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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2005
11/14/05
3rd American National BJJ Championships
(Torrance Unified School District, Torrance, CA )
10/29-30/05
Brazilian Team Titles
(Equipes)
(Brazil)
8/27-28/05
International
Masters & Seniors BJJ Tournament
(Tijuca Tenis Clube, Tijuca, Brazil)
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)
5/7-8 & 14-15 & 21-22/05
Brazilian National BJJ Tournament
(Youth, Adult, Master & Senior)
(Tijuca Tenis Clube, Tijuca, Brazil?)
4/1-3/05
Pan American
& Team Title USA vs Brazil BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA)
3/05
SUMA
(Kickboxing)
(Hyatt Waikiki)
3/12/05
The Second Annual Maui
Jiu-Jitsu Open
BJJ tournament
(BJJ)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Hawaii)
3/6-7/05
Hawaii State High School Wrestling Championships
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/5/04
So You Think You Tough 7
(Boxing, MMA)
(Kauai)
2/27/05
2005 Hawaiian Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Saint Louis H.S. Gym)
2/5/05
UFC 51: Super Saturday
(MMA)
(Las Vegas, NV)
1/29/05
Kid's BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(Relson Gracie Main Academy, Honolulu)
1/22/05
Punishment In
Paradise 9:
Hawaii vs. Mainland
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Kapolei H.S. Gym)
|
|
January 2005 News
Part 1
Wednesday night and Sunday
classes (w/ a kids' class) now offered!
 
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price, click on one of these banners above! |
Tuesdays at 8:30PM on
Olelo Channel 52
New Time! |
Quote
of the Day
"So much of what is best in us is bound up in our love of
family, that it remains the measure of our stability because
it measures our sense of loyalty. All other pacts of love or
fear derive from it and are modeled upon it."
Haniel Long, 1888-1956, American Author/Poet/Journalist
|
Jeremy
Wall's Smart and Stupid Letters Mailbag
RANDY COUTURE
Keith
Shillan writes:
After
UFC 49 Couture called out Silva ! (I know that it is not realistic
that they would or could unify the belts) In your opinion who
wins? I must be honest, I love Randy! He has dominated everybody
he has faced at 205lbs. Not to mention he hasn't fought any scrubs.
Silva has been great but he has been hurt at times. Randy hasn't
been at 205. I pick Randy. Also why wasn't the Edwards/Thompson
fight at UFC 49 for the lightweight title. Is UFC going to crown
a champ at middleweight or lightweight.
JW:
Under UFC rules, I think Couture is the easy favourite, since
Silva loses a lot of his weapons in terms of striking a downed
opponent, plus it would be hard for Silva to get Couture down
anyway. Couture's clinch is also the black hole where strikers
go to die, and would nullify Silva's stand-up attack, plus Couture
has the fence to help with the takedown and the ground-and-pound.
Under Pride rules, Silva has a better chance since he can knee
and kick to the head on the ground, but if Couture isn't going
to be in the position for him to do that, it would seem to be
unlikely. Couture also would not be able to use the fence to
take Silva down and push him up against to pound him because
the fence wouldn't exist in Pride. It would probably be a more
exciting fight in Pride because of that. UFC has scrapped the
idea of having a lightweight champion, but will continue with
the lightweight division. They plan on crowning a middleweight
champion soon, maybe as early as UFC 51.
Ismael
Ford writes:
How
about getting together with your fellow MMA journalist and giving
a Sportsman of the Year award (call it the Couture) and abest
pound for pound award (complete with shinny belt, ala Ring Magazine).
After all, the best fighter in MMA isn’t always going to
be the a Sportsman.
The
voting for best pound for pound fighter could be decided in equal
parts by fans, fighters and MMA journalist.
Just
my thoughts. In boxing the only belt that matters now is the
Ring Magazine belt.
JW:
I don't think I can afford to be handing out shiny belts.
NOBUHIKO
TAKADA
Darrick
W. Mowrey writes:
Hey,
I am just writing to say good work on your story for max fighting
titled, "The Myth of Nobuhiko Takada". It was very
well written and it is easy to tell the amount of research that
went into it.
I must say the only real problem with it was that i wanted to
know more. I want to know why some japanese don't understand
what is a work and what not. I thought most japanese were very
educated when it came to fighting.
Your
description of Takada was great and helped me answer the questions
i have had about him. Yet, i am left wondering how can enough
japanese fans keep thinking this way. Do they really want fixed
fights and constant controversy?
In
closing any other feature pieces about japan fight culture would
be wonderful. This is one area that could really help all fight
fans in the US. It is one aspect of the sport that we all sit
back and wonder about.
Thanks
again. Keep up the good work.
JW:
The Japanese fans don't know these fights were fixed, so there's
no controversy at all.
John
Gerrardi writes:
MMA
needs more honest journalist like you.
Yan
Ten writes:
Thanks
for clearing up Takada's career. I saw him in 4 matches. Two
to Rickson, one to Coleman, and one to some freaky guy with tattoos.
I thought that those non Rickson matches were fake. Seemed simple
to me, but don't the japanese fans see it too?
JW:
The guy with tattoos was Kyle Sturgeon. The Japanese fans are
used to seeing a less realistic looking style in shoot-style
pro wrestling that they believe is real, and most of the worked
fights were kept short.
MYTH
OF THE INTERNET FANBASE
Paul
Noble writes:
Dear
Mr Wall,
1.
Sean Gannon DOES have MMA experience. 3 or 4 fights if I remember
correctly. If you are basing his skill level purely on viewing
that video with Kimbo, it's because he just wasn't allowed to
use any ground work in that fight, based on the rules agreed.
2.
You are severely underestimating the P.R. power of the internet
when it comes to promoting fighters.
JW:
How many other fighters with Gannon's skill level have been considered
for a major fight in the UFC? Not too many. The PR power of the
internet doesn't exist unless you're specifically trying to promote
to internet fans.
Simon
Scowl writes:
Jeremy,
You
made some outstanding points in your article - they needed to
be said. But your arrogant overestimation of MMAChronicle's popularity
is disturbing. If that tiny site maxed out at 1,100 visitors,
that means it wasn't very popular. Your own new site has to attract
a minimum of 5,000 unique visitors per day (even though it is
struggling to come back from the dead) because the big MMA sites
pull 15,000-20,000 unique visitors or more per day.
To
grossly underestimate Sherdog.com like that, especially when
you can get their traffic stats very easily by emailing them,
shows a level of irresponsible journalism that I would not expect
from you. I thought you held yourself out to be a unique business
expert in the field of MMA? If so, you should at least check
with your own editor, Thomas Gerbasi, about MaxFighting's stats
before embarrassing the site by telling the world that it is
WAY LESS popular than it really is.
MaxFighting's
advertising revenue depends on its traffic. Putting out such
an inaccurate article jeopardizes those dollars and embarrasses
the site.
I
hope you print a correction piece soon.
JW:
I'm probably wrong on the original numbers I printed in the piece.
Let's use your numbers instead. Let's say Sherdog does 20,000
visitors a day. The average UFC pay per view is 75,000 homes.
Not many people sit and watch these pay per views all by their
lonesome, so, let's say since the average household is four people,
that there's 300,000 people watching the average UFC pay per
view. That amounts to less than 7% of the total viewing audience.
Sherdog would have to hit 100,000 unique visitors a day just
to cover a third of the AVERAGE UFC pay per view. The highest
UFC pay per view buyrate is figured at about 150,000 buys; that's
a total of 600,000 people watching. If Sherdog draws 20,000 uniques
per day, that's less than 3.5% of the audience. Read a Grade
2 math textbook and you'll figure it out.
Simon
Scowl again writes:
...I
figured you out.
You
are a Dave Meltzer lacky. You mimick his every move - from your
defunct newsletter, upon which I pissed away money, to your attack
of MMA's Internet fanbase.
Get
a clue. Your a bored little Canadian with a whiny voice, geek
looks and nothing better to do than sit behind your super duper
home computer set-up and think you're big time because a bunch
of non entities like Internet fans write to you or comment on
your lackluster musings.
Buffer
isn't even paying you and you're busting your ass to bring down
his website with your grade school observations. LOL@U
Didn't
I hear you admit you'd never been to a UFC on some Internet "radio
show?"
Exactly.
JW:
Next time try breaking the pills in half.
THE
ULTIMATE FIGHTER
Luke
Nicholson writes:
According
to MMAWeekly.com, UFC will have two live shows in April, one
will be a two hour special to conclude the reality show on Spike
TV and then the live PPV a couple of weeks later. Is this the
plan, as of now? Also, the piece of news that really caught my
eye (for negative reasons unfortunately) is that they want to
do Matt Hughes vs Frank Trigg for the Welterweight title as the
Main Event on the two hour special on Spike TV.
Maybe
I'm being overly pessimistic or cynical, or both, but if you
have the chance to expose your product on free tv like that,
and you're going to give them a live fight, why not one that
has a good chance of being exciting? I think the chances of Hughes/Trigg
being exciting are about the same chances as Triple H divorcing
Stephanie McMahon. If they give them Hughes/Trigg, and its a
boring fight, couldn't that potentially kill any momentum they
develop from the show?
I
just think that this rumour, if it comes true, just re-emphasizes
how much UFC really doesn't get it. Why not give the millions...and
millions of people watching in tv land a fight between two exciting,
charismatic fighters that people might get behind, and pay to
see on PPV down the road?
JW:
Yes, the plan is for a live show in April, followed by a pay
per view a few weeks later. Trigg vs. Hughes is being considered,
but it's not set in stone. They feel that since the two had an
exciting match at UFC 45, it would probably be an exciting fight
again, although that's not set in stone. I think there are better
options than this fight, which is something I explored in my
article on The Ultimate Fighter which will be elsewhere on the
site.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
UFC
president challenges Stallone
Take a look at this interesting report published by our friends
from MMAWeekly.com:
"The
following article appeared in yesterday's New York Post
January
6, 2005 -- The rabble-rousing president of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship is slapping boxing aficionado Sylvester Stallone
across the face with a $5 million challenge.
Dana
White, who oversees the mixed martial arts fighting league and
its new Spike TV reality show, "The Ultimate Fighter,"
wants the winner of his series to fight the winner of Stallone's
boxing show, "The Contender."
"Boxing
is in shambles," White told The Post yesterday. "Back
in the day, whoever the heavyweight champ was, was considered
the baddest man on the planet, and that's just not the case anymore
- not by a long shot - and we're willing to put our money where
our mouth is."
The
proposed match would be televised on cable or pay-per-view or
held privately. "However they want it," White said.
NBC
officials, Stallone and "Contender" creator Mark Burnett
declined to comment yesterday.
On
"Ultimate Fighter," debuting Jan. 17, 16 contestants
will be split into teams. They will live and train together,
and ultimately fight in a Las Vegas bout live on Spike.
Fighters
will be ejected until only two fighters in separate weight classes
remain - and they'll be offered six-figure contracts with the
UFC.
On
"The Contender" - a new NBC series from reality show
guru Burnett, "Rocky" star Stallone, Jeffrey Katzenberg
and boxer Sugar Ray Leonard - 16 boxers square off each week
in the ring. Losers face elimination.
The
two finalists square off in the finale for a $1 million prize.
The
show is slated to debut Feb. 21."
Source: Tatame/MMA Weekly |
Wagnney
Fabiano
Playing the rules
Living
in Canada for seven years, BJJ black belt from Nova União
Wagnney Fabiano was one of the starts to shine at last December
4 and 5, in São Paulo. After winning the -66 division,
Wagnney proved that living far away from his brother Leonardo
Santos, he might have a hard time to Leonardo Vieira, Baret Yoshida
and Royler Gracie in May. During an exclusive to TATAME.com,
Wagnney talked about the Abu-Dhabi rules and the tournament,
besides what is going on in Canadá.
What
do you think about ADCC rules?
People
have been slowing down the fight. The rules are good to whom
enjoys being on the guard and wait for five minutes in there.
Then he search for points. To who has an open game, it's not
good at all.
Lot
of people complained about it. Did you use the rules to win?
I
don't even care. I fight under any rule system. I fight a lot
in tournaments as Naga and Grapplers Quest in the States and
they have similar rules as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It's not a big
deal for me.
But
it's not better to submit in the very first minutes?
I
am a tactic guy. I play the rules and I always search the victory.
If I have a chance to submit I will! If I have to do a tied game,
I also do not problems with it. You cannot complain about the
rules. Sheik is the boss (laughs). I had a great support from
one of the ADCC referees. We went to my academy and explained
me the rules.
Tell
me about your main opponents during the final phase.
The
division under 66kg is good. Leonardo Vieira, Royler Gracie,
Baret Yoshida, Ed Bravo are there. It's gonna be a grappling
show.
How
do you do to keep a good train level in Canada?
I
have few great athletes as Mark Bolcheck, who is a BJJ world
champion in purple belt and now he was graduated black belt.
There is Rob, Joe and some other good pupils. Even though, I
will spend a month in Brazil before the competition.
How
is everything in Canada?
I
have been there for seven years and I have 60 pupils. But we
have few competitions in Canada because we do not have a federation.
I fight a lot in United States, but in Canada a do my physical
preparation and lots of Boxing, Wrestling and Muay Thai. I also
own the TKO belt in Canada.
Source: Tatame |
Quote
of the Day
"An idea is salvation by imagination."
Frank Lloyd Wright, 1869-1959, United States Architect
|
2005
Hawaiian Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Saint Louis Schools Gymnasium
February 27, 2005
Gi
& No-Gi
Contact:
James Tanaka (223-9363) or Romolo (392-8330)
Email:
info@brazilian-freestyle.com
Source: Event Promoter
|
Kids'
Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
Possibly Being Postponed
Currently the event organizer, Ronn Shiraki, just told me
tonight that the kid's tournament may be postponed. If you are
interested in entering some kids, please email Ronn to make sure
that he has your contact information and you can let him know
your thoughts on the tournament schedule.
Here are the specifics so far (subject to change):
Date:
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Time:
Weigh-ins: 8-9 am
Tournament Starts at 10:00 am
Cost: $20
This will be a gi only tournament so that we emphasize the technical
aspect of Jiu-Jitsu and help revive the sport.
It will also be a double elimination tournament, 3 rings, and
there will be two 3rd places. There will be no team trophies.
However, there may be some trophies for "most technical,
fastest submission, and best sportsmanship" along with some
prizes (depending on the generosity of sponsors).
