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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)
4/9/05
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)
3/11/05
ROTR - Proving Grounds
6
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ball Room, Honolulu)
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 3
Wednesday night and Sunday
classes (w/ a kids' class) now offered!
Tuesdays at 8:30PM on
Olelo Channel 52
New Time! |
Quote
of the Day
If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win but think you can't, it's almost certain
that you won't.
Life's battles don't always go to the stronger woman or man,
but sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can.
Author Unknown
|
2005
Hawaiian Championships of BJJ
Individual Results Soon!
Once we get them, they will be posted. The tournament had a ton
of great matches and a great 4-man super tournament.
4-man Tournament:
1st Place: Ronn Shiraki
2nd Place: Baret Yoshida
3rd Place: Ermin Fergustrom & Dillion Clay
Here are the team titles:
1st Place: Relson Gracie
2nd Place: Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Kailua (Jason Izaguirre)
3rd Place: Brazilian Freestyle Jiu-Jitsu (Romolo Barros)
Source: Fight Sport
|
Euphoria
MFC: 'USA vs. World'
February 26th, 2004
Trump Taj Mahal Casino, Atlantic City, NJ
Single
matchups:
Jeremy Horn defeats Kazuhiro Hamanaka by KO at 3:19, RD 1.
Ryan Schultz defeats Hiroyuki Abe by TKO at 0:42, RD 2.
Travis Wiuff defeats Antoine Joaude by unanimous decision.
Dan Christison defeats Ben Rothwell by keylock, RD 3.
Chael Sonnen defeats Adam Tarsey by TKO at 3:49, RD 1.
Daniel Tabera defeats Ron Faircloth by unanimous decision.
Mike Delaney defeats Pat Stano by TKO at 1:48, RD 3.
Jeff Monson defeats Jay White by TKO at 4:07, RD 1.
Eddie Alvarez defeats Seichi Ikemoto by TKO at 1:25, RD 2.
Jorge Santiago defeats Chris Liguori by rear naked choke at 3;27,
RD 1.
John Kolosci defeats John Sivori by majority decision.
Lightweight
GP tournament:
Yves Edwards defeats Hermes Franca by split decision.
Rich Clementi defeats Daisuke Hanazawa by unanimous decision
Source: Fight Sport
|
When
MMA goes mainstream
by Peter Parsons
Part III - When MMA goes mainstream
- How would the live weekly fight show work?
In
parts 1 and 2 of this 3 part series, I talked about why and how
MMA will go mainstream. In part 3 of this article, I will talk
about when MMA goes mainstream and in particular, how the live
weekly fights show would work.
The
weekly show would build fighters into PPV stars. There are a
lot of first timers in the UFC who most fans haven't heard of.
Take the past UFC 51 card for example; I couldn't wait to see
Paul Buentello fight. Most fans of the UFC probably never heard
of him. Imagine if we saw Buentello's previous few fights, which
were KO's, on national tv. You would have fans a lot more excited
to see a fighter like Buentello fight on PPV.
The
show's main purpose would be to build up and coming stars like
Jason "Mayhem" Miller or Keith Wisniewski. It would
also be a good venue to rebuild fighters coming off of PPV losses
like Robbie Lawler or Renato Verissimo. Then there are fighters
who like to go elsewhere to stay active like Joe Riggs or Rich
Franklin. Some fighters would rather have 6 fights per year then
3. Instead of going to the WEC or Superbrawl to stay active they
could compete on the weekly show occasionally in between PPV
fights.
The
weekly show would go from state to state (where MMA is sanctioned)
and of course to Canada. Of course, as MMA grows, it will be
sanctioned in more and more states. It would showcase the top
regional talent on the undercard and have one half of the headliner
featuring a local star. The Georges St. Pierre vs. Jason Miller
fight scheduled for UFC 52 would be a good example of a main
event for the weekly show held in Montreal.
Examples
of local headliners would be Georges St. Pierre or David Loiseau
in Montreal, Pete Sell or Matt Serra in New Jersey, Jorge Rivera
or Kenny Florian in Boston, Nathan Marquardt or Duane Ludwig
in Colorado, Robbie Lawler or Sam Hoger in Iowa, Sean Sherk or
Travis Wiuff in Minnesota, Chris Leben or Nate Quarry in Oregon,
Jeff Monsen or Din Thomas in Florida, Reanato Verissimo or Cabbage
in Hawaii, etc.
Notice
how I mention Lightweights like Din Thomas and Matt Serra above.
With the live weekly show the UFC could showcase the Lightweight
division more. They eventually could even bring in the 145 pounders,
the occasional Super Heavyweight fights and eventually even women.
Can you imagine watching Erica Montoya or Erin Toughill fighting
on the weekly UFC show?
The
show would be for the most part in more intimate venues seating
3 to 5 thousand people. Some of the smaller shows like TKO or
Sport Fight have good attendance and you would have to think
the attendance would be even better for a nationally televised
UFC show with a local star headlining. You could also have local
promoters helping to co-promote the show. For example, Monte
Cox in Iowa, TJ Thompson in Hawaii, Sven Bean in Colorado, etc.
I
know some people would question if there would be enough MMA
fights to have a weekly show. There are good fight cards in North
America every weekend. Right now you have exciting up and coming
fighters and UFC veterans fighting on shows like WEC, Superbrawl,
TKO, Sport Fight, IFC, etc. You also have to remember that there
would be commercials of upcoming PPV's, fighter interviews, professional
analysis, behind the scenes footage etc. Also, as I mentioned
earlier, there would be more weight classes to feature.
The
weekly show would act like a commercial to the PPV's. Not only
would they feature fights of up and coming fighters, but they
would have Joe Rogan as their Max Kellerman talking about the
upcoming PPV fights. Not only is Joe Rogan a mainstream celebrity,
but he speaks very enthusiastically about the fighters and the
sport. They would have fighters on the show talking smack about
their upcoming PPV fights. They could also have well spoken fighters
like Ken Shamrock or Frank Mir throwing their opinion in the
ring.
Many
people have criticized the UFC for not building fighters up and
for the lack of lightweight fights. With 6 PPV cards per year,
8 fights per card and 5 weight classes, it's very difficult to
build up fighters. With a live weekly show the UFC will be able
to do so and feature more weight classes. Let's take a look for
a moment at what Zuffa has done since taking over the UFC. They
got back on cable PPV, got MMA sanctioned in Nevada, and now
they have the UFC on free TV.
For
the past decade, the hardcore fans of MMA have followed the sport
on PPV and the internet. Now that the UFC is on free TV, it's
just a matter of time before MMA takes off. We may have to be
patient though as I think the successful formula is the reality
show, the taped fights and then the live fights. We tend to forget
that the sport is very young and so is it's fan base that will
grow with it. I think MMA is the combat sport of the future and
it's a sport that our kids will enjoy watching.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what
they want to,
when all they need is one reason why they can."
Mary Frances Berry, US government official, author.
She was chief educational officer of U.S., 1977-80
|
2005
Hawaiian Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
7th Annual Event
Today!
DATE:
February 27, 2005
TIME: Starts
at 10:00 AM
LOCATION: Saint
Louis School Gymnasium
3142 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii
Format:
Gi & No Gi Sport BJJ Rules; Single Elimination
Fees: $40 Gi or No Gi / $50 both
(Applications will be available at weigh-in)
$5 discount if Pre-registration by February 1st
Divisions: Various Age, Rank and Weight
Contact: 223-9363 / 392-8330 for details
Additional Information: www.brazilian-freestyle.com/events.htm
|
Murilo
Bustamante is in town!
Word on the street is that former UFC champ and Brazilian Top
Team founder Murilo Bustamante is in Hawaii and training with
Hawaii's Kai Garcia. As most of our loyal readers know, Murilo
is one of our favorite BJJ and MMA fighters. On top of that,
after taking a couple seminars and doing an interview with him,
he is as humble and great as he seems. Hopefully, we can catch
up with him while he is down here.
|
Who's
next for BJ Penn?
On May 7th the ROTR will have their next show, with BJ Penn reportedly again headlining.
What isn't clear is who his next opponent will be. Jeremy Horn
has expressed interest in the match but all indications point
against this. We will most likely see Gilbert Melendez fight
a top 155 pounder as well as the return of Jake Shields. The
K-1 organization is looking to help make this card a very notable
one. There are rumors that we will see another Gracie fighting
and that Charuto will also be on the card. With the ROTR and
the K-1 now actively working together, 2005 promises to be a
spectacular year for MMA fans and May 7th could very well be
one of the best dates of the year.
Source: Gracie Fighter
|
Euphoria
MFC 3 "USA vs. World" Results
Trump Taj Mahal Casino, Atlantic City, N.J.
February 26, 2005
Yves
Edwards defeated Hermes Franca via split decision.
Jeremy
Horn defeated Kazuki Okubo via KO in round 1.
Rich
Clementi defeated Daisuke "13" Hanazawa via unanimous
decision.
Ryan
Schultz defeated Hiroyuki Abe via referee stoppage (ground and
pound) in round 2.
Travis
Wiuff defeated Antoine Joaude via unanimous decision.
Dan
Christiansen defeated Ben Rothwell via kimura in round 3.
Chael
Sonnen defeated Adam Ryan Tarsey via referee stoppage in round
1.
Daniel
Tabera defeated Ron Faircloth via unanimous decision.
Mike
Delaney defeated Pat Stano via referee stoppage (strikes) in
round 3.
Jeff
Monson defeated Jay White via submission due to injury in round
1.
Eddie
Alvarez defeated Seichi Ikemoto via TKO in round 2.
Jorge
Santiago defeated Chris Ligouri via rear naked choke in round
1.
John
Kolosci defeated John Sivori via majority decision.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Catching
Up with Georges St. Pierre
Over the last year French-Canadian fighter Georges St. Pierre
has gone from being a relative unknown in the States to being
one of the most promising young fighters in the welterweight
division. With only one loss in his career to current UFC Welterweight
Champion Matt Hughes, it's easy to understand that St. Pierre
has got serious game when it comes to fighting. Currently in
preparations for his upcoming bout against Jason "Mayhem"
Miller at UFC 52, St. Pierre spoke to MMA Weekly's Mick Hammond
about what he's been up to since last seen on PPV in the loss
to Hughes and what he has planned for 2005.
After
losing to Hughes last October, St. Pierre returned to TKO, the
Canadian based promotion run by his manager Stephane Patry, this
past January in victorious fashion, proving he can rebound from
the first adversity his young career has faced. "I fought
Dave Strasser (at TKO 19). We exchanged a little standing up
then I put him down and went for the kimura and submitted him,"
said St. Pierre. "It's one of my favorite moves."
The
fight against Strasser was St. Pierre's first fight in his native
Canada since 2003. And while he is happy to have competed again
in his home country, he has his mind set on his return to the
States for future achievement, "It's good to fight in my
hometown but it's nothing compared to Vegas. Everything is so
well done in the UFC, it's bigger, very professional and the
crowd is bigger. Some people boo me because I'm not from the
US when I fight there, but they do not know me yet. I like to
fight on the big show."
St.
Pierre had a chance to experience the big show recently when
he cornered teammate David Loiseau in David's victory over Gideon
Ray at UFC 51. The connection between Loiseau and St. Pierre,
so strong in fact that Georges considers Loiseau more than just
a teammate, "David is like my brother, we train with each
other every week. We kill each other because we train so hard
and it makes us closer. I go with him when he fights and when
I go to war I bring my brother with me into the octagon."
According
to St. Pierre, the emotions he feels cornering is at times more
unnerving, "I like it, it's like I'm fighting but I'm very
nervous. I'm more nervous when Dave is fighting when I fight
because I don't have control. For sure you want to be in the
octagon with him when your teammate fights, because you don't
have control. You can only scream and give tips, sometimes when
it doesn't go well you cannot do anything about it."
In
an age where many fighters travel to cross-train with other teams
and fighters, St. Pierre remains loyal to his teammates and doesn't
much consider going elsewhere to mix up his training routine.
"I think the weather is not the same first of all, but the
training everywhere is the same, it changes only the sparring
partners," commented Georges. "Everybody lift weights,
wrestles, does Jiu-Jitsu, and boxes, I have very good sparring
partners and I'm very lucky to have these sparring partners,
so why go somewhere else?"
At
UFC 52 St. Pierre will be taking on the debuting Jason "Mayhem"
Miller who is currently riding a four-fight winning streak including
victories over Egan Inoue and Ron Jhun. Surprisingly the early
preparation for the fight that St. Pierre has been making has
been more mental rather than physical, "Jason Miller I am
prepared for mentally because he's a big talker. Until now he
hasn't said anything and I hope he doesn't open his mouth, but
it is okay if he does because I do my talking in the ring."
Otherwise
from the mental aspect of the fight, St. Pierre hasn't altered
any of his training routine for the fight. "I do the same
kind of training every time, only the strategy changes every
time. I'm very well rounded, I am good at everything, I'm not
the best at every specific thing like striking, but I use openings,
I study my tape, and I will have strategy ready for the fight."
As
St. Pierre gets closer to returning to the UFC, he feels more
confident and stronger than ever after losing to Hughes in his
last appearance for the company. "Since loss to Hughes,
I grew up mentally, " said St. Pierre. "I sleep better;
I'm calmer, and more relaxed. I feel much stronger in many ways
now and I can't wait for a rematch."
