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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)
7/21-23/05
World Cup of BJJ
(BJJ)
(São Paulo, Brazil)
7/9/05
Proving
Grounds -
ROTR
Qualifer
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center)
5/7/05
ROTR 7
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
5/7-8 & 14-15 & 21-22/05
Brazilian National BJJ Tournament
(Youth, Adult, Master & Senior)
(Tijuca Tenis Clube, Tijuca, Brazil?)
4/16-17/05
2005 Junior
Olympic Male and Female State / Regional Boxing Championships
(Boxing)
(Palolo Boxing Gym
/ Rec Center)
4/15 or 16/05
Punishment In
Paradise 10
(Kickboxing, MMA)
(McKinnley H.S. Gym)
4/2/05 or 4/9/05
Super Brawl
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
4/1-3/05
Pan American
& Team Title USA vs Brazil BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA)
3/26/05
Proving
Grounds -
ROTR
Qualifer
(MMA)
(Lahaina Civic Center, Maui)
3/25/05
Shooto Hawaii: Pro/Am
(MMA)
(Blaisdell - Hawaii Suite)
3/18 or 3/19/05
Super Brawl: Full Contact Showdown 2
(MMA)
(Kahuna's Sports Bar & Grill, Kaneohe MCBH)
3/12/05
The Second Annual Maui
Jiu-Jitsu Open
BJJ tournament
(BJJ)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Hawaii)
3/6-7/05
Hawaii State High School Wrestling Championships
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/5/04
SUMA
(Kickboxing)
(Hyatt Waikiki)
So You
Think You Tough 8
(Boxing, MMA)
(Kauai)
Proving Grounds -
ROTR
Qualifer
(MMA)
(Honolulu)
3/4-6/05
Arnold
Schwarzenegger Gracie World Submission Championships
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Columbus, Ohio)
2/27/05
2005
Hawaiian Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Saint Louis H.S. Gym)
G-3
(Kickboxing)
(Palama Settlement Gym)
2/26/05
So You Think You Tough 7
(Boxing, MMA)
(Kona Gym, Kona)
2/19/05
Kickin' It
(Kickboxing)
(Kapolei High School)
|
|
February 2005 News
Part 2
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
New Time! |
Quote
of the Day
"A hammer breaks glass, but forges steel."
old Russian proverb
|
PUNISHMENT
IN PARADISE
News Alert
Welterweight Class B Shooto
David Padilla (Jesus Is Lord, Hawaii)
Vs.
Ryan Kronwritter (Meat Truck Inc, Indiana)
Padilla who made a comeback in December will make his way back
and try once again to climb the Shooto Rankings as he faces Meat
Truck Inc Kronwritter. I have spoken with some promoters up on
the states, Quoted them by saying "That Kid Ryan comes to
fight."
Middleweight Class B Shooto
Ikaika Chou Foo (Jesus Is Lord, Kailua)
Vs.
Kevin Smith (Team Bighdogs, Waianae)
Two season kickboxers will collide Shooto style should be interesting
to see if both fighters will try to stand or surprise us with
some ground.
Source: Event Promoter
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PRIDE
29: 'Fists of Fire' Today
February 20th, 2005
Saitama, Japan
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Mark Coleman
Sergei Kharinotov vs. Choi Mu Bae
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson vs. Murilo 'Ninja' Rua
Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira vs. Alistair Overeem
Igor Vovchanchin vs. Yoshiki Takahashi
Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua vs. Hiromitsu Kanehara
Fabricio Werdum vs. Tom Erikson
Mario Sperry vs. Hirotaka Yokoi
Stefan Leko vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Makmud Aliyev
Source: Fight Sport
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PRIDE
ANNOUNCES LEKO, SAKURABA, YOSHIDA AND KONDO IN GRAND PRIX
DSE President, Sakakibara, spoke to the media in Tokyo Japan
about Pride 29 which takes place on Sunday in Tokyo. He said
that every fighter's motivation is good for tomorrow's show.
He also said that Mirko's main training has been on his ground
technique. He was thinking about his fight against Fedor, so
before this fight he wanted to fight with Coleman because Coleman
has fought against Fedor. He also pointed out that tomorrow's
fight for the Japanese fighters is very critical for them to
win and that Pride is glad that Tamura has come back to Pride.
Rogerio
Nogueira's mainly been training on his striking. His striking
seems better than his older brother's, Rodrigo. What is even
more interesting to note is that Sakakibara said that Rogerio
said that he wants to strike with Overeem. Could this be a fatal
mistake for the ground specialist, using his new found techiniques
against a well versed striker?
Talking
about the Middleweight GP that will take place in a few months.
Sakuraba, Yoshida and Yuki Kondo will fight in the Middleweight
GP. But, Pride is waiting to see how Yokoi and Tamura do in their
fights to see if they will participate in the Middleweight GP.
Stefan Leko wanted to fight in the Middleweight GP, so Pride
said that if he could drop the weight from heavyweight then he
could fight in the GP. So, Leko dropped his weight to 93 kg,
so he will fight in the Middleweight GP.
Translation
by: Kayoko Yamasaki
Source: MMA Weekly
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COLEMAN
FEELS DISRESPECTED IN FIGHT TONIGHT
MMAWeekly reports from Japan that Mark Coleman is not happy at
the way Mirko Cro Cop has been acting. Coleman feels disrespected
by the Croation fighter entering this fight.
Cro
Cop flew in yesterday with only a day in between his fight, when
most of the fighters flew in on Tuesday/Wed. Cro Cop also didn't
attend the press conference or rules meetings because of the
late arrival. Coleman feels that Cro Cop is gearing up for Fedor
and overlooking him this weekend. Coleman feels that Cro Cop
doesn't see him has a threat.
And,
maybe Cro Cop is overlooking the past UFC champion. In a press
conference today, SportsNavi reports that Mirko Cro Cop said
that he will win tomorrow against Coleman. He also said that
Coleman is a good experienced fighter amongst the Pride fighters.
Cro Cop feels that having hard fights is a way to get into perfect
condition- mentally and physically. About the possibility of
Coleman beating Cro Cop and getting the right to fight Fedor,
Cro Cop responded that it is impossible. Cro Cop is very confident
that he will win tomorrow.
Cro
Cop did say on his website that he was doing some late training
and that is the reason why he arrived to Japan late. Coleman
is the big underdog for this fight as the latest line has Cro
Cop as the big favorite at Mirko 'Cro Cop' is -500, while Mark
Coleman is at +300.
Source: MMA Weekly
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The
Ring's Boxing Rankings
Hopkins Tops The Pound For Pound Ranking
For Period Ended February 10, 2005
POUND-FOR-POUND
1. BERNARD HOPKINS
Middleweight
2. FLOYD MAYWEATHER
Junior Welterweight
3. KOSTYA TSZYU
Junior Welterweight
4. WINKY WRIGHT
Junior Middleweight
5. MANNY PACQUIAO
Featherweight
6. JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ
Featherweight
7. MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA
Junior Lightweight
8. ERIK MORALES
Junior Lightweight
9. GLEN JOHNSON
Light Heavyweight
10. ANTONIO TARVER
Light Heavyweight
HEAVYWEIGHTS
Weight Unlimited
Champ: VITALI KLITSCHKO
Ukraine 35-2 (34)
1.
CHRIS BYRD
Flint, MI 38-2-1 (20)
2. JOHN RUIZ
Methuen, MA 41-5-1 (28)
3. HASIM RAHMAN
Baltimore, MD 40-5-1 (33)
4. JAMES TONEY
Ann Arbor, MI 68-4-2 (43)
5. MONTE BARRETT
Queens, NY 31-3 (17)
6. ANDREW GOLOTA
Poland 38-5-1 (31)
7. FRES OQUENDO
Puerto Rico 24-3 (15)
8. JAMEEL McCLINE
Port Jefferson, NY 31-4-1 (19)
9. LAMON BREWSTER
Los Angeles, CA 31-2 (27)
10. SAMUEL PETER
Las Vegas, NV 22-0 (19)
CRUISERWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 200 pounds
Champ: Vacant
1.
WAYNE BRAITHWAITE
Guyana 21-0 (17)
2. JEAN-MARC MORMECK
France 30-2 (21)
3. JOHNNY NELSON
England 44-12-2 (29)
4. O'NEIL BELL
Atlanta, GA 23-1-1 (22)
5. KELVIN DAVIS
Reno, NV 21-2-1 (16)
6. CARL THOMPSON
England 33-6 (25)
7. STEVE CUNNINGHAM
Philadelphia, PA 16-0 (9)
8. DALE BROWN
Canada 33-3-1 (21)
9. VIRGIL HILL
Bismarck, ND 49-5 (23)
10. PIETRO AURINO
Italy 31-2 (14)
LIGHT
HEAVYWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 175 pounds
Champ: GLEN JOHNSON
Miami, FL 42-9-2 (28)
1.
ANTONIO TARVER
Orlando, FL 22-3 (18)
2. ZSOLT ERDEI
Hungary 21-0 (13)
3. ROY JONES
Pensacola, FL 49-3 (38)
4. JULIO GONZALEZ
Huntington Beach, CA 37-2 (23)
5. DARIUSZ MICHALCZEWSKI
Germany 48-1 (38)
6. CLINTON WOODS
England 36-3-1 (22)
7. FABRICE TIOZZO
Franco 46-2 (30)
8. PAUL BRIGGS
Australia 23-1 (17)
9. THOMAS ULRICH
Germany 27-1 (19)
10. RICO HOYE
Detroit, MI 18-0 (14)
SUPER
MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 168 pounds
Champ: Vacant
1.
JOE CALZAGHE
Wales 38-0 (30)
2. MIKKEL KESSLER
Denmark 35-0 (27)
3. ANTHONY MUNDINE
Australia 23-2 (18)
4. ANTWUN ECHOLS
Davenport, IA 31-5-1 (27)
5. DANNY GREEN
Australia 19-1 (18)
6. JEFF LACY
St. Petersburg, FL 18-0 (14)
7. MADS LARSEN
Denmark 45-2 (37)
8. ROBIN REID
England 37-4-1 (27)
9. MARKUS BEYER
Germany 31-2 (12)
10. MANNY SIACA
Puerto Rico 18-5 (16)
MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 160 pounds
Champ: BERNARD HOPKINS
Philadelphia, PA 45-2-1 (32)
1.
HOWARD EASTMAN
England 40-1 (35)
2. OSCAR DE LA HOYA
Los Angeles, CA 37-4 (29)
3. FELIX STURM
Germany 22-1 (10)
4. FELIX TRINIDAD
Puerto Rico 42-1 (35)
5. JERMAIN TAYLOR
Little Rock, AR 22-0 (16)
6. ROBERT ALLEN
Atlanta, GA 36-5 (27)
7. MASELINO MASOE
New Zealand 26-2 (25)
8. KINGSLEY IKEKE
Canada 21-1 (11)
9. SAM SOLIMAN
Australia 29-7 (11)
10. WILLIAM JOPPY
Washington, D.C. 34-4-1 (25)
JR.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 154 pounds
Champ: WINKY WRIGHT
St. Petersburg, FL 48-3 (25)
1.
KASSIM OUMA
W. Palm Beach, FL 21-1-1 (13)
2. SHANE MOSLEY
Pomona, CA 39-4 (35)
3. VERNO PHILLIPS
Aurora, CO 38-9-1 (20)
4. DANIEL SANTOS
Puerto Rico 29-2-1 (20)
5. TRAVIS SIMMS
Norwalk, CT 24-0 (18)
6. JAVIER CASTILLEJO
Spain 58-5 (40)
7. RODNEY JONES
Lafayette, LA 34-3 (22)
8. KOFI JANTUAH
Las Vegas, NV 28-2 (18)
9. BRONCO McKART
Monroe, MI 47-6 (31)
10. ALEJANDRO GARCIA
Mexico 28-1 (28)
WELTERWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 147 pounds
Champ: ZAB JUDAH
Brooklyn, NY 33-2 (24)
1.
ANTONIO MARGARITO
Mexico 30-4 (21)
2. CORY SPINKS
St. Louis, MO 34-3 (11)
3. THOMAS DAMGAARD
Denmark 34-0 (26)
4. MANUEL GOMEZ
Mexico 27-10-1 (19)
5. KERMIT CINTRON
Reading, PA 24-0 (22)
6. JAWAID KHALIQ
England 23-1-1 (13)
7. CARLOS BALDOMIR
Argentina 40-9-6 (12)
8. COSME RIVERA
Los Angeles, CA 27-7-2 (19)
9. DAVID ESTRADA
Chicago, IL 18-1 (9)
10. SEBASTIAN LUJAN
Argentina 22-1-1 (14)
JR.
WELTERWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 140 pounds
Champ: KOSTYA TSZYU
Australia 31-1 (25)
1.
ARTURO GATTI
Jersey City, NJ 39-6 (30)
2. VIVIAN HARRIS
Brooklyn, NY 25-1-1 (17)
3. FLOYD MAYWEATHER
Grand Rapids, MI 33-0 (22)
4. SHARMBA MITCHELL
Washington, D.C. 55-4 (31)
5. MIGUEL COTTO
Puerto Rico 22-0 (18)
6. RICKY HATTON
England 38-0 (28)
7. DeMARCUS CORLEY
Washington, D.C. 29-3-1 (16)
8. LOVEMORE NDOU
Australia 39-7-1 (25)
9. OKTAY URKAL
Germany 34-3 (10)
10. JUNIOR WITTER
England 30-1-2 (19)
LIGHTWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 135 pounds
Champ: JOSE LUIS CASTILLO
Mexico 51-6-1 (45)
1.
DIEGO CORRALES
Las Vegas, NV 39-2 (32)
2. JOEL CASAMAYOR
Miami, FL 31-3 (19)
3. JUAN LAZCANO
El Paso, TX 33-3-1 (25)
4. JULIO DIAZ
Coachella, CA 30-2 (22)
5. JUAN DIAZ
Houston, TX 27-0 (13)
6. ACELINO FREITAS
Brazil 36-1 (31)
7. JAVIER JAUREGUI
Mexico 49-11-2 (34)
8. ARTUR GRIGORIAN
Uzbekistan 37-1 (23)
9. JULIEN LORCY
France 56-4-2 (41)
10. LAKVA SIM
Mongolia 19-4-1 (16)
JR.
LIGHTWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 130 pounds
Champ: Vacant
1.
MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA
Mexico 59-4 (41)
2. ERIK MORALES
Mexico 47-2 (34)
3. JESUS CHAVEZ
Mexico 40-3 (28)
4. YODSANAN NANTHACHAI
Thailand 43-2-1 (35)
5. CARLOS HERNANDEZ
Bellflower, CA 41-4-1 (24)
6. JORGE BARRIOS
Argentina 42-2-1 (30)
7. CASSIUS BALOYI
South Africa 30-1 (16)
8. MIKE ANCHONDO
La Puente, CA 25-0 (18)
9. ROBBIE PEDEN
Australia 24-2 (13)
10. MZONKE FANA
South Africa 22-2 (8)
FEATHERWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 126 pounds
Champ: MANNY PACQUIAO
Philippines 39-2-2 (30)
1.
JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ
Mexico 43-2-1 (33)
2. INJIN CHI
South Korea 30-2-1 (18)
3. ROCKY JUAREZ
Houston, TX 22-0 (15)
4. SCOTT HARRISON
Scotland 23-2-2 (13)
5. VICTOR POLO
Colombia 34-4-3 (24)
6. MANUEL MEDINA
Mexico 63-14 (29)
7. ZAHIR RAHEEM
Tulsa, OK 25-1 (15)
8. MICHAEL BRODIE
England 35-2-1 (23)
9. CHRIS JOHN
Indonesia 34-0-1 (19)
10. SPEND ABAZI
Denmark 31-1 (10)
JR.
FEATHERWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 122 pounds
Champ: Vacant
1.
OSCAR LARIOS
Mexico 55-3-1 (35)
2. MAHYAR MONSHIPOUR
France 26-2-2 (17)
3. ISRAEL VAZQUEZ
Mexico 37-3 (28)
4. JOAN GUZMAN
Dominican Republic 22-0 (17)
5. JOSE LUIS VALBUENA
Venezuela 24-3-1 (14)
6. JORGE LACIERVA
Mexico 26-5-5 (18)
7. SALIM MEDJKOUNE
France 43-5-1 (21)
8. YODDAMRONG SITHYODTHONG
Thailand 41-2-1 (18)
9. DANIEL PONCE DELEON
Mexico 22-0 (21)
10. WAYNE McCULLOUGH
Las Vegas, NV 27-5 (18)
BANTAMWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 118 pounds
Champ: Vacant
1.
RAFAEL MARQUEZ
Mexico 33-3 (30)
2. VEERAPOL SAHAPROM
Thailand 46-1-2 (32)
3. RATANACHAI VORAPIN
Thailand 59-8 (40)
4. GENARO GARCIA
Mexico 32-4 (20)
5. CRUZ CARBAJAL
Mexico 24-12-1 (20)
6. TOSHIAKI NISHIOKA
Japan 24-4-3 (14)
7. SILENCE MABUZA
South Africa 17-0 (15)
8. RICARDO VARGAS
Mexico 36-10-3 (11)
9. JHONNY GONZALEZ
Mexico 26-4 (24)
10. JULIO ZARATE
Mexico 21-2-1 (13)
JR.
BANTAMWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 115 pounds
Champ: Vacant
1.
KATSUSHIGE KAWASHIMA
Japan 28-3 (18)
2. MARTIN CASTILLO
Mexico 27-1 (16)
3. LUIS PEREZ
Nicaragua 22-1 (14)
4. IVAN HERNANDEZ
Mexico 19-0-1 (13)
5. ALEXANDER MUNOZ
Venezuela 25-1 (24)
6. MARK JOHNSON
Washington, D.C. 44-4 (28)
7. JOSE NAVARRO
Los Angeles, CA 21-1 (9)
8. MASAMORI TOKUYAMA
North Korea 30-3-1 (8)
9. FERNANDO MONTIEL
Mexico 29-1-1 (23)
10. ERIC MOREL
Madison, WI 35-1 (18)
FLYWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 112 pounds
Champ: Vacant
1.
PONGSAKLEK WONJONGKAM
Thailand 55-2 (29)
2. LORENZO PARRA
Venezuela 25-0 (17)
3. VIC DARCHINYAN
Australia 22-0 (17)
4. MZUKISI SIKALI
South Africa 29-4-2 (17)
5. IRENE PACHECO
Colombia 29-1 (22)
6. OMAR NARVAEZ
Argentina 18-0-2 (12)
7. ROSENDO ALVAREZ
Nicaragua 33-2-2 (21)
8. BRAHIM ASLOUM
France 17-0 (6)
9. HUSSEIN HUSSEIN
Australia 27-1 (21)
10. BRIAN VILORIA
Waipahu, HI 16-0 (10)
JR.
FLYWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 108 pounds
Champ: Vacant
1.
JORGE ARCE
Mexico 38-3-1 (28)
2. VICTOR BURGOS
Mexico 37-13-3 (22)
3. BEIBIS MENDOZA
Colombia 29-3 (23)
4. NELSON DIEPPA
Puerto Rico 22-1-2 (13)
5. PICHIT SIRIWAT
Thailand 30-2 (14)
6. FAHLAN SAKKREERIN
Thailand 50-4-2 (20)
7. JOSE AGUIRRE
Mexico 33-2-1 (20)
8. KERMIN GUARDIA
Colombia 35-4 (21)
9. ULISES SOLIS
Mexico 14-1 (10)
10. ROBERTO VASQUEZ
Panama 18-1 (15)
STRAWWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 105 pounds
Champ: Vacant
1.
YUTAKA NIIDA
Japan 17-1-3 (8)
2. MUHAMMAD RACHMAN
Indonesia 49-7-3 (21)
3. DANIEL REYES
Colombia 34-2-1 (29)
4. IVAN CALDERON
Puerto Rico 21-0 (4)
5. ISAAC BUSTOS
Mexico 24-6-3 (13)
6. EAGLE KYOWA
Japan 13-1 (5)
7. JUAN LANDAETA
Venezuela 15-3-1 (13)
8. CHANA PORPAOIN
Thailand 51-2-3 (17)
9. NOEL ARAMBULET
Venezuela 20-3-1 (10)
10. RODEL MAYOL
Philippines 20-0 (16)
Source: Dog House Boxing
|
Quote
of the Day
"All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed.
Second, it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German Philosopher
|
KICKIN
IT 2005 (AMATEUR KICKBOXING)
TONIGHT!
KAPOLEI HIGH SCHOOL GYMNASIUM
(DOORS
OPEN AT 7:00 PM)
FEB. 19, 2005 (SATURDAY)
MAIN EVENT
SUPER WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
NICK CORREA 147-150# ALEX ZARRIELLO
HSD (2-2) GEE YUNG (2-1)
SEMI MAIN
JUSTIN DANO 160-165# KAIKA TROYFU
HSD JESUS IS LORD
TONY PEREIRA 115-119# KOICHI TANJI
WAIANAE KICKBOXING HMC
CLINT K 140-145# SHYSTEN
FREELANCE JESUS IS LORD
PAULO SHERIDAN 195-200# MIGUEL ASUNCTION
MASTER BRO. ABE ANIMAL HOUSE
KONA KEAALOHA 80-85# ROBBY OSTAVICH
HSD JESUS IS LORD
JOHN HOSOKAWA 135-140# AIKA SAMSON
GEE YUNG ANIMAL HOUSE
DENVER GONSALVES 185-200# BENJI PIWKO
HSD TEAM PERCEPTION
GORDON BERRY 170-175# WALTER HAO
HAWAII TRAINING CENTER ANIMAL HOUSE
KEA HUALATON 160-165# ALAN ALCARAZ
HAWAII TRAINING CENTER JESUS IS LORD
DARREN JOSE 145-150# BRANDON GANITANO
HSD HAWAII TRAINING CENTER
BRYAN INGRAM 170-175# ALAN ULIT
HAWAII TRAINING CENTER ANIMAL HOUSE
SHANE DULLATRY 105-110# JUSTIN PIAMONTE
JESUS IS LORD ANIMAL HOUSE
ALL MATCHES MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
COME DOWN AND CHECK OUT THESE FIGHTS ON SATURDAY NIGHT FOR A
LOT OF THESE GUYS ARE FIRST TIME FIGHTERS TRYING TO BUILD UP
THEIR RECORDS AND SKILLS TO FIGHT FOR BELTS AT THE END OF THE
YEAR. THE MAIN EVENT IS ALMOST AS EVEN AS IT CAN GET FOR BOTH
FIGHTERS ARE ALMOST 6 FEET TALL, THEIR RECORDS ARE ALMOST THE
SAME, AND THIS FIGHT WILL INCLUDE LEG KICKS. DONT MISS OUT FOR
IT ALL STARTS HERE. THE SWINGING WILL BE INSANE AS IT ALWAYS
IS ON THE KICKIN IT CARDS. GO-TIME WILL PROBABLY START AT 7:15PM
SO COME EARLY.
CAUSE DAS HOW WE KICK IT
Source: Event Promoter
|
The
New Maui Jiu-Jitsu Academy Opens Its Doors!
Maui
Jiu-Jitsu Academy
343 Hanamau Street
Kahului, Hawaii 96732
Luis
“Limao” Heredia invites everyone to the new Maui Jiu-Jitsu
Academy featuring 3,384 square feet of mat space. There is a
main mat room that has a 55 piece mat area and a private/small
group room that has 25 piece mat area. There are a lot of other
amenities that have to be seen to be appreciated.
Maui
Jiu-Jitsu is hosting their 2nd Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open on
March 12, 2005. If your school is interested, please email Lee
Theros at Mauibadboy@aol.com or Luis Heredia at
lfheredia@aol.com for tournament information
or to have a registration packet sent to you.
The
Relson Gracie Casca Grossa Team will be there and we hope to
see all of you there! They also have some cost saving suggestions
to help your team afford to attend the tournament, please feel
free to contact them about it.
|
The
Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Enrollment Forms Are Available Online!
The
tournament will take place on April 1st, 2nd and 3rd in California
State University Dominguez Hills, Carson - California.
The
Pan American Jiu jitsu 2005 is realized by American Jiu-Jitsu
Confederation.
California
State University, Dominguez Hills
1000 E. Victoria Street
Carson, California 90747
(310) 243-3696
Get
the enrollment form at: www.cbjj.com.br/english/pan2005.htm
Source:
IBJJF
|
DOES
PARISYAN DESERVE A TITLE SHOT?
Fresh off a dominate win over Chris "Lights Out" Lytle,
Karo "The Heat" Parisyan wants a shot at the UFC welterweight
title. "The Heat" spoke with MMAWeekly about his fight
with Chris Lytle, earning an opportunity to fight for the belt,
and a possible rematch with George St.Pierre, who defeated Karo
at UFC 46: Super Natural by unanimous decision.
Parisyan
was prepared to go to war with Chris Lytle. It didn't turn out
to be such a war though. Parisyan turned it into a one-sided
fight. Going in, Karo thought it was going to be tougher than
it turned out to be. He commented, "I actually thought it
would be a little tougher fight....You know what, I just went
in there, and I just put the heat on him. I honestly thought
it might be a little tougher, but it really didn't. I don't know
how or why it happened, but I'm glad it happened."
Parisyan
feels he should be in line for a title shot after this impressive
victory. He said, "I think, honestly, that I do deserve
a title shot. I mean, you know, Frank [Trigg] is fighting Hughes
next, and that will be a great fight. I honestly, I've told people,
I think Frank's going to beat Hughes. I don't know, for some
reason I think Frank's going to beat him. On the other hand,
I think I should fight for the title. I should fight the winner
of whoever wins."
Further
commenting, Karo said, "I think I deserve a title shot.
I've beat Nick [Diaz]. I beat Lytle. I came off a loss before
that with St.Pierre, you know, but I got back up and I beat Shonie
[Carter], and I beat Diaz, and I beat Lytle now, and I think
I deserve a title shot."
Right
now, Karo is a free agent. He only had a one fight contract with
the UFC for the Lytle fight. About his future with the UFC, he
said, "These guys don't give me a contract. Only a single
fight contract. I don't know what I have to do to prove to Dana
White, or any of these guys, that give me a three fight contract
or something. You know? I mean, I've beaten real tough guys in
the UFC. I'm not saying I'm real tough or anything, but then
again, I think I'm in with the big guys now. I think I deserve
a three fight contract."