Match
duration will be 3 minutes for kids age 6, 4 minutes for kids
ages 7-14, and 5 minutes for kids ages 15-17.
Any
questions? Please shoot us an email and we will forward it on!
|
PRIDE
AND FILA SIGN DEAL
The Japanese media reports that DSE/PRIDE and FILA, the world
governing body for amateur wrestling, have signed a licensing
agreement in which amateur wrestlers can do professional MMA
fights in DSE/PRIDE without risking their eligibility for amateur
wrestling world championships and the Olympics.
Furthermore,
if an amateur wrestler works for any other group outside of DSE/PRIDE,
such as K-1 for example, then the wrestler would lose his FILA
eligibility.
However,
law experts are pointing out that such a condition will not hold
up in any court of law. It also remains to be seen now whether
Olympic gold medalist Karam Ibrahim will now lose his eligibility
for the next Olympics, since he worked in the K-1 show on December
31st.
Source: Fight Sport
|
Minotauro
open his heart to TATAME
Enjoying vacations in Santa Catarina after Pride Shockwave, Brazilian
Rodrigo minotauro talked with Team TATAME and opened his heart
about the loss to Russian Fedor Emelianenko, on last December
31.
-
Fedor throws his leg behind and assumes some defensive strategy.
He feints and than applies some right punches. I admit I got
a hard time with it. However, I guess a fair decision would be
2x1 to Fedor. He stepped inside the ring feeling confident and
imposed his game. But it's a normal situation for me. I take
a while until I find my game. I use to submit my opponents in
beginning of the second round, as Heath Herring... - Rodrigo
said.
Now,
he only wants to rest for two weeks. "I only think about
my vacations now. I am tired... I have been training everyday
from January to January. I will spend two weeks in Santa Catarina
and then return to Rio de Janeiro to help my brother Rogério
to get ready for Middleweight GP, which happens in April. I also
believe I must be fighting in April," he concluded.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something
you want done because he wants to do it."
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1890-1969, 34th President of the United
Statests
|
MORE
HEAT BETWEEN BJ
PENN AND
TRIGG
 
Now that 2005 has crept up on us, this year promises to bring
the MMA world some highly anticipated and long overdue match-ups.
Tito Ortiz vs. Vitor Belfort comes to mind and is just around
the corner at UFC 51. It also looks like the paths of Fedor Emelianenko
and Mirko Filipovic “Cro Cop” will finally collide,
but what about those match-ups that haven't happened and don't
look like they are going to, like Frank Trigg vs. BJ Penn?
Last
week BJ Penn was a guest on MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio where UFC
welterweight number one contender Frank Trigg is co-host. Trigg
has been very vocal ever since Penn defeated Matt Hughes at UFC
46 that he wants to fight BJ. During the radio segment, the two
exchanged verbal jabs, but this fight is still nowhere close
to happening. The following is the exchange itself. To hear the
entire show, click on the radio archive.
It
all started when BJ Penn commented, "I mean, even if Frank
(Trigg) goes and wins the belt, then Frank would know that I'm
really the world champion, he's not....."
Ryan
Bennett: Let me ask you a loaded question. What about fighting
Frank Trigg in 2005?
Penn:
Anything is possible, you know what I mean. Anything is possible.
I'm sure that fight is going to happen one day, you know. I'm
sure it's going to happen. We'll just have to wait and see what
happens. I'm sure me and Frank are going to end up fighting before
our careers are done.
Bennett:
Trigg, how about that?
Frank
Trigg: I don't know why it didn't happen last year, but whatever.
Bennett:
Trigg, I sense a little anger Trigg.
Trigg:
No, not anger. I mean, it's just one of those fights that should
have happened a while ago. Especially after, you know, BJ beat
Matt. Of course, just being who I am, I automatically figured
that or anticipated that he and I should fight relatively soon
and it didn't happen in 2004. So, it's going to have to be 2005,
but it's one of those deals where I thought it should have been,
that he and I should have fought. BJ and I should have fought
relatively quickly but then, things happen with the UFC, the
breakup between Penn's camp and the UFC camp. He went a different
way. I stayed with the UFC and that's just the way it works so
hopefully in '05 it will come together where we end up banging
heads a little bit.
Penn:
As soon as that fight happens, Frank's career is done. You know
what I mean? You might want to push it back to 2006, you know
what I mean, so just think about it for a little bit.
Trigg:
There's nothing for me to think about. I'll be happy to hand
you out an ass kicking and buy you a drink after.
The
conversation turned to BJ's contract with K-1 and Trigg's contract
with the UFC. Trigg is currently in negotiations to resign with
the UFC and Penn has one more fight under his K-1 contract but
isn't contractually prohibited from fighting in the UFC or his
own promotion of Rumble on the Rock. As the interview neared
it's end, Trigg shifted the focus back to a fight between the
two of them.
Trigg:
Quit ducking me. You are the only guy in the industry who has
his own promotion that can afford to get any fighter they want.
Yet, we still haven't fought.
Penn:
Man.
Trigg:
Quit ducking me.
Penn:
It will happen Frank, don't worry.
Trigg:
I'm not worried. A little nervous but not worried.
Penn:
You're a little nervous and not worried?
Trigg:
Of course. You've got to be a little nervous before a fight.
Otherwise, you get hurt, real bad.
Penn:
Be very afraid Frank.
Trigg:
I'm not scared of anybody but my daddy....Our fight will probably
be the fight of the year; whenever it is, whether it's next year
or he keeps running until '06. Either way, it will probably be
the fight of that year for sure.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Rickson
reproves Pernambuco skills
Spending few days in Brazil, Lúcio Pernambuco - who illustrated
TATAME#96 - came from United States and ended visiting TATAME'S
office bringing a bronze medal in his backpack. After spending
a two months season into Rickson Gracie's house, in Los Angeles
and three other months training with Raw Team (Rico Chiparelli),
Pernambuco reveals that his dream to fight at Pride had to be
postponed due to his bad ground skill.
-
When I went to live with Rickson, the idea was fighting at Pride
as soon as possible. However Rickson though I had a great BJJ
level. He said: 'I will not fool around with you. You still have
a lot to learn about Jiu-Jitsu and your hip is not flexible.
But if you do learn 20% of my Jiu-Jitsu, considering your fight
experience in life, you have everything to be a real champion."
I've learned a lot with him. After I left his place I won at
Grapplers Quest and rolled with BJJ black belts in Recife and
São Paulo. Nobody submitted! - Pernambuco celebrated.
Now he departs to US next January 24.
-
I'm going to train with Ricardo Santos (Carlson Gracie's black
belt) and I will spend around two weeks in San Francisco. After
that I will spend one month training with Carlson in Chicago.
Carlson is such a Jiu-Jitsu wizard for me. I believe he will
give the last push to step inside Pride or Ultimate - BJJ purple
belt declared.
Source:
Tatame
|
MONTE
TALKS PULVER, CLOSE DECISIONS, YELLOW CARDS, AND MORE....
MMAWeekly
spoke with manager/promoter Monte Cox recently about Jens Pulver's
loss to Takanori Gomi at Pride Shockwave on New Year's Eve. Cox
also commented on the controversial decision in the Wanderlei
Silva and Mark Hunt fight, and gave a rather candid opinion on
the frequent hand out of yellow cards during the event.
Monte
accompanied Jens to Japan and about the fight, Monte said, "In
meeting with Pride and stuff, Pride has a whole different philosophy
than the UFC and they point that out over and over again. They
kept telling Jens and Gomi, they just said we want an exciting
fight. We want you guys to go at it. We don't want you to, you
know, we don't want any stalling and they were going to put them
9th on the card. You know, 9th out of 11. This is their biggest
show of the year and here are two lightweights fighting 9th.
It's a heck of a sendoff for that new division. By the time Jens
and Gomi got on, the K-1 show was already over so everybody was
watching Pride so they got seen by millions and millions of people.
The Pride people were tickled to death. I would have liked to
have seen the result go the other way, but I'm not at all upset
with the intensity that they fought with. Pretty much everyone
thought it was one of the best fights of the night."
Going
more in detail about the bout, Cox commented, "Gomi, that
was just an amazing performance. I didn't think Jens fought that
poorly. I thought he showed a nice jab. He landed his left two
or three times but, he didn't chase him around the ring trying
to land the left. He just said it's the first time that someone
has stood and punched with him that actually hurt him. The right
hands and the jabs actually hurt Jens, and Jens doesn't get hurt
much. He's one of those guys who can take everything and give
it back."
"We
figured Gomi would come out and try to take him down which he
did. We also figured that he wouldn't be able to take him down
which he couldn't. And, at that point, he'd have to stand with
him. Basically after two takedown attempts, Gomi gave up. He
wasn't going to get Jens off his feet. Jens is an awful good
wrestler and really good at scrambles and such. It's just going
to be really hard for Gomi to take him down. What we didn't expect
was Gomi would stand so successfully. Really, the whole fight
went exactly like we would have diagrammed it with the exception
of Gomi landing a lot of more punches on Jens and Jens' punches
not having the effect we thought they would," said Monte.
Pulver
has been competing at 143 lately and had to make the jump to
fighting at 160 in Pride. Gomi had a considerable weight advantage
come fight time and Cox felt like it was a big factor in the
fight. Monte stated, "People say, oh I don't want to hear
about the weight difference. Well, there was a legitimate weight
difference. Jens moved up a division and a half. You know, he
goes from 143 and now he's fighting at 160.6. It's a heck of
a jump. It's not like we planned this for a year so we could
get ready. We found out about two month ahead of time and Jens
put on as much real weight as he could. He got up to 158 and
that's what he weighed for the fight, you know, was 158. Gomi,
by his own admittance, he told us he was 180 and had to cut.
By fight night, he was at least 175. He's a big guy and it definitely
made a difference."
Cox
was in no way making an excuse for Pulver's loss. He was simply
stating the weight difference played a factor. He went on to
say, "There is nothing we can do about that because that
is the weight class that Jens is going to be fighting in. He
just needs to keep working on gaining weight. Hopefully by the
tournament in March, he'll become, you know, by fight night he'll
165 or 167 and he'll start growing into the division."
The
two decisions of the night that have been debated ever since
are the Dan Henderson vs. Yuki Kondo and Wanderlei Silva vs.
Mark Hunt decisions. Monte gave his opinion on both of them.
First he addressed the Silva/ Hunt fight. Monte said, in his
opinion, "I think Hunt won." Cox explained, "I
just thought he did that major damage. He was the one that did
all the damage. I think Silva did a lot of positioning. He got
takedowns. He got the mount, but he didn't do much with it. I
just think Hunt had Silva falling all over the place." Cox
added, "I just thought that Hunt did the damage. I mean
he had Silva hurt several times. I mean, that's what it's about
is damage. And, you know, I thought Wanderlei, the guy can take
a shot and keep going but, I don't think he can get credit for
almost getting knocked out but staying in the game."
About
how the fight was scored, Monte said, "I talked to Matt
Hume afterward and I said, on this judging, what does the weight
difference mean and he said, there was nothing on the card to
give any weight toward the different weight.....It did say in
the rules that, that was one of the criteria, but Matt Hume said
it wasn't on the card so it wasn't considered."
Monte
went on to say that since the Ricco Rodriguez and Nogueira bout,
Pride has taken the weight difference away from being a big deal
and made it just a small mention on their rules. Matt Hume told
Monte, "The only thing you get now, out of being a smaller
guy, is you can decide whether or not to allow knees to the head
on the ground. That's your choice. If you're the smaller guy,
you can say no to that."
Since
the Pride show, the biggest controversy has been the many yellow
cards handed out by the Pride referees. Monte didn't hold anything
back in voicing his opinion on the issue. Monte said, "Those
things are crazy...Their rule right now is, there is absolutely
no stand-ups. OK, there are none. The only way you can get a
stand-up is to give a yellow card. So, if two guys are busting
their ass and they get into a stalemate, they'll give them both
a yellow card and stand them up."
Monte
added, "It's complete bullshit. I mean it sucks. How do
you take, Henderson, it's been documented how sick he was and
I can vouch for that. I'm not on his team but he was sick as
a dog. He's out there fighting for his life and fighting well
and they take like a 30 second break and they throw a yellow
card on him. I'm like, that's just retarded. You just can't throw
them around like that. It's a lot of money. They probably saved
200,000 dollars that way."
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Western
Canada "News and Notes"
by Kelsey Mowatt
This
is the first in a series of regular columns where Western Canada's
mixed martial arts scene will receive in-depth coverage. The
column will report on the region's upcoming events and card results,
and will contain pre- and post-fight interviews from Western
Canada's fighters, promoters, and trainers. We hope to bring
Sherdog readers all the news from one of North America's fastest
growing mixed martial arts communities. This inaugural edition
highlights the busy upcoming spring fight card schedule and features
big news from top-10 world ranked middleweight, Denis Kang.
Denis
Kang to Join American Top Team
Epic
MMA fighter Denis Kang announced he will be moving to Florida
this month to join the American Top Team. Kang, whose MMA record
now stands at 18-7-1, is undefeated in 12 consecutive fights,
including numerous victories in South Korea's Spirit MC event
and, most recently, a win over Alexei Veselovzorov at Russia's
M-1 card in December. Kang is looking forward to the move and
feels the change will be a positive one.
"I
think this will definitely help bring me to another level,"
Kang told Sherdog.com. "This year will a big year, I expect
to be fighting in some big shows soon."
Kang,
a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, will also continue to represent
his instructor, Professor Marcus Soares.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Press:
Mirko compliments Werdum
A Brazilian had full reason to celebrate the December 31's nightmare
in Japan. Training Jiu-Jitsu with Croatian Mirko Cro Cop, BJJ
world champion Fabrício Werdum saw his pupil submitting
Kevin Randleman and also received the credits for the victory.
-
I have been training BJJ with one of the better BJJ fighters
nowadays: Fabrício Werdum. Now I feel I have chances on
the ground and every time I feel comfortable with it I will look
for a submission. - guaranteed during a press conference after
the bout.
Source:
Tatame
|
New
black belt over Brazilian MMA
Since December, Chute Boxe hás a new Muay Thai black belt.
It's Maurício Shogun, Murilo Ninja's Young brother and
Pride veteran. Getting ready to start a seminar tour in United
States, Shogun was graduated by Master Rafael Cordeiro. The ceremony
was held at Chute-Boxe academy, during the Storm Muay Thai trial
for February. The competition featured two fight zones and almost
40 athletes.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"It's not what you take but what you leave behind that defines
greatness."
