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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2005
12/10/05
Proving
Grounds -
ROTR
Qualifer
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center)
11/19/05
ROTR 9
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
11/14/05
3rd American National BJJ Championships
(Torrance Unified School District, Torrance, CA )
10/29-30/05
Brazilian Team Titles
(Equipes)
(Brazil)
10/05
Proving
Grounds -
ROTR
Qualifer
(MMA)
(Lahaina Civic Center, Maui)
9/05
Proving
Grounds -
ROTR
Qualifer
(MMA)
(Kauai)
8/27-28/05
International
Masters & Seniors BJJ Tournament
(Tijuca Tenis Clube, Tijuca, Brazil)
8/05 (tentative)
ROTR 8
(MMA)
(Las Vegas, NV)
7/23-31/05
World BJJ
Championships (Mundial)
(Tijuca Tenis Clube, Tijuca, Brazil)
7/23/05 or 7/30/05
Hawaii Grappling
Grand Prix
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(TBA)
7/21-23/05
World Cup of BJJ
(BJJ)
(São Paulo, Brazil)
7/9/05
Proving
Grounds -
ROTR
Qualifer
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center)
6/24/05
Hawaiian
Grappling Championships
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(St. Louis H.S. Gym)
6/18/05
Longman BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(Kauai)
6/4/05
Super
Brawl: Full Contact Showdown #3
(MMA)
(Kahuna's Sports Bar & Grill, Kaneohe MCBH)
UFC
53: Heavy Hitters
(MMA)
(Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ)
5/28/05 or 5/29/05
Warriors Quest: Resurrection 2
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(McKinnley H.S. Gym)
5/21/05
MMA & Kickboxing Event
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(Waimanalo Polo Grounds)
Warriors Quest: Resurrection 1
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(Kapaa, Kauai)
5/7/05
ROTR 7
(MMA)
(Stan Sheriff Arena, UH)
5/7-8 & 14-15 & 21-22/05
Brazilian National BJJ Tournament
(Youth, Adult, Master & Senior)
(Tijuca Tenis Clube, Tijuca, Brazil?)
|
|
April 2005 News
Part 3
Wednesday night and Sunday
classes (w/ a kids' class) now offered!
 
For the special Onzuka.com
price, click on one of these banners above! |
Tuesdays at 8:30PM on
Olelo Channel 52 |
Quote
of the Day
"We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not
an act but a habit."
Aristotle, BC 384-322, Greek Philosopher
|
JOHN
RUIZ VS. JAMES TONEY!
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING TONIGHT!
Saturday,
April 30 at 10:0PM ET/7:00PM PT
John Ruiz (41-5-1, 28 KOs) will defend his world title against
the formidable James Toney (68-4-2, 43 KOs) in a 12-round championship
clash. The intrigue for this fight stems from whether Toney can
capture a world title in the sport's most prized division. The
flamboyant fighter began his career as a middleweight and won
a world title at that weight class, as well as at super middleweight
and cruiserweight.
Source:
HBO
|
WARRIORS
QUEST BREAKING NEWS:
Two Events on Two Islands
On
Kauai
RESSURRECTION PART I
Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii
May 21, 2005
We
are currently looking for fighters to participate in this ground
breaking event. If you are interested please feel free to call
808-590-1209 or 590-4046. We’re doing kickboxing & Shooto
style matches.
On
Oahu
RESSURRECTION PART II
McKinnley High School Gym, Hawaii
May 28 or 29, 2005
This
will be a stacked card with Kickboxing and Shooto style fights,
We will bring an exciting night for the fans just wait and see
what we have install, like always all fighters are always welcome
to participate.
Source:
Event Promoter
|
FRANK
SHAMROCK'S NEW FIGHT TEAM & NEW GYM
Frank Shamrock is no stranger to starting over. When Frank left
The Lion's Den, he departed with only a pair of boxing gloves.
With the Grand Opening of the Shamrock Training Center on April
21st, Frank started over yet again. MMAWeekly spoke with Frank
and Shamrock Submission Fighting Team member Dominique "Fallen
Angel" Robinson about Frank venturing out on his own, leaving
the American Kickboxing Academy, to open his own place and form
his own team.
The
Shamrock Training Center, located in San Jose, California, is
a 6300 sq. feet facility. Describing the gym, Dominique Robinson
said, "It has three mat areas, a cage, a ring, two bag areas,
and there is a pool room upstairs. That's where the fighter's
quarters are being built." Robinson continued, "It's
pretty big...There's a lounge room, and they have like a TV and
video games for people who train there to chill. He wants this
place to not only be a place where people can train hard and
take it to the next level, but relax and be family oriented at
the same time. He wants it almost like a house at the same time."
Frank Shamrock told MMAWeekly, "It's the first gym of it's
kind in the world. We offer all the amenities, and every member
is like family."
The
Shamrock Training Center is a private, members only facility.
There is an application process followed by interviews. Dominique
explained, "You have to do interviews to sign up. That's
for anything because he doesn't want anyone coming in with like
egos or negativity to this place. He wants it to be 100% positive,
so he's giving interviews and you have to do an interview with
Frank himself, Dave Velazquez, and if they're both are like there's
no negativity coming from you, they let you in the gym."
Robinson
discussed the reforming of the Shamrock Submission Fighting Team
saying, "The way he wants the team to be, he wants it to
be the old veterans. He wants it in sections like the new people,
and then people who are a little bit above them and are starting
to fight, and then people who are above them who are about to
make it, and then the veterans."
Dominique
mentioned that there are a couple of fighters out there that
Frank would like to recruit. Robinson commented, "I came
up with the idea of Lodune Sincaid and Kiuma Kinioku, the former
welterweight King of Pancrase. I talked to Frank about that because
he said he wants some people who have already been fighting in
there too. Starting a brand new team, a brand new family, and
I brought up the idea of those two to him because I watched The
Ultimate Fighter show, and I saw how Lodune had pretty much given
up every thing, and had nothing, for that opportunity, so Frank
wants this to be like a family and that guy has no family, so
it would be perfect. Frank was like yeah, and that guy could
be turned, because he's talented already, he could be turned
into something better."
Dominique
added, "About Kiuma, I told Frank that I saw in an interview
how he said he quit Pancrase to be in an American promotion.
He wants to eventually make it to the UFC. He wants to stay in
America, so I told Frank about that. He said that he and Kiuma
were good friends a long time ago. That guy gave him his first
pair of shorts and everything, and he said find him too. That
would work out for the team having a veteran like that, and also
that guy wants to fight and eventually work his way to the UFC,
so it's probably easier doing that from an American team than
a Japanese team."
As
previously mentioned, Dominique Robinson is a member of the Shamrock
Submission Fighting Team. He was previously with AKA where he
helped Josh Thomson prepare for his UFC 49 bout with Yves Edwards.
He competes at lightweight, and Frank said, "He can talk
the talk and walk the walk." "The Fallen Angel"
commented, "You'll hear about me soon enough. Let me take
off a couple of heads first. Take off a few heads. There's a
lot of guys out there that I think is overrated."
Discussing
his background in fighting, Dominique said, "I'm just waiting
to get out there. I've done a couple of MMA fights, but all like
smaller stuff. I'm waiting to get in a real show so I can knock
somebody out. You know what I'm saying? Bring the lightweight
division back to life. There ain't no personality. There's no
personality. You know what I mean? I'm pretty too. I'm a pretty
fighter, so the females will love me. I've done like five underground
MMA fights, all five were knockouts. I'm 7-1 in grappling. I
got first in the Sacramento tournament, and second at one of
the Gracie tournaments, and then I'm 2-0 boxing." You might
want to keep an eye on this guy.
There's
a new team in town on the MMA scene. If Frank Shamrock's past
accomplishments are any indication of the future, you can expect
some big things out his new team. You may have heard it here
first, but this won't be the last you hear of Dominique Robinson
or the Shamrock Submission Fighting Team.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
***For
Immediate Release***
For More Information, Contact Mike Afromowitz, (917) 566-8754
or mike@k-1usa.net.
Injury
KOs McDonald from Las Vegas K-1;
Fighters Speak Out At Battle at Bellagio IV Pre-Fight Press Conference
Three-time
K-1 tournament champion, Michael McDonald, has withdrawn from
Saturday’s Battle at Bellagio IV, K-1 “World Grand
Prix 2005 in Las Vegas” eight-man tournament due to an arm
injury that he sustained during a sparring session. McDonald’s
replacement in the live Pay Per View television event will be
undefeated world kickboxing champion, Mark Selbee (22-0 (12 KO’s),
it was announced during Thursday afternoon’s pre-fight press
conference.
“This
is the chance of a lifetime,” said the 6 foot 5 inch Selbee,
who was originally scheduled to take part in one of the event’s
tournament reserve bouts. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, the 34
year-old holds black belts in both Tae Kwon Do and Hap Kido and
is a 1994 U.S. Open Tae Kwon Do tournament medalist. Last September,
Selbee was crowned an International Kickboxing Federation (IKF)
World Superheavyweight kickboxing champion after he scored a
first round knockout over Raul Doucet. “Where I grew up,
other kids used to dream about playing baseball or playing football.
I was dreaming about kickboxing in front of worldwide audiences
so I’m gonna make the most of this opportunity.”
As
encouraged as Selbee was regarding his status upgrade in the
event, so seemed most of the other participants about their respective
appearances during the media event.
Notable
quotes from the pre-fight press conference:
Tournament
Fighters:
Sean
O’Haire: On how his previous career as a professional wrestler
helped prepare him for K-1 competition: “When I was wrestling,
I was on television a lot and in front of cameras. But, I’ve
always been a fighter who wrestled, not a wrestler who fought.
(Wrestling) was just something that presented itself at the time,
so I did it. Once was over there, I used the name and popularity
I had to cross over into the fighting world What has helped me
(from the wrestling experience) is that being in front of the
cameras and the crowd doesn’t make me nervous. It makes
me amped.”
“Big
Daddy” Gary Goodridge: “Saturday night, there’s
gonna be excitement and a lot of pain. A lot of people are gonna
feel a lot of wrath from ‘Big Daddy.’ I’m explosive.
I like to finish everything now – actually, yesterday. If
the fight’s still going on after a minute, Sean’s really
good.”
Glaube
Feitosa: On how he’s prepared to fight Dewey Cooper: “I
think I have to put forth my best techniques. I look forward
to fighting him and let the best fighter win.”
Dewey
“The Black Kobra” Cooper: On whether or not he’s
modified his style since his last K-1 appearance: “I’m
always trying to modify something. I’m always in the laboratory
trying to create new things and become more of an expert in what
I already do. Glaube’s K-1 record is very misleading. People
don’t realize he has more than 60 victories with 57 knockouts
in the Kyokushin (Karate) style. He’s a very dynamic fighter.
It’s going to be a very difficult fight for me, I’m
sure. But, I’m prepared. You know, it’s nothing new
to me. I’m ready to do whatever I have to do. Hopefully,
I’ll be victorious Saturday night, three times – not
twice, not once, but three times. BK all day.”
Carter
Williams: “I’m looking forward to performing my best.
I’m ready to get it up.”
Yusuke
Fujimoto: On what he will do different during his rematch with
Carter Williams in the quarterfinal round of Saturday’s
tournament (Note: Williams defeated Fujimoto by knockout during
the quarterfinal round of the May 2003 K-1 USA tournament): “Of
course I will win on Saturday night. Carter has very good technique
and power, but this time I have trained very well and very hard
to improve my speed and power and technique. I look forward to
a KO.”
Superfight
Fighters:
Rick
“The Jet” Roufus: “I’m at a point in my career
where I am exceptionally hungry again. For me, it’s a burning
desire. This is a great fight. I’ve never trained harder.
I’m going back to what made Rick Roufus. Fighting Musashi
is a great opportunity and, believe me, it’s gonna be exciting.”
Musashi:
On how his victory over former world boxing champion, Ray Mercer,
has boosted his confidence: “Fighting with Ray Mercer last
January gave me a lot of confidence that I could defeat a very
good fighter. He has very good punching technique so I’m
looking forward to fighting Rick Roufus. He’s also a very
good puncher
Remy
Bonjasky: On what he expects to do during to his Superfight opponent,
“Mighty Mo” Siligia: “Usually, I always tell my
opponent and all of the other people what I’m going to do
in the ring – kick to the legs a few times and then look
down and kick up. Usually, it works and I hope it will work on
Saturday also. I have a lot of respect for all of the fighters.
I have a lot of respect for ‘Mighty Mo’ and what he’s
done for K-1 in North America.”
”Mighty
Mo” Siligia: On how he has developed as a K-1 fighter since
last year, his debut year in K-1 competition: “My first
year, kickboxing was new for me. This year, I’m a whole
different fighter. I’ve had a year to train my kicking skills
and my combinations. I’m just ready for whatever. I’m
ready to do it and whatever happens, happens. All I know is I’m
ready to go.”
The
hole created by Selbee’s departure from reserve fight competition
will be filled by 23 year-old Dustin Hanning (5-2). A training
partner of Williams, the 2003 K-1 USA tournament champion, Hanning
will make his K-1 debut opposite Terrol Dees (5-1 (3 KO’s).
In other reserve fight action, undefeated Muay Thai stylist,
Patrick Barry (11-0 (7 KO’s), will square off with two-time
K-1 tournament reserve fight victor, Scott Lighty (21-6-2 (5
KO’s), while Las Vegas’s Dan Evensen (10-1 (8 KO’s)
will meet Steve Steinbess (4-0 (4 KO’s).
Less
than 200 tickets remain for Saturday’s event. All seats
that were priced at $50 and $200 have been sold. Seats that carry
$100 and $300 price tags are still available and may be purchased
at the Bellagio’s box office or by calling 1-800-963-9634.
The
live Pay Per View television broadcast of Battle at Bellagio
IV, the K-1 “World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas” will
begin at 10 PM Eastern Standard Time (7 PM Pacific Standard Time)
and will be available on iNDemand, DirecTV, and TVN.
K-1
is a martial arts fighting sport that derives its name from its
inclusion of a wide array of combat disciplines, including Karate,
Kung-Fu, and Kickboxing (“K”), and its intent to determine
one champion in one ring (“1”). After being staged
for the first time in Japan in 1993 under the direction of founder
Master Kazuyoshi Ishii, it later evolved into the country’s
most popular sport and achieved popular culture status there
as its athletes turned into larger-than-life celebrities.
Source:
Mike Afromowitz
|
K-1
USA: Mighty Mo Vows Redemption
by Mike Sloan
In
one of the more anticipated showdowns in recent K-1 USA history,
two-time defending K-1 World Grand Prix champion Remy Bonjasky
returns to Las Vegas. However, it is not all about Bonjasky as
he has a daunting task ahead of him come this Saturday against
arguably the fiercest puncher K-1 has ever seen: Mighty Mo.
Mighty
Mo came up just short of the title last year when he was shockingly
stopped by Thai fighter Kaoklai. That loss devastated Mo but
he has since moved on, determined to prove the critics wrong
that he is nothing less than a one-dimensional puncher.
Sherdog.com
caught up with Mo and was able to chat with him briefly about
his showdown with Remy. Due to time constraints, the interview
didn’t last as long as most would expect, but Mo elaborated
as best he could on the questions. He revealed the truth about
the rumors that have circulating that he is/was boxer David Tua’s
sparring partner.
Sherdog.com:
You are fighting Remy Bonjasky in the K-1 super bout. What are
your thoughts on him?
Mighty
Mo: He’s an excellent fighter, of course. Hopefully I can
match him. I guarantee you that I’m gonna bring it.
Sherdog.com:
Do you think right now that Remy is the best fighter in K-1?
Mo:
Yes, I would say so. He’s proven that to me.
Sherdog.com:
Remy is an elusive fighter with speed, accuracy and power. What
will you bring to combat that besides your punching power?
Mo:
Well, power is one thing but I also got a strong chin. Not only
that, I’m pretty slick, too. I’m pretty quick on defense
and I think I match up with him pretty good. As far as his kicks,
we’re preparing real hard for that. I’m with a lot
of fighters right now who are throwing nothing but kicks at me.
Whenever they are ready to throw them, I just block then and
pay them back.
Sherdog.com:
Are you working with guys just as tall as Remy?
Mo:
Yeah. A couple of the guys are as tall as him. I have two guys
who are about the same height as Remy in Federico and Sean O’Haire.
But I’d say that Federico is the only one who can bring
the kicks in as quickly as him. Then we’re also working
with some guys who are very tall and agile, who are also very
excellent kickers.
Sherdog.com:
Remy is a very respectful guy and he hasn’t trash talked
you. What do you think of this and are you surprised that nothing
negative has come from him?
Mo:
The thing is when the last time I saw Remy and he saw me, it
was after the last battle at Bellagio. He was like, “Man,
I’m gonna give you the straight leg kick! I need you to
get you away from me!” That was a sign of him fearing my
power. He’s a good guy, but it’s a sport. I’m
ready to come in and let him feel every bit of my power.
Sherdog.com:
The odds right now have Remy as the favorite over you. How does
make you feel?
Mo:
It does motivate me a lot more. It’s something like when
I fought Carter Williams. All he did was kick me; he didn’t
hit me with no good shots, so I defended him very well. I took
him out in the third round.
Sherdog.com:
When you lost to Koaklai last year, many people as far as fans
and media started criticizing you, saying that you weren’t
really as good or that you were one-dimensional. How did that
make you feel to not only lose, but to also have that happen?
Mo:
Yeah, I noticed that, but it’s all good. It makes me work
harder. That’s why I dropped about 20 pounds.
Sherdog.com:
When you read or hear those things, doesn’t it irritate
you?
Mo:
Oh it pissed me the hell off! I love it, though. I take it and
I’m like, “Come on! Let’s bring it on!” You
know, the more shit they talk the more pain my enemy’s gonna
feel in the ring.
Sherdog.com:
Win, lose or draw against Remy, where are you located in the
ranks as far as the Grand Prix goes?
Mo:
I am in the top 16 right now. It don’t matter if I win or
lose; I’m in the top 16 regardless. I’m automatically
in the top 16 because I made the top eight last year.
Sherdog.com:
What is truth behind the rumors of you working with David Tua?
Mo:
I never worked with Tua. Someone has been giving wrong information.
I have never worked with him ever. I almost did. I was trying
to talk with some of his people and I was trying to get in there,
but no, I never did work with him. But hopefully I’d get
the chance to fight him or even compete at his level. I’d
fight anybody in a boxing match, too, because if I fought someone
like that, the money would come with it. Maybe I could build
up my record by beating a bunch of bums first (laughs).
Sherdog.com:
Would you ever go to PRIDE or another MMA event like the UFC?
Mo:
Well, as long as K-1 is paying me enough and they’re taking
care of me, I am going to stay. I am not going to ever bite the
hand that feeds me.
Sherdog.com:
Do you have anything to add about your fans?
Mo:
Yes. I just want to thank them for the support they’ve given
me and for not giving up on me after I lost last year. You’ll
see me ready come April 30 and I will beat Remy.
Source:
Sherdog
|
JOEY
ODDESSA BLASTS THE UFC
The MMA oddsmaker known as 'Joey Oddessa' criticized the UFC
on the UG forum, regarding the UFC erasing all traces of fallen
fighter Tito Ortiz from their website. Here's what Oddessa had
to say:
"How
dare they remove the General in the fight for 'freedon of Mixed
Martial Arts'? In all seriousness though, that is pretty lame.
He is a part of UFC History. Sux when a bizness suffers at the
hand of emotion." -Joey Oddessa
Source:
Fight Sport
|
Dean
Lister
By André Araújo
Lister talks about Pride and ADCC
American
fighter Dean Lister fought Brazilian Ricardo Arona at last Pride
Middleweight GP and lost. But it was just the first meeting.
In May, during ADCC 2005, they will meet again for the final
match, in California. Check out this interview with Lister, where
fighter talks about his fights at Pride, and his awaited revenge
against Arona at ADCC. Check it now!
So,
what were you expecting from Brazilian Ricardo Arona in Pride
GP's first phase?
I
was expecting a war and Arona thought the same. The timing of
this match was unfortunate because we will have a match in ADCC
next month also.
And
about ADCC?
ADCC
and Pride for some reason there are some problems. I think it
will be OK soon. I will fight for revenge of course. I have never
lost by submission or knockout in my life and the only way I
could be defeated was by decision.
Tell
me about your last bout at Bushido. When did you realize you
would win the fight against Shoji?
As
soon as I locked the triangle, I think he thought he could resist
it but I knew I would finish him there.
You
came from two losses (Suloev and Horn), what had happened with
you during those bouts?
