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Quote
of the Day
"Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments."
Rose Kennedy, 1890-1995, Matriarch of the prominent Kennedy family
of the United States
|
Anthony
Torres
Possibly Fighting Tomorrow Night on The Ultimate Fighter Season
2 on Spike!
We believe Anthony Torres, the local fighter who is currently
appearing on Spike TVs hit reality show The Ultimate Fighter,
will compete on television tomorrow night, Monday, Oct 10th.
Thousands of local fans have been waiting for Anthony to have
"his moment" on the show....tomorrow night, we believe,
it will happen.
Anthony's contract with Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship
forbids him from disclosing the results of the show, so he has
been hush-hush about it. However, a month ago the New York Times,
while reporting on the show's big TV ratings, leaked a story
that Anthony will fight Luke Cummo. We've been trying figure
out when this fight would happen for weeks. Based on the process
of elimination and a few inside rumors, we believe tomorrow night
is the big night.
The Ultimate
Fighter airs 8:05 pm Monday on Spike (basic channel 76; digital
channel 559) with repeats on 8pm Thursday and 7pm Saturday.
Patrick Freitas
Icon Sport
808 375-1645
|
Rumble
World Entertainment Presents:
Rumble
on the Rock 8: "Showdown in Maui"
Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
October 7, 2005
I thought every one would appreciate the beautiful Rumble/Ainokea
ring girls.
|
The
Savage Truth: The Silent Treatment
by Greg Savage
So
it’s finally official.
Absolutely
no MMA media will be on hand to cover this week’s UFC 55
card. No weigh-in video. No post-fight interviews.
I
have heard all of the conspiracy theories floating around the
Internet from the ill-informed pseudo insiders:
The
UFC’s decision to rescind MMA media access was due to the
TUF 2 spoilers leaked on the Internet.
(Sorry
kids, word of the ban was out before any spoilers were posted.
Feel free to try again.)
It
has something to do with UFC’s purported entrance into the
publishing realm. Word has it there will be a revamped Web site
as well as a brand-spanking new UFC magazine.
(Quite
possible, but I am not 100 percent sold on that one yet.)
Perhaps
UFC President Dana White has had enough of what he perceives
as the less than supportive coverage of his company from the
people whose livelihood he thinks is dependant upon the UFC.
(Ding,
ding, ding. I think we have a winner.)
The
word on the street is the Prez attributes the success of Sherdog.com,
MMAWeekly.com, Full Contact Fighter, et al, to a massive coattail
effect. Now there is no denying the recent popularity enjoyed
by the UFC has contributed to an increase of traffic for our
site; I would imagine the same is true of others in the industry.
But
don’t forget, Sherdog.com was growing long before The Ultimate
Fighter fell into Zuffa’s lap and turned its ledger from
an ocean of red to the sea of black I would imagine it is today.
With
that said, White has every right to do what he has done —
with a few caveats attached that is.
Those
exceptions being that Zuffa outline a clear set of criterion
for those who wish to cover their shows and uniformly enforce
those requirements across the board, without exception.
The
book on this calamity could be slammed shut in minutes and all
questions answered if only a line of communication would open
up between Zuffa and those media entities Dana White himself
was so anxious to praise less than six months before. Is it too
much to ask for these “new” requirements? If we do
not meet the requirements, we would at least know what we should
be aspiring to.
Now
I don’t know if Mr. White was on an emotional high after
seeing his friend and former client Chuck Liddell (Pictures)
take home UFC gold after knocking out Randy Couture (Pictures),
but he can be seen and heard on the UFC 52 post-fight presser
video singing the praises of a couple of the now unwelcome media
outlets.
How
the tide has turned. In just a few short months we have gone
from an integral part of the evolution of the UFC to a band of
illegitimate hacks. I, on the other hand, would have thought
we were moving in the other direction. But what do I know?
Well
one thing I do know is that there will be a big uproar over this
and rightly so, but I really don’t think it’s that
big a deal for Sherdog.com as a company. Don’t get me wrong,
less UFC access will have its drawbacks but the fact of the matter
is Sherdog.com covers the sport of mixed martial arts, and although
some entities in and around this sport may disagree: the UFC
is just a cog in the machine that is MMA.
Sure,
it is a huge part of the sport, but a part nonetheless.
I
know this was not a popular decision in the Zuffa office, for
good reason. And I wonder what the true motivation was behind
its inception. I can tell you this: It would have been a whole
lot easier to swallow had there not been a long history of personal
rather than sound business decisions being handed down from atop
the Zuffa throne.
And
the silence we, as an industry, have been met with regarding
our concerns about this new policy speaks volumes.
All
we are asking for are the new set of qualifications Zuffa is
using to grant credentials. Seems simple enough, don’t you
think? The only reason I can come up with for the refusal on
Zuffa’s part is my belief that there is no new set of guidelines
and this decision was made in the most arbitrary of manners.
Does
it make sense to clean out press row? You bet your ass it does.
I can’t tell you how many times I have been sitting in the
pressroom watching fans, err “journalists” posing for
photos, soliciting autographs, and just plain gushing over fighters
like teenaged girls fawning over Brad Pitt. But it makes absolutely
no sense to throw the baby out with the bathwater and that’s
what they are doing when they ban the top MMA media sites.
When
I wrote about this issue last January I hoped to shine a light
inside the world of MMA media. Little did I know Dana White was
getting ready to take a flamethrower to press row.
I
shouldn’t have been surprised. Shortly after purchasing
the UFC, the Zuffa brass thought it was ready to take the world
by storm and at UFC 32 it tried to relegate the MMA media to
second-class citizen status.
(This
was the impetus for the classic Eddie Goldman meltdown —
I would love to explain but I don’t have an extra 10,000
words so let’s just say it involved Eddie unleashing an
F-bomb laced tirade on the girl in charge of media credentials
after finding out he was not going to be sitting ringside. And
for good measure he put an exclamation point on his remarks with
a word that rhymes with “hunt.”)
That
Zuffa policy lasted less than one show, as we were allowed to
fill in all the spots that had been reserved for all the “mainstream”
media that failed to show.
I
fear this time we might have a tougher fight on our hands. We
all know what we are up against and personally I feel the best
course of action is to continue to conduct ourselves in a professional
manner. This will leave the UFC little wiggle room on the true
reason for the sudden and unwarranted revocation of media credentials
for outlets such as Sherdog.com, MMAWeekly.com and Full Contact
Fighter. The reason is still a mystery and will continue to be
until Mr. White finds time to address the issue. I would imagine
if there were legitimate reasons he would be shouting from every
mountaintop, reassuring MMA fans that he still has the best interests
of the sport at heart.
Sometimes
silence can be deafening.
As
always, comments are welcome — even from you Dana. Drop
me a line at greg@sherdog.com and let us know what you think.
The
opinions expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the
views of Sherdog.com
Source:
Sherdog
|
 VS. 
FEDOR POSSIBLY
TO K-1
Sources
in Russia are saying that K-1 is in talks with the management
of Fedor Emelianenko, and is prepared to pay Fedor over USD$1
million to participate on their December 31st card.
HUNT
AND PRIDE NOT ON SAME PAGE
Sources
in the Japanese media are reporting that the management of Mark
Hunt is supposedly having some negotiations problems with DSE/PRIDE.
Hunt
was supposedly going to be on the PRIDE 30 card on October 23rd,
but a deal was not worked out.
While
DSE/PRIDE feels confident it can work out a deal for Hunt to
appear on the December 31st card, sources in the Japanese media
are saying that K-1 might try to sign Hunt to their December
31 show as well, and for a lot more money.
More
news on this to come next month.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
PULVER
EYE INJURY
Monte Cox, the manager of Jens Pulver, announced in an interview
that Pulver took an elbow to his right eye in last week's loss
to Hayato Sakurai, and still can not see out of the eye.
Cox
added that according to doctors, Pulver sustained a corneal abrasion
and was blinded in the eye as soon as he sustained the damage.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
“Shogun”
Rua Remembers Late-Summer Heroics
by Gleidson Venga
Quinton Jackson, Rogério “Minotoro” Noguiera,
Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona. Maurício “Shogun”
Rua had a spectacular performance in the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight
Grand Prix, ending up the champion of the event and inheriting
the title that belonged to his teammate Wanderlei Silva.
Back
in Brazil for several weeks now, the young Chute Boxe fighter
is still enjoying his deserved vacation, and the champion told
us everything that happened during one of the greatest moments
of his life.
Sherdog.com:
When you were selected to fight in the PRIDE GP, did you expect
such a good performance?
Shogun:
Actually I always believed. I believed in my potential and I
think anybody felt I could achieve what I got, only my team believed
in my potential. I always believed, but didn’t think about
the final. I always fought about the next fight. I only started
to think about the final when I won against Overeem.
Sherdog.com:
When you went to fight Alistair Overeem did you already know
about Wanderlei’s defeat? Did this play an influence at
the time of the fight?
Shogun:
I knew that Wanderlei had lost because I saw the fight in the
backstage while I was warming up. It was something that influences
— his defeat — but I focused well and went relaxed
for the fight. I think this is important.
Sherdog.com:
In the beginning of the bout Overeem came straight forward at
you. How was that moment?
Shogun:
He started the fight with a tough rhythm, but I knew that he
was going to gas out because he started too speed up. So I knew
he was going to gas out and I would have my opportunity. So when
I got the top position I couldn’t let that chance pass.
Sherdog.com:
He surprised you by starting the fight with that kind of rhythm?
Shogun:
No, but I was surprised by his wrestling. He has a very good
game, is a tough guy; I think he evolved a lot in MMA. I became
impressed with his wrestling.
Sherdog.com:
Did Wanderlei’s and Ninja’s defeats to Arona motivate
you more for the final match?
Shogun:
Actually no. I was motivated by being in the Grand Prix final.
After the victory over Overeem I was very proud of myself; I
was happy so I thought, “now that I am here, I will have
to win this thing.” I concentrated myself the maximum that
I could and went very relaxed for the fight, so I could let my
game flow.
Sherdog.com:
So you went straight at him …
Shogun:
That’s right. Arona is a good fighter, but thank God I didn’t
let him do his game. I controlled the pace of the fight and did
my game.
Sherdog.com:
Do you think the fact that he hit his head changed the fight?
Shogun:
Telling the truth to you, I don’t know. But if he hit his
head, it was at 20 seconds into the fight and our bout lasted
three minutes. So I think that, if he is an MMA fighter, and
couldn’t recoup from this blow in two minutes, I think he
could not even fight. If he really hit his head I don’t
know, but let’s assume that it is true, but the fight ended
up much later, he had to have recovered. It is so true that he
stood up, gave me some knees, and tried to put me down. I think
this is not an excuse.
Sherdog.com:
And this misunderstanding with Paulo Filho, what happened?
Shogun:
When the presentation of the match was happening, Paulo keep
provoking me, doing a sign with the number two, which means that
it was going to be two in one night. I stayed relaxed, but after
I won the fight, I told to Paulo: “So Paulo, four times
now?” So he kept arguing with my brother. He said he would
fight against anyone and bla bla bla. Now he has to maintain
what he said, that he will fight against my brother. So now let’s
see.
Sherdog.com:
How is your situation in PRIDE now? You are the Grand Prix champion
and Wanderlei the weight-class champion. Is there any possibility
of the organizers pitting both of you to fight?
Shogun:
Everything is really well. Both titles are with us, everything
is great. About a fight between us, I think it’s not going
to happen. We would do this only in the Grand Prix, outside it
no. The title is with Wanderlei, is in good hands, so I’m
not worried about it. I only worry about winning my bouts and
not keep thinking about the middleweight belt.
Sherdog.com:
Is there a chance that you would fight in the heavyweight division?
Shogun:
No. Actually there is a chance, but not right now. I think it
is still early. I want to gain more experience and then go up
in weight. Maybe two years from now.
Sherdog.com:
And how was the moment when you received your jiu-jitsu black
belt?
Shogun:
After the Grand Prix fight was over, the guys from my team came
to the ring and Nino Schembri started to slap my back. So I said,
“Damn Nino, stop hitting me,” then he started to give
me another slap. So he turned to me and said, “Damn ‘Shogun,’
you got the black belt, you have to get a beating!” It was
sensational, one more happiness. There was so much joy in such
a few days, now I have to correspond to all of this.
Sherdog.com:
With so many battles in 2005, do you think the rivalry between
Chute Boxe and Brazilian Top Team is more sharpened this year?
Shogun:
Actually we are professionals. This rivalry environment between
us is only inside the ring. These are the two best MMA teams
in the world, so our rivalry is only up there. I don’t have
anything against anyone outside the ring and I think my team
doesn’t have either. The only disagreement that happened
was that one with Paulo — he said a lot of bullshit and
has to keep his word now.
Sherdog.com:
And how is the train with Sakuraba in Chute Boxe?
Shogun:
He is still with us. Now he is more relaxed. In the beginning
he was a little ashamed; now he is really relaxed, and keeps
telling jokes, laughing. The guy is really funny. What a character.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Luiz
Azeredo
By Eduardo Ferreira
Chute
Boxe: Out of the final
After
returning from Japan, where he fought the Pride Bushido GP until
73kg, the black belt of Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai Azeredo Luiz
reached the semifinals of the category. But once again he didn't
handle Japanese quarry Takanori Gomi. Resting in Curitiba, Chute
Boxe athlete waits for a new chance to fight at Pride. "I
was defeated and it belongs to our lives," says the fighter.
Read the full contend below:
How
it was your first fight?
It
was a hurricane that passed there. The man even touched me. I
haven't much what to talk about this fight. I entered the game
to define the two fights fast.
But
the second fight, against Takanori Gomi, you were not able to
impose your strategy...
Yes...
but I exchanged very well with him. He was too fast in the ring
and I was not able to punch him in the chin. When I put him down,
he only moored and he didn't accept the ground game. The referee
was helping him and quickly came back the fight in foot, what
Gomi really wanted.
Why
didn't you beat him?
He
got two green cards due his moor and showed a little Boxing.
In other hand, I showed much more versatility. I used Muay Thai,
Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling and threw a flyer knee. I think that this
victory should be mine. Well, we did a tremendous game on the
feet.
This
fight was different of the first one, when Gomi ruled you by
KO.
We
fought until the end this time. I showed him he is not a good
fighter. He doesn't know how to fight on the ground. He only
knows Boxing and nothing else. I was defeated and losing is bad,
but it belongs to every warrior's life. Now I wait for a new
chance to fight at Pride.
It
seems that you lost some teeth.
(laughs)
Well. my teeth were kind of broken before the fight. The front
ones were already bad since Curitiba. During the fight, they
fell and I gave then to master Rafael Cordeiro and I said: 'hold
it. In Brazil I will take care of' (laughs).
