese mob.
'All those questions were answered satisfactorily,' Ratner repeated.
'We had legal people check into their backgrounds. No out-of-the-country
firm has been examined as closely as they have.'
Pride actually
applied for a promoter's license some 16 months, so I also asked
why it took so long to finalize their approval. 'Because this
is the first foreign corporation that's really gone before the
athletic commission,' he replied. 'We got all their stuff, a
lot of the stuff in Japanese first, so we had to have it translated.
They gave it to us in yen, some of their things. They had different
officers that we needed to investigate. We had a Gaming Control
Board investigator help us on this, too. So it was quite lengthy.
But we have never researched as much in any corporation, and
as I said before, they passed everything, and we're looking forward
to having them. I think it just makes the sport better here in
town. We're going to have more stuff and we're excited about
it.'
At Pride 21
on June 23, there was a fight involving Bob Sapp and Kiyoshi
Tamura. Sapp outweighed Tamura by about 195 pounds. 'We would
want more weight-even,' Ratner said. In Nevada, Pride would have
to abide by the weight classes set down in the unified rules.
'So therefore, yes. We would have the weight classes, and you
have to fight in that weight class, of course,' he said.
But, I asked,
does it matter what they do in Japan? And what if some boxing
promoter did something like this in Japan, and then wanted to
run in Nevada? 'I'd take it into account,' Ratner responded,
'but I also don't know if there's a mixed martial arts commission
in Japan that is quite the same.' I informed him that there was
not, that it is essentially unregulated there.
'They know that
it's regulated here, and they're going to have to follow our
rules very closely,' he said. 'And we'll try to make it better
for Japan, too. But I got to worry about Las Vegas first, and
that's my goal,' he added.
'Remember that
in this state, that all licenses -- that everything has to be
approved fight to fight. The commission must approve every date.
But I believe they will do good here, and they'll be fine,' he
continued.
'We have to
be diligent. I have to watch everything, and certainly make sure
they understand. But I can't control Japan. I only can control
here, and that's my goal.'
If Pride presents
any problems, Ratner expects to hear all about it. 'The other
mixed martial arts will let me know,' he said. 'I have a lot
of people who love to call me about other people's shows. So
that helps.'
So he is both
wary and optimistic.
'I'm going to
go in not naive, but certainly watching.'
Source: Eddie
Goldman/Abu Dhabi
UFC
39: SEPTEMBER RUMORS
There are rumors
floating around about the potential card for UFC 39 at the Mohegan
Sun, in Conneticut on September 27th, 2002.
Tentative plans
include the possibilities of 4-man tournaments (over two shows)
to crown champions in the heavyweight and the 155 lbs divisions.
Of course the
heavyweight picture could change if Josh Barnett's hearing with
the Nevada commission goes well and he chooses to stay with UFC.
But here a the current list of RUMORED matches.
155 lbers:
BJ Penn vs Matt Serra
Caol Uno Vs Din Thomas
Of course any
combination of these four guys is awesome! The Uno-Thomas
match is especially interesting as the two have met in Shooto
and had a
historic bout.
Serra-Penn is a Jiu Jitsu fan's dream! Renzo was recently quoted
as saying he is preparing Matt for something big - and what could
be bigger?
Heavyweights:
Tim Sylvia Vs Wes Cabbage
Correira
Randy Couture vs. Ricco Rodriguez
Again, this
whole thing could be out the window if Barnett is in, and it
would be expected that Pedro Rizzo would be in the mix for any
'tournament of contenders'.
205 lbs:
Vitor Belfort vs. Mike Van Arsdale
Wow - an potentially
awesome match! Van Arsdale is the consummate wrestling machine
and Vitor has something to prove. What more could we ask for?!?!?!
185 lbs:
Matt Lindland vs. Ivan Salaverry
Phil Baroni vs. Dave Menne
Both matches
are interesting, with a highlight performance by any of the fighters
probably leading to a title fight against head honcho Murilo
Bustamante.
170 lbs:
Benji Radach vs. Sean Sherk
Two undefeated
fighters! Many give Sherk an edge, since he seems bigger and
is more experienced. He will try to take Radach down to G&P
his way to a win. Radach will look to add Sherk to his long list
of KO victims. Both have excellent wrestling skills which makes
this one interesting.
Hey, wait a
minute! We have show this weekend to worry about but this sure
sounds pretty good for September!!
Source: Abu
Dhabi
UFC
Fight Profile:
Tony DeSouza V Gil Castillo
Saturday, July
13th, 2002
UFC 38 'BRAWL at the HALL'
Tony DeSouza Vs. Gil Castillo
Tony Desouza
is an excellent grappler with a record of 4-1-0. He fights for
the Lewis/Pederneiras Vale Tudo Team out of Las Vegas, NV. His
opponent, Gil Castillo is also an excellent grappler with an
extensive MMA ecord and also only 1 loss. Gil was originally
associated with Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, but most recently he
has fought under Renzo Gracie. He is cutting weight to fight
in the welterweight division, at 170 lbs.
Tony was very
impressive in his his MMA debut against Kenneth Tanario, whom
he defeated by submission via toe hold in Gladiator Challenge
1. His most impressive win came by unanimous decision at 'UFC
31: Locked & Loaded', where he won a decision over MMA veteran
Steve Berger. He followed this win with a quick submission victory
via guillotine choke over the tough Paul Rodriguez in 'UFC 32:
Showdown' in the Meadowlands. Unfortunately for him it was at
'33: Victory in Vegas' that Tony was caught by a KO shot from
SHOOTO fighter Jutaro Nakao for his only loss. Tony has come
back since then to fight in the WFA and defeated Chatt Lavender
by TKO.
Gil Castillo
had his MMA debut in IFC Warriors Challenge 6 against Dennis
Muehy. He went on to beat the 'Prince of Leg Locks', Robert Ferguson
by unanimous decision in IFC Warriors Challenge 8. He defeated
Raymond Mansfield by submission via shoulder lock in IFC Warriors
Challenge 10. His level of competition of late has been very
high, as it was back at KOTC 8 that he took out the very tough
Joe Hurley by unanimous decision. Gil also defeated Nathan Marquardt
by unanimous decision in IFC Warriors Challenge 14. An undefeated
Gil Castillo went to take the UFC by storm, but Dave Menne would
stop him for his first loss at UFC 33: Victory in Vegas. Gil
moved up to the 185 lb weight class for this bout. Gil, like
Tony, came back to win his next match - over Chris Brennan by
unanimous decision in UFC 35: Throwdown.
Who will win?
Find out on July 13th live from London, England at 10:00 P. M.
EST.
Source: Abu
Dhabi
Vitor
Belfort is Back in Training
After an exciting fight in his comeback to the UFC, where he
lost to Chuck Liddell by unanimous decision, Vitor Belfort is
already training again looking for a probable fight on the September
UFC card. FCF spoke with "The Phenom" in Sao Paulo
today, and the 25-year-old Brazilian said he really wants to
fight again in September. Not only that but he is already training
hard to be in better shape in his next fight. Vitor told FCF
he hasn't heard anything about Mike Van Arsdale as an opponent
as of yet, despite all the rumors about a fight between the two.
At this point Belfort's participation at the September event
isn't certain, but he plans to be prepared and hopes the UFC
will use him on the card, against Van Arsdale or any other opponent.
Belfort also commented that he feels he was doing well in his
fight against Chuck until the knockdown in the third round, and
he feels Liddell is a great fighter so this loss won't take away
his desire to fight again. With one fight left on his UFC contract,
plus an extra fight guaranteed if the UFC wants it, Vitor Belfort's
career in the UFC can be long or short, depending on the outcome
of his next fight. FCF will keep a close eye on the Phenom's
training developments as the September UFC card takes shape.
Source:
FCF
Susumu's
Gallery SHOOTO
We
have added 20 photos from a Shooto show held on June 29th. You
can see Rumina, Gomi, Mishima and so on.
Super
Brawl XXV Addition
Saturday, July 13, 2002
Blaisdell Arena
Honolulu, Hawaii
Buy
your tickets now!
Mr. International makes for a Last Minute Addition to SuperBrawl
XXV
vs
Mr.
International, Shonie Carter, will make his return to the SuperBrawl
ring this weekend to face off against Grappling Unlimited's Kolo
Koka. Koka has stopped everyone that has been put in front of
him, but he's never seen the caliber of the self-proclaimed 'Playa
with a Passport.'
Carter
has fought in the Pancrase organization in Japan, is a 4-time
UFC veteran and has wins over former UFC middleweight champ Dave
Menne and UFC lightweight contender Matt Serra.
While
Koka has been getting his knocks in on a regular basis, Carter
hasn't made an MMA appearance since a loss to Pat Militech in
June of 2001.
Will
'ring rust' be a factor for Shonie or will he put this young
gun in his place?
Martijn de Jong 182.6lbs
(Golden Glory, Holland) 14-4
vs.
Egan Inoue 182.6lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) Super Brawl Champion 13-3
Hometown favorite and
Shooto 7th Ranked Egan Inoue will square off against Shooto 4th
Ranked Martijn de Jong from Holland. De Jong, a.k.a. The Specialist,
fights out of Amsterdam's
prestigious Golden Glory
gym and boasts a 14-4-2 Mixed Martial Arts record, with all 14
wins coming by KO or submission.
Kimikito Nonaka 132lbs
(Purebred Omiya, Japan)
vs.
Jose Lopez 132lbs
(Shark Tank, CA) Super Brawl #3 Ranked 1-0-1
Nonaka is an aggressive
fighter coming down in weight for this fight. He has had mixed
success at 143lbs and looks to use his strength at this lighter
weight. “The Outlaw” may have something to say about
it. Lopez, with perhaps the best hands in the business, and a
KO victory over Lincoln Tyler, will look to punch his way to
the top of the lightweight Super Brawl rankings. Nonaka 3-2,
favorite.
Jin Kazeta 143lbs
(Nigata, Japan) 2-0-1
vs.
Eddie Yagin 143lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) Super Brawl #3 Ranked 6-0
What else can you expect
from a Japanese shooter than and ultra-exciting well-rounded
game? In addition, Kazeta is also a former Kickboxing champion.
Yagin has shown punching and kicking talent himself. He is on
a seemingly unstoppable roll. Will he be the first local fighter
to notch up a win against a Japanese shooter in quite some time?
Pick-em, Even Odds
Jason Bress 143lbs
(Sean McCully, LA) 9-3
vs.
Baret Yoshida 143lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) Super Brawl #5 Ranked 4-3-1
Bress is a quality opponent
who favors the striking game (4-0 in Kickboxing). Yoshida is
world renowned for his submission game. The few who have had
success against Yoshida, strike from inside guard while avoiding
his lethal submissions. Yoshida 3-2 favorite
Brennan Kamaka 160lbs
(Gamebred) 1-6
vs.
Jay R. Palmer 160lbs.
(Freelance) 20-17
This will be fun! Two
game fighters who have not seen a 'W' in quite some time. Brennan
is a former State Champion wrestler with good hands and Jay R.
is an unorthodox brawler. Neither fighter is big on submissions.
This fight will be won or lost with striking. Pick-em, Even Odds.
Ian Nelms 167.5lbs
(Shark Tank) 0-0
vs.
Brandon Wolff 167.5lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 1-0
This is a Great match-up
of young talent. Nelms, a Division I wrestler and as with all
Shark Tank fighters, will arrive in great shape and be well rounded.
Wolf may have a slight advantage in striking but Nelms will try
to negate that with his strong grappling
skills. Pick-em, Even Odds
Nick Bradley 198lbs
(Shark Tank)
Super Brawl #5 Ranked
1-0
vs.
Kaipo Miller 198lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 0-0
Bradley is coming off
an impressive victory in Super Brawl 23. A collegiate level wrestler
who likes to push the action. Miller will try to weather the
storm and find a submission from the bottom. Bradley 3-2 Favorite.
Joey Jordan 143lbs
(808 Fight Factory) 0-0
vs.
Justin Mercado 143lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 0-1
Look for an aggressive
fight from both these young fighters. Mercado is coming of a
tough, decision loss to Jordan’s teammate and will look
for revenge. Pick-em, Even Odds.
William Armstrong 135lbs
(808 Fight Factory)0-0
vs.
Will Hagerty 135lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 0-0
Two young lightweights
with wrestling backgrounds. Armstrong may have the edge in striking
while Hagerty will have the edge in submissions. Pick-em, Even
Odds.
Deshaun Johnson 167.5lbs
(HMC Pankration) 2-2
vs.
Justin Karr 167.5lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 0-0
Johnson is a tough as
nails striker who is working diligently on his ground game. Karr
is ultra-aggressive and will keep coming forward. Should be interesting
to see who breaks first. Pick-em Even Odds
SuperBrawl XXV goes down
Saturday, July 13 at the Blaisdell Arena. Tickets for SuperBrawl
25 are on sale now at the Blaisdell Center box office, all Tickets
Plus outlets or online.
7/8/02
Quote
of the Day
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.
Helen Keller
Aiea
Academy Winner!
Sorry, I originally stated that we came up with the name ourselves,
but Chris informed me that Ross "The Doorman" Takata
came up with a name similar to the one we went with. We were
thinking of going with this name for a while and since he submitted
the closest name, he will win a Full Contact Fighter T-shirt
and a UFC poster featuring Hawaii's BJ Penn vs Jens Pulver. Ross
was nice enough to remind me at the picnic about him coming up
with the name. Thanks doorman.
Congratulations
Ross!
Once
again, thanks to everyone who submitted names and ideas. Again,
the name of our academy is:
Academia
Casca Grossa de Jiu-Jitsu
Relson Gracie Aiea Association Academy
inside Rainbow Gymnastics Academy
98-023 Hekaha Street, #7
Aiea, Hawaii 96701
(808) 589-2524 info@onzuka.com (Chris & Mike) www.onzuka.com
Classes are held:
Tuesdays from 7:30-9:00 pm
Thursday from 8:00-10:00 pm
(Ending times above are "official" times, but everyone
knows that we usually go a lot longer than that)
Your
first class is free. We have no contracts and if you have a varying
schedule, we will work with you as much as two days a week will
allow us. Come by to check out the class whenever you want.
Classes
are $40 a month for one day a week for a month and $80 for two
days a week for a month. There is a one time registration fee
of $20.
Thanks to everyone that showed up to help me out on Saturday.
We got a ton done and that was due to the people who came busting
their rears. We are planning on painting this Saturday and am
not sure how much help we will need or we just sit back and watch
the pros go to work. If you are free and want free lunch stop
by early. We have not set the time for Saturday, but I would
assume that it will be early. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted.
You can be sure of that!
Mike
SHOOTO
Rankings!!!
I have already
reported the rankings so see below for the rankings.
Once again the
SHOOTO Association releases its rankings for competitors that
have fought in official SHOOTO events. While the lower weight
classes are represented mostly by Japanese fighters, you will
see a more international flavor as you get into the higher weight
classes. Ultimately, there has not been a great deal of movement
since the rankings were last released. However, the movement
that did occur is pretty significant.
The 60kg weight
class (Featherweight) holds firm with no changes. The only thing
that we have to look out for is that former Champion Mamoru has
dropped down to Bantamweight at 56kg. The rankings listed here
are as of June 16th which is before that announcement was made.
This brings up an important note, that these rankings were also
made before the most recent SHOOTO event which went down on June
29th. It was a fantastic card that had some very interesting
results. Results which will no doubt have a further impact on
the rankings that we see here.