Parisyan
was asked if he'd like a rematch with George St.Pierre to avenge
the loss. Karo responded, "Yeah, I'll fight him. First of
all, like I said, right now, I think I deserve a title shot.
After the title shot, I could fight anybody. I'd like to fight
a champion, and I want to fight for that belt."
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
WERDUM
READY FOR ERIKSON
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Mauricio Behring, and Fabricio
Werdum.
Fabricio
Werdum recently spoke with Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' regarding
his upcoming fight against Tom Erikson on the PRIDE 29 card on
February 20th.
"We're
studying what will be the best tactic for my fight. I've trained
a lot of ground game, with Mirko (Filipovic) in charge of my
standup training. I am feeling better each time about facing
any adversary", said Werdum
Werdum's
teammate, Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic, is scheduled to face Mark
Coleman on the same card.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
Quinton
Jackson: Changed In and Out of the Ring
by Josh Gross
Days
before the biggest bout of his career, Quinton Jackson felt like
he was in the middle rounds of a far more important fight. This
was a lonely battle, and there weren’t many people with
whom he could speak.
Just
two months earlier, adrift in turbulent waters that tend to whirlpool
around men like him, the swear-word-loving Jackson’s closest
allies were sure he had either pulled a genius hoax or turned
mad.
Jackson
hoped they would come around to see that this change was not
a result of his doing. However, that did not happen and there
was no way they’d understand. Not now. Not on the eve of
his rematch with PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva.
Then
he found what he thought was the answer:
Fast.
Don’t eat? For three days! I have no choice! I’m losing.
I have to. I have to.
“One
of the hardest things about being ‘born again’ is staying
that way,” Jackson told Sherdog.com before leaving for Japan
to fight Murilo “Ninja” Rua this Sunday. “I didn’t
want to go back.”
In
the middle of a late-summer night Jackson and his kindergarten-age
son D’Angelo woke up to separate, though eerily similar
dreams. Both were shaken, so much so that at 4 a.m. they had
to get out of their apartment.
To
Jackson, it was a sign.
“You
know how girls cry when they’re happy?” he said. “That’s
how I was. I think I felt Jesus’ love. I don’t know.
I automatically knew everything after I was ‘born again.’”
“God
fearing” would not have been the first phrase used to describe
him before that night. A product of southern churches as much
as Memphis’ streets, the African-American Jackson “tried
to follow the 10 Commandments,” even though he probably
“broke every one.”
Confused
and maybe a bit scared, he took the approach of someone getting
a new lease on life. Never before could he have imagined abstaining
from sex—“That’s like a heroin addict quitting
cold turkey.”—yet he did, intending to remain chaste
until marriage.
Concentrating
in the gym on his PRIDE middleweight title shot, the first month
flew by. He didn’t even look at women, he said. But then
things rolled into month two and he remembered his spirit and
body clashing something serious.
That’s
when Jackson came across the article on the Internet that suggested
fasting would help him “fend off the devil.” Three
days of avoiding food (water was fine) was recommended. Oh, and
he was supposed to keep the process to himself.
“It
helped me out spiritually a lot,” said Jackson, discussing
it for the first time. “But I didn’t know it was going
to take my energy. I thought I was going to be fine. I didn’t
think it was going to effect my fight at all because I was fighting
in four days.”
After
an impressive opening round in which he hurt Silva, the toll
of not eating for three days became obvious.
Colin
Oyama, Jackson’s trainer, noticed his fighter slowing five
minutes into the championship contest. Only later—after
Jackson endured a savage knockout that resulted in his being
suspended, unconscious, between the ropes—did Oyama find
out why his charge could not fight like he prepared.
So
upset was Oyama that it took “a while” before Jackson’s
trainer and friend could bring himself to speak with the fighter.
“I
think back and I’m kinda glad that I lost the fight,”
Jackson admitted. “I’m not happy I lost the fight the
way I did, but I was convinced God changed me so I could be champion.
That was so shallow and so selfish.
“I
learned a lot from it. You can’t take it back. Me, now,
I’ve learned everything happens for a reason.”
Upon
Reflection
With
the setback of losing to Silva and the “embarrassment”
of fasting behind him, he went about the business of trying to
figure out just what happened.
Jackson
always considered himself Christian, yet no longer did that simply
mean believing in something. He now knew and he began to recall
moments that, at the time, seemed trivial but now, in his mind,
were instances of God trying to help.
There
was the time at a restaurant when a woman walked up to him and
said he was a poor role model for his son. Jackson reacted as
many of us would. Now, upon reflection, he understood.
Then
there were the times when he would scrap because that’s
what he had to do. Now, upon reflection, that was God preparing
him for his life as a professional fighter.
And
then there was Jackson’s drug-using father, who disappeared
when Quinton was 10, only to return to his life two years ago
as an evangelical.
“I
was praying for my father to stop drugs and all that other stuff,”
he said. “When he finally did I was surprised. It’s
kind of weird how everything happened. My dad starting praying
for me when he was ‘born again.’”
Despite
his best efforts, however, Jackson soon fell victim to the sorts
of things that plagued his father. “I had sex with so many
different girls,” he said. “Sometimes I used condoms,
sometimes I wouldn’t—it depended on how drunk I was.
When you fight, you gotta take those blood tests. If something
would have happened to me, my career could have been over. I
was so foolish. I thought I was cool. All these cuss words I
used all the time and all these girls I messed around with and
all the clubs I was going to and getting drunk … I look
back at it now and I was foolish. I was destroying myself.”
When
Jackson remained behind in Tokyo to relax with friends after
knocking out Ricardo Arona in June 2004, a couple of weeks of
partying was enough for his life to get out of hand.
“I
never craved alcohol before then,” he said. “I knew
I had to try and slow down. I thought that to myself. The next
day, I was right back at the bar drinking again, hanging out
with my friends.
“Normally
I wouldn’t drink two days in a row … I started breaking
my rule.
“I
think I was heading for self-destruction the way I was. I think
I was turning into an alcoholic and I’m just thankful, man,
that things happened the way they happened.”
His
concerns didn’t stem from only the prospect of a ruined
fight career or the possibility at missed millions. Now, upon
reflection, there’s one explanation for the events of the
past six months: his son.
“I
think [God] wanted me to be a good father, because the road I
was going there was no telling,” Jackson said. “I could
have gotten AIDS, or died in a car accident drunk driving, or
got shot in the club. Anything. Where does that leave my son
now? Who would have taken care of him now?”
Being
a Father to His Boy
Jackson,
who met his son’s mother while attending Lassen Community
College in the California Northwest, took sole custody of D’Angelo
five months ago.
A
quiet kid with big, curious eyes, D’Angelo, who looks like
a miniature white chocolate version of Quinton, hardly spoke
with his father when the two first began living together. “He
was just there,” Jackson said. “I’d wake up in
the morning and feed him breakfast, brush his teeth and do all
that stuff. It was almost like having a pet.”
But
since returning home after the Silva rematch, Jackson and “D”
enjoy a healthier relationship. “Me and my son started talking,”
Jackson said. “He saw my face the way it was. We kind of
bonded a little bit. I started spending time with him. He started
laughing with me and joking. And he started talking to me.”
Today,
D’Angelo is a happy kindergartener. And Jackson is an even
prouder dad.
“I
think I was my son’s last hope,” said Jackson, who
claimed that D’Angelo’s mother used drugs during the
pregnancy.
As
he prepared for his bout against Rua—a win would place Jackson
in this year’s PRIDE middleweight Grand Prix—the highly-ranked
205-pounder attempted to balance being a father with doing the
things necessary to win a fight at the highest levels of MMA.
Recently,
the 26 year old became engaged to a Japanese woman named Yuki.
She lives in Irvine, Calif. with Quinton and D’Angelo and
has become immensely important in the lives of the Jackson men.
“She
has helped me tremendously,” he said. “I can’t
even name all the things she does.”
With
her help, Jackson said he’s eating properly for the first
time in his life. His energy is at an all-time high and he feels
confident heading into this weekend’s fight.
Along
with Silva and UFC light heavyweight champion Randy Couture,
it’s safe to place Jackson among the best fighters at his
weight in the world. That won’t change, he promised, because
his new priorities have only served to make him “more focused
in training.”
“Maybe
one day I might deserve to be the champion and I can reflect
and look back from there,” he said. “And hopefully
I don’t get knocked down, knocked out or submitted too many
times before I get there.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
POSTAL
CONNECTIONS:
THE REASON TANNER LEFT TEAM QUEST
Hello my friends, my postal connections on the west coast have
sent me the following info on why Evan Tanner supposedly left
Team Quest:
"Evan
Tanner became by Sportsbook.com sponsered in 2004.
After
a while, Matt Lindland became sponsered for his fight against
David Terrell, when he was knocked out. Shortly after that, Randy
Couture and Matt Lindland supposedly made a backroom deal with
a represenative from Sportsbook.com, named 'Jeremy', for Team
Quest to get all of the money alloted for MMA sponsership by
Sportsbook.com, which was in the 6-figures area.
In
this deal, which was made behind Evan Tanner's back, Couture
and Lindland were left in charge of all the monetary resources,
and they had to do virtually nothing to earn this money.
Part
of the money supposedly went to boost the SportFight promotion
that Lindland runs. And most of it supposedly went to Couture
and Lindland. Evan Tanner and Dan Henderson had previous deals
with Sportsbook.com.
After
this was approved, Couture and Lindland still demanded a percentage
of Evan Tanner's sponsership money as well. This is what caused
Tanner to sever his ties with Team Quest.
Sportsbook.com
officials are currently investigating this deal."
Source:
Fight Sport
|
SOUTHWORTH
SOUNDS OFF
Bobby Southworth recently sounded off regarding the controversy
that occurred between him and Chris Leben on the fifth episode
of 'The Ultimate Fighter' reality series:
"YES,
I WAS IN THE WRONG!!!!
I
won't use being drunk as an excuse. I don't let other people
use that when they do stupid shit. I was sick of Chris, I wanted
to hurt him, and I crossed the line. It was very difficult living
with him. They don't show half of the shit he was pulling.
AGAIN
THIS IS NO EXCUSE!!!
In
life we all do things that we regret. Start casting stones if
you've never f---ed up. The edit monster is in effect again.
They don't show me owning up for what I did. That's all I was
doing in the meeting, was saying we were in the wrong and not
trying to use being drunk as an excuse. The EM is also trying
to make it look like my idea, which it wasn't!!
My
idea was to wet the ground around him(still wrong). I wasn't
the one spraying water directly on him. Chris also didn't run
right into the house and go crazy. He ranted at me for at least
a minute before he realized it wasn't me who doused him. Then
he went after Kos.
We
all learned a lot about ourselves from the xperience of being
on the show. I thought that I was more mature than that and I
was wrong. I thought I was above being petty and cruel, WRONG
AGAIN.
I
have to live with what I did. I never thought it would escalate
to the level it did.
All
I can hope is that I have grown since then.
All
I can do is try and become a better person.
One
Final Thought: I would only change what I said to Chris. I was
abandoned as a child and was lucky enough to be adopted by a
loving family. So, what I said to Chris was kind of hypocritical.
Yes,
that's KOS not ko's. No blows were thrown!!
I
won't say I was contrite(def.?)but Kos and I both were admitting
we were wrong.
Chris
din't drop the N bomb.
The
only thing is the timing was bad. We weren't trying to be mean.
We were trying to play a prank!! That's why I was laughing the
whole time.
LEBEN
NEXT TIME WE DRINK TOGETHER,
DON'T
PASS OUT NEAR A HOSE!!!
'CAUSE
YOU WON'T BE THE RED TERROR,
YOU'LL
BE "THE WET RED TERROR!!!!!!
Time
to wait for the hate!!!
-B.SOUTH"
Source:
Fight Sport
|
What’s
up with Tito Ortiz?
By "Big Dog" Benny Henderson Jr.
A
burning question is on the minds of the media, the UFC as well
as other organizations and most of all the fans, what’s
up with Tito Ortiz? Where does the thirty year old UFC super
star go from here? After defeating Vitor Belfort February 5th
at UFC 51 the light heavyweight is now for the first time a free
agent and has the option to go and fight where he so chooses.
So where does Tito plan to go? Well Max Fighting caught up with
Bardia Ghahremani who is Ortiz’s manager and when asked
about what is next for Ortiz, Ghahremani had this to say to MAX
“Tito is going to take a month off and relax and be with
his family, as for what he will do next, after his time off,
Tito, his advisors and myself will sit down and look at the options
and decide what is best for Tito and his career, when we know
you will know.”
Tito Ortiz began his Ultimate Fighting career in 1997 as an alternate
in UFC 13: The Ultimate Force when fighter Enson Inoue won his
bout but couldn’t continue due to injury. So Ortiz filled
in and made quick work of his opponent Wes Albritton in his debut
defeating his opposition with strikes on the ground. In the tournament
final for the Lightweight Championship Tito faced Lion’s
Den fighter Guy Mezger. With in the first minute Ortiz trapped
Mezger in an inside cradle and was delivering knees to the head
when referee John McCarthy ordered the fighters to separate to
check out Mezger’s cuts and then to re-set the fighters.
Tito went in for the kill with a takedown but got caught in the
guillotine choke and was forced to tap out, thus losing the bout
but gaining the die hard Ortiz fans that still follow him to
day. After a lay off Tito returned to the No Holds Barred sport
and in UFC 18: Ortiz pummeled his opponent Jerry Bohlander and
in UFC 19: Tito got his revenge over Guy Mezger with a win by
TKO. Over the next six years Ortiz competed in eleven UFC events
battling out victories over Evan Tanner, Ken Shamrock and recently
long awaited octagon opponent Vitor Belfort but had defeats from
Frank Shamrock, Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell adding a UFC
total of (11-4) with two victories out of the UFC to a career
total of (13-4).
The
6’2” “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has gained
a reputation of possessing good wrestling skills with a vicious
ground and pound attack with excellent conditioning, and with
the years of his competing in the UFC Tito has gained a legion
of loyal Ortiz fans. They can’t get enough of the flag waving,
punishing power high octane show the octagon gladiator has brought
to the Ultimate Fighting Championship in each and every event
he has attended, and the ongoing screams from the fanatic crowd
on hand is proof he is a major player in the UFC and hopefully
he will remain a major contributor to the growing sport. So what
will it take to keep Tito Ortiz as a UFC fighter? Ortiz is one
of the highest paid fighters in the UFC world at this time getting
a pay scale of one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars to
fight, and a fifty-thousand bonus for a win totaling a rake in
of one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars for an octagon
victory. So what is Tito’s salary wishes to continue his
UFC run? His manager told MAX that they are looking for a three
hundred and fifty thousand dollar a fight payday to keep Tito
in the octagon, and they feel the former light-heavyweight champion
is well worth the money they are asking for.
So
will Tito Ortiz remain in the octagon?
After
the win over Belfort in UFC 51: which was his last contractual
bout with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ghahremani told
MAX that the phones went to ringing and offers from other organizations
came in and they were fielding other offers. It seems that others
would like a piece of the draw that Ortiz seems to bring along
with him at any event he competes in. Ghahremani made it clear
that Tito Ortiz loves the UFC and the fans, and has nothing but
respect for ZUFFA and Dana White, but Ortiz wants to secure his
son’s future with bigger and better pay days. So at this
time he will set back and take a little R&R with the Ortiz
family and after a month he will look at the offers that are
on the table and sort out the best options for his career, but
hopes the UFC and he will reach an agreement for further business
together and continue to administer team punishment to the UFC
and its loyal Ortiz fans.
Stay
Tuned!
Source:
Maxfighting
|
CAN
OVEREEM DEFEAT NOGUIERA?
by Ryan Bennett
He
may be one of the best kept secrets in MMA. How a fighter who
has won 15 out of his last 16 fights, has flown under the radar
for so long is basically unheard of, but welcome to Alistar Overeem's
world.
During
his huge win streak, his only loss during that time was the loss
to Chuck Liddell. Overeem going into this fight against Rogerio
Nogueira is not only the underdog, he's a HUGE underdog.
MMA
Premiere Oddsmaker, Joey Oddessa has made Noguiera the big favorite.
Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira opened at -325, meaning you would
have to bet 325, just to win $100.
Alistair
Overeem is a big underdog at +250. Which means you would have
to bet 100 bucks to win $250. Does a guy who has won 15 of 16
deserve to be such a huge underdog?
When
your facing Rogerio Nogueira, maybe. Nogueira, the smaller of
the two Nogueira brothers, has won 9 of his first 10 fights.
His only loss was to Vladimir Matyushenko by decision in the
now defunct UFO organization.
When
you think of the name Nogueira, you think of submission wizard.
While Rogerio may be a sub machine, he hasn't had a ton of submissions
in MMA competition. Nogueira went to decisions in six of the
last seven fights. Two of those decisions were controversial,
as they were of the split decisions variety. Those split decisions
were over Kazuhiro Nakamura at Pride Bushido 4 and Guy Mezger
at Pride 24.
For
whatever reason, fighters have been able to solve Rogerio's submission
game and have not been caught tapping out. Overeem hopes to be
in that same company this weekend.
In
Overeems four losses, they were very early in his career. Overeem
is 19-4 overall and early in his career he was just 4-3 with
two of those losses by decision to Iouri Kotchkine. His only
other loss was to Bobby Hoffman.
During
the big win streak of 15 wins in his last 16 fights, seven of
those 15 wins were by submissions, so Overeem definitely has
a solid ground game as well. This is a very interesting match
up that seems a lot closer than what the oddsmakers have in this
fight.
In
our opinion this is a pickem type of fight. Overeem obviously
wants to keep this thing standing, but he won't be loss on the
ground like many people think. Nogueira wants this to be a ground
war, but remember the knock on both of the Nogueira brothers
is their take downs aren't very good at all. Will Rogerio be
able to take down Alistar at any point of this fight? That is
the question in this fight which will go a long way to determining
who moves on in the 205 division.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
PRIDE
PREVIEW: CRO COP VS COLEMAN
by Ken Pishna
PRIDE 29: FISTS OF FIRE
MARK “THE HAMMER” COLEMAN VS. MIRCO “CRO COP”
FILIPOVIC
Mark
“The Hammer” Coleman has been successful throughout
his entire life. In wrestling, he was an NCAA champion, a Pan-Am
Gold Medalist, and an Olympic Team member. When he moved on to
mixed martial arts, Coleman again rose to the top. He won two
UFC tournaments, became the UFC Heavyweight Champion, and captured
the 2000 Pride Grand Prix title.
But
true to the roller coaster ride that is his life, Coleman has
also known the downside of competition. He made the 1992 Olympic
team only to finish seventh. After stepping in and taking the
UFC belt, Coleman then went on a four-fight skid before rekindling
his career at the Pride Grand Prix.
Over
the past four years Coleman has fought four times. Over that
span he has an up and down record of 2-2. Now 40 years old, if
Coleman is going to make another move in the heavyweight division,
this is his perhaps his last chance. It will be no easy task
as he faces one of the top fighters in the division, Mirko “Cro
Cop” Filipovic.
From
Croatia, Cro Cop is a former police officer and anti-terrorist
task force member. But along with his real world street experience,
he has competed for years in combat sports of various forms.
He has nearly 50 boxing bouts to his credit, more than 20 K-1
rules fights, and this will be his 19th MMA match.
Cro
Cop is one of the only K-1 fighters to make a serious attempt
at becoming a title contender in MMA. He rose quickly through
the Pride ranks before Antonio Nogueira derailed him in 2003.
Cro Cop started right back up the ladder before being knocked
out in a shocker by Kevin Randleman in the first round of last
year’s Middleweight Grand Prix.
Since
that loss to Randleman, Cro Cop has gone on a five-fight win
streak that has included a win over Josh Barnett and avenging
his loss to Randleman. On February 22nd, he will step into the
ring with Coleman, Randleman’s Hammer House teammate, to
see who will move back into contention for Fedor Emelianenko’s
belt.
Coleman
is the man that invented the ground and pound style that is so
prevalent in MMA today. He has always used his superior wrestling
skills to put opponents on their backs and then dominate them
with his relentless punches, forearms and knees. Like most wrestlers,
Coleman is stronger than most opponents his size. This has sometimes
worked in his favor, but at the expense of stamina. If the fight
goes out of the opening minutes, Coleman has a difficult time
keeping pace and has a penchant for gassing.
Though
he has stepped out of his comfort zone and started training with
Marc Laimon in Las Vegas, Coleman is not known to have a very
strong submission game outside of basic chokes and wrestling
neck cranks. He does have a lot of power in his punch, but has
never really impressed with his standup game either.
Cro
Cop, on the other hand, is well regarded as one of the best strikers
ever in MMA competition. He has refined his standup game with
his years of boxing and K-1 competition, but has been a wrecking
machine in MMA with his devastating kicks. In fact, Cro Cop has
knocked out nearly every opponent that he has beaten until recently.
He had a suspect submission victory over Josh Barnett before
choking out Randleman in their rematch.
At
times, Cro Cop has shown a decent sprawl and commands a solid
base when he gets top position on the ground. He is constantly
working to improve his ground game, but it’s still not one
of Cro Cop’s strengths. His conditioning, on the other hand,
has been good. Though he’s rarely called upon to go the
distance, Cro Cop has and he doesn’t carry as much oxygen-burning
muscle as Coleman.
Styles
make fights and unfortunately for Mark Coleman, he doesn’t
match up well against strikers. Each time that he has faced a
striker the caliber of Cro Cop, he has lost.
Coleman
couldn’t overcome Maurice Smith or Pedro Rizzo. And although
Antonio Nogueira and Fedor Emelianenko aren’t known as the
world’s foremost standup artists, they both have solid standup
games that took Coleman out of his rhythm and set up submissions.
Cro
Cop is the best striker that Coleman will have ever faced in
MMA and he has a sprawl to go with his striking. Cro Cop has
faced Kevin Randleman twice now and has broken the code. Though
Coleman possesses a better shot than Randleman, it would be surprising
if he is able to get Cro Cop down and keep him on his back. That
is what Coleman has to do
to win this fight, but Cro Cop has just gotten too good with
his sprawl and balance. And if he can’t take Cro Cop out
early, it just gets more and more difficult for Coleman as the
fight wears on. Cro Cop can keep going, but due to his muscle
mass, Coleman tends to fade quickly as the fight goes on. Watch
out for one of those lightning fast kicks to either take Coleman
out or set up one of his newfound submissions.
The
one thing that could make the difference in the outcome of this
fight is… heart. Tons and tons of heart. That is the one
thing about Coleman that is hard to quantify and factor into
his fights. Heart carried Coleman to that first tournament win
back at UFC 10. Heart powered Coleman to the Pride Grand Prix
title. And heart is what keeps Coleman coming back, year after
year, fight after fight. If he is to upset Cro Cop, Coleman will
have to look deep into his heart to find a way to win.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
HORN
OPENS NEW GYM
Jeremy Horn has a brand new gym. This was his official letter
to announce his gym opening.
"I
just wanted to let everyone know that I have finaly started my
own gym. We have a 40 x 40 wrestling mat, a boxing ring (possibly
two) and are getting a large selection of free weights soon.
We are going to be offering some training camp type deals in
the near future so anyone interested should email me at jghorn13@hotmail.com.
The
gym is location is: 990 south and 700 west in suite #4 salt lake
city 84104 phone 801 908 5355. I also have a toll free number
888 908 5355
We
are open from 10 am to noon and 6 pm to 8 monday - thursday and
saturdays from 11am to 1pm
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Chonan
Continues Streak;
Maeda and Imanari Battle to Draw
by Masa Fukui
TOKYO,
Feb. 12 – On Valentine’s Day weekend I told my girl,
who traveled 600-km to be with me, to stay home so I could pour
my love into another thing. Yes, that’s right, I’m
pouring my love into the sport you call mixed martial arts.
DEEP’s
eighteenth event was held at Korakuen Hall and featured PRIDE
Veteran Ryo Chonan against Roan Carneiro, who will represent
Brazil for the upcoming Abu Dhabi tournament. Also the card featured
undefeated fighter Yoshiro Maeda versus slick-as-oil grappler
Masakazu Imanari.
Chonan-Carneiro
was a classic match up between striker and grappler. This man
Carneiro has such fast takedowns that they’re almost indefensible,
especially with his long legs and arms.
Chonan
is a striker. He trains sprawl everyday. If he can’t sprawl,
he can’t win the fight. He does it all the time. But Carneiro’s
shot was way too fast to defend. When Chonan sprawled halfway,
Carneiro’s hands are already catching Chonan’s thigh,
and it looked like Carneiro would just run over Chonan.
But
here’s the key: I’m sure Carneiro is a great grappler,
yet as soon as he took Chonan down his offensive action slowed
down. Sure he dropped some bombs from Chonan’s guard. He
also passed Chonan’s guard several times, and even took
the mount position. But after he took Chonan down, his aggressiveness
seemed dialed down.
I
heard there are people blaming the referee of this fight. They’re
saying Carneiro got robbed? Well, I don’t have any problem
that Chonan won this fight. The last jumping knee gave enough
impact to shake Carneiro’s brain and he bled pretty badly.
Sherdog.com
photographer Stephen Martinez, who was only one yard away from
the scene, said, “Carneiro was out of consciousness a very
short time. Then Chonan pounded [him and] Carneiro kinda woke
up.”
I
saw Carneiro in back stage and his bleeding was slowed down.
But still he was putting a towel on the right eye area. Even
though I couldn’t see the cut, I don’t think he could
continue to fight.
Oh,
you’re talking about the referee helping Chonan by standing
them up too quickly? I agree. Referee Noguchi stood them up pretty
quick. I was at the media seat and other media guys were also
tilting their head. Yes, it was too quick, especially in round
three. Yes, Referee stood them up pretty quick but it’s
still acceptable level. How acceptable? Hmm, maybe it’s
acceptable, as this sport is not completely developed. Don’t
get me wrong, I’m not saying that referee’s commands
can be different from fight to fight. But in a process of founding
this sport as real sports, it could happen, just like any other
sports.