In
the days prior to UFC 51 St. Pierre and Hughes ended up in the
same training room as Hughes was preparing his Miletich Fighting
Systems teammates and Georges was doing the same for Loiseau.
The two exchanged pleasantries and even some good-natured ribbing.
"Matt and I are friends. There are no hard feelings over
our fight. If he comes to Montreal we will go out and have fun
together. Fighting is strictly business, we do the same job,
I have nothing against him personally, he's always been very
respectful to me. I can fight I guy I like because I fight with
my heart not with my anger."
Depending
on how the line-up is set up for UFC 52, St. Pierre may have
a chance to see the match between Hughes and Frank Trigg. It
very well may determine who Georges fights for the title later
this year or next year depending on St. Pierre's success in his
upcoming bouts. If he gets the chance to observe the fight, Georges
will be doing so very intently, "I will watch the match
closely and take notes. Trigg has the tools to beat Hughes, but
Hughes has the experience. I think Hughes will win by submission
again."
With
Hughes or Trigg on the possible horizon, make no mistake that
St. Pierre has his mind firmly set on his task at hand against
Miller, "I'm going to come to fight. Don't blink because
it's going to be an exciting war. I'm going to bring my A-game
and am going to have a rhythm that nobody can handle, so watch
out."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
How
MMA will go mainstream?
Part II - How MMA will go mainstream?
As
was mentioned in my previous article, the UFC has made a huge
first step with "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show.
I have to be honest, when I first heard the news of the reality
show, I was a little disappointed. The reason being is I was
hoping that the UFC would come out with a weekly fights show
as was rumored at the time. The hardcore MMA fan in me wanted
to see live fights as soon as possible. As I thought about it
more, it was clear to me that a reality show would be ideal before
a weekly fight show in order to establish and educate an audience
on the sport and its fighters.
Many
people think that the success of the reality show will lead to
a live weekly fight show. However, before doing a live fight
show, the UFC should do a weekly fight show featuring past UFC
fights. With live fights, you risk the chance of boring fights
which could turn away mainstream viewers.
The
idea of having live weekly fights would be to build up future
PPV stars. So why not build up your current PPV stars first,
by showing their past exciting fights. You could start off by
showing standup knockouts and gradually get into showing some
exciting ground fights.
When
I watched the Pride Hardcore Knockouts with a friend of mine
who does not like ground fighting, he loved watching Quinton
Jackson's fights the most which consisted of some highlight real
slams and some vicious ground and pound. You could start off
showing some good Knockouts and eventually show some exciting
ground and pound and submissions. For example, start off showing
fighters like Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia and Chuck Liddell.
Of course you wouldn't show Liddell vs. Bustamante or Suloev,
but instead show Liddell vs. Randleman and Babalu. After showing
previous Arlovski and Sylvia KO's you could show Sylvia vs. Arlovski
which is a great fight to show because there was the exciting
knock down followed up by a submission.
After
showing some good knockouts, you could then mix in some Tito
fights starting with Tito vs. Tanner which ends in a KO as a
result of a slam. You could then go on to show Tito vs. Ken Shamrock,
Tito vs. Chuck and finally Tito vs. Vitor. Subsequently, you
could go on to show Randy Couture's fights against Kevin Randleman,
Pedro Rizzo I and then Randy vs Chuck I. You see the sequence
I'm getting at.
After
showing some good KO's and ground and pound you can then showcase
some submissions. For this, may I suggest a showcase of Frank
Mir's fights and Matt Hughes' fights over Frank Trigg and Georges
St. Pierre. The week before showing St. Pierre vs Hughes you
could show St. Pierre's victory over Jay Hieron which was an
exciting victory for St. Pierre. Again, you see the sequence
I'm getting at. Also, you may want to show exciting fighters
like Genki Sudo and his win over Leigh Remedios which was a fight
that had a bit of everything ending in a submission. I think
it would be a shame if some of these exciting fights were never
shown on free TV to millions of viewers.
The
idea would be to build up the current PPV stars by showing nothing
but their most exciting fights. After a few months of classic
UFC fights, the mainstream fans would then be ready for some
live fights. As a hardcore MMA fan, I still want to see live
fights ASAP. However, after further consideration, I think it
is more important to establish the fan base first before showing
live weekly fights.
When
the UFC is showing live weekly fights successfully then you can
say MMA has gone mainstream. In part 3 of this article, I will
talk about when MMA goes mainstream and in particular how to
run the live weekly fight show successfully.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change,
the way I see it, is service to a fellow human being."
Lech Walesa, 1943-, Polish Trade Union Leader, Politician
|
Rumble
On The Rock:
Proving Grounds Breaks Ground On Oahu And Marks The Return of
Marcelo Tiger!
The Proving Grounds is set for Friday, March 11, 2005 at the
Dole Cannery. It will feature the return of Marcelo Tiger and
one of the best lightweight tournaments to hit Honolulu.
The next event, Rumble On The Rock 7 is slated for May 7, 2005
Source: Event Promoter
|
2005
Hawaiian Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
7th Annual Event
Tomorrow!
DATE:
February 27, 2005
TIME: Starts at 10:00 AM
LOCATION: Saint Louis School Gymnasium
3142 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii
Format:
Gi & No Gi Sport BJJ Rules; Single Elimination
Weigh-in:
Saturday, February 26th, 2005
UH Athletic Complex, Studio #2
12-1 pm; 6-8 pm
Fees: $40 Gi or No Gi / $50 both
(Applications will be available at weigh-in)
$5 discount if Pre-registration by February 1st
Divisions: Various Age, Rank and Weight
Contact: 223-9363 / 392-8330 for details
Additional Information: www.brazilian-freestyle.com/events.htm
|
Tito
Ortiz Camp Clarifies Salary Demands
Tito Ortiz Camp Clarifies Salary Demands:
$350,000 Guaranteed Per Fight
by Ivan Trembow
Tito Ortiz' management team previously indicated that Ortiz would
be looking for a huge, unprecedented salary now that he is a
free agent, and they have now clarified that statement with an
exact number.
Ortiz'
agent/manager previously said in an interview with Sherdog's
Josh Gross that Ortiz was looking to make "at least $300,000"
per fight, but never specified an exact amount. Now, in a recent
interview with MaxFighting's Benny Henderson, Jr., Ortiz' agent
has said that the amount they're looking for is $350,000 per
fight, and further added that they feel Ortiz is worth the money.
This would be guaranteed money just for fighting, with no win
bonus.
As
I wrote in the UFC 51 salaries article, this is a ridiculous
demand that I don't believe the Ortiz camp expects the UFC to
take seriously. It can be argued that Ortiz is the fourth-biggest
star in the UFC, but it would be extremely hard to suggest that
he's in the top three. Ken Shamrock has been the UFC's box office
mega-star and biggest PPV draw since his return to the company.
Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell are the two central figures on
The Ultimate Fighter, one of this TV season's biggest break-out
hit series on all of cable television. More people have seen
The Ultimate Fighter than have seen all of Ortiz' fights combined.
So,
with all of that said, and with Randy Couture as the current
highest-paid fighter in the UFC with a guaranteed amount per
fight of $150,000 (with a $75,000 win bonus), it would be ridiculous
for Tito Ortiz to suggest that he should get paid $200,000 guaranteed
per fight. It would be comical for Ortiz to suggest that he should
get paid $300,000 guaranteed per fight. But with the demand at
$350,000 guaranteed per fight being so drastically far away from
reality, one has to wonder if the Ortiz camp legitimately thinks
they might get that much money, or whether they just want to
be able to save face while walking away from the UFC.
When
Pride signed Rulon Gardner last year as a huge name free agent
who was an Olympic Gold Medalist, it was a three-fight deal for
$200,000 per fight. So, while Pride and K-1 are much bigger companies
with much deeper pockets than the UFC, it's still unlikely that
they would be willing to pay Ortiz $350,000 in guaranteed money
per fight. Time will tell whether or not this is the case, but
there appears to be a significant possibility that Tito Ortiz
is pricing himself out of the sport.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
KING
OF THE CAGE ODDS
KING OF THE CAGE -MMA- February 25, 2005 - Cleveland , Ohio -
All bouts start at 4pm EST
Our
good friends at sportsbook.com have odds ready to go for this
weekends show. MMA oddsmaker Joey Oddessa has created the lines
so you can bet this weekend.
Michael
Westbrook -170
Jarrod Bunch +140
Forrest
Petz -130
Charles Bennett +100
Dan
Bobish -200
Ruben Villarreal +160
Joey
Villasenor -650
Brendan Seguin +450
Jorge
Gurgel -325
Jay Ireland +250
Buddy
Clinton -1000
Angelo Popofski +700
Source: MMA Weekly
|
BTT
and ATT sharing Hermes´ corner
The Jiu-Jitsu black belts Roberto Bebeo Duarte, from Brazilian
Top Team, and Ricardo Libório, from American Top Team,
are ready to help Hermes Franca on his corner in the upcoming
Euphoria MFC 'USA v the WORLD'. The show will be held this Saturday
(26th) at Trump Taj Mahal Casino, Atlantic City - NJ. Chek out
now the complete card. Hermes, who have been trainning at BTT
in the last six months, are returning to ATT team. The other
Brazilian top fighter who will be at the show is Antoine Jaoude,
the most experienced Brazilian wrestler.
COMPLETE
CARD (subject to change):
Middleweight:
-
Yves Edwards (3rd Column) v. Hermes Franca (ATT);
- Jeremy Horn (Team Extreme) v. Kazuki Okubo (U-File);
- Rich Clementi (Team Extreme) v. Daisuke '13' Hanazawa (Cobra
Kai);
- Ryan Schultz (Team QUEST) v. Hiroyuki Abe (AADC);
Heavyweight:
-
Travis 'Diesel' Wiuff (Team Extreme) v. Antoine Joaude (Ruas
VT);
- Ben Rothwell (MFC) v. Dan Christiansen (Freelance);
- Chael Sonnen (Team QUEST) v. Adam Ryan Tarsey (Epic MMA);
- Ron Faircloth (Strassers Freestyle Academy) v. Daniel Tabera
(SHOOT Spain);
Challenge:
-
Pat Stano (Hardcore Gym) v. Warren Kikaba (Strassers Freestyle
Academy);
- Jeff Monson (ATT) v. Kerry 'Meat Truck' Schall (Team Extreme);
- Eddie Alvarez (Fight Factory) v. Seichi Ikemoto (Riroots Conan);
- Chris Ligouri (Pitt's Pen) v. Jorge Santiago (ATT);
- John Kolosci (Duneland Vale Tudo) v. John Sivori (Advanced
Fighting Systems).
Source: Tatame
|
Butterbean
vs The Beast Severn
By Media Report
King of the Four Rounders Ready to Roll…
BUTTERBEAN GETS SET TO TAKE ON DAN THE BEAST SEVERN ON PAYBACK
KING OF THE CAGE PAY PER VIEW WHICH AIRS ON MARCH 6
***Former NFLers Michael Westbrook vs. Jarrod Bunch in mixed
martial arts main event live in Cleveland on Feb. 25
New York, February 18-Eric "Butterbean" Esch, boxing's
celebrated "King of the Four Rounders," will make his
mixed martial arts debut when he squares off against former UFC
standout Dan "The Beast" Severn on PAYBACK in the King
of the Cage co-feature, which will make its national pay-per-
view premiere on Sunday, March 6 (9:00 PM/ET, 6:00 PM/PT). The
contest will originate from CSU Convocation Center in Cleveland,
Ohio on February 25. Former NFL standouts Michael Westbrook,
the Washington Redskins all pro wide receiver, and Jarrod Bunch,
the former New York Giants first round draft pick, will collide
in the main event.
Butterbean,
a behemoth 350-pound native of Jaspar, Alabama, gained national
attention in both boxing circles and the Toughman competition.
He now enters the King of the Cage octagon in attempt to combine
traditional boxing with Mixed martial is the combo of wrestling,
judo, and kickboxing. There are three five minute rounds with
a one minute break in between. The contests are decided by submission,
tap out knockout, or judges decision. The gloves are 4 ounce
fingerless gloves
Butterbean's
boxing record is an impressive 63-1-2. Butterbean appeared this
morning on both Fox and Friends, and the nationally syndicated
Imus in the Morning Radio program, also seen on MSNBC.
"I
actually wrestled in high school, and did sumo wrestling in Japan,
so this is not totally new to me," says Butterbean. But
I am mostly going to try to fight standing up. We are going to
work on getting back up that is the main plan right now. I just
fought last Saturday, had a knockout, and I am ready to go.
Source: Maxfighting
|
CSAC
Says “Yes” to MMA,
Hurdle Cleared for Sport in Golden State
by Josh Gross
LOS
ANGELES, Feb. 22 – Despite objections from California State
Athletic Commission Chairman Christopher Mears, the regulatory
body voted 4-1 on Tuesday in favor of adopting Full Contact Martial
Arts rules and regulations, virtually identical to the guidelines
established by the widely used mixed martial arts Unified Rules.
Following
a brief yet compelling public comment period, highlighted by
a powerful presentation by Zuffa, promoter of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship, commissioner Mike Carona, who flew in by helicopter
from Orange County to attend the hearing, indicated he was prepared
to accept the rules as they stood and called a motion to vote.