At 143 lbs (65kg)
we see Stephen Paling leap frog over both Tetsuo Katsuta (the
only man to beat the current SHOOTO Lightweight Champion) and
Katsuya Toida. This came after Paling finished off SHOOTO rising
star Norifumi Yamamoto with a well timed knee that opened a cut
and forced a TKO stoppage in under a minute. Bozo, as Stephen
is nicknamed, was tentatively set to face Toida in a SHOOTO bout
on August 3rd at Warriors' Quest in Hawaii. Toida is uncertain
of his condition since he has been unable to train his stand-up
game due to an injury. He has a grappling match coming up in
Japan and he says he will see how things are after that. Will
Bozo want to risk his number one spot and his long awaited second
chance at the title if Toida says that he is ready to go???
In the Welterweight
division (70kg), which is perhaps the most exciting weight class
within the sport of SHOOTO, we some activity in the lower half
of the ranks. Tatsuya Kawajiri moves up to 7th rank after putting
up a very impressive performance in first half of this year.
He has won three in a row, and five in a row since 2001. He has
moved all the way from Class-B right into the ranks by defeating
formally 8th ranked Takeshi Yamazaki, then Daisuke Sugie. Yamazaki
has moved down as has the very promising Takumi Nakayama. Takumi
has dropped a few spots after losing to Vitor Ribeiro who himself
has earned a spot in the rankings at 8th position. Also, we have
to remember that King Of the Cage Champion has just bested SHOOTO
superstar Rumina Sato in his SHOOTO debut and will certainly
be emerging in the rankings down the road.
Next is the
76kg class (167 lbs). Like with the Welterweight division above,
there is little movement in the upper half of the top ten while
there are developments at the bottom. Specifically, we see Dave
Strasser grinding his way up the rankings. He moves up after
dispatching Takuya Wada by split decision. He has followed that
performance up by choking out the popular fan favorite Seichi
Ikemoto. That latter match was after the establishment of these
rankings, and he too may be prepared to move up even further.
Lastly, we have
the 83kg Light Heavyweight division. No movement is reflected
in this divison although there are some really interesting players.
The champion Masanori Suda is regarded largely as not up to par
with others in this division. There is UFC stand-out Ivan Salaverry,
American Top Teamer Dustin Denes, and Hawaiian legend Egan Inoue.
However, Suda proved his mettle when he defeated Ronald Jhun
just last weekend (albeit that Jhun had only a weeks notice).
This is a division that has been struggling to develop, but with
this line-up of fighters in the ranks which also includes HOOKnSHOOT
mainstay Scott Henze, Dutch fighter Martijn De Jong, and UFC
veteran and the man many people believe defeated Suda, Lance
Gibson. Things are starting to heat up at 183 lbs and it should
be interesting.
Source: Abu
Dhabi
NEVADA
COMMISSION IN 'EDUCATION MODE' ON STEROIDS, RATNER SAYS
Don't expect
the Nevada State Athletic Commission to throw the book at UFC
heavyweight champion Josh Barnett when his hearing regarding
allegations of steroid usage finally takes place. 'Educate is
the word, the most key word that I can give to you,' said Marc
Ratner, executive director of this commission, in recent telephone
interviews.
Barnett's hearing
could finally take place at the commission meeting this week,
on July 11, or at the July 26 meeting. It had been postponed
from the commission's June 21 meeting because Barnett had traveled
to Japan to corner Bob Sapp at Pride 21 on June 23.
If at the hearing
Barnett is indeed found to have used the three steroids found
in his urine sample, as the allegations contend, we may be able
to deduce what will come next by looking at the recent similar
case of K-1 fighter Rick Roufus. He made it to the finals of
the K-1 USA championship at Las Vegas's Mirage Casino on Friday,
May 3, against Michael McDonald. In what had been a close championship
fight over the regulation first three rounds, Roufus lost by
TKO when he could not answer the bell for a required three-minute
overtime because he had suffered a badly battered left knee.
But since it was a title fight, under Nevada regulations he had
to submit a urine sample. The Nevada commission regularly conducts
steroid tests for fighters in all championship fights, as well
as randomly for fighters in non-championship fights, in all the
events it regulates.
Roufus, according
to Ratner, 'tested positive for some steroid metabolites.' Because
of his knee injury, he will not be in shape to fight until early
next year, Ratner said. But Roufus also had his steroid case
heard by the Nevada commission.
After his knee
injury heals, Ratner said that before Roufus 'can fight again
anywhere in the world, he must have a clean specimen.' In addition,
the commission is requiring Roufus to undergo some education
about steroids. He has not been suspended because of the steroid
use, but only received a medical suspension because of the knee
injury. 'We have to be able to know he is clean, and we want
him to get much more knowledgeable,' said Ratner. 'What we're
trying to do with anybody who tests positive is to educate them.'
Ratner declined
to predict what the commission might do regarding Barnett, since
his hearing has not yet been held. 'I never want to prejudge,'
he said. But nonetheless his emphasis, for the moment, was on
education.
'We're in the
education mode right now,' Ratner stressed.
'There's a lot
of supplements you can take that can turn into some of these
things, also, that are over-the-counter,' Ratner stated. 'And
we at the Nevada commission are learning about it. We're really
trying to study it and learn it and educate the fighters.' He
said that by July 1 a letter will have been sent to fight promoters
for fighters 'to let us know what kind of supplements that you're
taking that could possibly metabolize into something else. And
so the next few months are going to be real educational for everybody.'
Towards that
end, the Nevada commission has sought the expertise of, among
others, Dr. Robert Voy, formerly drug chief for the U.S. Olympic
Committee, and now President of USA Boxing, which governs amateur
boxing in the U.S. Dr. Voy is the author of the 1991 book 'Drugs,
Sport, and Politics,' in which he outlines the detrimental effects
of drugs as well as criticizing lax enforcement and sometimes
even coverups of positive drug tests in sports.
Ratner also
said he called 'some people in from the State of Washington'
to watch the June 22 UFC event 'who are going to do some stuff
with us also, who have done some analysis on the different things
and the supplements that some of these guys are taking. So we're
trying to do what's right. But what we want to do is make the
whole sport better, and try to make it cleaner. And it's not
going to be an overnight process. And the whole world knows that,
hey, we'll do random tests, and we're going to test for championship
fights, and we're going to make people aware.'
Ratner also
pointed out, 'The other question we don't have the knowledge
of is, how long does this stuff last in your system? Some of
it's injectable, I understand. Some of it's tablet form. Some
of it's supplements. That's what we have to find out. And some
of this stuff lasts in your system for a long time. Well, we
don't want to have a penalty if you haven't taken it for a long
time, either.'
But Ratner did
say that this period emphasizing education rather than punishment
will not last forever. 'So that's why Jan. 1 will be our drop
dead date for everybody, that will give everybody plenty of notice,'
he said. 'But anybody who does test positive in the meantime
will be brought before the commission.'
The commission
has been conducting steroid tests for boxers for the past 11
years. 'Nobody has ever tested positive,' Ratner said. 'These
are some of the best heavyweights in the world, and the best
bigger guys as well as lighter guys.' He did say there was one
instance of a boxer who 'had a higher testosterone level than
the others. This is going back about seven or eight years ago.
And that is it.'
Ratner also
said that he didn't want to 'single out mixed martial arts guys'
because of this high profile case involving Josh Barnett, and
the lack of positive tests from boxers. 'It really is about education,'
he stressed once again.
Source: Eddie Goldman/Abu Dhabi
Alliance
Team Conducts National tryouts for the Worlds 2002
This
Saturday July 14th, the Powerhouse AllianceTeam will be conducting
its tryouts to selection the Team for the 2002 Worlds. The tryouts
will be conducted at the Flamengo Football Clube with all Belts
and Divisions competing. The internal problems that had plagued
Alliance have been cleared and Alliance is now ready to reclaim
their spot amongst the top teams and to make a push for a third
World Title.
The
inside rumor is that everyone is so fired up that it even got
one of BJJ's best guard players, Roberto 'Spider' Traven, thinking
of returning to the mats for a run at one more title!
Source:
Abu Dhabi
INTERVIEW:
JENS PULVER
Jens
Pulver fought in Ultimate Wrestling in MN last weekend where
he beat Robert Emerson by decision after four grueling 5-minute
rounds in his first appearance since leaving the UFC. Many people
acknowledged this fight to be a tune-up for Jens' UFO appearance
but hardly anyone expected Emerson to give Jens such a hard fight.
This interview was conducted the afternoon of the event.
KM:
This is your first fight since leaving the UFC. How have you
been doing lately? How are things different now?
JP: It's cool, I've just been hanging out watching other guys
fight, getting ready for my time. It's been kind of weird being
without the UFC, not having their belt. It was kind of hard going
to the Bellagio and seeing the show but I was happy for my guys.
Bottom line for me is as long as I'm out there fighting that's
the best thing.
KM:
It seems like a close friend really let you down, abandoned you.
Are you taking this ok?
JP: I'm good. I got over that a couple months ago. At first it
hurt like hell just to have a prince tag put on me and be told
how much you're worth by one organization and another one that's
telling me you're worth this much and it's twice as much. I'm
fine. I got a lot of things to look forward to, I'm just trying
to stay busy. I love the UFC and I get along great with them.
We talked a long time at the Bellagio, it was fun to hang out
with them. We threw each other shit-we're kind of light hearted
a little bit but it's fun. We're over it. I'm over that pain.
At first it was hard: it sucked and I was pissed but I vented
it in that Full Contact Fighter story, I got a little tipsy and
let it go. I'm over that. I was blaming the wrong people. My
biggest problem was with their matchmaker and not the rest of
the UFC and I just let it all boil to a head and I was pissed.
Everything's good. All smiles now.
KM:
I'm thinking it's just a matter of time before we see you back
in the UFC, treated a little better next time around.
JP: I'm hoping to get back in the UFC. The money thing is still
an issue because like I said the August fight I'm getting $10,000
more to show than I would if I won in the UFC in my first contract.
I came in to fighting because you make money for fighting. I
can't not have that fight. Once we get past that road block I
think we'll be able to sit down and figure some things out. BJ
really wants a shot and I really want to beat BJ again. I want
to shut him up for good. We'll see what happens. I could be back
in the UFC. I still talk to Lorenzo, I still talk with Dana on
a daily basis. I love those guys and I love that show and we'll
go from there.
KM:
What do you think of the UFC's current Lightweight weight class?
Who do you think is going to get what I still think is your belt?
JP: There's nobody going to beat BJ. They're going to have a
tournament. If that's what they want to do, fine. It's BJ's belt.
Din I think has the best shot of beating him if they put Din
in that tournament. Javier Vazquez is just coming off a fresh
win over Sato so you can throw him in there. Serra. It could
be a good little tournament. No-one is going to take that belt
from BJ.
KM:
Your next fight is August 8th in UFO in Japan. Pat Miletich is
also going to be on that card. I haven't heard much about UFO,
can you hype it a little bit?
JP: It's a gigantic organization. It's going to be in the Tokyo
Dome, 60,000 seat live on free TV in Japan. It's no joke, there
is going to be millions of people watching this show. I've never
fought in front of 60,000 people. I don't even know what 60,000
people looks like. I got Pride and K-1 sitting there waiting
for that fight to see what happens.
KM:
Whos is your opponent for UFO?
JP: It hasn't been completely decided yet. They're throwing around
some names and as soon as I find out everyone else is going to
find out. I've wanted to fight Royler (Gracie), I know (Takanori)
Gomi is stuck with Shooto so that's out…
KM:
I always resented Gomi is one of the Lightweights we don't see
in the larger promotions.
JP: Nobody knows anything about him but he's great. The guy I
do know about that I think is better than all of them is (Dokonjonosuke)
Mishima. That's the guy Din beat by a cut but he was killing
Din up until that point and he hasn't lost since. He's tough,
man, he's touch as nails. I know who they are, they just might
not think I do. Gomi, as soon as I have the opportunity to beat
him that's what I'll do is go over there and beat him or he can
come here.
KM:
It seems like everybody the UFC matched you up against and to
a certain extent the people we see in the top 5 are mainly grapplers
that are moving over to striking so it seems like most of your
fights in the last 2 years or so ever since the loss the Din
have been against guys that want to take you to the ground and
hold you.
JP: That's all it's been and that's frustrating. BJ said he was
going to stand up and he didn't. It lets me know that I need
to get better on the ground just so I can ruin their game plan
down there. It just gives me reason to evolve and get better.
I proved they can't submit me. The grapplers keep winning I suppose,
they keep beating 90% of the other stand-up fighters.
KM:
My perception is that you don't get as many powerful strikers
but you get more flexible people because they're lighter, thinner,
whatever so it seems it's more natural for Lightweight fighters
to be grapplers.
JP: I think you're right plus the grapplers are just getting
a lot of strikers. Striking has always been a bigger guy's sport.
I don't think they've gone out of their way to find the Lightweight
strikers and put them in the UFC. Again, that's my problem with
the matchmaker. Me and Joe Silva don't see eye to eye on a lot
of things. For example I never seen why when they're building
up another opponent like they did with BJ why it is I couldn't
have a non-title fight against a stand-up guy, show people I
still can be exciting, if given the opportunity I can still drop
people and impose my will instead of having to defend take-downs
and being cautious for my belt. Allow these fights to build up.
Tito gets his non-title fight against Ken (Shamrock). Let me
have the same thing, let me show people I can still finish something
and not have it go to a decision since I need a fight in-between
and they need to build up.
KM:
Which brings us to tonight. This seems like the first primarily
striker cross training over to grappling that you've faced in
2 years. I think you still are going to take the guy but I think
this is going to be one of your toughest fights in 2 years. This
guy is closer to your style. I think he's going to give you a
run for your money.
JP: Of course he's going to give me a run for my money. The beautiful
part of what I like about my style is I'm always in it. If a
guy handles me standing up then they better get ready to go to
the ground and maybe I have to show everybody today that I can
grapple. Most of the time I don't want to because I have the
stand-up and they're the better grappler. Now I'm getting a guy
with stand-up and no grappling. Maybe I get to show my grappling
this time. We'll see, it's all universal.
KM:
You're not going to clue us in on how your strategy has changed?
JP: Never. You never know what's going to happen. I adapt and
move on.
Source:
Abu Dhabi
Ruas
Getting Ready to Fight
and Training Hard in Brazil
The
"King of the streets" is already back in Brazil and
preparing for his next fight! Marco Ruas arrived in Rio de Janeiro
this past week to begin the final phase of his preparation for
his next -- and possibly last -- fight at the UFO event on August
8th. Despite his age, the former UFC Champion always manages
to keep in great shape and came to Rio in good condition looking
for the fight rhythm he needs to perform his best game in Japan.
According to his student and training partner Pedro Rizzo, Ruas
is ready for the task, "Marco is always in great shape,
and things are no different this time. We're anxious to see him
back in the ring." Marco Ruas will stay in Rio de Janeiro
training with the Ruas Vale Tudo Team for almost a month, until
he heads off Japan for the fight. His opponent is rumored to
be PRIDE veteran Murakami Kazunari, altough nothing is certain
at this point. After dealing with several injury problems that
affected his performance, this will be Marco's second fight since
recovering from a serious knee surgery, and many believe the
outcome of the fight will determine whether this will be his
fairwell fight or not. FCF will keep a close eye on his preparation
for the fight, and further UFO card developments.