What
happened with Daniel (Acácio) against (Akihiro) Gono?
Daniel
fought well, but I think he was injured. Daniel got lost and
concerned about the knee. It was a tied fight, but in the end,
Gono got mounted and this fact impressed the referees.
Source:
Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"They are never alone that are accompanied with noble thoughts."
Sir Philip Sidney, 1554-1586, English Poet/Courtier/Soldier
|
Rumble
On The Rock Goes To Maui!
Results!
Rumble World Entertainment Presents:
Rumble on the Rock 8: "Showdown in Maui"
Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
October 7, 2005
By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com
There
was still a long line to enter the Civic Center at almost fight
time, but everyone squeezed in and packed the house to support
their local Maui fighters. This was Rumble's first event on the
island of Maui and they utilized the services of local promoter
Bradda Kamanse to help things run smooth. The night had a number
of great fights which both fighters constantly fighting for dominance
in the fight. The Rob Villapando-Shane Nelson fight along with
the Paco Woods-Lorrin Ishimine fight went back and forth with
each fighter getting the edge only to lose it and fight to regain
it. Mike Aina gets better with every fight, not only using good
strategy but executing it with perfection. The contrast of Kendall
Grove's ground work versus Jay Carter's stand up skills made
for an interesting fight with one tactical error by Carter costing
him the match. The Scott Junk-Bobby Hoffman fight never took
place because Hoffman pulled out at the last minute, but it made
for an interesting situation when Junk tried to coax Hoffman
back into the fight. This escalated into Junk giving Hoffman
a push in the cage and both fighters trying to go after each
other in and out of the cage. The main event could not have capped
off the night any better. The King of the Cage Champion, Lloyd
"Kadillac" Marshbanks took on Hawaii's own Wes "Cabbage"
Correira. Kadillac showed off incredible agility for a man his
size, reversing positions and flowing on the ground. Cabbage
looked revitalized from his last fight. He looked in good shape,
moved really well on the ground and showed an improved sprawl
that he tested to its limit with Kadillac's great wrestling.
Kadillac landed some huge blows, almost every one of them looked
to land on Cabbage's chin, staggering the big man back, but Cabbage
showed that he can not only give, but he can take big punches.
Cabbage landed a well place knee to Kadillac that turned the
whole fight around. Cabbage landed a few big punches of his own,
sprawled on a Kadillac shot and continued unloading on him until
Kadillac fell to the canvas. Rumble's Maui debut was a huge success
and marked a statewide expansion of Rumble On The Rock's event.
The next Rumble scheduled for November 19th on Oahu promises
to be the best ever with a huge announcement coming very soon.
William
Armstrong (808 Fight Factory) drew Jeremy Paet (Native Action
Fight Team)
Majority Draw [(20-19), (19-19), (19-19)] after 2 rounds.
Kawika
Ferriera (BJ Penn's MMA) drew Kevin Agliam (Native Action Fight
Team)
Majority Draw [(20-19), (19-19), (19-19)] after 2 rounds.
Brandon
Visher (Maui Full Contact Fighting) def. Jumar Dumalao (808 Fight
Factory)
TKO due to injury (knee) at 1:47 minutes in Round 1.
Kirk
Wahyick (BJ Penn's MMA) def. Gene Gregor
Submission via rear naked choke at 3:45 minutes in Round 1.
Rob
Villapando (808 Fight Factory) def. "Sugar" Shane Nelson
(BJ Penn's MMA)
Majority decision [(20-18), (20-18), (19-19)] after 2 rounds.
Mike
Aina (BJ Penn's MMA/Team MADD) def. Albert Rios (228th Street
Gym)
Unanimous decision [(20-18), (20-18), (20-18)] after 2 rounds.
Paco Woods (BJ Penn's MMA) def. Lorrin Ishimine (Maui Full Contact
Fighting)
Majority decision [(19-19), (20-19), (20-19)] after 2 rounds.
Kendall
Groves (Cobra Kai) def. Jay Carter (BJ Penn's MMA)
Submission via triangle choke at 3:25 minutes in Round 1.
Scott
Junk (BJ Penn's MMA) vs. Bobby Hoffman (Shark Tank)
Never took place because Hoffman pulled out at the last minute.
Both fighters were brought into the ring to announce what happened
and Junk called out Hoffman. Junk even pushed Hoffman and the
fight almost took place right there. Both fighters had to be
held back and settled down.
Wes "Cabbage" Correira (BJ Penn's MMA) def. Lloyd "Kadillac"
Marshbanks
TKO via referee stoppage at 3:16 minutes in Round 1.
|
NAGA's
Hawaii State Championship's
Date Tentatively Announced!
It has been released in the NAGA e-newsletter that the Hawaii
State Championships, which was cancelled recently will be tentatively
set for Saturday, February 26, 2006
There will 130 Gi & No-Gi Divisions.
Source: NAGA
|
Memos
from Media Purgatory
by Jake Rossen
The
seismic shift felt in the MMA community in the past several weeks
could be attributable to one of two things: either Akebono has
taken another inevitable spill onto the canvas in a fleshy heap
of kamikaze glory, or Zuffa has issued their umpteenth edict
designed to leave onlookers doing their best Curious George.
If
you guessed the latter, give yourself a prize. (But don’t
despair, losing team: ’Bono is probably being airlifted
to the ER as we speak.)
Zuffa
has recently decided to put a moratorium on most members of the
print and Web MMA media attending UFC-branded events. Effective
with the October 3 SpikeTV special, no media credentials will
be issued to such mainstays as Sherdog.com, Full Contact Fighter,
MMAWeekly.com, and a host of others.
It’s
been hypothesized the media blackout is an attempt to internalize
all UFC-related news, with Zuffa's ultimate intention being to
create a proprietary Web site and control the content and distribution
of information.
(You'll
find a similar business strategy in practice with the press-shy
World Wrestling Entertainment and its use of branded periodicals.)
Mixed
martial arts, as one would be quick to point out, is a sport,
not sports entertainment. The very purpose of sport is to use
a public forum to disseminate results of athletic contests. Journalists
should feel free to interpret sporting events as they see fit,
and they should be accommodated within reason by the promotional
body in order to do so.
As
Sherdog.com and others have learned, Zuffa does not share this
sentiment.
The
Tex Avery-inspired double takes from editors that met credential
denials were followed by phone calls to Zuffa PR, who retorted
only with confirmation that criterion had been established —
no elaboration was offered. Media relations firm Brener Zwikel
& Associates states only that these sites fail to meet Zuffa’s
qualifications for admittance.
These
oft-referenced standards seem to be a well-kept secret. Jacket?
Tie? BA in English? A strong resemblance to Dean Cain? It’s
a mystery to site administrators. We can dismiss traffic, since
Sherdog.com resembles the I-95. Print media? Didn’t help
Full Contact Fighter.
Zuffa’s
motivations are unclear. And largely unimportant. To allow the
UFC to self-police its promotion and distribute information in
a way that casts no critical light is more than an insult to
fans: it's an outright dangerous practice. The uproar that would
accompany the NFL refusing press at the gate would be deafening.
No legitimate sport can operate in a bubble. There’s no
substitution for live eyewitness accounts.
Granted,
a good chunk of purported “journalism” circulating
online is little more than a fan’s self-indulgent ramblings.
As the UFC begins cutting the Internet’s umbilical cord,
it would be understandable to see the incoherent sites fall by
the wayside. Evolution is unforgiving like that.
But
is that really the motive? InsideFighting’s Jason Probst
speculates that the UFC finds sites that promote fighters or
events as contraindicative of balanced journalism. If true, that
might explain the absence of Full Contact Fighter (publisher
Joel Gold sponsors fighters) and Sherdog (with its peripheral
online store). Throw in Ryan Bennett’s gig announcing for
different promoters and you have a case for a collective conflict
of interests.
It
almost sounds like a noble pursuit. But not quite.
Gold’s
sponsorship is a separate entity from the editorial pages of
FCF; Sherdog’s store differs not one iota from ESPN’s
marketing pursuits; Bennett has done nothing different than boxing
media who’ve broadcast for specific promoters in that sport,
not to mention the fact that his show has substantial UFC content.
To
think that coverage is being re-directed or diluted in some vain
attempt to boost profitability for a sister business is the stuff
tinfoil hats are made of.
Here’s
where the real subversive kowtowing is going on: the Zuffa-supported
ufcfightnews.com and sites and publications buoyed by the UFC’s
advertising dollars will allegedly be permitted entrance. If
Zuffa is so concerned about objectivity, it seems laughably absurd
to expect sites that depend on the Octagon’s sponsorship
to turn any kind of critical eye. Of course, when that perceived
bias benefits them, there’s clearly no problem.
What’s
more, while the MMA media and its ragtag bunch of glorified fanzines
certainly needs some degree of self-monitoring, it doesn’t
seem appropriate for Zuffa to act as mediator. Not when the media
has been overwhelmingly pro-UFC from the start, acting more as
champion and less as critic of an opposed fringe sport.
Try
not to sneeze. This is one precariously balanced house of cards.
The
UFC exhausting the usefulness of fandom isn’t the issue
here: neither fans nor journos are “owed” anything
regardless of the amount of time they spent bailing water out
of SEG’s sinking ship. The issue is Zuffa being so emboldened
as to forgo the gift of free advertising that the MMA media provides.
It’s a mutually beneficial relationship: By facilitating
access to your product, the publication writes about something
of interest to the reader. The product then gets exposed to a
number of people. It’s a simple equation, yet one that Zuffa
has apparently realized no need for.
‘Cause
here’s the thing, gang: While Spike’s Ultimate Fighter
grabs impressive numbers and Pay-Per-View buy rates continue
to escalate, the quote-unquote mainstream press is still plenty
satisfied to give the UFC the Robert E. Howard treatment. Are
we really to expect a general-audience press — for whom
the guard conjures up images of biblical wrongdoing — to
provide the kind of perspective fight fans have grown accustomed
to?
It’s
all very odd, and indicative of the monopoly the UFC currently
enjoys in the United States. Their brand has gone unchallenged
since Extreme Fighting faded with barely a whimper in the mid-1990s.
Undoubtedly, Zuffa wouldn’t dare consider such a totalitarian
move in the face of direct competition. Why allow search engines
and news sites to focus on rival businesses? But knowing that
substantial coverage of events overseas is difficult, they forge
ahead in what amounts to an unprecedented act of hubris.
The
UFC brass must see a pattern to this insanity, a way to bilk
dollars in the absence of comprehensive event coverage. You’d
need to schedule a conference call between Will Hunting and John
Forbes Nash to figure it out, though. Zuffa doesn’t believe
it warrants an explanation.
So
welcome to the New New UFC … where the heavyweight division
is so spartan that an Internet celebrity is getting a crack on
the under card; where you can be 9-3 in middleweight competition
and get cut on a technicality just before your well-earned title
shot; where abrasive business negotiations get the logo on your
fight shorts blurred from repurposed highlight shows; where Chuck
Zito gets a front-row seat while Quinton Jackson (Pictures) is
told they’re fresh out of tickets.
I
remind fans to let their voice be heard. Tell the UFC you cannot
tolerate the concept of propaganda. Tell them you want objective
eyewitnesses to their events. Tell them you refuse to patronize
their editorially skewed product. As fans, you have the right
to unbiased reporting.
To
lose truth in this industry is to lose the very ideals that it
was built on. We are all fans of real combat — unvarnished
reality. To accept anything less in this sport's journalism would
be hypocritical.
The
opinions expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the
views of Sherdog.com
Source:
Sherdog
|
Joe
“Diesel” Riggs - Interview
By Sean McClure
Joe “Diesel” Riggs is one of the nicest guys in MMA
and one of the most charismatic. His skills are strong and his
competitive drive is set on “pulverize” at all times.
He trains with the best and he trains hard. I got to sit down
with him at Jorge Gurgel’s MMA Academy while he was there
training for UFC 55 and it was a memorable experience. Here is
my interview with Joe ”Diesel” Riggs the week before
UFC 55.
Thanks
for sitting down with me, Joe.
Hey,
great to be here man.
You’ve
dropped down from Heavyweight at 300lbs to now being at 170lbs.
Watching you train, you look comfortable at 170, how do you feel?
I
feel the greatest, if you have seen any of my fights, I am not
a fat guy, but I look at Rich at 185 and he was in ten times
better shape than I was at 185 so I cut down to 170.
Now
you have Billy Rush in your corner now. As I said earlier, Billy
has just exploded onto the scene. How much has he played a role
in your training?
He
is so intelligent with nutrition and strength conditioning. He
is very knowledgeable in the game. He is there mentally and physically.
He is a great training and a great friend and he has definitely
been a huge role in this.
In
this fight with Chris Lytle, it was originally supposed to be
Pete Sell at 185. Did they expect you to fight at 185 and you
just decided to go to 170 or did they know this ahead of time?
No,
they called me two weeks ago and told me Pete Sell hurt his knee.
They offered me Ed Herman at 185 and he didn’t take it.
He had always been bad mouthing me saying I was ducking him but
I had never heard of the guy. So Billy suggested I go to 170.
So it was our decision to do it and the UFC agreed to give me
the opponent I asked for in that weight class.
Chris
Lytle is a pretty tough guy and has great hands. Have you been
watching some of his tapes?
I
actually have trained with him. He is one of my favorite people
and he is a great guy. He called me the night I found out I was
fighting him and was all like “You’re goin' down Joe
Riggs!” *laughs* I mean, he is just a great guy and a great
fighter. I couldn’t say anything bad about him. But the
fact is, I am too big for him and too strong for him. Chris isn’t
a killer. He doesn’t have that killer instinct like I have.
I think it will be a great competitive fight, but I think this
is just the first big fight for me at 170.
So
are you looking forward to maybe facing Matt Hughes if he gets
by Karo Parisyan at UFC 56?
Oh,
yeah. Definitely.
One
more question about Lytle, If you remember back to his war with
Robbie Lawler at UFC 45 ….. Have you seen much change in
him since then?
Yeah,
He always had a great ground game but now he is more focused
on his boxing. I have got really good hands and I hit harder
than he does, but I will be the first to tell you that he probably
has more technical hands than I do. He is ranked 11th in the
world in the WMB Boxing. Not many people in MMA can say that.
I
can’t think of anyone right now off of the top of my head.
I
really think he has the best conventional boxing style in MMA
for sure. He has definitely gotten better in all of his fights
with his hands. Not to say I am not going to stand with him.
I have been begging for someone to stand with. But it I was a
smart guy, I would take him down but I want to mix it up on the
feet a little while. I make it difficult for everybody. I want
to enjoy it.
Last
question. Take us through what is going to happen from now until
UFC 55? Most fans don’t understand what actually goes on
when preparing for a fight.