Out
of the blue the CSAC, which to that point had moved with the
speed of a dial-up Internet connection, jumped at the chance
of deciding the issue. Vice-Chair John Frierson, Bruce Jenner,
and Armando Vergara sided with Carona (commissioners Dr. Gary
Gitnick and Gene Massey did not attend).
Mears,
whose desire to have an “extensive discussion of the rules”
in a special hearing was trumped by the pragmatism of his colleagues,
voted against the motion, not as an objection to California’s
regulation of MMA, but as a protest to the process in which the
rules were passed.
“I
think more time was needed,” the Chairman said afterwards.
Jenner,
who earlier this month expressed a willingness to revisit the
rules and modify them to include a more liberal standard, underwent
a change of heart.
“A
lot of people looked those rules over with and you’ve got
to trust them from that standpoint,” said the commissioner.
“Plus, we’ve put this off for so long I thought it
was extremely important that we moved forward.”
In
doing so, the CSAC adopted regulations that had been established
in 2003 in an attempt to make an end-run around the state’s
Budget and Finance office. That effort failed, but the rules—MMA-specific
guidelines folded into a batter of kickboxing legislation—remained.
The
Hearing
Advocates
for modification included Hideki Yamamoto, a Senior Vice President
of Dream Stage Entertainment, promoter of Japan’s PRIDE
Fighting Championship; Turi Altavilla, Vice President of Production
for DSE; and Nelson “Doc” Hamilton, a four-time member
of the California Martial Arts Advisory Committee, who in 2000
and 2003 played a major role in writing the state’s MMA
rules and regulations, and continues to this day to be an advisor
to the commission on all matters Martial Arts.
“As
long as the rules that are adopted are protecting the fighters,
which is paramount important, or at least can’t be proven
that it hasn’t been protecting the fighters, then they should
be able to come in and promote under the umbrella of the California
Athletic Commission,” a frustrated Hamilton told the body
to begin the public comment period.
Speaking
on behalf of DSE, Altavilla specifically mentioned six guidelines
his company wished to include if it were to promote in the state:
the PRIDE round and scoring structure; equipment use, such as
the ability of fighters to wear a gi or shoes; the use of knees
and kicks to the head of a downed opponent; and, perhaps most
important, the ability to hold fights in a ring as opposed to
a cage, the norm for many North American events.
As
he had done in November ’04 (the last time the commission
met in a public forum) Altavilla also cited statistics compiled
over the course of several years that DSE hoped would mollify
any commissioner who might be hesitant to vote for a more liberal
set of rules.
Arguing
against change to the Unified Rules, Zuffa COO Kirk Hendrick
proceeded to weave together an excellent case. Keeping what were
tantamount to the Unified Rules established in New Jersey, a
meeting noted Hendrick, that included PRIDE representatives,
was critical to the health and growth of MMA and the UFC.
He
also mentioned that the rules showed last year to lawmakers in
Sacramento—the impetus by which the CSAC was finally granted
jurisdiction over MMA—were the same ones in front of them
on Tuesday.
“Those
rules were designed to become and actually have become the regulatory
model for every state to follow,” Hendrick said. “As
a result, consistent sets of rules have been created for the
fans and the athletes.”
In
an ironic twist, Hendrick invoked Republican Sen. John McCain
of Arizona—the strongest critic of the UFC during the mid-1990s—as
an ally in his argument against deviating from the Unified Rules.
To go back and include kicking and kneeing the head of a downed
fighter, rules that “were just not sportsmanlike” in
the previous incarnation of the UFC, would be counterproductive,
he said.
“It
would be the same as if you turned back the clock a century and
you were asked to regulate boxing,” Hendrick told to the
commission. “Would you have the chance now for California
to say, ‘It might bring a few more fights to California
if we just allow one low blow a round. That would be fair. How
about a couple of rabbit punches a round?’ To go backwards
in time, to deviate from what is set now and is determined to
be a legitimate sport in this country, is going backwards.”
A
former Nevada chief deputy attorney general and legal counsel
to that state’s athletic commission, Hendrick suggested
that rule changes could also lead to another television ban,
the likes of which plagued MMA during the mid- to late-90s.
“You
will not be the forefathers and at the forefront of this sport,”
he forcefully warned the CSAC, “you will be the pariah.”
Consistency
was the theme echoed by Referee “Big” John McCarthy
and fighter Ken Shamrock, both of whom spoke on behalf of the
Unified Rules.
“Having
a fighter understand that the rules that they’re fighting
under don't change only protects the fighters more because they
know what they can do and what they can’t,” McCarthy
said. “And it helps the officials who are a part of that
sport in doing their job correctly, too.”
“We’ve
always tried to make it safer, to make it safer for the athletes,”
said Shamrock, who wore a banged up nose that did not go unnoticed
by the commission. “And by allowing kicks on the ground
and allowing knees on the ground, we are not making it safer.
We are making it more dangerous than it already it is. And me
being a fighter, I do not want to get kicked in the head if I’m
on the ground.”
If
the commission was not moved to act based on the testimony of
those associated with the sport, lobbyist Tim Lynch of Platinum
Advisors, hired by Zuffa to push its agenda in Sacramento, spoke
a language understood by the quorum.
“This
commission is also due up before the Sunset Review Committee
in the next six weeks and will be in Sacramento answering before
the Legislature,” Lynch said. “I do not want to raise
another issue for them.
“We’ve
been involved in this process with the Legislature and I would
hate to see us have to go through that route again because of
changes made that the Legislature is not comfortable with.”
Taking
time that would have been Yamamoto’s, Altavilla attempted
to rebut. “I want to stress that there are lot more similarities
than differences between our rules and the proposed rules,”
he said. “Again, we’re looking for flexibility. We’re
not trying to dictate.
“We
must stress that statistics prove that these methods (PRIDE rules)
have been proven safe.
“Our
rules are different, but they are just as safe. And we are looking
out for the fighters.”
“You
understand, we also have to be concerned with perception,”
interjected Mears, moments before his fellow commissioners outflanked
him.
The
Aftermath
“I
can’t speak for the commissioners,” said CSAC outgoing
interim Executive Officer, Dean Lohuis, “but my feel for
it was everything had been discussed before, they had adequate
time to go over everything and they needed to make the decision
for the sport. To ask the sport and ask the people to wait another
six weeks, two months, would have been cruel and I they felt
it was better to do a decision now than waiting.”
Yamamoto
was “disappointed” but said PRIDE’s interest in
coming to the United States will not waiver. The Japanese company
was licensed to promote in Nevada in 2002, and considering it
leaves allowances for the use of a ring, something the California
rules do not, it may look to that state as an entry point.
However,
an option exists in the rules that allows for exhibitions and
championship matches featuring modified rules, leaving the door
open for multiple scenarios, including a potential unification
fight between PRIDE and UFC champions.
The
UFC, meanwhile, is on the verge of bringing its event to the
biggest boxing state in the Union. (Last year, California regulated
126 cards, more than double its closest rival, Texas, which hosted
56.)
“California
represents probably the largest fan base for the sport of mixed
martial arts [in the United States],” said UFC co-owner
Lorenzo Fertitta. “Second, it’s in the interest, not
just of the UFC but the sport of mixed martial arts, that the
more states that allow this type activity the more legitimate
it’s going to be; and it’s going to allow the sport
to flourish and grow. And that’s really what’s most
important at the end of the day.
“Certainly
when we come to California we want to do it in the biggest way
possible and depending upon the timeframe of the California Commission
to be able to get all the rules and regs in place and officials
in place and everything, we would like to come here in a large
fashion by doing a show at the Staples Center.”
There
are several steps before that can happen, starting with 90 days
worth of pulling and prodding from several state offices. A budget
request must also be sent to and approved by Sacramento.
In
November, a request of $46,000 was denied, but Lohuis indicated
that was because procedurally, things were off kilter. Back on
track, a new budget—considerably larger than $46,000—should
be signed off by the state’s Budget and Finance office,
and sanctioned mixed martial arts cards could be held in the
state as early as June.
California
already has its share of native MMA promotions, including KOTC,
WEC and Gladiators Challenge, all of which take place under the
protective umbrella of sovereign Native American lands. Unlike
the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act that federalized all boxing
commissions, including those on Native American soil, Tuesday’s
vote does nothing to impact MMA promoters who continue to operate
on reservations.
Now
that the option may be there to leave the reservations, it shall
be seen how these organizations react. Clearly, an influx of
new promoters will flood into the state, a good thing for the
coffers in Sacramento as well as young fighters who had been
forced to fight in unsanctioned fights because other options
were not available to them.
Unlike
the failed attempts to make rules into law (2000 and 2003), the
commission now has the weight of a friendly Legislature behind
it and a Governor who sees the addition of the sport as a moneymaker
for the state, not a black eye.
Summing
it up best was Shamrock, a resident of California since he was
5 who made San Diego home to the famous Lion’s Den gym:
“This is a fighting state. You’ve got the best grappling
fighters in the world in California. … To be able to have
[MMA] here on our turf would be awesome.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Day
2: Bruce Buffer Advances Against Top Poker Pros
I got to start watching Poker...damn!
*Pictured is Bruce Buffer and Shauna Hyatt, Co-Host of The Travel
Channel's WPT Poker Show.
Bruce
Buffer, the "Voice of the UFC Octagon", played over
ten hours of intense poker against many of the world's top professionals
Wednesday at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles to become one
of the final six players who will compete for $200,000 in prize
pool money to become the winner of the third annual WPT Poker
Invitational on the 2005 WPT Tour. The competition was fiercely
competitive as Buffer went heads up against other celebrities
and professionals to claim one of the final six top money earning
positions.
"This
is one of the most exciting things I have ever accomplished in
my life. I've been watching these professional poker players
on TV winning millions of dollars and beating up other players
with their poker skills. Last night I went heads up with many
of them and took them down and I still can't believe it. I've
only slept a few hours, but I'm ready to do my best to crush
my final five opponents today and go home with the cash. No matter
what, I am in the money already and am happy to know I've made
it this far... but I only know one thing and that is to win the
whole damn thing. Wish me luck because now "It Is Truly...
Time to Begin...!" exclaims Bruce Buffer.
Today's
final competition is being filmed for TV and will be televised
on The Travel Channel's highly rated and viewed poker show.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
Evangelista
Cyborg
By Eduardo Ferreira
"I want to fight everything"
At
the age of 27, after nine training MMA, Evangelista Cyborg wants
to make 2005 his year. Training hard on Chute Boxe camp, in Curitiba,
Cyborg now is flying to London, where he will face Anthony Real
on this Saturday. Next Jungle Fight edition, Chute Boxe fighter
can be returning facing an old opponent, José Pelé
Landy, who beat Cyborg at BVF 8, on November 1997. Check out
an exclusive interview with Cyborg, who talks about his fight
at Cage Rage, his moment at Chute Boxe team and the possibilities
about a revenge against Pelé.
Why
didn't you fight WEC?
I
had problems to get my VISA to United States. It was very confused,
I was in Mato Grosso state with my family, I had to fly to Curitiba
and then to Uberlândia to take it. I couldn't do it, but
Chute Boxe replaced me with another athlete, who lives in US.
How
was your training to Cage Rage 10?
I'm
feeling ok, I spent last days just for it. I trained hard all
day long. Here at Chute Boxe I have all kinds of training and
I've been supported by people such as Wanderlei Silva, Murilo
Ninja and Maurício Shogun. I'm moving from Uberlândia
to Curitiba to make 2005 my year.
Do
you know your opponent?
I
don't know him, I've never seen him fighting. It seems he trains
with Jerome LeBanner. We choose woman. Fight is like a relative,
we don't choose.
How
is your training at Chute Boxe?
I
train here for six month and I've already fough for the team,
against Yuki Kondo, at Pancrase. Now I'm recovering myself from
some injuries and this year I want to fight everything: Meca,
Storm, Jungle Fight, whatever appears to me. But it doesn't depend
on me, of course. About Chute Boxe, if I knew I would be supported
like I am, I had come to Curitiba earlier. That's the support
I needed.
You
can appear next Jungle Fight edition facing José Pelé
Landy.
Me,
Rudimar (Fedrigo, Chute Boxe's leader) and Rafael (Cordeiro,
technical director) knew it by press. Nobody talked to us about
it till now.
Just
in case you face Pelé, how would it be facing an experienced
fighter as Pelé?
I
think it would be good, but Pelé had his moment and now
he's decadent. But he's a great fighter and it would be a tough
dispute. I think many people would love to see it, at least here
in Curitiba.
Source:
Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature
... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his
action. If you know these things about a person, you can touch
him at the core of his being."
William Bernbach, 1911-1982, American Advertising Executive
|
Advance
Release: February 23, 2005
Super Brawl
39: DESTINY
Niko Vitale Looks To Take On SHOOTO & Superbrawl Champ Masanori
Suda
 
Two years ago, Japan's Masanori Suda stole Hawaii's pride. On
Saturday night, April 9th at the University of Hawaii's Stan
Sheriff Center one man is prepared to take it back. For the glory.
For the legacy. For Hawaii. For the belt.
Honolulu Hawaii, Are.....You.....Rrrreeeaadddy?!?!?
Masanori Suda vs. Falaniko Vitale for the Super Brawl middleweight
Championship.
Source: Event Promoter
|
Cabbage
Possibly In WEC
The WEC is shaping up nicely with another star studded card.