Source:
FCF
A
Night of Freak Injuries at the WFA
By Jim Genia
(July
5, Las Vegas) The World Fighting Alliance Level 2 rocked The
Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino tonight as fans were
treated to solid music, dazzling lights, plenty of beautiful
women, and a few injuries that had the crowd groaning. Jermaine
Andre came away the new WFA Middleweight Champ, and his opponent
Joey Villasenor left with what seemed to be a broken ankle, while
an irate Tim Lajcik was rushed off to the hospital after suffering
an apparent self-inflicted broken toe, getting the loss despite
having dominated UFC-legend Kimo for the entire duration of their
two-minute match. The second installment of the WFA showed marked
improvements over their debut -- improvements that were nearly
overshadowed by the freak injuries in the cage.
In the opening bout, light-heavyweight Marvin "the Beastman"
Eastman [Pictured at right after the fight] redeemed his quick
loss at the first show by taking down and staying on top of a
very game Tom Sauer. Sauer, who took this fight on one day's
notice, displayed some nice kicking from the guard, but Eastman
got the better of him and ended up in the mount raining down
elbows. The doctor called a halt to the match at 1:35 of the
second round due to a deep cut above Sauer's eye.
In the lightweight division, Shaolin [shown below post-fight
with Andre Pederneiras] managed to get Hurley to the ground early
and keep him there. Playing a grappling chess match, Shaolin
and Hurley fought to improve their positions while occasionally
peppering each other with blows. Then, at 1:19 of the second
round, Shaolin caught Hurley in a side choke, and put the Lions
Den fighter to sleep. Hurley had managed to defend well, but
the Brazilian caught him.
In the middleweight division, Team Punishment's Tiki was unafraid
to stand toe-to-toe with top kickboxer Kit Cope. Showing some
solid kicks before clinching, Tiki got Cope to the ground and
kept him there, raining down punches and forcing Cope to tap
at the end of the second round.
Heavyweights Aaron Brink and Valentijn Overeem went at it with
both guns blazing. Overeem landed some hard kicks to Brink and
took the fight to the ground, but Brink rallied and brought the
fight back to their feet. From there it was all Brink, as he
then overwhelmed the Dutch fighter with punches and forced the
ref to halt the match at 2:24 of the first round.
Lajcik had a strong performance against Kimo, controlling him
right from the start. Lajcik met every one of Kimo's shoots with
a solid sprawl [pictured at the top of this article], and answered
the tattooed warrior's attempted standing guillotine with a powerful
slam. But a severely broken toe forced the doctor to halt the
match at 1:55 of the first round, and Kimo was declared the winner
as Lajcik was rushed off to the hospital. The toe, shown again
and again on the giant screens, was unlike anything anyone (including
the ringside doctor) had ever seen - a freak injury and tough
break for Lajcik, who clearly was in control of the bout.
Frank Trigg looked relaxed as he manhandled an overmatched Jason
Medina. Medina, who took the fight on a day's notice to replace
Shonie Carter, did his best to stay out of trouble, but Trigg
hit him with knees at will whenever they stood, and dropped elbows
whenever they were on the ground. Medina tapped out at 3:43 of
the first round. Trigg, sporting the words "Mohr Sports"
written in magic marker on his back, had actor Jay Mohr from
ESPN in his corner.
With the WFA middleweight belt on the line, Jermaine Andre and
Joey Villasenor seemed to come out with both guns blazing. Villasenor
started off with a flying knee attempt, and Andre caught him
and slammed him down to the mat. From there, the Team Extreme
fighter fell back into a leglock attempt, but Villasenor was
already tapping - he'd landed on his ankle wrong, and it appeared
to be badly broken (a la Jason Deluca vs. Joe Slick in UFC Japan).
At 0:21 of the first round, Andre was declared the winner.
Source:
FCF
7/6/02
Quote
of the Day
Both poverty and riches are the offspring of thought.
Every
adversity, every failure, and every heartache carries with it
the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit.
Strike
Fighting Championship
Mixed Martial Arts Results
Blaisdell Exhibition Hall
Honolulu, Hawaii
July 5, 2002
On July 5th, the MMA fighters came out to mix it up. It was modified
rules very similar to RINGS with no closed fist striking to the
head on the ground, no knees or elbows, etc. This was a nice
set of rules allowing many of these fighters, who were making
their debuts, the opportunity to get their feet wet in the sport.
Unfortunately, due to a number of "no shows," the crowd
of over 300 people were only treated to four MMA matches and
one submission grappling match. The crowd consisted of half MMA
fans and the other half were casual spectators that happened
to be at the event for one of the other events. The crowd seemed
to enjoy the fights and hopefully MMA has won over more fans.
Amateur: 2 Rounds - 3 minutes
Matt Matsuda (Kodenkan) def. Valen Leong (808 Fight Factory)
via arm bar in Round 1.
Amateur: 2 Rounds - 3 minutes
Keoni Fernandez (Kodenkan) def. Rodel Kearse (Hard Knocks Gym)
due to illegal kick from a downed opponent causing Fernandez's
shoulder to dislocated and not be able to continue in Round 1.
Submission Grappling Match (1
Round - 5 minutes):
Harris Sariento (Kodenkan) def. Dain Agbayani (808 Fight Factory)
by submission via toe hold
Main Event:
Amateur: 2 Rounds - 5 minutes
Jim Kikuchi (808 Fight Factory) def. Corey Goeas (Kodenkan) by
submission via guillotine choke in Round 1.
WFA
II: The Playas Results
Hard Rock Cafe, Las Vegas, NV.
July 5th, 2002
Quick Results:
Marvin Eastman
def. Tom Sauer: Eastman by ref. stoppage due to cuts 1:23 Min
Rd 2 Eastman dominated standing & on the ground
Vitor 'Shaolin'
Ribeiro def. Joe Hurley: Shaolin by head & arm choke at 1:19
min Rd 2 Shaolin dominates the fight from the top & chokes
out the experienced Hurley (2nd chokeout in a row by Shaolin)
! Shaolin is the real deal!
Kit Cope def.
Tiki Ghosen: Tikki won 4:59 Rd 2 strikes from the mount
Valentijn Overeem
def. Aaron Brink: Brink wins 2:24 Rd 1 ref stops due to strikes
Kimo Leopoldo
def. Tim Lajcik: Kimo by TKO. Lajcik broke his toe
Frank Trigg
def. Jason Medina: Trigg wins, tapout due to strikes from half-guard
3:43 Rd 1
Jermaine Andre
def. Joey Villasenor: Andre wins :22 sec. first round TKO opponent
hurts the knee/ankle on a big slam by Andre
Source: ADCC & Todd Hester
BTT Hosts a
Japanese Guest...
Note: Kazunari is the Judoka who beat the crap out of Bart
Vale and got KO'd by Maurice Smith.
In early June, the Brazilian Top Team headquarters received a
visitor from Japan. Kazunari Murakami, the Japanese pro wrestler,
went to Rio de Janeiro to shape his tecniques with one of the
BTT.
Murakami is
scheduled to fight in the UFO show on August 8th, but the original
opponent was someone very close to the BTT, so the promoters
were trying to change the opponents.
The original
opponent for Kazunari was to be Marco Ruas but Ruas Vale Tudo
& the BTT have deep ties in in Brazil. Mario Sperry trained
with Pedro Rizzo for the Colosseum show back in 2000, and this
was apparently the start of the relation. After some negotiations,
it appears that Ruas will fight Kazunari, who will continue to
train with TOP TEAM. The Brazilians came to an agreement, however
these things are carefully planned and thought out in Brazil.
Marco Ruas will
probably retire from MMA after his UFO match against Kazunari
Murakami. Ruas is rumored to be reviewing several offers to join
pro-wrestling in Japan.
Source: ADCC
Independence
Day Shake-ups with the World Fighting Alliance
By Jim Genia
(July 4, Las
Vegas) Keeping a card together for a mixed martial arts show
can be next to impossible -- just ask the World Fighting Alliance's
John Lewis. Prior to the press conference today at the Hard Rock
Hotel and Casino, he scrambled more than a few times to replace
fighters. Gilbert Yvel, Yves Edwards, and Paul Cahoon were slated
to compete at various times, but as per Murphy's Law (everything
that can go wrong will go wrong), two more names had to be taken
off the roster last night. Shonie Carter, scheduled to meet up
with Frank Trigg in a highly anticipated match, failed his eye
exam, and Marvin Eastman's latest opponent -- Golden Glory representative
Chalid Arrab -- fell and injured his arm in a stairwell of the
hotel. Compared to his career as a promoter, with these Independence
Day shake-ups, Lewis' life in the cage must've been a vacation!
"I worked
all night until about four or five in the morning calling people,"
says Lewis from behind the podium. Flanked by his remaining competitors,
he announces the substitutes that are on the way. For Trigg,
there's Jason Medina -- a Miletich-trained fighter with a 10-2
record, a background in boxing and wrestling, and wins over the
likes of Brian Dunn and Justin Ellison.
"I trained
to fight, I came to fight, so I'm going to fight whoever it is,"
says Trigg. "It doesn't make a difference who gets thrown
in front of me." Adds Trigg jokingly, "unless it's
John Lewis, we'll be okay."
For Eastman,
there's Tom Sauer -- another Team Extreme representative with
a 10-6 record, knockout hands and newly acquired submission skills
courtesy of the American Top Team, with wins over the likes of
Andrei Kopylov and Valentijn Overeem. Applauded for his quick
work this late in the game (and for the caliber of replacement,
as Sauer has the tools and experience to give Eastman a war),
Lewis is all smiles. Aside from these last minute changes, the
WFA Level 2 show tomorrow night is approaching smoothly.
The weigh-ins
go off without a hitch. Lightweights Shaolin and Joe Hurley both
come in at 155 pounds, middleweights Tiki and Kit Cope are 183.5
and 176 pounds respectively, and Trigg weighs 178 pounds. Medina,
who is still en route from Iowa, will step on the scale tonight
with representatives from both camps present -- but all parties
have agreed to have this bout in the middleweight division. Light-heavyweights
Eastman and Sauer are 204 and 206 pounds (the Nevada State Athletic
Commission allows a one pound grace). In the heavyweight division,
Overeem and Brink are 223 and 217, while Kimo and Tim Lajcik
are 234 and 230. And rounding out the card, middleweight champion
hopefuls Andre and Villasenor are 183.5 and 184.
As the fighters
wander about the Hard Rock, their attention is occasionally drawn
to the women prancing about in skimpy underwear -- this week
the hotel is also hosting the "Trashy Lingerie" clothing
line convention (thank you, God!). But these distractions take
nothing away from the anticipation of the coming battle. Tomorrow
night, the "fight club meets the night club" once again.
Source: FCF
Tommy
Sauer Steps Up To The Plate
By Loretta Hunt
In the true
spirit of mixed martial arts competition, Team Extreme fighter
Tom Sauer is not one to shy away from a challenge. With only
two days left till the WFA's second event in Las Vegas, Sauer
got the call that some fighters only dream about early July 4th
morning. Golden Glory member Chalid Arrab was out of the show
due to a freak injury, and John Lewis was hunting for a seasoned
light-heavyweight to fill the void -- and fast. Leaner and trimmer
after a year's revitalization and a with recent title win in
the WEF, Sauer fit the bill. No stranger to competition, Tom
Sauer's 10-6 record boasts wins over the likes of Valentijn Overeem
and Jeff Monson. Jumping on a plane in Florida this morning and
arriving at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino just in time to
hop on the scales for the official weigh-ins, Tom Sauer will
spend his holiday weekend as the newest member of the WFA family.
FCF: Welcome
to Vegas, Tom. You took this fight on about 36 hours notice.
How did this all come about?
TS: Me and Monte [Cox] talked about coming out here a couple
of months ago and we tried to match some opponents with John
[Lewis]. It didn't pan out, so I did the WEF and I won the light-heavyweight
belt there. I was hoping to come out here last month, but it
fell through. I was real disappointed but was training hard anyway
for two other fights I have coming up this month -- which I guess
will now be pending since I'm fighting here. We'll just play
it by ear. But with those fights only two weeks away, I was ready
to go. Monte gave me the call and I was on a plane.
FCF: What were
you doing when you got the call?
TS: Monte caught me at about 3:30 am this morning. I was getting
packed up to leave for a triathlon I was competing in at 6:30.
Monte told me that "triathlons don't pay, so you're coming
to Vegas." I jumped in the car and got to an airport.
FCF: You've
lost some weight since the last time I saw you. Did you drop
down a weight class to light-heavy as well?
TS: Yea, the last time I saw you at the Meadowlands for UFC 32
I was about 230 pounds. Now, I'm at 205. I've been doing triathlons
along with my training in jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai. I started
training with American Top Team as well down in Florida.
FCF: You will
be facing Marvin Eastman tomorrow night. What do you know about
him?
TS: Marvin Eastman is a great opponent. We'll match up really
well. I've seen a bunch of his fights and I'm really excited
to take him on. I'm here to win.
FCF: Off the
top of your head, what will be your plan of attack?
TS: I know he's a good Muay Thai guy. I've seen all of his King
Of The Cage fights, but I haven't seen him let go real well.
He fought one of my teammates Rich Franklin before [at WFA 1],
so I'm pretty familiar with Marvin Eastman. The funny thing is
you watch fight tapes, and you think, "Hey, that guy could
be in my weight-class someday." He likes the takedowns,
but I know he likes to strike. I'm planning on mixing it up with
him, maybe going to the ground and getting the submission. I
know he's real strong and sometimes he overcompensates with that.
FCF: A submission?
You have a pretty good string of knockouts.
TS: I left off in Japan with [Hiromitsu] Kanehara where I schooled
him in RINGS, but you know how weird that show is sometimes.
[Sauer lost via a TKO] I took last year off with an ACL injury
and now that's 150%, but being forced to spend a year on your
back makes your jiu-jitsu a lot better. I don't like to "ground
and pound" anymore. I've got a few submissions in the bag.
FCF: What are
your thoughts on fighting for the WFA?
TS: This will definitely open the door for me. This is a one
fight deal here, but depending upon my performance tomorrow,
which will hopefully go well, Monte will be able to get things
going. This will get my foot in the door. I'm just happy to be
here and I'm so grateful that John [Lewis] and Paula [Romero]
flew me out here to be involved.
Source: FCF
7/5/02
Quote
of the Day
Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if
you just sit there.
The
best way to have what you want, is to want what you have.
Jiu-Jitsu
Picnic
Another picnic is in the books. It was a pretty good showing
considering the craziness of a July 4th parking situation at
Ala Moana Beach Park. Brandon, myself, and my wife Lisa started
our day by getting to the park by 4:00 am as planned. It was
as packed I thought, but we got a pretty good spot and set up
our tent and volleyball net in the dark. We later found when
the sun came up that there was three metal drainage plates in
our playing field. We played around it and still had fun. We
got lucky and it didn't rain, except for a couple light drizzles.
Thanks to everyone who braved the traffic and parking to show
up and hang out. Our next picnic will probably be on Labor Day
or somewhere around there. Stay tuned.
Oh
yeah, don't forget about the painting prep party at Mike's new
house tomorrow starting at 9:00 am! If you have caulk guns, putty
knifes, and/or box cutters/exacto knifes, please bring that as
well. I think I have four guns.
Strike
Fighting Championship
Blaisdell Exhibition Hall
Honolulu, Hawaii
July 5, 2002
Don't forget to come tonight to the Blazing Circus for some mixed
martial arts action tonight. Fights start at 6:00 pm. Here's
tonight's line up!