Well
he has got to get his training camp in order and get himself
mentally right for the fight. My training camp is in order and
I am right for the fight. All that is really left to do is to
cut a few more pounds. I am at 184 now and I want to be at 180
when I leave for Connecticut. So really….. just get my conditioning
up and shed a couple pounds and really that’s it. I am pretty
much in line. I am ready to go now. Billy has got me ready. I
am more ready now than I have ever been for a fight.
Prediction
for the Fight?
It’s
gonna be fast and furious.
Round
number?
You
know, it's gonna be round number 1.
Well,
Joe…. MaXfighting thanks you very much and wishes you good
luck at UFC 55!
Source:
Maxfighting
|
VOVCHANCHIN’S
MOVE TO 205 HASN’T WORKED
by Ryan Bennett
Randy Couture shocked the world when he left the Heavyweight
Division to win the Light Heavyweight Championship, beating Chuck
Liddell a couple of years ago. Evan Tanner became champion at
185 by moving down in weight. Same could be said for Rich Franklin,
who left the light heavyweight for the greener pastures of 185
and the championship belt. Cutting weight seems to take certain
fighters to new levels in their careers by becoming champions,
but for other fighters the EXPERIMENT hasn’t worked. Case
in point, Igor Vovchanchin.
Vovchachin
excited the MMA world when he told everyone he was moving down
in weight from heavy to light heavy fighting in 205. In many
fans eyes’ it would be Vovchachin to be the man that would
give Wanderlei Silva a run for his money and his Pride Championship
belt. Instead, after a lack luster win over Yuki Kondo, it was
Vovchachin who was overwhelmed by Alistair Overeem at Pride’s
Critical Countdown last June. To make matters worse, he then
went down against Kazuhiro Nakamura just two months later.
1-2.
A losing record after three fights in Pride. It was not the record
many expected from the pride of Ukraine, as he left the heavyweight
division for the bright lights of 205. Why hasn’t the weight
cutting worked for Igor? MMAWeekly’s very own fighter residential
fighter, Frank Trigg gives his take. “When you move down
a weight class, you find out how quick fighters are. Igor as
a heavyweight was the fastest guy to begin with. Now he's finding
out how quick these guys are. He has the power but not the speed
in my opinion"
Igor,
who may be at the bottom of the barrel right now in his fight
career, can make a comeback of sorts this weekend in Europe.
Vovchanchin will try to resurrect his career this weekend on
the Bushido Europe card and of course it won’t be easy.
Igor will have to face Kevin Randleman, the helter skelter fighter
who can look like a world beater against Mirko Cro Cop, but has
been flat as well, losing lack luster boring decisions against
fighters like Sakuraba, a fighter he out weighed by 30 pounds.
Still Randleman has name value, he’s been a former champion,
and Igor has a shot to revive his career, if he can win impressively
this weekend.
Vovchanchin
has heard the negative criticism. Some say he’s too old,
others believe the game has passed him by. After this fight this
weekend, from the fighter closing in on 60 professional MMA fights,
we should know if critics are right, that his age and game has
passed him by. This fight should truly tell us if he is on his
way back or if he should flat out retire.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"To reach something good it is very useful to have gone
astray, and thus acquire experience."
St. Teresa of Avila, 1515-1582, Spanish Saint and Mystic
|
Rumble
On The Rock Goes To Maui!
Tonight!
Rumble World Entertainment heads to Maui on Friday October 7,
2005 at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Cabbage Correira VS Ron Rumpf
Scott Junk VS Bobby Hoffman
(Fight of the Night for sure!)
Kendall Groves VS Jay Carter
Mike Aina VS Albert Rios
Sonny Boy Kaanana VS Bryse Martines
Paco Woods VS Lorrin Ishimine
Brandon Visher VS Jamar Dumalo
More Fights to Come!
Source: Rumble World Entertainment
|
X-1
Battleground at the O-Lounge
Tonight!
X-1 makes their Battlegrounds At The O Lounge Debut! They have
already sold out of their 400 plus tickets, but there may be
standing room only space available. Since this is the inaugural
event, I would recommend that everyone be on thier best behavior
because one fight could put an end to this monthly event before
it starts.
Source: Event Promoter
|
Mixed
Martial Arts Media
Denied Credentials to UFC 55
LOS
ANGELES, October 3 -- The Ultimate Fighting Championship, a mixed
martial arts promotion under the direction of Zuffa, LLC and
owned and operated since January 2001 by Las Vegas Station Casino
magnates Lorenzo and Frank J. Fertitta III, has denied media
credentials to several MMA-exclusive Web sites and publications
for UFC 55 on Oct. 7, impeding these media entities from performing
their full responsibilities to report the event to the public.
Full
Contact Fighter, a print publication and Web site that has covered
the UFC and MMA worldwide since 1997, was denied a credential
alongside Sherdog.com, which has reported since 1999 and is the
world's top-rated English-language MMA news Web site, as ranked
by Alexa.com; MMAWeekly.com, home to the most-listened-to daily
MMA Internet radio show; and MMARingReport.com, Canada's top
MMA news source.
Brener
Zwikel & Associates (BZA), a public relations firm hired
to administer credentials for the event, began e-mailing credential
denial notifications on September 12 that stated, "I must
inform you that it has been determined [applicant] does not meet
the qualifications for a media credential. Thank you for your
application, and for your interest in the UFC®."
No
"qualifications" or criterion for approval were provided
with these notifications, which, contrary to previous BZA credential
notifications, were released prior to the application deadline.
Zuffa has denied subsequent requests for photos, graphics and
other media-related materials that they previously provided.
Upon
receipt of credential denial, MMA media members called and emailed
BZA for clarification. BZA indicated that it acted solely upon
Zuffa's directive and that further inquiries should be forwarded
to Zuffa's Director of Public Relations, Jennifer Wenk. When
contacted, Wenk said any qualifications BZA implemented per Zuffa
during the credentialing process were internal and would not
be made available to the media directly affected by this new
policy. Wenk then recommended UFC President and Zuffa minority
co-owner Dana White be contacted.
On
Sept. 20, White received a certified letter from a unified group
of top MMA media that were denied credentials. The letter requested
a phone call or meeting with White to address Zuffa's denial
of longstanding MMA media. White did not respond. A subsequent
phone call to UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta has also remained unreturned.
On
Sept. 30, one week before UFC 55, White spoke with a designated
representative of the MMA media group and said that Zuffa had
not implemented new qualifications for media credentials. White
said it was his company's prerogative to accept or deny credentials
and that he was presently denying all MMA-exclusive media Web
sites.
However,
Full Contact Fighter, a print publication and Web site, was among
those denied media credentials. Zuffa's decision to deny credentials
has impeded Sherdog.com, Full Contact Fighter (and fcfighter.com),
MMAWeekly.com, MMARingReport.com and other Web sites from providing
the quality and quantity of unbiased, even-handed UFC coverage
that fans and fighters have become accustomed to -- and, in many
cases, dependent upon. It is with great regret and concern that
these media entities cannot provide the usual pre-fight, live-fight,
and post-fight coverage of UFC 55 in the form of articles, video,
and audio that feature the noble athletes of this sport.
Source:
FCF
|
COFFEE
GUY EXCLUSIVE: ROYCE VS. AERTS
By Coffee Guy
 
The following exclusive report was sent to us by our Zuffa informant
called 'Coffee Guy':
"My
sources within the K-1 organization have just confirmed that
Royce Gracie will face kickboxer Peter Aerts in an MMA fight
on their December 31st card.
Royce
will be paid USD$2.5 million for the fight. Expect an announcement
from K-1 soon.
Fightsport.com
has scooped the competitors once again."
Source:
Fight Sport
|
Pride
News!
PRIDE TO
BEGIN PROMOTING STANDUP FIGHTS
The
Japanese media reports that DSE/PRIDE will start promoting standup
only fight cards in 2006, in addition to their regular MMA shows.
According
to the Japanese media, these standup only cards will compete
with K-1, and will showcase more the talents of for Mirko 'Cro
Cop' Filipovic, Mark Hunt, Vanderlei Silva, Sergei Kharitonov,
and Japanese pro boxer Yosuke Nishijima just to name a few.
FEDOR
VS. YOSHIDA POSSIBILITY
The
Japanese media reports that DSE/PRIDE would like to make the
matchup of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hidehiko Yoshida for their card
on December 31st.
'CRO
COP' VS. HUNT
A
mainstream Croatian newspaper is reporting indicating that the
matchup of Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Mark Hunt will take
place on the PRIDE card on December 31st.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
PRIDE
CONFIRMS FIGHTSPORT.COM SCOOP
 
DSE/PRIDE confirmed what Fightsport.com first reported on September
26th, that the matchups of Ken Shamrock vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
will take place on the PRIDE 30 card on October 23rd.
THE
JAKE R REPORT: SHAMROCK VS. SAKURABA AND OTHER NEWS
By Jake R
In yet another in a long line of Jake R exclusives for Fightsport.com,
this cyber reporter has learned that Ken Shamrock is definitely
fighting Kazushi Sakuraba, and has been training for it.
Of
course PRIDE could change things around before the show, but
as of right now, PRIDE wants to make Ken vs. Sakuraba.
Also,
I heard that the only reason Ken Shamrock vs. Chuck Liddell didn't
happen is because Randy Couture exercised his rematch clause.
Zuffa had the offer on the table for Ken and wanted it to happen.
Ken has said it was all in Randy's hands, and he didn't want
to wait until after the third fight between Randy and Liddell.
As
usual, stick to Fightsport.com and the Jake R report for the
inside scoop on the MMA world and Zuffa's activities that you
won't read anywhere else.
*Fightsport.com
and Jake R exclusive, must credit Fightsport.com and The Jake
R Report when discussing this story.*
Source:
Fight Sport
|
SAKURABA
VS SHAMROCK,
TWO ADDITIONAL MATCHES ANNOUNCED FOR PRIDE FIGHTING’S FULLY
LOADED
From
Dream Stage Entertainment
October 5, 2005
TOKYO, Japan –
Three more bouts have been announced for PRIDE FIGHTING’S
upcoming event, FULLY LOADED, including a match up of legend
versus legend as Japan’s Kazushi Sakuraba takes on “The
World’s Most Dangerous Man” Ken Shamrock. FULLY LOADED
is scheduled to premiere on North American pay per view on Monday,
October 24th, 2005 at 10:00 pm ET, 7:00 pm PT.
Sakuraba
versus Shamrock … a match up between two of the sport’s
biggest names, each looking to continue his legend. Sakuraba
returns from Brazil having recently trained at the world-renowned
Chute Boxe Academy in Curitiba, Brazil, home of the biggest rival
of his fight career---Wanderlei Silva. Under the watchful eye
of coach Rudimar Fedrigo, Sakuraba trained with Silva, Murilo
“Ninja” Rua, and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in
preparation for one of the most important bouts of his career.
Sakuraba’s opponent, Ken Shamrock, makes his return to PRIDE
and Japan, the country where he originally built his legendary
status as a fighter. A former King of Pancrase, Shamrock last
appeared in PRIDE in 2002 facing Don “The Predator”
Frye.
Also
added to the fight card, Murilo “Ninja” Rua of the
Chute Boxe Academy makes his return to the ring taking on Murad
Chunkaev of the Chechen Republic (fighting out of Holland’s
Golden Glory team) and American Sumo Henry “Sentoryu”
Miller battles Brazilian giant “Zulu.”
Previously
announced matches include the return of Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson as he takes on Japanese fighter Hirotaka Yokoi …
a match up of judo legend against judo legend as Japan’s
Makoto Takimoto (Olympic gold medallist) takes on Korea’s
Yoon Dong Sik under mixed martial arts rules … the long-awaited
rematch between Croatian Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic
and American Josh “The Babyface Assassin” Barnett …
and Cro Cop’s teammate, Fabricio Werdum, against rising
heavyweight contender Sergei Kharitonov.
FIGHTCARD:
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (Croatia) vs. Josh Barnett
(USA)
Kazushi Sakuraba (Japan) vs. Ken Shamrock (USA)
Sergei Kharitonov (Russia) vs. Fabricio Werdum (Brazil/Spain)
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (USA) vs. Hirotaka Yokoi
(Japan)
Murilo “Ninja” Rua (Brazil) vs. Murad Chunkaev (Chechen
Republic)
Henry “Sentoryu” Miller (USA) vs. Zulu (Brazil)
Makoto Takimoto (Japan) vs. Yoon Dong Sik (Korea)
Additional
matches to be announced soon.
Fight card subject to change.
FULLY
LOADED premieres on North American pay per view via iNDEMAND,
DIRECTV, DISH NETWORK, UrbanXtra, TVN1, VU!, and Viewer’s
Choice Canada on Monday, October 24th, 2005 at 10:00 pm ET, 7:00
pm PT (including a countdown show at 9:30pm ET, 6:30pm PT).
For
additional replay times, please contact your pay per view provider
or pridefc.com.
For
more information on PRIDE FC, visit pridefc.com!
Source:
Pride
|
Quote
of the Day
"I've finally stopped running away from myself. Who else
is there better to be?"
Goldie Hawn, American Actress/Comedienne/Producer
|
Interview
- Wanderlei Silva
By Takimoto
Takimoto-
Now that it is over, can you analyze your fight against Arona?
Wanderlei
Silva- What fight? Actually, there were no fight. That was one
of the worst fights of my life, I did the wrong tactics. What
I don't accept is because I didn't a good show, I became very
upset because I didn't do what my fans and everybody expected
from me. But, thank God, I absorbed this, saw my mistakes. Now
I have to train more, but I'm already doing this, and I am ready
for the next one.
Takimoto-
And when is going to be the next fight?
Wanderlei
Silva- At first, the next one will be in 31 of December. I still
don't know against whom, but I asked my master Rudimar to do
it again against Arona, because things are not going to stay
like this. It doesn't matter, I never give up and next time that
I face him I'm going to smash everything, go straight forward
him with all my will. I saw that kind of fight is not for me.
Takimoto-
What do you think about some of the critical comments that you
are receiving?
Wanderlei
Silva- That's normal. Every sport is like this. It is a sport
thing, it is a part of the job. You have to know how to absorb
and filter, to not commit this mistakes again. I don't keep myself
down for nothing
Takimoto-
And what do you thing about Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's
performance?
Wanderlei
Silva-I knew that if he made a classic fight he would show how
prepared he is. This year was Shogun's year. He really surpassed
the best. If he and I went to the final in this tourney it would
be unfair, I would feel myself bad. We set up that I would be
the champion. We would fight but come on, I wouldn't do a real
fight with the guy. There's no way we can do this, this will
never happen. I really like him, he is a really good guy, very
humble, there is no way. I even said to the boss "If you
want to let him (Shogun) do this, there is no problem for me",
but he said that I am older, and have more time on the road.