We spoke with promoter, Scott Adams, and he let us in on some
developments. Besides the much anticipated rematch between Olaf
vs. Polakowski, there are negotiations under way to to bring
Cabbage into the show. We will also be entering at least 2 fighters;
Brown belt, Vini Magalhaes and Dan Marks. Vini will be making
his MMA debut and is anxious to be initiated in the steel cage.
Marks is a late replacement for Nathan Diaz who is still healing
from a hurt knee. Luckily Marks has been training hard with Jake
Shields and feels he is very ready to fight. Lastly, we can say
there is a very real possibility that Royler Gracie Blackbelt,
Sergio Lourenco, will be fighting a representative from Team
Quest. Everything is taking shape rather quickly and we promise
to let our readers be the first to know of new developments.
Source:
Gracie Fighter
|
COFFEE
GUY EXCLUSIVE:
KEN SHAMROCK VS. FRANKLIN
By Coffee Guy
The following exclusive report was sent to us by our Zuffa informant
called 'Coffee Guy':
"The
matchup of Ken Shamrock vs. Rich Franklin is now pretty much
signed for 'The Ultimate Fighter' reality show finale in April."
Source:
Fight Sport
|
CARNEIRO
SOUNDS OFF ON CONTROVERSIAL LOSS TO CHONAN
Brazilian
fighter Roan 'Jucao' Carneiro spoke to the Brazilian media, and
sounded off regarding his controversial loss to Ryo Chonan, in
which the referee seemed to greatly favor Chonan in the fight.
Here's what Carneiro had to say:
"I
do think the fight didn't develop on the ground because the referee
stood the action up all the time. I didn't understand why he
did this, because Mishima fought his entire match (on the same
show) playing on the ground. I took Chonan down,and immediately
the referee put us back on our feet -- it happened all the time.
I
have a big motivation to go back to Japan because I have a lot
to show there, and I want to fight in the upcoming PRIDE Bushido
(on April 3rd). I want to say that Chonan needs to take care
because I'm hungry for a rematch under Bushido rules. I deserve
it." -Roan "Jucao" Carneiro
Source:
Fight Sport
|
The
Ultimate Fighter Breaks 2.0 in Sixth Week
By Loretta Hunt
An average audience of 2,229,000 tuned in to witness the conclusion
to the ongoing Josh Koscheck-Chris Leben saga with a 2.03 Nielsen's
Household rating for TUF's sixth episode. Koscheck wrestled his
way to a two-round unanimous decision win that forced Leben off
the show, but the real victory came in the numbers rise for the
UFC's reality TV venture. Ratings jumped in two key demographics
from last week: 1.60 to 2.14 in the Male 18-49 set and 1.96 to
2.28 in Male 18-34. Last week's episode averaged 1,902,000 million
viewers. (Data provided by Spike TV)
Source:
FCF
|
The
Ultimate Fighter Now Officially a Break-Out Ratings Hit: What
This Means for the UFC's TV Future
by Ivan Trembow
The
Monday, February 21st episode of The Ultimate Fighter posted
a final overall rating of 2.0, shattering the show's previous
high mark of 1.7. As stated on MMAWeekly before the first episode
of The Ultimate Fighter ever aired, first-hand knowledge of the
TV industry tells us that anything over a 1.0 rating on cable
television is a hit, anything over 1.5 is a very big hit, and
anything over 2.0 is a huge hit that places it among the highest-rated
original series on all the hundreds of channels of cable television.
Spike
TV's Relationship With the UFC
Spike
TV executives, who are shown in internal company documents to
have been ecstatic about the ratings of the first four weeks
of the show (all of which were between 1.4 and 1.6), are now
said to be even more thrilled with Week Five having drawn a 1.7
rating and Week Six having drawn a 2.0 rating.
Even
with Spike TV president Albie Hecht recently leaving the company
over creative differences with parent company Viacom, and a new
management team in place to re-brand Spike TV yet again, the
UFC's future on Spike TV appears to be relatively safe. Despite
the re-branding goal to come off as more "high-brow,"
which automatically excludes pro wrestling and MMA in the minds
of many TV executives, Spike TV is well aware of the fact that
it has two original shows that are hits: WWE Raw and The Ultimate
Fighter.
An
"original show" is a term that refers to something
debuting on a specific network, as opposed to programs like CSI
repeats that draw good ratings for Spike TV but don't give them
the pride, bravado, and prestige of being able to say that they
have a "Spike TV original series" that is a big hit.
WWE Raw debuts on Spike TV every week, but Spike TV has no role
in the production of the series whatsoever. On the other hand,
Spike TV does have a hand in the production of The Ultimate Fighter
and can claim it as a "home-grown Spike TV hit."
Just
as importantly, Spike TV can have a sense of security with the
UFC. Spike TV doesn't have to worry about other cable networks
lining up to pay the UFC $30+ million per year in rights fees
just to air the programming, and the network can rest assured
that it's going to have UFC programming in the future for as
long as it wants to. On the other hand, even if Spike TV does
decide that it wants to renew its contract with WWE before its
expiration in August of this year, Spike TV would find itself
in a bidding war with USA Network that Spike is likely to lose.
WWE,
which currently gets paid $28 million per year from Spike TV
for the right to air WWE programming, is looking to have that
annual amount raised to the range of $40 million, despite the
fact that WWE's ratings have fallen drastically in the past few
years. USA Network is apparently willing to meet that price or
something close to it, and if Spike TV does end up losing the
rights to WWE programming later this year, that would put the
UFC in the position of having the one and only hit original series
on Spike TV. That would make Spike TV all the more likely to
continue to work with the UFC in some form in the future, whether
it's a second season of The Ultimate Fighter, a series of specials
with old fights, a monthly series with new fights, a weekly series
with new fights, or any of the other dozens of different directions
that Spike TV's relationship with the UFC could go in the future.
The
Full Ratings Picture
As
stated before on MMAWeekly, the single most important number
in terms of how the UFC is perceived in the TV industry will
be the rating for the live UFC special on April 9th. With anticipation
building week by week for the Light-Heavyweight Finals and Middleweight
Finals, as well as the added draw of Ken Shamrock vs. Rich Franklin
(as recently confirmed by Shamrock), it would be a shock for
the live special to not be successful. Keep in mind that when
Fox Sports Net ran a "Best Damn Sports Show Special"
in late 2004 with a live boxing event starring James Toney, the
rating came in at 0.7 and everyone was thrilled with that number,
prompting Fox Sports Net to want to do more live boxing specials
in the future. The UFC is so far above the category of what is
normally considered a "hit show" on cable that it doesn't
have to worry about being considered anything other than a big
success.
To
recap The Ultimate Fighter's ratings from the beginning, here
are the ratings for the first six weeks in chronological order
in the four most important categories. In the overall rating
among all viewers regardless of sex or age, the show has drawn
ratings of 1.4, 1.4, 1.6, 1.5, 1.7, and 2.0. Among males 18 to
34 years old (which is the single most important rating to Spike
TV), the show has drawn ratings of 1.5, 1.8, 2.2, 1.9, 2.0, and
2.3. Among males 18 to 24 years old, the show has drawn ratings
of 1.7, 1.9, 1.8, 1.3, 1.5, and 2.2. Finally, among males 25
to 34 years old (which has been the strongest supporter of TUF),
the show has drawn ratings of 1.3, 1.8, 2.5, 2.4, 2.3, and 2.3.
For
the purposes of comparison in the latest weekend for which ratings
are available, WWE Velocity drew a 0.5 rating, WWE Experience
drew a 0.5 rating, and WWE Sunday Night Heat drew a 0.4 rating,
all on Spike TV. On Fox Sports Net, TNA Impact drew a 0.2 rating,
while The Best Damn Sports Show Period averaged a 0.2 rating.
In terms of "mainstream sports," the NBA fails to average
even a 1.0 rating on cable, Major League Baseball on cable doesn't
do particularly well in the ratings either, the NHL doesn't exist
at the moment and drew terrible ratings when it did exist, and
the hugely successful NFL is seeking equally huge increases in
its already enormous rights fees with the expiration of its cable
deal with ESPN.
The
Ebb and Flow of Ratings Over Multiple Weeks
A
lot of factors contribute to a particular rating rising or falling
for any given week's episode, but the biggest factor is what
percentage of the previous week's viewers were satisfied with
what they saw and compelled to tune back in for the next episode.
So, the impact of last week's Leben-Southworth-Koscheck shenanigans
can best be reflected in the rating for this week's episode,
and the verdict is that it was a big ratings hit (albeit a rating
hit that portrayed a trashy image of MMA). One important thing
about last week's episode, which drew a 1.7 rating and forced
people to tune back in this week to see Leben vs. Koscheck, is
the fact that there was a lot of "reality show activity"
and no actual fight. As I have previously discussed, the dynamic
of an actual fight being on any given episode completely changes
the make-up of the ratings.
In
the case of Week Five with the Leben-Southworth-Koscheck antics
and no actual fight, the quarter-hour ratings demonstrate that
the absence of an actual UFC fight seemed to wear thin on the
viewing audience, even as the suspense was building over the
possibility of one or more fighters being kicked off the show.
The rating for the final quarter-hour of the show, which had
been shooting up significantly in recent weeks when there was
an actual UFC match in the final quarter-hour, actually fell
by about 0.1 instead of duplicating the normal pattern of being
up across the board in the final quarter-hour.
In
the 18 to 24 year old male demographic in Week Five, the rating
stayed the same from the third quarter-hour to the fourth and
final quarter-hour. This demonstrates that people in that demographic
didn't mind the lack of a fight all that much, although the fact
that the final quarter-hour simply stayed the same rather than
going up shows a certain level of apathy.
It
was a completely different story in the 25 to 34 year old male
demographic, which has been the demographic that has supported
TUF the most over the course of the series. In that demographic,
not only did the rating not increase in the final quarter-hour,
and not only did it fail to stay the same, but it actually fell
by a whopping 0.6. Over a quarter of the audience in the demograhic
that watches the show the most turned off the show in the traditionally
strong final 15 minutes, which demonstrates that many those viewers
got sick of the over-abundance of drama and wanted to see an
actual UFC fight.
The
message to the editors at Spike TV should be clear: The viewing
audience does want a certain amount of drama and does enjoy it,
but first and foremost they want a fight at the end of every
show. Obviously, the tease of having to wait until the following
week to see Leben vs. Koscheck was a primary factor in helping
to draw this week's 2.0 rating, but another fight between two
light-heavyweights who were unrelated to the controversy could
have satisfied the viewers who want an actual UFC match at the
end of every episode.
In
another sign that younger males may have been more intrigued
by the Leben-Koscheck build-up than slightly older males, the
show's average rating among 25 to 34 year old males stayed the
same from Week Five to Week Six. It was 2.3 last week, and it
was 2.3 this week; no change. On the other hand, the show's average
rating among 18 to 24 year old males, which had actually been
down from a Week Two peak, shot up drastically from 1.5 last
week to 2.2 this week. This points to a huge word of mouth build-up
of anticipation to see the Leben-Koscheck fight this week among
18 to 24 year old males, many of whom are college students.
Where
the Ratings Go From Here
The
question now becomes this: How will the rating change next week
to reflect the two biggest factors coming out of this week's
episode? The first factor is that many of the people who tuned
in this week were not regular viewers of the show and had just
been told by a friend that they couldn't afford to miss the Leben
vs. Koscheck match, a factor that would seem to point to a significant
drop next week from this week's 2.0 rating.
The
other big factor is quite simply that the Leben-Koscheck match
itself was relatively boring. People who are not regular MMA
viewers but are simply viewers of The Ultimate Fighter, which
describes the vast majority of TUF's viewership, have never previously
been exposed to the fact that sometimes an MMA fight can be boring,
just like with any other sport.
Sometimes
there can be a build-up to a grudge match, and the actual contest
can be less than spectacular to watch. That is a reality of life
in every other sport, and MMA is no exception. How will the average
person watching The Ultimate Fighter react to this fact? Will
they be turned off and not want to watch as often in the future?
Or will they realize that it's no different from any other entertaining
sport where there are sometimes boring matches, but they are
far outnumbered by exciting matches? An intriguing factor to
watch in the coming weeks will be how much tolerance the general
public shows for the occasional boring match.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
GROSSMAN
INSIDER:
YAMAMOTO OUT OF 'K-1 MAX' CARD
By Josh Grossman
Norifumi
'Kid' Yamamoto has suffered a shoulder injury in training and
has pulled out of the K-1 'Max' card on February 23rd.
His
replacement will be Kazuyuki Miyata.
Expect
K-1 to officially announce this later on today.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
The
Brazilian Notebook
by Portal do Vale Tudo
The
Brazilian fans have much to commemorate in early 2005. Marco
Ruas announced that he will come back to the ring and his pupil
Pedro Rizzo promised to fight soon in PRIDE. But at the moment,
attention is focused on Antoine Jaoude and Hermes França,
who will fight this weekend at the Euphoria show, and a Brazilian
contingent formed by Renato "Babalu," Jean Silva, Evangelista
"Cyborg" and Gabriel "Gladiador" that will
be in the Cage Rage 10. Details on the Brazilian participation
in PRIDE 29 will appear in our next column.