Both
were great learning experiences and I learned since then the
importance of having a strategy. Both fights were close and a
judge gave the decision in each of those fights. Against Horn
I was cut really bad with an elbow and couldn't see very well.
I lost enough blood to affect my strength. That is a reason I
didn't do as well as normal but it was a great learning experience.
Against Suloev I mentally wasn't there because of problems with
my gym and felt betrayed by a few of my friends. I also didn't
have a good strategy against him. Not an excuse, but once again
a reason I wasn't my normal self.
Tell
me about your plans for the future. Do you have plans to return
to King of the Cage?
King
of the Cage was great for me but I need to focus on Pride and
ADCC.
Source:
Tatame
|
Werdum
goes after ADCC open class
Fabrício Werdum has just confirmed presence at ADCC 2005.
During exclusive interview to team TATAME, athlete said he hasn't
accepted losing to Márcio Pé-de-Pano at last ADCC
open class. "I am feeling well and I'll go after open class
title. I do not have any scheduled fight with Pride by that time
and I received an invitation to fight. I am on my way to United
States and I will bring this title to Brazil," Werdum guaranteed.
So far, he has been waiting for Brazilian Rodrigo Artilheiro
to increase his ground trains.
Source:
Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"He with itchy butt has stink finger."
Confucius, BC 551-479, Chinese Ethical Teacher, Philosopher |
TITO
TO BE 'SPECIAL REFEREE'
FOR PRO WRESTLING EVENT
The
TNA pro wrestling promotion announced that it has signed fallen
fighter Tito Ortiz to be a special referee for their Hard Justice'
pay-per-view on May 15th.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
ORTIZ
HEADS TO PRO WRESTLING
Tito Ortiz'
Potential Future in Pro Wrestling, Including at Least One Special
Appearance on a TNA Wrestling Show
by Ivan Trembow
Tito
Ortiz has signed on to make a special appearance on the next
TNA pay-per-view, which will take place on Sunday, May 15th and
will be called "Hard Justice." TNA stands for "Total
Nonstop Action" and is a pro wrestling promotion that puts
on shows three times per month in Orlando, Florida. TNA's official
web site made by the announcement by saying, "Former UFC
Champion Tito Ortiz has signed to be a major part of TNA Wrestling
'Hard Justice' May 15th on Pay-Per-View."
The
announcement from TNA leaves it up to the reader's imagination
as to whether Ortiz will actually be doing a pro wrestling match
for the company or will simply be making a non-wrestling appearance.
In fact, Ortiz' role will be limited to being the "special
guest referee" in the scheduled main event of Jeff Jarrett
vs. AJ Styles.
The
Pro Wrestling Insider web site previously reported that TNA wanted
to sign a special guest referee for the Jarrett vs. Styles match
and was in negotiations with not only Tito Ortiz, but also Roy
Jones Jr., George Foreman, and Mr. T. Jones' and Foreman's asking
prices were deemed to be too high by TNA management, and Ortiz
was deemed to be a bigger name in 2005 who would create more
interest among fans than Mr. T would at this point.
Ortiz,
who recently confirmed on his official web site that his days
as a UFC fighter are over, could potentially make more special
appearances for TNA in the future, but at this point he has only
signed on for a one-time appearance. TNA's top main event wrestlers
get paid on a per-appearance basis at a rate of anywhere from
$1,000 per appearance to the most extreme cases of $5,000 per
appearance for names like Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, who are
huge names among pro wrestling fans.
It
is very likely that Ortiz is being paid somewhere between $1,000
and $5,000 for his special guest referee appearance on the May
15th TNA PPV. TNA cannot afford to pay more than that because
their PPV buy-rates are in the range of 20,000 to an all-time
high of 35,000, while the promotion's TV ratings are in the range
of 0.1 to an all-time high of 0.3. TNA is currently behind on
pay with many of its wrestlers, but it is extremely likely that
as a free agent name that they want to impress, they would make
sure to pay Ortiz in full.
When
Ortiz held out of his UFC contract in 2003, he was in negotiations
with WWE management to potentially become a pro wrestler in WWE.
Those negotiations never advanced to a point where a deal seemed
likely at any time, simply because WWE is very firm in not wanting
to bring in anyone who isn't going to be willing to be on the
road working for them anywhere from 200 to 300 days per year,
and Ortiz is not willing to work that kind of schedule.
On
the other hand, TNA has made a habit out of signing free agents
to short-term contracts and inserting them in main event story
lines, which they did with Ken Shamrock in mid-2004. If Ortiz
were interested in doing actual pro wrestling matches instead
of just making "special appearances" for TNA, it's
very likely that TNA would be interested. However, the downside
for Ortiz is that TNA only runs three shows per month (two TV
tapings and one PPV taping), and he would only be making $1,000
to $5,000 per appearance.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Terrell
Out, Loiseau In UFC 53
by Jeff Sherwood
Middleweight
Dave Terrell, who was last seen losing to Evan Tanner at UFC
51, is out of UFC 53, according to several sources. Terrell was
scheduled to take on Floridian Charles McCarthy. Canadian David
Loiseau, previously slotted to fight Pete Sell on the same card,
will instead fight McCarthy.
In
addition to UFC 53's confirmed bouts -- UFC middleweight champion
Evan Tanner versus challenger Rich Franklin and UFC interim heavyweight
champion Andrei Arlovski taking on Justin Eilers -- Sherdog.com
has pieced together five rumored fights.
Tim
Sylvia vs. Sergei Kharitonov or Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Matt Serra vs. Karo Parisyan
Sam Hoger vs. Stephan Bonnar
Nick Diaz vs. TBD Pancrase fighter
Pete Sell vs. TBD
Source:
Sherdog
|
Terrell
To ADCC
David Terrell has been confirmed for the ADCC Championships.
Terrell will be joining teammate Jake Shields in representing
our academy.
77
- 87.99 KG
#1 Saulo Ribeiro 2003 World Champion (Brazil)
#2 Demian Maia Brazilian Qualifier (Brazil)
#3 David Avellan (USA)
#4 Marko Helen European Qualifier (Finland)
#5 Hidemi Mihara Japanese Qualifier (Japan)
#6 Larry Papadopoulos Australian Qualifier (Australia)
#7 Robert Sulski (Poland)
#8 Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza (Brazil)
#9 Dennis Hallman (USA)
#10 Reese Andy (USA)
#11 David Terrell (USA)
Source:
Gracie Fighter
|
Wallid
confirms Jungle Fight fighters
Wallid Ismail has just released the list of fighters for Jungle
Fight 4, Road to Las Vegas. The event is confirmed for May 21
at Tropical Hotel in Manaus and as usual will have fighters from
many countries. "Jungle fight is the people event in Brazil.
We will pack the Arena with 3 thousand people. The fighters who
shows brave heart in this edition will be invited to fight the
next one in Las Vegas", guaranteed the promoter confirming
the 5o edition of the event for Orleans Arena on September 9.
Ismail promised for next week the final card of the event. According
to him, 4th and 5th edition will kick ass, once three editions
before were a huge success.
LIST
OF FIGHTERS CONFIRMED FOR JUNGLE FIGHT 4 (subject to change):
-
José Pelé Landy (Brazil)
- Jorge Macaco (Brazil)
- Vladimir Matsuchenko (Bielo Russia)
- Carlos Barreto (Brazil)
- Mon Ler Jean Roubert (France)
- Carlos Baruck (Brazil)
- Gilbert Douglas Ottoni (USA)
- Shinzo Machida (Japan)
- Fredson Paixão (Brazil)
- Fabricio Monteiro (Brazil)
- Justin Levens (USA)
- Helio Dipp (Brazil)
- William Couto (Brazil)
- Mark Sursa (USA)
- Leopoldo Montenegro (Brazil)
Source:
Tatame
|
SYLVIA
PLAYS WAITING GAME FOR UFC 53
Tim Sylvia
wasn't happy to hear that Minotauro Nogueira wouldn't be fighting
him at UFC 53. "They (UFC) told me they would get somebody
from Japan for me to fight and Noguiera seemed like the guy.
I was hoping it would be him, but I don't blame him. It's a dangerous
fight for him." Sylvia told MMAWeekly.
As
far as Sylvia fighting at UFC 53, it looks like Sylvia will still
be part of the card. "I'm still fighting and they told be
they will get somebody for me. I will just have to wait and see
who it is." Sylvia said.
When
asked by MMAWeekly who he thought it would be, Sylvia said "I
have no idea." It's not like the UFC has a ton of names
out there for Sylvia. Most of the current heavyweight's the UFC
has under contract are injured.
UFC
Matchmaker Joe Silva will have his hands full to find more heavyewights
for Silva to fight. Silva had a tough enough time finding an
opponent for current interim Champ, Andrei Arlovski. It will
be interesting to see what he can find for the former UFC champ
this week.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Gary
Goodridge: Big Daddy Is Back
by Michael
Afromowitz
Before engaging in tournament format competition, most K-1 fighters
assume that they will face three different opponents during one
event. This type of psychological preparation can be key to a
fighter’s success in that it forces him to train for a lengthy,
grueling experience in the world’s most competitive form
of martial arts fighting.
Canada’s
“Big Daddy” Goodridge (40-20 (29 KO’s) trains
with a far different type of mindset. For the 38-year-old who
has seen action everywhere from The Ultimate Fighting Championship
(UFC) to world class bouts in Japan, it’s about rushing
out of the gates like a charging bull and attempting to batter
and demolish any adversary that stands before him. On many occasions,
the strategy has reaped outstanding returns. On others, it has
failed to the same extent.
On
Saturday, Goodridge will make his Las Vegas K-1 tournament fighting
debut after bludgeoning three previous opponents and gaining
a decision over a fourth during Superfight contests on K-1 cards
in Sin City. The single-elimination affair pits him against an
individual who, to date, has exhibited a similar approach to
warfare in the squared circle: former WWE champion and boxer,
Sean O’Haire (19-2 (6 KO’s). At 6 feet 6 inches tall
and a chiseled 275 pounds, O’Haire is an incredible physical
specimen that will likely pose a greater than average threat
to Goodridge with his physical strength and striking power. For
Goodridge, though, it will simply be business and usual.
Q:
How has your training camp for the tournament been?
A:
Well, I’m training and sparring with Maurice (Smith, 2001
K-1 USA tournament champion and former UFC tournament champion).
I hadn’t done anything for a while, but it’s been good.
I took a long layoff after the December 31st event (, although,
I fought (on March 26th in Saitama, Japan). I fought a Russian
(Alan Karaev) – 6 foot 6, 487 pounds. I beat him in under
two minutes in a mixed martial arts rules fight, but it was a
tough fight. He was, by far, the strongest person I’ve ever
fought.
Q:
How did you handle the weight difference?
A:
Well, he was double my size. It was really trying to control
a bull – something that big and strong. Anything he wanted
to do for the first minute and a half, I had to do. I had no
choice. I bought my time. He landed on top of me and tried several
different things to finish me and couldn’t. Then, I just
knocked the piss out of him. I started punching and got a good
position and put the choke on him.
Q:
How has training with Maurice changed your fighting style?
A:
It hasn’t changed my style. My approach might be a little
different, but not that much.
Q:
How would you classify your style of fighting and compare it
to the traditional martial arts fighting style?
A:
I’ve changed my style a little bit, coming into K-1, for
the stand-up fighting. I just think that being laid back and
being passive, that’s where you get hurt. That’s where
me and Maurice lock horns and don’t train too well together
because he’s a laid back type who’s very good with
his technique and stuff. I’m trying to learn technique,
but I’ve also got to incorporate my style in there as well.
For me to be effective, I need to be aggressive. What happens
with the aggressiveness is, if I knock somebody out quick, I
don’t get hurt. If somebody knocks me out quick, I don’t
get hurt. Here I am fighting in this game at 39 years old. I’ve
never really had an injury and I’ve been training almost
10 years. So, I am doing something right. What it is, I don’t
know. To me, the longer you stay in and get punished and beat
regardless if you win – because sometimes winners are more
beat up than the losers – you need to get stuff done.
Q:
So, to you, it’s all about preservation and longevity?
A:
Yep.
Q:
Going back to your fight with Dewey Cooper (Note: Goodridge earned
a split judges’ decision victory over Cooper during a “Battle
at Bellagio III” Superfight last August), a lot of people
were impressed when you let your guard down at the end of the
first round and let him hit you with all of those punches to
the head. Were you hurt at all?
A:
No. Dewey was actually hurting me with the leg kicks. Dewey’s
a very skilled fighter and, skill-wise, people like him could
tear me apart. The reason why they don’t is because I’ve
fought my style and it’s hard to run away from that. It’s
really in your face. It’s knock me out or I’m knockin’
you out.
Q:
What do you know about your first Battle at Bellagio IV tournament
opponent, Sean O’Haire?
A:
Sean’s a tall guy. I’ve trained with him down at Eddy
Millis’s gym. I don’t know that much about him. He’s
got a little bit of Muay Thai and appears to be a heavy puncher.
I think K-1 thought ‘Let’s have a slugfest on that
side of the bracket.’
Q:
What can we expect to see from Big Daddy on Saturday?
A:
I’m coming out of the box to get work done. I don’t
even want to fight more than 10 seconds for each opponent. (Laughs)
Chances are, I will probably go a round. I hope that, all together,
I am in the ring for what amounts to one round (three minutes).
Source:
Sherdog
|
BABALU:
"I WILL KNOCK OUT LIDDELL"
Renato "Babalu" Sobral returned to the national stage
at UFC 52 with an impressive win over Travis Wiuff by armbar.
The man they call Babalu has been in there with all the top dogs
in MMA, as he has wins over Shogun Rua, Jeremy Horn, Maurice
Smith, and Pele. He's been in there with Dan Henderson, Kevin
Randleman and Fedor Emelianenko and Chuck Liddell.
Our
partners over at Tatame sat down and talked with Babalu recently
about many topics, including his opinions on Chuck Liddell and
Babalu wasn't shy about his comments.
Here
are a few of his comments and for the full interview, check out
www.tatame.com.br
Tatame:
Tell us about your fight with Travis Wiuff.
Babalu-
My fight was a fast one. In the 1st round I was was able to connect
a good punch, he clinched and I brought him down. After he was
on the bottom I punished him a bit and I even applied a guillotine.
In the second round, the guy gave me a kick and a punch that
floored me. In the ground I tried a triangle, he tried to get
up to escape like he did with Carlão Barreto and I got
his arm. I finish him at the 24 seconds mark with an armbar.
Tatame-
It looks like you controled the fight. Did you feel threatened
at any moment of the fight ?
Babalú
- I had the control of the fight the whole time, but in the 1st
round he connected a punch that gave me a flash (knockdown),
but than he connected another with the sequence and I woke up.
tatame-
After the victory, have u already signed a deal for a new fight
?
Babalú-
I should fight in UFC again in August but I don't know against
whom. To tell you the truth I don't really pay attention to that,
cause the most important thing for me is to make my job inside
the Ring.
tatame-
Aside from your fight, the night was highlighted by the KO of
Liddell over Couture. What are your thought on that fight?
Babalú
- For me Randy didn't get well in the fight. He didn't exchange
good while standing and he tried to bring Chuck down. Liddell
knew how to impose his pace and game, so when Randy went straight
to him he stepped aside in diagonal and connected a straight
punch right to the jaw. It was mortal! Randy fell apart. Game
over!
tatame-
With this victory your name is getting valorized in UFC and there
are already talks about a title shot. In November 2002 you were
KO'd By Chuck. What would you do different this time?
Babalú-
I only will say that I will KO Liddell. I will not try to bring
him down. I want to test his good Muay Thai.
tatame-
Days after the UFC several Brazilians in your weight division
fought in the biggest LHW Grand Prix of all time. Do you think
you deserved to be called to fight in the Grand Prix?
babalú-
I think I have the skills to fight in any event around the world.
I'm ready! Many people comment with me that I should have been
called to fight this Grand Prix. I also think I should have fought
in the Grand Prix, but they didn't call me so F#$% it !
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"He who wishes to secure the good of others has already
secured his own."
Confucius, BC 551-479, Chinese Ethical Teacher, Philosopher |
2005
Hawaiian Open of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
DATE: June 4, 2005
TIME: Start at 11:00 AM
LOCATION: Saint Louis Schools Gymnasium
Honolulu, Hawaii
Format:
Gi & No Gi Sport BJJ Rules; Single Elimination
Weigh-in: Friday, June 3rd at UH Athletic Complex, Studio #2
12-1 pm; 7:30-9 pm
Fees: $50 Entrance Fee - provides entry to multiple divisions,
Competitor T-shirt, and chance to win some hefty, professionally-designed
medals.
(Applications will be available at weigh-in)
Divisions: Various Age, Rank and Weight
Contact: 223-9363 / 392-8330 for details
Information: www.brazilian-freestyle.com
Proceeds:
To Benefit the Saint Louis Wrestling Program
|
Alexandre
Pequeno out of ADCC
Shooto
kingpin Alexandre Pequeno is out of ADCC 2005, scheduled to happen
on May 28 and 29, in California, US. Pequeno departs this Sunday
to a seminar serie in Europe and only returns on May 25. The
biggest Luta-Livre representative will be conducting seminars
in Barcelona, Germany, Italy, Poland, England, Switzerland and
Belgium.
-
So far nobody got in touch with me and there is only a month
left to the competition., Last time I was waiting until the last
moment and I ended avoiding seminars. Even if they call me now
it would be complicated because I got my visa do US denied four
times to US and I wouldn't have enough time to get a new one.
In fact, I will make the same money teachings eminars and fighting
at ADCC - guillotine choke's king stated.
Source: Tatame |
Bracketology
and The Pride Grand Prix
by
Ivan Trembow
With
the first round of the 2005 Pride Grand Prix in the books, it's
now time for a little "bracketology," and in this case
I'm not referring to college basketball. Pride doesn't have pre-set
brackets going into a 16-man tournament of this nature; specifically,
so that they can mix and match the remaining fighters as they
see fit. Since Pride is going to make the quarterfinal match-ups
primarily from a marketing perspective in the Japanese marketplace,
that's how we have to think of it when speculating on possible
quarterfinal match-ups.
At
this point, the remaining fighters in the tournament are Wanderlei
Silva, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Kazushi Sakuraba, Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem, Igor Vovchanchyn, Ricardo
Arona, and Kazuhiro Nakamura. That's four Brazilian fighters,
two Japanese fighters, one Dutch fighter, and one Ukrainian fighter.
The American fighters went 0 for 4 in the first round, so there
are no Americans left in the tournament.
There
are three "absolute truths" that you have to consider
when thinking about the possible quarterfinal match-ups:
Truth
#1--- Pride does NOT want to put themselves in a position to
potentially have four Brazilian fighters in the final four, so
that means we have to have at least one Brazilian vs. Brazilian
match-up in the quarter-finals.
Truth
#2--- Pride definitely wants to have at least one Japanese fighter
in the final four so that they can sell more tickets in Japan
for the final event with the semi-finals and finals (this isn't
necessarily a good thing or a bad thing, it's just the way it
is from a business standpoint).
Truth
#3--- You can't put Nogueira against Arona in the second round
because they're teammates on the Brazilian Top Team, and you
can't put Silva against Shogun in the second round because they're
teammates at the Chute Boxe Academy. If there is going to be
a teammate vs. teammate battle in this tournament, it won't be
until the finals.
With
those parameters in mind, the quarterfinal brackets could breakdown
in a different way depending on whether or not Wanderlei Silva
and Kazushi Sakuraba meet up in the second round.
Scenario
#1--- Silva and Sakuraba Have to Meet in the Quarterfinals
If
Sakuraba wants this fight, it's very likely that Pride will give
it to him. Despite the fact that Silva obliterated Sakuraba in
their three previous meetings, a fourth Silva vs. Sakuraba fight
would still be a big money draw in Japan. Being matched up against
Silva would also give Sakuraba the "out" that he could
be eliminated from the tournament (possibly even knocked out
again), and there's no shame in losing to the top 205-pound fighter
in the world. So, assuming for the purposes of this scenario
that Silva vs. Sakuraba does happen in the second round, how
would the other six fighters be matched up?
The
most obvious thing is that they would want to give the other
remaining Japanese fighter, Kazuhiro Nakamura, the best chance
possible to advance to the final four. Looking at the list of
possible second-round opponents, there are no "easy fights,"
but I don't think many people would dispute that Alistair Overeem
is the least difficult match-up of the remaining fighters in
this scenario. Overeem is no easy opponent (as Vitor Belfort
quickly found out), but he's also probably not on the level of
Nogueira, Arona, Shogun, and Vovchanchyn. So, if you're Pride
and you want to get a Japanese fighter into the final four, you
make the match-up of Overeem vs. Nakamura and cross your fingers
that Nakamura pulls out the victory (which he very well could).