Shogun will have other opportunities. But thank God everything
went fine and he became the champion with his own merits, everybody
saw his superiority against the others. I expect that he keep
the focus now, keep training, because other real tough fights
will come and I think he discovered all the potential he has.
He has a lot of things to show.
Takimoto-
How about the fight between Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
and Emelianenko Fedor, what did you think?
Wanderlei
Silva- It was a real good fight. This fight I saw in special
seats, almost ringside. I was already rooting for Fedor, because
I don't like Mirko. After I had the opportunity to meet the guy,
he came and talked to me, as a very nice guy, very humble. I
became surprised with the person that he really is. In the fight,
he really did the right tactic... went straight forward at the
other guy. It was a real nice fight. Fedor also kept the pace,
and went the distance in 20 minutes of brawl. That was a real
fight. And that's the way I'm going to fight from now on. I will
came back to my style, this tactical way of fighting is not for
me. I’m at 100kg, don't know if I will fight against a heavier
guy or again against Arona. So I can cut to 93kg, or can fight
against a heavier guy, doesn't matter against whom.
Takimoto-
After Pride you went to Europe. How were things there?
Wanderlei
Silva- It was really cool; I did a lot of things there. I did
two full seminars in France, they had to cut some people because
we sold so many tickets. Some people stayed around the mat and
they paid only to see the demonstrations, because there was no
space for them to stay. It was really nice, in the south of France.
I talked to some guys there, I knew two famous rap groups there
and we are trying to meet some very influence people to achieve
the MMA liberation there. I went to St. Ettiene and met the teams
goalkeeper, who is my fan and a really nice guy. There was going
to be a match between St. Etienne and Barcelona, so they invited
me to give the first kick of the game. I took pictures with Ronaldinho,
a very nice guy, said that he sees my fights, that he likes fights
and that he follows the Brazilian guys.
Then
I went to Belgium. It is the second time that I went there, the
last time I spent just a little time. There were a lot of people
recognizing me in the streets, asking for autographs. Then I
went to Holland, in Amsterdam, I'm also very known there. Now
that I am back to Brazil I'm already working.
Takimoto-
How was the reception of the Chute Boxe people when you came
back?
Wanderlei
Silva- You know that there was a good side in all this; it was
the strength that a lot of people gave to me. Master Rudimar
and Rafael, I ask them to not be nice to me, because if I had
to receive some slaps, and they gave them to me. They really
support me, along with Cristiano Marcelo, Nino "Elvis"
Schembri, all the guys that trains together. Besides them, a
lot of people came and talked to me, and sent me messages. It
is a really good thing to experience this.
Everyone
is with me and with my team, and after everything they did and
are doing
for me, I'm already grateful to my masters. The strength they
gave to me, this strength, and this vibe. I went back to the
academy and everybody gave me this support, I almost cried. Everything
that I will do for my team, I always did, but know everything
that can do for my friends I will do.
Takimoto-
What are you thinking about Sakuraba in the days he is spent
in Curitiba?
Wanderlei
Silva- The guy is really cool. I already had an impression about
him, from when we crossesd. He stayed in his way, he is a great
professional in his trainings routines, in his pace, even the
boss said "the guy is really cool", like a person,
not as an athlete. He is an idol, a real idol. A lot of people
here in Curitiba went to take pictures with the guy, went to
ask for autographs. He is a very recognized person and deserves
a lot of respect in the MMA scene.
Source: Maxfighting |
Interview
with "Pele"
By Takimoto
Directly
from Europe, where he conducted a series of seminars, Jose "Pele"
gave maXfighting an exclusive interview, where he talked about
his training and all
the details surrounding his exit from Chute Boxe, that happened
few years ago.
Takimoto-
How is your actual training routine these days?
Pele-
It is well, as the days are passing, I'm increasing my amount
of training.
Takimoto-
And how is your new partnership with Anderson Silva and Alexandre
"Pequeno" Franca Nogueira coming along?
Jose
Landy- I don't see Pequeno in a long time. About Anderson, he
is my real partner; I'm missing him in this Europe tour.
Takimoto-
Tell us about about Anderson Silva, what do you think about his
debut in professional boxing, in the last Minotauro fights?
Jose
Landy- The opponent wasn't good enough... If I was the judge
of the bout, I would stopped it and asked the athlete to recompose
himself, and started to took points from him. I would took some
measures to let the combat flow! [the opponent maintained clinching]
Anderson as a boxing fighter is what Brazil needs.
Takimoto-
While on the seminar tour, are you working to sharp your game
in its weak points?
Jose
Landy- I can say that I'm preparing myself... I worked hard all
these years, now I will go to the fight, like the old times!
I want to show to my kid who is their father, because I'm sure
that they are going to be fighters and need my real example in
their minds.
Takimoto-
After great success early in your career, there has been some
tough losses. Would you like to make a rematch with anyone in
special?
Jose
Landy- Sincerally, no! I'm here to face anyone; after all, I'm
just 32 now! I have much to look ahead for!
Takimoto-
What really happened when you left Chute Boxe? Did you felt betrayed
by your former student, Murilo "Ninja" Rua?
Jose
Landy- Without a doubt! The guy was my machine. He won against
everybody in a row and arrived in Pride with a real good reputation!
His brother, I didn't even know him well, he is really Rafael`s
student, and he was envious and frustrated as a fighter and ugly
as hell guy!
Takimoto-
Actually, do you have friendship links with anyone in your former
team?
Jose
Landy- I like (Wanderlei) Silva, but he showed that he is not
my friend!
Takimoto-
Ok then! Some rumors surfaced about a fight between you and Jorge
Patino "Macaco" Patino in JungleFC. Has Wallid, the
promoter, commented anything with you about this fight?
Jose
Landy- Macaco is a really nice guy, but he can't put himself
in this hole by fighting me; it is deep and hard to get out!
Takimoto-
Nowadays, who are the top fighters in your opinion?
Jose
Landy- Well, in the under 83kg, you have to believe that is Pele,
the showman! Under 93 kg, (Wanderlei) Silva, then Ninja's brother
(Mauricio "Shogun"). And for the heavy guys, without
a doubt, Emelianenko Fedor, heart of a samurai. I really liked
his last fight (against Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic),
even with the broken nose he went straight forward with all his
will!
Takimoto-
Tell us what comes to your mind when I say:
-
Anderson Silva:
A great skill and an excellent fighter.
-
Wallid Ismail:
A faithfull student.
Your
father:
Brave, worthy, a Samurai!
-
Pele Team:
Victory.
Chute
Boxe team:
A lot of years of sweat and blood!
-
Rudimar Fedrigo:
Master, God forgives you!
-
Murilo Ninja:
Baby.
Takimoto-
Pele, thanks a lot for the interview. Now, please leave a message
to your fans that follow the sport and admire your work.
Jose
Landy- Well guys, I'm in a really good shape, my sons will not
have to face bad things, because with this shape that I am in
I'll not lose the up&coming fights of my career. I'm in Europe
training a lot, I'm far away from my family and somebody will
have to pay for this! See ya.
Source: Maxfighting |
The
ultimate experience
A former OU wrestler won his first pro fight Saturday in Norman.
by Andrew May
October 02, 2005
Many
people fight for freedom. Some fight for survival. Fewer fight
for a living.
But
for former OU wrestler Matt Grice, fighting for a living is becoming
second nature.
Grice,
a four-time Oklahoma high school state champion wrestler, is
hanging up his wrestling boots in favor of ultimate fighting
gloves.
Extreme fighting
“I’ve
always enjoyed watching extreme fighting and started training
for it when my wrestling career at OU was over,” he said.
“I have always enjoyed fighting, and this provides an outlet
for me to do so.”
Grice
is new to the world of mixed martial arts.
He
has wrestled since the age of 6, but has only trained for ultimate
fighting for about four months.
“Recently,
I have worked a lot on my fighting and submissions to go along
with my wrestling background,” he said.
So
far, his minimal fight training has not hindered his ability
to punch, kick and claw out wins.
He
is 4-0 as an amateur and won his first professional fight Saturday
night in front of a packed house at Thunderbird Casino.
“I
love it because you can fight and not worry about getting into
trouble,” Grice said.
Though
he is an experienced wrestler and has devastating knockout power,
one can’t help but notice his humility.
After
Saturday’s first-round knockout, he helped his opponent
off the canvas, more concerned for his health than about receiving
accolades from the crowd.
“It’s
a mutual understanding that you’re there to knock the other
guy out,” he said. “It’s a sport and that’s
just how it works out sometimes.”
Grice
graduated from OU over the summer and has focused his attention
on his love for fighting ever since.
“My
goal is definitely to make a career out of this,” he said.
“It’s such a physically demanding sport. If you don’t
want to do this for a living, you’re in the wrong place.”
Grice
was sidelined with injuries in his time at OU and couldn’t
seem to stay healthy.
Eight
surgeries later, he knows he can take nothing for granted.
“You
have to enjoy it every day because anything can happen at any
time,” he said.
Source: Oklahoma Daily |
Quote
of the Day
"You have got to discover you, what you do, and trust it."
Barbra Streisand, American Actress and Singer
|
Randy
"The Natural" Couture Seminar!
Randy Couture returns
to Honolulu!
UFC
great Randy Couture will return to Honolulu to do another seminar
at JKD Unlimited. Randy will teach a two-day seminar, October
Saturday, October 29th and Sunday, October 30th, from 3-6 PM
both days.
Randy will be covering the MMA specific techniques, tactics,
and training methods that have worked so well for him.
First priority for registration will be given to JKD Unlimited
members and those who attended the Marcelo Garcia seminar.
If the seminar is not full by October 15th, others will be able
to sign up for this exciting event. Cost is $150 for those JKDU
and those who attended the Garcia seminar, $199 for others. Call
today to sign up or have your name put on the waiting list.
864-1620
Aloha!
Burton
Richardson
|
"The
Quest For Champions II"
Tournament 2005
Featuring:
Sport-jujitsu--Sport-pankration--Continuous Sparring--Novice(Jr./Adult)
division Grappling
When:
Sunday, November 20, 2005
*Action starts at 10:00am*
Where:
Hawaiian Mission Academy Gymnasium
1438 Pensacola Street
For more information Please contact Kempo Unlimited Hawaii
533-4466 or email kunltd@hotmail.com
Mahalo, Tommy Lam |
Kondo
rocked Kanehara at Pancrase
A
Japanese classic match was seen at last October 2nd's Pancrase.
Yuki Kondo did the main event of the night against Hiromitsu
Kanehara and won by referee's unanimous decision. The show took
place at Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium, in Kanagawa, Japan. The
full results you read below:
COMPLETE
RESULTS:
Pancrase
Sunday,
October 2, 2005
Yokohama
Cultural Gymnasium - Kanagawa, Japan
-
Taku Aramaki drew with Kenichi Ito;
- Yuki Takaya submitted Masaki Tsuchii by triangle choke at 4:43
in R1;
- Yoshiki Takahashi defeatedKestutis Arbocius by majority decision;
- Aslan Dzeboev defeated Masayuki Kono by KO at 4:12 in R1;
- Poai Suganuma defeated Hikaru Sato by unanimous decision;
- Lee Segak submitted Yuji Sakuragi by shoulder lock at 3:33
in R2;
- Satoru Kitaoka submitted Carlos Condit by heel hook at 3:57
in R1;
- Mike Kyle defeated Tsuyoshi Kosaka by referee's decision;
- Yuki Kondo defeated Hiromitsu Kanehara by unanimous decision.
Source: Tatame
|
MINDCANDY
ROCKS PRIDE
It’s inevitable to have heard the band Mindcandy if you’re
into MMA. Who, you ask? Mindcandy, the band that over the past
few years has been the soundtrack for Pride FC. Every time you’ve
seen a TV spot or watched a PPV, this Detroit band’s hard
rocking sounds have accompanied the frenzy of Pride’s action.
Currently
the band are about to release their new album, Revelations, a
collection of songs that showcase a heavier and more aggressive
sound while still retraining the band’s signature style
of melody and rhythm. Mindcandy vocalist Rudy DeSantis recently
spoke to MMA Weekly to discuss the new album and how a band from
the Midwest USA became involved with the biggest MMA promotion
in the world.
“We
became involved with Pride because of Jerry Millen (Pride’s
American PPV Producer),” said DeSantis. “He was hosting
countdown shows and asked if we’d contribute some music.
We knew him from Detroit, but we didn’t know what Pride
was (at the time). He told us about it we said ‘hell yeah’
we’d give him some music because who doesn’t like watching
two guys beat the hell out of each other?”
Initially
Rudy thought that the band’s involvement with the company
would be minor, but as he quickly learned, the band’s music
would become an intricate part of Pride’s promoting efforts.
“After
we gave him a CD we noticed that our music was being used on
previews and PPVs. After we started getting emails from all over,
like from buddies of mine and my cousin in Dallas, we were like
‘wow, this has the potential to get a lot bigger.’
We thought he was just going to use it for a minor thing, so
we were surprised to be getting contact from all over the world
because of it,” exclaimed DeSantis.
While
initially not familiar with Pride, DeSantis quickly became a
fan of the company after seeing what MMA was all about. “The
one thing I like about Pride fighting and MMA is that it’s
not fake. I was kind of a closet pro wrestling fan growing up
and I was devastated to find out it wasn’t real when I was
younger. In Pride they go in there and beat the snot out of each
other. It’s exciting, real, and not scripted. It’s
like a car accident, you can’t look away.”
Rudy
has realized just how big of an impact getting the band’s
music associated with the biggest MMA company in the world when
they were not only getting contacted from fans in other countries,
but that the band’s merchandise was beginning to go global
as well.
“Absolutely,
it’s helped us out so much,” exclaimed Rudy. “It’s
funny you bring it up because we just shipped off two shirts
and cds to a kid in Denmark. Without Pride how would someone
there have ever heard about us? I’m sure that people wouldn’t
have stumbled across our website without Pride. Watching our
traffic our hits are huge from places like Mexico, Canada, Denmark,
Spain, all over the place. That’s a lot for a band from
Detroit that’s not on a major label or doing major tours
to get that kind of exposure.”
Not
only has Pride’s influence in the band’s exposure been
major, but as Rudy says, the music has started to reflect many
of the themes of the company and some lyrics are now being inspired
directly by MMA. “There’s a track called ‘Face
the Anger’ that’s specifically about some of the things
I’ve heard in interviews and fights, it’s about preparing
to go out to the ring and go to war. It’s about what the
fighters experience backstage before they walk out, the crowd
calling their name, calling them out to fight.”