Edward Gardner, American Businessman and Founder of Soft Sheen
Products
|
BLOODLINE
Presents
PUNISHMENT
IN PARADISE
"GAME TO THE END"
Saturday, January 22, 2005 Kapolei High Gym
BJ PENN's
MMA Team Debuts!
Sugar Shane Nelson (BJ Penn MMA, Hilo)
Vs.
Kaleo Kwon (Eastsidaz, Waimanalo)
SUMA Tournament Champion & P.I.P. Kickboxing Champion Kwon
who holds a 1-0 record will make his way back to MMA in a SHOOTO
sanctioned Bout versus "SUGAR Nelson". Nelson is a
member of BJ Penn's team who has a record of 2-0 and has a reputation
of BANGING with his opponents. Even though both fighters ha striking
abilities don't under estimate their ground skills.
Mike Justo (BJ Penn MMA, Hilo)
Vs.
Marcus Moreno (Bulls Pen, Kalihi)
Moreno a P.I.P. Kickboxing Champion that holds a 2-1 reocrd in
MMA will be taking on Mike Justo of BJ Penns Team. Justo is 1-0
and but will give it his all as he takes on Moreno.
Ticket Outlets
Ticket Prices $25.00 (Fan Appreciation Sale Til Jan 21, 2005)
Event day $35.00
Revolution Motor Sports (Honolulu, 539-9955)
En Fuego's Grill & Poke (Kapolei, 674-8805)
Matchmaker (Waianae, 620-5638)
John Kukahiko (Kailua, 351-4898)
Bulls Pen (Kalihi, 330-7108)
808 Fight Factory (Waipahu, 671-4140)
Animal House (Ewa Beach, 779-3237)
Source: Event Promoter
|
BLOODLINE
Presents
PUNISHMENT
IN PARADISE
"GAME TO THE END"
Sat, Jan 22, 2005 Kapolei High Gym
BJ PENN's
MMA Team Debuts!
Sugar Shane Nelson (BJ Penn MMA, Hilo)
Vs.
Kaleo Kwon (Eastsidaz, Waimanalo)
SUMA Tournament Champion & P.I.P Kickboxing Chmapion Kwon
who holds a 1-0 record will make his way back to MMA in a SHOOTO
sanctioned Bout versus "SUGAR Nelson". Nelson is a
member of BJ Penns team who has a record of 2-0 and has a reputation
of BANGING with his opponents. Even though both fighters has
striking abilitys don't underestimate their ground skills.
Mike Justo (BJ Penn MMA, Hilo)
Vs.
Marcus Moreno (Bulls Pen, Kalihi)
Moreno a P.I.P Kickboxing Champion that holds a 2-1 reocrd in
MMA will be taken on Mike Justo of BJ Penns Team. Justo is 1-0
and but will give it his all as he takes on Moreno
Ticket Outlets
Ticket Prices $25.00 (Fan Apperciation Sale Til Jan 21,05) Event
day $35.00
Revolution Motor Sports (Honolulu, 539-9955)
En Fuego's Grill & Poke (Kapolei, 674-8805)
Matchmaker (Waianae, 620-5638)
John Kukahiko (Kailua, 351-4898)
Bulls Pen (Kalihi, 330-7108)
808 Fight Factory (Waipahu, 671-4140)
Animal House (Ewa Beach, 779-3237)
Source: Event Promoter
|
VANDERLEI:
'MY FUTURE WITH PRIDE WILL BE REVIEWED'
Vanderlei Silva made an appearance at yesterday's All Japan kickboxing
event in Tokyo, Japan.
When
asked by the Japanese media about his contract negotiations with
DSE/PRIDE, Silva commented that his future participation in PRIDE
will be reviewed.
Since
Silva is now a free agent, many insiders are saying that Chute
Boxe and Silva are positioning themselves to get a big money
contract from either DSE/PRIDE or K-1.
Inside
sources are saying that they expect Silva to re-sign with DSE/PRIDE
for a similar contract to the one Rulon Gardner and Hidehiko
Yoshida received, which is in the area of just over USD$350,000
per fight.
When
asked about Mark Hunt, Silva had only positive things to say,
adding that Hunt's punches were very strong.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
THREE
GRAND PRIX's
Most people have heard about about plans for the 160 pound Pride
Grand Prix. You can hear Jens Pulver refered to at the Pride
Post-Fight Press Conference. But MMAWeekly.com has learned that
not only is the 160 pound Grand Prix in the works, but there
is also a 185 lbs. Grand Prix being
talked about along with a 205 lbs. Grand Prix scheduled for 2005.
In
the 160 pound tournament you've probably heard some of the names
like Marcus Aurelio,Tetsuya Kawajiri, Jens Pulver, Buscape, Takanori
Gomi, Dokonjonosuke Mishima....
MMAWeekly.com
has heard that the 185 pound Grand Prix might include Ryo Chonan,
Murilo Bustamante, Jeremy Horn, Anderson Silva, Kikuta, Sakuraba,
and others.
The
205 pound Grand Prix is rumored to feature of course the heart
of the divison like Wanderlei Silva, Ricardo Arona, Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson, Dan Henderson, Yuki Kondo, and possibly Vitor Belfort,
whose contract is up with the UFC after his fight with Tito Ortiz.
Speaking
of Wanderlei Silva, of course Pride will be working hard to re-sign
him for future fights especially for the Grand Prix, but as we
mentioned K-1 would also like to have a guy like Silva as well.
What about the UFC you ask?
MMAWeekly.com contacted UFC President Dana White yesterday and
this is a brief statement told to MMAWeekly. "We are interested
in Wanderlei Silva and Minotauro Nogueira".
It's
not known what the asking price would be to try to get Silva
and Noguiera to the UFC, but in a bidding war between the three
biggest companies in MMA, you know it wouldn't be cheap.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
José
Mário Sperry
By Eduardo Ferreira and Alexandre Lobo
Brazilian Top Team leader José Mário Sperry was
by Rodrigo Minotauro's corner last December 31, when Brazilian
got defeated by Russian Emelianenko Fedor at Pride Shockwave.
Now in Brazil, Zé Mário explains what did happen
inside the four ropes. Now Zé Mário reveals the
mistake of Minotauro's strategy and about other issues as dealing
with Pride and what does represent Minotauro's loss to BTT. Check
out the full interview bellow:
Tell
me about the tactic you guys set up to Minotauro before the bout.
Minotauro's
tactic was using his Boxing a lot. When the first round was over,
he was really disappointed. He didn't like at the entire first
round, but then he started to use his Boxing. During the third
round Fedor got tired and Minotauro got an advantage. If Minotauro
used the right strategy since the very first beginning, the result
would be different
What
went wrong?
Congratulations
to Fedor, who also presented a different strategy and surprised
us. At this time he avoided being into Minotauro's guard. He
punched, took down and returned on the feet.
There
was something wrong in his training?
We
cannot blame on anybody. Fedor did a great job. But I do think
we may improve his Wrestling. We had Darrel Gohlar as trainer,
and today we have Jefferson Teixeira. We need to work on it.
Minotauro
must be pissed of with Fedor. Does he want to face him one more
time?
Of
course Rodrigo wants to fight Fedor. He is the man everybody
wants.
How
is dealing with Pride?
I
don't have information about the dealing, but I think Minotauro
might stay with Pride.
And
now... tell me about Brazilian Top Team plans after this loss.
Team
work remains the same and does not change a thing. We are well
sponsored and titles will come out. Now we are focused on Vítor
Belfort. He will face Tito Ortiz at UFC and we are also taking
good care of some athletes that will join Pride GP's card under
93kg.
Source:
Tatame
|
David
Terrell to Meet Evan Tanner for UFC World Middleweight Title,
Feb. 5
Tickets Now On Sale for UFC 51: Super Saturday
Sylvia To Meet Arlovski For 'Interim' Heavyweight Title; Ortiz
to Battle Belfort inUltimate Fighting Championship Main Event
at Mandalay Bay
LAS
VEGAS – Middleweight David Terrell returns to the Octagon
Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Events Center
to fight veteran Evan Tanner for the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
World Middleweight title at UFC® 51: Super Saturday.
Tickets for the all-star, nine-fight card, $350, $250, $150,
$75 and $35, are now on sale at the Mandalay Bay Box Office (877-632-7400)
in Las Vegas, at all Ticketmaster locations, and on the internet
at www.ticketmaster.com and www.mandalaybay.com. To order tickets
by telephone call 877-880-0880 or 702-891-7777. Ticket purchases
are subject to transaction fees.
UFC® 51: Super Saturday will be available LIVE on pay-per-view
at 10 p.m. EST on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, TVN, Bell
ExpressVu and Viewers Choice Canada. The suggested retail price
is $29.95.
Terrell, called by many the greatest American submission grappler,
was impressive his last time in the Octagon Aug. 21 – perhaps
too impressive. The Santa Rosa, Ca. fighter (5-1-0 in mixed martial
arts) worked so fast in UFC 49: Payback!, he knocked out veteran
Matt Lindland in 25 seconds of the first round. Some critics
still believe he was more lucky than good. Terrell is out to
prove to those remaining critics that he is the best by winning
the UFC World Middleweight Championship.
But Tanner, from Gresham, Ore., will have plenty to say about
who wins the title. He is a veteran of 11 UFC fights, 36 MMA
matches and owns an impressive 32-4 record. Tanner is on a winning
streak. He defeated rising UFC star Robbie Lawler at UFC 50:
War of 04! in Atlantic City, NJ, with a triangle choke tap out
at 2:10 of the second round and won a unanimous decision over
always tough Phil Baroni at UFC 48: Payback in Las Vegas.
Six under card fights for UFC 51: Super Saturday also were announced
today:
Lawler (8-3-0) from Davenport, Iowa, will take on Long Island,
NY, native Baroni (5-4-0), who now lives in Las Vegas, Nev.,
in a middleweight bout.
David "The Crow" Loiseau (11-4-0) from Montreal, Canada,
and Joe Riggs (25-4-0) from Phoenix, AZ, will meet in another
middleweight bout. It will be Loiseau's third UFC fight, while
Riggs will step into the Octagon for the second time.
In heavyweight action, James Irvin (7-0-0) from Sacramento, CA,
will make his UFC debut against Mike Kyle (10-3-0) from San Jose,
CA, while Justin Eilers (9-2-1) from Davenport, Iowa, who stunned
UFC fans in his debut at UFC 49: Unfinished Business with a TKO
of Kyle, returns to the Octagon with a plan to do the same to
Paul Buentello (16-7-0) from Amarillo, Tx.
Nick Diaz (9-3-0) from Stockton, CA, and Drew Fickett (24-2-0)
from Tuscon, AZ, will meet in a preliminary welterweight bout.
It marks Diaz's fourth UFC fight. Despite his impressive won-loss
MMA record, this will be Fickett's UFC debut.
Karo Parisyan (20-3-0) from North Hollywood, Ca., and Chris Lytle
(30-10-4) from Indianapolis, Ind., will meet in a preliminary
welterweight bout.
The main event will be a fight that UFC fans have been waiting
more than three years to see. Tito "The Huntington Beach
Bad Boy" Ortiz will square off with Brazilian star Vitor
"The Phenom" Belfort. Also on the card is the "Interim"
Heavyweight Championship bout between Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski.
Ortiz (12-4-0) from Huntington Beach, Ca., will meet Belfort
(12-4-0) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in a bout that should have
taken place on Sept. 28, 2001 as the main event of UFC 33: Victory
in Vegas. But that fight had to be canceled when Belfort sustained
a serious right elbow injury while training. Vladimir Matyushenko,
a tough competitor, stepped in on short notice to replace Belfort,
but Ortiz was too strong and retained the UFC World Light Heavyweight
Championship by unanimous decision.
Sylvia (19-1-0) from Davenport, Iowa is determined to defeat
Arlovski (8-3-0) from Minsk, Belarus, to recapture the championship
he lost to Frank Mir his last time in the Octagon at UFC 48:
Payback! The fight ended 50 seconds into the first round when
Mir broke Sylvia's forearm. Being the warrior he is, Sylvia demanded
the fight continue. But TV replays left no doubt that Mir deserved
the title.
Mir subsequently suffered a broken leg in a motorcycle accident
in September 2004 and will not be able to defend his title for
several more months. Mir says he is recovering well and believes
his doctors will allow him to start training again soon.
Meanwhile, Sylvia and Arlovski are ready to fight for the "interim"
title, with the winner eager for an opportunity to face a healthy
Mir.
The Ultimate
FighterTM airs on Spike TV in
January
On TV this Jan. 17 watch for the premiere of UFC's reality show
The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. The 13-episode series, which
airs Monday nights at 11 p.m., is hosted by top recording artist
Willa Ford. The show will follow 16 athletes as they train, workout
and live together. The final four fighters will meet in championship
matches in a middleweight division and a light-heavyweight division
to determine who will win UFC contracts – LIVE on Spike
TV.
Source: Zuffa/UFC
|
BARONI
CHALLENGES BODYBUILDER
Phil Baroni issued out a challenge match to bodybuilder Craig
Titus in the latest issue of the bodybuilding magazine called
'Flex'.
Both
Baroni and Titus now live in Las Vegas, and have supposedly crossed
paths before.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
Chute-Boxe
team suffers another chop
Five days after seeing his major star being defeated at Pride,
Chute-Boxe suffers a new chop. One of the most import names of
the team, Sérgio Cunha leaves the Vale-Tudo team searching
for new goals. 17 years in Chute-Boxe, Cunha received his black
belt on the same time as Chute-Boxe's director Rafael Cordeiro
and he was the man behind the Japanese filial.
-
I'm 32 years old and I want to train top athletes. I'm leaving
Chute-Boxe and I still do not have defined plans. I want to do
things on my way now. I know I am capable of it and I am open
to new deals - Cunha explains. Besides being a Chute-Boxe trainer,
he was leading Shooto in Curitiba. "Nothing changes between
Shooto and I. I remain Toniko Jr's partner and we gonna keep
all of our plans. We have in mind to feature five shows per year
and Chute-Boxers are more than welcomed," said.
Team
leader, Rudimar Fedrigo lamented Sérgio Cunha's leaving
and wished good luck to former athlete. "I was surprised
by the notice. He is one of my oldest students. But each one
of them is free to choose their way," Rudimar said.
Source: Tatame
|
GROSSMAN
INSIDER:
COUTURE TO RETIRE NEXT YEAR
Randy Couture has signed a new 3-fight contract with the UFC.