For
example, like soccer, baseball or other sports still have BS
they call “hometown” decision. But the thing is, Carneiro
lost the fight. However, he showed great skill.
Let’s
hear what Mr. Saeki, who promotes DEEP, said after the event:
“Carneiro is very strong guy. I was sweating [because, Chonan
was losing this fight]. Today, unfortunately he lost. But Carneiro
may fight very great with other guys too. So I’m looking
forward to it.”
That’s
a good sign for Carneiro. I don’t know if he wants to fight
in MMA before Abu Dhabi. But, hey, his fight caught the promoter’s
eyes. That’s something. And yeah all the spectators at Korakuen
Hall will remember how sharp his tackle was … amazing.
After
the fight, Chonan gave a comment to the media: “Carneiro
was very strong. As strong as Anderson Silva, who I fought on
New Year’s Eve. Carneiro’s tackle was very fast. I’ve
never had such a tackle in fight. My strategy was kneeing him
in the face when he comes to shoot. But he was too quick, and
I couldn’t even defend his shot in [the] DEEP ring, which
is smaller than PRIDE ring.
“He
has very long arm and pounded me good on the ground. So my left
cheek is swelling up like this. I didn’t feel that much
pressure about submission from him.”
Other
media asked him if the last knee was just lucky or not. “No
it wasn’t a lucky knee at all,” he replied. “I
train that knee a lot. If I hit it without training, that’s
a lucky knee. But I train that jumping knee really a lot. So
that is not lucky one.”
He
wrapped up his post-fight interview by saying, “Today, I
fought with the injury I got from New Year’s Eve fight.
And I hurt my left foot in today’s fight. I kicked Carneiro’s
knee. It’ll take couple of days to see if this injury is
real bad one or not. But at first I’d like to take a break
and take care of my injury.”
Next
up, Dokonjonosuke Mishima against Tomomi Iwama (Taisho). Not
too many things to write about this fight. Tomomi got pounded
on the ground for 15 minutes. Period.
Mishima
pounded Tomomi from the top, kind of like he did it to Marcus
Aureilo last summer in PRIDE Bushido. Iwama is a jiu-jitsu guy
who can actually exchange bombs on his feet. But when they face
each other, the body-size difference was so obvious. And Mishima’s
takedown is pretty sick. So Tomomi ended up fighting on his back.
But
quick question: What happens if a jiu-jitsu guy can’t open
his guard the whole time? It’s a box seat of all you can
eat “punch.” The funny thing is, Takanori Gomi was
at the ringside and Mishima was holding the microphone at the
moment in the ring, you know doing his favorite mic performance.
But he didn’t say anything about a rematch against Gomi.
Then audience loudly shouted “fight against Gomi …
Fight Gomi!” and Mishima answered “Please don’t
bring it up ... Please.” Obviously, he had a hard time getting
over his loss to that man.
And
Gomi was just laughing his butt off. You know, once these two
fighters, Gomi and Mishima, were a huge rival in SHOOTO. And
Mishima had such a painful loss against Gomi. It was mentally
damaged more than physically because, after that fight Gomi relentlessly
talked trash about Mishima in this magazine and that magazine.
Now
both are out of SHOOTO. Is there any chance that they face each
other in the ring again? I saw Mr. Saeki walk up to PRIDE staff
(who was visiting this DEEP show) and whispered something while
Mishima was on the mic. Hmm, DEEP champ maybe joining the PRIDE
lightweight tourney? That’ll be awesome! Let’s make
it happen.
Yoshiro
Maeda hasn’t lost in MMA at all. He destroying each of his
12 opponents and most of his win were earned in a decent fight
organization, Pancrase. So he’s not earning that record
by fighting one of those wannabe fighters.
And
Masakazu Imanari is a guy who has very unorthodox style like
Genki Sudo. Stand up sideways against his opponent, somersault
forward, backward, to the side … and takedown or catch your
leg and submit lighting-fast. Once he touches your leg, you are
already caught in his “leglock hell.” His arms and
legs just tangle on you like an octopus as you can see in the
DEEP picture galleries. Yeah even his head is shaved like an
octopus.
This
fight was the fight that we enjoy the air between those two fighters.
Do you understand what I’m talking about? “Enjoy the
air” between them? Yeah, so there wasn’t that much
full-contact action. I can easily see, if this happened in America,
people would boo for 15 seconds. But the amazing thing is, I
didn’t hear any boo at all in Korakuen hall. And every time,
those two fighters had contact people said “Wow!” and
“Ah!”
During
the fight, Maeda’s strategy is very clear: punish Imanari.
On the other side, Imanari’s strategy is using his strength,
which is submission work. And both of them know what the opponent
wants. But what Imanari doesn’t know was how devastating
Maeda’s punches are. And Imanari has bitter experience with
being pounded on the ground by Mishima a long time ago in DEEP
ring. And what Maeda doesn’t know is how strange a takedown-style
Imanari has. And Maeda also has a bitter experience when Imanari
submitted him in a grappling match.
Once
the fight started, they didn’t look like they were scared
of each other at all. They just wanted the fight in their territory.
So both fighters struggled to bring their opponent in their own
world. Sometimes, they both didn’t move even an inch for
like 10 seconds to look for some chink where they can cram the
wedge in. And once there’s a contact, exchange punch and
step back to build their own base. Awesome!
The
air was very tense. In the first round there was an excellent
tug-of-war. I don’t know how I can express. Imanari went
triangle, Maeda defended; Imanari went armbar, Maeda defended;
Imanari went omoplata, Maeda quickly spun out … excellent
groundwork by both of them.
I
mean this fight didn’t have that much contact. But I’d
pick this match as the best “blink” fight of 2005.
You can’t blink. You don’t know what both of those
two will do in next quarter second. The fight went to a draw,
and I think it was right. Now both of them respect each other
and they chat and became real good friend. I don’t think
a rematch will be happen, but it was an awesome fight. I enjoyed
this match from the bottom of my guts.
What
else was outstanding from this show? Hmm, a women’s fight
was great, too. Satoko Shinashi faced Mari Kaneko. Shinashi is
undefeated in MMA and she’s the best grappler in her weight
class in Japan. On the other hand, Kaneko is a karate fighter.
So she was the underdog. In this MMA match up, well, face punch
wasn’t allowed on the ground. But it was pretty much MMA.
After the fight, I asked Kaneko how was the fight against best
female grappler in her weight class in Japan? “I was really
looking forward to fight Ms. Shinashi for long time,” she
replied. “When this fight was decided, I was very excited,
like I finally can test my skill against a strong fighter. I’ve
fought in Smack Girl and other shows, but my opponent wasn’t
really strong, or well rounded fighter as I can test my limit.
I had to cut down to 47- kg (103-lbs) for today’s fight.
But I felt this weight match me the best now.”
At
the end of the interview I asked her if face punching on the
ground was allowed, would result have changed, because she almost
submitted her opponent in armbar and her opponent’s favorite
submission is leg submission?
“Maybe
it could change the situation,” Kaneko said. “I might
win this fight. But nobody knows.” Though this interview,
I felt that this girl, Kaneko, is such a nice person. She kept
a smile the entire time at the interview space, and answered
all the questions the journalist threw to her. I read about her
childhood story that said she had a real tough childhood with
parent’s stuff. But now she’s a kick-ass fighter with
some class attitude. Big respect for this girl “ Mari Kaneko.”
I
must write what my Panamanian amigo Stephen told me to. In the
first fight of the night, there were Gomi as a corner. And the
other corner, there was a Genki Sudo. Then behind Gomi there
was a Ralph Gracie sitting ringside staring at Gomi from the
behind. Stephen Martinez said, “Ralph was about attack Gomi
to revenge from the PRIDE Bushido. I really saw the fire burning
up inside of Ralph’s eye.”
Okay,
folks that’s all for now. Oh! Wait! DEEP is looking for
a fighter for the show they will have in Fukuoka on April 10
at Shisui-Kaikan Event Hall. >From Team Roken: Takanori Oniki,
Masakazu Imanari, Tsuyoshi Kurihara from Pancrase Megaton: Keigo
Takamori, Miura Hiromitsu are planned to fight.
If
you live in Japan, train MMA and are dying to test your skill,
contact maruyama73@deep2001.com with this information, 1. Name
2. Name of your team 3. Height 4. Weight 5. Fight Career 6. Write
some personal message.
Gates
open at 3:30 p.m. and the show starts at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are
3,000-5,000 Yen. Have Fun! Peace!
P.S.
Does anybody know the TV show called Iron Chef? The Japanese
TV program that you can watch on Food Channel? I went to some
of those Iron Chef’s restaurant. This was the candy for
my girl, if say, leaving her alone in the apartment was the “whip”
on Valentine’s weekend. Otherwise she’d dump on my
ass.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Quote
of the Day
"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting
for our wits to grow sharper."
Eden Phillpotts 1862-1960, Indian-born British Novelist
|
KICKIN
IT 2005 (AMATEUR KICKBOXING)
FEB. 19, 2005 (SATURDAY)
KAPOLEI HIGH SCHOOL GYMNASIUM (DOORS OPEN AT 7:00 PM)
MAIN EVENT
SUPER WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
NICK CORREA 147-150# ALEX ZARRIELLO
HSD (2-2) GEE YUNG (2-1)
SEMI MAIN
JUSTIN DANO 160-165# KAIKA TROYFU
HSD JESUS IS LORD
TONY PEREIRA 115-119# KOICHI TANJI
WAIANAE KICKBOXING HMC
CLINT K 140-145# SHYSTEN
FREELANCE JESUS IS LORD
PAULO SHERIDAN 195-200# MIGUEL ASUNCTION
MASTER BRO. ABE ANIMAL HOUSE
KONA KEAALOHA 80-85# ROBBY OSTAVICH
HSD JESUS IS LORD
JOHN HOSOKAWA 135-140# AIKA SAMSON
GEE YUNG ANIMAL HOUSE
DENVER GONSALVES 185-200# BENJI PIWKO
HSD TEAM PERCEPTION
GORDON BERRY 170-175# WALTER HAO
HAWAII TRAINING CENTER ANIMAL HOUSE
KEA HUALATON 160-165# ALAN ALCARAZ
HAWAII TRAINING CENTER JESUS IS LORD
DARREN JOSE 145-150# BRANDON GANITANO
HSD HAWAII TRAINING CENTER
BRYAN INGRAM 170-175# ALAN ULIT
HAWAII TRAINING CENTER ANIMAL HOUSE
SHANE DULLATRY 105-110# JUSTIN PIAMONTE
JESUS IS LORD ANIMAL HOUSE
ALL MATCHES MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
COME DOWN AND CHECK OUT THESE FIGHTS ON SATURDAY NIGHT FOR A
LOT OF THESE GUYS ARE FIRST TIME FIGHTERS TRYING TO BUILD UP
THEIR RECORDS AND SKILLS TO FIGHT FOR BELTS AT THE END OF THE
YEAR. THE MAIN EVENT IS ALMOST AS EVEN AS IT CAN GET FOR BOTH
FIGHTERS ARE ALMOST 6 FEET TALL, THEIR RECORDS ARE ALMOST THE
SAME, AND THIS FIGHT WILL INCLUDE LEG KICKS. DONT MISS OUT FOR
IT ALL STARTS HERE. THE SWINGING WILL BE INSANE AS IT ALWAYS
IS ON THE KICKIN IT CARDS. GO-TIME WILL PROBABLY START AT 7:15PM
SO COME EARLY.
CAUSE DAS HOW WE KICK IT
Source: Event Promoter
|
ROGERIO
'MINOTORO' READY FOR OVEREEM
The Nogueira brothers, Rodrigo "Minotauro" and Rogerio
"Minotoro".
The
Brazilian Top team camp arrived in Japan, and Rogerio 'Minotoro'
Nogueira told the media he is ready for his opponent, Alistair
Overeem, on the PRIDE 29 card on February 20th.
"I've
studied his game, and I will trade strikes with him in order
to get him on the ground and submit him. If I lose, it will only
be by accident.", said Minotoro.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
FIRST-HAND
ACCOUNT OF TRAINING
MUAY THAI IN THAILAND
Andy
Wang used to live and train in Hawaii before moving back to California
and tearing up the grappling circuit there.
The
following is a first-hand account by Andy Wang of training at
a Muay Thai camp in Thailand:
"I
just got back from Thailand where I spent the last couple of
days training at Sangtinoi Muay-Thai and it was the most unbelieveable
training experience I have had in a long time! The first thing
I realized when I got there was that NO muay-thai camp outside
of Thailand is like what they actually do in Thailand. The ferociousness
and attitude in which they train with is something you really
have to see to believe.
The
first day we got there I noticed right away that the camp was
unlike anything I have ever seen before. There were chickens,
wild dogs and everything else walking around the camp grounds
that you could imagine. I actually saw a chicken jump right onto
the ring and relieve his bowels and then keep on going! The fighters
were pretty young, about 13-17 and they all had RIPPED bodies,
like that of professional adult football players.
The
training was split into two sessions a day, the morning one starting
at 6:30 AM with a 10 km run. We then started hitting the heavybags
for 5 minute rounds for about 3 or 4 rounds and waited for our
turn to hit the Thai pads with the trainers. Hitting Thai-pads
with them was totally different as there is no moving, slipping
or anything like that; they come straight at you and you have
to keep punching, kicking, elbowing and kneeing for the whole
5 minutes with no time to really rest or move around. After 1
round of this, you really feel great and terrible at the same
time if that makes any sense.
After
the hitting bags/pads over you then do 1 round of Thai neck-ties
and clinching and trying to knee each other. Here's where it
gets freaky. The round was 30 MINUTES straight, no stopping,
and the Thai guys are so well-conditioned that they can do this
no problem.
After
the knees, you then do a bunch of sit-ups until it's your turn
to hit the boxing mitts. The combinations they use are quite
simple, mainly 1-2 combos and a few hooks thrown in, the priority
for Muay-Thai of course setting up the knees and kicks.
Practice
ends and then you wake up for the afternoon session at 3:30 PM
and repeat the process.
It
was a great experience and something all you stand up guys should
do sometime in your life. It's a mental and physical challenge
and you'll be amazed by the hospitality of the Thais.
Andy
Wang Taiwan Jiu-Jitsu"
Source:
Fight Sport
|
SHAMROCK
VS FRANKLIN ALMOST SET FOR SPIKE TV
As MMAWeekly.com first reported, it appears Ken Shamrock will
face off against Rich Franklin in the main event on the Spike
TV free show on April 9th.
The
show of course will highlight the 185lb finals and the 205lb
finals from the show The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV.
MMAWeekly
has also learned that not only will there be the two final fights,
plus the Shamrock vs Franklin main event, but it also appears
that other fighters on the TUF show will compete against one
another on the free Spike TV show on April 9th.
That
means fighters who have been kicked off the show, could come
back and fight other fighters who have been or will be booted
off the show.
Here's
the three guaranteed fights...
The
Ultimate Fighter Finals
185
pound Final - TBA vs TBA
205
pound Final - TBA vs TBA
Ken
Shamrock vs Rich Franklin - verbally agreed to, waiting for both
contracts to be signed according to Shamrock on a radio interview
yesterday.
Plus
five or six other fights that will take place between fighters
who have been or will be kicked off The Ultimate Fighter show.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
CRO
COP DISCUSSES COLEMAN AND UFC
The Croatian media recently talked with Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic
and discussed many topics. Here are a few things Cro Cop had
to say:
Cro
Cop on Mark Coleman: "He is one of the most experienced
fighters in PRIDE, and I have large amount of respect towards
Mark. Ten years earlier I admired Coleman's fights, along with
Croatian boxer Stipe Drvis. Coleman has nothing to lose, and
he can gain a lot because no one really expects Coleman to win...
I honestly believe I am the better fighter, and that I am going
to come out as the winner of this fight."
Cro
Cop on the UFC: "I have received an offer from the UFC to
compete in their show on April 8th, but nothing is serious."
Source:
Fight Sport
|
Critical
Analysis: Mark Coleman
By Jeremy Wall
Coleman’s place in mixed martial arts history is debatable.
A couple of years ago when I published Touch of Evil Newsletter
I did an article ranking what were in my opinion the thirty greatest
mixed martial artists in history, and I ranked Coleman as number
one based on the fact that he had won the only Pride Grand Prix
(the article was written before Silva won the 2003 Grand Prix),
and had dominated in UFC for quite awhile before being defeated
three times straight.
I
certainly wouldn’t rank Coleman as the number one guy now,
and looking back on that article I probably wouldn’t rank
him as number one then, either. But there was no question that
at one point in his career, Mark Coleman was a really frickin’
great fighter.
And that’s where the debate comes in. Mark Coleman is no
longer a really frickin’ great fighter. Not that he’s
terrible, but he’s certainly not the dominating wrestler
he once was. So the question becomes, when did he really fall
from grace?
There’s
a couple of theories. After winning the first Pride Grand Prix,
five years ago now by the way, he really hasn’t fared that
well against quality competition, and that may have been when
his career jumped the shark.
Another
theory is that Coleman was finished after losing the UFC Heavyweight
title to Maurice Smith way, way back in 1997. After that fight,
in UFC Coleman suffered a bad loss to Pete Williams a decision
loss to Pedro Rizzo before leaving for Pride.
When
you look at his career after the loss to Mo Smith, the only success
Coleman has achieved is winning the 2000 Grand Prix. So the deeper
question becomes, was winning the first ever Pride Grand Prix
enough to say that his skill-level maintained at least into the
new millennium, or was the triumph simply tremendously overrated
with quite a bit of luck and timing on Coleman’s side in
winning the tournament, with skill having little to do with the
victory itself.
Of
course, to answer that question you have to look at who else
was in the Pride Grand Prix with Coleman, and which fighters
he ended up facing along the way.
He
was one of the heaviest fighters in the tournament, and realistically
should Royce Gracie or Kazushi Sakuraba have fought Coleman,
it would have been very hard for either of them to defeat him
simply because of the gap in both size and strength. It wouldn’t
be impossible, but unlikely. There’s certainly the scenario
where Coleman gets submitted by one of them, but the odds would
have been against that.
I
think, looking at the 2000 Grand Prix lineup in retrospect, that
the tournament belonged to either Coleman or Kerr. Kerr had a
lot of personal problems, and fell apart against Kazuyuki Fujita.
If Kerr had more heart, it could have been his name in record
books (or I should say, record web sites) as the first Pride
Grand Prix champion.
Ironically,
one of the most solid points for those who argue that Coleman
got lucky in the Grand Prix is that he never really had a semi-finals
match. This is ironic because it was Kazuyuki Fujita was the
guy who didn’t end up fighting him after Fujita defeated
Kerr, as Fujita’s corner threw the towel in at the very
beginning of the fight because of an injury that was hampering
Fujita. On the other side of the bracket, Kazushi Sakuraba fought
his heart out against Igor Vovchanchyn, so Coleman was far more
rested for the finals than Vovchanchyn would have been.
Another
factor that doesn’t get pointed out often about Vovchanchyn
vs. Coleman from the Grand Prix finals is that Vovchanchyn is
a small heavyweight, small enough to actually compete at light-heavyweight.
Coleman had a big strength advantage over Vovchanchyn, and he
used it to his advantage and the tournament is history.
So
does this mean fate swung in Coleman’s favor that night?
Sure. Does that mean you can discredit the win? I don’t
know, because Vovchanchyn was one of the top strikers in mixed
martial arts at that point, and Coleman had proven he was susceptible
to strikers in the past, especially if they can avoid the takedown.
Maybe the real story is that Coleman lost to two strikers in
Mo Smith and Pedro Rizzo and got knocked out by Pete Williams
in his last UFC fights but was able to come back and defeat one
of the best kickboxers at that time in MMA to win what was at
that time the biggest MMA tournament in history.
I
think Coleman improved a great deal as a fighter between 1997
and 2000. Yes, Coleman did not fight Fujita, but I think it would
have been unlikely that he lost to Fujita, so the point here
is that if he had a long fight with Fujita, it may have made
him more susceptible to a knockout against Vovchanchyn. It’s
certainly not impossible.
People
forget that the reason Coleman lost to both Mo Smith and Pete
Williams was because he wasn’t prepared for either fight,
and he lost because his cardio conditioning was poor. The night
Coleman defeated Vovchanchyn he may not have fought Fujita, but
he did fight Akira Shoji earlier in the night. It’s not
the point that Shoji is any sort of extremely skilled fighter,
but he’s a really tough guy, and Coleman ended up going
the distance with him, not being able to finish Shoji off.
The
point is that the Mark Coleman of 1997 wouldn’t have been
able to fight twice in one night because the Mark Coleman of
1997 couldn’t even fight once in one night. So his skill
level as a fighter did improve before the 2000 Grand Prix.
Nevertheless,
Coleman still isn’t the fighter he was in 1996 or 2000 or
anywhere between those two years. He’s 2-2 since the Grand
Prix, and his two losses were against the highest quality opponents
he fought in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fedor Emelianenko.
So
what’s this all mean about Coleman vs. Mirko Cro Cop? Based
on Coleman’s recent experiences with quality fighters, it
means the odds are stacked against him. It was kickboxers that
finished Coleman off in UFC, and it may just be another kickboxer
to finish him off in Pride.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
“Contender"
Commits Suicide
A
contestant in the upcoming NBC boxing reality series "The
Contender" committed suicide early Monday in West Philadelphia,
according to a published report.
Najai
"Nitro" Turpin, 22, a Philly native who was only weeks
away from the show's March 7 premiere, killed himself around
4 a.m. in front of his girlfriend, the Philadelphia Daily News
reported Tuesday.
An
NBC spokesman told the paper, "We're still mourning the
loss of a man we came to know. The show will continue."
Show
host Sylvester Stallone (search) described Turpin in the still-to-air
premiere as "a tough, punchy street kid from Philadelphia
fighting for a better life for his family."
Source:
Gracie Fighter
|
BOXING
TRAINER TALKS ABOUT
NFL PLAYER, MMA, AND MORE
From
BoxingInsider.com:
Legendary
boxing trainer Emanuel Steward said that he believes that former
Washington Redskins and Colorado wide receiver Michael Westbrook
could develop into a heavyweight boxing contender.
"If
Michael had four, five, six fights under his belt, he would be
taken seriously in the heavyweight division," said Steward
on a conference call. "He has the mental toughness and physical
strength to move into the heavyweight division."
Westbrook
will meet former New York Giants first round draft pick and Michigan
stickout Jarrod Bunch in a battle of former NFL players in the
King of the Cage mixed martial arts competition in Cleveland,
Ohio on February 25. The main event, dubbed PAYBACK, will premiere
on a Pay-Per-View telecast on Sunday, March 6.
"We
haven't had a new infusion of heavyweights into boxing since
1988 with Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis," added Steward.
"Michael Westbrook at 220 pounds, with his athletic background,
could be competitive. There is a void in the division, and he
could be taken seriously."
Westbrook,
well known for catching the famous Hail Mary pass from Kordell
Stewart to give Colorado its memorable victory over Michigan,
is a native of Detroit, and will be training at Emmanuel Steward's
world renowned Kronk Gym in Detroit later this week. Steward
has trained such champions as Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard,
Lennox Lewis and Oscar De La Hoya.
Mixed
martial arts is the combination of wrestling, judo, kickboxing
and regular boxing. There are three five minute rounds with a
one minute break, ending in either a submission, tap-out, knockout
or judges decision.
Said
Westbrook: "This is not a football game, it will be an intense
mixed martial arts match. Am I nervous? Not at all. There is
no nervousness. All it is for me is a challenge. That's life,
life is a big challenge. I haven't been nervous in a long time."
In
the co-feature, Eric "Butterbean" Esch, the King of
the Four Rounders from Jasper, Alabama, will square off against
Dan Severn of Michigan.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Brazilian
girls confirmed at ADCC
Besides the annulment of the female trial of ADCC, the biggest
Submission show in Earth already started to invite girls to fight
in United States, next may. The first Brazilians to be announced
are: BJJ black belt Leka Vieira, Gracie Barra Brown belt Kyra
Gracie, who is in US training with her uncle Renzo, and Jiu-Jitsu
Europen Open champion, Letícia Ribeiro.
In
their way, fighters from all over the globe promise a great time
on the mats. In special, one of them from New Jersey promises
to give a hard time to Brazilians and all her opponents: Tara
LaRosa is blue belt under Royce Gracie and she has been fighting
Vale-Tudo since 2002. To know more about American fighter, who
is TATAME #108's special report "Skirt Blow", you cannot
miss a full report with her, later at TATAME.com. You cannot
miss it!
Source:
Tatame
|
Tara
LaRosa
By André
Araújo
Braids
at MMA
One
of the stars of the report "Skirt Blow", at TATAME
#108, American Tara LaRosa has impressing the audience at Vale-Tudo
events with her aggressiveness. After winning by KO or submission
three editions of Hook 'n Shoot and last December beat Alisa
Cantwell at Xtreme Fighting Organization, American from Woodstown
(Now Jersey) has a single loss in her records: a KO to Jennifer
Howe, in last May. Check out now the full interview with Tara
and know her idols and her plans for future. In may, she will
be one of the girls to fight at ADCC.
How
did you start at Fight World. How come did you become a fighter?
I
started taking judo when I went away to college, in 1996. I loved
the sport instantly, and began competing in judo tournaments
often. In addition to judo tournaments, I competed in Jiu-Jitsu/Grappling
tournaments (no gi), because I loved the ground game aspect of
judo. While competing at a grappling tournament in 2001, I was
recruited to Team ROC of Chaple Hill, North Carolina, USA. Team
ROC is Royce Gracie affiliated academy, under black belt Greg
Thompson. After joining their team I began to train in Muay Thai
kickboxing and BJJ, so I would be able to compete in Vale Tudo
(MMA). On April 13th, 2002, I competed in my first professional
Vale- Tudo fight on the show Hook N Shoot: Revolution, run by
Jeff Osborn.
You
do practice BJJ... How do you first know BJJ?
The
first time I saw BJJ was when Royce Gracie fought in the early
90's Vale-Tudo show Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
What
is your BJJ graduation? Who is you teacher and tell me about
your other trainers.