Matt Matsuda vs. Valen Leong
Corey Goeas vs. Rodel Soares
Brandon Peterson vs. Moses Kerisiano
Eddie Ohia vs. Paul Wright
Dez Miner vs. Mike Stone
James Romano vs. Jim Kikuchi
Keoni Fernandez vs. Dain Agbayani
Possible womens match all matches will be exhibitions to help
promote our sport.
Strike
Fighting Championship
Kickboxing Results
Blaisdell Exhibition Hall,
Honolulu, Hawaii
July 4, 2002
By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com
While some were celebrating
our country's independence over a picnic or barbeque and wrapping
it up by watching some fireworks, other were fighting it out,
creating their own indoor fireworks. Kai Kamaka, in association
with Todd Medina, put on a two day event within an extreme sports
type of event called the Blazin' Circus. The Blazin' Circus had
extreme BMX bike riders and inline skaters catching air off of
a half pipe and all kinds of booths with related goods and services.
This event was one of the activities within this extreme sports
extravaganza. The first night, July 4th, featured local kickboxers
fighting it out in a sport that has seen much better days in
the past. This event showed that there are still a number of
kickboxers in Hawaii looking for a venue to compete in and test
themselves. All the fighters came in and threw down some heavy
leather, some landing more than others. They even had a women's
kickboxing match. Over all this was Kamaka's first kickboxing
event and it went off smoothly without a hitch and every gym
that competed showed the utmost sportsmanship, which sometimes
can be lacking.
Kickboxing Matches
- July 4th, 2002
Kaulana Costa (Kodenkan) def.
Jonathan Hewitt (Hawaiian Self Defense) via majority decision
[(7-9), (10-8), (10-8)] after 3 rounds.
Scott Redoble (Hawaiian Self
Defense) def. Eddie Leutu (Us Warriors) via majority decision
[(10-8), (10-9), (10-8)] after 3 rounds.
Jerome Kekumu (Hard Knocks Gym)
def. Eddie Ohia (Kodenkan) via majority decision [(9-9), (9-8),
(9-8)] after 3 rounds.
Dez Miner (Kodenkan) def. Whitmore
(Us Warriors) via TKO in Round 1.
Brandon Ashter (Hawaiian Self
Defense) won by forfeit (no show)
Matt Masuda (Kodenkan) def.
Ula Kamealoha due to Kamealoha having to forfeit due to dislocated
shoulder at 19 seconds in the 3rd round.
Kaleo Kahookeli (Hawaiian Self
Defense) def. Chris Aiana (Kodenkan) via TKO in Round 1.
Women's Match:
Chris Everett (Lee's Shaolin) def. Thalia via majority decision
[(8-10), (10-9), (10-9)] after 3 rounds.
Doug Amaral (Hard Knocks Gym)
def. Pulou Tata Malepe (Lee's Shaolin) via majority decision
[(9-7), (10-8), (9-9)] after 3 rounds.
Main Event:
Walter Walker (Professional Training Center) def. Harris Sariento
(Kodenkan) via majority decision [(9-8), (9-8), (10-8)] after
3 rounds.
Todd
Medina is in Hawaii preparing for upcoming events
Todd Medina was at
the Strike Fighting Championship Kickboxing event at the Blaisdell
last night. He told me that besides working with Kai Kamaka on
this event, they are going to do another event on August 17th
at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui and the Force Fighting Championships
will take place on Oahu on either August 30th or 31st. Once he
gets that date nailed down, that is when he will start releasing
the match ups.
2002
Worlds Update
Carlos Gracie Jr.
informs us that Gracie Barra Team is ready for the Worlds 2002.
Information directly from the source says that Marcio 'Pe de
Pano' Cruz, 'Cafe' Dantas, Marcinho Feitosa, Fabio Leopoldo &
Fredson Paixao are as sharp as they get and ready to challenge
for the Title.
Of course, there will
be many other top dogs trying to derail that train. A strong
push against will be made by the likes of Saulo & Xande Ribeiro,
'Comprido' Medeiros, Leozinho Vieira, Fernandinho 'Terere' along
with many members of Macaco Gold Team making the 2002 Worlds
the place to be on the last weekend of July.
The other big question
is, with the ever growing hordes of foreigners competing in the
event each year, will there be someone to repeat B J Penn's feat?
Will there be another Black Belt World Champ from abroad?
Source: ADCC/Kid Peligro
SHOOTO
OFFERS UP THE LITTLE GUYS!
Coming up on July 19th in Tokyo Japan SHOOTO promoter Gutsman
Promotions will be bring an 8-fight card that features what is
considered SHOOTO's hottest commodity… the little guys.
The Japanese sport of SHOOTO is known for being 'bottom heavy'
as it were in the lower weight classes. Many of the top fighters
in the world at under 155lbs can be found amongst the SHOOTO's
ranks and on the 19th of July we will see some of the best there
is as well as some up-and-comers.
Watch for the two
featured bout in the Lightweight (143 lbs) division as second
ranked Katsuta, the only man to defeat the current champion,
goes in against 7th Kazuhiro Inoue . Inoue is coming off a pair
of losses and a draw. He needs a win here to himself in contention.
Then the main event features Hiroyuki Abe taking on long time
Champion Alexandre Nogueria. This will be a non-title bout as
Abe is ranked 4th, but he is ready to make his move on the champ
after recently defeating Inoue and drawing with Baret Yoshida. A win here will make him the number
one contender, the position currently held by Hawaiian fighter
Stephen Palling. This division is really heating up.
Let's not forget the rest of the card as you can bet it will
be exciting.
Bout #1: Welterweight (Class-B)
Seiki Uchimura [Paraestra] v. Dudu Guimaraes [World Fight Center]
MaxPreview:
WFA 2
June 29th
Girls, Grappling and Mohr
By Jake Rossen
Despite
a lengthy intermission between events, John Lewis' World Fighting
Alliance seems to have lost little momentum in its bid for respect
as an elite fight promotion. Lewis, a semiretired fighter known
for his heavily tattooed torso, has the connections and the empathy
that makes fighters flock to his Las Vegas attraction. And it's
doubtful that the bombshell women who crowd the arena, contributing
to the party-style atmosphere, will be the source of any complaints.
For
their second event, to be held on July 5 in the Hard Rock Hotel
and Casino, WFA has gone one step further in snagging the attention
of the mainstream media. ESPN's Jay Mohr, whose "Mohr Sports"
is a popular talk/comedy program, will be on hand to cover the
event and investigate the inner workings of a fight corner. While
the card is certainly intriguing enough to attract a television
audience, and the event was postponed from the spring to accommodate
those plans, no live telecast is in the offing.
The
bouts expected to take place:
Main
Event
WFA Middleweight (185 lb.) Title Bout
Jermaine Andre vs. Joey Villasenor
For
their first ever title bout, the WFA will put two of the most
well-conditioned athletes in MMA against one another. Jermaine
Andre is a physical specimen, someone who could just as easily
be at home on the bodybuilding circuit as in the fight game.
Lucky for him, his skills aren't lacking. Andre comes off a win
against Ronald Jhun in WFA 1, and previously racked up wins in
RINGS. His sole UFC bout was a loss to Lance Gibson over two
years ago.
Villasenor
brings in a wealth of submission experience, and two wins in
King of the Cage.
At
Stake: The title, of course.
Edge
To: Andre, who has banged with some better opposition.
How
Could It End? Villasenor winds up on the wrong end of a flurry.
Andre by TKO.
WFA
Heavyweight (205 lb. and over) Co-Main Event
Kimo vs. Tim Lajcik
While
no title is on the line here, the marquee boasts of a highly
recognizable name: Kimo. In his debut eight years ago, the beefy
Hawaiian pushed then-champion Royce Gracie to his limits before
tapping due to an armbar and exhaustion. Losses to Ken Shamrock
and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka followed, the latter being his last appearance
in a fight ring. Four years later, and apparently free of substance
abuse problems, Kimo will attempt to make a successful return.
Tim
Lajcik has often been called the most talented fighter with a
losing record. A loss to Kohsaka and a draw with Ron Waterman
made for mediocre UFC performances, while a string of wins in
Pancrase was cut short by Marcelo Tigre. Lajcik appears to be
most comfortable grappling.
At
Stake: Kimo's reputation as a skilled, stable fighter.
Edge
To: Lajcik, who has been more active in recent years.
How
Could It End? Kimo's conditioning at this point is a question
mark. While he'll be difficult to put away, Lajcik could stay
busy enough to win a decision.
Welterweight
Bout (169 lb. and under)
Frank Trigg vs. Shonie Carter
The
true fight connoisseurs consider this to be the highlight of
the card, a classic battle of striker vs. wrestler. Trigg is
no stranger to any ardent fan of MMA, a highly skilled wrestler
fond of putting opponents on their back and pounding away. His
sole loss comes from the unpredictable Hayato Sakurai. Unlike
most "pure" wrestlers in the game, Trigg isn't gun
shy on the feet: he TKOed Fabiano Iha with little trouble.
Carter
gained acclaim for his infamous spinning backfist, KOing Matt
Serra in an unforgettable UFC bout in May of 2001. He has remained
under the radar of the major shows since a (second) loss to Pat
Miletich in June of 2001.
At
Stake: Carter needs a good win to regain the attention of fans
and promoters. A win here for Trigg makes his loss to Sakurai
look more like an anomaly.
Edge
To: Trigg, who isn't scared of strikers and can impose his will
often. Carter has never faced a wrestler of Trigg's caliber.
How
Could It End? Trigg TKOs Carter on the mat.
Heavyweight
Bout
Valentijn Overeem vs. Aaron Brink
Overeem
is a Dutch fighter noted for his performances in RINGS, but a
switchover to full-blown MMA has yielded less than desirable
results. He has posted losses to Gary Goodridge and, inexplicably,
Igor Vovchanchin via submission.
Brink
comes off a win against Zane Frazier in WEC 3 earlier in June.
The journeyman fighter has fought for numerous promotions and
has thus far been unable to make any major headway. Brink brings
sharp standup.
At
Stake: Overeem's reputation in the States. With his losses coming
from overseas, it's possible he could turn over a new page for
American fans.
Edge
To: Brink, by far the more accomplished full-on MMAer.
How
Could It End? With Brink having confidence in his stand-up, and
rightfully so, he might elect to stand and trade with Overeem.
Brink by KO.
Light
Heavyweight (205 lb. and under) Bout
Marvin Eastman vs. Chalid Arrab
The
powerfully built Eastman comes from King of the Cage, posting
wins over Quentin Jackson and Floyd Sword. His WFA debut was
a submission loss to Rich Franklin. Quite adept at wrestling,
Eastman is able to wield bodies like grappling dummies.
German
boxing artist Arrab takes over for injured teammate Paul Cahoon.
At
Stake: Eastman needs a showing here to keep his name among those
just about to break into A-level competition.
Edge
To: Eastman, the proven commodity.
How
Could It End? Eastman by TKO.
Lightweight
(155 lb. and under) Bout
Vitor Ribeiro vs. Joe Hurley
Hurley
is a durable Lion's Den stable member who has posted a winning
record in King of the Cage competition. His most notable victory
comes over Chris Brennan in 2000. He steps in for Yves Edwards,
who took the opportunity to compete (and win) in an impromptu
UFC show on June 22nd.
Ribeiro
is a jiu-jitsu player who took a win over Charlie Kohler in the
first WFA. He has not been as active as Hurley in mixed-style
fighting.
At
Stake: Not a whole lot here. Just a little tumble that could
get the crowd going.
Edge
To: Hurley, the more experienced and varied fighter.
How
Could It End? Hurley takes this by dominating the stand-up. Hurley
by decision.
Welterweight
Bout
Tiki vs. Kit Cope
Tito
Ortiz training partner Tiki returns to competition after winning
a decision over Paul Rodriguez in WFA 1. Two prior appearances
in the UFC resulted in losses, to Sean Sherk and Bob Cook.
Cope
is a Muay Thai practitioner. He lost to William Syrapai in the
first King of the Cage event.
At
Stake: Tiki could use a boost in his record.
Edge
To: The more experienced Tiki.
How
Could It End? Tiki takes it by KO.
Source:
Maxfighting
7/4/02 Happy Independence Day!
Quote
of the Day
If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always
got.
Super
Brawl XXV - Lineup!
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
July 13, 2002
SuperBrawl XXV Card Shaping Up
First of twelve total fights!
Jason Dacquel
167.5lbs
(808 Fight Factory) 2-0
vs.
Brandon Wolff 167.5lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 1-0
Great match-up
of young talent here. Both have heavy hands and are not afraid
to let them fly. Wolff may have a slight advantage on the ground
but Daquel has the ring experience.
Pick-em, Even Odds.
William Armstrong
135lbs
(808FightFactory) 0-0
vs.
Will Hagerty 135lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 0-0
Two young lightweights
with wrestling backgrounds. Armstrong may have the edge in striking
while Hagerty will have the edge in submissions. Pick-em, Even
Odds.
Nick Bradley
198lbs
(Shark Tank) 1-0
Super Brawl #5 Ranked
vs.
Mike Malone 198lbs
(East Sidaz) 1-1
Bradley is coming
off an impressive victory in Super Brawl 23. A collegiate level
wrestler who likes to push the action. Malone has a solid Kickboxing
background and is developing a ground game. He will probably
need it and will have to win this fight off his back or make
it to his feet and look for the KO. Bradley 2-1 Favorite.
Deshaun Johnson
167.5lbs
(HMC Pankration) 2-2
vs.
Justin Karr 167.5lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 0-0
Johnson is a
tough as nails striker who is working diligently on his ground
game. Karr is ultra-aggressive and will keep coming forward.
Should be interesting to see who breaks first. Pick-em Even Odds
Brennan Kamaka
160lbs
(Gamebred) 1-6
vs.
Jay R. Palmer 160lbs.
(Freelance) 20-17
This will be
fun! Two game fighters who have not seen a 'W' in quite some
time. Brennan is a former State Champion wrestler with good hands
and Jay R. is an unorthodox brawler. Neither fighter is big on
submissions. This fight will be won or lost with striking. Pick-em,
Even Odds.
Jin Kazeta vs.
TBA
Kimihito Nonaka vs. Jose Lopez
Martijn de Jong vs. Egan Inoue
SuperBrawl XXV goes down Saturday, July 13 at the Blaisdell Arena.
Tickets for SuperBrawl 25 are on sale now at the Blaisdell Center
box office, all Tickets Plus outlets or online.
Source: SuperBrawl.tv
Warriors
Quest Update!!
Niko
Vitale Injuried!!!
Vitale
who was suppose to face of with #4 rank KOTC fighter Brian Foster
had to pull out due to and injury. Vitale got injuried during
a professional Arena football game were he plays for the Hawaiian
Islanders. Vitale injuried his knee in the game this weekened.
So stepping up is Waianae's Hawaiian Warriors Augie Padeken.