Sources
close to Couture are saying that he will retire at the end of
this new contract, which will most likely be completed by next
year.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
MARTIAL
ARTS SHOW PICKS FIGHT WITH 'CONTENDER'
By DON KAPLAN
January 6, 2005 -- THE rabble-rousing pres ident of the Ultimate
Fighting Championship is slapping boxing aficionado Sylvester
Stallone across the face with a $5 million challenge.
Dana
White, who oversees the mixed martial arts fighting league and
its new Spike TV reality show, "The Ultimate Fighter,"
wants the winner of his series to fight the winner of Stallone's
boxing show, "The Contender."
"Boxing
is in shambles," White told The Post yesterday. "Back
in the day, whoever the heavyweight champ was, was considered
the baddest man on the planet, and that's just not the case anymore
- not by a long shot - and we're willing to put our money where
our mouth is."
The
proposed match would be televised on cable or pay-per-view or
held privately. "However they want it," White said.
NBC
officials, Stallone and "Contender" creator Mark Burnett
declined to comment yesterday.
On
"Ultimate Fighter," debuting Jan. 17, 16 contestants
will be split into teams. They will live and train together,
and ultimately fight in a Las Vegas bout live on Spike.
Fighters
will be ejected until only two fighters in separate weight classes
remain - and they'll be offered six-figure contracts with the
UFC.
On
"The Contender" - a new NBC series from reality show
guru Burnett, "Rocky" star Stallone, Jeffrey Katzenberg
and boxer Sugar Ray Leonard - 16 boxers square off each week
in the ring. Losers face elimination.
The
two finalists square off in the finale for a $1 million prize.
The
show is slated to debut Feb. 21.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
After
Pride, Anderson wants Grand Prix
Besides Rogério Minotouro, Ricardo Arona and Murilo Ninja,
who has an eye at Pride GP middleweight is Anderson Silva. Even
after being defeated by Japanese Ryo Chonan at Pride Shockwave
last December 31, Anderson guarantees Japanese audience really
liked his fight and his return is just a matter of time.
-
I believe I have great chances to fight Pride GP. Besides my
loss, I was winning the combat so far he caught my foot - Anderson
said. He also pointed a training fault. 'I was well trained on
the feet and on the ground. I've trained in Rio de Janeiro with
Minotauro, Murilo Bustamante and Zé Mário Sperry.
Here in Curitiba I also had amazing trains. I was in great shape.
However I paid my sins exchanging punches. I was supposed to
KO," stated.
Source: Tatame
|
MMA
Weekly's Interview with Rulon Gardner
In an MMAWeekly exclusive, Rulon Gardner answered questions for
the first time since returning from Japan victorious over Yoshida
in his Mixed Martial Arts debut. Ryan Bennett and Frank Trigg
ask the questions and Rulon answers everything from his thoughts
going to the ring to his frustration with receiving a yellow
card.
Ryan
Bennett: Rulon, thanks for joining us. I appreciate it.
Rulon
Gardner: My pleasure. Thanks for allowing me to come on and talk
about the fight.
Bennett:
Your first time in MMA. Rulon, before we get into the fight,
what is it like to stand in front of basically 50,000 people...At
least in wrestling, you know what you're doing. This fight, you
really don't know what's going to happen. What's going through
your mind right before the fight?
Gardner:
Well, watching the tape of him and Mark Hunt and, you know, Wanderlei,
all the way to Mr. Royce Gracie. I watched all those tapes where
he was very successful, had a very good strategy. I had a lot
of pressure on me and I just felt that, here was a chance to
go out and learn something about myself. Right before the bell
rang, I really questioned myself, why are you doing this? You
know, was this what you really want to do? I asked myself and
it was, you know, something that I really wanted to learn about
through my whole life and my whole experience of developing as
an athlete, as a wrestler, as a person. It was a challenge I
took upon myself. And, you know, I questioned myself and I said,
you know, you stepped up and it's time to take the challenge,
go out and do your best and that's what we did.
Bennett:
Rulon, the thing that blew me away was you looked pretty comfortable.
I mean, it was your first MMA match and I was surprised at how
effective you were with Yoshida because Yoshida had been in there
with Wanderlei Silva. You know, he's been in there with some
of the better fighters. You fired that left handed jab that connected
at the beginning fight and that kind of set the tone. You seemed
like you wanted to stand up and strike with Yoshida, was that
the game plan?
Gardner:
That was. You know, Yoshida, what his strengths were is his grappling,
his submissions. You know, finding the wrist lock, the arm lock,
the key lock, all those submissions were his strengths and the
last thing I want to do is fight somebody and go right to their
strengths who have a lot more knowledge than me. We talked about,
you know, my striking ability and it would probably be a wise
decision to keep him on the feet and don't allow ourselves to
get into a situation where he could arm lock me and that's why
you heard the commentators talk about it last night. That is
exactly what I was prepared for and exactly the positions I was
trying to stay out of was getting into a dangerous position and
getting scored on and getting submitted. For me, I felt that
we followed the game plan right to a "T" and we ended
up winning the match.
Bennett:
(Frank) Trigg, let me ask you. When you see Rulon Gardner fight
and you hear him, that was the game plan, and for him to execute
it in his first fight. We've seen a lot of guys who can't execute
a game plan because they are so nervous and everything. That's
got to impress you Frank, as a fighter.
Frank
Trigg: Hell yeah. I'm one of those guys who can't execute my
game plan. I mean, I do it all the time. I go into it with an
idea and I've had tons of fights. Rulon's had one fight and he
shows up and sticks to his game plan the entire time. It was
incredibly impressive and it just goes to tell you, if anyone
really knows Rulon's life story, this is typical of what he does
on a day by day basis. For him, this is what he does. He goes
out there and says what he is going to do and does it, everyday.
Bennett:
Rulon, you go through this fight, you land some stiff shots.
Yoshida tried to work some things in this match. Did you feel
in danger at all at any point in this fight?
Gardner:
Well, after the first combination where I hit him with that first
jab and I put him on his back, I waited for basically a good
three or four minutes trying to loosen him up and find weaknesses.
At that point, I was just afraid of the one big shot because
I've never been truly hit by anybody and he caught me with two
pretty good shots. One overhand right and one right hook and
those landed. I questioned myself and, I said, you're fine. Keep
going and keep the pressure on him. No mistakes. Go out there,
trade just like you have prepared. Go out, execute the things
that you trained and you'll be successful. We didn't want to
lose focus of that because you can go through life fearing something
or you can go through life prepared for it, take it on and defeat
it. I think that's the same way with wrestling as in Mixed Martial
Arts.
Bennett:
Rulon, let me ask you. Your family has always supported you but,
let me ask you about this. What did they think when you told
them you were going to fight MMA?
Gardner:
My family kinda looked at me like, are you crazy? You know, you've
done all this wrestling. You've done grappling. You've been through
all these years of experiences. You retired from the sport. Why
do you want to do this? I think a lot of my family didn't understand
what I was trying to do as a person. I took it as a personal
challenge for by myself to go out there and learn something that
I had never known before and that's what I did. I think my family,
they respected me for it but, they also questioned me for why
I was doing it. I don't think any of them truly understand what
I was trying to prove to myself, not a monetary value, not going
out there for awards or accolades. I was going out there for
myself, to go out there and execute a game plan and learn about
myself. When I had to come down to it, if I'm ever in a fight,
could I trust myself and I got the answer. The answer was yes
and I'm that much more confident about who I am as an individual
now because of, I think, this weekend.
Bennett:
Rulon, did you parents change their mind once they saw you fight?
Gardner:
I think, my dad, I don't think he actually seen my fight last
fight. He's down in Reno. My mom, I know she didn't get to see
it so, I'm going to go and show it to them today but, I think
they're going to be a little shocked. I think they're going to
be a little apprehensive when they see, you know, me bleeding
out of the mouth. People have to understand that this is something
that I chose to do. I think that's the thing about it is, it's
just two individuals who took it as a sports challenge to go
out there and be the best fighter Mixed Martial Arts athlete
out there and that's exactly what we did. We went out there and
we prepared like it was the last match, the only match of my
career That's the way I looked at it was, it's a chance for me
to go out there and execute a game plan and we did.
Trigg:
Rulon, I know you life story because, as you came up through
wrestling, you were always ahead of me in age, kind of in rank.
So, I know about the teasing and being the little short fat kid
and, no one ever really giving you a chance and you always proving
everybody wrong. Once again, even in this fight, I didn't pick
you to win. I picked Yoshida to win because of the experience
level and we've known each other for probably ten or thirteen
years. You once again come through, like you always did, with
just your mental attitude and your work ethic just always seems
to shine. When is the movie of the week coming out about Rulon
Gardner? I mean, your story is better than any other story I
see out there every week on TNN, Spike and FOX. When is Rulon's
story coming out?
Gardner:
Well, that's what we're actually trying to work on right now.
We've talked about coming out with a book deal. We are looking
at finalizing the book and getting that out there on the stands
and having people hopefully embrace that and enjoy the book.
Hopefully the movie deal will be coming down the pipeline, you
know, come out next year. It's all about what people want to
hear. Some of the stories of my life, people are like, no, that's
too far fetched. You know, it didn't happen to you. It's too
amazing. Like my sprint to the world and winning the gold medal,
winning the bronze this year. All those experiences is another
story, another chapter of my experiences and, I think, you know,
people. It's all about understanding and truly enjoying and loving
life. Hopefully people will want to see that and hear the experience.
I go around talking to church groups, to schools, to cooperate
speaking occasions. I do a lot of motivational speaking and that's
what I talk about is the preparation for life and going out there
and dealing with what life gives you and accepting it and being
successful with it. You know, let nothing stand in your way between
you and what your ultimate goal is. I think with hard work and
determination, any dream comes true with the right frame of mind.
Bennett:
There were some things that I know you weren't happy about the
fight. One of those things, the yellow card. I haven't even got
into my tirade about how absurd the yellow cards were this weekend
at these fights. I mean, not only your fight but, Anderson Silva
got a yellow card. I was like, you've got to be kidding me. I
mean, the yellow card was used so many times in such inopportune
times. It was a joke. Let me ask you. I know you weren't happy
about it and you're still not happy about it.
Gardner:
When you think about it, there's two athletes choosing to go
out there and strike hand to hand. If one individual runs from
one individual, that is stalling. That deserves a yellow card.
For what I was going through, I just stood up in the third period,
me and Yoshida. I think ultimately what they said was, you know
what, they're not going for a knock out punch. They're not going
to knock each other out so we'll just use the yellow card. We're
going to take 10% of their earnings and between me and Yoshida,
that's quite a chunk of cash. I mean, Dan Henderson, it hadn't
been said but, Dan Henderson had a 102 temperature the day of
the fight. He was back there with an IV before the fight. They
took his IV out, he went out and fought, went back and got an
IV put back in. He was absolutely sick, went out and fought,
won his match and they still yellow carded him. It's kind of,
almost an insult. You know, you're trying to give us an opportunity
to make money and we're given an opportunity to enhance the sport
but you don't think we are trying to hurt each other enough.
It's kind of ironic and kind of insulting to hear them say that.
It's in the heat of a battle. You look at the third round and
I had landed like four or five jabs already. I went for three
or four big right hands. I was working exactly my game plan.
You know, if I got him into the ropes, get him into the ropes,
try and loosen him up, knock him out, knock him down. Just get
him into a position that I could win the match and I wasn't going
to lose my game plan. That's what we get paid to do is go out
and fight and that was our strategy. They almost penalize you
for your strategy.
Bennett:
That comes out of your purse right? They take 10% of your purse?
Gardner:
It's 10%, automatic, right off the top. So, you know, you have
no choice about it. You go out and spend two or three years training
for the opportunity to go and fight and a lot of these guys don't
make much money as is when they start and 10% right off the top,
that hurts man. You've got bills to pay and everything else.
You know, where I started, it's just like, you know, is this
fair? Is it right? Is it truthful? Was there truly an effective
person looking at it and saying, OK, where you stalling? Not
really. If you look at it, after our yellow cards, we had two
or three flurries but that was the way the match had gone the
whole time. To throw the yellow card up, it didn't enhance the
match. All it really did was save them 10% of what they had to
pay out.
Bennett:
It was ridiculous. There were a few times, like I said, that
was just, I mean, it was absolutely unbelievable what was going
on. I can understand being upset because I was shocked when I
saw it a few times during the night. It was crazy.
Trigg:
I'm still just in awe and impressed with the way he fought and
how he went about it. I mean, I'm just absolutely amazed to see
Rulon go from Grecco, strictly Grecco, only Grecco and, in one
fight, basically beat the new poster child on the scene.
Bennett:
Rulon, let me ask you . So you got through this fight. You win
the fight. I remember hearing an interview awhile back that you
said you weren't sure where you'd go with this. Do you want to
fight again in Pride?
Gardner:
Well, that's one of the things. They offered us one fight up
to three fights. What ever I want to do and, the offers on the
table. Right now, I want to sit back and talk to Team Quest,
Dan Henderson, all those people and sit down and look at what
our ultimate long term goals are. I think right now, I'll take
a week or so off and get over those leg kicks. He put a real
nice bruise on the inside of my left thigh and it's still really
sore. I'm just going to take a few days off and talk to Dan Henderson
and look at the future. There is so much opportunity. There are
so many things that I want to do with my life and I want to sit
down and try to allocate the time and do it to the best of my
ability. I think that's what I'm going to do over the next month.
What ever the involvement, I met so many great people training
out in San Diego with Dean Lister, Ken Shamrock, Randy Couture,
Dan Henderson, all the guys at Team Quest. These guys are absolutely
some of the nicest and well rounded individuals I've ever met.
Whatever aspects, if I don't fight, if I do, these are people
I can call my friends....Everybody after the fight was hugging
each other and giving each other accolades and that's exactly
what I think this sports world is all about. A lot of people
don't see that and I want to get back involved with fighting
or if it's just being a friend to the sport. It will be amazing
to see it continue to pull and get bigger and stronger.
Bennett:
Rulon, I tell you what. It was an amazing performance by you.
You are a friend to the sport. You were very impressive. I know
you are a great spokesperson. I've heard a few interviews with
you leading up to the fight and now that you've experienced a
fight, what was the most surprising thing about your MMA experience?
Gardner:
Probably the personal challenge of going out there and choosing
to go out there and strike somebody. That experience right there,
I think just the control that these individuals have because
I started six weeks ago. Never thrown a punch before in my life
and you go from there to go in and win this match against Yoshida
was just a eye opening experience for me.