I
am a 4 stripe blue belt. The head of the academy is black belt
Greg Thompson (under Royce Gracie) my trainer is Aitor Canup,
a brown belt also under Royce Gracie. I also train with several,
very technical purple belts. I am hoping to get my purple belt
soon, and someday achieve my black belt.
You
said in 2000, you girls have to train twice as hard as men in
order to prove your value and respect. Is it still hard for a
girl live as a MMA fighter?
The
serious women in this sport (in the USA) have to train twice
as hard, just to prove that they want to train seriously for
competition. If they do not train seriously they will not gain
respect as a fighter among their team mates. Because women are
biologically not as strong or as fast as men. We compensate by
trying to be very technical and agile. In that respect we have
to learn our sweeps, escapes, and defense very quickly.
What
did your family first think about it, I mean when you decided
to become a MMA fighter?
My
family does not like that I compete in MMA. They are afraid that
I will get hurt, and that my face will get messed up. My sister
enjoys watching the sport, but I cannot convince her to train
and compete. She says she is too beautiful to fight Vale-Tudo.
Who is your idol in MMA?
Helio
Gracie is my idol in MMA. He has developed the art of BJJ and
proved early in the 50's that it works better against any other
martial art. It is becoming a phenomenon in the USA because all
types of people, no matter their age can participate.
Do
you like any Brazilian fighters (male of female)?
Wanderlei
Silva! I love when he stomps on his opponent's head, and knees
them. Also Murillo Bustamante. I like all the risks he takes
with his submission attempts, and he has a very well rounded
game.
You
showed brave heart during your belt dispute with Jennifer Howe.
Tell about that experience. You just had two weeks to get ready
and face a way far more experienced fighter.
Jennifer
Howe had been competing in Vale-Tudo much longer than I had.
It was a good opportunity to test my skills against one of the
best female fighters in the world. In the fight, my cardio/stamina
was good I came out strong landing several good punches. The
second time I kicked her she caught me with a good hit to my
chin, which I was not able to recover from. I quickly tried to
take the clinch with her but I was too unsteady. She broke my
clinch and knocked me down 3 more times very quickly. I do not
regret losing to her, she is a very good fighter and I have much
respect for her. Maybe someday I can fight her again.
You
recently fought at and won at XFO. Tell me about your plans for
the future. Do you consider fighting abroad?
XFO
was a good show, it is run by Monte Cox. I would love to fight
abroad, in Japan, or Brazil, or the UK. I would love to fight
for Shooto, or SmackGirl, in Japan.
And
on the mat?
I
really want to travel to Brazil and fight at the Mundials. But
right now I am very excited because I just received the confirmation
to fight at ADCC, in May.
Vale-Tudo
in Brazil is still very small. Only few girls practice the sport
and there is no much room for them over her. Once you guys have
been fighting periodically, please send a message for Brazilian
girls, who attempt to become a real Vale-Tudo fighter.
The
women need to practice and train very hard. There are good opportunities
for them to fight in Japan and sometimes in the USA and Australia.
Many opportunities happen at the last minute before a show so
they should always be ready to fight. Competing in BJJ often
will improve your game and allow you to test your takedowns and
submission techniques against opponents outside your academy,
more frequently.
Source:
Tatame
|
Pride
lands in USA next October
As it seems, finally Dream Stage Entertainment will be featuring
the first edition of Pride in United States. According to Japanese
organization's president, Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Pride 30 may hit
American in October. Los Angeles and Las Vegas are disputing
the show. Recently, DSE has announced the card of Pride 29, which
happens on February 20. Kyioshi Tamura returns to Pride facing
Aliyev Makhmud.
COMPLETE
CARD (subject to change):
Pride
29
Sunday,
February 20, 2005
Saitama
Super Arena, Saitama - Japan
-
Mirko Cro Cop Vs Mark Coleman;
-
Quinton Jackson Vs Murilo Ninja;
-
Alistair Overeem Vs Rogério Minotouro;
-
Igor Vovchanchyn Vs Yoshiki Takahashi;
-
Choi Mu Bae Vs Sergei Kharitonov;
-
Hirotaka Yokoi Vs Zé Mário Sperry;
-
Hiromitsu Kanehara Vs Maurício Shogun;
-
Tom Erikson Vs Fabrício Werdum;
-
Kyioshi Tamura Vs Aliyev Makhmud.
Source: Tatame
|
LEKO
VS. NAKAMURA
DSE/PRIDE
announced the matchup of Stefan Leko vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura for
their PRIDE 29 card on February 20th.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
Trauma
keeps Tererê out of mats
After
suffering the trauma of spending two months inside FBI Detention
Center in United States, TT leader and BJJ black belt Fernando
Tererê hasn't be fully recovered of the bad experience.
Very depressed, Tererê talked yesterday with Team TATAME
and said he might leave Jiu-jitsu. Since he returned to Brazil,
last December 17, the athlete has been fighting a deep depression
and return to the mats.
-
15 days ago he also trained and commanded few trains on the team,
but after he spent carnival in Rio, he is back down again. He
said he is tired and he might stop fighting. I made a joke: "get
it over master! I still want to face you!" However we believe
his recuperation is just a matter of time now. Over here at TT
we are supporting him a lot - BJJ Brown belt revealed. By Eduardo
Telles' side, André Galvão commands TT trains.
Besides
the whole problems, Galvão guarantees 2005 belong to TT
Jiu-Jitsu. "Team is strong and there are lots of people
training with us. I also have been training hard and I will chase
after gold medals," bets Galvão.
Source:
Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they
think it's hell."
Harry Truman, 1884-1972, Thirty-third President of the USA
|
Jeremy’s
Smart and Stupid Letters
I
really enjoyed your article (The Truth Behind Inoki vs. Ali).
I have a really quick question about worked mma fights. I've
just got into pridefc and am working my way through some of the
older shows (from about pride 12 onwards). Now I came in as a
pro-wrestling fan and wanted to know the legitimacy of these
fights. Some articles claim that some of the fights are worked.
Are they? Is there some sort of archive where I can see which
fights were worked? Are they ever publically acknowledged as
works? Also- is there an easy way to spot a worked mma fight?
Thanks
for your time. Alex Chubb
JW:
Koji Kitao vs. Nathan Jones from Pride 1 was worked. Nobuhiko
Takada vs. Kyle Sturgeon from Pride 3 was worked. Nobuhiko Takada
vs. Mark Coleman from Pride 5 was worked. Naoya Ogawa vs. Gary
Goodridge from Pride 6 may have been worked. Nobuhiko Takada
vs. Alexander Otsuka from Pride 7 was worked. Naoya Ogawa vs.
Masaaki Satake from Pride 11 was probably worked. Stefan Leko
vs. Naoya Ogawa from last year was probably worked. In UFC, Oleg
Taktarov vs. Anthony Macias from UFC 6 was worked, and Don Frye
vs. Mark Hall from the 1996 Ultimate Ultimate was probably worked.
The
works from the early Pride events are easy to spot because they
look like shoot-style pro wrestling, with exaggerated facial
expressions and moves (ie. spinning back kicks) that don't work
in real fights. It's usually very obvious when someone is selling
a move rather than truly feeling impact from a move. The more
recent work of Leko-Ogawa is harder to spot because it's was
so short that it didn't have any major flaws. Jones vs. Kitao
and Takada vs. Sturgeon are two of the worst worked fights I've
seen.
Drew
Archer writes: Hello Mr. Wall,
My name is Drew Archer and I've been trying to get a job working
in a front office position with a MMA promotion. I was wondering
if you know if the UFC is looking for any body. I believe I could
best be used in finding ways to increase the fanbase of the sport.
I have done some work with the WWE, as well as with Frank Shamrock.
I understand how to bring in a whole new audience that the UFC
is not taking advantage of. I know a lot of your columns mix
pro wresting themes with MMA so I'm sure you can appreciate that
connection between both businesses. I was just wondering if you
knew about any thing available with UFC (or K-1 or PRIDE for
that matter) that I might be able to apply for. Thank you, sir.
Drew Archer
JW:
If there were any positions available, I'd probably be one of
the last to know about them.
David
Lane writes: Where can I see the Gannon vs. Kimbo fight for free?
Any websites? Thanks.
JW:
Just Google the fight and I'm sure you'll come up with some bit
torrent trackers. Also, is there any chance that a guy like this
who is searching for a free copy of this fight would have been
willing to pay $30 to watch it on pay per view?
Luke
Nicholson writes: Hi Jeremy,Is your book in bookstores yet? Or
only available for pre-order?
Also,
when the reality show was taped, did they tape any promos or
anything to hype either ppv that will happen during the duration
of the reality show? So far all I've seen is commercials for
UFC 51. Why not tape a promo or two to air during the reality
show, to try to get Tito and Vitors faces on t.v.?
JW:
The book is slated to be out in April. I don't know if they taped
promos, but they clearly taped ads for UFC 51 and UFC 52. I have
no idea what the selling power of those ads would be, though.
Source: Maxfighting
|
LINDLAND
VS LUTTER AT UFC 52 AND BEYOND
"...I expect to see me with that belt around my waist ..."
Matt
“The Law” Lindland is arguably one of the top 185lb
fighters in the world today. He’s been so for a long time
and will look to reiterate his ranking as he makes his return
to the UFC in April against Travis Lutter. It’s been a busy
past few months since fans last saw Lindland on PPV at UFC 49.
He’s fought twice since then and has found time to continue
the development of Team Quest and Sportfight, the MMA promotion
he runs with teammate Randy Couture. Lindland took time out of
his busy schedule to speak with MMAWeekly’s Mick Hammond
about his upcoming fight, his training ethic, and what he sees
for all things surrounding him for the remainder of 2005.
MMAWeekly:
First off Matt, for those fans who may not know what you’ve
been up to since UFC 49 tell us what you’ve been up to.
Matt
Lindland: Mostly just working, but I’ve had a couple of
fights, I went to London and fought Mark Wier and stopped him
in the first round and fought on a Sportfight show against Landon
Showalter and finished him with an armbar in the second round.
MMAWeekly:
In those two fights you looked more aggressive in my mind than
you had previously. Was that a conscious decision to be that
active or was it just something that just happened?
Matt
Lindland: I think I’ve always been very aggressive wherever
the fight is at. I feel like I’m a fighter that attacks
the entire five minutes of the round and always looking for the
win. I’ve said in the past that I have submissions and I’ve
chosen not use them in the past because I’d rather punch
a guy in the mouth or elbow him or knee him in the head. I know
the UFC is looking for finishes, they want to see guys get finished,
so I’m going to start finishing guys. My record indicates
a pretty good finish percentage out of my fights anyway, but
for some reason there’s a perception that I don’t finish
a lot of my fights. When you look on my record there are more
finishes than anything else.
MMAWeekly:
Have you ever felt any pressure to be more exciting and do something
you might normally do to produce a big finish?
Matt
Lindland: I think I took my focus off my gameplan in one fight
and was looking to stand with a guy instead of taking what he
was giving me and it wasn’t the best decision. I’m
just going to fight my game from now on.
MMA
Weekly: Last year you spent some time away from Team Quest and
trained with John Hackleman and BJ Penn, was that something new
for you or had you done it in the past?
Matt
Lindland: I’ve always worked with those two guys. I’ve
worked with BJ’s guys before in Hawaii and he’s been
out in Oregon on two occasions, John’s been up here and
I’ve been down there (southern California) numerous times.
That’s nothing new for me to train with those guys.
MMA
Weekly: So will you make a conscious effort to do more external
training this year?
Matt
Lindland: I’ll train wherever I think I need to be, but
I’ve got a great group of guys up here too. I’ve got
good coaching up here and like training in my own environment.
(Dan) Henderson is going to be making the trip up here soon because
we both have fights in April I think, so we are going to be training
together. Wherever the wind blows me, but mostly I like to stay
home.
MMAWeekly:
Not only are you busy training yourself, but you train other
members of the team for their fights and run the Sportfight promotion.
How do you balance all of that?
Matt
Lindland: I think it all works together pretty well, it’s
all part of the same business. I don’t have to go out and
fight every one of those fights the guys are taking so it’s
pretty good. I go out and corner once in a while, I’m going
to go corner Ryan Schultz in Euphoria and Josh Burkman in the
IFC. A lot of the other guys I’m not going to be able to
make the trip to be out there with them.
MMAWeekly:
It looks like the teams’ productivity is increasing now
after some downtime for the holidays.
Matt
Lindland: Yeah, we’ve got some guys getting pretty busy
right now. It seems around Christmas time and New Year’s
promotions slow down. There’s not a lot of shows going on
and right now it’s the time where things are picking up
again. From here to November it’s going to be busy.
MMAWeekly:
Not only are the veterans of Team Quest doing well, but the continued
development of some of the top young talent has lead to a lot
of success for them. How does it feel to see some of the younger
guys making names for themselves?
Matt
Lindland: It leads me to believe that we are doing a lot of the
right things when you see some of the young guys who haven’t
been doing it that long and they are getting into the bigger
shows with bigger fights and are doing well in those.
MMAWeekly:
Moving on to your return to the UFC against Travis Lutter, how
does it feel to be getting back to the UFC after a couple of
shows away?
Matt
Lindland: I don’t know if I’m back, I don’t think
I was ever really out of the UFC, they only do five or six shows
a year and if you’re not fighting every other show you’re
only fighting 2-3 times a year as far as that goes. I don’t
know much about Travis, but he knocked out Marvin Eastman in
his debut so he’s got a good right hand and has a good ground
game. I’m sure he’s a good all-around fighter if he’s
fighting at this level.
MMAWeekly:
Is your preparation for the fight altered at all knowing what
he did against Eastman or hearing about his extensive background
in Jiu-Jitsu?
Matt
Lindland: I think I’ll just do what I do best, beat people
up. I don’t go up there thinking anything different just
because he knocked out a certain guy or his background is in
a certain thing, I don’t change my training any to match
that. I’ve had a lot of success with the things I do and
look to continue to do that.
MMAWeekly:
Since your last fight the sport has gained a lot of exposure
because of The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV. Have
you had a chance to see it at all and what are your thoughts
on it?
Matt
Lindland: I’ve actually tuned into a couple of episodes,
it comes on at my house at 8pm and I’m usually training
at that time so I don’t always get the recorder set. I don’t
watch a lot of TV period, but I’m glad to see the sport
in general is getting the exposure and getting on TV and that’s
nothing but positive stuff, we’re getting good ratings and
that’s a good thing.
MMAWeekly:
Two of your Team Quest training partners, Chris Leben and Nathan
Quarry, are part of the show, what’s it like to see them
get the kind of exposure they are receiving because of the show?
Matt
Lindland: It’s good to see Chris and Nate getting their
names out there. Obviously people are going to know who they
are and that’s a good thing. Because of it they’ll
get some fights in bigger shows and that’s great, all positive
stuff for our team and sport in general.
MMAWeekly:
We’ve mentioned Sportfight earlier, I understand there is
an upcoming show in March correct?
Matt
Lindland: Yes, we have a show coming up on March 26th that Steve
Berger and Heath Sims are going to headline. Ed Herman is going
to be making his 205lb debut for the title against Glover Teixeira
also. Ed has done very well at the 185lb division but his teammate
holds that belt. He’s done everything we’ve asked him
to do. He’s fought every single tough guy. We’ve had
him scheduled against Trevor Prangley twice, but Trevor had to
fight in the UFC so he had to pull out of our show. He’s
fought Joe Doerksen, he’s fought just about everybody we
can find to fight him. He’s done extremely well; it’s
time to see him get a chance at a title. We weren’t going
to have him fight Chris Leben, so we’ll see how he does
at 205.
MMAWeekly:
What about the rest of the card, are there any other fights you
can announce to us now?
Matt
Lindland: There’s a bunch of fights that I’m pretty
excited about. There’s that controversial tap out where
the team said their fighter didn’t tap out between Dennis
Davis and Trevor Burnett, Dennis was gracious enough to give
Trevor a rematch and say let’s make it clear this time.
The one that I’m probably most excited about is Matt Horwich
and Rich Guerin, this is a fight that Matt lost early in his
career by an arm bar and Matt’s going to get another shot
at him. We’ve got two pro boxers that has got some bad blood
from a boxing match behind it between Dominic Rivera and Damien
Hatch. This is both their second MMA bout, they’ve got a
lot of boxing matches between them. We’ve got a couple for
the local fans, we’ve got Enoch Wilson VS John Gunderson
and Chad Nelson VS Anthony Hamlett, Anthony used to be a Hook
N Shoot world champion, and that’s actually another rematch.
We’ve got three big rematches and they all had some stuff
in them in the first one. Like in the Nelson/Hamlett fight, the
first one happened about a year ago and Hamlett separated his
shoulder so it had to be stopped in the first round so we are
looking forward to seeing how that one plays out with a healthy
Hamlett.
MMAWeekly:
It must feel good to not have to prepare to fight on the same
show you are promoting with this show.
Matt
Lindland: Well I tell you I don’t think I’d fight on
my own show again unless someone else was doing all the promoting.
It will be good to not have to do that again, I don’t need
that extra headache of trying to compete and promote.
MMAWeekly:
One thing I like about the Sportfight shows is that you give
amateur fighters a chance to get exposure on a bill along with
a bunch of solid pro fights.
Matt
Lindland: We’ve got some interesting amateur bouts on the
card as well this time around too. We’re going to have five
amateur bouts and eight pro bouts scheduled. I think it’s
great that the state of Oregon allows us to do a pro-am card
and put it together. We have a couple of prelims as the place
is filling up, these guys get to get in the ring and get some
experience. It’s surprising how many fans make sure to get
there on time so they don’t miss any of the fights so it
gives these guys even more exposure. It’s good for the amateurs
to get that experience and exposure and step up and grow as our
organization and sport grows.
MMAWeekly:
Before we head out let me get your thoughts on the things you
are involved with as you see them heading in 2005. First off
let’s talk about Sportfight, what do you see for the promotion
this year?
Matt
Lindland: There’s a lot of big things happening with the
sport as we talked about earlier, so it can go anywhere. Really
the growth is happening right now and we’re right in the
mix. I think we have one of the top promotions in the country,
so it’s hard to say exactly what direction it’s going
to take, but I see nothing but growth for our organization and
the sport in general. We have a first season of a TV show ready
to go. Right now it’s a big expense to put it together and
we are hoping to capitalize on it in the near future. With our
sport on TV we are looking to get involved.
MMAWeekly:
Next, what do you see for Team Quest for the remainder of 2005?
Matt
Lindland: We’ve got guys fighting in some of the biggest
organizations in the world. I see our guys getting better and
better all the time. They are improving and getting bigger fights
and it’s exciting to see our guys moving up in the ranks.
MMAWeekly:
Finally, where do you see yourself in time after your next fight?
Matt
Lindland: You heard Dana (White, UFC President) say at the post
fight press conference that if I beat this guy (Lutter) that
I fight Evan (Tanner, UFC Middleweight Champion) for the belt
so I expect to see me with that belt around my waist before the
end of summer.
MMAWeekly:
Thanks for the interview Matt, is there anything you’d like
to say as we head out?
Matt
Lindland: I just want to thank our biggest sponsor Sportsbook.com,
I notice that the odds are up on the next Pride so I want to
tell fans to get over to Sportsbook and get some bets on that
upcoming Pride. I did awful well on the last UFC, all my picks
but Chris Lytle won, so I was pretty excited, I made some coin
even when I wasn’t fighting. For the fans I’d like
to say keep supporting us. It was great that the fans filled
up the Mandalay, I didn’t see the numbers for the PPV but
that’s the fullest I’ve seen an arena for an MMA event
so that was pretty exciting.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WHO'S
NEXT FOR BUENTELLO?
It's
been Paul Buentello's dream to fight in the UFC for a long time.
At UFC 51, Paul's dream came true when he stepped into the octagon
against Justin Eilers. Buentello spoke with MMAWeekly SoundOff
Radio about making his UFC debut, knocking out Justin Eilers,
and what the future holds for him.
It's
been a long time coming for Paul Buentello to get to the UFC.
"I set this little goal out for myself to make it to the
UFC. It was just a simple goal, and before you know it, it turned
into a hard long road. It's a big dream to follow. As soon as
I got there, I wasn't setting my goals to win. I just set it
simple. You know, go in there, no matter if I win or lose. As
long as to walk in the UFC , walk into that cage and tap out,
or just to touch the mat, I'm done. I've completed my goal. That
was my attitude the whole week before the fight was, I'm already
here. I've already won. Nobody can take this away from me. This
is what I set myself to do. It took me dang near eight years,
seven years, easily to get here." Commented Buentello.
He
continued, "There's only a few people out there that know
exactly what I've been through on this, just to get here. How
much I've put into the sport. How much I love this sport. It
was never about the money. It's just like, I love this sport
so much, and this goal just got bigger and bigger, and harder
and harder. I mean, the walls got bigger and thicker, and I just
kept on pushing through it. And, like I said, I left my wife
back home, my daughter, and just my whole family. I move out
to California not knowing anybody. Walked into a gym I don't
know. You know, sleeping on people's couches that I don't know,
and before you know it, it turns into four years almost. It is
amazing how I finally get there and do what I'm supposed to do,
and look superb at it, and get a knockout on something that I
wasn't expecting to get a knockout. I was just expecting to be
invited to the UFC. It just makes it so much sweeter to complete
something that you set out, and before you know it, eight years
gone to get there."
Before
the fight, Paul was his usual self, throwing up from nervousness.
He said, "The way I look at it, you know, nervous is what
you've got to have. If you're not nervous, something is wrong
with you. It's all natural, and for me, I get more comfortable,
get more relaxed, and I just get that feel. Turn on that switch,
and you know, I've got to go do a job."
When
he walked out, Paul was so focused he didn't even hear the crowd.
From the moment the bell rang, Paul felt like he was dialed in.
"I was dialed in from the start. I mean, I've never kicked.
I never kick. I know you haven't really watched me fight, but
there's a lot of people out there had watched me fight. I'm a
slow starter. I always wait about a minute, feel out the other
guy, get my distance, get my range. Right off the bat, I mean
I was just so focused and everything. I worked on so many things
for this fight that I knew if he came flat-footed, inside leg
kick. I'm not going on the outside. Whoever fights a Miletich
Camp, never go on the outside leg because they're going to bring
that right hand down the middle. He came in so flat-footed, I
was like, I'm going to throw an inside leg kick."
The
fight would only last 2:34 of the first round. Buentello knocked
out Justin Eilers with a combination. About the knockout, Paul
said, "I didn't know that was the shot I was going to knock
him out with. I never sit there and go my right hand or left
hook is going to knock somebody out. It's just like in baseball.
You've got to put everything in play, and you've got to relax
and let your hands go. I'm a decent counter fighter, counter
puncher. When he throws that left, he loops that left. The first
instinct is to cover up and throw a left hook, so I landed a
left hook. Right as he threw that left hook, I just faded and
threw a left hook, and it landed. Then I went into a little flurry.
All I remember next was, I just saw blood slat on his face and
he was going down. I just kept the pressure on. I think that's
what set the tone was, he was expecting to put pressure on me,
and I was expecting to put pressure on him. Watching the fight,
I did everything correctly. I didn't back up. I kept on coming
forward, and I think that kept him on his heels and he didn't
get to have his power like everybody else sits back and waits
and lets him control the fight."
Now
that Buentello has completed his goal, and did so in knockout
fashion, what is next for him? "When the day comes that
I need to sign a contract, it doesn't matter who I fight. I love
the sport so much. You know, we're fighters, and whoever is out
there and who is ready, I'm going to fight. I'm not going to
complain about it. I've never backed down. Even when I first
started, I was fighting Gan McGee, Ricco Rodriguez...You know,
I was just fighting all these tough guys with no management,
with no training. That's just my attitude. We're fighters, we're
supposed to fight, and that's the way I look at things. Whoever
they throw at me. I'm just a fighter. I'm basically a machine,
say hey, this is the day I've got to show up. That's what day
I've got to do something, and we'll just leave it at that."
Said Buentello.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, German-born American Physicist
|
Penn
vs Gracie on PPV!
Oceanic Channel 701
Saturday, February 19, 2005
4:00 PM
February 19, 2005 is your opportunity to finally see Hawaii's
own BJ Penn vs Pride Superstar Rodrigo Gracie on pay-per-view.
This event was sold out and many were turned away at the door.
BJ is the number one ranked fighter 155 lbs and 170 lbs. This
is his first fight moving up yet another weight class to 185
lbs. Most fighters would fight a marshmellow in their first fight
in a higher weight class, but not BJ Penn. He takes on the newest
generation of Gracie family fighters in Rodrigo Gracie who has
been on a tear in Pride Fighting Championship.
There
are many other great fights on this car so make sure you mark
it on your calendars to order ROTR Penn vs Gracie on Pay-Per-View,
Oceanic Channel 701 at 4:00 PM Hawaii Time!
|
WARRIORS
QUEST SOLD!!
Just wanted to let everyone know that WARRIORS QUEST will be
back under new management. I have SOLD the name but will be involved
in helping Matchmaking the event and working with other parts.
I feel real positive that things will run awesome from here on
out, Also it will be a positive for fighters in which the direction
it wants to take the Hawaii Talent.
So hold on as one of Hawaii's premiere fighting events will RETURN!!
|
PUNISHMENT
IN PARADISE
April 16, 2005 @ McKinnely High Gym
Doors Open @ 630pm-Fights Starts 730pm
Tickets $25.00 Advance $35.00 Day of Event
SHOOTO & Kickboxing Bouts!!
|
Erin
Toughill: Damsel of Destruction
Tough talking, sexy walking damsel of destruction! Hell yeah,
that pretty much defines this lady fighter and what she can do.
You've heard the old saying if looks could kill? With this cat
you can't count out the left hand either, so don't let the sweet
looks fool you. This twenty-seven year old Chicago native knows
how to throw down and annihilate her opponents with her no holds
barred style of fighting. Whether in the boxing ring or competing
in mixed martial arts Erin Toughill is a triple threat to any
that cross her path: she can punch you, kick you or just plain
pound your butt to the ground. It's your choice, she doesn't
care either way, she just comes to win.