Rudy
continued, “Songs we’ve done previous like ‘No
Pain,’ ‘Bleed for Me,’ and ‘Going Down’
all apply to Pride. They’re about kicking ass and getting
ready to throwdown. On the new album there are about five or
six songs out of nine that are specifically written for Pride,
you can hear it in the lyrics, it’s about going to war.
It’s not overly blatant with references to Pride, but it’s
about the battles these guys have, squaring off and doing what
you’ve got to do.”
According
to DeSantis, the band’s recent success has allowed them
to do something that’s rare even for bands on major labels
to do. “The album’s called Revelations and it’s
coming out on October 14th and it’s going to be a double
disc. It has nine new electric and nine new acoustic songs on
it and that’s a first for a band from Detroit to do. People
are saying we’re getting pretty ballsy to release a double
disc, but this is our chance, we’re shopping this around
because nobody wants to punch the clock for a living.”
Rudy
closed out the interview by saying, “People can expect a
more mature, heavy, complex and rhythm oriented album in Revelations.
The best way to pick it up is by ordering it from the website
because we like to be in control of getting our merchandise out
and it gives us a chance to do stuff for fans. If people order
like 60 bucks worth of stuff we throw in autographed stuff for
free, we like to give a bit extra to the fans, they’re the
ones that make it all happen.”
Fans
interested in checking out Mindcandy and the upcoming album Revelations
can do so by going to www.mindcandyrock.com for information,
merchandise, samples and pre-release ordering info.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
FANS
SOUNDOFF ABOUT MEDIA BAN
You've read the press release on the main page today. How do
the fans feel about the UFC Media ban? Read for yourself. For
the record, we scrolled through three pages of comments and for
whatever reason there was not one, once again, not one post with
the opposing view. This may be the first time in the forum history
that every single post went one way on this issue. These are
just some of the comments you have made....
"I
am a solider in the middle east and the only way for me to really
get the heads up on all mma events is throught the internet forums
and for the UFC to do this really makes me angry to me thats
saying forget about all the guys who are oversea's and forget
about all those who cant get to a TV that night to watch the
event I am seriously thinking about never ever ordering a UFC
even when I get back to the states."
SPC
Joseph
From-Oxnard Cali
"Not
only did the UFC survive by the internet in it's dark days, but
it is thriving by the internet now. Where do you think the 18-34
year old demographic that watches TUF go to get more coverage?
That is why MMA sites like MMAWeekly.com, sherdog.com, fcfighter.com,
etc have been experiencing such high volumes of traffic in the
last year. The younger generation or "inernet generation"
are the ones that are going to bring MMA into the mainstream.
Not only does it not make good business sense for the UFC not
to grant the reputable MMA websites press credentials, but it
shows a lack of loyalty to these sites and ultimately to it's
fans."
Peter
Parsons
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
"It
needed to be done but some good people are going to get screwed
in the long run. For this sport to be looked at as any other
pro sport such as baseball or what not, everything about it (right
down to the people in the press row) have to be professionals.
I just hope that when it all settles MMAWeekly and Ryan Bennett
do get the press credential back."
Scotty
- Milton, WV
"I
am very disappointed at the situation that is occurring between
the UFC and the MMA press. Frankly I cannot see why a business
would want to alienate a very important business that provides
an extremely valuable service to its customers.
I
understand that the UFC may need to evaluate the credentials
it passes out to media. I understand that the UFC may want limit
the number of credentials given out. I understand that the UFC
may not want certain entities to report on the UFC. These things
are business decisions. However, I do not understand why the
UFC would want to hurt its fans. That is what this media blackout
is doing. Not only are you hurting the MMA press, you are hurting
your public.
I
first got into MMA years ago when I saw Royce Gracie fight on
TV. Then I did not see MMA for years. A couple of years ago I
rented a PPV while on a business trip and got interested in the
sport all over again. To get more information I went to the web.
Sites like Sherdog, Full Contact Fighter, MMA Weekly and others
provided the quality information that I was graving. I am particularly
hooked on the statistics I find on Sherdog and the articles and
daily Radio show on MMA Weekly. These two publications get me
excited every week for your TUF show and the PPVs. Their interviews
humanize the athletes and make the fan more interested. The coverage
of weigh-ins and news conferences fill a gap that the mainstream
press does not. You need this as MMA goes mainstream.
I
am not going to say that I will boycott the UFC. But these publications
provide information and generate excitement that sells the UFC
and PPV. Without them, people like me might not be as excited
and forget about upcoming shows. Someone once said that all press
is good press. I will take it a step further, an absence of press
is bad press.
Please
think deeply about this situation and the fans that your are
hurting.
Paul
Kolenda
"Sounds
like a case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Somehow
I don't think the guys at SportsCenter are going to be clamouring
for all the newly available press passes, so where am I going
to hear about the event? Who cares if a slightly unwashed 20-something
with a hangover is asking all the tough questions at the press
conferences?
Bad
move Dana. I feel I owe more loyalty to these websites that have
fully educated and continually informed me on the subject of
mixed martial arts. And as such I will not order your Pay Per
View this weekend.
I'm
glad I haven't had time to watch Bushido yet."
Jason
Cleveland
"I
don't really know what else to say but this really really sucks.
Some of my favorite things about UFC ppv's are the live from
UFC __ threads where we get to see behind the scenes photos/stories.
It feels like a slap in the face to the hardcore MMA fan. They
should know how much we care about our favorite mma sites! I'm
surprized MMAweekly got screwed over especially since Dana has
been on the radio show before, I don't get it."
Shayne
Ottawa Canada
"Just
wanted to point out that I will not order a UFC event from this
point on. I used to only order UFC events because of MMAweekly.com.
I
have been a Pride fan since I was into watching MMA events on
TV , since 3 - 4 years now when i first started to watch MMA
and i have always studied different Martial Arts since i was
14 year old and i'm now 24 years old and i have studied Tae Known
Doe, Capoeira, Brazilin Jiu Jitsu, and Kick Boxing. I never liked
UFC, from there Cage to there elbow rules. I only was turned
to watch UFC because of MMAweekly.com , to watch Frank Trigg,
and because of MMAweekly.com's interviews and etc....
I
believe MMAweekly.com should talk to Pride and see if MMAweekly.com
can actually get more involved with Pride and get as close to
Pride as MMAweekly.com was to UFC.
UFC is getting a big head because of how good they are doing
in the USA. I Honestly believe Pride to be 100 times better org.
than UFC. All UFC is doing now is screwing the Fan's!
I
love MMA because I believe it to be a Sport and I support the
Sport of MMA but I will no longer Support UFC the Event!"
-Fernando
Los Angeles, California
I
think this media ban sucks. First of all, tonight is Ultimate
Fight Night, and I was looking forward to discussing the fights
and knowing a little bit about the fighters involved and general
information on the event. I really think this media ban is hurting
the UFC because its downplaying its own product and show. I feel
less inclined to watch the show tonight because of the lack of
coverage on the event. I haven't seen any advertisements on Spike
TV for Ultimate Fight Night except for maybe during TUF show.
I
think if they are hurting their own product by this media ban.
I also think its a slap in the face to Ryan Bennett and all the
other MMA sites that have covered the UFC during its darkest
days until now. I think its bullshit, and I can't blame Dana
White for not discussing on this matter because he's a tool.
He should go back to doing tap dance classes or whatever the
fuck he was doing before. Let the media cover the product and
leave it at that.
Therefore,
I am NOT ordering UFC 55.
My
.02 cents,
Alan
Toronto, Canada
The
media ban is a horrible idea. The internet media generates excitment
for UFC events and tells the stories of fighters who fight in
them. The UFC does a God aweful job of promoting new talent,
often I wouldn't know who a fighter was unless I read about him
on the internet. Who wants to see a fight between people you've
never heard of? The fighters are the brand in the UFC, just like
a team is a brand in any other sport and is anyone going to watch
football game, for exmple, if you've never heard of either team
and don't care which one wins? The internet media prmotes the
UFC's brand, the fighters, why the hell does the UFC want to
stop free prmotion of their fighters? It's beyond my understanding
I guess.
This
treatment of the internet media disgusts me, I was planning on
ordering UFC 55 but now I will not support the UFC anymore, I
do not plan on ordering any UFC events in the near future.
Mike
Pacheco
Toronto, Canada
I
wanted to chime in with an opinion from someone who’s very
new to the sport of MMA. I saw my first taped UFC event on INHD
approximately 9 months ago and was completely hooked from that
first viewing. I was aware of what UFC was but had no clue it
was a legit sport like professional boxing. And as the final
bout between Ken Shamrock and Kimo played out I was just thoroughly
entertained and impressed by the presentation.
I’ve
bought every UFC Pay-Per-View event and UFC DVD since (UFC 52).
The sport has become just as important to me as NFL Football.
My initial reactions to the UFC are what spawned my enthusiasm
for MMA.
On
the flip side, the website MMAWeekly is the resource that has
given me better insight into MMA. Pay Per Views can not give
you the kind of knowledge that a website like MMAWeekly offers.
This knowledge is what makes me want to purchase the latest Pay
Per Views and it’s the only outlet (MMA news websites) for
thorough information on the sport.
Case
in point, Pride’s Bushido Tournament. On paper it’s
not necessarily something I’d order. I’ve become more
aware of Pride and it’s fighters in the past few months
while listening to the MMAWeekly radio show. The excitement surrounding
this tournament and the strength of the card created a lot of
discussion among the hosts (Ryan Bennett and Frank Trigg), interviewed
fighters (Yves Edwards and Phil Baroni both called in at points),
and MMA fans who typically call into the show. It was knowledge
and information gathered from this website that made this Bushido
Tournament my first Pride Pay Per View event purchase.
It
is not a given that I’m going to buy every Pay Per View
event televised by the various Fighting Organizations. I say
this because the upcoming UFC 55 Event seems really weak to me.
Although somewhat new to the sport I do feel that I have a good
general knowledge of MMA fighters. However, I do not know who
Ron Faircloth is. I don’t know who Alessio Sakara is. I
don’t know who Elvis Sinosic is. The only thing I know about
Dennis Hallman is that Frank Trigg beat him a few times. Maybe
these individuals are amazing and exciting up-and-coming fighting?
I don’t know. I have no clue.
How
can I get pumped up and excited for fights that have no context?
55 will be the first UFC Pay Per View event I do not purchase.
I believe the reason is because of lack of information and interest.
The card doesn’t have Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Rich
Franklin, or Matt Hughes (or other familiar names like Ivan Salaverry,
Phil Baroni, Frank Trigg, Tito Ortiz, or Evan Tanner). I’m
not hearing or reading about these other fighters so there is
absolutely nothing to get excited about. UFC 55 looks like a
bad King of the Cage card at this point (the only difference
being that I recognize more names on a typical KOTC card than
I do this UFC 55 card).
I’ve
seen the sport of MMA grow considerably in the short period of
time I’ve been watching (nine months or so). I don’t
really know why the UFC would cut off recognizable fighters and
choke off all information to the fans. I hope that in time these
recent mistakes will be corrected.
Just
my two cents,
Jay Graham
New Jersey
ZUFFA
/ Dana:
I work and live here in Las Vegas I love the UFC, it introduced
me to MMA. I go to every weigh-in and as many shows as my wife
can stand. I watch every PPV and live show that I can. Fact is
this is what I do when I am not working this is my Sport. The
coverage that sites like MMA Weekly and others like SHERDOG are
so valuable to your customers its where we go to get our information
our daily dose. This sport is different than boxing, football
or baseball; it’s the intimacy that the fan has with the
fighters. These guys are approachable and we get to meet and
hear them up-close through these sites. We roll with them in
the gym and then listen to them on the internet. This sport is
driven through the internet too the customer on more levels than
we know. To cut off this sports most avid fans from the intimacy
that these sites provide today is wrong. I can understand not
allowing a free for all on credentials but not allowing the legitimate
sites who support and promote your product to the end user for
free is something that you should reconsider. I have worked for
Showtime, HBO and ESPN on PPV productions and yes only legit
press deserve credentials and so it must be. As a business owner
and manager adjustments are made from time to time in order to
keep up but I think this is a bad move and I hope it will be
rectified. These people sell and legitimize your product every
day don’t penalize them for sticking with you. We the fans
are the only ones you are hurting.
Sincerely
Bill
Perna
Las Vegas NV.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing
in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking."
Johann von Goethe, 1749-1832, German Poet, Dramatist, Novelist
|
Fighters'
Club TV Episode 33 Tonight!
This episode will run on
September 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th at our new time:
9:30pm, Tuesday nights
on Channel 52 (Olelo-Oahu).
Maui will receive a copy of the
show in the next week so check your local listing on Akaku.
Episode
33 features:
Highlights
from "Lockdown in Paradise"
-Paco Woods vs Adam Ah Sue
-Trenell Savant Young vs Kendall Groves (+ intvw w/ Savant)
-Jumar Dumaoal vs Eha Souza
-Isaac Kuikahi vs Jeremy Payet
-Ronald "The Machine Gun" Jhun vs Jay Heiron (+intvw
w/ Jay)
-Fabiano Iha vs (+intvw w/ Fabiano)
-Intvw w/ Lockdown Promoter Braddah Camanse
-and let's not forget some cool footage of the "Ainokea"
Ring girls
Technique
of the Week:
-Mike Tanaka of Kalakaua Boxing Club teaches the uppercut
Catching
up w/ Egan Inoue
-How's he doing? Where's he been? What are his plans for the
future?
All those questions answered in this great intvw. Plus, a sneak
peak
at his women's self-defense class
And,
Hawaii's favorite FCTV hosts "hamming it up", Mike
"Icon" Onzuka,
and Mark "T.O.G.--the other guy" Kurano
Questions,
Comments, Suggestions? Email us at:
fightersclubtv808@hotmail.com
We're
also looking around for some talented young lady who may want
to
take a shot at co-hosting a segment so please keep an eye out
for
us--resumes (w/ pics please--nothing fancy) to: chris@onzuka.com (yes,
he also got dat job mon)
|
Rumble
On The Rock Goes To Maui!
This Friday
Night!
Rumble World Entertainment heads to Maui on Friday October 7,
2005 at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Cabbage Correira VS Ron Rumpf
Scott Junk VS Bobby Hoffman
(Fight of the Night for sure!)
Kendall Groves VS Jay Carter
Mike Aina VS Albert Rios
Sonny Boy Kaanana VS Bryse Martines
Paco Woods VS Lorrin Ishimine
Brandon Visher VS Jamar Dumalo
More Fights to Come!
Source: Rumble World Entertainment
|
MMA
MEDIA DENIED CREDENTIALS TO UFC 55
LOS ANGELES, October 3 — The Ultimate Fighting Championship,
a mixed martial arts promotion under the direction of Zuffa,
LLC and owned and operated since January 2001 by Las Vegas Station
Casino magnates Lorenzo and Frank J. Fertitta III, has denied
media credentials to several MMA-exclusive Web sites and publications
for UFC 55 on Oct. 7, impeding these media entities from performing
their full responsibilities to report the event to the public.