Bennett:
Hey Rulon, congratulations. Awesome performance. Trigg and I
have talked about it. We were just both amazed by your performance.
Outstanding stuff and, we do hope to see you again fighting again
soon.
Gardner:
I appreciate it and I hope so too. I want to talk about it. There's
just so many opportunities that I want to do. I want to stay
involved in the sport of wrestling. I'm going out and training
with the Grecco team this week in Colorado Springs. I want to
be a part of that experience because that sport taught me so
much about who I was and I think I can take it to the future
and make it a bigger and better thing with wrestling and get
more wrestlers involved with Mixed Martial Arts. I think you'd
have many more co-champions in the sport of wrestling.
Bennett:
By the way, real quick. Did those guys watch it? Did they watch
the fight?
Gardner:
They did last night. A lot of guys were pretty impressed and
so I kind of let them know, you know, if I come into practice
and they start whooping up on me, I'm going to give them a jab
or a strike. Whatever it takes now you know.
Bennett:
Rulon, thanks again. It's a pleasure to talk to you.
Gardner:
You too. Have a good day and thanks for allowing me to come on
and be part of this great sport.
Bennett:
Take care.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory,
or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between
what you do know and what you don't."
Anatole France, 1844-1924, French Novelist |
NEW
YEAR RATINGS WAR RESULTS
Below are the results for the Japanese ratings war on December
31st. It lists the top 5 most-watched shows on that night (Courtesy
of Video Research Ltd. Co. Japan):
1.
NHK 'Kohaku' show: 35.0%
2. K-1 'Dynamite!!': 20.1%
3. PRIDE 'Shockwave': 14.5%
4. Nippon TV show: 9.5%
5. TV-Asahi 'TV Tackle' show with Beat Takeshi: 7.8%
Some
interesting notes are that K-1 and PRIDE took the number 2 and
3 spots respectively, and both increased their ratings from last
year's showing.
The
NHK show, which always wins the ratings war on December 31st,
showed a decrease from last year's ratings by up to 5.0%. A sign
that MMA has won out a solid portion of the viewership on New
Year's day.
Another
thing to note is that K-1 soundly beat PRIDE by double the viewership
when it went head-to-head in the 9:00-11:40 P.M. time slot. PRIDE's
rating dropped to 10.8 during the head-to-head battle, meaning
that they lost half their viewership to the K-1 show.
The
9:00-11:40 P.M. time slot is the one that is most important to
advertisers.
Source: Fight Sport
|
BAS
RUTTEN: "SILVA WON IN MY OPINION"
Bas Rutten "El Guapo" appeared on MMAWeekly SoundOff
Radio Tuesday and talked about Pride's Shockwave New Year's Eve
event that took place over the weekend. Bas discussed all the
fights, including the impressive display of Rulon Gardner and
Fedor Emelianenko; as well as, the two controversial decisions
in the Dan Henderson vs. Yuki Kondo and Wanderlei Silva vs. Mark
Hunt bouts.
Cutting
through the fat, straight to the meat of the interview, when
Bas was asked who he thought won between Wanderlei Silva and
Mark Hunt, Rutten replied, "Wanderlei." "He got
hit, he went down. Right away he went for the arm bar. You know,
so he was still in a good state of mind, at least his reflexes
were there. I think, especially the last round was his. He got
all the takedowns, the aggression. Everything was pretty much
the same except he got all the takedowns and the weight difference,"
explained Rutten.
Bas
went on to say, "The best thing would have been a draw,
if you think about it later. I thought on all the cards they
were pretty much even....The rules say that if there is more
than a 10k difference then, how do you say, if it's a split decision,
it goes to the other one who's the lightest." He added,
"Why they score it, aggressiveness, he wanted to finish
the fight, the takedowns, all that stuff. The last one is the
10 kilo difference. I thought it was pretty similar. I thought
with the weight, he's (Wanderlei) going to get it."
About
Dan Henderson getting the split decision against Yuki Kondo,
Bas felt the decision was the right one. Rutten said, "Dan
won because he finished stronger and especially because Dan was
real sick....Aside from that, I just think he finished stronger
than Kondo did."
The
biggest story of the night, other than Wanderlei's loss, was
Rulon Gardner's win over Yoshida. Most everyone was impressed
with Rulon's performance, including Bas. Rutten commented, "He
(Rulon) never had a street fight in his life, never, nothing,
zero. So, for someone training six weeks of boxing, it's pretty
good."
About
Yoshida's loss, Bas said it's not so bad of a loss and, "It's
not so bad, with 70 pounds weight difference. You know, Rulon's
a big guy. I don't think so; especially, in Japan. They let you
live a little bit longer."
Fedor
Emelianenko defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the second
time and received two titles for his efforts. He retained his
Pride Heavyweight Championship and sealed the deal on the Pride
Heavyweight Grand Prix title. Nogueira seems to be able to beat
anyone except Fedor. Rutten stated, "He (Fedor) changes
his game plan. He comes back and he fights different which it
makes for a very unpredictable fighter. He does everything so
good. Every submission attempt from Nogueira, it's like Nogueira's
telling him he's going to do it. He's out before it's even on.
I don't know, the guy's just real good."
Mirko
"Cro Cop" Filipovic got revenge against Kevin Randleman
and with the win, Bas thinks it puts Mirko "way up there."
The long awaited match up between Mirko and Fedor should be just
on the horizon and Rutten said, "I think him and Fedor should
be a real good match."
Further
commenting on the possible match up between Mirko and Fedor,
Bas said, "I think Cro Cop has a real good chance to win
that fight because styles make matches and I really think this
is one for Cro Cop. I think he's the crisper striker. Although
I think, of course, Fedor hits harder. I think Fedor is so very
good, it's a difficult one. I think Cro Cop's going to be a better
striker."
To
hear what "El Guapo" had to say about the rest of the
fights, like Ryo Chonan's submission win over Anderson Silva,
click on the radio archive. Bas is always worth the time to take
a listen.
If
you can't catch the show live for free, then just click on the
Radio archives and you will be able to listen to the entire interview
at your convience, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's part of
our MMAWeekly Premium Package at mmaweekly.com
Source: MMA Weekly |
PRIDE'S
FREE AGENT BATTLE
After
the New Year's Eve show, Pride will now have to worry about a
bidding war with a few of their free agents. There are three
major free agents Pride will want to sign, but the big question
is whether K-1 will swoop in and have a bidding war to try to
grab them.
The
key free agents? Minotauro Noguiera, Vanderlei Silva and Hidehiko
Yoshida. Yoshida coming off a loss to Rulon Gardner may not seem
like a huge name for MMA fans in the States; however, he has
been a decent ratings draw and both Japanese promotions know
it.
Vanderlei
Silva was so upset with the judges about losing the split decision
to Mark Hunt that he has threatened to leave Pride for K-1. Don't
look for Vanderlei to go anywhere as he is one of the franchise
pieces for Pride.
Minotauro
Noguiera has some decisions to make. The man he can't seem to
conquer is Emelianenko. Fedor has Nogueira's number which makes
people wonder what Minotauro will do regarding this situation.
Will
Pride be able to sign all three free agents? Time will tell,
but if they can't then the landscape could change quickly in
MMA.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not
an act but a habit."
Aristotle,BC 384-322, Greek Philosopher
|
Attention
CGJJ Students
If you did not receive an email from us in the last day or two,
please shoot us an email so we have your email address in our
address book.
Thanks! |
2005
Hawaii State/Regional Championships
The 2005 Hawaii State/Regional Championships will be held at
the E-Club on the Kaneohe Marine Base on Jan. 14th and 15th.
Jan. 16th if needed. Tournament is single elimination. Winners
advance to the U.S. Championships at the U.S. Olympic Training
Center in Colorado Springs, CO. on March 13th to the 20th, and
will select the USA-Elite Team to the AIBA World Cup in Moscow,
Russia and the World Championships in Mianyang, China as well
as other monthly International Duels. Defending Champions expected
to compete are 119lbs Adam Rodrigues, 141lbs- Jeffrey Pelen Jr.,
152lbs- Brent Rodrigues, 165- Zach Illarazza, 178- Chris Downs,
201- Ryan Bolen, and 201+- Tinei Su'a. Also Nationally Ranked
Samson Guillermo (6) and Van Oscar Penovaroff (8) will be competing.
Admission will be charged at the door.
For more info. contact USA-Boxing Hawaii President Ralph Martin
at 306-7654.
Start
times are scheduled at 7:15 p.m. on Friday Jan 14th
and 7:00 p.m. on Saturday Jan 15th (possibly Jan 16th if needed)
Door charge to be determined.
Where: E-Club on Kaneohe Marine Corps Base
If
you have any ?? email me or call me at 808-542-1181 cell. Thank
You for your time.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Bruce Kawano, USA-Boxing Hawaii Junior Olympic President, Board
of Dir./Gov., National Coaches Committee Board Member. |
BLOODLINE
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They will be signing FREE autographs PLUS bring your camera and
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BIG MAHALO TO OUR SPONSORS
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|
GROSSMAN
INSIDER: PRIDE LIGHTWEIGHT GP NEWS
SHOOTO
welterweight champ Tetsuya Kawajiri is going to jump to PRIDE
to participate in the upcoming PRIDE Lightweight Grand Prix that
is being planned for this year.
Other
fighters that will also appear in the lightweight GP are Takanori
Gomi, Jens Pulver, D. Mishima, Luis 'Buscape' Firminho, and Marcus
Aurelio.
Source: Fight Sport
|
GRACIE
VS. SAPP POSSIBILITY
Sources
within the Japanese media are saying that a matchup between a
Gracie and Bob Sapp is possible for 2005, possibly even on the
next K-1 New Year show at the end of the year.
The
Gracie that may face Sapp would be either Royce or Rickson.
Source: Fight Sport
|
Quote
of the Day
"We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not
an act but a habit."
Aristotle,BC 384-322, Greek Philosopher
|
Royce
Gracie: A Victorious Return
Fans of legendary Jiu-Jitsu master Royce Gracie witnessed the
return of the submission artist when he defeated former Sumo
Yokozuna Akebono via wristlock just 133 seconds into round one
at K-1-Dynamite in the Osaka Dome in Japan on December 31st.
Gracie,
who was making his K-1 debut, had been off exactly one year to
the day when he faced his opponent, who outweighed him by 305
pounds. Though Royce has become accustomed to fighting bigger
opponents, this was the heaviest fighter he had ever stepped
in and gone toe-to-toe with.
The
two faced off and then went crashing to the canvas with Gracie
on the bottom of 484 pounds of flesh. Akebono was unable to mount
a sturdy hold on Gracie though, and was forced to shift his weight.
That prompted the veteran Gracie to go to work and finally get
a wristlock on his oversized opponent, who submitted shortly
thereafter.
After
months of allegations and disputes over Gracie’s contract
with PRIDE, the first ever UFC champion was just glad to be back
to fighting. In a candid interview Max Fighting conducted with
the legend, Royce gives his thoughts on his latest win, his ongoing
dispute with DSE and his future in the sport.
Benny
Henderson Jr. - First Royce I would just like to congratulate
you on your victory over Akebono at the K-1 Premium Dynamite
2004.
Royce
Gracie - Thank you very much. This was the biggest challenge
of my life to date. To be honest with you, I do not know what
can be done beyond this. I told K-1 that the next opponent they
will have to fly in from Mars.
BH
- Was this your biggest opponent to date, and how hard was it
to work under the 484 pounds that he had on you?
RG
- It was not easy. But I have been training for him. The fight
is won in the training camp. I believe that if you train with
the right strategy, the fight night is just execution. Things
can still go wrong and no one knows how the fight is going to
go, but if you are prepared and have a strong game plan, you
have better chances. Akebono was using his weight very well,
and was trying to put pressure on me, however part of my training
was to have guys just lay on me for up to 5-6 minutes so that
I can get used to the weight. So the training paid off.
BH
- It was exactly a year ago since your last bout, which was a
draw against Yoshida at PRIDE-Shockwave 2003 and about four years
since your last victory. How did it feel to get the W?
RG
- Well you know, the W is just what goes on the record. I do
not pay attention to that. For me the fight outcome is how I
feel about it. You know, when I beat Takada in the opening round
of Grand Prix back in 2000, it went as a W on my record, but
Takada did not come to fight and I was not very happy with the
win at all. However last year when I fought Yoshida, the fight
was a DRAW. I am not arguing that, but watch the fight, and tell
me what you think, you know what I mean. I was very happy that
I was able to submit Akebono because it showed me that my training
and strategy worked and that I was up to the challenge that I
took on when I signed up to fight him. W, whatever, that is just
for the records. I do not pay attention to that.
BH
- This was your K-1 debut, which was overshadowed by allegations
by Dream Stage Entertainment claiming they had rights over you
fighting in Japan. Can you speak on that matter at this point
and if so what is going on at this time with DSE and FEG and
Royce Gracie?
RG
- Well I cannot talk much about it, but this I can say. I did
nothing wrong. As of right now, there are no legal actions against
me that I am aware of. If they come at a later time, then I will
deal with them when they come. Right now I have a contract with
FEG/K-1 and they did a great job in this fight, I was very happy
with not only their arrangements, but also the promotion that
they gave me in Japan. So I am happy with FEG and for right now,
I will stay with them.
BH
- You stated in an open letter that Max Fighting posted up earlier
in December that you didn’t care who your promoter was.
So is there a chance you will be fighting once again in PRIDE
in the future and K-1 also?
RG
- That is up to the promoters to work out. I have no problem
fighting for whomever. You know, PRIDE or K-1 or UFC or whoever
new comes along. Right now I have a contract with FEG so if I
fight for someone else it will have to be worked out between
my manager and FEG and the promotion.
BH
- You have been battling much bigger guys almost throughout your
career. Do you just prefer to fight the much bigger opponents
to prove something to others or does it just work out that way?
RG
- I started out fighting without weight limits in the early UFC.
So a lot of promoters like the fact that I am not picky on the
weight; you know, it makes for interesting promotions. All my
matchups are done by the promoter; whoever they think will be
a good fight for the fans. So if they want me to fight someone
my own weight, that is fine with me if they think that it will
be good for the fans. I really do not care. But I guess the fans
want to see me fight heavier guys. But you know after this fight
with Akebono, I am not sure what else the promoter is going to
do, maybe have me fight two Sumo guys in the ring at the same
time (Laughs).
BH
- With all the pre fight hoopla with contract disputes and so
on did it ever hinder your training and mental state of mind?