Since
1999 the Brazilian jujitsu discipline has catapulted Toughill
to the top of the fighting world. She has compiled a 6-2-1 in
the MMA defeating Irina Rodina (split decision) at the ReMix-World
Cup 2000, Megumi Yabushita (TKO armbar) at the ReMix-Golden Gate
2001and then recently in the SG-2004 World ReMix Toughill went
on to defeat two lady fighters and was well on her way to the
main prize when she was disqualified for throwing elbows in retaliation
to arch nemesis Yabushita's continuous fouling in the final bout
of the night. Toughill is also a solid boxer and since 2000 she
has pounded out a 6-1-1 record as a lady boxer. Erin debuted
on July 20th 2004 and lost a four round decision, but she has
since gone on the winning path defeating Cassandra Geigger and
most recently earning a ten round unanimous decision over Yvonne
Reis, earning the GBU Intercontinental title in the process.
Erin dedicated the win to the memory of her late sister, who
was involved in a fatal car accident just a month prior to the
bout. This super middleweight wants Laila Ali in the ring and
with the trash talking that has been between the two, this rivalry
should go down. No matter what the future holds for this lady
of the ring one thing is definitely for sure, Erin Toughill is
a force to be reckoned with. Erin took the time to chat with
the MaxFighting and gave her thoughts on her experiences in the
boxing ring and the MMA arena.
Benny
Henderson Jr.: Hey how are you Erin?
Erin
Toughill: Great. Thank you. By the way - I LOVE the title of
the piece [laughs].
BH:
First off, what would prompt a beautiful young lady as yourself
to want to compete in such grueling in your face sport when there
seems like there is so much out there for you to do?
ET:
I think because I have found out that I am good at what I do
- that's the key. I think I have a lot to offer both sports while
proving that a woman can still look like a woman AND kick a little
butt. I have always been into sports growing up. This is such
a challenge - but at the same time it is so fun and rewarding.
I truly love it. I am sure if I was losing a lot, not performing
well, etc. I might have found a new line of work. But fortunately,
it has worked out for me! I obviously have plans after this (I
am working on a degree in kinesiology) but for now, I love it.
BH:
Women's boxing seems to have bit of a following, but what about
the whole women in the MMA scene, do you think that will ever
catch on?
ET:
Ummm, well, even women's boxing is not taken so seriously. You
have the 'names' and people get to see them. But there is some
real talent out there right now and it's a shame people don't
get to see them perform. As for MMA - people don't even fully
understand the men's fighting yet - not like boxing, at least.
I don't for see them really understanding the females anytime
soon. But of course I'd love if they did.
BH:
When did you start competing as a MMA fighter and a boxer?
ET:
I had my first pro fight (MMA fight) in Sept of '99. So... going
on five and a half years. I had my first boxing fight June of
2000.
BH:
OK, what do your parents think about their little girl throwing
down in the ring?
ET:
They just don't want me to get hurt. That's their biggest concern.
I think my dad thought I would end up being a soccer star...
sorry dad!
BH:
On October 22nd 2004 you defeated Yvonne Reis for the GBU Intercontinental
Super middleweight title, which was your first title. But not
only were you fighting for your first belt you were fighting
for your baby sister Megan who passed away a month earlier in
a car accident. How emotional was it for you to gain the victory
and bring home the belt in memory of your little sister?
ET:
Yeah, well, Megan's accident happened about three-and-a-half
weeks before that fight. Unless you have been through the same
thing there's no way it can be articulated. She was going to
go with me. I just knew she wouldn't have wanted me to quit.
I wasn't going to. There was no other choice BUT to fight. I
wanted to win that belt for Megan, and I did.
BH:
Was it hard to stay focused during your training and title bout
with such a traumatic experience?
ET:
Sure, of course. I cried all the time - before training, after
training, during training. Fighting is 75% mental. I knew if
I could get through this, my God, I could get through anything.
I knew I had to do it. Fighting and training is CAKE compared
to going through the loss of your sister and best friend.
BH:
You were disqualified in your final match of the Smack Girls
2004 World Remix after you easily disposed of two opponents in
the
8-woman tournament and were well on your way to defeating Megumi
Yabushita when you were DQ'd. What exactly happened for you to
get the DQ and do you honestly feel it was a fair decision?
ET:
I have already beaten Megumi. I broke her arm in half three years
ago. I basically think it is sad that a fighter of that caliber
would have to cheat to win. I did not really expect her to do
that. She felt the only way she could win was to hold onto the
glove and use it in an illegal manner. You cannot hold onto the
glove, etc. to perform moves. Instead of complaining, I lost
my cool and I did something illegal as well. Unfortunately, I
was caught and she was not. I think she took the easy way out
and now Smack Girl knows that they really do not have the #1
fighter representing their organization. That's truly sad.
BH:
How about a rematch with Yabushita, would that make it better?
ET:
[Laughs] Yeah, it'll make it much better. We are going to do
it in MY country this time.
BH:
Who are your favorite fighters in the MMA sport?
ET:
I love Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Noguiera and Wanderlei Silva. I think
those guys are my two favorites. The dichotomy between the two
is what makes them so fascinating. You have a technician and
you have a brawler. They're awesome.
BH:
It is well documented that you and Laila Ali don't like each
other, in fact you to have had a war of words. Do you think you
will ever get a shot at Laila, and what do you see in Ali that
makes you think you can beat her?
ET:
Laila is just really annoying. I know she will fight me - and
that's great. She should probably go back to school after her
fighting career as she has a pretty limited vocabulary. And as
far as what I "see" in her that makes me think I can
"beat her"? Well, that's a secret. I would not want
to other girls to steal my game plan!
BH:
What has been your toughest bout in the no holds barred sport
and in the boxing ring?
ET:
My first MMA fight was the hardest. I went to Aruba and they
basically said this girl had 2-3 MMA fights. Well, she did, but
she also had about 25 kickboxing fights. She was a brute. We
fought for ONE 15 minute round and I received a draw. I was happy
that I did so well with someone of that caliber. It was a great
learning experience and I knew I had a future in this sport.
I also knew that if I wanted to keep doing this, I would actually
have to train! I think my first boxing fight was the worst too.
Along with not training properly, I also had a kick boxer teaching
me how to box. The training for boxing is SOOO different compared
to MMA. I think, now I KNOW, I just wasn't prepared.
BH:
What is your main goal in your career?
ET:
I am now the #1 female MMA fighter. I would like to do the same
in boxing and get as many belts and titles as I can. I just want
to have fun.
BH:
As a woman fighter in what is mostly filled with men do you feel
you get the respect you deserve?
ET:
It's 50/50. Like I said, I get a lot of respect from the people
I train with or who have seen what I am capable of doing. You
constantly have to prove yourself anyways - that's the nature
of the beast. Unless, someone saw me fight or has trained with
me, I am sure they'd still think, This girl LOOKS tough - but
how good could she be? It rolls off my back, really. I have had
18 professional fights which is more then most men even have.
I also have a winning record - I think that speaks for itself.
I do Jiu Jitsu, boxing, kickboxing, you name it. I have accomplished
more then most men, let alone women.
BH:
In the boxing ring who would you like to fight and why, and the
same for the MMA arena?
ET:
Ummmm, whomever. I just wanna stay active. I think people know
who I wanna fight and why. There's no one for me to really fight
in MMA. I might like a rematch with the girl I fought in Aruba
to avenge the draw. But besides that? No-one really.
BH:
Which do you like to compete in more and which do you feel you
are better at, boxing or MMA?
ET:
Now, I like boxing better. For a while it was equal. I still
train my ground fighting and I DO love that. But I don't really
miss kick boxing. I know I am great at MMA. I think I am good
at boxing too - but I know I have only shown a small bit of what
I am capable of. I know I can do much more. I love boxing because
it truly is a science. People have no idea on what the inner
workings of boxing really are. It's amazing.
BH:
Is there anything you would like to add to this interview and
say in closing?
ET:
I just want to thank everyone who has supported me and the other
women in MMA and boxing. We need you to keep believing in us
to stay strong! Also, please check my site out at www.erintoughill.com. There's a lot of
pics and news updates. Thanks again!
I
would like to thank Erin for taking the time out for the fans;
her time and thoughts are very appreciated. For more info on
Erin she wuold like to invite you to her website: Erin Toughill
- Fight Girl: Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, Mixed Martial Arts.
Source: Maxfighting
|
Quote
of the Day
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together
as fools."
Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929-1968, American Civil Rights Leader,
Nobel Prize Winner
|
FULL
CONTACT SHOWDOWN #2 (FCS#2)
Friday, March 18, 2005
doors opening at 7:00 p.m. and the first bell at 8:00 p.m.
After
the overwhelming success of the January 2005 MMA / Kickboxing
event "Steinlager and Super Brawl present: FULL CONTACT
SHOWDOWN #1" we are pleased to announce the next event in
this promising new series:
FULL CONTACT SHOWDOWN #2 (FCS#2) will take place on Friday, March
18, 2005 with doors opening at 7:00 p.m. and the first bell at
8:00 p.m. FCS#2, like the first show in this series, will take
place at the fantastic Kahuna's Sports Bar & Grill ("E
Club") ballroom on Marine Core Base Hawaii - Kaneohe (MCBH).
Promoter Patrick Freitas established the FCS in order to give
the large number of rising MMA and kickboxing athletes the opportunity
to showcase their skills in a professional competition environment.
Although the FCS events are open to the general public, the series
is designated to be held on Oahu military bases as a "thank
you" to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces.
The FCS#2 card is still under construction. However, Kaneohe
Marine Steve "El Toro Blanco" Byrnes, will be featured
in the main event. Byrnes, coming off a dominant performance
in Full Contact Showdown #1 over Jesse Rangel of Fresno, California,
will be looking for his second professional win in the March
FCS show. Kaipo Kalama, a Super Brawl veteran who trains at Grappling
Unlimited and Mixed Martial Arts Development, will be looking
for his fifth professional victory in the co-main event. Both
Byrnes and Kalama will be matched with competitors from the mainland.
The FCS#2 will feature 10 matches, made up of a mix of professional
and amateur MMA and kickboxing rising stars.
Tickets are on sale now. Military $20; General $25; Ringside:
$35. Call or email Patrick Freitas, FCS promoter, at (808) 375-1645
and superbrawl21@yahoo.com , respecively, for
more information.
Source: Promoter |
Silva
wants Nogueira in Curitiba
After
the awful end of last Pride Shockwave, nothing better than vacations
to Middleweight Pride champion Wanderlei Silva. And it was exactly
what he did. After spending two weeks at Brazilian Northeast
beaches, Wand - already in Curitiba (PR) - did an unusual invitation
to former Heavyweight pride champion Rodrigo Minotauro. "If
Minotauro is not pleased in his team, I wish I had him training
in Chute-Boxe," invited Silva. Check out bellow the best
parts of the chat with the champion, what he did think about
the loss to Mark Hunt and his plans for the future. Next:
After
the whole noisy New Years Eve, did you have enough time to rest?
I
spent two weeks in Maceió (AL) and visit lots of beaches.
It was a real paradise. A empty beach, with my wife and son.
Just perfect!
About
Pride... you ruled the ground game with Hunt. What happened?
I
was supposed to train more Jiu-Jitsu. In fact, I use my ground
game to defend myself. I have to improve my submission techniques.
What has happen is I got my hand injured and it bothered my ground
train. But I will improve my Jiu-Jitsu and come back better.
How
this loss affects your career?
To
be honest with you, this loss did not affect my career. Of course
I got very upset. I've seen the tape several times and I realize
the fight was tie. And when it does happen, the victory goes
to the lighter one. It didn't happen against Hunt. In my opinion
I won the fight. I lost my invincibility and it will take a while
until I get it back. It was taken away from me.
You
got hurt by Pride?
No
way out! I got very upset, but there are no hard feelings with
Pride. Pride was the event where I became a champion and I consider
Pride the best MMA event in the world.
Tell
me about your deal with Pride... you know there are lots of fight
promoters chasing after you.
Pride
guys informed they are on the way to Brazil and deal with local
athletes. About other organizations, it just makes me happy,
because they appreciate my work and I know I am doing the right
thing.
Are
you interested in a rematch with Hunt?
Absolutely!
I feel like I still gonna have to fight him other three times.
I'm gonna do my best to defeat him and any other fighter who
cross my way.
What
are you going to do different when that time comes?
I
will be more prepared. I will increase my weight... no way I
fight a heavier fighter weighting less than 105kg.
Have
you decided if you going to fight at Pride Middleweight GP?
I
haven't. But if I don't I will point Murilo Ninja or Maurício
Shogun to replace me.
You
said you would gain some weight. Do you wanna fight as a heavyweight
now?
Yes,
I have it in my mind. I wanna face (Mirko) Cro Cop and Fedor
(Emelianenko) because they are the best.
And
Rodrigo Minotauro? He is also one of the best ones.
Of
course Rodrigo is one of the best ones. But I don't want to fight
him. He is such a great guy and I wish I had him training in
my team. If he is not pleased in his team, I invite him to train
in Chute-Boxe. I guarantee!
Source: Tatame
|
IBRAHIM
UPDATE
He
stepped into the world of MMA with just two weeks of preparation.
Then, in the first fifty seconds of the bout, Karam "Gaber"
Ibrahim displayed his incredible athletic ability. Pushing around
Japan's "Missing Link" Kazuyuki Fujita like a little
boy. Chasing him tackling and punching him to the corner.
Anyone
who has seen Ibrahim competing in Greco-roman wrestling knows
that this guy is a gem. The way he dominated in the Athens Olympics,
flipping around an opponent like a big piece of wood, and celebrating
with a summersault after the bout like a character in "The
Matrix" we all realized that this man could be a force in
the MMA world.
But
Fujita saw one flaw in Ibrahim's offensive attack. His head-movements.
When Ibrahim steps in for strikes, his chin tends to go up a
little, so Fujita went for the counter shot. It was more like
a swinging hook so the fist to wrist portion of Fujita's right
hand nailed the left of Ibrahim's chin toward the side of his
head, and this was just as Ibrahim came forward with a left low
kick. As his chin was up. Then, instantly, Ibrahim was down.
Fujita
chased him with two hammer shots to the face but by then, Ibrahim
was completely gone. Laying on the canvass, his right leg trembling.
After
the fight, Fujita said, "Today just happened to be my day
but it doesn't mean I am better. He is an Olympic champion and
I didn't even make it to the Olympic team. I still think he is
a great athlete" expressing his highest respect for his
opponent. On the other hand, the media at "K-1 Premium:
Dynamite!!" didn't get to hear much from Ibrahim afterwards.
Only rumors circulated. "I heard he doesn't want to do MMA
anymore." "I think he feels embarrassed" "He
is already thinking of revenge" etc.
7
days later... Karam Ibrahim was in The Big Apple starring in
a promotion video campaigning for hosting the Olympic Games in
New York City. With a little swell just below his left eye, he
was smiling in front of the camera.
"I
like this city because there is so much here, different cultures,
people."
Yes
I know you are very intelligent and I don't mean to be rude here
but MMA fans out there don't really care if New York is the place
you first tried sushi or not. They only want to know one thing.
Are you going to continue competing in MMA?
We
needed to hear his real voice so we waited around till this big
campaign production was over and then finally I got to ask Ibrahim
the question. A couple weeks after the Fujita fight, how do you
feel now?
Ibrahim
smiled and shook his head slowly, "Not good at all."
And
of course, I had to ask this question. Why MMA now? You are the
first wrestling gold medal winner out of Egypt in seventy six
years and you are shooting for a second consecutive gold in Peking
so why MMA now? Ibrahim replied immediately, "Because I
like the game. I always fought in the street so I like the fight."
His answer was an instinctive one. Ibrahim likes to fight but
he also has this imperturbation to see MMA as "the game."
"UFC,
K-1, PRIDE. I was always interested in it because my friend (Ali
Abdelaziz) does ultimate fighting so I knew about it."
Apparently,
this Olympic gold medal winner was well aware of MMA way before
the world of MMA showed an interest in him because Ibrahim said
that "only after the Olympics" the real offers from
MMA started to knock on his door. Till then, after he won a world
championship in 2002, the only concrete professional offer he
received was the one from WWE but he never accepted because "I
don't like it. It's not a real competition. It's not a fight."
Karam
Ibrahim was born in Alexandria, Egypt. Not exactly a country
known for being a powerhouse of amateur wrestling. So what is
the secret behind the enormous success of Ibrahim besides his
natural physical ability? He started wrestling at the age of
seven under the guidance of his brohter/trainer Adel Ibrahim
and in 1995 when he was 16 years old he was spotted by Yehia
Kazarian, then the head coach of the Egyptian wrestling team,
and he thus became a member of the national team. That's right.
He got to experience the world earlier than other teenage wrestlers.
He traveled all over the world entering various wrestling tournaments,
initiated, and seasoned by fine coaches around the globe. Once
he reached his 20's, he quickly achieved the status of world
champion and went on to become an Olympic champion. He basically
didn't need to prove anything else. So what is the motivation
behind trying something completely new? Ibrahim's answer was
simple. "I just want to show that I am a good fighter."
Then
I wondered. Even with his incredible ability, was two weeks of
preparation enough for competing in a completely new environment
under a set of rules he had never experienced before? Did you,
at least, get to see any Fujita fights so you could study the
opponent? Ibrahim smiled and told me, "I only watched one
Fujita fight but you know, I learn more from experience not from
watching." Of course, you learn more from doing it than
watching or reading about it but a man of your status usually
considers something called "the risk factors." Ibrahim,
however, continued, "Any fight is a good fight for me. You
know why? Because I got a lot of experiences and even if I loose,
then I learn more from it."
Apparently,
this man is a pure athlete and a dedicated student of fight sports.
He is not afraid of losing or perhaps a thought of loosing just
doesn't even cross his mind. He was also telling me about how
he "always fought with his shoes on" so I asked him
about the danger of getting caught in an ankle hold or other
leg submissions but Ibrahim replied, "I am not worried.
It's OK". Maybe it's not that he doesn't think about loosing
but he has this confidence or he may even actually senses his
gifted ability. But he also seems to know what he needs to do
in order for him to do well in MMA. He mentioned, "I want
to improve my boxing technique and I want to gain more Jiu-jitsu
technique." Ibrahim also revealed that he already asked
K-1 for a rematch against Fujita in six months. That's right,
he already began walking on the road to the revenge. He even
mentioned a possible fight in March, of course, at the K-1 venue.
He just seemed very anxious.
He
is continuing his career in MMA, which means he may well become
the first athlete to win a top crown in both professional MMA
and the Olympics at the same time.
Ibrahim
however denied this possibility, "I would like to stop fighting
(in MMA) one year before (2008 Peking Games). I need to concentrate.
There is a specific work out for Olympic wrestling. I can't think
about another thing."
He
is not thinking anything fancy. Karam Ibrahim just wants to prove
his ability. And he knows that the first step has got to be settling
the score with Fujita. That means, for Ibrahim fans, that the
stage is now set for the great come back.
Source: Fight Sport
|
Terrell
Post UFC
To all my friends, sponsors, and supporters, I wish I was writing
this to you while basking in victory. As you know, Evan Tanner,
a fighter with a world of experience, cleanly defeated me last
Saturday.He will make a great UFC middleweight champion. It is
my goal, however, to replace him, or anyone else that defeats
Evan, in the near future. I realize I made mistakes leading up
to, and including the fight itself. What is said about learning
more from a loss than a victory is true. I appreciate all who
helped me train, or gave me financial or moral support. This
is especially true since I have not heard one discouraging word
since UFC 51. My mistakes are correctable. And those mistakes
will be corrected.I look foward to demonstrating my improvements
very, very soon. Thanks to everyone again!
Best,
Dave Terrell
A
very classy statement by a very classy fighter.
Source: Gracie Fighter
|
|
2/14/05 Happy Valentine's Day |
WARNING!
This is your warning men! Bring something home for the wife or
girlfriend or risk major retaliation. Even a card and a little
bag of candies is better than nothing and can save much abuse
for months and possibly years to come.
If
you are like me and never know what to buy, here are some ideas
for a quick fix:
1.
Cards (you know the girly ones with all the feeling stuff written
in it. The girls eat that stuff up. Don't worry about what exactly
is written inside. If the card color is pastels (light blue,
light yellow, light purple, light pink, etc), it probably is
a good card)
2. Flowers (anything red or pink is good. Roses are your best
bet.)
3. Candies (Try something heart shaped).
4. Take her out to dinner. This is a good one because you also
get to eat out. Dual satisfaction! Warning stay away from our
favorite French restaurant...Jacque in the Box or a nice Mexican
eatery...Taco Bell. Take her some place where you cannot get
fries with that shake and they serve the food in a plate, not
wrapped up in a brown bag.
5. Don't even attempt buying her clothes! If you do, make sure
that all the tags are still attached and that you save the receipt
because she's going to return it. Also, if you buy her a large
and she is a medium, you better go home, put in your mouthpiece,
fight gloves, cup, stretch out and prepare for war. You may want
to stash a sleeping bag outside just in case.
6.
Buy her a years worth of Jiu-Jitsu classes at Academia Casca
Grossa de Jiu-Jitsu. I'm sure she'll love it.
Good
luck!
Mike
PS:
Women reading the page please disregard this post. There is a
SALE down below!
(Ok, they just forgot what they read above).
|
Quote
of the Day
"Necessity may be the mother of invention, but curiosity
is the mother of discovery."
Charles Handy, American Business Executive and Writer
|
This
Isn't Fight Club
By: Mike Coughlin
The
signing of Sean Gannon by the UFC could set the sport back several
years. Unless, you're a member of the MMA message board community,
or a police officer in Boston, you've likely never heard of Mr.
Gannon. Sean Gannon is a low level mixed martial artist whose
fulltime job is that of a police officer. He has an official
record of 1-0, having beaten Mike Dexter by TKO on August 28
of last year, at a Mass Destruction event in Boston. And yet
this essential unknown could endup as a pivotal figure in MMA's
North American history.
Gannon
has become famous within the MMA family for a brutal bare-knuckle
boxing match he had with a street fighter named Kimbo. Kimbo
had made somewhat of a reputation by videotaping street fights
of his. He basically beat the crap out of a bunch of dudes in
backyards and whatnot. Kimbo is not, and never was, a legitimate
MMA fighter. Somehow he, or someone representing him, got on
the message boards and talked Kimbo up. A buzz began to ruminate
about this street fighter who questioned the superiority of MMA.
Sean Gannon offered to fight Kimbo to defend the honor of MMA,
or something along those lines.
So
Sean Gannon took on Kimbo and beat the snot out of him. It was
a horribly brutal affair during which a winner would only be
decided once his opponent couldn't answer a thirty count. Both
men took a lot of punishment and bled a decent amount. It was
not sanctioned by any state body. It was an illegal street fight,
it just had hand held cameras and a few people standing around.
But Sean Gannon beat the trash talking street fighter and an
age old question was answered, who would win between a big dude
with a little MMA training and a big dude with no MMA training?
MMA's honor was preserved, and everyone could get on with their
lives.
But,
it wasn't over. People wanted a rematch and reportedly Joe Rogan
said he wanted to see it at a UFC PPV. The Ultimate Fighting
Championship, a company that has been branded as uncontrolled
brutality, a sport watched only by barbarians, a disgusting form
of voyeurism, was talked about as the venue for a street fight
rematch. Surely Zuffa wouldn't be that dumb. The organization
that has tried to shed all the old stereotypes and bring the
sport into the mainstream wouldn't dare hand critics a videotaped
piece of evidence. Luckily, there hasn't been a rematch signed.
However,
they did sign Sean Gannon to a contract. Gannon has done nothing
to earn a contract. There are a plethora of heavyweights fighting
throughout the world that have proven themselves time and time
again. These are the individuals that the UFC needs to be scouting.
They do not need to be going after a guy who made his name in
a street fight. It is the ultimate in bad ideas.
The
thinking must be that Gannon is now a name within the MMA community
and will help increase the PPV buy rates. This isn't true. Sean
Gannon has absolutely no mainstream name at all. He is popular
amongst an extremely niche fan base. And it isn't like he can
do press junkets, is it? Sean can't go around telling the story
of how he beat up an untrained dude, and that's why he got his
shot in the UFC.
All
signing Sean Gannon has done is create a potentially volatile
situation. Anyone who hates the sport of MMA, and there are a
few people out there who've got an ax to grind, and has a computer,
now has damning evidence. Every negative stereotype associated
with MMA is played up: uncontrolled brutality, thuggish looking
individuals, engaging in underground fights. If this tape gets
into the hands of, say, Senator McCain, a man who has shown a
desire to crack down on MMA in the past (though he probably did
the sport more good than harm in the end), all hell could be
unleashed. As the UFC attempts to finally go mainstream, and
with the tremendous success of "The Ultimate Fighter"
it appears as if this might finally be a reality, the last thing
they need is to be associated with is this incident. Signing
Sean Gannon is the equivalent of handing MMA's enemies a loaded
gun and saying, "I dare ya to pull the trigger."
Sean
Gannon is probably a very nice person. As a member of a police
department, he has entered a profession which requires him to
risk his very life for the safety of the community at large.
Gannon did what he thought was the right thing and earned his
fifteen minutes of underground fame. But that's as far as it
should go. His signing is freak show in nature. And unlike K-1
in Japan, the UFC doesn't have the mainstream respect needed
to blunt any negative ramifications. It may anger a few narrow
minded fans, but the UFC needs to create distance from Sean Gannon,
now. There is no need to please a vocal minority while there
is a great silent majority watching with cautious eyes. MMA is
constantly under scrutiny and needs to be careful every step
of the way. One move not thought out to the zenith could mean
doom. Sean Gannon could be that end.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Ryan
Shultz and Euphoria
At
12-3 there are few fighters in the American lightweight circuit
whose prospects are as bright as those of Team Quest's Ryan Schultz.
Entering his third year of competition, Schultz has yet to fail
at providing exciting fights giving his all each time out. It
is this exciting nature and ability to finish which lead Ryan
to be included in the Euphoria lightweight tournament which begins
its second round on February 26 th at the Trump Taj Mahal in
Atlantic City, NJ.
Unfortunately
for Schultz, the inclusion in the tournament is bittersweet.
Originally picked as an alternate, Schultz dominated his fellow
alternate David Gaona last year in the tournament's first round.