I think it would be similar to the Nogueira-Overeem fight that
took place in February, and it's just a matter of whether Nakamura
would be able to hang on and get the decision victory like Nogueira
did.
So,
at that point the four remaining fighters would be Nogueira,
Arona, Shogun, and Vovchanchyn, and you can't put Nogueira against
Arona because they're teammates. If you think about who is the
biggest marquee name out of those four fighters that Pride would
want to "protect" if they could, it would have to be
Nogueira. Then if you're thinking about Nogueira going up against
either Shogun or Vovchanchyn, both of those fights are extremely
hard match-ups for any fighter, but I think it's safe to say
that there are a lot more people picking Vovchanchyn to win the
whole entire tournament than there are people picking Shogun
to win the whole tournament. Shogun is still so young and inexperienced,
and despite his one-sided destruction of Quinton Jackson, most
people would consider Shogun to be a slightly less difficult
match-up than Igor Vovchanchyn. So, if Pride wants to protect
Nogueira as much as they can in an attempt to get the most marketable
final four they possibly can, they would match up Nogueira against
Shogun. That would be an explosive fight and has "Fight
of the Year" candidate written all over it.
That
would leave the final two fighters as Igor Vovchanchyn and Ricardo
Arona, both of whom are on a lot of people's lists as their pick
to win the entire tournament. Pride would probably root for Vovchanchyn
to win here because he has a more exciting style than Arona,
and he's a bigger name than Arona in Japan. I think Vovchanchyn
could beat Arona if he accepted the fact that he's not going
to out-grapple Arona and instead decided to keep the fight in
the stand-up. Whether Igor would succeed at his goal of keeping
the fight in the stand-up against Arona is a different matter
entirely.
Scenario
#2--- Pride Plays it Smart and Avoids Silva vs. Sakuraba in the
Quarterfinals
But
what if Silva vs. Sakuraba doesn't happen in the second round?
From the perspective of needing to have a Japanese fighter in
the final four if you want to sell out an arena in Japan, it
really doesn't make sense to match Sakuraba against Silva. Sakuraba
would be extremely likely to lose for a fourth time, and then
you would be dependent on Nakamura beating Overeem in order to
have a Japanese fighter in the final four. Sure, a fourth Silva
vs. Sakuraba match would draw money in Japan, but does that benefit
really out-weigh the risk of having a final four without a single
Japanese fighter in it? I don't think so.
If
Pride plays it smart and avoids the temptation of matching up
Silva and Sakuraba in the second round, the obvious match-up
would be Sakuraba vs. Nakamura. No matter who wins that fight,
it ensures that a Japanese fighter makes it into the final four.
It's also a marketable match-up in its own right with the small
rivalry that exists between Sakuraba's camp and Yoshida's camp
(which Nakamura is a part of). If Nakamura wins, it could make
him a huge star in Japan. Even though Sakuraba is a physically
broken-down version of his former self (and he would be the first
to tell you that), his name value in Japan is still so huge that
it would make an instant star out of Nakamura if he were to beat
Sakuraba.
So,
if Pride decides to match up Sakuraba and Nakamura in the first
round, what do you do with the remaining six fighters? The fighter
with the most marquee value out of the remaining six is easily
Wanderlei Silva, and as discussed above, Alistair Overeem is
the least difficult match-up out of the remaining fighters. He's
not an easy match-up by any means, but he's an easier match-up
than any of the other remaining fighters, so Silva vs. Overeem
would be the smart match to make and could also be an exciting
slugfest in its own right.
At
that point, you would have the same four remaining fighters as
in the previous scenario: Nogueira, Arona, Shogun, and Vovchanchyn.
And for the same reasons discussed in the previous scenario,
the two match-ups that make the most sense in this group of four
are Nogueira vs. Shogun, and Arona vs. Vovchanchyn.
Scenario
#3--- Pride Insists on Having Two Brazilian vs. Brazilian Matches
in the Quarterfinals
The
two scenarios above are the two most likely scenarios that could
play out, with the "Silva vs. Sakuraba scenario" being
the most likely. However, there is another scenario that is less
likely but still a legitimate possibility. With Pride president
Nobuyuki Sakakibara reportedly saying after the first round that
it was time to match the Brazilians against each other, there
is a possibility that not only does Pride not want to put themselves
in the position of possibly having four Brazilians in the final
four, but that they also don't even want to have the possibility
of three Brazilians in the final four. If that's really the case,
that would require two different Brazilian vs. Brazilian match-ups
in the quarterfinals.
If
you're going to have two Brazilian vs. Brazilian match-ups, you
first have to remind yourself that team affiliations prevent
you from being able to put Nogueira against Arona, or from being
able to put Silva against Shogun. Then you have to ask yourself,
"Who are the two biggest marquee names among the Brazilians
that Pride would ideally like to still have on the marquee for
the final event?" The answer to that question is easy---
Silva and Nogueira. If you want to give yourself a chance to
have both Silva and Nogueira in the final four, you can't match
them up against each other in the quarterfinals. That would mean
the two Brazilian vs. Brazilian match-ups would have to be Wanderlei
Silva vs. Ricardo Arona, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio
"Shogun" Rua, both of which are extremely intriguing
match-ups.
With
four non-Brazilian fighters remaining in this scenario, it still
makes the most sense to ensure that you move a Japanese fighter
into the final four, and that means putting Sakuraba against
Nakamura. The only two fighters remaining at that point would
be Igor Vovchanchyn and Alistair Overeem. Overeem would have
a huge height advantage in that fight, but Vovchanchyn would
have a very good chance to be able to out-grapple Overeem and
win by ground-and-pound.
There are other possible scenarios, such as Yoshida's student
Nakamura going against the man who beat Yoshida in the first
round (Silva), but none of those scenarios really make sense
from a business standpoint because Pride needs to give itself
the best possible chance of getting a Japanese fighter into the
final four. Many of the mainstream newspapers in Japan that normally
cover MMA didn't even acknowledge the results of the first-round
match-ups that didn't have Japanese fighters in them. So, as
I stated earlier, it's not necessarily a good thing or a bad
thing that Pride wants to have at least one Japanese fighter
in the final four, it's just the way it is.
To
summarize, here are the three quarter-final scenarios that make
the most sense from a business standpoint.
Ideal
Quarter-Finals If Silva vs. Sakuraba Has to Happen in the Quarter-Finals:
-Vanderlei
Silva vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
-Alistair
Overeem vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
-Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
-Ricardo
Arona vs. Igor Vovchanchyn
Ideal
Quarter-Finals If Pride Plays it Smart and Avoids Silva vs. Sakuraba
in the Quarter-Finals:
-Vanderlei
Silva vs. Alistair Overeem
-Kazushi
Sakuraba vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
-Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
-Ricardo
Arona vs. Igor Vovchanchyn
Ideal
Quarter-Finals If Pride Insists on Having Two Brazilian vs. Brazilian
Matches in the Quarter-Finals:
-Vanderlei
Silva vs. Ricardo Arona
-Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
-Kazushi
Sakuraba vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
-Igor
Vovchanchyn vs. Alistair Overeem
Source: MMA Weekly |
THE
FUTURE IS NOW FOR SHOGUN
by Mick Hammond
The
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines
the term “future” as “A prospective or expected
condition, especially one considered with regard to growth, advancement,
or development.” Essentially the future is what is to come;
it is the next level, the imminent coming of something beyond
what is here now. In MMA the future is defined simply by the
name Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
How
can someone as talented as Rua have been considered an underdog
in the eyes of many to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson heading
into Total Elimination 2005? The question begs to be answered
simply on the basis of Rua’s total annihilation of Jackson
in which Rua never seemed to lose control of one of the top ten
middleweights in the world.
It’s
understandable that on a team that features Pride Middleweight
and 2003 GP Champion Wanderlei Silva as well as Pride veteran
Murilo “Ninja” Rua that Shogun would get lost in the
mix amongst his teammates. It’s also understandable that
since he had less experience in MMA than Silva and his older
brother that Mauricio could be seen as the least developed of
the famed team, but none of this is of course true.
In
his previous nine fights heading into TE 2005, Shogun had all
but dominated every opponent he had been in the ring with. He
had never gone to a decision in any of his bouts, which is a
testament to his aggressive nature, yet still many did not see
him to even be the heir apparent to Silva heading into the last
few years of competition. That honor was reserved for older brother
Ninja since his debut in Pride two years prior to Shogun’s.
And yet now it is Shogun, not Ninja, that stands on the cusp
of not only equaling Silva’s achievements, but possibly
passing the most dominating middleweight fighter in the last
five years of competition.
A
lot of people had been quick to point out that Shogun hadn’t
exactly faced the type of competition that Silva and Murilo had
been facing in Pride up until 2003. Prior to his Pride debut
Shogun’s biggest victory had come over an eventual teammate
in Evangelista "Cyborg” Santos at a Meca Vale Tudo
event. His most accomplished opponent had been Renato “Babalu”
Sobral, whom defeated Shogun at the IFC’s “Global Domination”
light-heavyweight tournament. But strength of opposition can
be a deceptive marker on which to base talent on, as is the case
with Shogun.
Heading
into TE 2005 it was clear that Shogun could be good, there is
no denying that, sporting an undefeated Muay Thai record and
a black belt and numerous competition victories in Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu, but with his showing against Jackson, he’s show
he can be more than just good. With the rest of the field seemingly
taking too much caution in their fights and providing less than
stellar excitement, Shogun went into his fight with all guns
blazing. His refusal to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat
and instead take victory in his hands from the get-go shows that
he is not afraid to be the pace setter for the tournament. He
fought like he had nothing to lose, while his contemporaries
fought like they had everything to lose, it’s this style
that he’s shown in each of his fights and it is this trait
that makes him the most exciting and dangerous fighter heading
into the second round.
It
became clear almost from the start that Shogun was going to dominate
Jackson. Using the blueprint that Silva had set forth in two
previous battles with Rampage, Shogun used his long reach at
distance to keep Jackson off balance with punches and kicks,
when things got close he went to the clinch. From there it was
only a matter of time before the famed knees of Chute Boxe would
take down Jackson for a third time. Whether it was to the body
or to the head, Quinton had no defense for Rua’s knees and
in the end it spelled Rampage’s end. Few people had ever
looked so dominating against Jackson as Rua did, in fact only
Silva had done as much damage to Quinton as Shogun did, and it
took Rua less time to do it in.
If
Wanderlei Silva is the fighter with the target on his back going
into Critical Countdown, then Shogun is the fighter no one wants
to face heading into July 2nd. With lighting fast punches, creative
kicking, and perhaps the best clinch and ground striking of any
fighter not named Silva, Rua is undoubtedly deserving of respect
he has earned in this, his coming out party. There’s a line
in the most recent installment of the James Bond movies that
goes something like “It’s called the future…so
get used to it.” The MMA community had best take note of
that line because Shogun is the future and we had better get
used to him because at only 23 years old he’s going to be
here a long time. And with time comes maturity, with maturity
comes growth, and with growth comes the ability to do things
beyond what is capable now, it’s got to be a scary thought
for the MMA world that Shogun is only going to get better with
age. Wanderlei Silva may be the king of the middleweight kingdom
right now, but he better enjoy his time on the throne while it
lasts because his teammate is right behind him. Like death and
taxes, the future is inevitable, as is the time of Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua, MMA world beware.
Source: MMA Weekly |
THREE
MATCHES ANNOUNCED FOR
BUSHIDO VOLUME 7
From
Dream Stage Entertainment
TOKYO, Japan – Three more matches have been announced for
PRIDE FIGHTING’S BUSHIDO VOLUME 7 fightcard … Takanori
Gomi (Japan) versus Luiz Azeredo (Brazil), Phil Baroni (USA)
versus Ikuhisa “The Punk” Minowa (Japan), and Hayato
“Mach” Sakurai (Japan) versus Luis “Buscape”
Firminho (Brazil).
BUSHIDO
VOLUME 7 will take place from the Ariake Coliseum in Japan and
is scheduled to debut on North American pay per view via iNDEMAND,
DIRECTV, DISH NETWORK, UrbanXtra, TVN1, VU!, and Viewer’s
Choice Canada.
North
American Pay Per View Schedule:
DIRECTV,
DISH Network, and TVN: Friday, June 3rd, 2005 @ 7:00 pm PST,
10:00 pm EST iNDEMAND: Sunday, June 5th, 2005 @ 6:00 pm PST,
9:00 pm EST
Since
the formation of the BUSHIDO series, Takanori Gomi has been dominant,
racking up victories over Jadsen Costa, Fabio Mello, Ralph Gracie,
“Krazy Horse” Charles Bennett, and Jens Pulver. Intent
on proving that he is the best lightweight fighter in any organization,
Gomi is taking on all comers and this time will be facing Luis
Azeredo. A teammate of Wanderlei Silva and fighting out of the
Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil, Azeredo is a solid 9-3 in MMA and
had a successful PRIDE debut at BUSHIDO Volume 6 with a decision
victory over Luis Firmino of the Brazilian Top Team.
In
the second announced match, Phil Baroni will take on Ikuhisa
“The Punk” Minowa. “The New York Bad Ass”
Phil Baroni is a UFC veteran who boasts wins over the likes of
Dave Menne and Amar Suloev. He possesses knockout power and is
known for his loud persona outside of the ring. His opponent,
will be another animated character in Ikuhisa “The Punk”
Minowa. Like Baroni, Minowa fights with passion and attitude
in the ring. “The Punk” is coming off of 5 straight
wins, including victories over Gilbert Yvel, Stefan Leko, and
Ryuki Ueyama. “The Punk” versus “The New York
Bad Ass” … two fighters with attitude!
The
third announced bout will feature Hayato “Mach” Sakurai
versus Luis “Buscape” Firminho. A grappling and mixed
martial arts legend, Sakurai has defeated the likes of Caol Uno,
Frank Trigg, and Daiju Takase. Constantly evolving and improving
his skills, this Japanese superstar will face one of his toughest
matches yet in Luis Firminho. Known as “Buscape,” Firminho
is a member of the legendary Brazilian Top Team and has two wins
over
Ryo
Chonan (Japan) “Elvis” Schembri (Brazil) “Krazy
Horse” Bennett (USA) Yoshiro Maeda (Japan)
PRIDE FC: BUSHIDO VOLUME 7
Fight Card
Ryo
Chonan (Japan) vs. Nino "Elvis" Schembri (Brazil)
Yoshiro Maeda (Japan) vs. Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett
(USA)
Takanori Gomi (Japan) vs. Luiz Azeredo (Brazil)
Phil Baroni (USA) vs. Ikuhisa “The Punk” Minowa (Japan)
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (Japan) vs. Luis “Buscape”
Firminho (Brazil)
Additional
Matches to be Announced Soon.
(Fight
Card Subject to Change)
BUSHIDO
VOLUME 7 will be available at a reduced rate of $19.95.
For additional replay times, please contact your pay per view
provider or pridefc.com.
For
more information on PRIDE FC, visit pridefc.com!
Source:
Pride
|
LATEST
ON ORTIZ AND UFC
MMAWeekly
reported last week that former five time defending UFC Light
Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz would not be returning to the
UFC. Ortiz posted on his website, www.TitoOrtiz.com, "Being
a UFC fighter will not be in my future." Tito also said
that he was "embarrassed" by the way the UFC treated
him at UFC 52. Is there any hope of seeing Tito Ortiz compete
in the UFC again? If you look at the writing on the wall, the
answer is no.
"The
Huntington Beach Bad Boy," Tito Ortiz was the face of the
UFC for a long time. He was the marquee name in American Mixed
Martial Arts headlining twelve UFC events. Ortiz last headlined
UFC 51 where he pulled out a split decision win over Vitor Belfort
on Feb. 5th of this year. In a matter of a couple of months Tito
has gone from a main event fighter to an outsider looking in.
Tito
threw out his asking price following UFC 51 at a steep $350,000
to show. Ortiz said in a previous interview with InsideFighting
that the UFC hadn't contacted him at all since his win over Belfort,
and there were no negotiations. He also expressed the opinion
that the UFC and Pride had an arrangement thus Pride hadn't contacted
him either.
The
signs of Ortiz' status with the UFC became quite apparent during
the first live television broadcast of a UFC event, The Ultimate
Fighter Season Finale on Spike TV. During the broadcast many
celebrities were shown on air, including UFC fighters. Tito was
not one of them. The only time Ortiz was seen on air was in the
background of Ken Shamrock entering the octagon taunting Ken.
The camera angle was quickly switched removing Tito from the
shot.
When
Tito arrived at UFC 52 to support Ivan Salaverry, who he helped
prepare for Ivan's match with Joe Riggs, Tito wasn't receiving
the same perks as he had in the past. According to him, he was
sat in "the bleachers," kicked out of the octagon following
Salaverry's win over Riggs, and wasn't allowed backstage at all
including the post fight press conference.
Was
that just the UFC playing hardball in response to Ortiz' demands
of $350,000 just to show? It could have been, but further signs
may reveal that the UFC had no intentions on re-signing Tito
Ortiz after suffering back to back loses to Randy Couture and
Chuck Liddell, having a lackluster performance against Patrick
Cote, and narrowly winning a split decision over Vitor Belfort.
Browsing the Internet, I noticed that Tito Ortiz' stats and information
have been removed from www.UFC.TV, the UFC's official website.
This is the sign of doom. Ortiz used to be in the "legends"
section of fighters, and now he isn't even listed as a fighter
at all. Every piece of Tito Ortiz information has been removed
from the website. Other fighters suffering the same fate have
been Frank Shamrock, Jens Pulver, BJ Penn, and Murilo Bustamante.
All former UFC champions, and none of which have returned to
the UFC octagon.
Source: MMA Weekly |
NOW
WHAT FOR RAMPAGE AND THE FORMER PHENOM?
It
was made very evident during Pride's Total Elimination 2005 first
round that being prepared means everything. Two fighters that
simply did not look like they were ready for their match-ups
were Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and "The Phenom"
Vitor Belfort.
Quinton
Jackson was knocked out in the first round against heavy hitter
and Chute Boxe member, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Belfort,
the chosen UFC participant, lost via guillotine choke to Alistair
Overeem.
Quinton
Jackson, seen by so many as the number two fighter in Pride's
Middleweight division (sitting behind current champion Wanderlei
Silva) was expected to make serious waves in this years tournament.
Already a finalist in the last Middleweight Grand Prix, Jackson
was said to be focused and ready for his shot to become champion.
"Rampage" who lost in a spectacular re-match with Silva
in October of 2004, seemed less than prepared for this fight.
Jackson,
who eeked out a tough decision victory in his previous fight
with "Shogun's" brother, Murilo Rua, just was not the
Rampage of old. His punches were sluggish and he simply looked
outmatched by Mauricio Rua. Rua landed devastating punches and
kicks, and his Muay-Thai clinch was unstoppable. Rua was able
to move Jackson around the ring at will and with a barrage he
ended Jackson's night and his shot at the Middleweight Grand
Prix tournament.
Vitor
Belfort came into the Pride Grand Prix as the participant from
the UFC, a spot that was held by current UFC champion Chuck Liddell
in the last tournament. Belfort matched up with the same opponent
as Liddell did in his first fight, 6'5" Dutch kickboxing
expert, Alistair Overeem. Belfort simply did not look like he
wanted to fight on this night as he was obviously bothered by
the reach advantage that Overeem held over him. Overeem landed
excellent shots to Belfort throughout the night and the fight
was ended when "The Demolition Man", Overeem, sunk
a guillotine choke on Belfort and he was forced to tap.
Belfort,
now 2-3 in his last 5 fights (one win came by a ref stoppage
due to a cut in his fight with Randy Couture), has to be seen
as a fighter at the crossroads of his career. The Brazilian was
blessed with a ton of natural talent and he seemed to unleash
that in many of his early fights in the UFC. Now 28 years of
age, Belfort is seen as a seasoned veteran as he has been fighting
since he was 19 years old. The question begs to be asked though....where
does Belfort go from here and how does he do it?
The
UFC re-signed Belfort even before this showing and is sure to
show up in the octagon again, probably later this year. But Belfort,
for all of his talent, has seemed to lose focus again and will
have to work even harder to regain a top level status after his
recent defeats. "The Phenom" suffered a very tough
split decision loss to Tito Ortiz in his last UFC appearance
and after such a hard fought battle, Belfort seemed to just have
the wind taken out of his sails. Now Belfort is again faced with
adversity as he lost in the first round of the Pride tournament
and has to return to the UFC with another loss tacked onto his
record.