RG
- Well you know it puts pressure on you. You try not to think
about it but at the same time you are in the middle of training
for the hardest fight of your life, and every day you get served
with new papers from the courts and you know it puts pressure
on you. I tried to ignore it and have the lawyers and my management
deal with it, but to say it did not have any effect on me would
be untrue. However I am a professional fighter, and part of that
is to be disciplined and concentrate on your task and mine was
to defeat Akebono, so I stayed focused and trained.
BH
- You have now fought in UFC, PRIDE and K-1, which did you like
competing in the best, and who would you prefer to fight under
in the future?
RG
- Well you know, each organization was an experience. When I
fought for the UFC it was just starting out, you know it was
different then now. I liked fighting for Pride, they have always
treated me right. But K-1, I like their fight promotions. You
know, with Pride I was always portrayed in Japan as the bad guy,
it was always Brazil vs. Japan for every fight. So every fight
was like if Royce Gracie wins, then the sun will not come out
the next day. (Laughs) With FEG/K-1 they recognize the fact that
I am a professional fighter, and have nothing against Japan.
Also it’s not Brazil vs. Japan, its one professional athlete
against the other. So I liked their promotion better. They promoted
the fight between me and Akebono as little guy vs. big guy, one
legend of the sport vs. another, and let’s see what happens,
not Royce is coming here to Japan to steal the sun, or take away
all the breathing air. (Laughs)
BH
- Is there a time line on when you will fight next?
RG
- Right now, I am taking a vacation with my family in Europe.
I have not been with them for the last three months with training.
Then I get back on a very busy seminar schedule. So I am not
looking too far into the future right now, I’m just trying
to deal with things that are on the plate already. Rodrigo and
Royler will be fighting soon at K-1 again, so I will be there
with them. I do have a multi fight contract with K-1 so we will
see what happens. I am not done yet. Do not count me out.
BH
- Is there anything you would like to add in closing?
RG
- I want to thank the K-1 organization for giving me this opportunity.
I want to thank all my fans all over the world for their support
for what has now been a 12-year career. I want to thank all my
coaches and training partners for their dedication and sacrifices
they have made helping me train for the fight. I want to thank
my family Royler, Rolker, Rodrigo for their support and for being
with me in Japan. I want to thank all the members of my family
for their calls and e-mails. Like I told Akebono after the fight,
I have a lot of respect for him. He stepped up to the plate and
into that ring; you know I have been doing this all my life,
I have a lot of respect for Akebono, he has a lot of heart. I
want to wish everyone happy new year. Lets have some fun in 2005.
Source: Maxfighting
|
GROSSMAN
INSIDER: HORN BACK TO PRIDE
Jeremy Horn
DSE/PRIDE
has given a verbal agreement to use Jeremy Horn in their promotion
next year.
Horn
will most likely participate in the PRIDE Middleweight Grand
Prix that is scheduled for this year.
Source: Fight Sport
|
LESNAR
IN TALKS WITH K-1 AND PRIDE
Brock Lesnar
Former
WWE superstar Brock Lesnar announced to the Japanese media that
he is interested in negotiations with K-1 and DSE/PRIDE.
Lesnar
is currently in Japan to watch the New Japan tomorrow night at
the Tokyo Dome.
Source: Fight Sport
|
Quote
of the Day
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory,
or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between
what you do know andn what you don't."
Anatole France, 1844-1924, French Novelist
|
ISLAND HEROES
Living aloha, every day
By Zenaida Serrano
Advertiser Staff Writer
While most Hawai'i
residents know the meaning of aloha — love, compassion,
charity and humility — few genuinely live it, day after
day.
We asked Advertiser
readers to nominate the heroes in their lives.
Without seeking
recognition, they live aloha, working selflessly so that others
know a better life.
Our Island Heroes
have devoted their lives to Hawai'i's deaf community and transformed
taro patches into cultural classrooms. They searched parks and
beaches to feed homeless people, even serenaded them in exchange
for a simple smile. And they offered guidance to underprivileged
youth — in the form of boxing gloves — promising them
a hopeful tomorrow.
Masa Nakaoka
Ex-boxer let Kalihi youths use gym, free
As a child growing
up in Palama Settlement, Joe Federico said he had many chances
to veer from the straight and narrow. Instead, he ended up training
too hard to mess up — at a Kalihi boxing gym.
Masa Nakaoka, 72, has been in the boxing business for 50 years
as a boxer, trainer, manager and promoter. He opened a gym in
Kalihi that has helped many youngsters, including 14-year-old
Boston Salmon of Wai'anae, above, stay off the streets and out
of trouble. gv
"It's a rough neighborhood," Federico said. "I
found out about this place through my friend and I've been boxing
ever since ... that's probably why I got off the streets, because
of boxing."
Former Big Island
amateur boxer, trainer and manager Masa Nakaoka, 72, established
the gym in the early 1980s. Nakaoka and his brother George, 70,
opened the facility to the area's youth, many of whom were from
Mayor Wright Housing, and never charged a penny.
"I was doing
OK as a (painting) contractor, so I had the extra money,"
said Liliha resident Masa Nakaoka, whose well-toned arms hint
of the mighty fighter he used to be. "I was a boxer who
came from a poor place, so I thought I'd give back and help the
kids."
Many of the kids
are like Federico, who met the Nakaokas when he was 12. Federico
trained and fought his way up to becoming a Golden Gloves champion.
Now 30 and a Marine staff sergeant living in the Pearlridge area,
Federico regularly stops by the gym.
Masa Nakaoka, 72, has been in the boxing business for 50 years
as a boxer, trainer, manager and promoter of bouts.
"Masa and George are great guys," he said. "They're
humble and they have good hearts."
The dimly lit facility
is an open mezzanine above Masa Nakaoka's painting business,
with boxing equipment worn from years of constant blows and sweat.
It is home to the Kakaako Boxing Club, which trains boxers for
competition. Many club members have become state Junior Olympic
and Open champions, including super heavyweight champion Tinei
Su'a, 32, of Kahuku.
"A lot of us,
we don't make too much money, and he (Masa) just gives everything
up for free," said Su'a, as he taped up his fists to work
out. "He's a cool guy."
More than that,
it's the little things that Masa Nakaoka does for the boxers,
like giving trophies to the younger boxers as a way to motivate
them, Su'a said.
Bruce Kawano, state
Junior Olympic chairman, coaches at the gym and has known Masa
Nakaoka for 15 years. Kawano said Nakaoka pays for the gym expenses
out of his own pocket — everything from the punching bags
to the toilet paper.
More than two decades
of generosity has caused some financial strain, and Nakaoka will
soon be renting out the facility. Kakaako Boxing Club members
hope they'll find another place where they can train for free.
Regardless, Kawano
is grateful for Masa Nakaoka's generosity through the years.
"He shows me
that money is not the most important thing," Kawano said.
Source: Honolulu Advertiser
|
POSTAL CONNECTIONS:
'MINOTAURO' VS. GARDNER POSSIBILITY
By Tape Lord
Hello my friends, my postal connections in the DSE/PRIDE organization
are telling me that DSE/PRIDE is thinking seriously to make a
Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira vs. Rulon Gardner matchup for the
next PRIDE card.
The fight could
possibly be on the same card as a proposed Fedor Emelianenko
vs. Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic title fight.
Source: Fight Sport
|
VANDERLEI MAY SIGN
WITH K-1
Brazilian insider Ricardo Alonso reports that Chute Boxe manager
Rudimar Fedrigo was upset with the judges decision of Vanderlei
Silva's fight against Mark Hunt.
According to sources
close to the Chute Boxe team, Rudimar thought the fight should
have at least been declared a draw due to the large difference
in weight between the two fighters. PRIDE usually has a policy
of taking the weight difference into account when a close fight
between two fighters of different weight classes goes to decision.
Furthermore, behind
closed doors Rudimar is feeling that DSE/PRIDE may have handed
out the decision loss in order to have more bargaining power
when it is time to discuss a new contract, since the loss to
Hunt was the last fight of Silva's current contract.
The enite Chute
Boxe team's contract negotiations in Japan are handled by Koichi
Kawasaki. It is said that Kawasaki will supposedly meet with
K-1 management this month to discuss the possibility of bringing
Silva to K-1.
More news regarding
this developing story will be posted in about two weeks.
Source: Fight Sport
|
Vitor Shaolin explains
KO in Shooto
After doing his first title defense in Shooto, Nova União
black belt Vítor Shaolin ended defeated and losing the
belt to Kawajiri, on last December 14. During a chat, Shaolin
explined the KO:
- In the first round
we eachanged some punches and I got few good ones. I ended winning
the round. But in the second one I got hit be a punch in the
chin. I fell down and referee opened counting. I stoop up at
eight and then Kawajiri came to me like crazy - reminds the fighter,
who got dizzy and pulled the opponent to the guard. 'He pushed
me and punhed my face. I stayed there for a while and the referre
stopped it. Congratulatiosn to Kawajiri,' admitted Shaolin, who
now stands on the fifth position of Shooto ranking.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not
an act but a habit."
Aristotle,BC 384-322, Greek Philosopher
|
Pride Shockwave
To Air Today on Oceanic Digital
Pride's New Year's Eve Show titled Shockwave will at at 4PM on Oceanic Digital Cable. Check your listings
for the channel.
Shockwave Fight Card
Friday, December 31, 2004
Saitama Super Arena - Japan
- Fedor Emelianenko
Vs Rodrigo "Minotauro Nogueira;
- Hidehiko Yoshida
Vs Rulon Gardner;
- Wanderlei Silva
Vs Kazushi Sakuraba;
- Dan Henderson
Vs Yuki Kondo;
- Takanori Gomi
Vs Jens Pulver;
- Mirko "Cro
Cop" Filipovic Vs Kevin Randleman;
- Makoto Takimoto
Vs Henry "Sentoryu" Miller;
- Stefan Leko Vs
Ikuhisa Minowa;
- Paulo "Giant"
Silva Vs Choi Mu Bae;
- Yoji Anjo Vs Ryan
Gracie;
- Ryo Chonan Vs
Anderson Silva.
|
PUNISHMENT IN PARADISE
"GAME TO THE END"
Fan Appreciation
DISCOUNT!!!
We're kicking off 2005 with LOW PRICES!! Get your P.I.P. tickets
now and it will cost you just $25.00 for any seat in the house.
Where else will you get tickets that low to watch Shooto style
fights.
Look for more news to come......
TICKET OUTLETS
808 FIGHT FACTORY(WAIPAHU,
671-4140)
Matchmaker (Waianae,
620-5638)
En Fuegos Grill
& Poke (Kapolei, 672-8805)
Bulls Pen (Kailhi,
330-7108)
Kodenkan (Kailua,
351-4898)
Punishment In Paradise 9:
"Game To The End"
Kapolei High School Gymnasium, Kapolei, Hawaii
January 22, 2005
Exhibition Bout (3x1 Minute Rounds)
Hansen Apo (Eastsiaz, Kailua) Vs. Henry (Bulls Pen, Kalihi)
Light Heavyweight
Class B (2x5 Minute Rounds)
Kimo Wolfel (Eastsidaz, Kailua) Vs. Steve Byrnes (Bulls Pen,
Kalihi)
Flyweight Class
B (2x5 Minute Rounds)
Precio (Kalakawa Gym, Kalihi) Vs. Ryan Lee (Bulls Pen, Waipahu)
172lbs. Kickboxing
Bout (3x1 1/2 Minute Rounds)
Alan Kekahuna (Freelance, Mililani) Vs. Walter Hao (Animal House,
Ewa Beach)
Kickboxing Bout
(3x2 Minute Rounds)
John Kukahiko (Koden Kan, Kailua) Vs. John Menedez (California)
Welterweight Class
B (2x5 Minute Rounds)
Kean Vesa (BJ Penn MMA) Vs. Kevin Delima (Bulls Pen, Kalihi)
Flyweight Class
B (2x5 Minute Rounds)
Arnold Santiago (Puna Boyz, Big Island) Vs Mark Oshiro (Bulls
Pen, Kalihi)
Welterweight Class
B (2x5 Minute Rounds)
"Sugar" Shane Nelson (BJ Penn MMA, Hilo) Vs. Kaleo
Kwon (Eastisdaz, Kailua)
Light Heavyweight
Class B (2x5 Minute Rounds)
Miles McClure (Puna Boyz, Big Island) Vs. Mark Moreno (Bulls
Pen, Kalihi)
Welterweight Class
B (2x5 Minute Rounds)
Shane Percado (Puna Boyz, Big Island) Vs. Harris Sarimento (808
F.F, Kailua)
Middleweight Class
A (3x5 Minute Rounds)
Shigetoshi Iwase (#8 Ranked Shooto, Japan) Vs. Ronald "Machine
Gun" Jhun (UFC Vet, Hawaii)
Source: Event Promoter |
ASAHORYU SIGNS WITH
PRIDE
DSE/PRIDE announced
at their December 31st show that they have signed current Sumo
grand champion Asahoryu to a fight contract that will be effective
as soon as he retires from Sumo.
According to the
Japanese media, this was the big news that DSE/PRIDE stated it
would announce at the show. Asahoryu is a Mongolian national
who is also viewed as the 'bad boy' of Sumo.
Source: Fight Sport |
GRACIE BEATS AKEBONO
Royce Gracie, even in the later stage's of his career continues
to show why he is the living legend in MMA. Gracie got an impressive
win over Akebono in K-1's dynamite card.
Gracie wins over
Akebono by submission early in the first round. Akebono was aggressive
early in the fight, as he charged Gracie a couple of times early
in the first round. Gracie tried to get Akebono's back, but Akebono
just swatted him aside with one arm. Later in the round it was
Gracie who took advantage of his superior jiu jitsu to get the
submission victory over Akebono with an omoplatta for the win.
The bout between
Jerome Le Banner and Bob Sapp ends in a draw after 4 rounds.
1st round was K-1 rules. Sapp ran in and was like a punching
bag the first round. Le Banner landed right hook and got him
down. Sapp was winded.
2nd round was MMA
rules. Sapp immediately took Le Banner down. Punched from the
top again and again. Tried a key lock, but almost got rolled
and gave up on that. Sapp was totally winded.
3rd round was K-1
rules again. More of the same from the first round as these rules
seem to favor Le Banner who dominated until Sapp caught him with
straight right almost knocking him down.