Pedro
Rizzo has his eye on PRIDE
During
the last visit of the Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki
Sakakibara to Brazil, it was practically certain that Pedro Rizzo
would join PRIDE. Rizzo was almost signed for PRIDE 29, but his
debut in the Japanese ring will have to happen in a future edition.
Away
from the MMA scene since his victory over Ricco Rodriguez in
November of 2003 at UFC 45, Rizzo is not worried about the lack
of rhythm of fights. "I trained the entire year of 2004,"
Rizzo said. "I was practically certain to fight on six different
dates, but it ended up not happening. My will to fight is enormous
and I wait to go up in ring very soon."
The
event change means not only will he leave the Octagon for a ring,
there are many things that interest the fighter. "New airs,
new challenges, new opponents and a new audience," he explained.
"PRIDE has different rules that they favor my style of game.
I’ll do my best and I am waiting the chance to debut."
Antoine
Jaoude prepares for Travis Wiuff
Antoine
Jaoude will be part of one of the main fights of the next stage
to the Euphoria on Saturday. He is going to face wrestler Travis
Wiuff and informs us that he is ready.
"I
am arriving at the end of my preparation that is the intensive
part,” he said. "I’m arriving there ready to make
a good fight."
A
member of Ruas Vale Tudo, he explains what he intends do in the
fight. "[I will try] to keep the distance, to do a jab and
a straight; and if happens I’ll work the top position. But
I go to try to keep my distance. I know that he likes to be in
the clinch, we’ll see what happens. When the fight arrives,
I will be calm."
Top
Brazilian wrestler, Jaoude discloses what he thought of the participation
of Rulon Gardner in the PRIDE Shockwave 2: "He made a good
fight. I think that if he continues he is going to evolve a lot,
and is going to give a lot of trouble in the heavyweight division.
Most people don’t realize how hard the Olympic training
is. He trained in the maximum two months for this fight, only
caught the basic, because he had just arrived from the Olympics.
If he dedicates himself to MMA, I believe that he’s going
to give a lot of work."
Marco
Ruas wants to face Ken Shamrock
In
interview with Brazilian magazine "Nocaute,” Marco
Ruas reaffirmed his old desire to make a farewell super fight
against Ken Shamrock. "I would like to fight against somebody
of name," he said. "If I fight a can it will take a
lot away form my retirement. A good one from my time is Ken Shamrock.
He is very popular in U.S.A., a national icon. It would be a
good fight.”
The
“Little Phenom”
One
day after his defeat to Tito Ortiz in UFC 51, Vítor Belfort
already had reasons to smile when his son Davi was born in São
Paulo, fruit of the marriage of the "Phenom" with the
Brazilian model Joana Prado. The arrival of the "Little
Phenom" was a lot of joy for the fighter. "Was the
biggest emotion of my life," Belfort commented.
On
his fight against Ortiz, the Brazilian says not to have understood
the criteria of the judges and thinks that he was the true winner
of the combat. "I won the two first rounds," he said.
"But it is good knowing that everybody thinks the same.”
Jorge
Patino "Macaco" comments on training with Wanderlei
Just
about to complete his first year at Chute Boxe, Jorge Patino
"Macaco" is adoring his new team. He does not hide
his admiration for the Masters Rudimar Fedrigo and Rafael Cordeiro.
"Chute Boxe is very cool," he said. "The Master
Rafael Cordeiro is a person of a character without equal, like
the Rudimar Master also. I am very happy there, I found my space."
"The
practices with Wanderlei are very hard,” he said. “The
man has a rock hand and is a very aggressive technician. I always
try to give to the maximum of me to provide good trainings for
Wanderlei. To me only has to add, therefore training with best
the one day I go to also arrive there."
SHOOTO
Brazil 6 next Saturday
While
we wait for the highly-anticipated combat between SHOOTO 143-pound
champion Alexander Pequeno and number-one contender João
Roque, which will happen in March in Japan, the current talk
is about the SHOOTO Brazil 6, next Saturday in Curitiba, land
of Wanderlei Silva. Fourteen fights will be involving diverse
revelations of the Brazilian MMA.
The
complete card, subject to change, of course, is the following:
Fábio
Tigrão (Shooto Brazil Dojo) vs. Renato Matos (Giudice)
Josenildo Índio (Giudice/ Equipe 1) vs. Willian Casquilha
(Fighteam)
Wanderlei Smala (Zenedin) vs. Cristiano Neguinho (Gracie Curitiba)
Cristopher Lenhador (BIT) vs. Helio Dipp (Power Team)
Ivonildo Cafu (Never Shake) vs. Emerson Graxaim (BIT)
Carlinhos Lima (BIT) vs. Eduardo Pamplona (Never Shake)
Julian Jabá (RFT) vs. Paulo Bueno (Zenedin)
Wagner Gávea (CWB) vs. Fábio Baum (Falcão/Santa
Catarina)
André Vicente (Shooto Brazil Dojo) vs. Mateus Andraus
(Thai Boxe)
Erinaldo Pitbull (Gracie Barra Combat Team) vs. Ricardo Rodrigues
(Fighteam)
Wagner Tibúrcio (CWB) vs. Daniel Galvão (Champions
Factory)
Sergio Schiavon (Ponto 1) vs. Mário Fumagalli (Muay Thai
Dream Team)
Paulo Boiko (BTT) vs. Rodrigo Ruiz (Never Shake)
Christopher Led (BIT) vs. Hélio Deep (Boxe Garra Team)
News
and Notes
The
victory over Akebono at K-1 Dynamite 2004 again put the name
of Royce Gracie into the rumor mill. Despite a great deal of
talk about his participation in PRIDE GP 2005, the Gracie contradicts
the subject. "[It] is all rumor," he said. "At
the moment I am alone making seminars, and I am busy until June."
Milton
Vieira, from Brazilian Top Team, is practically certain to participate
in the edition of on April 30. The champion of Meca and of the
AFC Brazil, Milton waits to bring a victory for its country.
"I am coming back to practice now, therefore it was a little
hurt. Then I am in the expectation, I wait to bring plus a victory
for Brazil,” he said.
The
Gold Boys project is taking place in “Favela da Rocinha”
since February 1 in, in Rio de Janeiro. The charity project already
has 150 participants, with the majority of them being children.
It has lessons of jiu-jitsu, boxing and Muay Thai. The "favela
da Rocinha" is the biggest favela, or shantytown, in Latin
America.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Another
Olympic Medalist Signs with Pride
By Jeremy Wall
Olympic gold medallist in judo at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta,
Pawel Nastula, has signed a contract to compete with Pride with
his first fight taking place later this year.
Nastula
is from Poland, and along with capturing gold in the '96 Olympics
he was also the world champion in judo in 1995 and 1997. He's
also won a large number of championships in Europe and elsewhere.
Pride
originally announced that he would be competing in this year's
Middleweight Grand Prix, which the first round is pegged for
April 23rd at Saitama Super Arena, but they later corrected that
mistake claiming the information is false.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
New
BJJ Federation
Yesterday
40 BJJ blackbelts held a meeting in Long Beach, California to
set up a framework for a new national BJJ federation. Unlike
Brazil, the US has no recognized body to determine State or National
Champions, recognized rules or point systems. Most tournaments
have been following the Brazilian, CBJJ rules. Meeting organizer,
Charles Gracie, hopes to bring about an American Federation independent
of the CBJJ.
Source:
Gracie Fighter
|
EUPHORIA
PREVIEW:
THE SLIM VERSION OF TRAVIS WIUFF
It’s
been a shrinking past few months for Travis Wiuff, the man who
has been affectionately referred to in the past as “The
Incredible Bulk” has gone from 250lbs to his current weight
of around 225lbs in preparation for his next fight against Antoine
Joaude at Euphora’s upcoming “USA Vs. The World”
competition on February 26th in Atlantic City, NJ. MMA Weekly’s
Mick Hammond spoke to Wiuff as he took time out of his busy training
schedule to discuss his next fight as well to address his slated
match at UFC 52 against Renato “Babalu” Sobral in the
light-heavyweight division.
MMA
Weekly: First off Travis, tell us about your upcoming fight against
Antoine Joaude in Euphoria, how have preparations been going
for the fight?
Travis
Wiuff: Training has been going really good. Obviously I’ll
be doing a lot of wrestling against Antoine, he wrestled in the
2004 Olympics and I have to respect that. I’ve also been
working a lot on my striking and a lot of my game from the clinch.
I think a lot of the fight will be on the inside, so I’m
working a lot on my knees and dirty boxing. I definitely feel
better than I’ve ever felt going into a fight.
MMA
Weekly: What are you expecting from Joaude in this fight?
Travis
Wiuff: I’m sure he’s seen video of me and what I like
to do. He knows I like to get the fight to the ground, so he’s
probably working on his striking, jabs, and trying to stay away
and keep me off of him. I would assume he’s working some
Jiu-Jitsu, and I think he’s doing a lot of wrestling. It
doesn’t matter what he brings with him; I’m prepared
for the fight.
MMA
Weekly: This fight was initially supposed to be the second round
of the Euphoria Heavyweight Tournament but instead is going to
be a singular fight as it appears they’ve dissolved the
tournament. How do you feel about them abandoning the tournament
format they had originally planned?
Travis
Wiuff: It’s a little disappointing, but there is little
I can do about it. All I can do is just prepare for the fight.
In the future if Euphoria wants to do the winner with the two
heavyweight fights (the other being Jeff Monson VS TBA) I’d
be willing to do it. Overall I’m just not trying to look
too far ahead.
MMA
Weekly: During the post fight press conference for UFC 51, UFC
President Dana White announced you would be fighting Renato “Babalu”
Sobral at UFC 52. Many of us in the crowd thought perhaps that
a mistake had been made in the announcement because Babalu is
a light-heavyweight and you’ve fought your whole career
near 240lbs. Is he going to step up in weight or are you actually
going to cut down your already massive frame to 205lbs?
Travis
Wiuff: I’m coming down to 205lbs. For this fight against
Antoine I’ll be around 225lbs so my weight is fine. I cleaned
up my diet a lot in preparation for this fight. I’ve done
a lot of running and after a solid work out I’m 223lbs.
I’m fairly close right now I think I’m going to have
to dehydrate myself 24 hours prior to the UFC to make weight
(against Babalu). I don’t think it’s going to be a
problem. I’ve gradually lowered my weight, I was starting
at 275lbs, then moved to 250lbs and then 235lbs for my last fight
and honestly the lighter I get the better I feel. With my cardio
like it is I haven’t lost any strength as I’ve lost
weight. It’s not going to be fun to cut weight, but it’s
possible. A lot of people don’t think it’s possible
for me to do it, but it is possible.
MMA
Weekly: I guess you’re not going to be in a good mood come
weigh ins. Whose idea was it to move down in weight to light-heavyweight?
Travis
Wiuff: (Laughs) No, I’m not going to be a happy-go-lucky
guy, but it’s worth it, it’s a big fight, a win at
that level is a major thing. Monte (Cox, Wiuff’s manager)
and I had talked about in October. When he mentioned it to me,
first I thought he was nuts, but the more I thought about it
and the big picture, it has a lot of advantages for me. I don’t
think I’ve ever been pushed around at heavyweight, I’m
able to get inside position and I’m a small heavyweight
now. All the other guys are around 250-265lbs, so I’m giving
away 20-30lbs right now and none of them can overpower me.
MMA
Weekly: Right now there appears to be a lot of opportunity at
light-heavyweight compared to the past where it was a very tough
division to make headway in with all the fighters in it, was
that part of your motivation to move down?
Travis
Wiuff: Yes, I think obviously the big four (Randy Couture, Chuck
Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort) are at the top, but other
than that there is not a lot depth in the division. There is
opportunity for someone to step in and make a big run. A win
over Babalu will put me right up there as fast as I could get
to the top in the heavyweight division.
MMA
Weekly: Word has it that Ortiz and Belfort could have just made
their last appearance in the UFC and Couture has said to us that
retirement isn’t too far off, so that opens up a lot of
room for a young fighter in the division.
Travis
Wiuff: Definitely, you know Randy Couture is my hero, my idol,
but sooner or later he’s gonna slow down, it’s remarkable
what he’s doing right now. It’s amazing he can do it
at his age, but he can’t do it forever. Chuck is in his
mid-age so I don’t know how long he can go either.
MMA
Weekly: At only 26, you could fight to near Chuck’s age,
you could have a solid 8-10 year run as a light-heavyweight.
Travis
Wiuff: Exactly; that’s what I can offer the division. The
UFC is the big one, I’m not overlooking the Euphoria show,
I’m prepared for that one and will have a good showing and
win the fight. Then hopefully sign a multi-fight deal if I do
well in the UFC and stick with them. I think a win over Babalu
puts me right in there in the top three or four. I definitely
think I can be the number one contender if I get enough fights.
I like to stay active, don’t like to sit around, the more
I can fight the bigger impact I can make.
MMA
Weekly: Thanks for the time Travis. Is there anything you’d
like to say as we close out the interview?
Travis
Wiuff: You’re welcome. I want to say I’m just training
hard getting ready for this fight. I would like to thank Sprall;
they’ve been great to me. I’d like to let everyone
know to keep their eyes open for me, I think I’ll be a monster
at 205lbs. I will get my weight down, it will be tough, but I
will be able to do it and, I will tear it up at light-heavyweight.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"We are not just our behavior, we are the person managing
our behavior."
Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D., American Business Lecturer, Author
|
Pride
PPV Showing at Bedrock!
This Friday, February 25 Bedroq will be showing Pride.
Bedroq
is located off University Avenue next to Jiffy Lube and Varsity
Theatre. There is no cover charge and it will be happy hour till
8 so
drafts and pupus are half off while pride is playing.
Bedroq
Bar & Grill
2535 Coyne
Honolulu, HI 96826
Phone: 808-942-8822
Any
questions, email Tavis.
|
2005
Hawaiian Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
7th Annual Event
This Sunday!
DATE:
February 27, 2005
TIME: Starts at 10:00 AM
LOCATION: Saint Louis School Gymnasium
3142 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii
Format:
Gi & No Gi Sport BJJ Rules; Single Elimination
Weigh-in: Saturday, February 26th, 2005
UH Athletic Complex, Studio #2
12-1 pm; 6-8 pm
Fees: $40 Gi or No Gi / $50 both
(Applications will be available at weigh-in)
$5 discount if Pre-registration by February 1st
Divisions: Various Age, Rank and Weight
Contact: 223-9363 / 392-8330 for details
Additional Information: www.brazilian-freestyle.com/events.htm
|
BRUCE
BUFFER TO FACE OFF AGAINST TOP POKER PROS AND CELEBRITIES AT
THE WORLD POKER TOUR'S "WPT 2005 INVITATIONAL" IN LOS
ANGELES
Bruce Buffer has received a special invitation to face off and
compete against many of the world's top professional poker players
along with many other Hollywood celebrities at the World Poker
Tour's 2005 Invitational Tournament being held at the Commerce
Casino in Los Angeles, California on Wed. Feb. 23rd. The winner
will take home approximately $200,000 in prize money. With the
preliminaries beginning at 1:00 Wednesday and the Finals to be
held on Thursday, Buffer will be competing amongst a field of
approximately 200 other top players from around the world, all
of which have received a special invitation to play due to their
being amongst the elite poker professionals of the world along
with many invited celebrities expected to compete such as Ben
Affleck, Tobey Maguire, Matt Damon, Jerry Buss, Meat Loaf, Lou
Diamond Phillips, Mimi Rogers and a host of others.
Drawing
large crowds of spectators watching the ongoing action, the WPT
Invitational is one of the most crowd pleasing events of the
annual WPT Tour and the finals will be filmed for TV and televised
at a later date on The Travel Channel. Buffer is well known for
his gaming skills and can be seen at many a UFC event winning
and stacking chips at the blackjack tables and is also an avid
semi-professional poker player.
"I'm
excited about playing in the WPT Invitational against many of
the top professional players. I plan on representing not just
myself, but the UFC and MMA and with a little bit of luck I hope
to make the final table and crush anyone who bets against me.
All I have to say to poker pro's such as Gus Hansen and actor's
like Ben Affleck is when they bet against me and I've got the
cards, you can be sure that "It's Time... To Go All In!"
states Bruce Buffer.
Source: Max Fighting
|
"It
will be different this time.", says Hermes Franca about
facing Yves Edwards
As
the third installment of the Euphoria MFC gets ready to explode
at Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal this upcoming weekend, the
most anticipated fight during the event will be the rematch between
Hermes Franca and Yves Edwards. Originally the two had battled
to a hotly debated split decision victory for Edwards at UFC
47 last year. Now with a change in teams and a lot of growth
as a fighter and individual, Franca prepares to take revenge
and move on to the finals of the Euphoria lightweight tournament.
Never
one to rest on his laurels, Franca continues to train through
an injury for a rematch he's wanted since the initial decision
came down nearly a year ago. Currently he is working with his
former teammates at the American Top Team in Florida as legal
issues have kept him from going to Brazil to work with the Brazilian
Top Team. Franca discussed where he is at in training when he
told MMA Weekly's Mick Hammond, "I've been training hard
for this fight. Right now I'm just working on positions and my
cardio. I still need to lose a little weight before I go to Euphoria."
As
MMAWeekly first reported from Vegas during the days surrounding
UFC 51, Franca had suffered torn ligaments in his left hand.
The injury will not keep him from competing against Edwards,
and as we learned it wasn't the only injury to come from Franca's
hard preparation for the rematch, "I'm putting ice on my
hand every day and resting it. I hurt my knee too in training,
but it should be good also. I'm finished all my hard training
so I'm going to heal my body. I want to rest and put ice on everything
so it's ready when I fight."
This
will be the third fight for Franca since joining the BTT last
year after his loss to Edwards. While Franca seems very happy
to be a part of the BTT and to train with them in his native
Brazil, there is no doubt he has a strong love for his adopted
homeland of the US. "It's awesome (working with the BTT).
There were a lot of great moments, great days, and good fighters
over there in Brazil. There's a lot of guys in my weight division
like Buscape (Luiz Firmino) and (Milton) Vieira. They are all
very technical and skilled. I was happy in Brazil, but I love
the USA, it's my home now. When I was in Brazil I was in my country
but my family, son, business is here (in the US). I was happy
in Brazil, but I was wanting to come home."
Make
no mistake; Franca realizes how rare rematches can be in this
business and he plans to take full advantage of the opportunity
afforded to him. "I'm happy I got the chance to fight Yves
again and that's why I am training hard," said Franca. "I
think I won the last the fight, but I won't make excuses, the
judges gave it to him, and right now I want to change the outcome
and want to win the fight."
It's
easy to understand that Franca is tight-lipped about his exact
strategy for Edwards the second time around, however he did make
it clear things would be different. "Everybody knows he's
going to try knock me down/out, he's not going to change his
game. I've trained a lot of Muay Thai so maybe this time I can
fight standing up. I don't want to take him down, I know he thinks
I want to take him down, but it's too easy and I want to try
and knock him down/out."
Franca
continued, "It will be different this time. In the first
fight I was a little nervous because he's experienced fighter
with more than 30 fights. He's a good striker and I was scared
about his knees and kicks. I'm not scared this time, he's not
supernatural, I can beat him, I know his game. For sure I will
be more comfortable. It will be two professional guys fighting.
Yves was here last week at the AFC (Absolute Fighting Championships
11), he's a good guy, so it will be a professional fight."
This
is the second fight of the 8-man lightweight tournament that
started in Euphoria last year. The winner of Yves and Hermes
would then presumably face the winner of Rich Clemente and Daisuke
Hanazawa later this year for the tournament championship. For
Franca though, a tournament title isn't the most important reason
for fighting, "When I fought against Manny Reyes it was
because fans wanted me to fight and told me to fight. I felt
with a lot of pressure, and you never know how it will go. My
fans came to me and told me to kick the guy's ass. All my fights
are important to me. It's a big tournament, but it doesn't matter
where I fight. The point to me isn't the tournament it's the
fight, the fight is most important. Euphoria is an opportunity
to get to the Pride Lightweight GP, a lot of guys are waiting
for that and so am I."
With
an impressive 10-2 record, Franca is one of the top lightweights
in the world and if he should defeat Edwards and run the table
in the Euphoria tournament there is no limit to where Hermes
could fight. One thing is for sure, Franca wants to return to
the big stage of PPV fighting, whether it's in Japan or the States,
he is hungry for the biggest fights possible.
"It
would be amazing to fight in Japan," said Franca. "I
was at the Heavyweight GP last year for Rodrigo Nogueira's fight
and it's unbelievable. I was just looking around and saw thousands
of people cheering it's so unbelievable. I say one day I want
to fight there, I'm just waiting for my opportunity. I would
like to fight in UFC again, but from what I hear it's not good
at 155lbs anymore there. I'm not sure if they are going to keep
the division, if they keep it I wish to come back. I think because
after the UFC TV show a lot of people know about the UFC and
that's good."
No
matter what happens at Euphoria, Franca is focused on the task
at hand and is not looking past the toughest challenge of his
career. Hermes made sure to let people know how thankful he is
for everything and that it's going to be a different fight this
time around, "I want to say thanks to all my fans they make
me strong. A lot of fans came to me to say good luck and give
to me a lot of confidence. I want to also thank God and my family.
I'm not thinking anything but Yves, and I'm gonna do my best.
I have a good surprise waiting, you will see a new Hermes Franca
for sure."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
"...at
Euphoria I will force my gameplan on whoever I fight." SAYS
JEFF MONSON
As
the third installment of Euphoria approaches, one of the more
interesting matches scheduled for the night's action may not
be happening. MMAWeekly's Mick Hammond spoke with Jeff "Snowman"
Monson of the American Top Team over the weekend and according
to him, his scheduled opponent Kerry Schall may not be available
to fight.
"I
heard that Kerry was injured, " said Monson. "I think
they're going to replace him with Jay White or another member
of Renzo's (Gracie) school. It doesn't really matter who I fight
both guys they're maybe going to replace Kerry with are both
the same size and style so it doesn't change anything."
Not
only has Monson been hard at work training for another busy year,
he's had the added pressure of the opening of ATT's Olympia school,
"Training has been kind of slow. I've been trying to get
the gym together so I haven't had the time I would like to put
in it, but I will come in shape (for Euphoria). I did the Northeast
Grappling Championship a week ago and I got six matches in there
and felt fine."
When
asked how he balances all his fighting commitments in MMA, boxing,
and grappling, Monson seems to take it all in stride, "I
just consider it all part of the training. I try to maximize
it for a really big event, but with things like the boxing I'm
using it for striking development. If I was a pro I wouldn't
take fights like I do on short notice, but it helps for the MMA
events. I try to put it all together for Euphoria and Abu Dhabi
and see where it goes."
Originally
the upcoming Euphoria was supposed to be the continuation of
a heavyweight tournament started last year, but Euphoria has
decided to scrap the idea in favor of a "theme event"
with US competitors taking on fighters from abroad. Monson doesn't
seem too happy about the change; "I don't like that, I had
heard that they were going to do it and just found out about
it. I was kind of hoping to do a tournament, I would rather do
a tournament, I think it's more entertaining for the fans."
If
the tournament format was to have continued, the winner of Monson's
match would have faced the winner of Travis Wiuff and Antoine
Joaude taking place later in the evening. Jeff made it clear
when asked that he would love to face the winner of the fight
and that it's something he's looking forward to seeing. "I
would like to fight either one of those guys, they are both talented
guys. I don't know who to call for the win between them; they
have two different styles and both of them good at everything.
They are very well-rounded and I want to see that one after my
fight."
After
his fight against Joaude, Wiuff will be making the trip down
to light-heavyweight for his next fight, Monson's response to
a similar move for himself was surprisingly agreeable considering
Monson is usually near 235lbs for his fights. "I would go
to 205lbs, but only for a UFC event or something like that,"
said Monson. "I wouldn't do it just once, it would have
to be something long-term. I will never grapple at 205lbs, that's
for sure. I grapple better at heavyweight between 235-230lbs,
the bigger the better. I can lay on my opponent a little more
because if a heavy guy lays on you with good hips, you feel it.
You get stuck and have no room to wiggle if you're trapped in
mount or side mount against a bigger guy who can move."
As
was mentioned earlier, Monson is part of the staff currently
putting finishing touches on the ATT facility in Olympia, Washington
along with MMA standouts Dennis Hallman, Benji "Razor"
Radach, and others. From what Monson says the gym is coming together
quite nicely and finishing touches should be applied shortly,
"Everything is in place now. Weight equipment has been ordered,
we a have ring, Mauy Thai bags, boxing bags, 2000 square feet
of Tatame mats, and a total of 5400 square feet (at the facility).
We are trying to make it look nice and more of a health club
atmosphere rather than a training gym so we can get the general
public in here and excited about the place. We don't want it
to be a fighter gym only, we want more regular people coming
in and signing up for classes. It has to be like that, we have
guys like Radach, Hallman, and (Evan) Tanner who come in, they
are guys that train that are high caliber and they usually come
in at night. We want it to be fan friendly the rest of the time
because you don't make money solely off the fighters, you make
it from the regular people who come in. Things like the kids
classes, women's classes, conditioning classes and stuff like
that is how you make a business like this survive."
Monson
continued, "Our motto is we offer something for everyone.
I want to something new and something fun rather than the old
gym mentality, we want people to come in and get a good workout
and learn something at the same time. Everybody wonders what
it would be like to be a fighter, this gives them that chance
to find out and also get in great shape. There's something for
every level of skills and types of people, from the kids, to
ex-athletes looking to stay in shape, to the business people
who want to keep healthy. We've only been open for a week and
a half and not one person who's signed up for a free trial has
left, they all signed on full time. We're trying to give people
a workout and get them feeling good about themselves and have
a positive impact in their lives. We're also going to be holding
an amateur fight card on March 12 that will feature some of the
ATT fighters from the Florida school and may get some Team Quest
guys on there as well."
Not
only is Monson going to compete at Euphoria, but the former Abu
Dhabi champion will be competing again at the championships which
are making their US debut this May in Los Angeles, California.
While Abu Dhabi is extremely important, it may not be the grappling
tournament that could create the most sparks for Monson as he's
also slated to return to the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic /
Gracie Championships this year. At last year's tournament Monson
created quite a stir when he faced off against Relson Gracie
student Pe de Pano.
For
those unfamiliar with what happened last year, Monson was quite
vocal about the festivities when asked to describe the scene;
"I'm going to compete at the Arnold Classic this year again.