Full
Contact Fighter, a print publication and Web site that has covered
the UFC and MMA worldwide since 1997, was denied a credential
alongside Sherdog.com, which has reported since 1999 and is the
world’s top-rated English-language MMA news Web site, as
ranked by Alexa.com; MMAWeekly.com, home to the most-listened-to
daily MMA Internet radio show; and MMARingReport.com, Canada’s
top MMA news source.
Brener
Zwikel & Associates (BZA), a public relations firm hired
to administer credentials for the event, began e-mailing credential
denial notifications on September 12 that stated, "I must
inform you that it has been determined [applicant] does not meet
the qualifications for a media credential. Thank you for your
application, and for your interest in the UFC®.”
No
“qualifications” or criterion for approval were provided
with these notifications, which, contrary to previous BZA credential
notifications, were released prior to the application deadline.
Zuffa has denied subsequent requests for photos, graphics and
other media-related materials that they previously provided.
Upon
receipt of credential denial, MMA media members called and emailed
BZA for clarification. BZA indicated that it acted solely upon
Zuffa’s directive and that further inquiries should be forwarded
to Zuffa’s Director of Public Relations, Jennifer Wenk.
When contacted, Wenk said any qualifications BZA implemented
per Zuffa during the credentialing process were internal and
would not be made available to the media directly affected by
this new policy. Wenk then recommended UFC President and Zuffa
minority co-owner Dana White be contacted.
On
Sept. 20, White received a certified letter from a unified group
of top MMA media that were denied credentials. The letter requested
a phone call or meeting with White to address Zuffa’s denial
of longstanding MMA media. White did not respond. A subsequent
phone call to UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta has also remained unreturned.
On
Sept. 30, one week before UFC 55, White spoke with a designated
representative of the MMA media group and said that Zuffa had
not implemented new qualifications for media credentials. White
said it was his company’s prerogative to accept or deny
credentials and that he was presently denying all MMA-exclusive
media Web sites.
However,
Full Contact Fighter, a print publication and Web site, was among
those denied media credentials. Zuffa’s decision to deny
credentials has impeded Sherdog.com, Full Contact Fighter (and
fcfighter.com), MMAWeekly.com, MMARingReport.com and other Web
sites from providing the quality and quantity of unbiased, even-handed
UFC coverage that fans and fighters have become accustomed to
— and, in many cases, dependent upon. It is with great regret
and concern that these media entities cannot provide the usual
pre-fight, live-fight, and post-fight coverage of UFC 55 in the
form of articles, video, and audio that feature the noble athletes
of this sport.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
SAKURABA
VS SHAMROCK ON FOR JAPAN
 
In another exclusive, MMAWeekly.com has learned that Kazushi
Sakuraba will face Ken Shamrock in Pride according to MMAWeekly's
Scott Petersen from Japan. There was talk of the fight happening
and now both fighters have signed contracts.
Sakuraba
has spent time training in Brazil to get ready for his upcoming
fight at the end of the month against Shamrock. He seems to be
close to 100% entering this fight.
For
Shamrock, the only question is whether or not the UFC would match
the offer to have him fight in the UFC. Shamrock officially had
to wait until October 12th, as Zuffa could match any offer that
was tendered to him. MMAWeekly has learned that the UFC supported
Ken in his decision to face Sakuraba in what should be an interesting
showdown between the two fighters.
Both
fighters are coming off losses. Shamrock lost last April against
Rich Franklin. Before that the UFC Hall of famer's last win was
at UFC 48 with a KO win over Kimo. Sakuraba lost to Ricardo Arona
in round 2 of Pride's 2005 GP after a brutal beating. Both fighters
are looking for a comeback in this second chances themed Pride
show.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what
you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget
them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well
and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with
your old nonsense."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882, American Poet, Essayist
|
The
Icon Sport MMA Radio Show
Be sure tune into another exciting hour of MMA interviews, opinions,
and updates on The Icon Sport MMA Show presented by Steinlager
Monday morning at 9 a.m on Sports Radio 1420 am KKEA. Our first
two shows have been action-packed with guests Dana White, Rich
Franklin, Matt Hughes, and the one-and-only Jason "Mayhem"
Miller. We've had lots of great listener call-ins already, but
we would like more!
Last week the streaming link at www.sportsradio1420.com had a
coding error and did not function properly. We apologize to all
of our listeners who were unable to catch the show on-line. KKEA
engineers have assured us that the web link is now up and ready.
So, if you're stuck at your desk, or if you're one of national/international
listeners, listen to the show on your computer.
We encourage all listeners to call the show to answer the daily
fan question and speak to our MMA celebrity guests. Local listeners
can call (808) 296-1420. Mainland and international listeners
can call the toll free line at (866) 400-1420. You can also email
the show at inconsportradio@yahoo.com.
Source: Icon Sport
|
Tuesday
Night Fights In Hilo!
October
11, 2005
Prince Kuhio Plaza, Hilo, Hawaii
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door
Doors open at 6 pm and fights start at 7 pm
 |
UFC
Becoming a US Sports Sensation
By Ally Clark
The Ultimate
Fighting Championship (UFC) is currently one of the fastest growing
sports in the world. It’s also being billed as ‘the
most exciting sport in the world’ so you’re in for
a treat when the UFC comes to Bravo, Live and Exclusive from
October 8th at 10pm.
Las
Vegas shows are currently attracting audiences of 15,000 and
stars such as Donald Trump, George Clooney and Pamela Anderson
are fans of the sport. Reality TV show ‘The Ultimate Fighter’
attracted audiences of 10 million viewers in the States and on
the Internet, UFC was the second most searched for term on Yahoo
in April 2005.
For
those not already under the UFC spell, Ultimate Fighting is a
combination of boxing, kick boxing, wrestling and taekwondo and
dates back to the Ancient Olympics of 648BC. It made its debut
in the States in 1993 with no rules, no judges, no time limits
and no gloves. The critics were quick to decry the sport as barbaric
and whilst the fights generated huge interest from the nation’s
pay TV audience, overwhelming political pressure eventually led
to the sport being banned in some states and dropped from cable
TV.
Ultimate
Fighting has come a long way since its dubious beginnings in
1993. In 2001, the UFC brand was bought out and reinvented with
the help of current UFC president Dana White and the sport is
now officially sanctioned in the US by several state athletic
commissions. Today the UFC has become the premiere mixed martial
arts event in the world and the modern version of the sport incorporates
judges, weight classes, five minute rounds and, most importantly,
light-weight gloves and mouthpieces. Drug and steroid testing
is also mandatory.
Fights
in the Ultimate Fighting Championship usually consist of three
five-minute rounds (increasing to five rounds for championship
bouts) and are scored by three certified judges. The bouts take
place in a rubber lined octagonal ring and points are awarded
on effective striking, grappling, aggression and ‘Octagon
control’. A total of six live events take place over the
course of a year when the title bouts within the various weight
divisions are contested.
Whilst
critics continue to liken the sport to modern day gladiatorial
combat, the UFC insists that no fighter has ever sustained a
serious or life threatening injury; in fact there are far fewer
injuries in comparable contact sports such as boxing and rugby.
UFC President, Dana White is quick to point out that unlike boxing’s
record, no UFC fighters have died or suffered a serious injury
in its 12-year history.
White’s
long term goal is to supplant boxing as America’s martial
art. ‘Boxing has become your father’s sport’ he
says. ‘Ultimate Fighting is what the the new generation
is watching - the most extreme of extreme sports. We have the
entertainment value of pro-wrestling and the realism of boxing’.
White
could well have a point. The athletes who compete in the UFC
events have all reached the top in their individual disciplines
(including several Olympic competitors) and commentators have
been quick to note that the sport is gaining momentum simply
because there are so many ways to win which adds a huge amount
of excitement value. Takedowns, throws, punching, kicking, knees,
elbow strikes and submission holds can all lead to victory in
the ring. This makes the fights as much of a mental chess match
as a physical contest, attracting many competitors (and fans)
who like the strategy and skills on display almost as much as
the fighting itself.
The
sport recently gained added momentum and profile via a hugely
successful reality TV show - ‘The Ultimate Fighter’.
The series, which chronicled the lives of 16 fighters competing
for a six-figure contract to join the UFC, attracted 10 million
US viewers to its live final and was certified as the most watched
show on Saturday for men in the 18-34 year-old demographic.
British
fans were introduced to the sport when Ultimate Fighting Championship
launched on Bravo in September 2004.
The
channel have now have secured a long term deal for the exclusive
rights to all the UFC pay per view events until the end of 2006.
Bravo plan to develop the brand in the UK further via the exploitation
of the UFC back catalogue of fights that span the last five years.
Channel
Editor David Clarke comments ‘other UK broadcasters are
betting that boxing will soon return to its former glories however
we fully believe that there is a huge potential audience for
UFC programming in the UK. Ultimate Fighting is no longer a minority
past time for disaffected teenagers and is now a sport that appeals
to everyone from the Hollywood glitterati to the man on the street’.
We spoke with the current UFC 205 lbs Champion, Chuck Liddell
to get hius take on the UFC and all that is happenning:
Ally:
Hi Chuck, let me just take a minute out to thank you for taking
part in this interview.
Chuck:
It’s no problem, don’t mention it.
Ally:
So Chuck, for those unaware of your talents. Can you gives us
a quick rundown of your MMA career?
Chuck:
Sure, basically I started my career at UFC 17 where I defeated
Noe Hernandez by judges decision. Um, then I knocked out Kevin
Randleman at UFC 31 and then I defeated Vitor Belfort on a decision.
I fought Randy Couture and lost and then finally I knocked him
out at UFC 52 to win the UFC Light Heavyweight title. Which I
still hold.
Ally:
While we’re on the subject of your fight with Randy Couture,
there has been rumors going around that you two will meet again
in February. Is there any truth to this?
Chuck:
Yeah. We’ll be fighting each other again in February. Well,
that depends on things like injuries and stuff but if all goes
well then we will meet again in February
Ally:
Are you confident that you can defeat Randy again?
Chuck:
Yeah. Randy’s and good friend of mine and we get along well
outside of the octagon but inside the octagon it’s a different
story. I’ll knock him out.
Ally:
After winning the light heavyweight title at UFC 52 you said
that you wanted to fight the PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei
Silva. Is this still the case?
Chuck:
Hell yeah. The trouble with fighting Wanderlei is that the UFC
and Pride need to agree a deal with each other. That’s a
problem because we’re both champions and PRIDE wouldn’t
be happy with a UFC fighter knocking out their middleweight champion
Ally:
If the fight did get the go ahead, would you rather fight him
in the octagon or the PRIDE ring?
Chuck:
I’ll fight him anywhere.
Ally:
Let’s move on to The Ultimate Fighter. You were one of the
trainers in the first season, what do you think of the second
season so far?
Chuck:
It’s great. I’ve picked my winners already. But I won’t
mention names.
Ally:
Any potential big UFC stars in that bunch of guys?
Chuck:
Not yet. Winning the competition and actually making it in the
UFC are two different things. They need to train hard and eat
well. They also need experience of participating in big UFC events.
I think there’s a long way to go before anyone can predict
who is going to be a big UFC star.
Ally:
What do you think of the coaches in season 2?
Chuck:
I’m great friends with Matt Hughes and respect him a lot.
I think that the guys that were chosen to be in his team should
think themselves very lucky to have him. He’s a great trainer
and will work them hard.
Ally:
Do you think any guys from TUF1 are ready for title shots? Guys
like Diego Sanchez and Forrest Griffin have impressed loads of
people with their performances so far in UFC.
Chuck:
I don’t think anyone is ready for a shot at any UFC title
yet. Like I said about the TUF2 guys, theres still a hell of
a long way to go after you win the competition to become an established
UFC star. Diego and Forrest are only halfway there.
Ally:
Nate Quarry has been rumored to be fighting Rich Franklin for
his Middleweight title. Would Nate be able to hang with Franklin?
Chuck:
I think so. Nate’s got fast hands and he hits hard. A fight
between those two guys would be interesting.
Ally:
Obviously you’re over here in the UK to help promote UFC.
Do you think there is a potential audience in the UK for MMA?
Chuck:
I think so, yeah. We sold out the Royal Albert Hall a few years
back so obviously there are people who will watch and support
UFC in the UK. That’s part of the reason why we signed the
deal with Bravo to bring you guys UFC TV and free UFC PPV’s.
Ally:
Are there any plans to bring UFC over here again for another
live show?
Chuck:
Yeah, that’s something we’ve been seriously looking
at and I think that the UFC will return to the UK possibly as
soon as 2006.
Ally:
If UFC are trying to expand into the UK are their any plans for
the UFC to start having shows across the US and moving out of
Las Vegas?
Chuck:
Yeah, that’s something we’re looking at as well. We
want the UFC to be massive and in order to do that we need to
make everyone aware of our stuff. So having shows all over the
States would obviously make us bigger.
Ally:
Moving on, one of your former rivals Tito Ortiz recently signed
a deal with TNA Wrestling, who will be appearing on Spike with
UFC in October. Were you surprised by Tito’s decision to
go into professional wrestling?
Chuck:
I read about that and laughed. I wasn’t surprised, no. Tito
is finished in UFC, so he had to go somewhere. He’s greedy.
UFC offered him X amount of money and he rejected it and wanted
more.
Ally:
Given the chance, would you fight Tito again?
Chuck:
For sure. I’d knock him out though, he’s nothing. But
I don’t think anyone will ever get to see a Chuck/Tito rematch.
Tito isn’t interested in getting his ass kicked for a second
time.
Ally:
Still on the subject of professional wrestling. WWE have been
reportedly unhappy with Spike TV for airing ad’s promoting
UFC. Are UFC aware of WWE’s anger?
Chuck:
Yeah, we know about it. But, you know, we don’t really care.
Ally:
When WWE moves to the USA network UFC will be going head to head
with them on a Monday night. Do you think that UFC can take over
WWE in the ratings?
Chuck:
Deffinatley. Pro Wrestling is on the slide. It had it’s
glory in the late nineties. It’s MMA that’s on the
rise now and it’s only a matter of time before we over take
WWE.
Ally:
I’m going to wrap it up there, thanks for your time Chuck,
you’ve been great.
Chuck:
Yeah, thank you too.
Source: Maxfighting
|
THE
NEXT GREAT BRAZILIAN?
By Mick Hammond
Over the
last few years the once mighty heavyweight American MMA division
has seen a severe thinning of talent. There are fewer and fewer
top caliber heavyweights to make a run the UFC Heavyweight Championship,
once thought to be the most prestigious title in MMA. With just
a few quality wins a fighter can now find themselves on the biggest
stage of American MMA, and among the fighters vying for that
position is American Top Team Olympia heavyweight Fabiano Scherner.