Shooto
Results
June 29th
Javier Vazquez defeats Rumina Sato by decision
D. Mishima defeats Iran Mascarenhas by leg lock
Masanori Suda defeats Ronald Jhun by decision
Takanori Gomi defeats Leonardo Santos by decision
July
13th - Hawaii
Martijn de Jong vs. Egan Inoue
July
19th
Tetsuo Katsuta vs. Kazuhiro Inoue
Alexandre Franca Nogueira vs. Hiroyuki Abe
September
16th
Featherweight Championships
Masahiro Oishi vs. Hisao Ikeda
Source:
Shooto Network
Shooto
Rankings
June 16th
Featherweight [-60.0Kg]
Ranking Last Name Country Gym Records
Champ. - Masahiro Oishi Japan K'z FACTORY 8-4-3
1st - Hisao Ikeda Japan PUREBRED Omiya 10-4-1
2nd - Mamoru Japan STG Yokohama 8-1-1
3rd - Jin Akimoto Japan K'z FACTORY 10-5-2
4th - Hiroaki Yoshioka Japan PARAESTRA TOKYO 4-4-2
5th - Kentaro Imaizumi Japan SK Absolute 4-1-1
6th - Ryota Matsune Japan PARAESTRA MATSUDO 8-1
7th - Hudson Rocha Brazil Brazilian Top Team 1-0
8th - ABKZ Japan PARAESTRA TOKYO 4-2-1
9th - Shuichirou Katsumura Japan K'z FACTORY 3-2-1
10th - Itchaku Murata USA Freelance 2-2
Lightweight
[-65.0Kg]
Ranking Last Name Country Gym Records
Champ. - Alexandre Franca Nogueira Brazil Top Fight Center 8-1
1st - Stephen Palling
USA Jesus is Lord 4-3
2nd - Tetsuo Katsuta Japan K'z FACTORY 6-3
3rd - Katsuya Toida Japan Keisyu-kai 6-3
4th - Hiroyuki Abe Japan RJW/Central 3-1-2
5th - Baret Yoshida
USA Grappling Unlimited 3-3-1
6th - Naoya Uematsu Japan K'z FACTORY 8-0-2
7th - Kazuhiro Inoue Japan Impress 4-2-2
9th - Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto Japan PUREBRED Omiya
3-1
9th - Noboru Asahi Japan Tokyo Yellow Mans 18-4-4
10th - Ian J. Schaffa Australia Spartan Gym 1-2-1
Welterweight [-70.0Kg]
Ranking Last Name Country Gym Records
Champ. - Takanori Gomi Japan Kiguchi Wrestling School 9-0
1st - Dokonjonosuke Mishima Japan Cobra-kai 9-1-2
2nd - Ryan Bow USA Freelance 6-2
3rd - Marcio Cromado Brazil Renovação Fight Team
2-3
4th - Rumina Sato Japan K'z FACTORY 16-5
5th - Hiroshi Tsuruya Japan PARAESTRA MATSUDO 5-1-3
6th - Kohei Yasumi Japan PARAESTRA TOKYO 5-1-2
7th Tatsuya Kawajiri Japan TOPS 5-1-1
8th Vitor Ribeiro Brazil Nova Uniao 1-0
9th Takumi Nakayama Japan PARAESTRA TOKYO 8-2-2
10th Takeshi Yamazaki Japan Team GRABAKA 3-1-1
Middleweight [-76.0Kg]
Ranking Last Name Country Gym Records
Champ. - Anderson Silva Brazil Chute Boxe 2-0
1st - Hayato "Mach" Sakurai Japan GUTSMAN Shooto Dojo
13-1-1
2nd - Tetsuji Kato Japan PUREBRED Omiya 11-3
3rd - Jutaro Nakao Japan STG Osaka 9-7-2
4th - Ray Cooper USA
Jesus is Lord 5-4
5th - Steve Berger USA Rodrigo Vaghi JJ 1-0-1
6th - Aaron Riley USA AMC Pankration 1-0
7th Up 8th Dave Strasser USA Free Style Academy 3-0
8th Down 7th Takuya Wada Japan K'z FACTORY 5-2-2
9th - Dan Gilbert USA Hell House 1-3
10th - Chris Brennan USA Next Generation 1-0
Lightheavyweight [-83.0Kg]
Ranking Last Name Country Gym Records
Champ. - Masanori Suda Japan Club J 9-5-1
1st - Lance Gibson Canada Gibson Pankration 2-1
2nd - Larry Papadopoulos Australia Spartan Gym 2-0-3
3rd - Izuru Takeuchi Japan K'z FACTORY 5-1-3
4th - Martijn de Jong Holland Tatsujin Dojo 1-2-1
5th - Shikou Yamashita Japan PARAESTRA SAPPORO 6-1-1
6th - Ivan Salaverry USA AMC Pankration 3-1
7th - Egan Inoue USA
Grappling Unlimited 2-0
8th - Scott Henze USA Freelance 2-0-1
9th - Ronald Jhun USA
Team Jhun 2-4
10th - Dustin Denes USA American Top Team 2-0
Source:
Shooto Network
The
Return of KAZUSHI SAKURABA!
Word
is surfacing that the return of PRIDE superstar Kazushi Sakuraba
is currently scheduled to be by the end of the fall.
Fans
have awaited the return of Japan's most exciting fighter since
his second loss in PRIDE to Vanderlei Silva, where he sustained
a shoulder injury.
In
addition, Sakuraba's personal problems surfaced in many Japanese
magazines last year, (as a potential liver problem caused by
drinking alcohol). He has apparently made a turn for the better
and is taking his return to PRIDE seriously.
He
will have to! One prospective opponent being talked about is
Vanderlei's teammate Anderson Silva, as well as a potential third
fight against Vanderlei himself. Although their third meeting
is sure to draw a huge crowd, many fans feel that Silva just
has Sak's number. Insiders think that no matter how many times
they meet Silva is a bad fight for Sakuraba.
Anderson
is still a risk style wise, but he is closer to Sakuraba's weight.
This leads to other rumors, which we must hope DO NOT happen:
There
are hints that Sakuraba may face the MUCH larger Mirko Cro-Cop!
Sakuraba believes that IF he can get Cro-Cop to the ground, he
would beat him. That's a BIG if. Cro-Cop has proven he is more
dangerous than people gave him credit for early as only a K-1
fighter.
Other
rumors contain talk of Frank Shamrock returning on the same PRIDE
show this fall against Tamura. Tamura comes off two straight
losses, and he has publicly stated he wants to do pro wrestling
(old-RINGS style), so Tamura won't add much credibility to Frank's
record, so this may be a prelude to Shamrock-Sakuraba. Tamura
is a fighter whose career was ruined by bad career choices steering
him to fight bigger guys (like Bob Zapp and Vanderlei Silva in
PRIDE and Babalu in RINGS).
The
appearance of both Shamrock and Sakuraba on the same card is
already being played up in the Japanese press. If Frank Shamrock
stays in the game and competes in PRIDE on a regular basis, it
fuels the fire of a potential fight between him and Sakuraba
sometime in 2003.
Source:
Abu Dhabi
KOTC
SIGNS DENNIS HALLMAN!
LOS
ANGELES, California - 'King of the Cage' announces the signing
of Washington native and AMC Pankration fighter, Dennis Hallman.
A
veteran of the UFC, Shooto, Extreme Challenge, and HOOKnSHOOT,
Hallman now brings his impressive submission skills and stand
up game to King of the Cage.
Set
to compete in the welterweight class, 'Superman' Hallman has
his eyes set on the KOTC Welterweight World Championship belt.
For more developments check out www.kingofthecage.com!
For
tickets for events at all other locations, go to www.ticketsplus.net or call 1-800-585-3737.
KING
OF THE CAGE . . . KNOCKING OUT THE COMPETITION!
7/3/02
Quote
of the Day
If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always
got.
Painting
Prep Party
You
are cordially invited to the first painting party of the Casa
de Onzuka. Lunch and drinks will be provided. Don't worry, it
won't be half as bad as Chris' prep party. I will provide caulk,
sand paper, and tape, you bring the strong backs and agile arms.
We plan on finishing all the prep in a day or less and will paint
the following Saturday, July 13, 2002, in which I will bring
in a couple professionals to actually paint. No offense.
What:
Painting Prep Party
When: Saturday, July 6, 2002
Time: 9:00 AM
Where: Casa de Onzuka
Mililani, HI 96789
381-9530 or 479-0434 (Mike's Cells)
Give
me a call or shoot me an email and I will email you directions.
Don't
forget that tomorrow is the 4th of July picnic! Come early and
stay late! We are going to try to be there at 4:00 am to save
the space. See yesterday's news for details.
Mike
RENZO
GRACIE SPEAKS!
What does a
big named PRIDE fighter do after a big fight? RELAX! I caught
up with the ever-amazing Renzo Gracie in Radford, Virginia this
past weekend. Renzo was one of the guest instructors at 'Karate
College' at Radford University. After all of these years knowing
Renzo, it is still amazing to watch Renzo teach! By the way,
he taught three seminars with a fractured hand and foot and never
once complained!
After the afternoon
seminars, Renzo, and company headed to Crater Lake for some relaxation.
Skiing, hanging out, and boogie boarding was a blast. The highlight
of the afternoon came when we viewed Renzo's controversial fight
with Oyama in the last PRIDE, and we got to hear to Renzo's personal
commentary. Did he SPIT on the guy? YES! Did he give Oyama the
number one sign with his middle finger? YES! 'Why?', you ask?
The fight was very frustrating, especially to Renzo. Renzo clearly
dominated the first round of the fight. The observers watching
had Renzo winning at least two of the three rounds in the match.
Now, readers may say I am biased, but please watch the fight
this weekend! You will probably understand why Renzo became so
frustrated that he felt he had no other choice than to 'push'
the fight in unorthodox ways.
Shungo Oyama
constantly refused to engage Renzo, yet the Japanese fighter
constantly berated him through taunts and gestures throughout
the fight. By the second round, the fight is a repetitive back
and forth between Renzo pushing the fight and Oyama backing away.
Renzo engages and Oyama backs away. Renzo shoots and Oyama sprawls
and backs away. Renzo punches and kicks, Oyama backs away. Oyama
manages to take Renzo down twice with counter throws, but then
does nothing to push the fight.
By the second
round, Renzo thought that by spitting his opponent, Oyama would
engage in the fight, thus giving the crowd what they paid for,
A FIGHT. Unorthodox? - yes. Not what you would do? - Maybe. Against
the rules? Renzo said, “it is not against the rules.”
In regards to
the decision, the Japanese press had asked Renzo the same question
we did: how did Oyama win this fight? The most interesting fact
about the fight according to Renzo is that Oyama’s instructor
apparently kicked him out of the academy for celebrating after
his disgraceful win.
You may disagree
with Renzo’s actions - that is your right. What is next
for the Gracie legend? Rest and relaxation, then back to teaching
and training. He has another possible fight later this year.
He will also be preparing Matt Serra for a BIG MATCH in the September
UFC in Connecticut. As for BIG DOG Ricardo Almeida, well he is
taking some time off, but is looking to return to the fight soon.
Thanks Renzo!
Source: Abu
Dhabi
UFC
London Pre Fight: LEIGH REMEDIOS
July 13th, 2002
- UFC 38: BRAWL at the HALL:
Leigh Remedios versus Genki Sudo
ADCC: Leigh,
tell us a little bit about your MMA background.
Leigh: I grew up on a rough estate and used to fight alot. When
I went to Vancouver, I met Jason Fairn who ran a Vale Tudo class.
I couldn't believe people were fighting with no weapons and no
mates jumping in - and you could quit at any time! Sounded like
a walk in the park :o)
ADCC: What is
your record?
Leigh: 11/2/1
ADCC: What is
MMA life like in the UK? Is it easy to find fights?
Leigh: No, it's even more reserved than in the States. Fights
are getting easier to find but when I first came over, I had
to do amateur events to get my name out. It wasn't really fair,
as I had fought pro already. Its still organized on a friend-of-a-friend
basis or through internet contacts.
ADCC: Do any
of the Royals watch MMA?
Leigh: Ha ha, I have no idea. They're a blood thirsty lot, so
it might be too tame for them ;o)
ADCC: Is the
UFC as big there as it is in the U.S.?
Leigh: No, but its getting there. Zuffa are heading in the right
direction with the weekly TV program and holding UFC 38 over
here. Its now getting a lot of press.
ADCC: Why has
there been such an up roar in England over the UFC?
Leigh: As far as I'm aware there hasn't, but I must confess I
don't follow the media too much.
ADCC: Do you
think the UFC will ever be as big in the UK as the US?
Leigh: Hmm, I'm not sure. I'm awful at making any sort of prediction.
I hope so.
ADCC: What types
of training are you doing to prepare for your fight?
Leigh: Lots of wrestling and striking. Those are my weak points.
I have a reasonable submission game but I probably won't catch
Genki with a sub. Lots of conditioning too - I'm only a 145lb
fighter, so I've had to put on 10lbs and it’s hard to do
while maintaining or building stamina
ADCC: Who is
your favorite UFC fighter?
Leigh: Frank Shamrock, no doubt. The guy is simply awesome
ADCC: What do
you know about your opponent?
Leigh: I know he's a good striker, a good wrestler and a good
submission guy, competing to a high level in all of disciplines.
I also know he's heavily favoured to beat me
ADCC: What is
your strategy with your opponent?
Leigh: With someone as unpredictable as Genki, it's hard to have
a solid game plan. I just want to feel him out for a while and
find which range is his weakest and then take the fight there.
ADCC: Do you
prefer stand-up or the ground?
Leigh: The ground doesn't hurt as much and you can relax more
but I've been doing alot of striking for this fight. It also
depends which country you are referring to - in the UK I'm a
better grappler, as the ground game here is still evolving, whereas
we have excellent strikers. In the States, I'm about 50/50.
ADCC: Any predictions?
Leigh: LOL, not at all!
ADCC: Thanks
Leigh and Good Luck.
Leigh: No probs :o)
Source: Abu
Dhabi
'Little
Evil' Speaks Out About the UFC, Money and his MMA Future!
A
few days back I was able to chat with Jens Pulver for a little
while over the phone. The two of us cleaned the air as to what
prompted his departure from the UFC, past and future opponents,
ventures into the UCC and possibly the WFA and, of course, BJ Penn. Read on to see what 'Little Evil' had
to say:
Mike
Sloan: So Jens, what have you been up to lately?
Jens Pulver: Just training, man. Getting ready for my fight up
in Minnesota on the 29th of June. This is in the Ultimate Wrestling
Championships. It's a warm-up for my fight in August, which is
going to be in the UFO, then in September I'll be in the UCC.
Mike
Sloan: Who are your opponents?
Jens Pulver: Rob Emerson is going to be my opponent for this
next show.
Mike
Sloan: What is your take on him?
Jens Pulver: I don't know much about him. I know he's undefeated
and I'm pretty much guaranteeing that the fact that he knows
this is his golden opportunity for him to be coming at me, so
I'm just going to be ready, you know?
Mike
Sloan: So, I take it you're pretty upset with Zuffa?
Jens Pulver: Not so much anymore. I'm past it. It was just one
of those things where I was hurt, you know? I was upset, they
were upset and I just let my emotions, in the beginning, get
the best of me just because it was new. I just didn't know. I
don't know, I just didn't like the way I felt. I didn't like
the way the whole thing went down. I really wanted to be a part
of their organization and it was just one of those things where
it didn't work out right. I let all that go and it's time to
move on. I support the UFC 100%. I still love Dana, Lorenzo and
Frank and all the things that they've done for me. In the beginning,
it was more of my immaturity. It was something new and I just
wasn't good with the business side and I just let my emotions
take over.
Mike
Sloan: Was the main beef that you had with Zuffa monetary issues,
or was it personal issues as well?
Jens Pulver: It was the basic issues and I took them personally.