Quinton
Jackson, despite an excellent overall record, seems to be at
the same crossroads as Belfort. Jackson has lost twice to Pride
Middleweight champion, Wanderlei Silva and has now been defeated
in his first fight in the Middleweight Grand Prix. Jackson's
method of training has been questioned time after time when he
doesn't seem to have a top showing. The "Rampage" that
defeated Chuck Liddell in the last Grand Prix definitely was
not the man that showed up to face Mauricio "Shogun"
Rua. Jackson, who showed so much heart and determination in his
last fight with Silva, again appears to be questioning his place
in the game. Maybe it was overconfidence that hurt Jackson in
this fight? Maybe it was lack of preparation? The fact is that
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson can no longer be seen as
the next best fighter to Wanderlei Silva in Pride's Middleweight
division.
Both Quinton Jackson and Vitor Belfort are world-class fighters
with years ahead of them in the sport. But both now seem to question
where do they go from here? Jackson and Belfort were simply lost
in their fights and now have to work even harder to get back
on the road to victory.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Roufus
To Battle Musashi In Las Vegas K-1 Superfight
Six-time world kickboxing champion, Rick “The Jet”
Roufus (61-7 (40 KO’s), will square off with four-time K-1
Japan Grand Prix tournament victor, Musashi (37-20-5 (11 KO’s),
in a three-round Battle at Bellagio IV, K-1 “World Grand
Prix 2005 in Las Vegas” Pay-Per-View televised Superfight
at Bellagio on Saturday, April 30th.
“I’ve
reinvented myself and I’m a hungrier and younger Rick Roufus,”
said the 6 foot, 212 pound gladiator, who is also a former K-1
USA tournament champion and former World Boxing Council (WBC)
Continental Americas Cruiserweight champion. “This is a
big, big stepping stone for me and a big opportunity to get back
into the thick of things.”
At
37 years of age, Roufus is recognized as one of martial arts
fighting’s all-time greats. After retiring from tournament
fighting in 2003 due to recurring knee problems, he returned
to Las Vegas last August for a “Battle at Bellagio III”
Superfight contest with sumo wrestling legend turned K-1 competitor,
Chad “Akebono” Rowand. Handicapped by nearly 300 pounds,
Roufus was put on the run by the 6 foot 8 inch, 485 pound mammoth
and forced to choose his shots wisely in an effort not to be
hit by his dangerously powerful opponent. Roufus’s strategy
paid off as he continued to bombard Akebono with kicks and punches
before earning a unanimous judges decision at the close of three
rounds.
“I
hired a guy for a lot of resistance and strength training and
I’ve been training for quite some time with him to build
up the knee. I’ve had no problems with the knee so I’m
gonna come in even better shape now.”
Last
year, Roufus relocated from his hometown, Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
to Tempe, Arizona where, shortly after, he opened the doors to
The Roufus Kickboxing Center. Still committed to remaining on
top in the world of single fight competition, the all-American
fan favorite has since adjusted to his dual role of trainer and
athlete while also enjoying his life as a husband and father
of two. “I love it. It’s a lot of work, but it all
pays off,” he said.
April
30th will mark Musashi’s second-career start in Las Vegas.
Two years ago, American fans got their first opportunity to witness
the 6 foot 1 inch, 220-pounder in action up close. A one of a
kind matchup at Las Vegas, Nevada’s Mirage Hotel and Casino
saw him take on his former Seidokaikan Karate mentor, Nobuaki
Kakuda, in what was originally billed as the latter’s retirement
fight. Musashi was passed the torch of leadership from the elder
statesman that night as he floored Kakuda a total of four times
over the course of three rounds and notched a unanimous judges’
decision win.
Despite
the historical significance of his win in Sin City, Musashi’s
highest profile victory ironically came against a fighter whose
background is foreign to the fighting arts that embrace both
kicking and punching. On June 6th of last year, he squared off
with former world heavyweight boxing champion, “Merciless”
Ray Mercer, during the main event of a K-1 World Grand Prix card
in Nagoya, Japan.
Both
before and after he downed the American boxer with a roundhouse
kick to the side of Mercer’s head in the midst of the bout’s
first round, Musashi continuously pelted his opponent with leg
kicks. Unfamiliar with the timing and technique necessary to
defend against this type of attack, Mercer, who was also not
permitted to throw kicks due to the fact that he wore boxing
shoes into the ring, absorbed the punishment before Musashi was
awarded the fight by all three judges at ringside.
Born
Akio Mori 30 years ago, the Japanese fighter was later renamed
after martial arts officials saw what they felt was a sharp resemblance
between the rapid speed of his kicks and the remarkable sword
speed of legendary Japanese samurai, Musashi Miyamoto. Musashi
has since become the only competitor in history to have won four
K-1 Grand Prix Japan tournament championships.
In
addition to the bout that will take place between Roufus and
Musashi on April 30th, a three-round Superfight between reigning
K-1 World Grand Prix champion, Remy Bonjasky (49-10 (30 KO’s),
and “Battle at Bellagio III” tournament winner, “Mighty
Mo” Siligia (25-3 (20 KO’s), will grace the card. Three-time
K-1 tournament victor Michael McDonald (49-12 (23 KO’s)
and 2003 K-1 USA champion Carter Williams (17-6-1 (12 KO’s)
will return to action during the event’s eight-man, single-elimination
tournament.
The
live Pay Per View television broadcast of Battle at Bellagio
IV, the K-1 “World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas” will
begin at 10 PM Eastern Standard Time (7 PM Pacific Standard Time)
and will be available on iNDemand, DirecTV, and TVN.
Tickets
for the April 30th K-1 event are on sale and are priced at $50,
$100, $200 and $300, respectively. They may be purchased at the
Bellagio’s box office or by calling 1-800-963-9634.
K-1
is a martial arts fighting sport that derives its name from its
inclusion of a wide array of combat disciplines, including Karate,
Kung-Fu, and Kickboxing (“K”), and its intent to determine
one champion in one ring (“1”). After being staged
for the first time in Japan in 1993 under the direction of founder
Master Kazuyoshi Ishii, it later evolved into the country’s
most popular sport and achieved popular culture status there
as its athletes turned into larger-than-life celebrities.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"I have yet to find the man, however exalted his station,
who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under
a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism."
Charles M. Schwab, 1862-1939, American Industrialist, Businessman |
Galvão:
the big name of Brazilian Cup
Olympic
BJJ Confederation (CBJJO in Portuguese) featured the first event
of its calendar. On last weekend, BJJ Brazilian Cup gathered
athletes from all graduations and ages at Vila Olímpica
Duque de Caxias, in Rio de Janeiro. Among black belts, André
Galvão (TT Jiu-Jitsu) did once again a great job and ruled
middleweight category winning at the final Felipe Cranivata (Gracie
Barra BH). This time the victory came by advantages (3x1).
BLACK
BELT CHAMPIONS:
Rooster:
Rafael Barros e Márcio Pontes (Nova União)
Super
featherweight: Rodrigo Ranieri (Brasa)
Featherweight:
Cícero Costa (Barbosa JJ)
Lightweight:
Rodrigo Feijão, Eduardo Pessoa e André Bastos (Nova
União)
Middleweight:
André Galvão (TT Jiu-Jitsu)
Middle
Heavyweight: Marcos Souza (Bonsai)
Heavyweight:
Fernando Boi (Nova União)
Super
Heavyweight: Eduardo Telles (TT Jiu-Jitsu)
Super
super Heavyweight: Rafael Carino e Henrique Pelé (Nova
União)
Absolute
- 75kg: Rodrigo Feijão, Eduardo Pessoa, Felipe Vidal e
André Bastos (Nova União)
Absolute
+75kg: Fernando Boi e Bruno Bastos (Nova União)
Source: Tatame
|
Kawajiri
rules Jani Lax at Shooto
On
the main fight of last Saturday' Shooto, held at Hakata Star
Lane, in Fukuoka, Japan, Tatsuya Kawajiri ruled the confront
with Jani Lax. Kawajiri defeated him by TKO at 4:42 in R1. Check
out full results bellow:
COMPLETE
RESULTS:
Shooto
Saturday,
April 23, 2005
Hakata
Star Lane - Fukuoka, Japan
-
Kenshi Tomari defeated Takeshi Okada;
-
Hayate Usui submitted Naosuke Mizoguchi by arm bar at 2:38 in
R2;
-
Homare Kuboyama defeated Katsuhisa Akasaki by unanimous decision;
-
Kenichiro Togashi defeated Yoichi Fukumoto by triangle choke
at 3:20 in R1;
-
Shiko Yamashita defeated David Bielkheden by majority decision;
-
Akira Kikuchi defeated Jason Brudvik by TKO at 2:32 in R1;
-
Tatsuya Kawajiri defeated Jani Lax by TKO at 4:42 in R1.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"Without discipline, there is no life at all."
Katharine Hepburn, 1907-2003, American Actress, Writer
|
Curran,
Torres headline Super Brawl in Midwest
In a sport that usually caters to heavyweights, Jeff Curran and
Miguel Torres are certainly exceptions.
The two "small" fighters have each headlined numerous
mixed martial arts events and on Saturday, April 30, they will
share top billing as Super Brawl 40 rocks the Hammond Civic Center
in Hammond, Ind.
"We're always told that people want to see heavyweights,
but Curran and Torres have proven they have what it takes to
headline a successful show," said Super Brawl promoter T.Jay
Thompson. "Curran has headlined Extreme Challenge and XFO,
while Torres has been a star at Ironheart. I expect they'll hold
their own as Super Brawl headliners."
Curran, a UFC veteran from nearby McHenry, Ill., will battle
Luke Spencer of Columbus, Ohio, for the Super Brawl 1455-pound
North American title. Curran is 21-7-1, while Spencer is 10-2.
Torres, a Hammond native who works out close to the Civic Center,
will face Mike French, a native of Mattoon, Ill., for the Super
Brawl 135-pound North American title. Torres owns a 21-1 record,
while French, a member of Team Extreme, is 4-3-1.
"We tried to assemble the best fighters from around the
area and then find top competition for them," Thompson added.
"We're going to have some great fights... there's no question
about that."
In two key matchups, Brian Gassaway (20-12) of Chicago faces
Trevor Garrett (3-2) of Dayton, Ohio. Gassaway is a true veteran
of the sport, while Garrett looked stellar in a close loss to
former UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne. Also, Spencer Fisher
(14-1) of Davenport, Iowa, will take on Wisconsin star Henry
Matamoros (19-10-1).
Source: T. Jay Thompson
|
John
"The Bull" Marsh Seminar
May 7th OR 8th
Gracie Kailua
25 Kaneohe Bay Drive (inside Aikahi Shopping Center)
Kailua, HI 96734
Times: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Cost: $40 in advance, $50 at the door
Contact: Jason Izaguirre 254-4900 or Daynin Dashefsky 295-3792
http://www.johnthebullmarsh.com
|
THE
CHOPPING BLOCK:
PRIDE MIDDLEWEIGHT GP THOUGHTS
This was the best card put together and produced the best event
in the history of the sport, I could go on for days about why
this GP was the most amazing event ever but it would not do it
any justice, therefore if you have not seen this Event, finish
reading this article and then go watch it, because it will blow
your mind.
Amazing
matches
Vanderlei Silva defeats Hidehiko Yoshida by split decision.
A
lot of people are giving WAND a lot of slack for how he fought
against Yoshida, these are the same people that Do Not give Yoshida
any respect at all. Yoshida proved not to be a complete idiot
and backed out of his plan to STAND & TRADE with WAND after
taking wand's very first few punches. One thing that we all knew
about Yoshida was that he was a tough Japanese Judoka who has
never been KO'ed even though he has fought guys such as Hunt,
and Wanderlei Silva once before. Let's get one thing straight,
if Silva had gone in GUNG-HO and started throwing bricks at Yoshida,
he (wand) would be playing right into Yoshida's game plan and
would have been taken down quite quickly much like in their first
fight. WAND knew that Yoshida would try and stall on the ground
and play a UFC-style lay and pray fight once he realized that
there was no other way to win against WAND. Therefore Wand was
ready for the takedown at ALL TIMES and once got caught with
it a couple times and not only survived the ground, but also
made several submission attempts in the form of armbars from
the guard. Silva pressed the action throughout the fight and
Yoshida seemed very reluctant to do anything accept try and clinch
very briefly and go for throws followed by unsuccessful attempts
at GI-chokes. Make no mistake about it, WAND won this one easily,
and PRIDE/DSE should be ashamed of themselves for employing such
biased judges, this should have been an unanimous decision, not
to mention the fact that the ref would not standup Yoshida and
give him a yellow card for tying up Silva's gloves blatantly
and making a consistent effort to stalemate the action. Silva
dominated but was unable to finish due to how Yoshida wanted
the fight to go down, a game fighter would not be so lucky to
go the distance with WAND. If there is a third match between
these two I would hope that Pride MAKES Yoshida not wear a GI
if he plans to use it how he did against WAND in this last fight,
that is as a tool for survival.
I lost a lot of respect for Yoshida in this fight and felt he
really let down his Jap fans by fighting the way he did. At least
Kondo had the balls to stand with Silva and let their fists fly
regardless of the result.all because he had said this is what
he was going to do. Yoshida on the other hand said he was gonna
do one thing and did the opposite, demonstrating that he is not
the present day samurai that PRIDE once made him out to be. Wand
will beat either of the BTT members easily if PRIDE sets up that
match, but I would much rather see Silva Vs Alistair or Silva
Vs IGOR, but those may be pretty tough fights to give the defending
champ, BUT I am SURE Wand is up to it.
in
the end after all there can be only one
Mauricio
'Shogun' Rua defeats Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson by KO (Tard-strength
Soccer kicks), RD 1.
Just
like I predicted Shogun showed why he is now among the top 5
most feared fighters in the world, if not the top 3. I am not
a huge Rampage fan by any means but by the end of the fight you
had to feel sorry for the guy, the fight was a vicious beat-down
if there ever was one, Rampage was literally in shock from all
that Shogun had to offer. Honestly Rampage looked like he was
in a nightmare and praying to wake-up, but unfortunately for
him he was very much awake, and was simply outclassed by fighter
who is now ranked #2 @ LHW in my opinion EASILY!
Shogun has all the tools, Rampage tried in vain to take him down
but got manhandled in the clinch and kneed in the ribs like he
was one of those training dummies, and goddamn all the soccer
kicks were just too much. IF anything that rampage learns from
this, he should learn that he needs a new corner, the fact that
OYAMA refused to let him lose with a at least a little dignity
by throwing in the towel when he knew his man was in for a beating
was a clear sign that rampage needs a new trainer. I respect
Colin Oyama and all that he has done for Rampage (the fact he
believes that his man can always come back from a beating), but
his actions were in excusable, GP OR NOT Rampage could have died
had it not been for a the Ref (it was clear thru oyama's desperate
screams that he knew rampage was near his end, but he failed
to throw the towel when it had to be done, for whatever reason
that is)
A fighter CANNOT depend on the ref to save their ass, as we all
know from watching brutal late stoppages, and I don't understand
how Rampage can go on fighting with a cornerman/trainer who refuses
to let his man give up, even when the outcome is clear. IF rampage
sticks with the Oyama that we saw last night for the rest of
his fighting days then he will not make it past 30 years old,
mark my words.
As for shogun what can I say?...all the guys who said Rampage
would expose Shogun as a young inexperienced fighter seem to
be the same ones saying that he is now somehow better than Wanderlei!!!!!!!
Gimme
a fucking break! Shogun is an amazing fighter in my opinion he
has what it takes to be the top HW, YES HW, in the world, not
right now of course because he lacks the true amount of experience
necessary to do so at this point, but eventually mark my words
he will be at the top of the HW rankings.
Shogun
enjoys physical benefits that WAND does not, but Wand is more
well rounded and has a heart that is not of this world, which
is something that no man can train to achieve no matter how hard
they try.
Once all is said and done I have a serious hunch that WAND will
fight SHOGUN in the final. And unlike other fighters who refuse
to fight team-members because of some so-called pact or inability
to remain totally professional, Chute Boxe fighters wouldn't
think twice about fighting each-other since they do it all the
time anyways in Curitiba, FOR FREE too!!
Shogun
vs WAND would be a war, but in the end only one man would be
left standing and that would be WAND. I could break it all down
for you but it would take a over 1000 words (so you got to wait
till it happens in finals), both fighters are great but Wand
is the teacher and Shogun is the student, this fact will be obvious
if they fight. Plus I could see this fight being fought exclusively
out of the clinch, and while shogun;s knees are impressive…not
one should clinch with WANDERLEI and I mean NO-ONE, no good can
come of it.
Shogun would need to use his reach and height and size to have
a chance of beating Wand, but wand already knows how his protege
fights and would know exactly how to beat him, whereas no one
knows how to beat Wand IMHO
Kazushi
Sakuraba defeats Youn Dong Sik by TKO, RD 1.
This fight was a good one for Saku, for once he got an easy match,
perhaps a little too easy.
Next round there is no such thing as an easy match thogh, closest
thing would be Nakamura, and that's saying a lot. BUT unfortunately
for SAKU there are only 2 Japanese fighters left in the GP and
to make them both fight each other would mean at LEAST one would
be left. This leaves DSE in a tricky situation deciding whether
to give Saku the easiest match possible in Nakamura or split
up the two Japanese fighters and increasing the chances that
one or maybe both will advance. BUT then again maybe both will
lose and there won't be any Japanese left, like I said this won't
be an easy decision for PRIDE.
Anyway
you cut it Saku is in for a long fight next round. Perhaps Alistair
may be DSE's best bet for Saku
But
then again in the GP everyone steps it up to the next level
Rogerio
'Minotoro' Nogueira defeats Dan Henderson by armbar, RD 1.
Just
like I said, Dan couldn't contend with Nogueira's submissions,
in order for Dan to have won that fight he would have had to
employ a Fedor style strategy of ground and pound while avoiding
getting caught in Nogueira's ground game at all, Nogueira's boxing
made Dan's look weak and thus Dan became afraid to stand with
him which IMO was pretty smart, however he stood for a little
too long and ended up on his back, a place where Dan should never
be, at that point Dan seemed to give up , almost as soon as his
back touched the mat and NOG locked up the wrists. I didn't see
anyway that Dan could have won this without going to decision,
and employing Fedor's strategy for beating a Nogueira.
Alistair
Overeem defeats Vitor Belfort by guillotine choke, RD 1.
I
still am pissed at myself for picking VITOR, when I knew he would
be the missing link that prevents Vitor vs WAND 2. the fact Alistair
won doesn't surprise me at all, however him winning by submission
did surprise me quite abit, he locked up that guillotine sooooo
smoothly I was quite impressed! But the way the fight played
out Vitor seemed to have no way of winning this one, Alistair's
striking was clearly dominant to Belfort's and Alistair was all
too aware of every move Vitor was going for on the ground well
before he even attempted it. I think it's time for Vitor to get
a better boxing coach and beat Chuck Liddell easily in a UFC
title fight ,taking the Belt and wearing it while delivering
near-fatal blows to backside of his beyond gorgeous Brasilian
wife.
See I don't feel sorry for Vitor at all, compared to a guy like
Rampage or Kondo, because in the end no matter how bad it is
for him he still goes home to an appropriately named playmate
every night, which in my opinion is better than getting soccer
kicked and stomped and coming home to an empty house with no
one but your son to greet you, especially when your brain is
soo damaged due to soccer kicks that you can't even remember
your sons name (Angelo Jackson). So Vitor gets no pity from me.
As for Alistair I don't see him getting past the next round unless
he fights one of the 2 remaining Japanese fighters.
Igor
Vovchanchyn defeats Yuki Kondo by unanimous decision.
One
of the most technically fought matches I have seen in a long
time, I was not surprised at all to see Kondo ROCK Igor several
times during this fight causing IGOR to try and bring the fight
to the ground where he could dominate. Kondo demonstrated once
again why he is a warrior, he took all that Igor had to offer
and still was able to withstand it all, and not only that but
work through it as well for several submission attempts and positional
escapes that made this fight extremely entertaining with lots
of action, especially in the first round, a round which totally
blew my mind.
However I think this showed that IGOR is being overrated at LHW
by other MMA sites and forum's in general, while the consensus
here at FS 24-7 was that Igor was gonna have a very tough time
with Kondo….and we were only partially right.
Igor prevailed but it leads me to question how he will do in
the second round, especially if he faces a good grappler more
around his same size, like Arona or lil’ NOG,
or even if he faces superb strikers like SHOGUN or WAND or (maybe
ever ALISTAIR?)
I’m not counting out IGOR by any means but
he gonna have to step it up at least 2 notches if he wants to
make to ‘FINAL CONFLICT’…Kondo
no pushover but still I was expecting a finish to that fight
for sure, especially when Igor had mount for as long as he did.