Scherner
will be making his UFC debut against Brandon Vera. The winner
of this match could have the inside position for a title shot
next year if they continue to win. Recently Scherner spoke to
MMA Weekly to discuss his career and his thoughts about getting
his opportunity to becoming a legitimate heavyweight contender.
MMA
Weekly: First off Fabiano, tell us a bit about how you got involved
in MMA.
Fabiano
Scherner: I started in BJJ six years ago in Brazil with Carlson
Gracie student Murilo Rupp, he introduced me to Mario Sperry,
Mulio Bustamante, and Bebeo (Duarte). Bebeo invited me to start
training at BTT Rio. I stayed at Bebeo’s house for three
years training with BTT Rio and won a lot of tournaments. I have
like six Brazilian tournament championships.
MMA
Weekly: From there how did you end up in Olympia with ATT?
Fabiano
Scherner: I received my black belt in three years and nine months
and for a Brazilian I’m a big boy (nearly 6’5”,
250lbs) and two years ago Ricardo Liborio invited me to start
in MMA. Liborio thought that it was a good idea to put me here
(Olympia) to teach BJJ. I’m a big boy and good for Jeff
(Monson) to train with. I help him train a lot in grappling and
he helps me train in wrestling. It’s very good here, Dennis
Hallman is the MMA coach and he has a large background in MMA
so I’m learning a lot of things with him because I’m
very new to MMA. In MMA I’m like a white belt. We have a
good team here, these guys are my friends and they care about
my career.
MMA
Weekly: Tell us a little bit about your career so far.
Fabiano
Scherner: I start here in AFC 3, where I won (defeating Scott
Bowman). A lot of people start to look at me big in Brazil; I
have a big name there. I fought two times with Assuerio Silva,
and then I stop for one year last year when I moved from Brazil
to US. Now I have finished moving and I’m fighting again.
I’ve had four fights this year and things are going very
good.
MMA
Weekly: Speaking of Silva, your only loss in MMA came to him
very early in your career. Now that you have more experience
would you like to rematch him?
Fabiano
Scherner: I want a rematch, but I want more time to prepare.
He’s a tough fighter, when I fought with him I had just
one fight, then we fought again on Jungle Fight and he’s
really tough guy. I respect him, he’s self trained I think,
I don’t know if he has a team. I respect him for that and
he comes from a tough place in Brazil, he’s a warrior. For
sure I want to fight him again in the future.
MMA
Weekly: In your latest fight you won your first MMA title. How
does it feel to have a belt in MMA after capturing BJJ titles
in Brazil?
Fabiano
Scherner: I feel good, very good, it’s my first time fighting
in the cage. This is my first belt, for me it’s amazing,
it’s very special. I finish my guy (Brink) very fast, I
know he has a lot of fights and a good name. He has a lot of
experience and I beat him pretty fast, so I liked that a lot.
The show is a good show, IFC has a good name, they have respect
around the world, so it is good for my career.
MMA
Weekly: Your next fight is your UFC debut against Brandon Vera.
Tell us how this fight came about.
Fabiano
Scherner: The ATT owner called me and told me I have a contract
for the UFC and to come to Miami to train. When he called I thought
it was a joke and didn’t believe him until Thiago (Alves)
called me and told me we’d be fighting on the same night.
About a day after that it sunk in and I started to realize I
will fight in the UFC.
MMA
Weekly: I know you were originally in training to face Jay White
at Sportfight 12 in September when you were picked up by the
UFC. Did the change in opponent alter your training?
Fabiano
Scherner: I’m doing what I’m always doing, so doesn’t
change too much. He (Vera) is a good wrestler, but Jay is a good
wrestler, so I am ready for that. He has good skills in BJJ and
stand up which is also similar (to White), so I don’t change
my training very much for my fight. I think I can submit him
and I will give a good show.
MMA
Weekly: If you win this fight you could put yourself in line
for a title shot very quickly. How does it feel to be able to
get that kind opportunity?
Fabiano
Scherner: This is like a dream. The first fight I watched in
my life was UFC. Watching it the first time I said I wanted to
do this and then I started in BJJ. Now I will be on the show
and I’m living this dream. I think all fighters have the
same dream, go to a big show and be a champion. I want to be
the champion and I will fight anybody, I don’t care who
I fight, just want to be a champion.
MMA
Weekly: Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule for
the interview. Is there anything you’d like to say as we
head out?
Fabiano
Scherner: I want to say thank you for all my students in Olympia,
they help me a lot in practice. Thank you for Dennis Hallman
and the guys there, they are training me well. And also because
of Murilo Rupp I’m here I want to make sure to thank him.
Thank you for Jeff Monson and my sponsor Brazilian Fight Wear
in Brazil and of course to all people that like watching me fight.
The American people have been very nice to me, they have given
me a lot of respect and support after every time I fought and
I want to thank them for that.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
HOGAN
CALLS MMA BARBARIC
by Ivan Trembow
Hulk Hogan Calls MMA "Barbaric" on CNBC Show
In
an interview on Thursday night's episode of "The Big Idea
with Donny Deutsch" on CNBC, Hulk Hogan was asked about
the sport of mixed martial arts. The host of the show, Donny
Deutsch, seemed to know very little about the sport and referred
to it as "Ultimate Fighting" instead of "MMA"
or "mixed martial arts." When Deutsch asked Hogan what
he thought of the sport, Hogan responded by saying that it's
"pretty barbaric" and will always have a narrow audience.
Normally
in any interview with someone on the WWE roster, one of WWE's
PR people listening in on the conversation, and their job is
to immediately shut down any questions that are deemed off-limits,
which normally includes anything related to MMA or the UFC.
There
are specific instructions for WWE wrestlers which say that MMA
is an off-limit topic for interviews. Obviously, it's different
when the interview is on a live-to-tape television show (as opposed
to an interview for a newspaper article), and it's also different
when the person being interviewed is Hulk Hogan.
To
give you an idea of how far removed Hulk Hogan is from reality
in terms of the things he says in interviews, Hogan was asked
about his political ambitions in the same interview on Donny
Deutsch's show. Hogan said that a professionally-run political
poll that was conducted at the height of Bill Clinton's popularity
showed that Hogan could have easily beaten Clinton and become
the President of the United States if he were to run for president.
After
the interview with Hulk Hogan concluded, Donny Deutsch told viewers
not to miss next week's episodes of his show, and plugged one
episode in particular that MMA fans might find interesting.
Deutsch
said that his show will have an entire one-hour episode that
will be dedicated to "Ultimate Fighting," as he called
it. To give you an idea of how much he knows about the sport,
Deutsch said, "It was banned in all 50 states, but now it's
on national television, and it is brutality taken to a whole
new level."
Deutsch
did not say when the MMA-themed episode of The Big Idea would
premiere, but it will be sometime next week, and new episodes
of The Big Idea air weeknights at 10:00 PM on CNBC.
Based
on Deutsch's flat-out incorrect statements right off the bat,
it's almost certain that the show will have an anti-MMA theme,
but this really shouldn't concern MMA fans all that much. While
a series of negative articles in an outlet like the New York
Times or a popular television show could hurt the image of the
sport (which could hurt the advertising rates), The Big Idea
with Donny Deutsch does not have a large amount of influence
or viewers. Its ratings in primetime on a nightly basis range
from 0.05 to 0.2, with the average coming in at approximately
0.1.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
The
UFC could Use a Boost from the Lighter Side
By Sean McClure
The divisions of the UFC are growing in spite of their recent
and highly criticized roster cuts but that does not mean that
they are as deep as they probably should be. The Light Heavyweight
and Middleweight divisions seem small compared to the wealth
of Welterweights currently stepping into the octagon and hey!
Where are the Lightweights?
Where
are the lightweights? That is a good question, really. Are they
in Pride? Are they trapped in limbo somewhere waiting for Dana
White to pluck them out at a moment’s notice? I doubt it.
It’s just that they are not on television as much anymore
and this is probably due to what some call the ‘Vinnie Mac’
syndrome. Don’t know what that is or you have never watched
the WWE? Let me explain it to you please, you see Vince McMahon
is the owner and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment and the
man with the final say on just about everything that goes on
in the company. When he makes a decision or likes something it
is usually what we end up seeing finalized on their programs.
It is a well-known fact that he likes the bigger wrestlers and
“pushes” them, meaning he makes them more successful
in the programming ending up on television. This happening while
the smaller wrestlers get buried in the opening matches, less
popular TV shows, or they are condemned to the mid-card for eternity.
Vince feels that the bigger guys are more credible and make the
WWE seem ‘bigger than life’ to the fans. Is this what
is going on in the UFC? Sort of, but not because Dana White is
burying the lightweights or not trying to promote them. I think
it is because the average fan, the uneducated fan, does not see
them as reasonable UFC entertainment. Before hardcore fans start
burning their monitors let me explain exactly what I mean.
Let’s
say that Joe Billy Bob Briggs, Jr. orders a UFC pay-per view
and the first match that comes on is Hermes Franca vs. Caol Uno.
This was one of the best matches in the lightweight division
in recent years and I loved every minute of it. Billy Bob Briggs
on the other hand is more likely to say that this was a boring
match despite the technical side and knockout finish. Why? It
is because these guys are small or at least smaller than the
average man on the street. This means a lot to the occasional
fan and if you don’t believe me put that fight on for an
uninitiated person into the world of UFC and then put Arlovski
vs. Sylvia on after it. Now tell me which one they would pay
to see more. The bigger the guys, the harder they hit. That’s
usually the way it goes and that’s usually the way people
see it. The boxing Heavyweights are by far the most popular boxers
in the world most of the time. Same reason, they hit harder.
Dana White is smart enough to realize that guys who watch the
UFC on an intermittent basis want to see the big guns slug it
out with each other. Is it always going to be this way? Not if
they revive the Lightweight division with the focus on the following
fighters. It is in my opinion that these five guys could change
the way people see the Lightweight division and help it rise
to prominence.
Josh
“The Punk” Thompson
Josh
Thomson is a bigger lightweight and he is very exciting to watch.
He has one loss in his professional career and that was to Yves
Edwards at UFC 49 by knockout via a nasty head kick. That in
itself was exciting... Now, Josh has all of the tools that a
fighter his size needs: charisma, power, speed, and a killer
instinct and he likes to use his hands. This is what the casual
fan needs to see. Josh would be a great champion and poster boy
for the lightweight division.
Hermes
Franca
Hermes
Franca is the real deal. Before his loss to Josh Thomson he was
undefeated and on a roll. Since that loss, he suffered four losses
out of his last seven fights. Granted, two of those were to a
very talented Yves Edwards but they were losses all the same.
But what Hermes brings is a very 'open' style of Jiu Jitsu and
he too likes to thow the leather. He always makes for an exciting
fight that woudl keep the KO hunger masses appeased.
Yves
Edwards
This
guy is awesome, simply ruthless and... well, awesome. Yves Edwards
is 28-9-1 and one of the most respected fighters among MMA’s
hardcore fans. He has the looks, the skills, and he has a mean
streak towards his opponents that is cloaked so cleverly by his
calm exterior. His primary tools are his striking implements.
He has slick accurate hands, potent kicks (Just ask Josh) and
wicked knees that have sent more than one opponent to the orthodontist.
He is responsible for delivering some of the most brutally exciting
matches in the UFC’s lightweight history. Yves is well known,
highly revered, and considered by many to already be the UFC’s
“uncrowned lightweight champion” since the weight class
was dropped.
Jorge
Gurgel
Jorge
Gurgel is heralded by many people to be one of the best lightweights
in the world today and is ranked in the top 10 on several respected
lists. He is all charisma and he has the fighting pedigree to
back his mouth up. On the Ultimate Fighter Season 2 Jason Von
Flue, who took advantage of Jorge’s size and limited mobility
due to his torn ACL, eliminated him and shocked everyone in doing
so. As a welterweight, Jorge is good but as a lightweight he
is in the top echelon of fighters there. He is a natural born
fighter and his now legendary fight with Jay Ireland was voted
the King of the Cage’s fight of the year. Jorge would really
help this division to shine with his sheer power of personality.
Kenny
Florian
I
can hear the collective gasps of horror and disgust across the
globe right now at that name receiving anymore credit. Hear me
out before you dump ashes on your keyboard and perform a Haitian
cleansing ritual. Thanks to the Ultimate Fighter season 1, he
has gathered some real name recognition that the division would
need as it tries to re-emerge. He really does have good skills
and is easy to root for. Like all fighters he is constantly expadning
his skill sets and as a lightweight instead of a Welterweight,
‘BAM’ he is a different fighter altogether. He would
carry his weight in the division for sure if he dropped back
down to it to 155 lbs.
These
five guys are the key to reviving the lightweight division and
they could do it if Dana White gives it a chance. My suggestion
would be an 8 man tournament with the winner being crowned the
lightweight champion and giving division the much needed spotlight
it deserves.
Source: Maxfighting
|
Quote
of the Day
"How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines
a good deed in a weary world."
William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, British Poet, Playwright, Actor
|
Seminar
with Roberto Atalla
Today!
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt
3X World BJJ Champion
Founding member of Rio Grappling Club
Saturday
Sunday
October
1, 2005 October
2, 2005
3
PM – 6 PM 3
PM – 6PM
Passing
the Guard (Gi ) Submission
Escapes (No Gi)
$40
each day or both days for $60
Seminar
Location:
Central Oahu Jiu-Jitsu
23 S. Kamehameha Hwy., #204
Wahiawa
Contact:
Wyman 216-4852
|
Open
Mat training session every Sunday
in Hawaii Kai
Aloha,
I would like to invite anyone interested to a free Open Mat training
session every Sunday from 10am-2pm. I have 20x16 mat space in
my garage in Hawaii Kai (thanx to Todd at En Fuego!) that are
being used sparingly. I am not particular about who beats me
up, so all levels are welcome. Bring your own gear...I have a
fridge full of Gatorade. I will be sure to be home anytime between
10am-2pm so you can come alone or bring partners with you. The
address is 1311 Lunalilo Home Road. Just follow Lunalilo Home
Road all the way into the valley. It is one of the last houses
on the road.