Like I said, I'm not that good with business stuff. You know,
business is business and personal is personal, but I was kind
of combining the two. It was just a matter of contract negotiations
and we just couldn't agree on it. It was no one thing, it just
kind of happened. We both had our beliefs and we couldn't come
to an understanding.
Mike
Sloan: What was it that you wanted they wouldn't give in to?
Jens Pulver: I wanted to be paid more than what I was being offered.
I felt that I had worked hard enough to deserve the money that
I was asking for. It wasn't much more than what they offered,
but it was the principle behind it and I was just basing what
I wanted. I based my amount to what the other champions were
being paid for their weight class. It was just one of those things
where we disagreed, you know?
Mike
Sloan: Did you feel as though you were just supposed to be a
stepping stone when you fought BJ Penn?
Jens Pulver: I truly felt-… Not so much because of Zuffa;
it was just laid out in front of me. I was a 3-1 underdog and
everybody was hyping BJ. Everybody felt that the belt was supposed
to change hands that night. Of course, my team and myself, we
just knew otherwise. Zuffa, they just put the match together
and it just worked out that both of us kept winning. He was just
doing it in really flashy fashion. I don't think that either
guy can represent their organization better. They (Zuffa) just
wanted the best man to win. It wasn't like they wanted to see
BJ take over. I just felt that the fans wanted to see BJ take
over and that's why I was a 3-1 underdog. The belief in me was
low, even though there were people who believed in me and a lot
of people felt that I would win, but the majority thought that
I was going to lose. I just had to go and prove that I was the
best fighter in the weight class and I did that.
Mike
Sloan: Since then, BJ beat Paul Creighton and after he won, he
basically begged you to come back and give him another shot.
What is your take on his post-fight comments?
Jens Pulver: I can understand where BJ's coming from. He's a
warrior, he's an athlete, he loves the game, he respects the
game and he wants to win the belt and take it out of my hands.
It's not something that he wants to see handed to him and I wouldn't
want that, either. Granted, if he gets the belt, the UFC belt,
he'll represent it well, but at the same token, as long as I'm
out there and staying busy and fighting the top guys, he's always
going to have that one looming over his head. I beat him and
he didn't win the belt outright. It's basically a manufactured
belt for him. I can understand where he's coming from and I would
love to fight him, but like I said; the money is going to have
to be different. I feel that I deserve more money than him because
for the simple fact that I beat him and my next contract would
have put me right up there with Royce Gracie's record. No one
else even has a shot of being 10-0. Not even BJ. Not Tito, not
anybody. I'm the only one who has that legitimate shot of going
undefeated and I just feel that I deserve more money. I understand
where BJ's coming from and the only comment that I can say that
he's wrong about is that he said he's the best fighter in the
weight class. The fact is he had his 25 minutes to prove it and
he didn't. I did. I mean, I won. I beat him and he's got to live
with it. I understand that he wants a rematch and it's eating
him up. I just want people to know that I'm not out here toying
with him. I'll give him the shot if the contract is to mine and
Zuffa's liking. If we can come to terms, me and BJ can fight.
I have no problems in fighting him again. I won't duck anybody.
I would like to see him because he is a class act, he's a warrior
and if he did get the belt, he won it outright. He took it from
the guy who owned it. But that's not going to be the case right
now.
Mike
Sloan: Before you fought him, at least during our last interview,
you went on a tirade. Not towards BJ, but mainly towards the
fans and everybody who picked you to get your ass handed to you.
Man, you were mad! Was it more satisfying because you beat BJ
himself, or because you silenced those who angered you?
Jens Pulver: It was more satisfying because I did both. I beat
BJ and I beat the people who said I didn't even have a chance.
I got to shut them all up and break the bank that decided to
make me a 3-1 underdog. They deserve to lose their money. I made
the statement then; don't go hating me when you go and lose all
your money. You know? I stand by it. You bet against me? Tough!
Those who didn't, they made money. I got to shut everybody up
that night and now they just have more reasons to hate me. Some
people try to say that that fight was boring, but that means
that they're saying that BJ was boring. They'll never say that
because they want to put the blame solely on me. That fight was
a tough fight. People considered it slow, but you're gonna have
your tough fights. First thing, this weight class is stacked.
Everybody's tough, everybody's well-rounded. The days of just
going out there, getting a guy down, taking his back and getting
a rear-naked choke are over. The days of getting off clean shots
when people are trying to take you down left and right, the chances
are slim. It's hard to go in there and just completely dominate
somebody. BJ did that up to a point, but he didn't dominate the
champion. He didn't come out there and beat the man who had the
belt. He beat everybody up to it and that's fine. I give him
all the credit in the world, but he didn't beat me. My thing
is, even if I don't knock them all out or end it fast and it
does go to a decision, I'm winning. Nobody can say that I didn't
win that fight. I won that fight hands down. There's not even
a question about that. Yeah, I got to put that in everybody's
face and that's what I was there to do.
Mike
Sloan: Has your attitude towards BJ changed since the fight?
Jens Pulver: Oh yeah, man. I like BJ. I like him a lot. He's
a great person. We got to hang out there in Hawaii and we got
to talk. I mean, I've always admired the guy. He's a great fighter.
He knows what he's doing. But you know what? Basically I just
admire the guy. He's got a lot of skills, a lot of talent, he
doesn't waste it, he goes out there and tries hard and he's always
trying to improve his game. You've got to commend that. The thing
I like about BJ is that we're both good for each other's careers.
That kind of fight comes around every once in a while. It's not
something you can plan and it's something you can only hope for.
When it happens, you've got make the best of it. I think BJ and
I are good for each other. I don't think there are too many people
in the world who can beat he and I, but we can beat on each other,
you know, and that's the way it should be.
Mike
Sloan: Kind of like an Ali/Frazier-type thing.
Jens Pulver: Mm-Hmm. Exactly.
Mike
Sloan: Besides the UCC and UFO, what other organizations were
you shopping around with?
Jens Pulver: I was offered to fight for EVERBODY. EVERY show
out there made me an offer and it's just a matter of you can't
put too many on the plate at one time. We thanked them all and
declined their offers at this time because, simply, I have three
fights this summer and I'm going to be fairly busy. I'll fight
for the other shows when I get the chance. Shooto came at me
with a nice offer that kind of proved the UFC wrong. They said
that Shooto would never offer me that kind of money and they
turned around and offered me the exact same money to fight Gomi.
And it's not like I'm ducking Gomi, it's just that I already
had three fights lined up and in December if I can fight in Shooto
and if everything can work out, Gomi and I can fight then. So,
everybody's actually stepped up and let me know that I am worth
something and that kind of thing makes me feel good and makes
me train even harder.
Mike
Sloan: What about the WFA?
Jens Pulver: He (John Lewis) offered me a fight, too, but unfortunately
the fight that he wanted me to be in, it would've been back-to-back
weekends with the Minnesota show and August 8th is my big fight
in the UFO. That's the big fight, the big money and it's going
to be against the big-name opponent. I didn't want to do two
fights like that back-to-back, so I had to respectively decline
for now, but it is something that I'm going to be doing down
the road for sure.
Mike
Sloan: Wouldn't be kind of odd to fight for John Lewis when he's
one of the guys you've beaten?
Jens Pulver: (laughs) Yeah. I'm surprised he's actually not trying
to get the rematch, but you know, it's just one of those things
that just happens. It was a long time ago and a lot's happened
since then. He's out there promoting a show and if he wants me
on it, then I'd love to be on it. We can put that behind us,
you know what I'm saying? If he wants to put me on the show as
a fighter, then I'd take it.
Mike
Sloan: Besides money issues, what has to be in your contract
in order for you to fight in an organization?
Jens Pulver: Well, right now, the biggest thing is that there
is no exclusivity. I'm not fighting for any one title anymore.
I'm not going to belong to any one show. I have a lot more say
when I fight, what shows I fight in. I just have a lot more freedom.
People can come to me and say that this is the opponent, this
is the money, this is who we want you to fight and I have a choice
of saying yes or no. I get to kind of say if I want a standup
fighter-… Not saying that I'll take an easier fight, but
I do have a say in the guy that I am fighting. I do have more
control over my career, which is something I'm definitely glad
to have.
Mike
Sloan: Now, your buddies, Tony Fryklund and Robbie Lawler, are
fighting in the next UFC. Have you at all been trying to warn
them about Zuffa because of what went on between you and they,
or are you just letting them do their own thing?
Jens Pulver: No, I'm not going to badmouth Zuffa. There was a
one-time interview where I let my emotions get the best of me.
I'm thrilled that they get to fight in the UFC. It's a great
show. It's the best show you can be in, you know? I'm happy for
them and I will actually be there in their corner and continuing
on. Because the bottom line is that it's a business and we have
to treat it accordingly. What happened between Zuffa and myself
is just that; it's between Zuffa and myself. As far as the other
fighters, if that's the avenue that they want to be in, then
I support them 1,000 percent. You know, I talk to Dana all the
time about Tony and Robbie. Those are the two that I've been
trying to get in the UFC since day one. Robbie's the guy that
I've been pumping forever. I really hustled Dana and them to
go out to Hawaii and get a look at Robbie because I know the
kind of fighter Robbie is and I know how explosive he is. He
definitely needs to be there, like Tony. Tony has waited a long
time for his return to the UFC and this time around, he's a lot
more prepared. He's a different fighter and I think everybody's
going to get to see that. So, no, I'm gonna be there and I'll
be supporting them 100% and supporting the UFC 100%.
Mike
Sloan: Around the days you left the UFC, there were a lot of
"fans" on the forums saying that you are a fool for
leaving the UFC and that it was a stupid move. These people were
basically badmouthing you all over again. Now, this has to irritate
you. Does it?
Jens Pulver: Well, what it does do is that- It's one of those
things, again, that these are the same fans that said I was going
to get blown away by Hallman, they're the same fans that said
I was going to get beat by Uno and those are the same fans that
said BJ was gonna destroy me. I mean, I can hear their opinion,
but I don't have to value it or take it into consideration. If
that's their opinion, that's fine. But this is my career. These
are my bills and this is my house that I live in. They don't
have to pay them for me and they don't have to train for me.
This is something that I have to do. This is an avenue that I
took and this is what I'm gonna support 100%. This is my choice
and the naysayers that said I made a stupid decision, I guess
we'll see, you know? The bottom line is that I'm gonna continue
fighting. I didn't plan on being in the game until I'm 35 and
I still don't plan on being in it that long. This is something
that I want to get ahead in life and I want to fight for the
money I feel I deserve and I want to stay active. I want to continue
to fight and if people don't know my name, I guess I'll be a
fairly rich no-name individual, I suppose. It's one of those
things where it's my choice and if people think I'm stupid, well
that's fine. They're the same people that felt I was gonna lose.
I proved them wrong and I'll prove 'em wrong again. If they want
to keep stepping up with their opinions and not giving me the
benefit of the doubt or give me any credit, then I'll keep making
them look foolish just like I've done in the past by beating
every opponent they said I couldn't beat.
Mike
Sloan: Okay, switching over to some of your other teammates,
how is Matt looking in preparation for his rematch with Carlos?
Jens Pulver: Oh, Matt's as strong as ever. I mean, Matt Hughes
is a gosh darn diesel, man. He's gonna be tough to beat. I know
he's going out there to right some wrongs that certain people
were talking about after the first fight. Some people thought
he was out as well, but I felt he won the fight. He was the one
who was awake. Carlos Newton was out. So, you know he's got that
one looming over his head and this will solidify that he's the
best fighter in that weight class. He pounded out Sakurai. He's
getting better every day. If you notice his standup with Sakurai,
he was getting in a lot closer, he wasn't shooting in from a
distance. He's a different fighter. He's stronger, he's learning
every day. Matt will always come in shape and he'll always be
a physical specimen. He's always ready to go and he's got to
represent that belt and keep that title, guaranteed.
Mike
Sloan: Are you predicting a knockout, submission or decision?
Jens Pulver: Oh, I'm guaranteeing he'll pound him out.
Mike
Sloan: How's Pat doing since his loss to Lindland?
Jens Pulver: You know, the thing about Pat is that the guy is
a one-man show in the fact that he can still fight with the best
of 'em, he can bang with everybody that there is out there and
as a fighter, he's not done yet. He took a shot at 185 and didn't
like the bigger weight, so he's going back down to the weigh
he's comfortable at, the one that he dominated for so long. He's
training hard and on the other avenue, look at the fighters he's
pumping out left and right. We're destroying the world right
now. I mean, he's created a fighting system that I think is setting
the tone around the world without a doubt. And if you say that
it's not, you're absolutely crazy because we have four titles
and there's not a team out there that can match that. Our pay-per-view
record is outstanding. The domination that he's led into this
NHB world, nobody's even matched it, not in anything. In any
one sport, nobody has dominated the way he has, you know? I think
Pat's doing a great job handling all of it. He's got a baby on
the way, he runs a gym, he trains fighters AND he gets ready
to fight! The guy grabs a whole bunch of things all at once and
when you think he can't handle them, the guy proves you wrong.
He goes out there and he's ready to fight. Pat will always be
ready. The guy is a warrior and the warriors in his gym will
make him ready, just like we make each other ready. He'll always
be ready to fight.
Mike
Sloan: Is Pat and the rest of you guys training any young guys
that we don't know about yet that will eventually be top fighters?
Jens Pulver: The one guy, the name that people should know, and
if they don't by now then they haven't been in the fight game
long enough or they haven't paid attention, is Jason Black. He's
undefeated. He beat Steve Berger on a two-hour notice. I mean,
the guy is putting people away left and right. He's as powerful
as Matt, he likes to stand up and box just as well, he can ground
and wrestle just like Matt. He's a phenomenal fighter, but right
now he's just stuck in that point where people don't want to
fight him, but at the same token, in order for him to make that
next step, he's got to fight some top-level guys. The top-level
guys don't want to fight him because he's a huge threat. They
don't really have anything to gain by beating him, but they have
everything to lose in the same fact that the well-known guys
know that he's a threat. They gotta pay attention to him. We
got a guy named Drew McFedries who's at 185 and when you see
Tony, you're gonna see a totally different fighter. But when
you see Drew, you'll be blown away. This guy's 195 pounds and
he throws harder than Lawler, probably the most outstanding natural
abilities I've ever seen from anybody and he's trying to put
his game together. He's 0-1, but since that loss he's come back
and he's just devastating. He's a brilliant individual. He can
move- Put him next to Kevin Randleman and give Randleman some
boxing skills and that's exactly what this kid will be. A guy
that I just got through working with, Rich Clemente, he just
came in and he's gonna explode on the scene. He's at my weight
and I back him 100%. I think he's one of the toughest guys out
there, but people don't know about him yet. When they do get
to know him, they're not gonna want to fight him. He's bigger
than I am, but he's not killing himself like Hallman to make
the weight. He can stand up, he can fight on the ground, he's
an all-around talent fighting out of Louisiana and he's a new
addition to Monte (Cox). Monte's managing him and he's been up
here for a week and he's a great fighter, a scrappy young kid.
Another guy no one knows about is a kid who comes up here a lot;
his name is Rich Franklin. He is absolutely devastating. He's
out there to prove that everybody's he's beaten is no joke. I
mean, his win in WFA, if they didn't stop it at that second,
they would've stopped the next second because he was pounding
him, giving it to him. I believe he was fighting Eastman. Eastman
wasn't going to beat him because Rich was sitting back, taking
his time and he's getting better and better and if he gets into
the UFC or any of the big shows, he's gonna explode. So there's
plenty coming, man! There's all kinds of guys coming in here
every day, so you'll just have to see.