Following that performance Ryan was lead to believe that if any
member of the original 8-man draw would be forced to drop out
that he would be the one to step in and take the slot. So when
Joachim Hansen was forced out due to a broken hand Schultz thought
he would be the natural selection to replace Hansen being the
tournament's alternate, but this was not to be.
Instead
Euphoria in keeping with their "USA Vs. The World"
theme decided to shuffle the original card and place Yves Edwards
against Hermes Franca in a rematch of their UFC 47 bout from
last year. This left Rich Clementi without an opponent, and despite
being the alternate, Schultz was passed over in favor of Japanese
fighter Daisuke Hanazawa, whose 3-3-2 record fails in comparison
to Schultz's. What is also confusing is neither Edwards nor Franca
where born on US soil, but both live and train in the US. Yet
Euphoria made the conscious decision to specifically market Edwards
(born in the Bahamas) as the US fighter and Franca (born in Brazil)
as the foreigner to fit their theme.
Obviously
this doesn't sit well with Schultz, who when was contacted by
MMAWeekly had to say, "I am irritated by that. Someone goes
down, what do you have an alternate for (if not to replace the
injured fighter)? I don't know what they've got going on, I know
they have some kind of theme going on, but I don't know exactly
what the deal is." Schultz continued, "They can fill
the tournament with whoever they want I guess, I can fight any
of those guys. If they don't feel that I'm at that level they
are sadly mistaken."
Schultz
will face his originally scheduled opponent Hiroyuki Abe and
appears undeterred by being left out of the tournament, "They
set it up so I'm still fighting the kid from Japan and that's
fine. It doesn't change my contract. Eventually I'm going to
get my shot, right now just focused on my fight. My performance
is going to speak for itself when I unload on this guy."
The
upcoming fight against Abe will be Schultz's second fight of
the year, keeping with his busy fight schedule which saw him
fight nine times last year going 8-1. Ryan will be looking to
rebound off a controversial decision loss to Keith Wilson in
this past January's Sportfight. In that fight Wilson kept Schultz
tied up for two rounds before Ryan exploded in the third nearly
knocking out Wilson. Although extremely disappointed at the time,
Schultz has put the loss behind him and has learned from the
experience; "I can't let people stall me out like that.
I still feel I won that fight. I don't care about it now, I'm
always looking to sharpen my game and I know aggressiveness is
the key for me in my fights. It's behind me and I've got to go
do what I've got to do (against Abe)."
Schultz
knows he has to impress in his fights as the lightweight division
has seen a strong influx of young talent, especially from the
US. It's clear that no matter what is on the horizon for Ryan,
he has his goals set firmly in his mind for what he wants to
accomplish this year. "I've got no set time or how many
fights I want to take this year. I want to stay active, but also
want to fight the best. I think my record and who I've fought
proves I can fight. I want the top of the game, whomever everybody
respects, that's who I want to fight."
Ryan
concluded, "The whole Euphoria deal is confusing, I'm not
sure what they have going on, but I'm taking my fight serious.
What's going to happen will happen, if I get a chance to fight
Yves, Hermes, or Rich I would love to fight any of them. I want
the bigger fights, that's the plan, to fight the best."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
PRIDE:
Fists Of Fire ODDS
Joey
Odessa, the owner of betodessa.com and consultant for our sponsor
Sportsbook.com breaks down the upcoming Pride odds...
PRIDE
29 Fighting Championships 2/20/2005 3am est Japan
Mirko
'Cro Cop' Filipovic -500
Mark Coleman +300
Sergei
Kharinotov -500
Choi Mu Bae +300
Quinton
'Rampage' Jackson -285
Murilo 'Ninja' Rua +225
Rogerio
'Minotoro' Nogueira -325
Alistair Overeem +250
Igor
Vovchanchin -1100
Yoshiki Takahashi +700
Mauricio
'Shogun' Rua -600
Hiromitsu Kanehara +400
Fabricio
Werdum -170
Tom Erikson +130
Mario
Sperry -210
Hirotaka Yokoi +170
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world."
Leo Buscaglia, 1924-1998, American Author and Expert on Love
and Human Relationships
|
2005
Junior Olympic Male and Female State/Regional Boxing Championships
Update
Sorry forgot to let everyone know, on April 16th the boxing matches
will start at 6 p.m., Sunday if needed will be at noon. Weigh
Ins on Fri at 4p.m. to 6 p.m. we're trying to get it at Kalakaua
Gym. Outer Islands will weigh-in at designated sites by assigned
persons, males for males, and female weight master for females.
Remember Adults 17-35yrs old can also compete in a non-advancing
bout, they will be matched by weight and experience, also both
coaches must agree. Any ??? my email address is bkawano@aol.com. Thanks for your time.
Bruce
Kawano
USA-Boxing Hawaii Junior Olympic Chairman
USA-Boxing Hawaii Board of Dir./Gov
National Coaches Committee
Source: Bruce Kawano
|
Dean
Lister: Preparing For Arona
It's been seven months since MMA fans last saw Dean "Boogeyman"
Lister in the ring at Pride Bushido 4. Since then he's concentrated
on getting his own training facility together after splitting
from longtime team City Boxing in San Diego, California. He also
helped prepare Tito Ortiz for his victorious fight against Vitor
Belfort at UFC 51. With external training commitments done, Lister
now shifts his focus on returning to MMA and preparing for his
superfight at the upcoming US debut of the Abu Dahbi grappling
championships in May against Ricardo Arona.
When
MMAWeekly caught up with Lister shortly after returning home
to San Diego after cornering Ortiz at UFC 51 the obvious question
of how Lister ended up with Ortiz quickly addressed. "I've
known him for over two years, " said Lister, "it's
only we've been training together more recently. We've got a
good arrangement; we help each other out mutually. He's got more
experience in MMA and I've got more in submission fighting so
he helps me on takedowns and I help him with Jiu-Jitsu."
Lister
joined Ortiz in the famous training grounds of Big Bear, California
to help Tito get ready for his fight against Belfort. According
to Lister the higher altitude took its own toll on him coming
from sea level, "Big Bear was really good but difficult
at the same time. The altitude was hard on me, I couldn't spend
2-3 weeks straight there, I had to go home for a couple of days
because I was getting tired over and over. With the constant
change of altitude I couldn't get climatized, but it was good
experience, I believe it builds mental toughness."
Returning
to Big Bear is a prospect that Lister says is only would appeal
to him if the opportunity was right. "For a fight in Pride
maybe would be the only way to justify going there again and
deal with the altitude. If I can get all my training partners
up there with me I would be more willing to go up, maybe for
a title match or for my fight with Arona (at Abu Dahbi),"
commented Lister.
Word
has it from Ivan Salaverry that Ortiz may be forming a new fight
team comprised of the people who cornered him against Belfort,
when asked if this would be something Lister would be interested
in he said, "It's something I'd be interested in. We are
attributes to each other with our strengths. What I like about
Tito a lot is that everyone loses, and sometimes they don't come
back after it, they just call it a day, but he kept working hard
and put the time in. Now he's back in the scene. I think all
of us, Ivan, Sal (Tito's new trainer), myself, we are all good,
we're not just singular entities. So we would make a great team
together if it happened."
At
one time Lister was King of the Cage Middleweight Champion (and
Light-Heavyweight Champion), when asked if he'd be interested
in dropping back down to 185lbs for a fight Lister was quick
to nix the idea. "I could possibly make 185lbs, but it's
unhealthy. I have big bones more so than a lot of water weight,
so I don't see myself being 185lbs. I don't see myself being
strong at the weight; I am comfortable and live a normal life
at 205lbs. I am light at the weight compared to fighters who
cut down from 220lbs, but I will be faster than most of them
and I never get overpowered by people."
It's
been a while since Lister last saw live competition, but he seemed
optimistic with the prospects of fighting again soon, "I
was hoping to fight in this Pride (Fists of Fury) but I don't
know what happened. Hopefully I'll get into the next Pride or
the Bushido. There's nothing official right now but I've heard
through the grapevine I will be fighting soon. I would really
love to be in the tournament (Middleweight Grand Prix). My last
fight in Japan was kind of boring, can't say what happened, Amar
(Suloev) had his gameplan, I had mine, we canceled each other
out and because of that it was boring. I hope I wouldn't be judged
off that one match."
What
is for sure is that Lister will be facing Brazilian Top Team
product Ricardo Arona in a superfight at Abu Dahbi this coming
May in Los Angeles. It is the first time the competition is being
held in the US and Lister is very excited about the match and
bringing submission fighting to the masses, "I'm super excited.
Ricardo is a tough opponent and comes from a really good team
so I'm going to train accordingly. It's a challenge, but I like
that. The bigger the challenge the more motivated I am. I'm really
excited to bring this style of fighting to the States, hopefully
it can increase at a fast rate of popularity because of this
show."
Along
with training for fighting Lister's main priority is his growing
business aspirations which include his own facility which he
started last year after striking out on his own. According to
Lister, "Business is going really well. I separated from
City Boxing and started my own school in southwest San Diego.
Actually this week we opened a boxing club in central San Diego.
I joined forces with Melchor Menor who is a really good K-1 fighter
and a Muay Thai world champion. We've got no contracts, we're
all for giving a good deal to people, and give them an opportunity
to learn the best stuff in the world. We've got the main facility
going already and are expanding with the opening of a second
facility with the boxing club."
Lister
concluded, "I'm not in the situation right now where I can
just train, I have to make a living. I don't have to be rich,
but I need to have enough to get by and train hard with teaching.
I pride myself on being good instructor and I look at it as a
necessity. I like having a team, students, and people I can help
out. I don't hold back techniques like some guys do. I show the
small details that make things work and not everyone does that.
I like helping people out like that, developing fighters, working
with students, I like that aspect of that life. When I'm done
fighting in possibly five to ten years I feel I will be satisfied
teaching."
For
people interested in checking out Dean's new facilities, scheduling
and prices, you can call 619-920-6719 or visit www.listertrainingcenter.com
for more information.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
finds home in Vegas
By Jeff Haney
LAS VEGAS SUN
Las Vegas solidified its status as a hot spot for mixed martial
arts this past weekend, as a sellout crowd of 11,218 watched
Tito Ortiz edge Vitor Belfort in the main event of an Ultimate
Fighting Championship card at Mandalay Bay.
With
ticket prices ranging from $35 to $350, UFC 51 generated the
organization's highest live gate to date, UFC president Dana
White said.
"We
always do well in Las Vegas and I expect that to continue,"
said White, 35, who has been president of the UFC since 2001.
"The momentum of this sport speaks for itself. We have finally
arrived. We are so here it's not even funny."
White,
a Las Vegas native and Bishop Gorman grad, said his sense is
that while interest in mixed martial arts is peaking througho!
ut the nation, it's especially high in the Southwest.
"We
have a really strong fan base in Southern Nevada, Arizona and
Southern California in particular," White said. "Las
Vegas is our home. I love this city more than anything and it
has been great to the UFC."
Ortiz,
of Huntington Beach, Calif., long one of UFC's signature fighters,
won a split decision Saturday night against Belfort, a Brazilian
star, when the light heavyweight elimination fight went to the
judges' scorecards after its scheduled three rounds.
Ortiz,
a minus-140 favorite in the Mandalay Bay sports book, also made
note of the hospitality Las Vegas extends to the UFC.
"It
feels like this is my home," he said. "Every time we
come to Las Vegas, we sell the place out. When the UFC comes
into Las Vegas, we're treated like champions, with utter class."
Ortiz
sustained a broken nose in the first round on a clean shot by
Belfort but hung on to lift his mixed martial arts record to
13-4. Belfort fell to 12-5. Both men were fighting in their final
bout under contract with the UFC pending renegotiation.
All
three judges -- Nelson Hamilton, Cecil Peoples and Jeff Mullen
-- gave Belfort the second round and Ortiz the third. Mullen
awarded Belfort the first round, while the other two judges saw
it for Ortiz.
A
minor melee broke out in the octagon upon the conclusion of the
main event. Ortiz and UFC stars Chuck Liddell and Ken Shamrock,
who were ringside, grabbed microphones and began calling each
other out, a spectacle that was heard throughout the arena and
on the pay-per-view broadcast.
Some
knowing smiles and rolling eyes could be observed octagonside,
even as Metro Police officers filed in to quell the commotion.
"Ken
Shamrock asked if I'd fight him," Ortiz said later. "Yeah,
I'm willing to give him a beating."
White
acknowledged the postfight antics had the tawdry flavor of a
pro wrestling stunt.
"I
know it looked like the WWE in there tonight, and you know I
hate that stuff," White said. "But the animosity is
real. What're you going to do?"
In
the other featured fights, Andrei Arlovski (8-3) stopped Tim
Sylvia (19-2) by leg submission in the first round for the UFC
interim heavyweight title; and Evan Tanner (33-4) stopped David
Terrell (9-2) for the middleweight championship.
In
a middleweight swing bout, Pete Sell (6-0) used a guillotine
choke in the fight's final minute to subdue Las Vegas resident
Phil Baroni (6-5).
Tickets
went on sale Sunday for UFC 52, scheduled for Saturday, April
16, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Light heavyweight champ Randy
Couture and Liddell, the No. 1 contender, meet in the main event.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Fall seven times, stand up eight."
Japanese Proverb
|
Tera
Patrick Is In Town
& Onzuka.com Has It Covered!
This has nothing to do with Martial arts in Hawaii other than
the fact that I wouldn't mind grappling with Tera Patrick and
then probably following that up by getting choked out by my wife.
The next page (not totally completed) of the Onzuka Hall of Fame
was added. This makes page 6. If you have not checked it out
before, it is our version of a picture gallery along with pictures
of us with famous people.
Click
here to get to our Hall of Fame. For more pictures of Tera and the
newly posted ones check out Page 6.
|
2nd
Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
War Memorial Gymnasium, Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii
Saturday, March 12, 2005
The Onzuka Brothers and the Relson Gracie Casca Grossa Team
will be there, so make your arrangements to get to Maui for the
tournament. Last year's tournament went extremely well, with
a ton of talented JJ fighters who had a great time.
For Tournament information, please email us and we can email you
details and registration forms.
Dear
Friends,
It
is our great pleasure to invite you and your organization to
attend and compete in the 2nd Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu open Tournament.
The event will take place on Saturday, March 12, 2005 at the
War Memorial Gymnasium in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. We also welcome
back all who attended last year's event. We expect this years
tournament to be even larger, with bigger and better competition!
Competition
will consist of matches in all belt levels and weight divisions
with medals, trophies, and prizes to the winners. There will
also be a team competition this year, as well as a number of
exhibition matches between advanced level competitors. (Anyone
interested - please contact us).
Weigh-ins
will be held on Friday March 11, at the new Maui Jiu-Jitsu academy
location on Hanamau Street, near the airport (directions included)
from 1 pm to ??. Opening ceremonies and late registrations will
held at the War Memorial Gym at 8:00 am, Rules briefing at 9:30
am, Competition to begin promptly at 10:00 am.
Neighbor Island competitors can weigh-in on the day of the event,
but it is strongly urged that all competitors weigh-in on friday
in the interest of starting on time.
It
is our hope that you and your organization will join us in the
spirit of sportsmanship and competition, and help us in promoting
the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu throughout the State of Hawaii.
Please
feel free to contact us should you have any questions.
2nd
Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu open Tournament
732 Makaala Drive
Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii 96793
Email: mauibadboy@aol.com
www.mauijiujitsu.com
Ph. (808) 298-7698 Lee
(808) 357-0657 Luis
Thank you for your interest in the 2nd Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu
Open Tournament. Your support for our tournament is greatly appreciated,
and it is Maui Jiu-Jitsu’s goal to support and compete in
many other tournaments hosted by our friends statewide.
One
of the greatest obstacles of having a successful tournament is
of course, the substantial cost of traveling to the neighbor
isles. Understanding this, We at Maui Jiu-Jitsu would like to
provide you with some information on accommodations and transportation,
while here on Maui.
Hotel
options:
1.
Maui Beach Hotel – 170 Kaahumanu Ave. Ph. 877-0051 ( 2 miles
from airport & gymnasium)
Probably
the best option – better than average rooms, approx. $110
/ night.
2.
Maui Seaside Hotel – 100 Kaahumanu Ave. Ph. 877-3311 (next
door to Maui Beach)
Slightly
cheaper, but not quite as nice as Maui Beach – decent.
3.
Maui Islander – 660 Wainee Street Ph. 667-9766 or 1-800-367-5226
(A little farther away – 20 miles)
As
another option, we are currently in the process of building our
new academy and should be on schedule to move in within the next
2 weeks. We would like to offer anyone who in the interest of
saving money, would want to stay at the academy. Accommodations
would be limited to sleeping bags on the matted training area,
but if you don’t mind, plenty of space is available as well
as bath facilities. Call us for more info.
Thanks
again for your support of our tournament. We hope to make your
experience here as enjoyable as possible, and hope that we will
continue to grow and make this event better in the years to come.
Mahalo!
Luis
Heredia and Lee Theros
(Event Promoters)
|
World
Ranking on January 2005
Selected by Ranking committee of the ISC
Bantamweight / -56kg
C Mamoru, Shooto Gym Yokohama, Japan
1 Robson Moura, Nova Uniao, Brazil
2 Yasuhiro Urushitani, RJW Central, Japan
3 BJ, AACC, Japan - New (win Takahashi)
4 Junji Ikoma, Chokushinkai, Japan - Down (lose Mamoru)
5 Homare Kuboyama, Shooto Gym K'z Factory, Japan
6 Daiji Takahashi, Akimoto Dojo Jungle Junction, Japan - Down
(lose BJ)
7 Masatoshi Abe, AACC, Japan - Down (new BJ)
8 Hiroaki Yoshioka, Paraestra Tokyo, Japan - Down (new BJ)
9 Takeyasu Hirono, Keishukai Gods, Japan - Down (new BJ)
10 Ichaku Murata, New Ground, Japan - Down (new BJ)
Featherweight
/ -60kg
C Ryota Matsune, Paraestra Matsudo, Japan
1 Marco Louro, Nova Uniao, Brazil
2 Kentaro Imaizumi, SK Absolute, Japan
3 Akitoshi Hokazono, Cobra-kai, Japan
4 Daniel Lima, Five Rings Dojo, Australia
5 Jin Akimoto, Akimoto Dojo Jungle Junction, Japan
6 Masahiro Oishi, Shooto Gym K'z Factory, Japan
7 Shuichiro Katsumura, Shooto Gym K'z Factory, Japan
8 Ryan Ackerman, Grappling Works, U.S.A.
9 Jose Aldo, Nova Uniao, Brazil
10 Miguel Torres, Corral Martial Arts, U.S.A.
(all the same)
Lightweight
/ -65kg
C Alexandre Franca Nogueira, World Fight Center, Brazil
1 Joao Roaque, Nova Uniao, Brazil
2 Gilbert Melendez, Cesar Gracie Academy, U.S.A.
3 Hiroyuki Takaya, Tanaka Juku, Japan
4 Makoto Ishikawa, Purebred Omiya, Japan
5 Stephen
Paling, Jesus is Lord, U.S.A.
6 Rumina Sato, Shooto Gym K'z Factory, Japan
7 Hiroyuki Abe, AACC, Japan
8 Naoya Uematsu, Shooto Gym K'z Factory, Japan
9 Jens Pulver, Team Extreme, U.S.A.
10 Katsuya Toida, Keishukai Toi-Katsu Dojo, Japan
Welterweight
/ -70kg
C Tatsuya Kawajiri, Team TOPS, Japan
1 Vitor Ribeiro, Nova Uniao, Brazil
2 Joachim Hansen, Team Scandinavia, Norway
3 Kotetsu Boku, Killer Bee, Japan - Up (win Bow)
4 Mitsuhiro Ishida, Team TOPS, Japan
5 Ryan Bow, Purebred Omiya, U.S.A. - Down (lose Boku)
6 Kaoru Uno, Keishukai Tokyo, Japan - Down (up Boku)
7 Luis 'Buscape' Firminho, Brazilian Top Team, Brazil - Down
(up Boku)
8 Daisuke 'Amazon' Sugie, Alive, Japan
9 Gesias Cavalcanti, American Top Team, Brazil
10 Justin Bruckman, Shah Franco, Canada
Middleweight
/ -76kg
C Akira Kikuchi, Shooto Gym K'z Factory, Japan
1 Jake Shields, Cesar Gracie Academy, U.S.A.
2 Ray Cooper,
Jesus is Lord, U.S.A.
3 Jutaro Nakao, Shooto Gym Osaka, Japan
4 Ronald
Jhun, 808 Fight Factory, U.S.A. - Up (win Iwase)
5 Sauli Heilimo, Team Scandinavia, Finland - Down (up Jhun)
6 Kuniyoshi Hironaka, Academia Az, Japan - Down (up Jhun)
7 Chris Lytle, Integrated Fighting Academy, U.S.A.
8 Shinya Aoki, Paraestra Tokyo, Japan - New (win Wisnewski)
9 Shigetoshi Iwase, Team TOPS, Japan - Down (lose Jhun)
10 Keith Wisnewski, Duneland Vale Tudo, U.S.A. - Down (lose Aoki)
Lightheavyweight
/ -83kg
C Masanori Suda, Club J, Japan
1 Dustin Denes, American Top Team, U.S.A.
2 Egan
Inoue, Grappling Unlimited, U.S.A.
3 Martijn de Jong, Tatsujin Dojo, Holland
4 Scott Henze, Freelance, U.S.A.
5 Curtis Stout, American Jiu-Jitsu Academy, U.S.A.
6 Shiko Yamashita, Paraestra Sapporo, Japan
7 Ryuta Sakurai, R-Gym, Japan
8 Jon Fitch, Americn Kick Boxing Academy, U.S.A.
9 David Bielkheden, Hilti BJJ Member of Team Scandinavia, Sweden
10 Ivan 'Batman' Jorge, Carlson Team, Brazil
(all the same)
Pacific
rim Ranking on January 2005
Selected by Ranking committee of the PRSU
Featherweight
/ -60kg
C Vacant
1 Kentaro Imaizumi, SK Absolute, Japan
2 Akitoshi Hokazono, Cobra-kai, Japan
3 Daniel Lima, Five Rings Dojo, Australia
4 Jin Akimoto, Akimoto Dojo Jungle Junction, Japan
5 Masahiro Oishi, Shooto Gym K'z Factory, Japan
6 Kimihito Nonaka, Purebred Omiya, Japan
7 Shuichiro Katsumura, Shooto Gym K'z Factory, Japan
8 Hisao Ikeda, Purebred Omiya, Japan
(all the same)
Lightweight
/ -65kg
C Vacant
1 Gilbert Melendez, Cesar Gracie Academy, U.S.A.
2 Hiroyuki Takaya, Tanaka Juku, Japan
3 Makoto Ishikawa, Purebred Omiya, Japan
4 Rumina Sato, Shooto Gym K'z Factory, Japan
5 Stephen
Paling, Jesus is Lord, U.S.A.
6 Naoya Uematsu, Shooto Gym K'z Factory, Japan
7 Hiroyuki Abe, AACC, Japan
8 Katsuya Toida, Keishukai Toi-Katsu Dojo, Japan
9 Hideki Kadowaki, WKSS, Japan
10 Taiyo Nakahara, Keishukai Tokyo, Japan
Welterweight
/ -70kg
C Kotetsu Boku, Killer Bee, Japan - New Champ (win Bow)
1 Mitsuhiro Ishida, Team TOPS, Japan - Up (down Bow)
2 Ryan Bow, Purebred Omiya, U.S.A. - Down (lose Boku)
3 Kaoru Uno, Keishukai, Japan - Up (Boku acquired Title)
4 Takaharu Murahama, Gracie Barra VT Team, Japan - Up (Boku acquired
Title)
5 Ganjo Tentsuku, Purebred Omiya, Japan - New (win Takumi)
6 Yoichi Fukumoto, Keishukai Chiba, Japan
7 Daisuke 'Amazon' Sugie, Alive, Japan - Up (down Takumi)
8 Takumi, Paraestra Osaka, Japan - Down (lose Tentsuku)
9 Takashi Nakakura, Shooto Gym Osaka, Japan
10 Kenichiro Togashi, Paraestra Hiroshima, Japan
Middleweight
/ -76kg
C Vacant
1 Jake Shields, Cesar Gracie Academy, U.S.A.
2 Ray Cooper,
Jesus is Lord, U.S.A.
3 Jutaro Nakao, Shooto Gym Osaka, Japan
4 Ronald
Jhun, 808 Fight Factory, U.S.A. - Up (win Iwase)
5 Kuniyoshi Hironaka, Academia Az, Japan
6 Shinya Aoki, Paraestra Tokyo, Japan - New (win Wisnewski)
7 Shigetoshi Iwase, Team TOPS, Japan - Down (lose Jhun)
8 Mark
Moreno, Bulls Pen, U.S.A. - Down (new Aoki)
9 Deshaun Johnson, HMC, U.S.A. - Down (new Aoki)
10 Cris Brown, Extreme, Australia - Down (new Aoki)
Source: International Shooto Commission
|
Nick
Diaz Gets Brown Belt
For
2 years Diaz competed as a purple belt and faced the nation's
best. And in those 2 years he defeated them all. Gi or gi-less
made no difference as he sought out the best competition in his
weight and in the open weight divisions. This year he became
the American Jiu-jitsu National Champion and qualified to take
on the World Champion at the upcoming Pan American Games. He
also defeated Brazilian Black-belt, Macaco, by tapout in 1 minute
of their match. All of this while still keeping a rigorous training
schedule for MMA fighting in the UFC. It had become clear that
he was ready for the next step, a promotion. Tonight Nick Diaz
got just that and was awarded his well deserved Brown-belt by
his instructor, Cesar Gracie. Congratulations Nick Diaz
Source:
Gracie Fighter
|
Vitor
Belfort
By Alexandre Lobo
Vitor Belfort did not understand UFC referee's decision, who
declared Tito Ortiz as champion of the bout with Belfort at UFC
51, held on last Saturday. To Brazilian, he ruled two first rounds
and American won the last one. During exclusive interview to
TATAME.com, Belfort talks about his fight with Ortiz, complains
about the refereeing and talks about his future in Vale-Tudo
and his emotion to be dad.
What
had happened during this bout with Tito Ortiz?