T.Jay Thompson
 |
DEEP
Featherweight Tournament announced
Korakuen Hall in Japan
October 28, 2005
DEEP has announced the match ups for the featherweight 143 pounds
and under tournament:
-
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Taisho
-
Kazunari Imanari vs. Fabio Mello (Brazilian Top Team)
-
Takeshi Yamazaki vs. Mike Brown (American Top Team)
-
Atsuhiro Tsuboi vs. Muangfahlek Kiawichean
The
rest of the card looks like this:
-
Yasuhito Namekawa vs. Moon Jong Hyuk
-
Takahiro Oba vs. Cristiano Kaminishi
-
Hirohide Fujinuma vs. Wataru Takahashi
-
Yutaro Miyamoto vs. Naoki Seki
-
Yuya Shirai vs. Ryuji Ohbori
Source: MMA Fighting
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UFC
growth far from tapped out
By William Spain
After eight years or so of grounding and/or pounding his opponents
around the cage, the 42-year-old Randy Couture is now one of
the most recognized faces of the Ultimate Fighting Championship
(UFC) and a star of a reality show on Spike TV.
He
is a 3x National Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion, 3x UFC Champion,
and he has had a bird's-eye view of the UFC's transition from
a bloody, often-criticized spectacle to a still-bloody, but sanctioned,
less frequently attacked and increasingly mainstream sport.
"When
I started, it was completely different," he said. "You
could pretty much do anything except bite, gouge in the eyes
and strike in the groin. And there were huge mismatches where
guys really got beat up."
MORE? ...
Source: Maxfighting
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Bushido
Europe: Fedor to Fight on
"Rotterdam Rumble" Card
by Sherdog.com
Dutch promotion Bushido Europe ended months of speculation Friday
when it announced on its Web site that PRIDE heavyweight champion
Fedor Emelianenko will fight on the "Rotterdam Rumble"
card slated for October 9, in Rotterdam, Holland.
"This
question [of Fedor's participation] remained unanswered for the
fans," said a statement on the promoter's official Web site.
"However, for the organization, this was already fact."
Fighting
Fedor will be "Dirty" Bob Schrijber, who last fought
in June of this year, dropping a decision to fellow Dutchman
Melvin Manhoef.
Less
than four weeks removed from a spectacular title defense against
number-one contender Mirko Filipovic (Pictures), Fedor was widely
reported to have decided on hand surgery that would put him out
of action until at least December. Apparently, the Russian heavyweight
has decided to forego surgery until at least mid-October, perhaps
jeopardizing his rumored appearance against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
on PRIDE's New Year's Eve show.
Bushido
Europe: Rotterdam Rumble
October 9th, 2005
Ahoy Rotterdam Arena
Rotterdam, Holland
KICKBOXING
Tyrone Spong vs Vincent Vielvoye
Imro Main vs William Diender
Jerrel Venetiaan vs Ashwin Balrak
Rodney Faverus vs Tsuyoshi Tajima
Gokan Saki vs Nicholas Pettas
MMA
Milco Voorn vs Alex Novowitch
Valentijn Overeem vs Antoni Hardonk
Chico Martinez vs Ronnie Rivano
Gegard Mousasi vs Stepfan Klever
Mark Coleman vs TBA
Igor Vovchanchyn vs Kevin Randleman
Aleksander Emelianenko vs Rene Rooze
Fedor Emelianenko vs Bob Schrijber
Source: Sherdog
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SAKURABA
RETURNS FROM BRAZIL
Kazushi Sakuraba
Kazushi
Sakuraba returned to Japan and spoke to the Japanese media, after
having spent time training at the Chute Boxe academy in Curitiba,
Brazil.
Sakuraba
said that he gained new techniques during training, and that
he trained three times a day in timed blocks on Muay Thai, Boxing,
Jiu-Jitsu, weight training, and swimming.
Sakuraba
added that if he had the chance to go back to train in Brazil
again, he would do so. He issued a "no comment" to
reporters regarding rumors of him participating on the PRIDE
30 card on October 23rd.
Source: Fight Sport
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Quote
of the Day
"None but a coward dares to boast that he has never known
fear."
Ferdinand Foch, 1851-1929, French Soldier
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Seminar
with Roberto Atalla
Today!
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt
3X World BJJ Champion
Founding member of Rio Grappling Club
Saturday Sunday
October
1, 2005
October 2, 2005
3
PM – 6 PM
3 PM – 6PM
Passing
the Guard (Gi ) Submission
Escapes (No Gi)
$40
each day or both days for $60
Seminar
Location:
Central Oahu Jiu-Jitsu
23 S. Kamehameha Hwy., #204
Wahiawa
Contact:
Wyman 216-4852
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Kickin
It 2005 "The Sequel"
(Amateur
Kickboxing Championships)
Ilikai Hotel Ballroom
Friday, November 25, 2005
It has finally come to the end of the year when Kickin It Promoters
pick 2 of the top fighters with the best records that participated
in the Kickin It event cards to face each other to find out who
will be the 2005 kickboxing champion for their weight division.
Only Kickin It competitors 13 yrs and under may fight for belts
as long as there is an opponent for them and they fought once
on the card. There must be at least one fighter (14 yrs and older)
from a weight division with at least 3 fights on the Kickin It
cards in order for promoters to put up a belt. This is the promoters'
way of showing their appreciation to the fighters that have worked
hard and supported their event throughout the year. fighters
with the best records (with at least 3 fights) will be matched
up against opponents that have 3 or more fights on the Kickin
It cards or who has the best record if no other opponent has
3 or more fights. A lot of these fighters have trained and fought
to become better fighters from when they made their debut on
the card. There will be at least 15 belts up for grabs on November
25th. Kickin It 2005 "the sequel" will showcase a lot
of champion material, so don't miss out the on the opportunity.
Source: Event Promoter
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COFFEE
GUY EXCLUSIVE: UFC TRYING TO SIGN ROYCE By Coffee Guy
Royce Gracie
Before
reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.
The
following exclusive report was sent to us by our Zuffa informant
called 'Coffee Guy':
"Royce
Gracie has been in negotiations to return to the UFC. As it stands
now, IF he does indeed sign it will be a 3-fight deal, with the
first fight to come early in 2006. His first opponent would be
Georges St-Pierre.
But
it seems Zuffa believes there is less than a 50% chance that
he'll take the deal. He would have to turn down the USD 2 million
plus payday he's being offered by K-1 for their December 31st
card, and that seems like it might be too much for Royce to turn
down.
Source: Fight Sport
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Chute
Boxe will cheer for Bustamante
"Now we just have Murilo at the final. he deserves to be
there and he is very humble. It's his time! I cheer a lot for
him and so Chute Boxe wants him to beat Dan Henderson. I hope
for the best. honestly." Those were Chute Boxe's leader
Rudimar Fedrigo's worlds. This fact proves the declared war between
both teams is only inside the ring. "My thing with Paulão
was an isolated issue. I have a great relationship with guys
from BTT. I do respect Zé Mário Sperry a lot and
get along with Bebeo Duarte. We do talk a lot when we are together,"
he says. Rudimar saw his dream to conquer another GP title ruin
in front of his eyes after Luiz Azeredo and Daniel Acácio
loses. "We got upset because they were really confident
and wanted to bring this title for Chute Boxe," lamented
Rudimar.
Source: Tatame
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Tito
Ortiz on MMA Weekly Radio
On Wednesday night, September 28, former UFC Light Heavyweight
Champion 'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' Tito Ortiz joined hosts
Brian Fritz, Dickerman, and Vito DeNucci on Between The Ropes
on Central Florida's Sports Radio 740 The Team to discuss his
participation with the TNA Wrestling and his in future in MMA,
namely with UFC. The interview was taped on Tuesday evening prior
to the debut TNA Impact taping at Universal Orlando.
Tito
started by discussing his role as guest referee again for TNA
Wrestling. For now, it's a short-term role, but could expand
into a bigger role as the company grows.
Ortiz
talked about being a fan of pro wrestling dating back to before
high school. He joked how he walked into the gym for high school
wrestling and wanted to know where the ring was. Among the guys
he watched back when he was nine or ten years old were The Junkyard
Dog, Ted Dibiase, Hulk Hogan, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan. He feels
he's learned some of the showmanship aspects of pro wrestling
that's helped him garner a reaction in the octagon.
When
asked about his time away from UFC, Tito responded, "Yeah,
I miss it a little bit. But I've got to stand my ground. What
UFC has done to me since I haven't been fighting for them is
some childish stuff. At the same time, I've been with the company
before Zuffa took over on it. Now, I'm going to make a new company
happen, with fighting of course, maybe fighting in Pride, that's
a possibility. Maybe fighting in K-1. Or maybe seeing Tito Ortiz
make his own event in California and in Las Vegas. There's a
couple of companies I can possibly be working with, the Klitschko
brothers or Don King. There's so many different avenues or opportunities
for Tito Ortiz to be fighting again."
Tito
said there's no new deal with UFC and there have not been any
negotiations lately.
"The
last thing I have from UFC was I wasn't allowed to do Ivan Salaverry's
corner. I wasn't allowed to sponsor Ivan Salaverry for his fight.
I've never heard any word from them since. I think it's just
bad blood between Dana [White] and myself. Dana just doesn't
like me. He's completely changed. Now all of a sudden, he's pulling
the credentials for all of the MMA sites for the next event.
That's bullsh*t, man. These guys were there from the very beginning
no matter what for those guys. They don't understand that. It
seems like UFC is getting bigger than everybody else and they're
forgetting about the little people that got them there."
When
asked if the current stalemate between he and UFC is strictly
about money, Tito stated, "I think so. There's not any other
fighters like myself, Tito Ortiz. What I put in the ring and
the octagon and the interviews I do, there's no one like me.
I may seem conceited, but it's just a lot of hard work I put
in to make the character, Tito Ortiz, 'The Huntington Beach Boy.'
I back up my talk when I walk. I make sure I make it exciting
when I do fight. People buy the tickets. People buy the pay-per-views.
I outsell everybody every time I do fight all the way up to The
Ultimate Fighter. The Ultimate Fighter helped out to make them
where they are now. They're making $3.7 million at the gate and
they're having a problem paying me an extra $100,000 for a fight?
You show me the problem. I'm not really a great mathematician,
but I'm no stupid person. I know they're making a lot more money
on pay-per-view. Pay the fighters what they're worth. All of
these younger guys like [Diego] Sanchez and the guys from The
Ultimate Fighter, they're getting paid $2,500. Training costs
$5,000 to $10,000 per training session before a fight. These
guys get paid pennies. All these fighters care about is to be
on TV and they're forgetting about what it takes to be a fighter.
Now it seems like there's a bunch of paper champions. I'm not
taking anything away from Randy Couture or [Andrei] Arlovski
or Chuck Liddell. Those guys were there when it first started
of course. Those guys are tough as hell. But some of the lighter
weights and some of the younger kids, it just seems like they're
getting thrown to the dogs right off the bat and getting fed
fights like fighters never did before in UFC."
Regarding
the possibility of going over to Japan to work for Pride, Tito
commented, "There's no problem at all with them. I got a
contract from them. It was a negotiating deal and right now we're
in negotiations. If it does happen, Tito Ortiz will be fighting
in Pride. But I want to fight in the United States. Right now,
you'll be seeing me in TNA Wrestling."
Asked
about possibly getting in the ring for TNA Wrestling, Ortiz uttered
a two word response, "Stay tuned."
Source: MMA Weekly
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Kyra
Gracie is graduated black belt
Sensation of ADCC 2005, in United States, after conquering the
gold medal at -66kg division, Kyra Gracie was graduated black
belt on last Saturday by his teacher Carlos Gracie Jr, In spite
of teaching in New York, the ceremony took place in Lake Forest,
California, when the fighter was at the audience of Jiu-Jitsu
North American Tournament
Source: Tatame
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CARDIO
TRAINING FOR GRAPPLERS
Below is part one of a 2-part series by Michael Fry, co-author
of the book entitled 'The Grapplers Guide to Sports Nutrition':
When
the whistle blows and the match begins it's too late to wonder
if you're cardiovascular training is going to carry you through
to the end. Wrestling is a high intensity sport. Thus, conditioning
for wrestling calls for high intensity training. In addition
wrestling not only requires high intensity power output but an
ability to sustain this output for up 6 minutes. Cardiovascular
conditioning is one of the most important aspects of a wrestler's
training but many times we see wrestlers during the season running
for miles only to find themselves tired after the first minute
of a match. Many wrestlers ask why this is; the answer is simple,
they are training the wrong energy system.
In
part 1 of this series on cardiovascular training we will look
at the body from the heart, muscles, and lungs. Let's take a
look at how exercise affects the body.
When
we exercise, our muscles use ATP (adenosine triphosphate) for
energy. ATP is the only form of energy the muscles can use. Since
this is true, if there was no ATP already synthesized and stored
in the tissue cells, you could not perform immediate strenuous
work, such as picking up a heavy object, or walking up a flight
of stairs.
The
following events occur in the cell to produce ATP energy: First,
there are about 4 seconds worth of ATP already stored in the
cells. After this period of sustained muscle contractions ATP
in the working muscle is exhausted and the cells resort to the
use of Creatine Phosphate and ADP to create more ATP which can
provide energy for about another 25-30 seconds. Therefore, the
cell has a total combined storage of energy available to last
up to about 30-35 seconds during sustained muscle contraction
before the cell must resort to the conversion and use of stored
muscle glycogen. When energy is needed for longer than 30-35
seconds, stored muscle glycogen is broken down to produce ATP.
The end product of this process is then converted into Pyruvate
which can also be used for ATP production in the presence of
oxygen.
So
what does that mean to our bodies? Well since the heart and lungs
are somewhat slow in delivering oxygen during the onset of aerobic
activity, the pyruvate is used for energy until the heart and
lungs catch up and can keep up with the oxygen demand. The rate
of breathing is extremely labored at the onset of aerobic exercise
because the heart is not yet beating fast enough to provide an
adequate volume of oxygenated blood to the working muscles, and
the lungs are trying to compensate until the heart does catch
up. Once the heart catches up and can provide sufficient oxygenated
blood, the respiration decreases, when this happens its called
getting your second wind. With that in mind, as your heart becomes
stronger, more oxygen will be transferred through the blood system
into the muscles. This will help prevent early fatigue. As your
mind adapts to an increased workload, you will be able to ignore
the discomforts that precede fatigue.
The
Energy Delivery Systems
During
the course of a wrestling match both the aerobic and anaerobic
energy systems are called upon to supply the energy demand. When
an athlete trains by running 2 miles a day, they are training
their aerobic energy system (also referred to as VO2 Max). This
system is considered to be the basis for all athletic conditioning.
For wrestlers a good solid aerobic training program during the
off-season will prepare them for the more intense demands of
the season. It's good to remember that recovery from anaerobic
exercise occurs through the aerobic system, so that throughout
a match, at those times when the intensity may be decreased,
the aerobic system will provide the energy to renew the aerobic
system.
In
part 2 of our series on cardiovascular training we will focus
on what exercises provide the best results for wrestlers and
how to prepare your training for the upcoming season.
Source: Fight Sport
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