I'm surprised they invited me back after what happened last year.
Basically I made it to the finals against Pe de Pano, during
the match I put him in a can opener move to escape his guard
and he tapped. The move is illegal to finish a fight but I was
using it not as a submission but rather a way to escape his guard.
So Relson Gracie and Pe de Pano threw a big fit about it saying
Pe de Pano win the match and I should be disqualified, even though
he tapped. After about 10 minutes of delay the director of tournament
told us that he wanted us to restart the match in guard with
4 minutes left with a 0-0 score. For 20 minutes there was more
complaining and arguing and the director said to them either
he get back in the guard or forfeit the match. Relson went over
to the announcer and told them to declare his fighter the winner
and things went downhill from there, the cops had to come in
and everything."
Monson
is normally a very relaxed and reserved fighter who never speaks
ill of anyone in the business, it's understandable however that
he has less than a respectful view of Pe de Pano, "He didn't
do anything but wuss out. I will never say anyone can't be me
because anyone can catch you at any time in a match, it doesn't
matter who they are. I will say this about Pe de Pano and I'll
go on record saying this, he will never ever, ever, ever beat
me. I will never lose to Pe de Pano, I broke him mentally in
our match and he won't fight me again."
The
conversation closed out with Monson reiterating his thoughts
on his upcoming fight, "You going to see a more well rounded
me. I will strand, wrestle, and use Jui-Jitsu, there's not any
position from before when I was uncomfortable being in a certain
place that I'm still uncomfortable with. I feel comfortable in
every aspect of the game. Certain fighters you have a gameplan
for, but at Euphoria I will force my gameplan on whoever I fight."
For
people interested in checking out American Top Team Olympia's
facilities, or schedule, you can contact them via email at ATTWest@AOL.com
or visit them directly at 710 Marine Drive NE, Olympia, Washington,
98501. The school offers a free week-long pass for anyone to
try any of the classes available on their schedule. They are
currently offering classes Karate, Akido, Jiu-Jitsu, boxing,
kickboxing, cardio kickboxing, kids wrestling, MMA, and will
soon be adding a morning "bootcamp" style conditioning
class for people who work during the day and are unable to workout
any other time.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"We are not just our behavior, we are the person managing
our behavior."
Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D., American Business Lecturer, Author
|
Tim
Sylvia: Speaks Out On Arlovski, His Future and His Fans
6’8” giant Tim Sylvia was ready to face Belarus born
Andrei Arlovski at UFC 51 for the interim UFC heavyweight title,
but the Maniac wasn’t ready for a looping right hand with
an Achilles lock ending his night at the forty-seven second mark
of round one of this highly anticipated bout.
Sylvia
made his debut in 2001, beating Randy Durant by TKO in round
one of an IFC event. For the next two years Sylvia would go on
an all out rampage, destroying his opposition with a relentless
style. Sylvia paved a path to the top with knockout after knockout
and in true Maniac fashion, he delivered his power to Ricco Rodriguez
at UFC 41 to gain the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Sylvia
successfully defended his title against two-inch taller opponent
Gan McGee with yet another knockout, but relinquished his belt
less than a month later after testing positive for an anabolic
agent in his body, which was found by the Nevada State Athletic
Commission on October 15, 2003.
After
admitting his mistake and serving his four-month suspension Tim
returned to the octagon at UFC 48 to face Frank Mir for the vacant
heavyweight title, but after fifty seconds Sylvia would be denied
the heavyweight crown when he suffered a broken arm.
After
his rehabilitation and defeating Wes Sims at Super Brawl, his
return to the UFC wasn’t successful but then again it wasn’t
the end. Sylvia is already set to return as soon as he is called
upon to do so and hopes for a rematch with Arlovski, and in an
interview conducted with MAX FIGHTING, Sylvia gives his thoughts
on his recent loss at UFC 51 as well as his future.
Benny
Henderson Jr. - Hey Tim how are you?
Tim Sylvia - I’m fine I just got back from the gym about
an hour ago.
BH
- Can you give us your thoughts on your recent bout at UFC 51?
TS - I think I just went in there a little overconfident and
I underestimated Arlovski and how fast he was. He closed the
distance very quick on me and they studied me very well; they
know when I throw my double jab I don’t bring the second
one back to my face to protect my chin and stuff, and he threw
the looping overhand right and he caught me, dazed me and then
he capitalized the win by jumping on me and going for a leg lock.
BH
-You said after the bout you felt your ankle pop a few times
so you tapped out to stop any further damage or injury, how is
your ankle now?
TS - Oh it is fine, it was popping from the pressure, but I think
I just got a little scared because when my arm broke I heard
the three pops and I knew it broke and I kept going. I don’t
want to be sidelined for another year so I just tapped out; that’s
the right thing to do. I say to myself I wish I would have fought
it longer but I believe in my heart I did the right thing because
hopefully I can fight as soon a possible.
BH
- This bout was very important to you, as you wanted to get back
to the heavyweight title and stake your claim. With this loss
it moved you back a couple of steps from reaching your goal,
so does it frustrate you to the point of tearing down any of
your confidence level or do you look at this as motivation for
your next bout?
TS - The way for me to look at this positively is to motivate
myself. Yeah it is frustrating because I lost against Mir, I
beat Sims, then I got beat by Arlovski again. So with the two
losses in my career it is definitely frustrating, but the best
thing for me to do right now is get back on the horse and give
it another try.
BH
- Any news on your next fight and who your opponent may be?
TS - I have no idea. I am hoping that they will have me in June.
I actually just started training again today. So I’m hoping
to get back in shape and be ready in case somebody gets hurt
for April, so I can be a last minute replacement and jump in
then.
BH
– Let’s say you were given the chance for a rematch
with Arlovski, I know you would take it so I am not going to
even ask that.
TS - Absolutely
BH
- But how would you approach a rematch if you two were to meet
again in the future?
TS - Well actually I want to keep that a secret because we know
how we are going to approach it. There are some things that I
held back on a little but we are not going to do that this time.
I hope to fight Arlovski again down the road; obviously he beat
me legitimately so I don’t deserve an immediate rematch,
but I hope I can put a couple of wins together and face him down
the road.
BH
- After the fight I saw you singing autographs and taking photos
with the fans. I wouldn’t say they were mauling you but
they were pretty much going crazy to get a chance to talk to
you and take a photo and so on. How did it feel to know even
in defeat you have a legion of loyal Sylvia fans backing you
up?
TS - It definitely feels great man; that’s why I always
want to try to do stuff like that. A lot of guys, they lose and
shell up and don’t want to talk to anybody and it’s
not those people’s fault, they came there to see you win
or lose, they came to see me. They are true fans so I want to
give back as much as they give to me; they give me the inspiration
to get in there and compete and they pay the bills. They are
the ones who buy the tickets for the shows and they are the ones
who allow me to get paid what I get paid. Right now I’m
living a dream and their dream was to come to UFC and meet me
or some of the other guys so I’m trying to help them out
as much as I can.
BH
- Is there anything you would like to add or say in closing?
TS - I would always like to thank my sponsors, I have two major
sponsors right now, KTFO has helped me out a great deal with
paying me monthly fees and that is helping me out a lot, and
of course Full Contact Fighter and Rock Hard Nutrition Centers.
Source: Maxfighting |
Rampage
speaks out
It
isn't the first time a fighter has said it, but it's probably
the first time it has been said in front of a stadium full of
fans. Quinton Jackson said what many fighters in Pride complain
about and that is getting short notices to fight on the big show.
Quinton Jackson was told in less than one month that he was going
to fight. He was so disappointed with his performance in which
he won by split decision that he dropped his check and tried
to give his trophy to Murilo Ninja. He proceeded to say in the
ring that he needed more time to get ready if he was going to
be able to put on a good performance. It was a close fight between
the two warriors and one could say that Quinton was a bit more
impressive with his body slams, when Murilo had a very tough
time trying to take Jackson down.
But
on the other side, Pride fighters know the way that Pride works
and that short notices are common. This is a job and fighters
need to stay in shape for when they are called upon. So, to place
all the blame on Pride is unfair. Jackson also said that he would
not fight on short notice and the top brass took notice. In fact
after Pride 29, Pride President Sakakibara said that Pride wants
to set the Middleweight GP matches up soon, so that the fighters
have enough time to train. This sense of urgency in part due
to Quinton Jackson saying that he will not fight if he is not
given enough time to train. But Pride also wants the fans to
know about the fights in advance to build up the anticipation,
which should sell more tickets or PPV. This should be a good
thing which should also result in better fights for the fans
to watch.
Source: MMA Weekly |
"Unofficial
UFC Lightweight Champion"
Yves Edwards
Yves Edwards gets set to rematch Hermes Franca in Euphoria 3,
next weekend, February 26th, at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino in
Atlantic City, New Jersey. The two first fought last April, at
UFC 47 and ended in a split decision in favor of Edwards. Yves
was the featured guest on MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio Thursday and
spoke about the rematch with Franca, the lightweight division
in general, and the possibility of being in the upcoming Pride
lightweight tournament.
Yves was originally supposed to fight Joachim Hansen, but a hand
injury forced Hansen out. About the opponent change, Edwards
said, "If his hand is really broken, I'm not too upset about
it. I mean, things happen in the fight game. Things happen. You
get injuries, and you've got to make adjustments, but if there
were other reasons behind it, that would suck....I'm not too
upset about it. I was looking forward to fighting a really tough
guy as well as fighting a good fighter, and that's what I'm going
to do. I'm going to fight Hermes. Everybody knows how tough Hermes
is. He's definitely a great fighter. He's a guy who can take
me to the limit. I know that to be a fact. I'm just looking forward
to a good fight. I'm over the fact that I'm not fighting Hansen,
so I'm on board with the fight with Hermes."
Discussing Hermes Franca, Edwards had nothing but respect. When
questioned what Franca brought to the table, Yves responded,
"He's ring savvy. I mean the guy's, he's a really smart
fighter. The mistakes that he makes, he knows how to minimize
them, and he knows how to recover from them. Also, he has pretty
good timing. I watched the guy on tape, and I'm like, man this
guy's, he's slow. He's not going to be able to take me down,
but then I watch the tape, I replay the tape, and the guy gets
like three or four take downs. It's all because of timing. He
sets things up. He kind of throws a big hahay-makero make you
lose sight, and then he's in on the take down. He's trying to
work body locks and the single leg and whatnot. His timing is
pretty good, and then he's just savvy. He's a lot more savvy
than a guy with only ten MMA fights."
Both fighters know each other well. They've fought before, and
know what the other brings. This time, Yves said, "I definitely
need to let the hands fly a little more. His timing really threw
me off that first fight. I started to get a lot more comfortable
at the end of the fight, and I think I'll be a lot more comfortable
with it going in to this one. I mean, I've got to play to my
strengths, which is going to be the stand up game. I'm going
to pose trouble for him getting the take down, I know that much.
I think putting the hands in his face is going to make it harder
for him to get the take down. I mean, Hermes is great. I love
the guy. ATT is pretty much my surrogate family. I just think
for this fight, for me to win it, I have to press my strengths
and that is going to cause me to have to hurt a friend. That's
the way it works. That's the game."
Euphoria kicked off the lightweight tournament in October, but
what started out as a tournament may not end as one. Yves commented,
"It's no longer a tournament. I don't necessarily know what
is going to happen. I know Rich [Clementi] and this Japanese
guy, '13' [Daisuke Hanazawa]. I'm going to call him '13' because
I can't remember his name. I guess that's his nickname. They're
fighting at 165 pounds. I don't think that guy can make 155.
If he were to win that fight, I don't think I'd be fighting him.
If Rich were to win the fight, and I were to win the fight with
Hermes, then he has a good argument to say, hey he wants a rematch
with me and he wants a shot a me for the belt, or whatever in
Euphoria. I don't know where it's going necessarily, but I know
that there will be another show, and there will be more fights
in Euphoria, and I'll definitely be fighting here again. I ha!
ve one more fight with them under contract after this, and I
think if we keep this a good working relationship I'll be there
for a while. I'd love to be there. I'd love to get back to the
UFC, and I want to fight in Pride. They guys at Euphoria have
been really good to me. I love fighting in the UFC, and Pride
just has a sick tournament going on I want a shot at. Any one
of those three things is want to do, and I'm all for options."
UFC president Dana White has made reference to Yves Edwards being
the "unofficial UFC Lightweight Champion." Although
Dana saying that gives Yves a little solace, Edwards commented,
"It's always going to be frustrating when you put so much
into something, and you don't feel you get the recognition you
deserve. Someone like me, I care about the sport. I definitely
care about pretty much all the 155 pounders out there. If in
the U.S., I'm the guy leading the U.S. in the 155 pound division,
then it's really frustrating to not be able to demand that we
get seen. You know what I mean? I definitely want a shot at that
belt. You know, the unofficial champion, I guess it's fine, but
you don't go down in history unofficially. You know what I mean?
There's no unofficial legacies, and I want to be a part of history.
I want to be a part of history for this sport, and I want to
be a great champion at 155 pounds. I mean, officially I won't
be until the belt's around my waist, and that's just the sad
part about it."
To hear all of Yves Edwards' interview, click on the radio archive.