My
goal was fighting as before and I did it! I kicked his ass on
the first two rounds. I almost KO'd and submitted. I started
to suffer indigestion in the middle of the intermission between
rounds one and two and I got tired. He applied a take down, stayed
inside my guard, but didn't do too much. I am sure two first
rounds were mine. The last one he won. UFC referees are impartial.
I am sure, if it was in Japan, I would have won the fight easily.
Why
do you think you've won the first round?
I
hit much more then him. I almost KO'd him and he never put me
in dangerous. Those elbows he threw in the end of the round didn't
affect me at all. I defended myself and referees didn't care
for it. Instead, I punched him and he almost slept, as his crew
admitted after the fight. I ended with a clean face and Nevada
Commission had to suspend him for six months due to his nose.
You see! I ended the fight with a clean face and he won! It's
an absurd! Everybody asked me that and I retuned to my best shape.
Only UFC referees didn't see it!
On
the second round, you had chances to submit him. Why didn't you
use your Jiu-Jitsu against him?
I
was in the mood to hit his face. I know he is afraid of punching
in the face and I wanted to punish him!
During
the intermission between rounds one and two, Murilo (BTT's leader)
asked you not to fight under Tito, but you ended in there. What
had happened?
I
was too tired and I was sure I had won both rounds. That was
the reason I decided to defend myself. He just wanted to tie
the game and throw ground'n pound. I decided to hold the fight
and put him on the guard. Once again, I tell you, those blows
did not affect me. The only time he hit me was during the headbutts,
when the referee warned him.
In
the end of the bout you two guys shook hands. What did he tell
you by that time?
He
told he had never done such tough fighter. That I had taken from
him his best qualities and that fight might have gone for any
of us. He also said we were the best of the categories and Randy
(Couture) and Chuck (Liddell) were just two old guys. I told
him: 'hey man. I am out of this conversation. I don't wanna fight
by your side on this'. (laughing).
That
was the last fight of your contract with UFC. What can we expect
from the future?
I
will be honest. I rather fight on the ring under Pride rules.
I almost broke my hands because I was not allowed to knee him.
But, I can guarantee I will fight where people treat me well
and pay me what I do deserve. I am one of the pioneers of the
sport, mainly at UFC, and I'll go where I am valorized. I am
open to proposals and my agents will go after good deals. About
me, I will train hard and start to compete at Amateur Boxing
tournaments. I will sharpen my hands even more to Vale-Tudo.
The
result of this fight may influence a new deal with UFC?
It
all depends of money. I have no hard feelings from UFC, but I
am sure this loss will influence on my will to fight. It was
not the first time it has happened and we are going to stop this
unprofessional attitude. We need people who understand about
Vale-Tudo and not only Wrestling. Referees need to judge everything,
round per round.
Tell
me about the team during this first bout.
Guys
were just great. The sense of team is huge and the fact I have
been working with guys who always motivate me is simply amazing.
I am motivated to reach the top again.
Tell
me about the feeling of being a dad.
It's
just wonderful. It's the most important thing that ever happened
in my life. His name is Davi Prado Belfort and was born on the
same day I've fought. When I hit the hotel, Joana (Prado) was
going to hospital to be a mother. He is such a tough baby and
he looks like a champion. When he is hungry, he kicks and punches.
Joana is suffering with him (laughing). But she is also a super
mother.
Source:
Tatame
|
UFC
Judge Tells why Tito Beat Belfort
ReCap by: Jeff Cain
He sat ringside for UFC 51's main event between Tito Ortiz and
Vitor Belfort. It was his scorecard, read last, that would tip
the scales, and give Tito Ortiz a split decision win over Vitor
Belfort. Cecil Peoples spoke with MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio earlier
this week about the fight, why he scored it the way he did in
favor of Ortiz, and what fighter on the card impressed him the
most during UFC's "Super Saturday" night of fights.
The split decision has been debated every since referee "Big"
John McCarthy raised Tito's hand in the air following last Saturday's
main event. There is no question it was an extremely close fight.
Few would dispute that Belfort won round two, and that Ortiz
won round three. Who won round one, and why, is where all debate
begins and ends.
Cecil Peoples scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Ortiz. Peoples
was asked what he scored to give Tito the edge in round one.
Cecil answered, "It was the takedown. It was his aggression,
and he actually brought the fight to Vitor. It was the elbows
though. He was right over me when he was doing the last group
of elbows that he did, and they were actually connecting. At
one point, he hit Vitor with his left elbow and it sounded like
when you drop a watermelon. They weren't just soft elbows that
he did to the guy in New Jersey [Patrick Cote]. He was hitting
him with those elbows. It was that close. I mean, if this was
K-1, I would have scored it ten to nine and a half. That's how
close it was. I mean, I went back and forth on who should have
won that."
Cecil further commented, "He [Tito] was the aggressor. He
kept taking him down. It was just all of it, and I mean it was
really close. When it came down to making a score, it was Tito's
aggression, and it was the effective punching that he was doing.
The elbows in this case. It was that close until the last maybe
fifteen seconds of the fight when Tito took him down and elbowed
him and started punching him in the face."
Peoples was asked what he considers when judging a fight. He
explained the criteria as, "Well, the first thing is strikes,
contact, punches, whatever you want to call it, strikes. Then
the next thing is effective aggression. You can say, well he
was aggressive, but you've got to be effective. Effective aggression.
People forget that this is Mixed Martial Arts. Mixed, so people
say, well he took him down, or his Jiu-Jitsu was better, or he
tried to Arm Bar him, or whatever. It is Mixed Martial Arts.
One don't carry anymore weight than the other. It's not a Jiu-Jitsu
tournament. It's not a grappling tournament. It's Mixed Martial
Arts."
Radio show host Ryan Bennett questioned Cecil more on the judging
criteria. He was asked whether submission attempts gain points
for a fighter. Cecil said, "That's effective aggression.
That's an attempt to end the fight. It's as good as a good left
hook to the head."
Peoples then spoke about how taketake downs scored. He stated,
"It depends on the take down. I mean, it depends on whether
I put my leg behind his and then just roll him down, or whether
you picked him up and slammed him down, or whether you did a
serious take down. I mean, how could you not score what Quinton
[Jackson] did to [Ricardo] Arona? I mean, that's a take down.
Just to put your little leg behind his and then roll him down,
and in the mean time he's pounding on you. I give a little more
weight to the pounder. It just depends on the take down."
Away from the main event, Cecil was impressed with Paul Buentello's
knock out win over Justin Eilers. Peoples commented, "Most
people out here have seen Paul Buentello many, many times, and
I've reffed him and judged him many times. We kind of knew what
to expect from Paul Buentello, but I don't think that most fans
around the world or around the country knew a whole lot about
Paul Buentello, but we knew what he was all about. What a great
job of boxing he did. Every boxing coach in the world must have
been like, yeah." To hear the entire interview with Cecil
Peoples, click on the radio archive.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
The
Return Of Din Thomas
By Tim Spagnola
It has been just over thirteen months since fans last had the
opportunity to see top Lightweight Din Thomas in action. That
will all change tomorrow night, as 'Dinyero' will be headlining
the card at the AFC 11 event. Thomas was originally set to face
Jake Short, but Short suffered an ankle injury that kept him
from making weight. Thomas will now face the tough wrestler John
Strawn in what should be an interesting match-up. MMAWeekly's
Tim Spagnola recently spoke with Thomas to find out what the
UFC veteran has been up to for the last year, his thoughts on
tomorrow's fight, and opinion on current state of UFC lightweight
division.
MMAWeekly:
Din- as always thanks for taking the time to speak with MMAWeekly,
how is the Rap career going?
Thomas:
It's going about as good as my fight career has been going the
last year.
MMAWeekly:
Ok, then moving to MMA, it has been over a year since fans have
had a chance to see you in action. How did you spend the time
off?
Thomas:
I spent that time off in the classroom, opening up my own academy,
and just realizing that there is another world that exists outside
of MMA. It's pretty interesting to be in an environment where
no one has ever heard of Tito Ortiz. It's kind of nice. Besides,
I'm from the old school. I'm trying to keep from getting too
washed up. When you leave milk out too long, it becomes spoiled.
You need to stay fresh. So I had to freshen up.
MMAWeekly:
Well that does make a lot of sense. So tomorrow you return to
action and will be part of the AFC Event. Now you were originally
scheduled to fight Jake Short, but now facing yet another tough
competitor in veteran John Strawn- what do you know about your
opponent?
Thomas:
I don't really know much about him. I know that he's a wrestler
and he's from Iowa. But more importantly, he's got 27 wins out
of 29 fights. He knows how to win. Regardless, he's got two arms,
two legs, two lungs, and he has to fight me.
MMAWeekly:
Now with Short of course out because of an injury, does the last
minute change in opponent at all affect your training?
Thomas:
Not really. They are probably similar in style. Actually, I think
that Strawn may be better than Short. I could have still fought
Short, but I chose not to. Strawn has a better record and is
taking this fight on "Short" notice. He deserves this
fight. Short, on the other hand, tried to play me. He says he
hurt his ankle. Then he says he can still fight, but because
of his ankle he can't cut weight so he will fight me at 170.
Please, why should I bend over backwards to fight him? If you
want to fight and your ankle is hurt, hop on the bike; find an
alternative way to cut the weight. If your ankle is legitimately
hurt then fine, bow out gracefully. Don't try to play me for
a fool then talk about how tough you are by saying you will still
fight. That's how you miss opportunities.
MMAWeekly:
Now turning back to Strawn, what are your overall thoughts about
how the fight might play out?
Thomas:
It's going to be interesting to see. I'm past the point where
I care about my image. For the longest time I was the poster
boy for knockouts in UFC (maybe along side Mark Coleman vs. Pete
Williams). But you know what, I don't care. Those were the days
when nobody could have accused me of being boring or not afraid
to take risks in a fight. Over the years, I became passive and
put too many limitations on myself. That's not me. I'm going
to take risks, be flashy, and put on a show. At the end of the
night, the fans will be the real winners.
MMAWeekly:
Well that certainly is a great attitude, but do you have any
concerns about coming off a year long hiatus? Will that play
any factor in the fight?
Thomas:
I sure as hell hope not. I don't think it will. A lot of this
game is mental. When you start to think about putting hindrances
on yourself because of lay-offs, minor injuries, different distractions,
or whatever have you- you already start to dig your own hole.
There are times when you can not train for weeks and come in
and feel like a million bucks, stomping everybody in the gym.
But if somebody tells you, "you're not supposed to be so
good because you haven't even trained", you begin to perform
worse because you create your own limitations. The bottom line
is I'm Din Thomas. I'm going to do what I do best.
MMAWeekly:
So with that said- care to make a prediction?
Thomas:
I can't make a prediction. All I can say is I'm going to put
on a show. It doesn't really matter who the opponent is or the
outcome. I have skills that not many people have. I have the
ability to do things that not many people can do. You can ask
those who I train with. If I'm able to showcase those things,
then it will add a new element to the game.
MMAWeekly:
Well it should be a great fight to round out an exciting card.
Any plans beyond this AFC event?
Thomas:
I don't really have any plans after this. I wouldn't mind fighting
some other guys. Perhaps I will ask Matt Serra if he wants to
fight. He claims I ran from him. I claim I'm just too quick.
I'd be a bitch to not offer him a chance to redeem himself. Maybe
he found an answer to my style. I'm not saying this fight is
going to happen or anybody is even interested in seeing this.
I'm just stating that of all the guys that I've fought, I'd fight
him again because I think he feels he wasn't dealt a fair hand.
MMAWeekly:
Din- I am sure I am not the only one in saying I for one would
be interested to see that rematch. Now speaking of Serra and
your fight in the Octagon, care to comment at all on the current
state of the 155lb. division in the UFC?
Thomas:
It's sad what happened to the 155lb division in the UFC. I think
it was so much pressure put on us that we just fucked it up.
I don't think that people don't want to see the lightweights.
How can you not? Boxing, the major one on one combative sport
in the world, is dominated by lightweights. People really love
to watch lightweight fighters. I don't care what they say. Barrera,
Morales, Mayweather, etc. - those guys are lighter than UFC's
lightweights. If you ask me, people would rather see Hopkins,
Trinidad, or Delahoya (all who could fight in the UFC's lightweight
division) fight before any heavyweight in the UFC or boxing.
Oh well, I probably talked so much garbage about the UFC that
they wouldn't have me back if I shined Dana White's dome piece.
Fellas it's no hard feelings. I just talk too much sometimes
when given the chance. At least I have an opinion.
MMAWeekly:
There is nothing wrong in speaking your mind. So it sounds like
you really have a great focus. Have the priorities changed at
all? What are your goals overall in this sport?
Thomas:
My goals have been exceeded past my wildest imagination. I have
been on the other side of the world. I've been on TV. I've been
ranked amongst the best in the world. I ate Ramon noodles on
the floor in the dorm room at the RAW gym while looking at pictures
of Ricco Chiaperrelli's naked girlfriend. I don't know if there
is anything else I care about accomplishing in the game. Actually
the best thing that happened to me was when the UFC stopped airing
me getting kneed in the face.
MMAWeekly:
Ricco will love that reference. Before we let you run Din, anything
you would like to say to your fans?
Thomas:
I just want to tell 'em "HI".
MMAWeekly:
I am rather certain there are a great number of fans excited
to see your return to MMA. Best of luck tomorrow night, and thanks
again for taking the time to speak with MMAWeekly.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
CAGEWARRIORS
RESPONDS TO UFC LETTER
The following statement was issued by Cagewarriors Fighting Championships
owner Dougie Truman in response to a letter that he recieved
from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
I
was today shocked and stunned when I received a security sealed
envelope by US express mail, from a firm of solicitors in America
representing Zuffa/ UFC. They are threatening me with court action
over their "alleged" breach of trade mark issues, I
have until 15th of February to comply or face legal proceedings.
To
some of you this will mean absolutely nothing, but to those of
us who have worked hard to build MMA in the UK & to push
the boundaries of awareness to the masses, not just of our own
personal organisations and events but to each others and the
general overview of MMA Globally, then this is a big kick in
the teeth.
Cagewarriors
and our staff/supporters have relentlessly pushed and promoted
for greater awareness of this sport, we even invited Sean O’Hara
from Setanta Sports to our Newcastle event in 2003 at our own
expense and talked him into showing the UFC pay per view, despite
their initial reluctance. We also produced flyers and distributed
them throughout the UK to help promote the UFC PPV event that
was shown on Setanta Sports. We did this in order to help the
UFC's presence here in the UK. Now we find the UFC doing this
to us when all we have ever wanted to do is help promote the
UFC and MMA in our country.
Dana
White you are seriously out of touch as to what we are trying
to achieve here in the UK, unlike in America we here in the UK
work "together” and we "support" each other
and have "solidarity” where as you obviously do not
and prefer to push your weight around and generally bully the
little guy.
I
once stupidly thought that if we all worked as hard here in the
UK as you guys have in the USA, you would recognise the growth
of the UK scene and support it as we have yours. I also thought
that as fellow promoters of the same sport, we could communicate
personally and build a bigger global presence for the sport and
share ideas that would eventually be of mutual benefit. However
these hopes were dashed when I received an e-mail from a member
of staff at your office a little over a year ago requesting that
we remove all UFC e-mail addresses and to stop e-mailing you.
This is why I am now issuing my response publicly, as you have
shown me little regard or respect by sending me a solicitors
letter, when you could have resolved this matter with a simple
polite e-mail or letter.
So
here I go. Dana White with the greatest of respect stop whining
like a biatch and grow a pair of balls like your President and
do it, don't mince about like a fairy with your pathetic attempts
to threaten me, get your big fat cheque book out and pay a decent
firm of solicitors and go for it. See you in court big boy!
Regards
Dougie
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Roan
Jucão in Japan ready for Deep
Roan Jucão hit Japan last Wednesday, where he will be
fighting the 18th edition of Deep tonight (12). Brazilian will
debut in the event taking on Ryo Chonan, the same fighter who
submitted Anderson Silva at Pride Shockwave. 'That will be an
amazing fight for Jucão. It's his first time in Japan
and Chonan is the man to be beaten, after the victory over Anderson.
It will be the main fight and a victory it will be very important
for his career,' Bebeo Duarte Said, who flew from Las Vegas,
where followed Vitor Belfort, straight to Tokyo.
18th
Impact
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Korakuen Hall - Tokyo, Japan
COMPLETE
CARD (subject to change):
-
Masakazu Imanari Vs Yoshiro Maeda
-
Shinashi Satoko Vs Mari Kaneko
-
Jun Ishii vs Taishiro
-
Ryushei Sato Vs Shirai Yu-Ya
-
Dokonjyonosuke Mishima Vs Taisho
-
Roan Jucão Vs Ryo Chonan
Source:
Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman,
but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of
England too."
Elizabeth I, 1533-1603, English Ruler
|
175
& Under Modified American Kickboxing Tournament!
Punishment
In Paradise
McKinley High School
April 15 or 16, 2005
We
are hosting a 4 or 8 Man tournament for PRIZE MONEY,
rules will be like American Kickboxing but we will add knees
and elbows.
(Kicks above the waist, no leg kicks)
We will also have Shooto Style fights along with American Kickboxing
175lbs & under tournament
So
fighters come out and contact the promoter at second2none@hawaii.rr.com or 620-5638 to express
your interest in the tournament.
Source:
Event Promoter
|
2005
Junior Olympic Male and Female State/Regional Boxing Championships
April 16th (Sat.) and April 17th
Hi
Everyone, My name is Bruce Kawano I'm the Junior Olympic Chairman
for USA-Boxing Hawaii, our 2005 Junior Olympic Male and Female
State/Regional Boxing Championships will be held on April 16th
(Sat.) and April 17th (if needed) at Palolo Boxing Gym/Recreation
Center.
This
tournament is for 8-16 year olds, the age date is Aug. 1, 2005.
Whatever age they are on Aug. 1st is the age division they box
in. 8 to 14yrs old will be State Champions for the year 2005
which will also go on their Resume for future reference. 15,
16 yrs old advance to the 2005 Junior Olympic National Boxing
Championships in Brownsville, Texas on June 19 to 26th. Lodging
and Meals will be paid for by USA-Boxing for all Male Athletes,
all athletes will also receive a Travel Stipend of $400 at the
Nationals.
The
Nationals will determine who will make the J.O. Elite Team to
go to Pan-Ams, and International Events, once an Elite Member
traveling to International Competiton all Expenses, Outfitting,
Uniforms, Per-Diem (spending money) is paid for by Nationals.
Boxers will have to register for the year 2005 (Jan. 1st to Dec.
31st) which is $37. Athletes do not have to pay to compete at
any local events once registered, we have no entry fees, this
is for Registration to USA-Boxing, which also gives the athlete
Secondary Insurance Coverage for the year if injured during a
USA-Boxing event, with a $100 deductable. Boxing Clubs cost $50,
and Non-Athlete (coaches) cost $47. You can check our WWW.USABOXING.ORG
website for rules and weight classes and also age categories,
length of rounds, etc..
Adults
17 to 34 yrs old are welcome and can also compete for experience,
and as Non-Tournament bouts. Registration is with the USA-Boxing
President Ralph Martin at 306-7654. Any ?? Email me back at bkawano@aol.com.
Thank You for Your Time.
Bruce
Kawano
USA-Boxing Hawaii Junior Olympic Chairman.
USA-Boxing Hawaii Board of Dir./Gov.
USA-Boxing National Coaches Committee Member.
Source:
Bruce Kawano
|
Carnaval
at Tudo de Bom
We'd like to invite you all to the Carnaval celebration at Tudo
de Bom this Friday, February 11, 2005. Free entrance, drink special,
lots of good music, beautiful people, samba all night long! Please
see the attached flyer for more details.
Aloha,
Marcos
Source:
Sandy Tsukiyama de Oliveira
|
Diaz
asks for the Grand Prix
When he found out that Pride will be having a Lighweight Grand
Prix, Nick Diaz was quick to throw his hat into the ring. "If
there is any possible way for me to compete in this tournament,
I would like to do so." Diaz is one of the UFC's top competitors
and wants to enter the Pride Grand Prix as a UFC representative,
much the same way Chuck Liddell did last year. Nick reassured
us that he could easily make the 160lbs weight category, stating,
"Last Friday I woke up and weighed 167lbs and actually had
to gain weight for my UFC weigh-in. My brother is the same size
as me and he cuts down to 155lbs for his fights, so it shouldn't
be a problem for me to. I would love to take on the Pride fighters
carrying the UFC flag."
After we thought about the potential match ups, (Diaz vs. Gomi),
(Diaz vs. Shaolin), etc.. we agreed this would make for some
outstanding fights and have formally petitioned the UFC to enter
Diaz as their representative.
Source:
Gracie Fighter
|
Pit-Gracie
Alliance
John
Hackleman and Cesar Gracie are currently forming a teaching curriculum
to benefit today's martial artist, who is looking to refine his
or her technique to the highest of standards. "The Pit Gracie
Alliance" aims to provide the best martial arts curriculum
in the world. Comprised of reality based techniques, the curriculum
will give the student and the school owner the edge in today's
martial arts marketplace. For a sneak preview, visit thepitgraciealliance.com
Source:
Gracie Fighter
|
POSTAL
CONNECTIONS: FEDOR/PRIDE UPDATE
Hello my friends, my postal connections in the DSE/PRIDE organization
and in Russia are telling me that DSE/PRIDE representatives are
supposedly in Russia right now, with the intention to attempt
to re-sign Fedor Emelianenko to a very big money contract. However,
as of now, no deal has been reached.
In
other news, Fedor's agent, Miro Mijatovic, has already announced
he plans to take legal action against DSE/PRIDE for what he feels
are illegal practices.
More
info to come in a few weeks.
MIJATOVIC
TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST DSE/PRIDE
Croatian-Australian super agent Miro Mijatovic, who is also the
agent of Fedor Emelianenko, plans to take legal action against
DSE/PRIDE. here is the statement he sent DSE/PRIDE:
"This
year, just like in 2003 and 2004 in their actions in relation
to Mirko Crocop, DSE and its President, Nobuyuki Sakakibara,
have engaged in various illegal actions in attempts to interfere
with my contractual relationships with Red Devil and Emelianenko
Fedor.
DSE
and its President Sakakibara have engaged in slander and defamation
and have offered various financial inducements to Red Devil in
order for them to break their contract with me. In November and
December of 2003 and in January of 2004, DSE and its agent, Ken
Imai, were successful in their attempts to break the relationship
between myself and Mirko Crocop.
I
have delivered all files in relation to DSE's actions against
me both in relation to Mirko Crocop in 2003 and this year with
Emelianenko Fedor to my Japanese and international lawyers with
instructions to aggressively pursue all legal remedies against
DSE, its President Sakakibara and all other parties involved
in these actions. We will see what the legal system thinks of
DSE's disgraceful business practices."
Miro
Mijatovic, MMPAlchemy Inc."
Source:
Fight Sport
|
COFFEE
GUY EXCLUSIVE:
ARLOVSKI HAD INJURY GOING INTO SYLVIA FIGHT
By Coffee Guy
The following exclusive report was sent to us by our Zuffa informant
called 'Coffee Guy':
One
small bit of news... Andrei Arlovski had a major tear in his
shoulder and was going to pull out of his UFC 51 fight against
Tim Sylvia.
Zuffa
offered him a contract extension to stay in the fight, to which
his management accepted.
Source: Fight Sport
|
Eleven
Fighters Medically Suspended After UFC 51
by Ivan Trembow
Eighteen fighters competed at UFC 51 last Saturday night, and
eleven of those fighters have now been medically suspended by
the Nevada State Athletic Commission for various reasons. This
is the second UFC event in a row in which more fighters than
not were medically suspended, and many of those fighters actually
won their fights. Of the four fighters who were given the longest
medical suspensions of six months, three of those fighters actually
won their respective fights.
-Tito
Ortiz is medically suspended for six months unless a doctor clears
his broken nose
-Paul
Buentello is medically suspended for six months unless a doctor
clears an injury to Buentello's right wrist
-Mike
Kyle is medically suspended for six months unless a doctor clears
injuries to Kyle's left hand and wrist
-Gideon
Ray is medically suspended for six months due to an orbital bone
fracture, maxillary fracture, and severe laceration
-James
Irvin is medically suspended for eight weeks due to punishment
taken in his TKO loss
-Vitor
Belfort is medically suspended for eight weeks due to punishment
taken in his decision loss
-David
Terrell is medically suspended for six weeks due to punishment
taken in his TKO loss
-Justin
Eilers is medically suspended for six weeks due to punishment
taken in his KO loss
-Phil
Baroni is medically suspended for four weeks due to a right eyebrow
laceration
-Chris
Lytle is medically suspended for four weeks due to punishment
taken in his decision loss
-Drew
Fickett is medically suspended for four weeks due to punishment
taken in his TKO loss
Commentary
and Analysis:
-It certainly looked like Tito Ortiz suffered a broken nose during
his fight with Vitor Belfort, and that was confirmed after the
fight when NSAC doctors officially diagnosed Ortiz with a broken
nose. Even if Ortiz is able to return to action prior to the
six-month timetable put forth by the commission, there is almost
zero chance that he would be ready to fight in April, assuming
that he wanted to. Therefore, it is safe to say that Ortiz will
not be fighting on the UFC's April 9th live special on Spike
TV, or on the UFC 52 pay-per-view on April 16th, or in the first
round of the Pride Grand Prix later in April. If Ortiz sticks
to his demand to become the highest paid fighter in the UFC by
far with $300,000 in guaranteed money for every fight, it is
unlikely that he will ever fight again in the UFC. Regardless
of whether or not Ortiz signs a deal with the UFC or Pride in
the future, he's not going to be able to fight until his broken
nose heals.
-Paul
Buentello made an explosive UFC debut with his knockout of Justin
Eilers at UFC 51, but now he could be out of action for six months
due to what the commission doctors perceived as an injury to
Buentello's right wrist. In order to suspend someone for six
months, the doctors would have had to think there was a good
chance that Buentello's wrist was broken or otherwise seriously
injured. Ironically, Justin Eilers broke his hand in two places
in his previous fight when he knocked out Mike Kyle, only to
have Buentello injure his wrist when he knocked out Eilers.