4th round was MMA
rules again. Le banner did better than last MMA round, landing
several knees to the head and face of Sapp. Sapp then rolled
him over, and at the end of the fight Sapp got a side mount and
got a key lock but ran out of time.
Rules stated that if it went the distance it would be a draw.
Kazuyuki Fujita
defeats Karam Ibragim with K.O. early in the first round. No
real big action initially, but Fujita hit Ibragim with a big
gorilla counter right hook that caught Ibragim flush on the left
jaw laying him out.
Masato wins over
Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto by majority decision after
3 rounds. Masato landed a couple of low kicks in the first round
and a right high kick in the second where KID took an 8 count.
KID looked pretty good throughout, though and held on to the
end where Masato won the majority decision
Musashi wins over
Sean O'Haire by T.K.O. at the 44 second mark in the 2nd round.
O'Haire looked pretty clumsy the whole way through. He kneed
Musashi in the groin in the 1st round, and was flailing all over
Musashi until Musashi hit him with a left high kick to the jaw
and knocked him down. O'Haire took an 8 count but the count was
stopped at the bell to end the round. At the start of the 2nd
O'Haire looked tired and woosy, and Musashi hit him with a straight
kick to stomach, bringing O'Haire down to one knee. A few seconds
later, Musashi landed a left high kick to jaw to earn the T.K.O.
Ray Sefo beats Gary
Goodridge in the first half of the first round. It took longer
to get to the ring than this fight lasted. Sefo knocked Goodridge
down in the first minute, but Goodridge beat the 10 count and
appeared fine. Sefo then caught Goodridge with a right upper
followed by a left hook to score the K.O.
Don Frye loses to
Yoshihiro Nakao by decision with Nakao grounding and pounding
for three rounds. Frye got cut in the first round and a knee
to the groin in the third.
Caol Uno wins at
the 19 sec. mark of the 2nd round by rear naked choke tap out
over Chandet Sorpantrey.
Rules included ground fighting allowed for only 30 seconds at
a time. First round started with the two just kind of dancing
around the ring until Uno got Sorpantrey down twice in a headlock
only to have it called ground after 30 seconds. At the start
of the second round Uno ran up jumped on Sorpantrey, wrapped
him up, pulled him down, swung around and got him in a rear naked
choke.
This fight had the
special stipulations of no face kicks on the ground, and one
rope grab per round.
Yoshihiro Akiyama beats Francois "The White Buffalo"
Botha in 1 min. 54 sec. when Botha tapped out after Akiyama immobilized
him in an arm bar. Akiyama immediately took him down at the start,
punching Botha's face from a half bar. Akiyama positioned Botha
away from the ropes and set him up with an arm bar and punches
to the face.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Belfort ready to
take on Tito Ortiz
Brazilian Top Team confidence in Vitor Belfort has been growing
up. Now the whole team is very confident about a great fight
between Belfort and Tito Ortiz, on next February 5, at Ultimate
Fighting Championship's cage. "Vitor is such a great fighter.
Good in Boxing, Wrestling and knows a lot of ground techinique.
We are looking forward to improve his ground skills and apart
his game to Tito's ground 'n pound. We will prepare him to win,"
commented Murilo Bustamante, one of BTT leaders.
Source: Tatame |
After France, BTT
goes to Swtizerland
Getting fast developed in Europe, BTT releases a new partnership.
After releasing BTT France with Roan Jucão, Murilo Bustamante,
Zé Mário Sperry and Bebeo Duarte goes to Swtizerland.
Two months old, Frota Team - team formed by Rodrigo Minotauro's
Brown belt and Shooto Switzerland organizer Augusto Frota - is
now BTT. Besides local talents, new team counts with Valdir Diamante
Negro and Katel Kubis, who was borrowed from CBW/Nogushi.
Source: Tatame |
Quote
of the Day
"I have yet to find the man, however exalted his station,
who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under
a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism."
Charles M Schwab, 1862-1939, American Industrialist, Businessman
|
New
Wrestling Program In Hawaii Started For Kids
There is a new wrestling program called "Beat The Streets"
for children ages 4-11 years old. The younger ones will learn
coordination, balance and flexibility and the older kids will
learn more wrestling techinque. If you know anyone that is interested,
please email Bryan by clicking here or the
banner above.
|
Hunt
beats Wanderlei, Gardner Beats Yoshida
& Gomi KO’s Pulver
PRIDE
'Shockwave'
Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo, Japan
December 31, 2004
2x
title match: PRIDE FIGHTING heavyweight championship / 2004 Grand
Prix heavyweight championship:
Fedor Emelianenko def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by Judges Decision.
Mark Hunt def. Wanderlei Silva by Judges Decision.
Rulon Gardner def. Hidehiko Yoshida by Judges Decision.
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic def. Kevin Randleman by submission
via Guillotine choke in RD 1.
Dan Henderson def. Yuki Kondo by Judges Decision.
Takanori Gomi def. Jens Pulver by KO in RD 2.
Makoto Takimoto def. Henry 'Sentoryu' Miller by Judges Decision.
Ryan Gracie def. Yoji Anjo by submission via Arm Lock in RD 1.
Ikuhisa Minowa def. Stefan Leko by submission via foot lock in
RD 1.
Choi Mu Bae def. Paulo 'Giant' Silva by submission via Arm Lock
in RD 1.
Ryo Chonan def. Anderson Silva by submission via foot lock in
RD 2.
Source:
MMA.tv
|
Kid
Goes The Distance With Masato Under K-1 Rules, Royce Takes Out
Akebono Quickly
K-1 DYNAMITE
Osaka Dome, Osaka, Japan
December 31, 2004
(MMA
Rules): Sylvester “The Predator” def. Christopher Midoux
via foot lock at 1:11min in RD 1.
(MMA Rules): Bobby Ologun def. Cyril Abidi by Judges Decision.
(MMA Rules): Yoshihiro Akiyama def. Francois Botha by submission
via Arm Bar at 1:54min in RD 1.
(MMA Rules): Kaoru Uno def. Chandet Sopandrey by submission via
Rear Naked Choke at 19 sec. in RD 2.
(Comment: Ground fighting allowed for only 30 seconds at a time)
(MMA Rules): Yoshihiro Nakao def. Don Frye by Judges Decision
(K-1 Rules): Ray Sefo def. Gary 'Big Daddy' Goodridge by KO at
24 seconds in RD 1.
(K-1 Rules): Musashi def. Sean O'Haire by KO at 1:04 minutes
in RD 2.
(K-1 Rules): Masato def. Kid Yamamoto by majority decision.
(MMA Rules): Kazuyuki Fujita def. Karam Ibrahim by KO in RD 1.
(Mixed Rules): Bob Sapp drew Jerome Le Banner DRAW (1st Round
K-1 rules, 2nd MMA, 3rd K-1, 4th MMA)
(MMA Rules): Royce Gracie def. Chad “Akebono” Rowan
by submission via Omoplata with a wrist lock at 2:13 minutes
in RD 1.
Source:
MMA.tv
|
Getting
to Know Tim Sylvia
by Marco Antico
MA: Tim, do you feel like you get the respect you deserve?
TS:
Hmm, ya sure, I’d say so.
MA:
Let me explain where that question is coming from. You are a
former UFC Champion. You are 16-1 as a professional fighter with
very convincing wins over guys like Rodriguez, Whitehead, Cabbage
and McGee. Your only loss was to Mir, who many people feel you
would be able to defeat in a rematch. You’ve pretty much
accomplished everything you’ve set out to do in your career
to date. Yet, for every time you succeed there seems to be people
that try and discount your accomplishments. Some do this by drawing
comparisons to the highly regarded PRIDE Heavyweights. Others
criticize your ground game.
TS:
Those people you talk about are mostly uneducated internet guys.
I think I’m very well respected in the MMA industry. I know
my opponents definitely respect me. As for the PRIDE thing, this
sport is such that anyone can beat anyone on a given day you
know?
MA:
I recently heard you tell Ryan Bennett that you re-watch that
fight with Mir every week. I found that really interesting and
was hoping you could explain why.
TS:
First off, I watch it at least twice a week. It’s great
for motivating me to get my ass in the gym. But, it’s also
an important reminder. He caught me in something I never get
caught in! There wasn’t anything special to it. It was just
a basic armbar. I train in jiu-jitsu every day and that never
happens. I threw a huge right, we went to the ground.
MA:
It seemed like you had a chance to back out of there and stand
up but instead chose to stay in Mir’s guard and attempt
to ground and pound which ultimately cost you the belt and a
broken arm.
TS:
Ya, I was overconfident and it cost me. I didn’t have enough
respect for Mir’s submission game. I saw Simms survive Mir’s
submissions and didn’t think there was any way I could get
caught.
MA:
Sometimes when you lose to a better opponent you can rest your
head easier. Losing to an opponent you believe in your heart
of hearts you should have defeated is often tougher to swallow.
Do you agree?
TS:
Oh ya, for sure. Mir’s a very good submission guy but he
doesn’t have a well rounded game. He gasses early. His stand
up isn’t too good. When I fight him again, I’m knocking
him out.
MA:
Is Andre Arlovski one of the best Heavyweights in your opinion?
TS:
Ya, I’d say he’s in the top 20.
MA:
Top 20? Where would you say you are?
TS:
I’m in the top 20 too. When you say one of the best Heavyweights,
I think of a lot of names like Fedor, Nogueira, Schilt, Ricco,
McGee, Mir, Eilers, my other teammates and others. It’s
really hard to put us in a certain order. I don’t try and
do that.
MA:
How’s it feel to not be the overwhelming favorite and possibly
a slight underdog in this upcoming fight with Arlovksi?
TS:
It actually feels great. I like it. It can’t go to my head
like last time. I’m just going to go out there and see what
I can do. We’re both good strikers so I think we’ll
both be looking for the knockout. I think I’m going to knock
him out, he probably thinks he’ll knock me out. We’ll
see what happens.
MA:
I interviewed Arlovski a few weeks ago. He comes across a very
humble guy. He won’t speak one ill word about anyone. When
I think back to your recent fights I immediately recall the verbal
assault between you and Wes. McGee was talking some trash too.
Ricco has a pretty cocky aura about himself and Mir has that
poster boy look you wanted to smash. Does it affect you at all
that Arlovski doesn’t fit any of these profiles and therefore
doesn’t add any fuel to your fire?
TS:
No, not at all. I actually prefer it. I see myself as a humble
guy too. Humble, but confident like I’m sure Arlovski is.
There are so many things to concern myself with in preparing
for a fight. The last thing I need is to care what some fighter
said about me on the internet.
MA:
Are you training any differently for Arlovksi?
TS:
Nah, I’m just doing the same thing.
MA:
Is that a reflection of you being confident in your all around
game?
TS:
Yes, definitely. I train with a great group of guys and we train
in everything. No need to change something.
MA:
Makes sense. Switching topics; PRIDE Heavyweights seem to be
the talk of the town. I remember you calling out Fedor after
your knockout win over McGee. How badly do you want to test yourself
against those guys?
TS:
Well, let me first say I’m a UFC fighter before anything
else. But, I would absolutely love it if they could work something
out to bring those guys over here or have me go over there.
MA:
How do you think you’d fare?
TS:
Well, let’s look at Ricco for a second. I knocked his ass
out. He goes over there and beats up on Nogueira for 20 minutes.
I know styles make fights and all that. Nog and I definitely
wouldn’t look like Ricco versus Nogueira. It’d be a
much shorter fight with me looking for the knockout and him trying
to take me down. Who knows exactly what would happen, but I think
I’d do just fine against those PRIDE guys.
MA:
Josh Barnett, the newest addition to PRIDE’s heavyweight
stable, has gone on record saying some pretty derogatory things
about you and the entire UFC heavyweight division.
TS:
Oh ya Josh. We trained together. I got the better of him when
we sparred and he got the better of me grappling. But, that isn’t
fighting. When we grapple in a fight, I’m going to be allowed
to hit him too!
MA:
That’s a good point. Okay, I’ve got some “Getting
to Know…” questions for you.
TS:
Okay, shoot.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Interview
with Stephane Patry
By Jeremy Wall
Stephane Patry is President and CEO of TKO, the top mixed martial
arts promotion in all of Canada, running consistently popular
shows in Quebec that have drawn as high as 6,500 fans in such
venues as Montreal and other smaller areas of Quebec.
"At
first I was only a fan of the sport back in 1993. I had a martial
arts background but I was mainly a fan of the sport when it first
started," says Patry on how he got started in mixed martial
arts. "Back then it was a blood sport, and I was watching
the event and I thought it could be the next big thing if they
could come up with rules and sanctioning."
When
UFC was banned from Viewer's Choice pay per view in Canada after
UFC 9 in 1996, Patry contacted SEG and started lobbying in Canada
to get UFC back on pay per view. "I was watching TV and
it was almost comical because I was watching a pay per view preview
channel, and they were advertising a boxing show and they were
showing Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield's ear, and the very
next promo was one for WWF or one of the wrestling associations
back then, and it showed a guy hitting a girl, somebody hitting
the referee with a chair, people in the crowd booing at Russians,"
says Patry. "And I was like, oh my god, how can they say
MMA that's sanctioned encourages violence when they allow this?
I wrote a letter to [the CRTC] and sat down with them with these
arguments, and the very next day I got a letter from the CRTC
saying that if the UFC indeed has rules then we don't object
to Viewer's Choice showing it. I sent that to UFC and the very
next UFC was on in Canada. So I pretty much made a name for myself
doing that."
Patry
began working for SEG when David Isaacs was in charge, helping
with press releases and doing translation for UFC when they started
airing on French pay per view in Canada. "Mike Thomas from
the IFC heard about all of my efforts, and offered me [a role]
as director of operations for the IFC," says Patry. "They
had a big problem with the attendance in Khanawake, which is
a big Indian reservation here by Montreal, and they were having
problems getting people in the seats. It was an Indian reservation,
and there have been problems with Indian reservations in Quebec,
and people were basically scared to go there. So I worked with
Mike on two shows, and we sold out both shows. At that moment,
I was director of public relations for a big, big firm in Montreal.
I was making about $60,000 a year. When I resigned from my job
to work with the IFC my mother didn't talk to me for like a year.
You know what? Now that I think about it today I'm happy about
the move because of what I did afterwards. When I did it, it
was the most risky move I had ever done. It was my passion calling
me."
Patry
ended up having a falling out with a member of the IFC, and left
to form UCC, which ran its first show in June 2000 in Montreal.