Dissappointing
matches
Ricardo Arona defeats Dean Lister by unanimous decision.
Kazuhiro Nakamura defeats Kevin Randleman by unanimous decision.
Quick
thoughts
- Ricardo Arona didn't punish himself too much, keeping himself
healthy, somewhat for next round. Smart move in my opinion
-Randleman,
went in confident and lost a fight that was his to lose. The
monster does best when he is the underdog IMHO
(e.g.
prior matches against fedor, ninja, crocop- the first time, Bas
Rutten)
The
AXE IDEAL 2ND ROUND MATCHUPS
SHOGUN
VS ALISTAIR
WANDERLEI VS Nogueira
ARONA VS SAKURABA
IGOR VS NAKAMURA
DSE's
IDEAL 2nd round
Shogun
vs Arona
Wanderlei vs Nogueira
Igor VS Alistair
SAKURABA vs Nakamura
Source: Fight Sport
|
Quote
of the Day
"It is our duty as men and women to proceed as though the
limits to our abilities do not exist."
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, 1881-1955, French Christian Mystic,
Author
|
Morango
says he is Gracie Humaitá
After
spending ten days training at Chute Boxe's headquarter, Fabrício
Morango ended invited to join the team of Wanderlei Silva. However
the invitation seems to be only at exchange terms. "I am
very pleased to know I am welcome to a team like Chute Boxe.
I may also wear Chute Boxe's t-shirt, but my flag will be always
Gracie Humaitá," BJJ black belt stated.
Coming
from a seminar series in Austrália, Morango's master Royler
Gracie said he supports his pupil exchange. "He did not
go to Chute Boxe. We are friends and we are welcome in there.
I don't have problems if he want to spend other 15 days training
with guys in there before a fight," Gracie Said. Royler
also affirmed Gracie Humaitá's filial (Gracie Tijuca)
counts on a great structure to Vale-Tudo. "Under my and
Rolker' supervision we get Vini on the ground, Gute teaching
Boxing, Darrel Gohlar teaching Wrestling and Richard practicing
Savate," Royler listed.
Source: Tatame |
Allan
Góes at Rumble on the Rock
Another
Brazilian will be fighting in Hawaii. According to our friends
from MMWWeekly.com, Allan Góes fights at Rumble on the
Rock. He will fight Chris West. Brazilian Top Team, who lives
in United States, do not fight since the controvertial fight
against Gustavo Ximú at Heat FC 2. Besides Allan, other
two Brazilians are on the card: Vítor Shaolin (Nova União)
and Renato Charuto. Card also features UFC veterans as Tank Abbott
and Kimo Leopoldo, besides Ricco Rodriguez, who was defeated
by Pedro Rizzo in his last bout at UFC.
COMPLETE
CARD (subject to change):
Rumble
on the Rock
Saturday,
May 7, 2005
Blaisdell
Center Arena on Oahu - Hawaii
-
Wesley 'Cabbage' Correira Vs Tank Abbott;
-
Kimo Leopoldo Vs Marcus 'The Monster' Royster;
-
Allan Góes Vs Chris West;
-
Renato Charuto Verissimo Vs Yuichi Nakanishi;
-
Vítor Shaolin Ribeiro Vs Tetsuji Kato;
- Ricco Rodriguez Vs TBA.
Source: Tatame |
Azeredo
comments about Bushido
The
debut of Luiz Azeredo in the rings of Pride could not have been
better. The Chute Boxe fighter faced Luiz Buscape, a BTT athlete,
and he earned a great victory. The Brazilian enjoyed his performance:
'The fight was very good. I got to show my Jiu-Jitsu to the Japanese
audience. I surprised my opponent, who was thinking he was going
to stroll over me on the ground. Once the fight went that way,
I showed him that Chute Boxe has been training real hard whether
standing and on the ground.'
Having
a well prepared strategy for the combat, Azeredo were able to
develop his game and won it by judge's decision: 'Actually, I
didn't know if the fight would stay standing or wind up on the
ground at any given time - it was a pretty motion filled fight!
Anyway, I was ready for his best or worst.'
Facing
a fellow Brazilian fighter in his debut in Pride didn't intimidate
Wanderlei Silva's training partner: 'He is an athlete who was
undefeated in Pride, coming from an rival school of the same
nationality. I think it was easier than getting a foreigner!
This way, he had the same problems with time zone and logistics.
At last, actually, I don't care if he's Brazilian or not, professionalism
comes first. I have already defeated some Brazilians before and
thank God he was one more.'
The next step will be facing the best in the weight category:
'I want to fight with the best in the category, if it's Gomi
on top, then it will be him. I am gonna train more and more,
fortifying my spirit and faith.'
Source: Tatame |
Quote
of the Day
"Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you
had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting.
And you don't do that by sitting around."
Katharine Hepburn, 1907-2003, American Actress, Writer
|
PRIDE
Total Elimination 2005
Middleweight Grand Prix Results
Osaka Dome, Osaka, Japan
April 23rd, 2005
Vanderlei
Silva defeats Hidehiko Yoshida by split decision.
Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua defeats Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson by KO,
RD 1.
Kazushi Sakuraba defeats Youn Dong Sik by TKO, RD 1.
Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira defeats Dan Henderson by armbar,
RD 1.
Alistair Overeem defeats Vitor Belfort by guillotine choke, RD
1.
Igor Vovchanchyn defeats Yuki Kondo by unanimous decision.
Ricardo Arona defeats Dean Lister by unanimous decision.
Kazuhiro Nakamura defeats Kevin Randleman by unanimous decision.
Source: Fight Sport
|
FANS
AROUND THE WORLD PICK VANDERLEI
Below are the results of surveys conducted by Fightsport.com
and various Japanese websites on who the fans in the regions
of North America, Japan, and the international fans around the
world:
North
America survey results:
Vanderlei Silva: 26.1%
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson: 16.4%
Ricardo Arona: 11.3%
Dan Henderson: 11.1%
Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua: 9.5%
Vitor Belfort: 6.8%
Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira: 5.9%
Igor Vovchanchyn: 5.1%
Hidehiko Yoshida: 1.9%
Kazushi Sakuraba: 1.7%
Kevin Randleman: 1.5%
Dean Lister: 1.2%
Yuki Kondo: 1.0%
Alistair Overeem: 0.5%
Kazuhiro Nakamura: 0.0%
Yoon Dong Sik: 0.0%
Japan
survey results:
Vanderlei Silva: 21.5%
Igor Vovchanchyn: 16.8%
Ricardo Arona: 14.5%
Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira: 7.9%
Kazushi Sakuraba: 7.7%
Mauricio Shogun: 6.3%
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson: 4.3%
Vitor Belfort: 3.9%
Hidehiko Yoshida: 3.9%
Yuki Kondo: 3.4%
Dan Henderson: 2.4%
Kazuhiro Nakamura: 2.4%
Alistair Overeem: 1.9%
Dean Lister: 1.9%
Kevin Randleman: 1.0%
Yoon Dong Sik: 0.5%
International
(outside of North America and Japan) results:
Vanderlei Silva: 31.1%
Ricardo Arona: 15.7%
Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua: 14.4%
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson: 7.1%
Vitor Belfort: 7.0%
Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira: 6.7%
Hidehiko Yoshida: 5.4%
Dan Henderson: 5.1%
Igor Vovchanchyn: 2.1%
Kazushi Sakuraba: 1.9%
Dean Lister: 1.0%
Alistair Overeem: 0.9%
Kazuhiro Nakamura: 0.7%
Kevin Randleman: 0.5%
Yuki Kondo: 0.5%
Yoon Dong Sik: 0.5%
Source: Fight Sport
|
PRIDE
CONFIRMS FIGHTSPORT.COM SCOOP
Tetsuya Kawajiri
DSE/PRIDE
confirmed what Fightsport.com first reported on January 3rd,
that Tesuya Kawajiri would soon be competing in PRIDE.
Kawajiri
will participate on the PRIDE card that is scheduled for May
22nd. His opponent will be Luis 'Buscape' Firminho.
Source: Fight Sport
|
News
and Notes from a Night in Osaka
by Masa Fukui
OSAKA,
Japan, April 23 — Yep, it was another great PRIDE show Dream
Stage Entertainment put on tonight. When the fights started,
the Osaka Dome was far from packed, but at the end of the night
the building was jammed full with an excited and at times quiet
crowd of 45,423 people. Damn, what a number for an MMA show.
But,
hold on second, I don’t believe the last three figures —
423 — is accurate. It happened a few PRIDEs ago. Sometimes,
that last three attendance numbers also match with the day of
event, and this time, it was April 23. Well, who cares —
45,000 is still a huge number for this kind of show. Amazing.
All
right, let’s talk about the fights. The first out of the
night, Kevin Randleman versus Kazuhiro Nakamura, wasn’t
as action-packed as the second bout of the night, Dean Lister-Ricardo
Arona. But, from what I could see in the card’s opening
fight, Nakamura is really growing as a fighter.
When
Nakamura debuted in PRIDE, I thought, ahh, why does DSE bring
in fighters who are training partners of big name fighter but
have no experience? There are so many other experienced fighters
in the world. But, now, Kazu Nakamura, one of the great fighters
in the world I think, has moved onto the next round.
OK,
Kevin Randleman has lost a lot recently. But he’s the guy
who knocked out Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and was a
UFC champion. Look at his body. Nobody wants to face “The
Monster” in the ring.
I’ll
be honest with you: My pick for this fight was Nakamura. But
after I attended that weigh-in for this PRIDE, my partner Stephen
Martinez and I were thinking Randleman may just overpower Nakamura,
and kill this young talented Japanese fighter. But Buddha smiled
on Nakamura at the end of the fight.
“I
didn’t feel any power difference between us, even [though]
our bodies look very different,” said Nakamura to the media
after the fight. “After five minutes or so, I could tell
his power went down a lot. And we were totally, even power-wise.
And I didn’t feel that much pressure from his punch. And
I wasn’t afraid about the ground-and-pound either. I know
my heart won’t be broke by being pounded. So there was nothing
I was afraid about his power.”
“In
the second round, when we were on ground, I saw Kosei Inoue and
Mr. Nomura, a two time Olympic judo gold medalist at ringside,”
Nakamura continued, “and that motivated me to go fight harder.”
(This
man faced a former UFC heavyweight champion and he can still
look around outside of ring?)
“In
the second round, when I was pounding him, I feel Kevin becoming
weak,” he said. “So I was thinking, Oh this fight could
be stopped soon. But Kevin was shaking his head to say no, so
I thought I have to go for the submission to finish. Then I went
to keylock. I heard his arm make some noise but he escaped well
from there.
“I
trained in Brazil, in Ruas Vale Tudo. Trained with Pedro Rizzo.
He taught me a lot of technique, and I felt I was really becoming
strong.”
Rizzo
trained Nakamura, eh? Rizzo may have given Nakamura good advice
from his experience from UFC. But at the same time this young
man still has an issue with his cardio. “I hustle a bit
too much in round two,” he said. “Then I slowed down
in round three. So that’ll be the part I’ll work on
next time.”
As
I mentioned early, the second bout of the night between Dean
Lister and Ricardo Arona was full of action. Unfortunately, I
had to miss some of this fight because Nakamura came to the post-fight
interview. But I think Lister finally adjusted his mind/technique
to the PRIDE level of show.
So
many journalists and MMA fans criticized him here and there.
And still, yes, he lost this fight, but I think he did a good
job this time, and showed his skill very good. It was fun watching
them exchange on the feet, and interesting watching their action
on the ground.
Whether
on the feet or ground, some sort of attack or defense was going
on. If you don’t enjoy this fight, why do you enjoy mixed
martial arts?
Lister’s
post-fight interview will be posted soon on Sherdog.com, so please
check out that video. He spoke about how he felt about this match
before the fight and how he feels about it afterwards. Also,
he talked a bit about the “dirty action” Arona did
to his scar.
OK,
here’s another thing everybody wondered about Arona and
Lister (and also Alistair Overeem, who submitted Vitor Belfort).
These three fighters from the 16-man tournament are supposed
to compete in May’s ADCC World Championship. When they came
to the post-fight interview, we asked about their entry for the
ADCC. But each fighter said he couldn’t decide yet. So I
asked DSE President Sakakibara about it. Also we asked some other
questions to Sakakibara, so I want to wrap up this story with
that information.
About
ADCC, Mr. Sakakibara answered, “Before we match-made this
Dean Lister and Arona fight, we asked the ADCC organization if
we can match-make it, and they said ‘no problem.’ So
we match-made these two fighters in today’s show. About
those three fighters competing in ADCC, I don’t really mind
Dean Lister fighting in ADCC. But we don’t want to Arona
or Alistair to fight in ADCC because they’re fighting in
June again. And we don’t want them to get hurt in any way.”
Hmm,
so the dream grappling match between Lister and Arona in ADCC
has likely disappeared. Too bad. And it seems that Overeem won’t
be coming to California at the end of May.
Mr.
Sakakibara talked a bit about the second round of this tournament,
too. “There are four Brazilians among the last eight fighters.
Two fighters from BTT, two from Chute Boxe. So in the next round,
those four may have to ‘kill’ each other.”
Well,
that’s the natural thing to say as a promoter. They don’t
want all four Brazilians to gain entry into to the Final 4. I
don’t think they’ll kill each other in the same team.
So, among Arona, Rogerio Nogueira, Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua and Wanderlei Silva, what kind of matches would you make?
Well,
I don’t think two out of the four Grand Prix second-round
fights will be Brazilian vs. Brazilian. But one fight out of
four will be. I’d like to see Silva vs. Arona. Am I asking
too much for the champion? How about Igor Vovchanchyn against
Silva? It’s gonna be a battle.
OK, one last thing. As a member of the American press, whenever
I face Mr. Sakakibara I can’t help asking something about
the UFC and PRIDE. This time I asked if he’s sending former
PRIDE heavyweight champion Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira
to the UFC. Or if it’s not “Minotauro,” whom are
they sending and when will he fight in the UFC.
“We
can’t say the exact name at this point yet,” Sakakibara
answered. “But we are thinking about sending a fighter to
the UFC event in June. At the same time we’ll welcome lightweight
and middleweight fighters from UFC for the Bushido tournament.
UFC is a good partner for our business, so we want to cooperate
and support each other.”
OK,
that’s about it. It’s 5 freaking a.m. My partner Stephen
Martinez is snoring so loud in the bed and I’m still typing
in front of my PC. This is not fair; I need to go bed too (different
bed, off course). But before I wrap everything up, I’d like
to share some of the words that non-English-speaking fighters
said during their post-fight interview.
Yuki
Kondo: “I lost but I feel fresh now. I did everything I
could and got beat up. I don’t believe that weight affected
the fight. But this time, somewhere in my heart, I felt a bit
of a weight disadvantage against Igor. When he armlocked me,
I was still fine. I was still far from a tapout, but I was surprised
that he went for submission in the ground game.”
Igor
Vovchanchyn: “I think the fight went very good. And Yuki
Kondo was very strong and I respect him a lot. I wanted to fight
on my feet. But it ended up going to the ground. Maybe Yuki Kondo
wanted the fight in the ground? I thought my armlock could finish
the fight. I’ll fight whoever PRIDE set me up in the second
round.”
Vitor
Belfort: “I wanted to fight on my feet. But he went to the
ground. When he tried to trap me in triangle, I was very surprised.
PRIDE grew a lot from four years ago. I think all the progress
that PRIDE had in past four years is very positive for this sport.
This time, my corner couldn’t come with me. But some shit
happen in the life. So that can’t be a reason why I lost
today. I wanted put the exciting show more than just being representing
UFC. I lost today, but I think I did fine with that point (put
the exciting fight). I’d like to fight in PRIDE again in
the future.”
Yoon
Dong Sik: “I don’t remember that much about the fight
because I got knocked out and my memory is blown away.”
Kazushi
Sakuraba: “I don’t like a quick win. Well, I didn’t
like quick win, but I actually felt good when the referee raised
my hand. Now I start liking quick wins. I really didn’t
mind if he wore gi or no gi — doesn’t change my game
plan at all. Was that KO win? I thought that was referee stoppage.
Knockout? Really? Oh well. His punch was heavy and that punch
wasn’t a punch from total beginner. He must have train boxing
for some long time. I don’t want to say who I want to fight,
but somebody who’s not strong. All of my injury is recovered
very well. I can’t tell how good I am from today’s
quick fight, but I’m glad that I didn’t get any injury
today.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Quote
of the Day
"E `olu`olu i ka mea i loa`a
(Be contented with what one has.)"
Anonymous
|
The
Best MMA Tournament In History Begins Today!
Pride Middleweight Grand Prix
Osaka Dome - Osaka, Japan
Saturday, April 23, 2005
4:00 pm,
replay at 7:00 pm Hawaii Time
Oceanic Channel 701
COMPLETE
CARD (subject to change):
-
Kevin Randleman (USA) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan);
-
Dean Lister (USA) vs. Ricardo Arona (Brazil);
-
Igor Vovchanchyn (Ukraine) vs. Yuki Kondo (Japan);
-
Vitor Belfort (Brazil) vs. Alistair Overeem (Holland);
-
Dan Henderson (USA) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Brazil);
-
Kazushi Sakuraba (Japan) vs. Yoon Dong Sik (Korea);
-
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson (USA) vs. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (Brazil);
-
Wanderlei Silva (Brazil) vs. Hidehiko Yoshida (Japan).
|
Super
Brawl 39: on Video On Demand!
See Niko Vitale KO Masanori Suda and capture the Super Brawl
Middleweight World Title!
Available
on digital channel 221, Video On Demand.
Source:
Super Brawl Promoter
|
Royler
Between ADCC and the K-1
Royler's spot for the ADCC Tournament has been reserved, but
the Black-belt is really looking for confirmation of his next
MMA event, the K-1, set for July in Japan. "My name and
that of my cousin Rodrigo have been included on the card, but
if I actually close this deal I will most certainly be out of
the ADCC Championships. I have only to sign the contract."
declared Royler on the site, Portal da Luta.
-GracieMag
Source:
Gracie Fighter
|
Tito
Ortiz no longer part of the UFC?
Tito Ortiz has posted a message on his website expressing his
feelings towards the UFC:
just
want to come on and say Hi. I have been very busy on my future.
It looks very bright. But being a UFC fighter will not be my
future. I have never been so embaressed in my life. I got put
in the bleachers, asked to leave the octagon when Ivan won, I
was not aloud back stage to get my bags. But its business to
the UFC. I am pushed in to a corner and wont be pushed anymore.
I have done good for the UFC in every interview, fights,and just
trying to push the UFC to mainstream. Now that I am not their
Champ they can careless. I will make it with or without them.
I have to look out for my self. I do want to thank them for everything,
but its time to go on with my future. What is next for Tito?
You all will know soon!!!!
I
want to thank my fans for the support. Couldnt have done it without
YOU!!!!!!!
-
Tito Ortiz
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
THE
CHOPPING BLOCK: PRIDE MIDDLEWEIGHT GP
Commentary by 'Theaxemurderer'
Welcome
to the latest edition of 'The Chopping Block', a place where
I will air out all my thoughts about MMA.
Let's
get started...
PRIDE
Middleweight GP preictions and match breakdowns:
Well I don't know about you folks, but I've been waiting for
this GP for over a year now. I know 2003's middleweight GP is
gonna be tough to top, but DSE has done an amazing job by not
sacrificing at all in order to put together easily the best tournament
ever assembled in this, the 2005 middleweight GP. The First round
card reads like a "who's who" of the MW division, and
now with the matches set, and only 2 days before the event itself
the world is on it's feet to see who will pass thier first test
and remain in the hunt to win the toughest tourney ever put together,
and not to mention the most sought after title ever created.
Now
ONE thing is for certain, and that is that there is bound to
be at least one huge upset in a tournament of this caliber. This
GP has all the makings of a present day 'kumite', and everyone
that has a spot in it is there to win the entire thing, no matter
what it takes. These are fighters that love to fight and really
beleive they are the best in the world, and are not scared to
step up and back up their belief in themselves (which explains
why Tito Ortiz refused to accept his invite to the tournement).
So
here is the AXE's view on who will remain active in the quest
to be MW GP CHAMPION at the end of the night, after all is said
and done, and the traditional "your winner from braHHssillll
VANDERRRRRLEIIII SILVAAAAAAAAAA!!" is screamed out to mark
the end of the PRIDE EVENT.... enjoy...
Kevin
Randleman (USA) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan)
Randleman has better striking, and his wrestling at this lower
weight is gonna be hard for anyone at 205 to contend with, even
Arona, the real question is whether Randleman will be able to
defend Nakamura's submissions.Nakamura's striking is nothing
special and he doesn't have nearly the same amount of experience
or size as Randleman.