-Mike
Kyle is yet another fighter who was victorious at UFC 51 but
is now looking at a six-month medical suspension. Kyle's injuries
were classified as being just as bad or worse than Buentello's,
because Kyle's injuries were to his wrist and his hand instead
of just one or the other. Again, the commission doctors would
not hand out such a hefty suspension if they didn't think there
was a good chance that Kyle might have a broken hand, broken
wrist, or both.
-Gideon
Ray was probably the fighter who got the worst of it physically,
as he suffered multiple severe injuries. Nasty cuts like the
one on Ray's head that was created during his fight with David
Loiseau are normally found above the eyebrow, but Ray had a big
cut closer to the top of his head, where it's a lot harder to
stitch up and a lot more likely to leave a permanent scar behind.
Unfortunately for Ray, the cut was the least of his problems,
as he also suffered a broken orbital bone AND a broken maxillary
bone (the maxillary bone refers to the jaw bone in general, but
most commonly the upper jaw). A broken jaw alone will keep one
out of action for several months, and a broken orbital bone often
requires surgery that keeps one out of action for 6-9 months.
The orbital bone surrounds the eye socket, and recent victims
of broken orbital bones have been Kazushi Sakuraba (against Mirko
Cro Cop), Bob Sapp (also against Cro Cop), and Vernon White (against
Chuck Liddell).
-It
is becoming more and more common in the UFC for a fighter who
wins by KO or TKO to be more injured than the fighter who loses
by KO or TKO. Just recently, we've seen Andrei Arlovski break
his hand on Cabbage's head (at least the second time Arlovski
has suffered a broken hand in recent years), Justin Eilers break
his hand in two places while knocking out Mike Kyle, and now
Buentello and Kyle have suffered hand or wrist injuries while
winning by KO or TKO.
-We're
also seeing more and more fighters suspended by the athletic
commission doctors for precautionary purposes after a fight in
which no specific injury was sustained, but the fighter took
enough punishment during the fight (or appeared to be disoriented
enough after the fight) to still be medically suspended for a
month or two. On this show alone, six of the eleven fighters
who were medically suspended got their suspensions simply for
taking a lot of punishment in their fights.
-As
always, there are no hard and fast rules for suspending a fighter
X amount of time after a knockout or X amount of time after a
technical knockout. Vitor Belfort was medically suspended for
eight weeks even though he lost a controversial split decision,
while Drew Fickett was only suspended for four weeks after losing
by TKO. Chris Lytle was medically suspended for four weeks after
losing a unanimous decision, while Justin Eilers only got a slightly
longer suspension of six weeks after being brutally knocked out.
-David
Terrell appeared to be fine and not disoriented at all after
his TKO loss to Evan Tanner; the fight was just stopped because
Terrell was taking non-stop punishment and was no longer defending
himself. Still, it was wise of the commission to give Terrell
a medical suspension of six weeks due to the fact that Tanner
unloaded a massive barrage of ground-and-pound offense on Terrell
continuously over the course of several minutes.
Drug
Testing in the UFC
Usually,
only two or four fighters are drug-tested on any given UFC card,
but six different fighters were drug-tested immediately after
their fights at UFC 51. Those six fighters were Tito Ortiz, Vitor
Belfort, Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Evan Tanner, and David
Terrell (all of whom have been drug-tested in the past other
than Arlovski and Terrell). The other twelve fighters on the
card were not drug-tested. If you noticed a pattern among the
fighters who were drug-tested, you're not the only one, and that's
precisely the problem.
The
problem with the drug testing system as it exists right now is
that going into any given event, all of the fighters know ahead
of time with 99% certainty whether or not they are going to be
drug-tested. All of the fighters know the policy. If you're in
a title fight or a non-title main event, you are going to be
drug-tested. If you're not in a title fight or a non-title main
event, you are not going to be drug-tested. It's as simple as
that. (The drug-testing policies are set by the athletic commissions
and carried out by the athletic commissions, not by the UFC or
any other specific MMA promotion.)
The
only reason I say that fighters know whether they're going to
be tested with 99% certainty rather than 100% certanity is because
there is always the possibility that the athletic commissions
could change their policies at any given time and test a fighter
who is not expecting to get tested. However, that has yet to
happen to my knowledge, and until it does, the other fighters
have no real reason to take the drug-testing policy seriously.
The
only other concern for a fighter who is taking performance-enhancing
drugs and doesn't want to get caught would be the fear that if
they do take something before a fight in which they're not drug-tested,
traces of it could still potentially show up in their system
if they are required to take a drug test the next time they fight.
That is nowhere near enough of a deterrent to stop someone from
taking performance-enhancing drugs if they are intent on doing
so.
Make
no mistake about it, the drug-testing policy for MMA is a lot
better in the United States than it is in Pride, where there
is no steroid testing at all, but it still leaves a lot to be
desired.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
The
Rise Of The Middleweight Division
By: Mick Hammond
It's safe to say over the last few years the UFC's welterweight
and light-heavyweight divisions have been the deepest in their
ranks. Champions such as Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort,
Matt Hughes, and BJ Penn represent some of the best fighters
the sport have ever seen. Along with them there has been a steady
flow of legitimate contenders that have kept the champions busy
in defense. Things however are looking to shift this year as
the middleweight division has begun to make a strong claim for
itself as being perhaps the deepest in the company.
In
order for the middleweight division to rise it must see the fall
of the other divisions, starting with the light-heavyweight division.
205lbs used to be the meal ticket of the UFC, with the popularity
of the fighters in the division it's been banked on more often
than not to headline shows and bring in PPV buys and live gate
receipts. But recently things have begun to thin out. Former
top fighters in the division have sought glory at 185lbs, the
division is also lacking new blood to take the helm of the current
high guard, and established stars could be on their way out with
contract expirations.
Current
champion Randy Couture is the most popular fighter in the UFC,
but he cannot fight forever and himself has stated that while
he is not going to retire anytime soon, it is not far off. With
his absence in the future there is a serious gap of upcoming
talent that can capture the marketability he has and keep the
division at the top of the popularity charts. Couture also pointed
out one glaring fault of the division, the lack of depth leads
for there to be fewer new title bouts as it seems the champion
has to defend the title against the same 3 or 4 fighters all
the time. While rematches can be big money, it is difficult for
the public to buy into the fact that they have to see the same
fight over and over until someone new arrives on the scene.
As
of UFC 51 two of the major fighters in the division may have
seen their last action in the company, Ortiz and Belfort. Both
have made it quite clear that their intentions lay elsewhere.
Ortiz has begun to talk of acting and the furthering of his clothing
line more so than his desire to fight. The man who once defined
himself by fighting has taken the road that he is only their
to entertain the public, not exactly a burning affirmation of
a hungry contender. Belfort on the other hand has kept his contact
with the UFC to a minimal since rejoining the Brazilian Top Team
last year. With the remainder of his team in other companies,
mainly Pride, it may not be long before he decides to keep to
familiar surroundings and join them overseas. If these two defect,
it could cause a major gap between the top two fighters in the
division and the rest of it. Making for a very shaky future for
the division.
Youth
is not the problem for the welterweight division. There are plenty
of young fighters who have impressed in one form or another over
the last year. The problem lays not in them, but the fact that
many believe that current champion Matt Hughes cannot be dethroned,
regardless of talent challenging him. The problem in the division
seems to be that the opposite of the light-heavyweight division,
there are no top 5 fighters to bridge the gap between champion
and young up and commers.
Should
Hughes defeat Frank Trigg the general consensus between fans
would again be that Hughes is unbeatable and thus how can the
UFC market someone if there is little if any indication that
there could be an upset or even a close match? As talented as
many fighters are in the division it is feasible to think that
no one can match strength with Hughes, and as he has shown he
is far from one dimensional with the emergence of a submission
game that he lacked early in his career. So without legitimate
top contenders, it could be a while before Hughes and division
is given a chance to headline the UFC and further push the company
to new heights.
So
now sits the middleweight division, finally with a champion who
is committed to a multi-fight deal and with no shortage of contenders.
Starting at the top there is Evan Tanner, a fighter who much
like Couture is a solid veteran that has persevered beyond the
stereotype that younger fighters make champions. His underdog
to top dog rise could easily be marketable in the new UFC where
it is seeming more and more like nice guys, rather than smack
talkers, can be rallied behind by fans. He presents an interesting
situation in that even though he is champion, he is not like
Hughes or Couture in the fact that there is no doubt he will
defeat anyone in the division. Couple this with his diversity
in styles it means there will always be an abundance of intriguing
matches regardless of whom he fights.
The
remainder of the division is thick in talent that is as diversified
as Tanner's style. The most obvious candidate for Tanner's first
defense could be Rich Franklin, which would present its own storyline
with Franklin having defeated Tanner at 205lbs a couple of years
ago. Franklin has shown the ability to be as well rounded as
Tanner creating a tight match up which always excites fans and
media alike. Another highly marketable match up could be between
Tanner and former Team Quest training partner Matt Lindland.
For years Lindland was the uncrowned champion of the division,
but his loss to Terrell at UFC 49 opened the way for Tanner to
step in and take the belt for himself. With the backdrop of former
teammates now opposing each other as the theme for the fight,
the marketing and drama practically writes itself.
Now
that there is a champion at 185lbs, the UFC can afford to develop
talent in the weight class rather than give up on fighters who
lose once and must wait elongated periods of time to get back
in. This spells good fortune for the likes of David Loiseau,
Joe Riggs, Travis Lutter, and Pete Sell, all of which will be
forced to fight each other over the coming year to solidify a
number one contender to the title after Franklin and Lindland
get their prospective shots. Even Robbie Lawler who is still
very young has a chance to return to his former glory and possibly
find himself in the title mix should he pick up a couple of key
wins.
And
here we stand, the once low end of the totem pole in the UFC
weight divisions stands as possibly its deepest and most diverse
after years of second hand status. As the other divisions in
the company begin to grow shockingly thin once the current stars
step away, the middleweight division has depth, youth, and a
champion who isn't afraid to fight anyone that's put in front
of him. This coming year could be the year that the middleweight
division stands head and shoulders above the rest, insuring its
longevity and marketing as the sport grows to new heights and
looks for a consistent source of excitement and productivity.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Tamura
vs Makhmud Added to Pride 29: Fists of Fire
Kiyoshi Tamura versus Aliev Makhmud has been added to PRIDE FIGHTING’S
FISTS OF FIRE fight card. A mixed martial arts veteran, Tamura
is one of Japan’s heroes and is making his return to the
PRIDE ring. Makhmud is fighting out of Azerbaydzhan and boasts
in impressive wrestling background.
Previously
announced matches include – a main event featuring clashing
styles as striker Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic takes on
wrestler Mark “The Hammer” Coleman … Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson returns to the ring facing Chute Boxe’s Murilo “Ninja”
Rua ... Antonio Rogerio Nogueira of the Brazilian Top Team will
go head to head with Golden Glory’s Alistair “Demolition
Man” Overeem … it’s Korea versus Russia as Choi
Mu Bae takes on Sergei Kharitonov … Japan’s up and
coming heavyweight, Hirotaka Yokoi, will take on the leader of
the Brazilian Top Team, Mario Sperry … mixed martial arts
veteran Hiromitsu Kanehara goes head to head with Chute Boxe
star Mauricio “Shogun” Rua … and Tom “ Big
Cat” Erickson makes his return to PRIDE versus newcomer
Fabricio Werdum of Spain.
FISTS
OF FIRE will take place from the Saitama Super Arena in Japan
and is scheduled to debut on North American pay per view via
iNDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Vu!, and Viewer’s
Choice on Friday, February 25th, 2005 at 10:00pm EST, 7:00pm
PST.
FIGHT
CARD
Mirko Filipovic vs. Mark Coleman
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Murilo Rua
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Alistair Overeem
Choi Mu Bae vs. Sergei Kharitonov
Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Yoshiki Takahashi
Hirotaka Yokoi vs. Mario Sperry
Hiromitsu Kanehara vs. Mauricio Rua
Tom Erickson vs. Fabricio Werdum
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Aliev Makhmud
Fightcard
subject to change.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Shelby
Walker: Not just another pretty face
by "Big Dog" Benny Henderson Jr.
I have no idea who she is, but after seeing her picture, I
thought she was "news" worthy.
Not
just another pretty face in the crowd but a lady warrior in the
ring proving herself to the masses that she is to be taken seriously.
Fighting her heart out to accomplish what she has set out to
do, and that is to fight, to entertain and to win. Lady boxer
and mixed martial arts star Shelby 'Girl' Walker isn’t just
your average beauty unless you count bashing the heads of her
opponents into the canvas as your normal American girl. This
Southern beauty doesn’t play and by no means is she to be
taken lightly by anyone. Training in the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
discipline, Shelby was awarded her blue belt by MMA legend Royce
Gracie and after watching the first few events of UFC she decided
to try her hand in the art herself. Shelby began her career in
2001 and since then has competed in three Hook-n-Shoot’s,
one USMMA and one AFC where she has compiled a 2-3 MMA record.
Regardless of a win, loss or draw, Shelby comes to fight and
the lady warrior inside won’t let her stop what she loves.
Now the number one ranked featherweight, Shelby has taken on
Howard Davis Jr. as her new trainer and is set for a return to
the boxing ring on February 12th in Fort Lauderdale at the War
Memorial Coliseum on the (AFC) Absolute Fighting Championship
and hopes to have a successful comeback. Shelby has pounded out
a 6-4-1 (5) record since climbing in the ring in 2002 and looks
to continue as a boxer, honing her skills to become one of the
best lady boxer’s in the business, and with her hard work
and determination she will succeed. So stay tuned and get ready
for Shelby 'Girl' Walker as she continues to face down her opponents
and prove that she isn’t all about looks and if the critics
disagree, then let them step into her world and see what it is
all about. Shelby took the time out of her training to talk about
her career and affiliation with American Top Team and new trainer
Howard Davis Jr.
Benny
Henderson Jr.: Hey Shelby, first off what would possess a lady
as yourself to want to get into the fight game?
Shelby
Walker: I have always been a fighter and the fact that I found
a way to possibly capitalize on it and be able to do something
that I love really means a lot to me. So I don’t know what
would posses me to get in into the fight game, I guess the same
thing that would posses a baseball player to want to be a professional
baseball player; just the love of the game.
BH:
Give us a little background on yourself on how you came about
competing in boxing and the mixed martial arts?
SW:
Well I watched the first few UFC events and I started off training
in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and one thing lead to another and I decided
I wanted to compete and after I trained for a about four or five
months I started training in kickboxing and I had my first MMA
fight only after five months of training and everything just
lead from there.
BH:
Do you feel you are taking seriously in the fight world as a
female fighter and what are the challenges you face as a female
in a predominantly male sport?
SW:
Well it’s hard to be taken seriously sometimes especially
a lot of the men in the sport still see it as a man's sport.
But women’s boxing and MMA is definitely evolving. There
are big rumors that girls may even fight in the UFC so women’s
fighting is coming to a whole new light.
BH:
Well what are your thoughts on the critics saying that you are
just another pretty face in the business and not serious about
your fighting career?
SW:
Well I think that is kind of what my family thought when I decided
to sign up for the US Army too. I guess they are going to have
to sit back and watch and the critics who think I can’t
fight need to watch one of my fights.
BH:
In your last MMA bout Adrienna Jenkins at the Hook-n-Shoot Evolution
submitted you in the first round. It was rumored that you were
knocked out and suffered a concussion during a sparring session
a week prior to your bout against Jenkins. If so why did you
go ahead and take the bout knowing that could play in the fight
and looking back how much did that affect the outcome and what
would you have done differently?
SW:
Well American Top Team and my doctor both advised me strongly
against taken the fight, because not only was I suffering from
a concussion I was always suffering from palsy - my right side
of my face was completely paralyzed. I just felt that I was under
a lot of pressure. I wanted to fight for my team even though
they were advising against it I still thought I could pull it
off. I didn’t think it would play as much of a mind game
with me as it did. And then when I got to the event I really
didn’t think I would get passed the fight doctor but he
didn’t even notice it, which is really hard to understand
because my face was in really bad shape. When it came fight time
I just panicked, I see it like that but I am all better now and
in retrospect would I still have taken the fight knowing what
I know now? No.
BH:
What are your thoughts on training with the American Top Team
and now with Howard Davis Jr., and how is that working out for
you?
SW:
I consider my self very, very lucky, I’m the first lady
of the American Top Team and I feel really blessed to be able
to be a part of such a great team and to be able to work with
an Olympic Gold medalist as Howard Davis Jr. It is a dream come
true for me.
BH:
It has been rumored that you may fight Erika Montoya at UFC 51,
is there any truth to those rumors?
SW:
Yeah there is truth to those rumors, it has been talked about
a lot and when I asked Dana White if he was going to put us on
the show he said possibly, so that is where it stands right now.
I haven’t heard anything more from this but my biggest dream
would be to fight in the UFC.
BH:
What are your thoughts on joining the UFC as a part in a women’s
division, do you believe that will go well as seeing the women
fighting in the octagon as the men do?
SW:
I definitely think that the waters need to be tested and I think
the perfect place for that would be UFC Japan because women’s
MMA in Japan is growing rapidly as women’s boxing in the
United States. So I think we should test the waters and Erica
Montoya and I should fight it out in Japan and see how it goes
and take it from there.
BH:
How important is it for you to be taking seriously by the fight
world and not just being looked at as another pretty face in
the crowd?
SW:
I work so hard; I dedicate all my time, energy, blood and bruises
to my career. I really want people to know that and to understand
that this means a lot to me, it means everything to me.
BH:
What is your training regime?
SW:
I train probably a combined total of four hours a day. Running,
sprints, jump rope, sparring, heavy bags, speed bags, it varies
form day to day but usually about four a day, six days a week.
BH:
Which would you prefer to compete in the most, boxing or Mixed
Martial Arts?
SW:
That is a hard question. I am a bigger fan of the MMA, I live
Mixed Martial Arts but unfortunately the life span of a MMA fighter
isn’t that long so I think the best career decision for
me long term would be boxing and I think there are a lot more
opportunities for me in boxing. But that doesn’t change
the fact that I still would like nothing more than to be in the
first women’s bout in the UFC. I think it would go down
in history and I would love to be a part of it.
BH:
Who are some of the lady fighters in the business that you may
look up to in the sport?
SW:
Well Christy Martin, she has definitely paved the way for women
fighters, she has definitely been an inspiration to me. Laila
Ali is definitely making big waves for women’s boxing. People
are starting to take notice of women’s boxing now because
of Laila Ali and I think it is great that she can carry on her
father’s name like that. My favorite female boxer would
probably be Layla McCarter, she is the most technical sharp female
boxer I think I have ever seen.
BH:
When do you plan on stepping back in to the boxing ring?
SW:
I am fighting February 12th on AFC in a boxing match and hopefully
it will be a six rounder but I don’t know my opponent yet.
BH:
You have gone 6-4-1 (5) in your professional boxing career so
far and have lost your last two bouts. What are you working on
to become more of a solid boxer than before and do you feel your
return will be more successful with Howard Davis Jr. working
with you?
SW:
My last two boxing matches were both title bouts and I really
stepped up to the plate for both of them. I really stepped up
and this was before I was training with Howard Davis Jr. so I
think we are really going to shock the world at what a technical
boxer that I am becoming, and Howard is a great trainer and a
really good friend too and I can’t wait to box again under
his tutelage.
BH:
What is the one thing that you can tell us about yourself that
nobody else knows about you?
SW:
I’m a nice girl.
BH:
What are your hobbies out of the ring when you are not training?
SW:
I watch fight tapes, I play fight videos and I like to go to
the beach, but all I really do for fun is train, it is fun for
me. For fun I do jiu-jitsu, for fun I box, that is all fun for
me, I have a total fighter lifestyle. My life revolves around
American Top Team.
BH:
What is your main goal in the fight world?
SW:
I definitely want to leave my mark I want to get out there and
get some fights and get more ring time and hopefully fight on
TV. I want the world to see that I am not going anywhere anytime
soon and I work really hard and I plan on making things happen.
BH:
Is there anything you would like to add to this interview or
say in closing?
SW:
I want to thank Boxinginsider.com for helping me so much and
leading me in the right direction. I also want to thank American
Top Team, Howard Davis Jr. and all who believe in me and making
me the first lady of American Top Team and keep your eye out
for me, I am sticking around.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
'KTFO'
UPDATE
The
following commentary was sent to us by the MMA insider known
as 'Johnny Cinco':
"KTFO
was at the UFC 51 event as I am sure you saw them plastered all
over the UFC. It looks like they are signing fighters left and
right and I found out why.
KTFO
is signing guys and giving them a salary to wear their product.
I have heard through sources that it is anywhere from USD$800
a month to as high as USD$3000 a month. There are also other
contracts, but I haven't got details of those just yet.
Also
Craig Fields, better known as 'HOLLA C' on the UG forum, was
constantly whistling during the press conference, and it seemed
as if UFC president Dana White wasn't too happy about that. In
my opinion, it seems like KTFO is trying to buy their legitimacy
in the sport of MMA.
KTFO
do not design shorts yet, but when they do I expect an all out
war with the other clothing companies.
Source: Fight Sport
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Big
Words from “Big” Jon Hess
by Traci Ratzloff
“Given
the chance to fight Vitor Belfort again, I will knock him out
faster than he did me,” said “Big” Jon Hess, referring
to his second—and last—MMA fight, which took place
at SuperBrawl 2. “If I am allowed to return, I will be world
champ!”
The
35-year-old San Diego native made his mixed martial arts debut
in 1995’s Ultimate Fighting Championship 5 against third
dan Andy Anderson. Hess easily won by technical knockout after
only slightly more than one minute.
Said
to be one of the dirtiest bouts in UFC history, Hess sees it
differently: “I would not agree that this fight was a dirty
fight as the UFC billed itself as no rules. If there are no rules
then how can you break them? It was a true fight in that Anderson
was trying to hurt me, and I hurt him first.”
Hess
first became interested in MMA when he saw UFC 4, which he “thought
was a joke,” particularly Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Royce
Gracie, whom he said he “could defeat very easily.”
During
a 10-minute workout with Art Davie, Hess said he displayed his
“exceptional hand-to-hand skill and was allowed into the
UFC.” With Lew Hicks and his new wife, Julie, in his corner,
Hess entered the cage in 1995 for the first time.
After
the bout with Anderson ended, an overweight Hess forfeited his
position in the tournament. “Two months prior to the UFC,
I quit smoking (two packs a day), and I put on 40 pounds of fat,”
he said. “I was eating very unhealthy and drinking too much.
After destroying Anderson, I was gassed and my right forearm
and wrist were injured from striking Anderson in the side of
his head. I didn’t think I could defeat Severn with just
my left and without any energy.”
A
year and a half went by and MMA enthusiasts had not heard a word
from Hess. “I believe that I was blacklisted by Art Davie,”
he insisted. “I was not allowed to return, and I could get
no fights anywhere.”
After
trying for 14 months, Hess grew extremely frustrated and quit
trying and training. In October 1996, however, his disbarment
from the sport ended when he received a call stating Royce Gracie’s
brother “Victor” wanted to fight him in four days at
SuperBrawl 2. Hess had challenged Gracie after UFC 5, but nothing
ever surfaced.
“After
my bad experience in UFC 5,” recalled Hess, “I got
in shape to show the world that I was the best fighter, so I
challenged Royce Gracie, and he was unwilling to fight me—probably
because he knew that I would kick his rear end.”
When
he received the call, Hess replied that he was no longer in shape,
especially for a fight that would occur in four days, but was
told he was being “called out.”
“Because
I had challenged Royce the previous year, I agreed,” he
said.
Entering
SuperBrawl, Hess quickly learned that the “Victor”
he had anticipated was in reality Vitor Belfort. In 12 seconds,
Hess was knocked out, suffering a concussion.
“I
believe Belfort was using anabolic steroids prior to and before
our match,” Hess stated. “Given the chance to fight
him again, I will knock him out faster than he did me. I was
sick and in the worst shape of my life, and I couldn’t overcome
his steroid strength. However, Royce did get the last laugh,
and I paid a heavy price of humiliation and a concussion.”
The
MMA world has not seen Hess since. “I had to get my life
squared away before I could give fighting my best effort,”
he said, “so I retired after I humiliated myself against
Belfort.”
Known
for being the co-creator of Scientific Aggressive Fighting Techniques
of America (SAFTA), a hand-to-hand martial art, Hess trained
with Jerry Peterson, whom he believes “is the smartest hand-to-hand
instructor in the world. He is a great man, and I learned a lot
about life and how to handle situations from him.”
Today,
Hess spends his time playing sports and religiously lifting weights,
planning for a career, once again, somewhere in the fight world.
Going
back to the basics of training, Hess said he is now a “considerably
more dangerous man today than I was back then. I am also more
humble and smarter. My punching power has increased exponentially,
and I have an 82-inch reach.”
Weighing
his options between a career in pro-boxing or MMA, he confides,
“I’ll either return [to the cage] by summer, or I’ll
stay retired for good. I am confident in my abilities, as I believe
that I could defeat Royce Gracie, Vitor Belfort and Frank Mir.
I would be willing to take any of those matches, winner-take-all.
I wouldn’t do that if there was a chance I would lose.”
Unwilling
to fight again in smaller venues, Hess focuses on the UFC. “There
is no one at the UFC who I couldn’t defeat, but I don’t
know if I am still banned as they have new owners.”
Though
he has yet to step in the cage, Hess is well aware of how the
sport has changed. In his own words he finds “MMA has evolved
and devolved at the same time. It has evolved in that the majority
of fighters are better and more well rounded. At the same time,
it has devolved in that the champs and better fighters are less
dangerous and of lesser skill. Frank Mir is an example of this
devolution. Rulon Gardner is an example of the evolution.”
“I
believe the old UFC was more exciting,” he continued. “With
all of the cross training now, many of the UFC fighters seem
to be Ken Shamrock clones. I think Mir is an example of these
clones, and I would defeat him in less than 25 seconds.”
While
he continues to train, preparing to show the MMA world just who
he is and what he can do, only time will tell if fight fans will
have the opportunity to see “Big” Jon Hess live up
to his big words—an event that is sure to be unforgettable.
Source:
Sherdog
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