Mike
Sloan: What words do you have to those fans who have stuck behind
you throughout everything from your fights to your departure
from UFC?
Jens Pulver: Yes. Thank you for supporting me and to the people
who emailed me who got behind me through all of this. Not just
for my fighting, but for when I decided to leave the UFC and
go onto other avenues. I thank them more than anything in the
world and it's because of them that I'm even back in the gym.
I was depressed, I thought that basically I made the biggest
mistake of my life, I was nervous, I was scared, but it was the
support of them and I hope to god that each and every one of
them can come out and see me fight or come meet me personally.
And they continue to voice their opinions to me and share their
feelings with me and talk to me on a daily basis, whether it's
through the Internet, the phone or whether they see me live.
Their support is unmatched and I'll never forget them and they're
the reason why I'm in this sport. They help me remember why I'm
in this game and why I started fighting in the first place. They
got me back to my roots and I'm hoping that every time I go out
there and knock somebody out from this point on, I'm doing it
for them. I'm not gonna forget that and I'll never, ever let
it go. It'll be something that stays with me from the minute
I left (the UFC) until the minute I quit, so I thank them. I
thank them more than I can even say, you know?
Mike
Sloan: Well, Jens, that's all I have for ya, man. Thanks for
your time for the interview. I'll see you at UFC 37.5!
Jens Pulver: Alright, man. I look forward to it. I'll see you
there.
Source:
Sherdog
7/2/02
Quote
of the Day
It is not your aptitude, but your attitude, that determines your
altitude.
Warriors
Quest 6: "Best of the Best"
Main
Event Announced
Ray
"Bradda" Cooper (Jesus Is Lord)
Warriors Quest Champion
Vs.
Dennis "Superman" Hallman
UFC veteran
Hawaii's
phenom Ray Cooper will be facing the biggest fight of his career
as he faces UFC veteran Dennis Hallman. Hallman, is best known
for beating UFC Champion Matt Hughes twice in under minute and
is also known for his battles with former UFC Champions Dave
Menne and Jens Pulver. Hallman is also a ADCC veteran. Will Hallman
submit yet another top fighter or will Cooper use his knock out
power to punch his way to victory! Be there on August 3, 2002
at the Neal Blaisdell Arena in Hawaii to find out.
Source: Warriors Quest
Jiu-Jitsu
Picnic is this Thursday!
July 4, 2002
Ala Moana Beach Park
All day and night
Just
a reminder to come early to get parking. We are shooting to get
the key hole (where there is internal parking in two loops) spot
in the middle of the beach next to the tennis courts. I just
got word that the park opens at 4:00 am. Anybody want to join
us in saving the spot? Seriously!
Again,
this is for all the Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu team including all
the associations. Hell, we'll even invite the Kaneohe team (heh
heh). Bring your family and kids for a day of (hopefully) sun
and fun. We're going to have volleyball and water football games
or just a place to hang out and talk story.
It
is a potluck so bring what you can. So far we have pasta salad,
chicken katsu, hamburgers, rice, water, plates, utensils, and
napkins. For the people who have no idea of what to bring, here's
some suggestions:
Chicken (BBQ, teriyaki, fried, etc. We can cook it there)
Noodles
Pizza
Dessert (pies, cakes, donuts, chocolate chip cookies with no
nuts, brownies with no nuts, are you getting the hint about the
nuts?)
Chili
Pupu Platter
Spam Musubis (my personal favorite)
Soda/Juice
If
you would like to let me know what you are bringing, email me
by clicking here. If you have a canopy/tent,
you can bring that. We have two coming which should be enough.
For
the Casca Grossa (Aiea) Academy, there will be no class since
we will be at the beach the whole day and night.
On
July 1st in Japan, DSE announced the first few matchups of 'MMA
THE BEST Vol.2'
-
Daiju Takase (Wa-jyutsu Keishu-kai) vs Nino 'Elvis' Schembri
(Gracie Barra)
- Koh Soukun (Wa-jyutsu Keishu-kai) vs Bob 'Terrible' Schreiber
- Giant Ochiai (Monster Kingdom) vs Tomohiko Hashimoto (DDT prowrestling)
Source:
Abu Dhabi
PRIDE
NEWS: Rumors
Renzo
Gracie vs. Alex Steibling? This could be next on the 'Brazilian
Killa's' agenda as Renzo hinted to this match on the Pride broadcast.
Renzo
took major criticism for going the distance against Oyama in
a lackluster fight. There was also a point where Renzo spit at
Oyama in anger and frustration during the bout but received no
yellow card or warning. This doesn't make things good for PRIDE
in Vegas when fighters are allowed to get away with this.
For
Steibling, he also comes off a loss against Anderson Silva. Silva
stepped up in weight class and in Steibling's defense, he took
the fight on VERY short notice.
Steibling
needed several stitches to close the cut above his eye due to
a well-placed kick by Silva.
This
was Anderson Silva's first fight in almost a year for a major
promotion after his breach of contract with the UFC.
Steibling
vs. Renzo would be very interesting but it's up to Pride promoters
to make this match. Still waiting in the wings is a recovering
Mark Coleman to take on Don Frye and the potential Josh Barnett
vs. Rodrigo Nougiera superfight to determine the best heavyweight
in the world.
Source:
Abu Dhabi
Mini
Interview: ZACH LIGHT
UFC 37.5 - Zach
Light versus Pete Spratt - June 22nd, 2002 - Bellagio, Las Vegas,
NV
ADCC: Zach,
sorry about the loss, what is your feelings on your first fight
in the Octagon?
Zach: It was a learning expirence for me.
ADCC: Was the
crowd a factor in your performance?
Zach: No, Not at all I have competed in front of crowds of much
larger.
ADCC: For those
who where not there, take us through the opening minutes of the
fight?
Zach:The begining of the fight was exactly how I expected it
we would get into a little exchange of punches he would take
a step back and throw some kicks I would close the gap and take
him down. I planed on slaming him once we locked up but he did
a really good job lowering his hips I think he could feel how
strong I was once we locked up so I just did a simple inside
trip to get him to the ground where I thought I would be in full
control of the fight. He really surprised me on his use of the
cage. Once I proped his head up to start my ground and pound
he knew exactly what my plan was and got himself manuvered sideways
I felt his feet walk up the fence for some reason I felt like
he was looking for a triangle then he went for the bar arm I
tried to circle to my left but the cage was in my way and he
extended it. My hat is off to Pete he is a great fighter and
deserves to be where he is. I hope he will give me another opportunity
to fight him again in the future.
ADCC: Obviously
the fight did not go the way you wanted it to, but what will
you work on for your next fight that you missed in this one?
Zach:I am going to keep training full time with team Punishment.
I am going to ad an hour of jiu-jitsu everyday to my workout
so this will never happen again.
ADCC: What's
next for you?
Zach: Another UFC fight. I am hoping to fight again in Oct. but
we will see what happens. In the meantime I will either enter
the Absolute or have a Superfight in Tito's Jiu-Jitsu tournament
July 20th.
ADCC: Good Luck
Zach.
Zach: Thanks Frank.
Source: Abu
Dhabi
UFC
London: Matyushenko Out!
July
13th, 2002
London England
UFC 38 BRAWL AT THE HALL
Late
word is that rAw Team fighter Vladimir Matyushenko is out of
his upcoming match with Evan Tanner at the UFC in London next
week. Apparently, Matyushenko suffered a severe cut in training
and will not be able to fight.
On
short notice, it appears that Tanner will take on a fighter from
Holland's GOLDEN GLORY team.
Source:
Abu Dhabi
Pulver
Wins Again...
but Unknown Opponent Makes it Difficult
FRIDLEY,
Minn. -- Call it surprising... or shocking... or unexpected.
But make no mistake about it, the Jens Pulver-Robert Emerson
bout at the Ultimate Wrestling event was anything but boring!
Pulver, the only 155-pound champion in UFC history, got a much
tougher test than most fans would have expected Saturday night,
but captured a unanimous decision victory over Emerson in a 15-minute
bout that featured solid standup fighting from both competitors.
"Let me tell you," Pulver said. "That kid (Emerson)
has some skills... he's going to be somebody in this sport."
Although just 20 years old, Emerson showed amazing willpower,
twice getting up after knockdowns to continue his toe-to-toe
battle with Pulver. Using his kickboxing background, Emerson
kept Pulver off-balance with low and high kicks.
Pulver (26-2-1) marched forward throughout the bout, and landed
the harder shots. And although Emerson appeared hurt on a couple
of occasions, he rallied to stay in the bout and give Pulver
a difficult time.
Conditions at the event (it was over 100 degrees and humid) hindered
the bouts as the mat was slippery and wet throughout the event.
It prevented fighters from planting their feet and adding power
to their blows. One the mat, fighters slid around freely.
"I know this went to a decision, but I didn't hear anybody
booing," Pulver said. "I tried my best to knock him
out... and he tried to do the same to me... but it just wasn't
meant to be... I think the people who saw it know we both gave
it our best."
The crowd was very appreciative of the efforts... loud applause
during and after each round made it clear the fans were enjoying
the show.
Pulver's wrestling ability enabled him to earn all the takedowns
in the match, but not too much damage was done on the ground.
According to his camp, Emerson (5-1) was recovering from an injured
shoulder. But you couldn't tell it from his effort. Despite his
first loss, the Marco Ruas-trained fighter is sure to move up
the ranks in the very near future.
Pulver, meanwhile, is setting his sights on his Aug. 8 UFO bout
in Tokyo. His opponent has not yet been determined.
"I wasn't in the best shape, but I didn't want to peak for
this fight, then start again for the UFO fight," Pulver
said. "If I had known Emerson was going to be this tough,
or that it would be 120 degrees in here, I probably would have
trained a little more."
Pulver was cornered by UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes,
UFC star Robbie Lawler and undefeated Jason Black... all from
the Miletich Martial Arts Academy. Ruas and Debbie Purcell were
in the corner for Emerson.
Source:
FCF
7/1/02
Quote
of the Day
It is not your aptitude, but your attitude, that determines your
altitude.
Aiea
Academy Name
We have finally settled on a name for the Relson Gracie Aiea
Academy. We are calling it
Academia
Casca Grossa de Jiu-Jitsu
Casca
Grossa means thick skinned in Portuguese. Unfortunately, we came
up with that one ourselves so there is no winner to announce.
Thanks to everyone who emailed in some names.
Vazquez
Decisions Sato;
Gomi and Mishima Win
King of the Cage lightweight champion Javier Vazquez outlasted
Shooto star Rumina Sato to earn a unanimous decision Saturday
evening in Osaka, Japan. The bout marked Vazquez's first fight
outside the U.S.; it was also the first time he faced a top-10
ranked competitor. Third-ranked MMAM lightweight Takanori Gomi
continued his trend of winning decisions by defeating Leonardo
Santos by majority decision. Sixth-ranked Dokonjusuke Mishima
managed to land one of the few non-decision wins on the seven-bout
card as he caught Iran Mascarenhas with an achilles lock in the
second round. In other action, Shooto light heavyweight champ Masanori Suda took
out Hawaiian Ron Jhun by unanimous decision in a non-title fight.
Rounding
out the Class A action on the card, American Dave Strasser finished
Seichi Ikemoto with a rear naked choke 3:10 into their fight.
Two Class B fights saw Yasuyuki Tokuoka decision Yoichi Fukumoto,
and Kaichi Tsuji do the same to Masato "The Great Naniwa"
Nishiguchi.
Source:
Maxfighting
ADCC
2003: American Qualifiers Announced!
5th Submission
Wrestling World Championships Scheduled For 2003
The ADCC continues
to plan the 5th SUBMISSION WRESTLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS for
March or April of 2003. The Combat Club has received applications
to host the event from literally all over the world, but a final
decision is still pending. There appear to be three front runners:
Brazil, a surprise location, and back in Abu Dhabi. Only time
will tell, as the ADCC weighs the options.
What is certain,
is that HOOKnSHOOT will once again host the AMERICAN QUALIFIERS.
An HnS spokesperson stated 'we used to spread the tournaments
over the course of a year, with our Mixed Martial Arts show.
This year, we wanted to host all five of the qualifying tournaments
in one day, to give it more of the feel of the real event. We
will also move from our home of Evansville, Indiana to southern
California - to a venue in San Diego, California that we are
working on.
The selection
process for these amateur tournaments will remain the same as
in years past. The tournaments are amateur tournaments, with
the winner receiving an invitation to the prestigious SUBMISSION
WRESTLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. Applicants who can get to San
Diego in October to compete will be reviewed by the ADCC, with
the tournament lineups being announced near event time, and the
brackets in the days before. The best way to get into the tournaments
is to send a tape application.
'The competitors
that qualified really made an impact, the Americans and the Brazilians
and Australians all did. There are only two ways to assure you
get into the SUBMISSION WRESTLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: you have
to have won the world championship the event before, or you can
win a qualifier.' continues the spokesman.
'We will be
sealing up the deal with our venue in San Diego in the coming
days, and then we will work full blast on promoting the event'
states HnS' man in San Diego, Barry Meyer. 'We expect to also
announce a grappling event around the qualifiers, for younger
competitors and kids. We are going to create a real good atmosphere.'
To apply for
the AMERICAN QUALIFIERS, send tape to:
HOOKnSHOOT
PO BOX 124
Maugansville MD 21767-0124
Apply by E-Mail:
migueli@pa.net. (Please address the subject as AMERICAN QUALIFIERS)
E-MAIL APPLICATIONS SHOULD INCLUDE A FULL RESUME.
PREVIOUS AMERICAN
QUALIFIER CHAMPIONS:
1st: For the
2000 event.
65.9 KG &
under: n/a
66-76.9 KG: Dennis Hallman
77-87.9 KG: Dave Menne
88-98.9 KG: Travis Lutter
99 KG & Up: Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogeuira
2nd: For the
2001 event.
65.9 KG &
under: Mike Cardoso
66-76.9 KG: Matt Serra
77-87.9 KG: Travis Lutter
88-98.9 KG: Marc Laimon
99 KG & Up: Roger Neff
Source: Abu
Dhabi
Sanae
Kikuta to Headline August's UFO Show!
The
UFO show scheduled for the Tokyo Dome on August 8th, 2002 is
beginning to be defined more clearly!
After
many rumors regarding the opponent for PRIDE Champion Antonio
'Minotauro' Nogueira, word is beginning to appear as to who will
fight the Heavyweight kingpin.
ADCC
NEWS recently stated the opponent would be a star of the PANCRASE
organization, and it appears that Sanae Kikuta will be facing
the Minotaur.
Kikuta
was looking for a fight against UFC Champion Murilo Bustamante,
but when that did not work out, Kikuta answered the promoter's
challenge and took the harder fight against Nogueira.
In
a few days more information on this card will be available, but
the show confirmed for broadcast on Nippon TV, this is free TV
in Japan.
Source:
Abu Dhabi
Pre
fight Interview: JAVIER VAZQUEZ
Recently,
Javier Vazquez went to Japan to take on Legendary SHOOTO fighter
Rumina Sato. Vazquez came away with a victory, but this is what
he had to say before the fight.
SYR-
So what next for Javier Vazquez?
JV- I’m fighting in Japan next week vs. Rumina Sato.
SYR-
How did you get lined up a big name like Rumina Sato?
JV- Actually they came to me, I guess about 6 months ago Terry
(king of the cage) offered Shooto if he wanted to come fight
me here in the states. After my last fight we got the call and
they to fly me out there.