"I took everything I had, my savings, and I sold my condominium
and sold my car and then I started the UCC with a partner back
then," says Patry. "We're now almost five years later,
eighteen shows later, and we're growing."
However,
UCC nearly died after UCC 12 in January 2003, which featured
the very big main event of Jens Pulver getting knocked out by
Duane Ludwig in Pulver's first loss since vacating the UFC Lightweight
title. "It was a huge show, it was a great show. One of
our main sponsors backed out. They never gave us the promised
money. Pretty much the day of the show they fucked us,"
says Patry.
"My
partners at the time [also] didn't want to put anymore money
into it. They didn't believe in the product anymore, and they
didn't believe in me anymore," continues Patry. "That's
the reason why after that event, after I paid off [the fighters],
what should I do? Should I continue or start on a blank sheet?
A lot of people say that UCC went bankrupt, but that's not true.
UCC's still an active company; it's just not used by anyone.
It was a long and tough process. The other reason with switching
over from UCC is that I had a lot of discussions with DirecTV
and other pay per view channels in the States, and everyone was
like UCC is like UFC because the name was so close. And one day
one of the networks told us that they didn't want to mix their
fan base because UCC and UFC sound so much like the same thing.
So that's why I wanted to start something that would be different
from UFC and different from Pride, and TKO works perfect for
it. So I started TKO with a new partner."
Right
now, the next step for mixed martial arts in Canada will be to
get the sport legalized in Canada's most populated province,
Ontario. "[Ontario athletic commissioner] Ken Hayashi is
from the martial arts. He's been a pro karate practitioner all
his life. He's from the martial arts. Ken Hayashi has nothing
against mixed martial arts. I'm not going to say he's the biggest
MMA fan out there, but he has nothing against it," says
Patry. "The thing with Ontario is right now there is a moratory
on professional combat sports. As long as the moratory is on,
and I think the moratory is ending in 2005, nothing can be done.
Even if Ontario's Premier wants to change that, he can't change
what the moratory is. I think we're about a year away from Ontario.
It's going to happen."
When
asked where he plans to run TKO shows in Ontario, Patry responded,
"I don't think Toronto is the best market. I think cities
like London are going to be bigger than Toronto. Look at here
in Quebec. We get our biggest crowds in Victoriaville, Sherbrooke.
Montreal is a good town, but there are so many things to do and
it's such a big metropolis city it's hard, even if you put $50,000
into publicity, it's hard to reach everybody."
Not
only does Patry run TKO, he also manages a number of the most
successful fighters that have come from that event and made it
to UFC. "I started really managing fighters around UCC 5
or 6," says Patry. "Monte Cox is a good friend of mine
and he was one of the first to tell me I should manage guys because
you're building them in your organization and they're going to
get bigger, and you should be the one managing them."
Maxfighting
interviewed Monte Cox recently on the subject of managing fighters,
and when asked how he knows when a fighter is ready to compete
at a higher level, Cox responded, "There's nothing like
experience. Experience is so important in any sport. I've watched
the guys develop, and obviously I've picked every fight for them.
And I bring them along and increase the competition as we go."
Here's
Patry's take on what it takes for a fighter to max out his potential
and compete in either UFC or Pride, or in another organization
against high level talent: "It's all about confidence. Georges
St-Pierre in his second fight I put him in a title fight situation
against Justin Bruckmann. Georges didn't want anything to do
with this fight. He was scared. He didn't want to fight Bruckmann.
He went out and fought Travis Galbraith. He didn't want to fight
Galbraith, he was scared. I had to push him into that fight.
After that fight, there was Thomas Denny, and I didn't have to
push him even though Denny is better than Brockman and Galbraith.
That's when you know, when the guy has confidence. With Patrick
Cote, the guy was born with confidence, and he would have been
ready for the UFC in his first if you based it all on confidence.
Patrick is different than Georges. Georges had all the skills
and everything, and he just needed confidence. Patrick needed
some big wins; some wins that everyone thought he was going to
lose and that he would win. That's all Patrick needed. David
Loiseau, he just needed to beat some big names, because David
is the kind of guy who compares himself a lot. Patrick didn't
have to beat big names to get to UFC. He just needed to beat
somebody everyone thought he would lose to. Georges, he needed
to be able, by himself, to be confident. David needed to compare
himself. So those are three different types of guys."
Cote
plans to cut down to compete in the middleweight division in
the UFC after he fights Ricardeau Francois for TKO on January
29th in Montreal. "He has a score to settle with Ricardeau
Francois, and then he's going to cut the weight. He's already
started," says Patry.
Patry
continues on the topic by saying, "When [Cote] fought Tito
Ortiz, the main factor in that fight was strength. That was the
only thing. If Tito would have stood up with him, he would have
gotten knocked out. Tito didn't believe that until he got punched
by Patrick. And I was in the ring after the fight and Tito told
me that he had never been hit that hard. That was the first thing
he told me. The thing with Patrick is that no middleweight would
be able to do to Patrick what Tito did, take him down and keep
him there. So there is nobody in the middleweight division that
can do that to Patrick, whereas in the light-heavyweight division
people like Tito and Randy Couture can do that. Cote has such
a huge right hand, that whenever he connects with the right,
you're going down."
Is
there anyone Patry wants to match Cote up against at middleweight
in the UFC? "Anybody. He can beat anybody."
Georges
St-Pierre is another fighter who was giving Matt Hughes one of
the toughest fights of his career at UFC 50 until Hughes was
able to submit St-Pierre with an armbar with just a split second
left on the clock for the first round, which allowed for Hughes
to regain the vacant welterweight title. "In my opinion
he was really dominating that first round until he got caught.
Georges never does that," says Patry. "He trains with
black belts in jiu jitsu and Georges never gets caught like that.
He wins all the grappling tournaments and beats everybody. He
never gets caught like that. When Matt got him, he just panicked.
We all panicked when he tapped. I've seen Georges in armbars
where his arm would almost break and he would never tap out.
If you look at the replay, he tapped out before the arm was bent.
He just panicked. He freaked out, like 'Matt Hughes has me in
an armbar.' Panic. I was freaking out because there was one second
left. It's part of the game. Georges learned a lot from that,
and that's the main thing. You learn from it. Some people when
they lose a fight, they're never the same again. But Georges
learned from it. We know he learned from it."
When
asked who he feels will be the next fighter from TKO to make
it to UFC, Patry responded with two names. "I think the
next ones to get to UFC is Sam Stout, who is managed by Shawn
Tompkins [of London]. Stout or Jonathan Goulet. Stout is a very,
very exciting fighter at 155 pounds, and if you put Stout against
someone like Yves Edwards, you're going to have fireworks,"
says Patry. "Stout is not ready yet, but he's such a good
showman that he could make it earlier. Goulet just beat John
Alessio easily, and I think he's one fight away from fighting
in UFC. He's a very, very good welterweight fighter."
When
asked about UFC's The Ultimate Fighter reality show, which debuts
on Spike TV in only a couple of weeks, Patry responded by saying,
"I think that will be the make or break thing for UFC. The
problem is fighters fighting on the ground. It's hard. If you
go around and ask people, for the mainstream, it's not acceptable.
For us, we understand what's going on. To educate people about
that, that's going to be tough."
Source:
Maxfighting
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Interview
with Monte Cox
By Jeremy Wall
Monte Cox is widely considered the top manager in mixed martial
arts today. The fact that he's had five champions and his current
management roster of nearly thirty fighters has logged in countless
fights within Pride and UFC would seem to prove this to be true.
I
interviewed Cox on December 23rd. On the morning of the 26th,
just hours after finishing his Christmas holiday and a having
a brief rest from the MMA scene, Cox will fly across the Pacific
to spend the remaining days of the year in Japan. In 2004 alone,
Cox has logged over 200,000 air miles. "When I do that I
don't go as [the fighter's] cornerman. I buy my own ticket. I
book my own hotel room, and for most of the shows I'm on my own,"
says Cox. "But I feel I'm a necessity to protect the fighter.
I mean, its one thing to make a phone call and get a fight and
send your fighter, but what happens if your fighter gets there
and the promoter doesn't want to pay him? What if the promoter
says that's not the deal that we made or I'm not going to give
you food money? If I'm not there, then the fighter is fighting
for himself and that's not fair."
Cox
is going with Jens Pulver to support Pulver when he fights Takanori
Gomi on December 31st for Pride, and to negotiate a contract
with Pride for Jeremy Horn, as Pride is looking to book fighters
for a proposed 185-pound Grand Prix in 2005, one of three Grand
Prix tournaments which Pride is rumored to be running this upcoming
year.
"I
don't know when it might be, maybe the end of the year, but my
partner in Japan has talked to me about doing a 93 kilo, or 90
kilo tournament. I can't remember what it was, but it came out
to like 185-pounds," says Cox. "We're having a meeting
next week with the Pride matchmaker in Japan for Jeremy Horn,
and we're going to try and get Jeremy a match there."
Gomi
vs. Pulver is one of the most evenly matched fights on the New
Year's Eve Pride event at Saitama Super Arena, which broadcasts
on Fuji TV in Japan and on pay per view in North America on January
2nd, as the card features mostly one-sided fights that are designed
mostly to draw television ratings in Japan. "I've been around
a long time, and I make my living picking and doing the right
matchups. And I really like that matchup. I like Gomi's style
for Jens," says Cox. "I don't really see a way Gomi
can beat him unless he can take him down and ground-and-pound
him, and no one has ever done that with Jens. I guarantee you
that Jens is a better wrestler than Gomi, and he's better standing
up and neither cares much about the submissions. It's a very
good matchup for us, because if he can't take Jens down, then
he's in for a very long night."
Pride
is also planning a lightweight tournament to be built around
Takanori Gomi. "Jens is already in that tournament,"
says Cox. "He's in it no matter what happens with him and
Gomi. It's going to be a tournament for 160-pounds and under,
which is the same weight he and Gomi are fighting at."
Pulver
is one of Cox's five champions, as Pulver is a former UFC Lightweight
champion who never lost that title in the octagon, as he left
UFC in early 2002 to take a fight with Antonio Inoki's UFO promotion
in Japan. "I probably get three to five fighters calling
me a week that want to be managed," says Cox. "To be
honest, I don't pick any of them. I have around twenty-eight
to thirty guys, and I can't take anymore. I couldn't do it if
they were great. I just don't have room. Thirty guys are more
than anyone should have."
So
how does Cox end up selecting the fighters that he does manage?
"My management style is completely different from most people.
I only take guys that I know. I only take guys that I have a
history with, and I only take guys that I consider to be a friend.
Someone that I've spent time with. Someone that I would invite
into my house and open my family up to," says Cox. "Every
single person that I manage before I manage them we have a relationship,
and those are the only people that I take. There are great fighters
out there, but I don't want existing guys. I don't want to take
somebody who's already established and start managing them. They've
already made it. The fun in this for me is to get the guy right
as he starts."
An
example of this is Matt Hughes, whom Cox discovered when Hughes
was just in the early goings of his mixed martial arts career.
"I saw something in Matt," says Cox on discovering
Hughes, "and he fought for me in Extreme Challenge, and
I went and saw him Chicago and we talked and I saw him get kinda
screwed on a decision, and I said you need a manager and you
need to move and come out here and train with [Pat] Miletich.
That's how Matt got started, and he came out and lived with me
and my family for over a year at my house."
"I
don't think a lot of people understand the way to build fighters.
I come from a boxing background, watching people build boxers.
There's nothing like experience. Experience is so important in
any sport," says Cox regarding his ability to build a fighter
into a contender from scratch. "I've watched the guys develop,
and obviously I've picked every fight for them. And I bring them
along and increase the competition as we go."
Cox
continues on this topic buy saying, "When I send guys to
the UFC, I'm thinking they're ready to win three or four [matches],
that they're ready to be a contender in that division. If they're
not, then why should I send them there? What good does it do
to send them in for one fight and then have them out? I see a
lot of people doing that, as their goal is to get into the UFC
at all costs. You've got guys getting into the UFC who have five
fights, seven fights, nine fights. That's awful early."
So,
with his background in boxing and his understanding that a fighter
needs to build experience on the independent level in order to
develop the skills to compete in the UFC or Pride, how exactly
does Cox go about selecting opponents for a fighter who is early
in his career?
"There's
several ways. I'm a firm believer that you can learn from every
[opponent]. It doesn't matter how bad the opponent is,"
explains Cox. "We've had times like back when Matt Hughes
was starting, he'd go into a fight, and I'd say in this fight,
you can't take your opponent down. You have to work your stand-up,
and that's what we're going to gain out of this fight. And Matt
would do it. Jeremy Horn has had a fight where all he can do
in the first round is kick. He can't punch, throw elbows, knees,
and only kick. We're going to work on his kicking and stuff like
that, and then we added something in the second round and he
knocked the guy out. We've seen so many times where you get the
mismatch, and the guy goes out there and wins in thirty seconds.
No one has benefited from that."
Zuffa
will be attempting to take the UFC's popularity up another level
in 2005 when they debut with "The Ultimate Fighter"
on Spike TV on January 17th, which will be the UFC's first ever
free television series and a chance to market their product to
a whole new audience that may have never watched before. "I
think what we're going to see out of this show is a lot of stuff
that is not about fighting. I think anytime you put a bunch of
guys in a house, it's going to be about interaction, and things
like that," says Cox, giving his opinion on what the show
may feature. "There's going to be a lot more to the reality
show than just fighting. There's going to be a lot of training
and a lot of bickering and stuff like that. If it doesn't work
and people don't like that, that doesn't necessarily mean we
can't get sponsors and people to back the actual fighting part
of the sport."
Zuffa
has also cut back fighter purses drastically within the last
year, with recent events paying even half to fighters in comparison
to what was paid out merely two years ago. "If the UFC fails,
that puts all of us in a bind," says Cox. "So if it
takes dropping the salaries down for the fifth, sixth, seventh,
and eighth fights of the night, if they've got to lower money
there to try and save profit, then so be it. Everyone will accept
that. The people who don’t don't understand business."
But
Cox understands business, and he understands what it takes to
be a good manager. "If I was a fighter picking a manager,
the first thing I want to know is what have you done? Who have
you taken from the beginning of their career and gotten to be
a UFC regular, or UFC champion... who do you have fighting in
Pride? The proof is in the performance as far as good managing.
If you haven't done it, then you have to look at the person's
traits. If he's got a lot of energy, does he know people, is
he willing to spend the kind of time it takes? Most people don't
realize how much time a good manager spends on the sport. It's
truly unbelievable."
Source:
Maxfighting
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