In my opinion Randleman should dominate this fight and I would
not be suprised if he KO's Nakamura, perhaps even with a slam.
Randleman
WINS via KO (Slam)
Dean
Lister (USA) vs. Ricardo Arona (Brazil)
Potentially the most boring match of the night, this one could
turn into a real sleeper. However if both guys come out hungry
and realize they only have 2 rounds in which to impose thier
will, it could turn out to be better than it looks on paper.
The way I see it Arona has the better ground game and better
striking IMO as well, Arona's kicks are very underestimated and
his wrestling is superb. Lister in my eyes does not have the
same sort of experience in MMA in terms of opponents. This and
the fact that Arona is very hungry after being slammed by Rampage
and sees this as his chance to get a shot at WAND leads me to
beleive that he will do what it takes to get past this first
round.
Arona
via Rear Naked Choke
(2nd round?)
Igor
Vovchanchyn (Ukraine) vs. Yuki Kondo (Japan)
I think this fight might end up being a shocker if KONDO plays
his cards rite, kondo learned his lesson when he fought WAND
and now will not bang with good strikers unless it is going his
way, Kondo has shown he can be dominant on the ground at times.
Also Kondo's striking is very good and although Igor's is as
well it owuld not suprise me if Kondo was able to catch Igor
with a high kick or knee or maybe even some punches. However
all that said, I am still picking my man Igor to take it, just
because the size difference will just be too much for KONDO to
contend with
Igor
WINS by KO (punches & knees)
Vitor
Belfort (Brazil) vs. Alistair Overeem (Holland)
I personally think Vitor is gonna have his work cut out for him
against Alistair especially if he trys to stand with Overheem...but
I doubt Vitor will be that dumb (then again the past has shown
otherwise)
---I see this going to the ground early and Vitor pulling off
a submission mid-way through the first round, he will show his
dominance on the ground even tho alistair is no slouch on the
ground.
This will be the true test to see if VITOR competing in a MEDIOCRE
MMA organization (the UFC) has made him get worse skill-wise
VITOR
wins VIA ARMBAR
Dan
Henderson (USA) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Brazil)
I have a SERIOUS feeling this one will be going to decision....and
I think DAN is gonna be the person who gets kicked out earlier
than people expected this year...Dan is a great fighter he just
got a very bad match-up for the first round, however it isn't
as bad as him getting Rampage like what was rumored months ago,
but it's the GP you take what you get. Lil' NOG has genetic advantage
over Henderson and also Dan will just plain and simple be beat
on the ground and likely submitted by NOG's slick ground game.
If Dan is smart he will try to keep the fight standing and pray
for the decision.
Lil'
NOG wins via Submission (anaconda choke) or JD
Kazushi
Sakuraba (Japan) vs. Yoon Dong Sik (Korea)
This one is easy to predict, GP is not a good place to make your
'real' Debut in MMA and Sakuraba is not a good first opponent
for begginner MMA fighter
SAKU
wins by KIMURA early in the first round
Quinton
Jackson (USA) vs. Mauricio Rua (Brazil)
O- this fight will be great, look for SHOGUN RUA to be throwing
alot of kicks and flying knees, and taking apart Rampages boxing
with his Chute boxe striking.
If ninja's match with Ramapge was any indication Ninja should
have no problem with ramapges wrestling and slams and have even
less trouble clinching with him and delivering knees as well
as outboxing Rampage with his quick punches.
If
rampage takes this to the ground and manages to secure the top
position he could stall to JD victory, but Rudimar has already
broken down Rampages game and what he has to offer, and Shogun
will have what it takes to finish Rampage and probably retire
him for awhile.
---Rampage
JACKSON will end up laying on his back eating kicks to the head,
this is the only place I see this fight going, Shogun is very
much like an elite level soccer player, and rampage's thick skull
and big mouth represent to SHOGUN a perfect kicking target. Don't
blink during this fight or you might just miss Rampages head
being booted off, and landing in Mauro Ranallo's lap.
MAURICIO
'Shogun' RUA WINS via KO ('tard'-strength Soccer kicks)
Vanderlei
Silva (Brazil) vs. Hidehiko Yoshida (Japan)
Yoshida says that he wants to stand and trade blows with WANDERLEI
Silva but this wishful thinking will be thrown out the window
once he feel's Wanderlei's improved power and accuracy, I honestly
think this fight will be done in less than a minute if Yoshida
is serious about his strategy, however if YOSHIDA clinches and
plays to his strength he may be able to prolong the beating till
MAYBE late in the first Round.
Anyway
you cut it thoough Wanderlei is not gonna let Yoshida get in
his way, the Title is his and whoever in the way is just another
victim as usual.
If Yoshida wears his GI like in thier last fight Wanderlei will
grab onto it with one hand and pummel him with the other hand
and with kicks as well. If it goes to the ground don't be suprsied
to see Wand take advantage of the GI as well and pull off some
crazy BJJ (a clock choke perhaps?)
Wand has improved leaps and bounds isnce the last time these
two have fought, after fighting hunt Yoshida should seem like
a walk in the park, even tho yoshida beat hunt but I guess that's
jsut MMA for ya!
Vanderlei
Silva wins via KO (High Kick)
If
I am right and the fights go how I predict them to go... then
the second round should be like this IMHO
Vanderlei
Silva Vs. Vitor Belfort
---Because it has to happen sooner or later!!!
Vitor
will actually hafta FIGHT wand this time and not just get the
UFC early stoppage
MAURICIO
'Shogun' RUA Vs.
Igor Vovchanynan
-----'Old' meets 'NEW'
what a matchup this would be!!!
The Winner would probably meet WAND in the finals
I
think Shogun has all teh tools to give IGOR a memorable beating
and pass the torch on to the new Generation of strikers.
Randleman
Vs.
Arona
Interesting
match-up, too big 205'ers, could turn out to be boring tho!
However iw ould give it the benefit of the doubt, I wouldn't
be suprsied if randleman KO'ed Arona somehow either.
Lil'
NOG Vs.
Sakuraba
this
match-up makes sense for DSE, it's the easiest path to Final-FOUR
for Sakuraba IMO, a rematch against randleman would not go his
way and Arona would make him look old....
Lil'
nog is great in his own right but I still think this would be
the best match-up to have the chance of a potential saku vs wanderlei
rematch in the Semi's
Lil'
Nog still has a great chance to win it tho...
this
path of predictions would lead to a final four of
Wanderlei
Shogun
Arona
Sakuraba
shogun
vs arona
chute
boxe vs BTT
the
battle continues
sakuraba
vs wanderlei 4
i
don't think saku could last 3 rounds with Silva and walk out
of the ring to tell the tale...so it is probably best that he
fights him in the GP when he still has to conserve energy for
another match afterwards... not to mention the lack of a third
round would probably keep Saku alive a few years longer
final
of COURSE would be
SHOGUN
VS WANDERLEI
this
would be teh best match in history of fighting .
wanderlei
wins epic battle via KO (stomps)
Source:
Fight Sport
|
POST-UFC
52 MEDICAL SUSPENSIONS
Below is the list of medical suspensions handed out by the NSAC
to some of the fighters that participated on the UFC 52 card:
Joe
Doerksen: Medically suspended until a doctor clears a CT scan
of his head. Minimum suspension time is eight weeks.
Randy Couture: Medically suspended until a doctor clears a CT
scan of his head. minimum suspension time is six weeks.
Mike Van Arsdale: Medically suspended for six weeks due to a
left eyebrow laceration.
John Marsh: Medically suspended for six weeks due to a left eyebrow
laceration.
Frank Trigg: Medically suspended for four weeks due to a left
eyelid laceration.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
Dan
Henderson: “I Just Want to Win the Title”
by Mike Sloan
Dan Henderson
is one of those guys who usually flies under the radar when it
comes to thinking of whom the world’s best fighters are.
Frequently in most conversations, names like Wanderlei Silva,
Randy Couture, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, BJ Penn and
Chuck Liddell pop out of mixed martial arts fans’ mouths
when they rattle off name after name of great ring and cage warriors.
For
some reason, though, Henderson’s name is pushed behind the
back burners and is often overlooked. Maybe it’s because
he is more of a wrestler than anything else. Maybe it’s
because he doesn’t typically stand toe-to-toe with his opponents
and rack up thrilling knockout after thrilling knockout like
Silva. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t suck his foes
in with the guile of a boa constrictor and submit everybody he
faces like a prime Rumina Sato. Maybe it’s because he fights
in PRIDE and let’s face it, PRIDE is about as popular here
in the States as K-1, and we all know that K-1 doesn’t exactly
pull in De La Hoya-esque pay-per-view numbers.
Maybe
it’s a combination of all of those things. But Henderson
is one of few fighters that others in his profession know all
about and are more than respectful when speaking about him. Seasoned
MMA journalists know what “Hollywood” Henderson is
all about and anybody who is acutely close to MMA knows full
well that “Hendo” is capable of beating 99 percent
of the fighter out there with ease, and could very well dominate
the other one percent.
Henderson
has toppled a virtual who’s who in MMA and he has rarely
left a doubt as to who the superior was on those nights. Of his
three losses (against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Ricardo Arona
and Silva), he wasn’t exactly battered around like a redheaded
stepchild, either. He hung tough and at some points was arguably
leading those fights on points.
He’s
been beaten via decision twice and both can be argued that he
may have been robbed of victory, as each were very close, tough
battles. The only time he was submitted was against “Minotauro”
and until that memorable armbar Henderson was giving the larger
Nogueira fits. And let’s not forget that that fight was
a rematch of a fight Henderson won via split decision back in
2000 in the Rings: King of Kings event.
Such
established stars as Murilo Bustamante, Yuki Kondo, Murilo Rua,
Renzo Gracie, Renato Sobral, Carlos Newton and Gilbert Yvel have
all fallen victim to Henderson’s wrath, yet he still seems
to be overlooked by most within the sport. For whatever reason
it may be, Hendo is usually an afterthought.
Henderson
will battle in the opening round of the PRIDE Middleweight Grand
Prix this Saturday, but hardly anybody has predicted him to be
the sole survivor once the event concludes by year’s end.
“It
doesn’t bother me because I’m not doing this for anyone
else,” Henderson told Sherdog.com. “I’m doing
this for me and I know what I can do. It’s just a matter
of getting the chance to prove it and here’s the chance.
Recognition and whatever, it doesn’t matter to me.”
Whether
Henderson covets recognition or not, if his career is to blossom
into something more than what it currently is, he must do well
in the upcoming tournament. His first round opponent is Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira, the brother of the man he has battled twice
already. Henderson heeds the importance of the first round challenge
that “Minotoro” brings to the table; though the Nogueira
he’s already faced is regarded as the better of the two,
this Nog is no slouch.
“He’s
definitely going to be a tough opponent,” Henderson said.
“He’s good on the ground and it looks like his striking
has come a long way. He likes to get down in there and bang a
little bit, too. It should be a good fight.”
Henderson,
who has been training feverishly for this tournament, expects
the fight to be one of his toughest thus far and has not slacked
whatsoever in the gym. He elaborated somewhat on what his pre-fight
regime has been like this time and his core of partners consists
of Art Santore, Heath Sims, Brian Foster and Matt Lindland. All
of this particular group, save for Santore, will be traveling
with him to Japan, which Henderson expects to be a recipe for
success.
But
has this group done anything special in regards to how Henderson
has prepared for Nogueira? According to “Hollywood,”
that answer is somewhat of a yes and no response.
“It’s
been pretty much the same as always,” Henderson explained
about his training. “The only thing I have changed this
time, though, is that I’m making all of my guys stand lefty
because that is what Nogueira is. Other than that, it has been
just like it usually is.”
When
asked what to expect from his opponent, Henderson stated that
he realizes what a threat Nogueira is, but didn’t want to
make any pre-fight predictions. Not one to talk trash, Henderson’s
claims were that if he has to go the full distance, so be it.
But if he happens to end the fight quickly, that is just a sweet
bonus.
“I
always plan to go the full distance with everybody I fight,”
he replied. “Anything shorter than that will be a pleasant
surprise. Obviously I am going to try and finish him early, but
I am ready to go the distance. Either way, just as long as I
compete to the best of my ability and that I prevail, I’ll
be happy.”
He’d
be happy as well if he could make it all the way into the final
round for a chance to win the coveted PRIDE Middleweight Grand
Prix title, but Henderson doesn’t seem too interested in
whom he’d like to fight along the way. However, one name
did pop out of his mouth in terms of hoping to fight just one
man, Wanderlei Silva.
“It
doesn’t matter,” Henderson stated about possible future
opponents within the GP. “I am just interested in winning
the title. Obviously I have wanted to fight Wanderlei for a while,
but more because he has the belt. He’s probably the top
guy in the world right now, so I would definitely like to fight
him along the way if I can. But if not, that’s okay. I just
want to win the title.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
HERRING
BREAKS DOWN PRIDE GRAND PRIX
by Jeff Cain
Heath Herring,
who is sidelined from fighting recovering from ACL replacement
surgery, appeared on MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio Thursday. Herring
spoke about many things, but while on the radio show he broke
down the first round of the Pride Grand Prix. Here is how Heath
Herring foresees this weekend's action playing out.
The
first bout discussed was Kevin Randleman vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura.
Heath said, "Nakamura's a Judo guy. He's training out of
Yoshida's gym. Tough kid. Randleman though is a wild card. Who
knows who's going to show up to fight. Randleman, on paper, Randleman
should win this fight easy."
The
next fight talked about was Dean Lister vs. Ricardo Arona. When
asked who would win Heath said "Arona" without hesitation.
He added, "I think they're both ground fighters, and they're
both going to want to take it to the ground. I think Arona. I
think he's got it as far as on the ground."
Igor
Vovchanchyn and Yuki Kondo was the next match up discussed. "Igor,
I've got to go with my buddy Igor." Said Herring. He continued,
"I think everybody counted Igor out, and he went back to
Ukraine and trained his rear off. I think he's back. I think
he's hungry."
Alistair
Overeem went up against the UFC's Chuck Liddell in the first
round of the last Pride middleweight grand prix, and takes on
the UFC's Vitor Belfort in the opening round this time. Heath
commented, "That's a tough one. Talk about another wild
card. Who's going to show up to fight that night?" "Alistair's
going to come to fight. You know Alistair. Alistair's got a weak
chin though. If Vitor can hit him, he can catch him...I think
Alistair has a more complete stand up game. He's got the kicks.
He's got the knees. We saw Chuck Liddell even have trouble with
Alistair in the last grand prix. Alistair has the ability to
knock him out. Don't discount Alistair at all. It's a tough one
though. I take even money on that one."
Dan
Henderson takes on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and Heath Herring
has big expectations for Henderson. Heath said, "To be honest
with you, my opinion, Dan has the opportunity to win this whole
grand prix. I think if anybody can dethrone Silva it's Henderson."
Continuing, "I think Henderson is a very underrated fighter
in this weight class. I think he's a very dangerous fighter.
I think people kind of overlook him a lot."
Quinton
"Rampage" Jackson is matched up against Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua. Heath stated, "I know Quinton's last fight was a little
bit lackluster...You've got to go with Quinton on this. You've
got to go with the experience...Quinton's a great fighter. Don't
underestimate Quinton at all."
In
a rematch from the last grand prix, Wanderlei Silva takes on
Hidehiko Yoshida again. "The first time it was awesome.
I think that Wanderlei really kind of walked into the rind and
didn't think anything of him. I think Yoshida surprised everybody...I
don't think Wanderlei is going to play around with this guy."
Closing
out the interview, Herring was asked out of all the guys other
than Wanderlei Silva, who has the best shot at winning the tournament.
Heath answered, "Henderson. Henderson for sure. Dan's a
great wrestler and he's not afraid to throw. He's a tough guy
to fight at that weight class. You're not going to be able to
take him down, and he'll stand up and fight with you."
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we
can build our youth for the future."
Franklin D. Roosevelt, US President
|
Sergio
Lourenco to fight MMA Against
808 Fight
Factory Fighter
Brazilian
Jiu-jitsu Blackbelt, Sergio Lourenco, will be fighting in his
very first NHB competition. The fight will take place in Guam
on the 7th of May against an opponent out of the 808 Fight Factory. Sergio has won several
prestigious Jiu-jitsu competitions including the World's and
the Pan Americans. He currently teaches and trains at the Cesar
Gracie Academy and will be representing Team Graciefighter.
"I've
been waiting for this opportunity for a long time and now that
I'm on Cesar's team I have some excellent training partners to
prepare me for this fight. I hope that this turns out to be a
good start for me as I take my competitive career to the next
level."
Source:
Gracie Fighter
|
Onzuka.com’s
Advertiser, the Waikiki Sand Villa Hotel Is Now Fighter Friendly!
Click on the banner to book a room!
Just wanted to get the word out that we built a fitness center
at my hotel that includes 4 (5x10) high grade, 2 inch thick wrestling
mats - together the mats create a 10 x 30 "stretching"
area. Wanted to make fight promoters, fighters that need accommodations
aware of this new addition. They can use this area to workout,
roll around, do floor exercises, stretch, whatever. As an unadvertised
side note, we've been training in kickboxing twice a week and
I have some kicking pads made by Master Kam, some boxing gloves,
etc.
If
you have time, you can checkout our website (www.sandvillahotel.com)
although the mats aren't shown - the fitness center is. In any
case, I would appreciate your help with getting the word out.
Mahalo guys.
Aloha,
Keone
Gaspar, Hotel Manager
Waikiki Sand Villa Hotel
2375 Ala Wai Boulevard
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815
Phone: (808) 922-4744
Direct: (808) 921-3201
Fax: (808) 921-3232
E-mail: kgaspar@principlehotels.com
Website: www.sandvillahotel.com
|
Joe
Rogan Lashes Out
Onzuka.com
is behind you Joe! Joe Rogan is the best MMA commentator on TV.
"Seriously, lighten the fuck up, people. I can't believe
how many people got upset at me saying "Canada has an army?"
It was just a little joke. Montreal is one of my favorite places
in the world, and Canadians make the best bacon.
As for all this shit about me not being "professional,"
all professional means is that I get paid to do it. If you're
saying I don't sound like a robot broadcaster that offers sterile
commentary with a fake broadcaster voice, yes, you're right.
In
that sense, I'm not a professional TV host either, and since
I don't have any censored, watered down material that can be
used on the tonight show, I'm not really a "professional"
comedian either.
Bottom
line, ANYONE that got "offended" by a tiny crack like
"Canada has an army?" Is a fucking douche bag, and
I don't change my thoughts or words to make doucebags happy.
As
for me saying that Arlovski doesn't understand much english,
since when is that an insult? It's not his language. The guy
didn't understand a word I said, so I said he's a great fighter
but not so good at english. What the hell is bad about that?
If I was in Belarus and someone was interviewing me, I would
EXPECT that they would goof on me a little if they asked me a
question and I had no idea what the fuck they said.
Bottom
line, the guy is an awesome fighter, but he did look a little
like a George Michaels impersonator. I was just pointing it out
because that's what I do. It's not an insult, it's a little tiny
goof, that's all. I'm a huge fan of Arlovski."
-Posted
by Joe Rogan on MMA.tv
Source:
Gracie Fighter
|
Couture
Contemplates Loss;
Looks to Fight Again in August
By Loretta Hunt
Champions
rebound. They just do. That is why Randy Couture is already in
talks to return to the Octagon as early as August in what will
be UFC 54. Opponent is uncertain, but Couture was told the event
is tentatively set to take place in Las Vegas. That's all he
needs to know right now.
"I
got caught," the ex light-heavyweight champion states simply
of the knockout punch he absorbed from Chuck Liddell just 2:06
into the first round of their rematch at Saturday's UFC 53 at
the MGM Grand Garden Arena. It was the first knockout he ever
experienced -- whether it be in training or competition, and
although Couture says he remembers everything leading up to the
right straight that sent him to the canvas, he didn't recall
the two follow-up punches Liddell threw before referee "Big"
John McCarthy could get in to halt the action.
"I
got out of position and was overaggressive and got hit,"
he continues. "I think Chuck always demonstrates that capability
and if you're not diligent and patient you risk that."
Some
are saying something just didn't look right about Couture Saturday
night. Was he slower? Was he off in some intangible way? Couture
doesn't agree. Liddell just did his job.
"He
made some adjustments which I thought that he would," Couture
says. "He straightened out his jab quite a bit and he was
pot-shotting, kind of sticking and moving. He wasn't staying
in one place for very long, kind of trying to stay away from
me, which is what I think he needed to do to minimize the takedown.
Other than that, it was only two minutes. I didn't get to see
a whole lot more."