SYR-
Rumina is know for his acrobatic style, do you have a set game
plan going into the match?
JV- Yes, I got to stop that. I have realistic game plan. It has
the potential to be one of those matches because of him. He can
probably bring out the best in me. I think he’s going to
push me to the edge just to see how good I am. As far as wrestling
he’s got nothing on me. As far as striking I don’t
think he much better than I am. I think it’s going to be
hell of a fight for me. His style no matter what will give me
a hard time. I think there are other top guys out there that
will give me an easier fight then him.
SYR-
Any big fights after Shooto that you would like to fight?
JV- I always want to fight PRIDE, UFC I don’t know if the
moneys right. But as far as individual fighters there are a group
of fighters that I would like to fight.
SYR-
Anybody impractical that you would like to fight?
JV- Pulver, Serra, and Uno - most of the guys in the UFC, right
now this is such an important fight, this is all I'm thinking
about. But if I win hopefully I can make a career in Shooto or
Japan.
SYR-
So is it going to be a big transfer for you going from KOTC rules
to Shooto rules?
JV- I think most of the rules are the same, if anything I think
there are more rules over there in Japan. I don’t think
you can elbow or forearm. I think you can elbow on the feet but
not on the ground. That’s going to bad because I like to
use elbows but pretty much everything all the same. Maybe getting
used to the gloves would be about it. Other stuff like fighting
in the ring instead of in the in a cage. I know how to use the
cage, but I like to fight in the middle of the ring, which I
prefer. I think the fighting in the ring allows more submission
because when a guy is in trouble he can pin you up against the
cage.
SYR-
So what a brief history on yourself.
JV- I started as a wrestler in junior college. Three years in
high school. Then after all that I ended up hooking up with Betissi
Monserri he introduced me to the sport. Within about a year and
a half I started doing some open hand tournaments and continued
doing jiu-jistu tournaments. Eventually my name was growing a
little then Terry came up with KOTC and I ended up fighting there.
Ever since then my ways have changed a lot. I don’t have
to learn how to stike, my wrestling was way above anybody else’s.
Now days you just have to learn how to strike or most of all
survive.
SYR-
It’s a more complex game to what NHB used to be now days?
JV- Stand up has changed the sport; it used to be stand up once
in a while but there standing fighters up all the time now. Now
you have to learn to strike. I didn’t want to know how had
no real interest in it, but now its pretty fun. I have stand
up its just I have not used it yet.
SYR-
You’re currently a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from
Rodrigo Medeiros?
JV- Yes, I kind of done with tournaments (BJJ) .
SYR-
You have pretty impressive record over the last five years, do
you know of head about how many tournaments/competitions you
have won/loss.
JV - I have won about 30 tournaments and I have about 60 wins
and 5/6 losses. After a while I kind of lose track!
SYR-
Do you feel its in grappling it is more challenge with the gi
or without the gi?
JV -I think no gi is a little harder due to the sweat element.
With the gi it says consistent, you don’t have to worry
about people slipping out. As soon as you start adding in the
sweat factor I think it’s a lot harder to pass the guard,
score points, and keep position no gi.
SYR
-Who are some guys that you have challenges on the mat that you
give high marks too?
JV- I would say Eddie” twister” Bravo, every match
is real close. He always gives me a tough time.
SYR-
So whom do you train with now days?
JV- I train with Jason, Romie Aram and I have been training a
lot with John Alesio, Tim “Crazy Tim” Credeur, Rodrigo
Medeiros, JJ Machado.
SYR-
Who are some of the guys that you think have change the sport?
JV- My weight personally I feel Jens Pulver, Uno, Sato, Frank
Shamrock, and BJ Penn. Your starting to see guys that are well
rounded but are very specialized. Guys like Sakuraba that are
always coming up with new things. I have a lot new things I just
have not been able to show because I have not been pushed, when
I get pushed I will get to show a lot of stuff that nobody else
does. Hopefully one day I will be somewhat like an innovator.
SYR-
Going back to the BJ Penn you guys challenged as blue belts years
back. How was that?
JV- I have nothing but respect for the guy. One of the nicest
guys you will ever meet. We have always had a mutual respect
towards each other. I think he is a great competitor.
SYR-
Have you been to been any other place besides the USA to train?
JV- I was going to go to Brazil for the worlds this year. But
this fight with Rumina came up so scratch that!
SYR-
Do you ever feel that in the future you want to compete in the
worlds/pan-ams?
JV- I wanted to do it this year (worlds). Pan-Ams are always
on the other side of the country. I don’t know why there
not here the best guys are from out here. I have fought guys
who have won the pan ams and beat them, so it doesn’t mean
that much to me. I would like to win the worlds.
SYR
- So is there anybody that you would like to train with that
you have not?
JV - Rickson, Royce, and JJ Machado but I trained with him now.
But Rickson because he is supposed to be the best!
SYR-
What’s up with the pink trunks? Any real reason?
JV- Well the first trunks were pink I was thinking of trying
different ones for every fight like pokemon, cowboy. Just in
different characters. But the pink trunks got a real crazy response.
Some people though I was hilarious and the others thought I was
gay. But got a good response from it. But for the record I’m
not gay! But for the Sato fight it’s going to be something
different.
SYR-
Is there any other you would like to add in the interview?
JV- You can check out my site at me at www.millenniajiujitsu.com. I would like to thank
my team Romie, Tim, Jason, John, Rodrigo, JJ Machado, Terry (KOTC),
Mark, and superman. I would like to thank my family and lastly
my father. Who just recently passed away. I want to dedicate
this fight to him.
Thank
you Javier!
Source:
Abu Dhabi
Evidently,
Sherdog is Not a Factor for Joe Rogan
Most
things in life are better late than never, and with the case
of this interview I had with Joe Rogan at UFC 36's weigh-in,
I'm just thankful that I'm able to type it up. Shortly after
the 36th installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, this
tape was lost during a move somewhere deep within the haunting
depths of a cardboard box filled with various items. After angrily
searching for the tape to no avail, I thought for sure that I'd
never be able to post this interview anywhere, let alone get
another one with Joe Rogan, the host of the hit TV show on NBC,
Fear Factor. Joe is an amazingly busy dude and thanks to our
mutual friend, Dana White, I was able to pin him down before
he emceed the UFC X-Box tournament and weigh-in. Here is what
the funnier-than-hell Rogan had to say:
Mike
Sloan: Hey Joe, you used to be a part of the UFC. You were the
guy who used to interview the fighters before and after the fights.
Why did you stop doing that?
Joe Rogan: Well, I didn't really have the time. It was too hectic
between News Radio and my touring stand-up (comedy act). I was
always travelling, doing stand-up and then flying into Devil's
Asshole, Alabama doing the old UFCs. It was just too hard, but
I was still a fan. I followed it very closely.
Mike
Sloan: You are a black belt in Taekwondo?
Joe Rogan: Yeah, but I haven't done Taekwondo since I was, like,
21. I did taekwondo from the time when I was a little kid until
I was 21. Then I started kickboxing. I kickboxed until I was
about 25, 26. I've been doing jiu jitsu since then.
Mike
Sloan: Why did you never enter the UFC when you were doing all
of that?
Joe Rogan: It wasn't around when I was fighting and once I started
doing stand-up, I was doing both at the same time, and it was
just too hard to do both. It was too hard to have them both in
your head at the same time. I have tunnel vision. If I focus
on one thing, that's all I can do, you know? And I'm just too
stupid to do two things at the same time. Especially fighting.
It's such a totally different mentality to be fighting and then
to do stand-up. It's just too hard to do. I still train, though,
and like I said, I'm a huge fan.
Mike
Sloan: Were you any good back then? Were you dominant, or so-so?
Joe Rogan: At Taekwondo?
Mike
Sloan: At any of them.
Joe Rogan: At Taekwondo I was really good. I won the state championship
in Massachusetts a bunch of years in a row and I won the US Open.
I won a bunch of national titles. I was really good at kickboxing,
but when I started kickboxing, it was right at the time when
I got into comedy. I was just trying to figure out which way
to go and there was no UFC back then. There was no money. If
UFC was around, I certainly would've entered it. I love fighting.
I love all competition, but you really can't do both things.
You can't fight and do stand-up at the same time, especially
if it's on television. You know, you go into work all jacked
up. They give me enough shit when I show up with gi burn on my
face, or a little bit of a black eye. Then they gotta put makeup
on me and shit, you know, a fat lip or something. This season,
I showed up with a jacked-up knee really bad. I had a bad sprain
and I haven't hurt myself in jiu jitsu during the five years
I've been doing it and I jacked my knee up six days before we
started filming for this year. I had to get an MRI, I couldn't
walk, but it was alright. It was just badly sprained and twisted
and the ligaments were stretched. When I showed up for the first
Fear Factor, I was limping.
Mike
Sloan: Yeah, it was funny because when I first saw Fear Factor,
I couldn't picture where I saw you. Then after watching some
of my old UFC tapes, there you were. I was like, 'That's Joe
Rogan! That's where I know him from!'
Joe Rogan: Yeah, it's so funny; the people who recognize me from
News Radio and the people who recognize me from the UFC. Totally
different people. I'll be at, like, some weird fucking strip
joint and this dude's like, "Hey man, you're the guy from
the UFC!" Where at the mall, it's like, "You're the
guy from News radio!" And I'm just like, 'Hey, how ya doin?'
Mike
Sloan: Are you now big and famous because of Fear Factor?
Joe Rogan: Ah, nah. Well, now more than anything because of Fear
Factor. With News Radio it was, like, maybe 1 out of 20 people
would notice me, but with Fear factor, it's like everywhere I
go I'm a fucking side show (laughs). They just stare at you.
It's very weird.
Mike
Sloan: Does it bother you at all? Do you get all pissed?
Joe Rogan: No, most people are cool. The people that are bothering
you, they would bother you even if they didn't know you. They're
fucking idiots, you know? Most people, when they see someone
famous, they're like, "Hey, man, I like your show."
That's no big deal. It's the people that demand things from you
like, "Come over here. You have to meet my friends"
And then I'll be like, 'No, I'm with my friends, I really can't.'
And they'll be like, "Come on, man, what the fuck?! You
can't come over? I want you to meet my girl!" It's like,
dude, I don't work for you. Come on. If you want me to say hi,
I'll say hi. If you want me to sign something, I'll sign anything
you got. But if you want me to go to the other side of the club
and hang out with your buddies, that's work, you know?
Mike
Sloan: I hear ya. Whenever I see fighters just hanging out, like,
say, Pedro Rizzo or Floyd Mayweather or whomever, I just want
to say hello and not bother them, you know?
Joe Rogan: Yeah, I'm the same way. If I see someone, I'll say
hello and that I'm a big fan. That's cool. That's most people.
See? You're normal. Most people are cool like that, but the freaks,
man, they see someone famous and they demand something from you.
I'm sure the UFC guys get it even worse because idiots would
be like, "Oh, you're fucking tough!" These dumb guys
that think they can start shit with UFC guys! There are people
stupid enough to think that they will see a guy like Randy Couture
and give him a hard time. Most people would not believe that.
They'd think that that's crazy and why would anybody do that?
There are people that are THAT dumb. Those are the people that
I have a problem with. They're not normal fans or normal humans.
Mike
Sloan: Do you have any personal favorite fighters?
Joe Rogan: You know what? I have a bunch. Carlos Newton, I'm
a big fan of him. I'm a big fan of a lot of guys. I don't have
favorites, but I think my favorite guy to watch right now is
a tie between Carlos and Vanderlei Silva. I love Vanderlei! He's
just so fuckin' psychotic, dude! You just know that someone's
getting fucked up! You know that when Vanderlei starts rolling
his wrists around (Joe does the Vanderlei wrist motions with
a crazy look on his mug), someone's getting jacked up, dude!
It might be him, it might be Vitor because the dude gets dropped
a lot, but someone's getting fucked up. I wish we can get a chance
to see Rickson fight. I'm a big jiu jitsu guy, so I WISH we could
see Rickson fight the top guys. But, it looks like he's 42 now
and it's not going to happen, but if I had to pay a thousand
dollars to see any fight, it would be, like, Rickson vs. Tito.
I'd love to see that. But I don't think we're ever gonna get
to see that. I think his days are done. He might fight some scrub
in Japan. He's not going to fight anybody good.
Mike
Sloan: Are you a big boxing fan, too?
Joe Rogan: I'm a huge boxing fan. Absolutely. Roy Jones is my
favorite boxer without a doubt. I think he's probably one of
the greatest fighters of all time. Everybody always says that
Roy Jones hasn't fought anybody that's any good, but I disagree.
I think he fought a lot of good guys. They just look stupid when
they fight him. He's from the planet Roy. He's from another level.
Mike
Sloan: It sucks because he's stuck in a time when there's relatively
nobody great in his division.
Joe Rogan: I know.
Mike
Sloan: What irritates me is when these 'experts' say that Bob
Foster would have whipped his ass, Archie Moore would knock him
out, etc.
Joe Rogan: No, I don't buy that at all. It's bullshit. Let me
tell you something, dude; if he ever fought Hagler, he would
treat Hagler like a bitch. All those guys. Sugar Ray Leonard,
all those guys would get cracked.
Mike
Sloan: Well, he definitely wouldn't knock out Hagler, that's
for sure.
Joe Rogan: No, no. No way. You can't knock out Hagler! Mugabi
hit him with an uppercut and Hagler's head turned back. He was
looking behind himself and smiled at him! Whatever, dude! Hagler
was born- They did some tests on him and he had, like, built-in
headgear. The muscles around his temples were about an inch thicker
than a normal person. He's a freak of nature. Hagler was a monster,
but Roy would bitch him all over the place. In my opinion, he's
one of the greatest fighters of all time. Only Sugar Ray Robinson
even comes close. I'm just a huge boxing fan. Bernard Hopkins
is another all-time favorite of mine. He's triple tough. I loved
it when Barrera beat up Hamed, too (laughs). But if I had to
choose between watching boxing or UFC, it'd be UFC all the way.
Mike
Sloan: How did you get involved with Fear Factor? Did they contact
you or vice versa?
Joe Rogan: Well, it was a short list of people that they wanted
to talk to about doing it. They wanted someone to look like they
were in shape, someone who could think on their feet, preferably
someone who's funny. So, it was me and couple other dudes who
sucked and I got the gig (laughs).
Mike
Sloan: You ate that roach on the last one that I saw. Man, how
nasty was that?
Joe Rogan: Oh dude, don't do it! I advise people not to do it.
The only reason why I did it was to see if I could get that girl
to make it into the finals. I figured that I would only eat one
if she would eat one. Instead, she wound up eating three worms.
But, you know, I'm retarded, I'm an idiot and I wanted to see
what it tasted like. Don't do it! Learn from my mistakes!
Mike
Sloan: Is there any contestants on the show that just bother
you and you just hope to God that they don't win?
Joe Rogan: On Fear Factor?
Mike
Sloan: Yeah.
Joe Rogan: There's always one idiot, but they usually get knocked
out. Usually they get eliminated. Not always, but every third
or fourth show there's somebody who annoys me.
Mike
Sloan: How do you get on the show?
Joe Rogan: The best way to go is to go on www.fearfactor.com and fill out the application.
That's the best way.
Mike
Sloan: Cool. Well, that's all I got. Thanks for taking the time
out to do the interview.
Joe Rogan: Alright, bro. Thank you, man.