He says so much more, such as the possibility of being in Pride's
planned lightweight tournament this year. If you're not a Premium
Member, you're missing the whole story.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
"Successful people begin where failures leave off. Never
settle for 'just getting the job done.' Excel!"
Tom Hopkins, American Sales Trainer, Speaker, Author
|
Rumble
on the Rock Replay!
If you missed it, you have more than one more chance to catch
this event
All are on Oceanic Cable channel 701
Feb 21 8:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Feb 22 1:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Feb 24 1:00AM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
6:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Feb 25 3:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Mar 2 1:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Mar 7 10:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Mar 11 7:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Mar 13 9:00AM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Mar 16 2:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Pride
Pics
Check out MMA
Weekly
for pictures of Pride!
Source: MMA Weekly
|
THE
Z-FILES - PART 1 The History of the family behind the Ultimate
Fighting Championship
BY SCOOP MCTROLL
Please
take this post with a grain of salt. After all the author's name
is Scoop McTroll, can you trust a McTroll?
In
the January of 2001, the ailing reality fighting contest known
as The Ultimate Fighting Championship, was purchased from its
founder, the SEG CORPORATION by ZUFFA LLC. Three men, Frank Fertitta
III, his younger brother Lorenzo Fertitta and their brother in
law, the low profile but nonetheless powerful, Blake Sartini,
are the owners of ZUFFA LLC.
The
Fertitta brothers Frank III and Lorenzo, take the limelight in
this partnership and have recently become known to millions of
people through the reality television show 'American Casino'.
As the CEO and President respectively, of the Station Casinos
Empire, they appear to be amiable and successful young businessmen.
Las Vegas residents may know of Frank III through his involvement
in many charities and community projects, including Catholic
Charities, Opportunity Village and the Las Vegas Chapter of the
I Have A Dream Foundation. They may know of Lorenzo Fertitta
from his time on the board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission,
or as the chairman of the Nevada Resort Association. The two
millionare brothers donate hundreds of thousands of dollars per
year to the Republican Party and they are an integral part of
the Las Vegas A-list social scene. Many people have wondered
just how they came to be so successful at such relatively young
ages and where they came from. Our in depth report 'The Z-Files'
will explore these issues and attempt to throw some light on
the history of the family behind The Ultimate Fighting Championship.
I hope you enjoy reading The Z-Files; it is the result of several
months of research.
Part
1
It
is 1993 in Galveston, Texas and a relative to the Fertittas,
89 year old Vic Maceo has just shown how business is done in
his family. The aging alleged mobster had walked into the Galveston
Post Office, pulled out a .38 calibre revolver and started firing
at postal worker Pete Miller, whom Maceo believed owed him money.
Maceo's aim was a little off since his hey day but he still managed
to hit Miller in the right arm, shattering the bones and bringing
him to the ground, wincing in pain.
When
the Maceos and the Fertittas ruled the town a few decades prior,
this was the way disputes were settled in Galveston, Texas. In
this case Vic Maceo had sold a house to Pete Miller for $45,000
in 1968 and when Miller sold it in 1991, he sold it for $180,000.
Naturally Vic felt that some of the profit should have been his.
Miller had once worked as a busboy at the Maceo-Fertitta controlled
illegal casino known as 'The Balinese Room' and Vic C. Mateo,
who was also known as 'Little Vic' to distinguish him from his
cousin Vic A. 'Gigolo' Maceo, could not cope with the fact that
a busboy had seemingly gotten the better of him.
As
Vic Maceo attempted to make his escape in his sports car, police
apprehended him. He gave himself up willingly and when approached
by the police, he said in a defiant and firm voice, "When
you look a guy in the eye and tell him he owes you forty grand
and he tells you, 'Let me get the file,' you know that the son
of a bitch is lying." As the police slapped handcuffs on
him he retorted with "You don't handcuff a gentleman in
this town!" Such was the power that the Maceo and Ferttita
gang once wielded in Galveston
It
all began in the early 20th century when two Sicilian barbers
arrived in Galveston from Sicily via Louisiana. Rose and Sam
Maceo were soon to build an illegal gambling empire from simple
bootlegging roots and become known as Papa Rose and Big Sam.
Along with their relatives the Fertitta family, they would control
the black economy, the organised crime and the politics of Galveston
for many years. One of their more well known illegal casinos
was 'The Balinese Room' but by the mid 1930's, and the time that
prohibition ended, they had built up an entire city block of
illegal casinos and gambling dens in Galveston. Many people feel
that they created the Vegas format before Vegas ever existed.
Sam Maceo organized for all the big name singers and bands of
the time to appear at his casinos, including Frank Sinatra.
The
Maceo-Fertitta gang was responsible for funding many things in
the Galveston community and despite obvious connections to the
New Orleans mob; no one dared to complain about the criminal
benefactors of the town. In fact those that did complain usually
ended up sleeping with the fishes, according to local legend.
The
Maceo-Fertitta gang wielded great power and most of the other
mobsters knew better than to tread on their turf. The Chicago
crime czar Al Capone had heard about the lucrative gambling and
bootleg empire that the Maceos and Fertittas had built in Galveston
and he wanted some of that action. He planned to at first become
a partner with them and then muscle them out of the picture once
he had his hooks firmly embedded. Al Capone sent his main man
Frank Nitti to Galveston to intimidate the Maceos into allowing
Capone to "invest" in their businesses. The Maceos
received word of Nitti's impending arrival and they decided that
they would flat-out refuse any offers from Nitti on behalf of
Capone to take a piece of their illegal gambling pie.
They
decided to call on the skills of the most ruthless member of
their family's gang, Maceo In-Law, Anthony Fertitta. Nitti arrived
in town and was introduced to the Maceos and to Anthony Fertitta,
Fertitta told Nitti that they needed to talk and he took Nitti
for a drive in his car. The two men were gone for several hours
and it is not clear what events took place during that time.
All that is known is that Nitti was dropped at the city limits
very late that evening, he appeared to be shaken but alive and
well. No one knows what took place during the car ride but when
Nitti made it back to Chicago, he told Capone that the Fertittas
were no pushovers and it would require an all out war to move
in on their territory. Capone never pursued it any further.
Rose
Maceo was suspected of many gangland killings during the 1930's.
Including his first wife and her lover, but no Maceo was ever
convicted of a felony.
Al
Capone came off second best when he tried to muscle in on the
Fertittas.
Sam
Maceo, was the brain behind the Maceo-Fertitta empire and he
was directly under the control of New Orleans mob boss Carlos
Marcello, who later would be linked to the assassination of JFK.
Sam also helped the pioneer Vegas hotelier, Moe Dalitz to get
a gaming licence for The Desert Inn Las Vegas's first casino,
not very long before his death. Papa Rose and Big Sam had both
passed away by the 1950's and many of the remaining Maceo's and
the dealers who worked in their illegal casinos moved out to
Las Vegas.
The
Galveston gambling empire was under the control of mob boss Carlos
Marcello, who would later be implicated in the JFK assassination.
The
Fertittas, who were related to the Maceos by marriage, took control
of the Galveston gaming empire, where they honed their skills
in the casino and hospitality fields, a legacy that would remain
lucrative to the family for generations to come. Unlike the socially
more adept Maceos, who flaunted their success despite its illegality,
the Fertittas did not take too kindly to publicity.
The
August 1955 edition of Time Magazine that exposed the Fertittas
as thugs.
In
1955, a Time magazine LIFE reporter visited one of the illegal
Fertitta casinos in Galveston. In an article entitled 'Thugs
vs The Press', he reported the following in the August 1955 edition
of Time Magazine.
"
Many a mug on the edge of the big time thinks there is a formula
for dealing with newsmen: intimidate or bribe. In Galveston,
Texas, where vice and crime abounds, Gambling Boss Anthony Fertitta
tried that formula in an effort to prevent LIFE from getting
pictures of his illegal operations. It did not work.
After
LIFE Photographer Joe Scherschel and Reporter Hank Suydam took
pictures (with a concealed camera) in one of Fertitta's gambling
houses, the boss and two henchmen followed the LIFE men to their
hotel. Photographer Scherschel took his film upstairs while Reporter
Suydam encountered Fertitta and his two strong-arm men in the
lobby. Fertitta demanded an explanation of what Suydam and Scherschel
had been doing, suddenly smashed Suydam in the face. By the time
Suydam had picked himself off the floor, Fertitta had switched
tactics, tried to stuff a $20 bill into the reporter's pocket.
Last
week, just before LIFE published "Wide-Open Galveston Mocks
Texas Laws," Gambling Boss Fertitta was tried for simple
assault in the Galveston justice court. After Fertitta pleaded
"not guilty" and then refused to take the stand, Justice
J. L. McKenna found Fertitta guilty, gave him the maximum punishment:
a $25 fine. The conviction was much more important than the small
fine. In Galveston, where gang leaders like Fertitta have long
tried to pose as legitimate businessmen, the criminal conviction
reported on Page One of Texas newspapers helped to expose these
"legitimate businessmen" for the thugs they are."
Partially
in light of the adverse publicity that they began to attract
and partially due to the more conservative political climate
of the mid to late 1950's, the Galveston gambling empire began
to slowly crumble. Many of the Fertittas also began to migrate
to Las Vegas and it all finally came to a crashing halt in Galveston
in 1957 when the Attorney General Will Wilson, along with the
Texas Rangers, smashed the Fertitta's illegal gambling racket.
The glory days for the Maceos and Fertittas were over in Texas,
for the moment at least.
With
no choice but to shut up shop and leave town, a mass exodus took
place. With the vast experience the owners and employees had
gained in Galveston by running or working in the biggest chain
of illegal casinos and live entertainment restaurants in the
country, Las Vegas seemed to be the natural place to migrate.
A pilgrimage from Galveston to Vegas of mobsters, card dealers,
croupiers, hores and gamblers began. In those days Vegas was
not as heavily regulated as it is today and offered the lure
of an easy buck to such dregs of society.
In
1960, a 21-year-old man named Frank Fertitta Jr would arrive
in Las Vegas and find work at a Casino as a bellboy. With him
are his wife and newborn son, Frank III.
The
fun for him, was just beginning.
(That
was Part 1 of Scoop McTroll's new series 'The Z-Files'. Watch
this page for part 2, coming to FS 24-7 soon.)
Source:
Fight Sport
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Quote
of the Day
The essence of greatness is the ability to choose personal fulfillment
in the circumstances where others choose madness."
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, 1940-, American Psychotherapist, Author, Lecturer
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Pride
Announces It's 4th Gold Medalist
In
press conference today, SportsNavi reports that Pawel Nastula,
a former judo Olympian from Poland, who participated in the 1996
Atlanta Olympics, will join Pride. He will be the 4th Gold Medalist
Olympian to join Pride behind- Yoshida, Rulon Gardner and Takimoto.
His debut fight for Pride will be in the 2nd round of the Middleweight
GP show on June 26 th at the Saitama Super Arena.
Source: MMA Weekly
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Babalú
ready to fight at the Cage
In
England since this morning, Renato Babalú is ready to
face Pierre Guillet at Cage Rage 10, which happens next February
26. "I have plans to train with Roger Gracie and Roberto
Gordo a week before the fight," Babalú Said, adding
the fact he wants to defeated Gullet by KO. "He likes to
fight on the ground, so I'll KO him." Cage Rage's card also
features other three Brazilians: Evangelista Cyborg Vs Antony
Real, Gabriel Gladiador Vs Mark Weir and Jean Silva Vs Chris
Brennan.
COMPLETE
CARD (subject to change):
Cage
Rage 10
Saturday,
February 26, 2005
Wembley
Conference Centre, London, England
-
Renato Babalú Vs Pierre Guillet;
-
Sol Gilbert Vs Curtis Stout;
-
Evangelista Cyborg Vs Antony Real;
-
Alex Reid Vs Jorge Rivera;
-
Chris Brennan Vs Jean Silva;
-
Mark Weir Vs Gabriel Gladiador;
-
Jeremy Bailey Vs Sami Berik;
-
Robbie Olivier Vs Leigh Remedios;
-
Andy Costello Vs Daniel Buzzorta;
-
Marc Goddard Vs Robert Berry;
-
Atilla Kubilay Vs Adam Kelly;
-
Kuljit Degun Vs Mustafa Alturk;
-
Brad Pickett Vs Chris Freeborn.
Source: Tatame
|
Black
Belt GP middleweight in Japan
After
promoting a Lightweight GP - won by Daisuke Sugie last February
9 - Fernando Lopes, in partnership with a Brazilian manager will
promote a middleweight GP in the country. The idea is featuring
the tournament as a trial of Black Belt GP middleweight, Schedule
to second semester of 2005. Talking about lightweight GP, the
second edition of the tournament may happen in Japan. "We
want to do it in Japan because they have some of the best lightweight
fighters in there," Fernando Lopes believes.
Source: Tatame |
PRIDE
CONFIRMS FIGHTSPORT.COM SCOOP
DSE/PRIDE
president Sakakibara confirmed what Fightsport.com first reported
on February 9th, that DSE/PRIDE officials had traveled to Russia
to try and re-sign Fedor Emelianenko to a new deal.
That
attempt was apparently unsuccessful, and Sakakibara announced
to the Japanese media that he will himself go to Russia next
month to try and re-sign Fedor to a new deal for 2005.
posted by Fightsport #7:35 AM
Source: Fight Sport
|
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)
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