What
did differ from Couture's performance this time to twenty-two
months ago at UFC 43 was his formidable "ground and pound"
capabilities, which he utilized to slam Liddell down multiple
times to chip away at the striker's will on route to his third
round TKO victory. Saturday's rematch saw not a single takedown.
"We were close in the clinch at one point but he kind of
pushed away and that's when the thumb in the eye occurred, but
no, I didn't execute," the Oregonian admits.
The
eye gouge. It's a point of contention for Couture loyalists grasping
for some reason as to why their hero fell, but only "the
Natural" can say if his momentary blindness went on to affect
his overall performance.
"I
don't think so," he answers. "It happens and it's coincidental
that it's happened in a couple of other fights with Chuck. I
don't care to make any statement about that. I got time to recover
and my vision was fine when I started to fight again. It did
kind of fire me up and I kind of stepped it up a notch and chased
Chuck a little too hard. It basically put me out of position.
I needed to kind of settle and be a little more methodical and
a little more patient and kind of hunt Chuck down, instead of
going after him so hard."
A
CT scan conducted at a Las Vegas hospital hours after the loss
cleared Couture to fight again once his requisite suspension
has been served. He'll have to get another MRA to comply with
the Nevada State Athletic Commission come fight time, but, for
now, that is just a technicility that will come at the end of
another two-month training schedule. Looking to relocate to Las
Vegas to train for his next fight, he's flirting with the idea
of opening a new Team Quest branch there. The 4-Time Olympic
alternate has also been asked to commentate ESPN 2's telecast
of the National Finals of Wrestling in Greco Freestyle and Women's
Freestyle set for this weekend.
Yes,
life moves on despite loss. For Randy Couture, life is just beginning
again.
Source:
FCF
|
COFFEE
GUY EXCLUSIVE:
ARLOVSKI VS. LIDDELL POSSIBILITY
By Coffee Guy
The following exclusive report was sent to us by our Zuffa informant
called 'Coffee Guy':
"The
matchup of Andrei Arlovski vs. Chuck Liddell may now be a very
real possibility for either UFC 53 of 54.
The
matchup of Andrei Alovski vs. Justin Eilers has not been finalized
as of yet."
Source:
Fight Sport
|
SHOOTO
AMERICA UPDATE
The following was sent in by the MMA insider known as 'Shoot
guy':
"Randy
Erickson has been terminated from the Shooto Americas organization.
According to people close to the situation, it was a long time
coming, and SHOOT America's main guy, Rich Santoro, finally had
enough and gave him the ax.
Those
in the state of Illinois may best remember Randy Erickson as
the driving force that tried to get MMA shut down and regulated
by state officials. When Randy Erickson joined the SHOOTO organization,
he came up with a plan, dictated by him, that would force organizations
in certain states to either join SHOOT or be forced to cancel
their shows.
They
tried to get a sanctioning body in the State of Illinois, that
would be controlled by them. State officials stopped their attempts
at doing so soon after the campaign started.
Randy
Erickson and his infinite wisdom will NOT be missed."
Source: Fight Sport
|
UFC®
RETURNS TO ATLANTIC CITY FOR UFC 53: Heavy Hitters; Andrei Arlovski
defends his interim heavyweight belt
There's going to be some heavy hitting taking place on June 4
at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, when Andrei Arlovski
puts his interim heavyweight belt on the line in UFC® 53:
Heavy Hitters.
Tickets
for the action-packed 8-fight event, priced at $350, $250, $150,
$75 and $35, went on sale Monday, April 18 at the Boardwalk Hall
box office in Atlantic City, at all Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com
or by calling 1-800-736-1420. For general information, call 609-348-7000.
Tickets are subject to transaction fees. Trump Plaza Hotel &
Casino, Trump Marina and Trump Taj Mahal are the hosts of the
event.
UFC®
53: Heavy Hitters will be available LIVE on pay-per-view at 10
p.m. EDT on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, TVN, Echostar, Bell
ExpressVu and Viewers Choice Canada. The suggested retail price
is $34.95.
Source:
FCF
|
RECORD
TICKETS SALES FOR UFC 53
There
is no doubt that the UFC is at an all time high as far as popularity
and mainstream recognition go. And if you want tickets to UFC
53, they are selling at a record pass. If you're planning on
going to Atlantic City, then get your tickets now.
The
UFC just set a 2-day ticket sales record with already a quarter
of the tickets sold. There is no doubt that whether the show
is in Las Vegas or back east in Atlantic City, it's going to
be a tough ticket to get. The UFC as at an all time high with
tickets sales and popularity nationwide.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
YOSHIDA
WORKING ON HIS MUAY THAI
The Japanese media reports that Hidehiko Yoshida has been training
his Muay Thai with an Australian Muay Thai coach who was once
a Pacific Rim champion.
According
to Yoshida, he will try to trade strikes with Silva more effectively
then in their first fight.
Source: Fight Sport
|
TERRELL
CHANGES MIND AND STAYS WITH CESAR GRACIE FIGHT TEAM
David Terrell recently went to Brazil to train with the Brazilian
Top Team and there was talk that he would leave the Cesar Gracie
Fight team to sign a deal with the team. Apparently, Terrell
changed his mind and is now back with Cesar Gracie.
"He
was offered a contract, but decided not to sign after all. We
obviously are very happy to have David back and look forward
to his upcoming fights in the UFC." Gracie said.
Terrell
will not only focus on a future UFC fight, but has made it clear
that he also wants to compete in the upcoming Abu Dhabi Championships.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Arona
says he will not fight Minotouro
During interview to Brazilian channel Combate/SporTV, BTT Ricardo
Arona said his GP preferences. 'Rogério Minotouro is my
brother. We train together and we are from the same team. No
way out I will exchange punches with him. If we do meet at the
final phase of GP, we gonna do a beautiful fight, but no punches
in the face,' he said.
In
case of fighting ex-teammate Vítor Belfort, Arona Said
professionalism will speak louder. 'Despite the fact we've trained
together in Carlson and BTT, Belfort represents other team. I
will face him with professionalism and I hope he does as well.'
Bebeo Duarte, BTT leader who stayed in Brazil Said BTT has not
a formed position about the confront Arona Vs Minotouro.
-
We gonna work out to keep Minotauro Vs Arona only at the final.
It would be a smaller problem. In case of them meet before, we
gonna see what we going to do. About Vítor, we really
like him a lot, but we gonna do our best to defeat him,"
explained Bebeo.
Source:
Tatame
|
Shogun
Ready For Quinton Jackson
Among the five Brazilian fighters who will take part in Pride
Middle Weight GP, Mauricio 'Shogun' is probably the least experienced.
For sure, he has the toughest opponent in Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson.
'It's going to be the fight of my life, and I am very well trained
for this challenge. The fans can expect a great fight' said the
Chute Boxe fighter recently, after the last training session
before the long trip to Japan. Obviously, for the hardest fight
of his career, 'Shogun' counted on the help of his brother 'Ninja'
and Wanderlei Silva, who have already faced Jackson.
'Shogun
will be the great surprise of this tournament. I'm training with
him everyday and He is an excellent shape. I believe He will
knock Jackson out' guaranteed the PRIDE champion, Wanderlei Silva.
About
the participation of other Brazilians, Shogun has good feelings
for this first phase. 'I believe all Brazilians will win their
fights. Pethaps Belfort will have some problems beating Overeem,
but I think he will end up winning as well'. Asked to choose
a favorite to win the GP, Shogun has no doubt: 'All the 16 fighters
are at the top of the game. This is probably the best tournament
ever, but I don't believe anyone in there can beat Wanderlei.
He is the best and for me nobody out there can beat him; guaranteed
the Chute Boxe 'Rising Star'.
After
training last Friday at Chute Boxe headquarters, Shogun and his
brother Murilo Ninja were invited to make a special speech to
the most important soccer team in Parana, Curitiba Futebol Club.
'Vale-Tudo is very popular here and usually the soccer clubs
invite us to encourage soccer players' explains Mauricio.
Shogun,
Murilo Ninja, Wanderlei Silva, Rudimar Fedrigo, Cristiano Marcelo
and Rafael Cordeiro left for Japan on Monday night, arriving
in Tokyo last morning.
Source:
Tatame
|
SHAMROCK
GETS BIGGEST UFC PAY CHECK IN LAST FIGHT
by Ivan Trembow
The UFC
held two events in a seven-day span from April 9th to April 16th,
and paid out nearly $900,000 to fighters for the two events.
In general, pay was up slightly across the board and there was
less disparity between the top of the pay scale and the bottom.
More fighters than ever made five-figure salaries, and that doesn't
even count the three winners of "The Ultimate Fighter"
and their new six-figure contracts.
The
following is a full listing of the salaries for the UFC's live
event on Spike TV on April 9th and for UFC 52 on April 16th,
followed by my own commentary and analysis on the salaries.
Comparative
Notes on Total Fighter Payroll
UFC
51: $456,000
UFC
Live on Spike TV: $364,000
UFC
52: $519,500
Comparative
Notes on the Number of Fighters Making $10,000 or More
UFC
51: 7 out of 18 fighters made $10,000 or more
UFC
Live on Spike TV: 10 out of 18 fighters made $10,000 or more
UFC
52: 9 out of 16 fighters made $10,000 or more
UFC
Live on Spike TV Fighter Salaries
-Ken
Shamrock: $230,000 ($230,000 for fighting; win bonus would have
been $0)
-Rich
Franklin: $14,000 ($7,000 for fighting; $7,000 win bonus)
-Forrest
Griffin: $10,000 ($5,000 for fighting; $5,000 win bonus)
-Diego
Sanchez: $10,000 ($5,000 for fighting; $5,000 win bonus)
-Nate
Quarry: $10,000 ($5,000 for fighting; $5,000 win bonus)
-Josh
Koscheck: $10,000 ($5,000 for fighting; $5,000 win bonus)
-Chris
Leben: $10,000 ($5,000 for fighting; $5,000 win bonus)
-Mike
Swick: $10,000 ($5,000 for fighting; $5,000 win bonus)
-Sam
Hoger: $10,000 ($5,000 for fighting; $5,000 win bonus)
-Alex
Karalexis: $10,000 ($5,000 for fighting; $5,000 win bonus)
-Stephan
Bonnar: $5,000 ($5,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$5,000)
-Kenny
Florian: $5,000 ($5,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$5,000)
-Lodune
Sincaid: $5,000 ($5,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$5,000)
-Alex
Schoenauer: $5,000 ($5,000 for fighting; win bonus would have
been $5,000)
-Josh
Rafferty: $5,000 ($5,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$5,000)
-Bobby
Southworth: $5,000 ($5,000 for fighting; win bonus would have
been $5,000)
-Chris
Sanford: $5,000 ($5,000 ($5,000 for fighting; win bonus would
have been $5,000)
-Jason
Thacker: $5,000 ($5,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$5,000)
Total
Fighter Payroll: $364,000
MMAWeekly.com
Commentary & Analysis:
-Ken
Shamrock's paycheck of $230,000 was the single biggest paycheck
in UFC history, narrowly beating out the $225,000 paycheck that
Randy Couture received for his fight at UFC 49. There's no doubt
that Shamrock deserves to be in the top tier of the UFC pay scale,
given that he is one of the top three most recognizable names
and biggest draws in the UFC (along with Randy Couture and Chuck
Liddell).
As
for why Shamrock's pay was increased from the amount of $170,000
that he received for beating Kimo at UFC 48 to the new amount
of $230,000, it likely had something to do with his fight being
on free television instead of pay-per-view. A very select few
UFC fighters have it built into their contracts that they get
a certain amount of bonus money if they main-event a pay-per-view
that surpasses a certain number of PPV buys. With Shamrock's
fight being on free television, that eliminated the possibility
of a PPV bonus and thus warranted a pay increase. Unfortunately
for Shamrock, losing as decisively as Shamrock lost to Rich Franklin
does hurt a fighter's future earnings potential, so it's a safe
bet that Shamrock won't be making anywhere near $230,000 for
his next UFC fight (assuming he has one).
For
anyone who looks at the lack of a win bonus as evidence that
the Franklin-Shamrock fight must have been worked, you should
know that a small or non-existent win bonus is not all that unusual
in the UFC and certainly doesn't mean that a fight was worked.
Though the norm is for fighters to have the same amount of "win
money" as they do "show money" for any particular
fight, there are plenty of fighters who have previously fight
in the UFC with "win money" that was a fraction of
their "show money," or in some cases with no "win
money" at all in their contracts. Some of these fighters
have included Ken Shamrock in previous fights, Carlos Newton,
Kimo, Frank Mir, Pedro Rizzo, Tank Abbott, and Vitor Belfort.
People
who want to believe that Shamrock-Franklin was worked are always
going to believe it was worked in the face of all logic and evidence.
In addition to what I previously wrote on the subject, the Wrestling
Observer's Dave Meltzer has also chimed in on the subject. Meltzer
is usually the first to know when there are suspicious circumstances
surrounding a fight, as he was with Ogawa vs. Leko last year
in Pride. When asked if he personally believes or has heard anything
to suggest that Shamrock-Franklin was a work, Meltzer wrote on
his web site, "Nobody has given me any evidence to suggest
it, and there was nothing in the match that makes me believe
it."
-If
Rich Franklin's salary for the finale of The Ultimate Fighter
seems low, it's because Franklin is still honoring his previous
UFC contract. The fight with Shamrock was the second fight on
a three-fight contract that Franklin signed with the UFC before
his fight with Jorge Rivera last October. There is still one
more fight on that contract, and Franklin now has an additional
five-fight contract that goes into effect after that. In total,
Franklin is under contract for six more UFC fights, and in those
fights he is definitely going to be making more than $7,000 to
fight and $7,000 more to win. Franklin's next fight will be at
UFC 53 against UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner, who Franklin
previously defeated in his UFC debut back in 2003.
-For
all of the other fighters on the April 9th card, the UFC chose
to go with a flat-rate contract for all of them. All 16 of the
fighters from the reality show were signed to one-fight contracts
that paid them $5,000 to fight and $5,000 more to win. For a
fighter making his UFC debut, that is significantly more than
the normal amount of $2,000 or $3,000 to fight and an additional
$2,000 or $3,000 to win. It's likely that this was done as a
way of saying "thank you" to the reality show contestants
for making the show such a big success, and to make sure that
all of them made at least $5,000.
During
the filming of the reality show last October and November, fighters
were only paid if they won a fight by KO, TKO, or submission,
in which case they would be paid $5,000. So, the only fighters
that earned money in the filming of the reality show itself were
Diego Sanchez ($10,000); Forrest Griffin ($10,000); Stephan Bonnar
($5,000); Kenny Florian ($5,000); and Bobby Southworth ($5,000).
For
their participation in the April 9th card, the following fighters
were victorious and thus earned $10,000: Forrest Griffin, Diego
Sanchez, Nate Quarry, Josh Koscheck, Chris Leben, Mike Swick,
Sam Hoger, and Alex Karalexis. The following fighters lost on
April 9th and thus earned $5,000: Stephan Bonnar, Kenny Florian,
Lodune Sincaid, Alex Schoenauer, Josh Rafferty, Bobby Southworth,
Chris Sanford, and Jason Thacker.
As
previously detailed on MMAWeekly, each of the three big winners
from the reality show (Diego Sanchez, Forrest Griffin, and Stephan
Bonnar) have been given UFC contracts that will pay each fighter
$350,000 over three years. That's not $350,000 per fight or even
$350,000 per fight; it's $350,000 spread out over the life-span
of the three-year contract. The fights on the season finale of
The Ultimate Fighter were in addition to those three-year contracts.
UFC
52 Fighter Salaries
-Randy
Couture: $150,000 ($150,000 for fighting; win bonus would have
been $75,000)
-Chuck
Liddell: $140,000 ($70,000 for fighting; $70,000 win bonus)
-Matt
Hughes: $110,000 ($55,000 for fighting; $55,000 win bonus)
-Matt
Lindland: $20,000 ($10,000 for fighting; $10,000 win bonus)
-Renato
"Babalu" Sobral: $20,000 ($10,000 for fighting; $10,000
win bonus)
-Georges
St. Pierre: $18,000 ($9,000 for fighting; $9,000 win bonus)
-Frank
Trigg: $14,000 ($14,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$14,000)
-Patrick
Cote: $10,000 ($10,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$10,000)
-Mike
Van Arsdale: $10,000 ($5,000 for fighting; $5,000 win bonus)
-Ivan
Salaverry: $8,000 ($4,000 for fighting; $4,000 win bonus)
-Joe
Riggs: $4,000 ($4,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$4,000)
-Travis
Lutter: $4,000 ($4,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$4,000)
-Joe
Doerksen: $4,000 ($2,000 for fighting; $2,000 win bonus)
-Travis
Wiuff: $3,000 ($3,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$3,000)
-John
Marsh: $2,500 ($2,500 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$2,500)
-Jason
Miller: $2,000 ($2,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$2,000)
Total
Fighter Payroll: $519,500
Commentary
and Analysis:
-This
was the second fight on Randy Couture's contract that paid him
$150,000 to fight and $75,000 more to win. The difference is
that last time Couture won the fight and collected the win bonus,
while this time Couture got knocked out for the first time in
his MMA career. With the mainstream recognition that Couture
gained from The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV, he will undoubtedly
continue to be one of the highest-paid fighters in the UFC. A
rubber match with Chuck Liddell to complete the trilogy would
appear to be looming in the future for Couture, whose UFC record
fell to 10-4 with the loss.
-One
of the reasons that Chuck Liddell is so popular with fans is
because he's an honest, no-BS kind of guy. He'll fight anybody
and he's a man of his word, and the fans know that. Never has
this been more evident than in looking at Liddell's contract
status. Liddell is one of the highest-paid fighters in the UFC,
but would still appear to be under-paid. Randy Couture can now
be added to the list of Chuck Liddell's KO victims, and nothing
is better at demonstrating what kind of person Liddell is than
comparing him to one of his previous KO victims: Tito Ortiz.
When
Chuck Liddell was the clear-cut #1 contender for Ortiz' Light-Heavyweight
Title back in 2003, Ortiz refused to take the fight unless he
got a huge raise. Ortiz was the highest-paid fighter in the UFC
at the time in terms of show money plus win money. In addition,
Ortiz was only two fights into a six-fight contract that paid
him $80,000 for every fight and an additional $80,000 for every
win. Nonetheless, Ortiz refused to honor his contract, held out,
and ended up strong-arming his way to a new salary of $125,000
for every fight and $50,000 more for every win.
Now,
contrast that to Chuck Liddell and how important he clearly thinks
it is to be a man of his word and honor his contracts. Under
the terms of a multi-fight contract that pays him slightly more
with each passing fight, Liddell earned a comparatively small
amount of $50,000 to fight and $50,000 more to win at UFC 47,
where he knocked out Ortiz. No hold-out. Then, Liddell made $60,000
to fight and $60,000 more to win at UFC 49, where he knocked
out Vernon "Tiger" White. Still no hold-out. Most recently,
Liddell made $70,000 to fight and $70,000 more to win at UFC
52, where he knocked out Randy Couture.
With
a UFC record of 10-2 and the star power that comes from being
on a smash hit television show, Chuck Liddell deserves to be
getting paid more than his current salary. But unlike Ortiz,
Liddell would prefer to be a man of his word and honor his contract,
as opposed to holding the company hostage for more money. There's
something admirable about that. This only reinforces the fact
that Liddell is a straight-forward, stand-up kind of guy, and
that's a big part of the reason why the fans like him as much
as they do.
-Matt
Hughes has had the same UFC contract for a very long time: $55,000
to fight and $55,000 more to win. Hughes is not a PPV draw anywhere
near the level of Shamrock, Couture, or Liddell. However, it's
hard to argue with paying him such a large amount of money given
the fact that his UFC record is an amazing 11-2, and many of
those wins have come against some of the top fighters in the
sport. With the possible exception of Randy Couture, no one in
UFC history has been a more dominant champion over a period of
years than Matt Hughes. Paying him anything less than his current
salary would be an insult to his standing in the sport, but at
the same time, paying him anything more than his current salary
might be too much given his lack of proven PPV drawing power.
Hughes' across-the-ring slam of Frank Trigg got the biggest pop
of the night from the live crowd at UFC 52, and in general the
crowd's strong reaction to Hughes at UFC 52 might indicate that
mainstream fans are starting to take more of a liking to Hughes.
-If
Matt Lindland has an axe to grind with the UFC, it's not just
because he's not fighting for the Middleweight Title at UFC 52.
Lindland is also being paid arguably less than he's worth, and
certainly a lot less than he used to make in the UFC. Lindland's
previous UFC salary was $20,000 to fight and $20,000 more to
win, but after his KO loss against David Terrell at UFC 49, his
pay was cut to the new amount of $10,000 to fight and $10,000
more to win. Lindland has one of the best records in the UFC
at 8-3, and he proved at UFC 52 that he is not a one-dimensional
fighter when he tapped out a fighter who specializes in Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu. I would expect to see Lindland make more money for
his future UFC fights than he made at UFC 52, although it might
not be as much as his old salary.
-After
getting knocked out by Chuck Liddell at UFC 40, Renato "Babalu"
Sobral has spent his time earning himself not only a return to
the UFC, but a return to the UFC at a hefty salary. While it
might not seem like much, Sobral's salary of $10,000 to fight
and $10,000 more to win places him in the top one-third of UFC
salaries. Sobral earned that kind of contract by racking up eight
consecutive MMA wins after the loss to Liddell, including a one-night
tournament in which he defeated Mauricio "Shogun" Rua,
Jeremy Horn, and Trevor Prangley. In addition, with Randy Couture
not getting any younger and with Tito Ortiz out of the picture
entirely, there is a premium on quality light-heavyweights. Sobral
fits that bill and has the potential for a strong future in the
UFC.
-Georges
St. Pierre emerged from UFC 52 not only as one of the UFC's hottest
welterweight prospects, but also as one of the highest-paid welterweights.
St. Pierre is an example of a policy that pays you more money
as you gain more UFC experience and rewards you for taking risky
fights. St. Pierre made $3,000 to fight and $3,000 more to win
for his UFC debut at UFC 46, where he won. St. Pierre then made
$4,000 to fight and $4,000 more to win for his fight at UFC 48,
which he also won. Despite the fact that he's only 23 years old
and has his whole career ahead of him, St. Pierre then stepped
up to the plate and took a very risky fight against the dominant
Matt Hughes. St. Pierre lost that fight, but didn't come out
of it looking any worse than he did going in, so he was rewarded
with a new contract for UFC 52 that paid him $9,000 to fight
and $9,000 more to win. St. Pierre is now 3-1 in the UFC and
is at the top of a list of young, talented, versatile welterweights
in the UFC (a list that also includes Karo Parisyan and Nick
Diaz).
-Frank
Trigg's contract for UFC 52 called for him to make $14,000 to
fight and $14,000 more to win, which places him in the top one-third
of UFC salaries. Trigg's UFC career now consists of two impressive
wins over Renato Verissimo and Dennis Hallman, and two submission
losses to Matt Hughes. It's unusual for a fighter whose UFC record
is 2-1 going into a fight to be making as much money as Trigg
made at UFC 52, but I would chalk that up to the fact that he's
one of the most marketable fighters in the sport. No one is going
to deny that Trigg can be very obnoxious at times, but the fact
is that he has been in arguably the best fight on the card in
each of his first four UFC fights. Also, Trigg is one of the
best talkers in the sport in an intelligent, articulate kind
of way (like Frank Mir), as opposed to a bush-league, pro wrestling
character kind of way (like Phil Baroni).
-Patrick
Cote fits the same description as Georges St. Pierre, in that
he was contractually rewarded for taking a very tough, risky
fight. When Guy Mezger had to pull out of his scheduled fight
with Tito Ortiz shortly before UFC 50 last fall, Cote stepped
up to take the fight with Ortiz on short notice despite being
just 24 years old at the time and relatively inexperienced. Just
as with Hughes vs. St. Pierre, Cote lost the fight but didn't
come out of it looking any worse than he looked going in. As
a result, he was rewarded with a new contract for UFC 52 that
paid him $10,000 to fight and $10,000 more to win. Now Cote faces
the harsh reality of being 0-2 in the UFC. Even though one of
those losses was against Tito Ortiz on short notice, and the
other was in a fantastic fight that was close all the way through,
the fact remains that he's now 0-2 in the UFC. He's going to
have to either prove himself once again on smaller shows, or
keep fighting in the UFC at a drastically reduced salary. Despite
his record, Cote could still have a bright UFC career ahead of
him, as evidenced by the fact that Andrei Arlovski lost his first
two fights in the Zuffa-era UFC and would later become one of
the top heavyweights in the sport.
-Mike
Van Arsdale got a slightly higher-than-expected salary of $5,000
to fight and $5,000 more to win at UFC 52, in great part because
of the fact that there is a premium on quality heavyweights.
Though most new UFC fans have never heard of him, this was not
Van Arsdale's UFC debut. Van Arsdale won a fight at UFC 17 way
back in 1998, only to be knocked out by Wanderlei Silva in his
next fight and leave the sport of MMA for over four years. With
his win at UFC 52, Van Arsdale is now 4-0 in his comeback, but
there are a few big mitigating factors: A) Only two of those
four opponents have winning records in mixed martial arts, B)
He has fought infrequently at the rate of about once per year
during his comeback, and C) He turns 40 years old in June. On
the other hand, Van Arsdale weighed in at 215 pounds for his
fight at UFC 52, and it would seemingly be easy for him to cut
down to 205 pounds and potentially be a force to be reckoned
with in the light-heavyweight division.
-Ivan
Salaverry is on a roll, having defeated Tony Fryklund by first-round
submission and Joe Riggs by first-round submission in back-to-back
UFC fights. Salaverry is now 3-1 in the UFC, with his only loss
coming at the hands of Matt Lindland at UFC 39. Salaverry earned
a modest salary of $4,000 to fight and $4,000 more to win at
UFC 52, but he could see that salary increase drastically with
one or two more wins.
-Salaverry's
opponent, Joe Riggs, fought for the same salary, as did fellow
middleweight Travis Lutter. Both Riggs and Lutter had UFC records
of 1-0 coming into this event, and both fighters lost at UFC
52.
-Joe
Doerksen lost in his UFC debut at UFC 49 for the entry-level
salary of $2,000 to fight and $2,000 more to win, and was given
a second chance at UFC 52 for the same salary. Doerksen didn't
disappoint, as he was victorious over Patrick Cote in a thrilling
bout at UFC 52.
-Travis
Wiuff was given a slightly higher than entry-level salary for
his fight at UFC 52 because it wasn't actually his UFC debut.
Wiuff made his UFC debut back in 2002 in the heavyweight division,
losing to Vladimir Matyushenko. Wiuff's UFC 52 contract called
for him to make $3,000 to fight and $3,000 more to win. Though
light-heavyweights are always in high demand, the UFC may or
may not be interested in bringing Wiuff back after a relatively
one-sided loss to Renato "Babalu" Sobral in which Sobral
was in control for the vast majority of the fight.
-Two
fighters made their UFC debuts and lost at UFC 52: John Marsh
and Jason Miller. Marsh fought for $2,500 to fight and $2,500
more to win, while Miller's contract called for him to be paid
$2,000 to fight and $2,000 more to win. Despite starting out
their UFC careers with records of 0-1, both fighters have a decent
chance of being brought back in the future, Marsh because he's
a heavyweight and Miller because of the huge amount of heart
that he showed in his decision loss to Georges St. Pierre.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
RealProWrestling
results from Week four
(163 pounds)
Week
four results (163 Pounds):
Quarterfinals:
#1
Joe Williams (Chicago Groove) decision over #8 Tyrone Lewis (Oklahoma
Slam), 8-4
#5
Donny Pritzlaff (Pennsylvania Hammer) technical fall over #4
T.C. Dantzler (Minnesota Freeze), 18-2
#3
Ramico Blackmon (New York Outrage) fall over #6 Darryl Christian
(California Claw), 1:11
#2
Joe Heskett (Iowa Stalkers) technical fall over #7 Sean Harrington
(Texas Shooters), 16-0
Semifinals:
Williams
decision over Pritzlaff, 5-2
Heskett
decision over Blackmon, 9-5
Finals
(May 15th):
Williams (Chicago Groove) vs. Heskett (Iowa Stalkers)
Current
Teams Standings:
1. Iowa Stalkers 54
2. Pennsylvania Hammer 43
3. New York Outrage 34
4. Chicago Groove 33
5. Oklahoma Slam 19
6. Texas Shooters 11
7. California Claw 2
8. Minnesota Freeze 0
Upcoming
TV Schedule (check local listings for more information):
PAX
TV: April 24; May 1, 8, 15.
Fox Sports Net: Wednesday; April 20, 27; May 4, 11, 18, 25.
Teams
California Claw; Chicago Groove; Iowa Stalkers; Oklahoma Slam;
Minnesota Freeze; New York Outrage; Pennsylvania Hammer; Texas
Shooters.
The
action was riveting on Sunday's episode of Real Pro Wrestling,
which showed quarterfinal and semifinal action in the 163-pound
weight class. As expected, the top two seeds, Joe Williams of
the Chicago Groove and Joe Heskett of the Iowa Stalkers, advanced
to the Real Pro Wrestling finals, which will be shown on PAX
TV on May 15th.
Williams,
the number one seed, advanced to the finals by defeating eighth-seeded
Tyrone Lewis of the Oklahoma Slam in the quarterfinals and fifth-seeded
Donny Pritzlaff of the Pennsylvania Hammer in the semifinals.
In
the quarterfinals, Williams and Lewis battled to a scoreless
first period. Williams,
however,
picked up the pace in the second period and scored with the first
ever six point high throw in RPW to take a commanding lead. He
then scored a takedown to build an 8-0 lead. Lewis countered
with a reversal, while also adding a late takedown. But it was
too little, too late, as Williams held on for the 8-4 victory.
"Tyrone
wrestled a great match," said Williams after the victory.
"Towards the end of the match, it got a little bit wet,
a little bit slippery. He kept coming, trying to score, so I
just really just tried to stay in position and look for openings."
In
the semifinals, Williams battled Pritzlaff, who was fresh off
a dominating 18-2 victory over fourth-seeded T.C. Dantzler of
the Minnesota Freeze. Williams struck first, scoring twice with
his patented freight train double-leg, both with under forty-five
seconds remaining in the first period, to jump out to a 4-0 lead.
Pritzlaff battled back, scoring with a double-leg of his own
to cut the lead to two. But Williams added an escape and claimed
the 5-2 victory.
Heskett,
who placed second at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, had to
battle through seventh-seeded Sean Harrington of the Texas Shooters
and third-seeded Ramico Blackmon of the New York Outrage to reach
the finals.
In
the quarterfinals, Heskett hardly broke a sweat, scoring with
multiple leg attacks and turns, as he cruised to an easy 16-0
technical fall over Harrington.
"I
felt really good," said Heskett after the match. "I
got a good warm up. I felt like I was strong out there. Leg attacks
felt good, defense felt good, I felt on time."
In
the semifinals, Heskett had to dig deep to beat Blackmon, a freestyle
veteran. The 32-year-old Blackmon jumped out to a commanding
4-0 lead with a single-leg takedown, which followed up with an
ankle lace. Blackmon scored with a push-out, before Heskett answered
with a single-leg takedown as the first period came to a close
to cut the lead to 5-2. In the second period, Heskett scored
first with a push-out. With just under thirty seconds remaining
in the match, Heskett tied the match with a snap down. Then with
10 seconds left, Heskett secured a trapped arm gut wrench and
turned Blackmon for the go ahead points. Heskett then added another
turn as the buzzer sounded to claim the 9-5 come from behind
victory.
Heskett,
who now serves as assistant coach for Cal-Poly, had high praise
for his opponent after the match.
"Ramico,
in my opinion, is one of the best wrestlers," said Heskett.
"I respect him such as a human being and a wrestler, more
so than a lot of wrestlers out there. Ramico is a first-class
act. We've battled for the last year or two. This was the sixth
time we've wrestled, every one of them has been a grind. This
was just another classic example of two guys who wanted to win
real badly."
Heskett
will now face Williams in the RPW finals, which will be shows
on PAX TV on May 15th. In 2004, Williams defeated Heskett in
the finals of both the U.S. Nationals and the Olympic Team Trials.
In
the team battle, the Iowa Stalkers, on the strength of three
finalists, currently sit atop the standings with 54 points, followed
by the Pennsylvania Hammer (43 points), and the New York Outrage
(34 points).
Next
week's episode of Real Pro Wrestling will feature competition
in the 185-pound weight class.
Source:
Kimberly Moran
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Quote
of the Day
"Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck.
Your profession is what you were put on earth to do with such
passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling."
Vincent Van Gogh, 1853-1890, Dutch Painter
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Pride
Middleweight Grand Prix
Saturday, April 23
4:00 pm, replay at 7:00 pm
Oceanic Channel 701 |
LIDDELL
BECOMES A LEGEND AFTER DEFEATING THE LEGEND
His
name will be the answer to the ultimate trivia question. Name
the only man who has knocked out Tito Ortiz AND Randy Couture
in MMA history? The Answer: Chuck Liddell. The Iceman put the
greatest fighter in MMA history to sleep on one of the biggest
pay per view stages in UFC history on Saturday Night. A right
hand knocked out the legend Randy Couture as Liddell followed
it with two more hard shots, just to be sure, in front of a sold
out crowd of just over 14,500.
"I
can't even discribe the feeling" Liddell told MMAWeekly's
Ryan Bennett. "This is what I've waited my whole career
for. We are going to have a good time tonight." Liddell
said. So what was the big difference in this fight compared to
two years ago? "My movement was very good and didn't throw
my punches flat footed like last time" Liddell said.
For
years, Chuck Liddell waited for a shot at a championship. After
Tito Ortiz avoided Chuck Liddell for 18 months, it was Randy
Couture who took the UFC gold away from Ortiz, only to follow
that up with a convincing win over Liddell two years ago. Now
Liddell has erased all the doubt about where he will fit in MMA
history. He is the only man to knockout Tito Ortiz. Now after
fighting in front of the largest live crowd in North America
MMA history, Liddell sets another first. The first man to knockout
the living legend and also winning his first championship in
his career. On a night that saw Dan Severn receive induction
into the UFC Hall of Fame, Chuck Liddell has just punched his
ticket into UFC immortality and a future call into the UFC Hall
of Fame with his win over a legend.
Source: Fight Sport
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LINDLAND
& SALAVERRY:
TWO FIGHTERS NO ONE WANTS TO FIGHT AT 185
They
are the two guys that most fighters don't want a piece of at
the 185 weight class. Matt Lindland impressed everyone once again
as the former wrestler, choked out a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blackbelt
this weekend in impressive fashion.
Lindland
out-worked, out-hustled, and frankly out-submitted his opponent
in an impressive win from the MGM grand in Las Vegas. The other
thing that he did was receive a promise from Dana White at the
UFC Post fight conference, where White promised Lindland a title
shot against the winner of Rich Franklin and Evan Tanner.
Meanwhile
Ivan Salaverry proved once again on Saturday night that not only
is he dangerous in the 185 division, but after another dominating
performance, this time against Joe Riggs, he may be the one guy
you want to steer clear of in the 185 division. "I know
Joe Riggs wanted to punch a hole in my face, but I had different
plans" Salaverry told MMAWeekly. "This fight puts me
in a position to move up the ranks..."
And
if you are in the Top 10 ranks, Salaverry is a name you want
to steer clear of. Ivan has only one loss in the UFC. That was
to Matt Lindland at UFC 38. With his win at UFC 52 Salaverry
improves to 3-1 in the Octagon and Salaverry puts himself in
the UFC Middleweight Title picture.
Source: MMA Weekly
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BABALU
GIVES UFC A MUCH NEEDED SHOT IN THE ARM AT 205
Some
fans thought the UFC would get a much needed shot in the arm
in the 205 pound weight class, after Rich Franklin defeated Ken
Shamrock at last week's Ultimate Fighter show on Spike TV.
Only
problem. Franklin stayed in the weight class for about three
minutes, before announcing he would jump back to 185. Now Zuffa
can exhale as they finally have somebody to compete in the 205
weight class that isn't named Liddell, Couture, Ortiz or Belfort.
Renato
"Babalu" Sobral, outworked Travis Wiuff on Saturday
night, as the Brazilian fighter secured an armbar to get another
win in the UFC. Sobral has been the forgotten man in the division,
even though he has won eight straight fights. His last loss was
"thee kick" by Chuck Liddell that seems to have overshadowed
the Brazilians accomplishments.
With
wins over Jeremy Horn, Shogun Rua, Trevor Prangley, Maurice Smith
and others, Babalu has immediately put his name back on the list
of new faces that compete for the UFC at 205. down in history
as the night that Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell finally
got the gold.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Honolulu
Gets Ready to Rumble
ROTR 7 to be held May 7 at Blaisdell Center Arena
HONOLULU, HAWAI'I -- April 17, 2005 The Rumble on the Rock is
back! Hawai'i's largest and most popular Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
event will return to the Blaisdell Center Arena on Oahu, May
7, 2005. Bringing together world-class headliners in the sport
today to Hawai'i's island paradise, Rumble World Entertainment
(RWE) plans to bring another action-packed, star-studded, and
Hawaiian-themed event to Hawai'i's broad MMA fan base.
A
total of nine fights are scheduled for the night with the main
event featuring original UFC bad boy and self-proclaimed "White
Mike Tyson," David "Tank" Abbott against Hawai'i's
own Wesley "Cabbage" Correira. The two will step into
the cage to settle bad blood from a previous match. Hilo boy
BJ Penn will also be in attendance to make an official announcement
on who his next scheduled opponent will be.
ROTR's
most recent event, ROTR 6 (November 2004), was possibly the biggest
production the Blaisdell Center Arena had seen since Elvis Presley's
1973 Aloha from Hawai'i concert, selling over 8,000 tickets and
causing some fight publications and MMA web sites to call it
the most anticipated MMA card in the U.S. in recent years.
RWE
is encouraging fans to get their tickets early. ROTR 6 drew record
numbers, selling out five full days before the event. In an effort
to open up more seats for Hawai'i fans, RWE shrank the mainstage
and opened up 1,500 more seats, which then sold out within 48
hours. To JD Penn, RWE's president, this is a sign of the sport's
popularity.
According
to Penn, "Our goal is to bring the best athletes in the
sport here to compete in the largest MMA event in Hawai'i. MMA
is exciting for people of all ages and we want to cultivate its
popularity globally and share it with the people of Hawai'i.
We also hope to break down a lot of the misconceptions people
have about our sport because there's a lot of unnecessary controversy
surrounding it. This sport is progressive, it's powerful and
it's exciting. MMA is the future entertainment for the masses
and RWE is here to help it reach epic proportions," he said.
On Friday, May 6th, fighter weigh-ins and a press conference
will be held at the Ala Moana Centerstage at 2pm. Fans and media
will have the opportunity to meet the fighters and their trainers
and find out what strategies they have in store. Interested media
will also have the opportunity to interview fighters pre and/or
post event upon request. The May 7th event will be held at the
Blaisdell Center Arena, doors will open at 6:30pm. Tickets, which
go on sale Monday, April 18th, are priced at $35 and $70, with
cage side seating priced between $150 and $300 They can be purchased
online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or at any Ticketmaster
location. MMA enthusiasts who cannot attend the event in person
will have the opportunity to purchase certain fights on Pay-Per-View
over the Internet - an option RWE has not offered in previous
events.
The
event will host the returns of UFC veterans David "Tank"
Abbott (8-10), Wesley "Cabbage" Correira (13-7), Kimo
Leopoldo (17-0), Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez (13-4) and
Charuto Verissimo (4-2). Former football star Marcus "The
Monster" Royster will make his ROTR debut at 6"8, 360
lbs against Kimo Leopoldo. Royster is being dubbed the biggest
MMA athlete to ever compete professionally in Hawai'i. Other
fights planned for ROTR 7 include:
Confirmed
fights:
Heavyweights:
Wesley
"Cabbage" Correira (13-7) vs. Tank Abbott (8-10)
Heavyweights:
Kimo Leopoldo (8-4) vs. Marcus "The Monster" Royster
(4-0)
Light
Heavyweights: Chris
West (2-0)
vs. Alan Goes (6-4)
Middleweights:
Charuto
Verissimo
(4-2) vs. Yuichi Nakanishi (5-1)
Lightweights:
Shaolin Riberio (10-1) vs. Tetsuji Kato (17-5)
Participating
fighters:
Heavyweights:
Ricco
"Suave" Rodriguez (13-4)
Source: RWE
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WARRIORS
QUEST
'RESSURRECTION"
DATE ANNOUNCED
Sat, May 28, 2005 @McKinley High Gym
It's finally set so let the WARRIORS prepare for the RESSURRECTION
of WARRIORS QUEST, Once known for its exciting fights while putting
Hawaii's Best athlete's aganist Mainland & Japans Top Competitiors.
We are inviting all Schools and fighters to participate in either
Kickboxing or MMA style fights. All interested people call 808-590-3788
or email second2none@hawaii.rr.com and someone will get
back to you.
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