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2008
11/8/08
Aloha
State Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
6/5-8/08
World Jiu-Jitsu Championsihps
(BJJ)
(California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, California)
5/3/08
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(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
4/26/08
Elite XC
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(Blaisdell Arena)
3/29/08
Garden Island Cage Match 7
(MMA)
(Hanapepe Stadium, Hanapepe, Kauai)
Hawaii Fighting Championships 8
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial)
3/28-30/08
Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship
(BJJ)
(Carson, CA)
3/15/08
Icon Sport
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
2/17/08
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Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
2/8/08
Hawaii Fighting Championships 7
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
2/2/08
Man up and Stand up
(Kickboxing)
(Dole Cannery
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1/26/08
X1 World
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(Blaisdell Arena)
1/20/08
Big
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(Konawaena High School)
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(POSTPONED)
1/19/08
UFC 80: Rapid Fire
(BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson)
Newcastle, England
1/12/08
Hawaii Fight League
Season 1, Event 2
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
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January 2008 News
Part 3
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Quote
of the Day
“It
is not a lucky word, this name 'impossible'; no good comes of
those who have it so often in their mouths.”
Thomas Carlyle, 1795-1881, Scottish Philosopher and Author
|
MINOTAURO
NOGUEIRA ZONING IN ON UFC GOLD
Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira will look to become
a world champion once again this Saturday night when he faces
6'8” Tim Sylvia at UFC 81.
Nogueira
is coming off a win against Heath Herring last July. He controlled
and dominated the majority of the fight except for a point in
the first round where Herring threw a high kick that caught him
flush, leaving him badly hurt. Herring missed his opportunity
to finish Minotauro as the round ended. After that first round
scare, Nogueira dominated Herring with cleaner boxing, takedowns
and submission attempts.
MMAWeekly's
No. 2 ranked heavyweight, Nogueira was next in line for a title
shot against Randy Couture. But last October, Couture resigned
from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Still
recognizing him as its champion, the UFC offered Couture a contract
to fight Nogueira, but was refused. With Couture out of the Octagon
indefinitely, and more than likely for good, Nogueira's opponent
is instead Sylvia, a former two-time heavyweight champion. Since
Couture is still under contract with the UFC, the promotion is
billing this fight as an “interim” heavyweight champion.
Nogueira
was the first Pride heavyweight champion and held the title for
about a year-and-a-half, submitting opponent after opponent before
succumbing to Fedor Emelianenko at Pride 25.
He
staged a comeback, defeating former UFC heavyweight champion
Ricco Rodriguez, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Heath
Herring en route to a rematch with Emelianenko to attempt to
get the belt back. That fight was ruled a no contest and they
re-matched again a few months later. The result was the same
though as Emelianenko ground and pounded his way to a decision.
Nogueira
enjoyed success in Pride after his second loss to Emelianenko
defeating some top competition in Josh Barnett and Fabricio Werdum.
When the UFC purchased Pride, Nogueira had already decided to
sign with the UFC.
The
Brazilian standout had recently left Brazilian Top Team and now
trains with his own team of fighters as well as a group of fighters
that train primarily with UFC middleweight champion Anderson
Silva. With Nogueira taking on a huge heavyweight in Sylvia,
he will have to be careful of the Miletich-trained fighter's
reach and power. However, Nogueira has taken on some very large
competition in the past and had success. He submitted Bob Sapp
and “Zuluzinho” who were both noticeably larger than
the Brazilian. But Sylvia is an elite heavyweight with knockout
power, a good wrestling base, and good submission defense.
With
a win over Sylvia, Nogueira would establish his dominance in
the division and prove that he is ready to take on anyone the
UFC could throw at him. With Couture gone and Andrei Arlovski's
status with the UFC questionable, he has the potential to be
a long reigning champion in the UFC.
While
Sylvia is given a hard time by many of the fans for his style
of fighting, he does know how to win and Nogueira would be sorely
mistaken if he takes Sylvia lightly.
Nogueira
has been through many wars over his career and some believe that
the damage he's incurred during those fights may be catching
up with him. He has proven, however, that he still has what it
takes to win after losing only one fight in the last three years,
which was a split decision to Josh Barnett that he later avenged.
There
are some unknown factors with Nogueira, being that he has never
fought a 25-minute fight while his opponent has been in a few.
Another factor could be that he is not used to being pushed up
against the cage in a fight. Against a large opponent like Sylvia,
it will be interesting to see how Nogueira handles it if it happens.
Nogueira
is still in a very elite class and is a danger to any fighter
that he faces. His above average boxing and outstanding submissions
are enough to make any opponent sweat. On Saturday night, he
will look to put the gold back around his waist and cement his
legacy as one of the best heavyweight fighters to ever grace
mixed martial arts.
Source: MMA Weekly |
MIR
WANTS TO PROVE HIMSELF AGAINST LESNAR
Winning an Ultimate Fighting Championship title could be considered
the greatest achievement for any fighter, but for Frank Mir,
working his way back to the top of the heavyweight ladder could
eventually be seen as his greatest achievement after a motorcycle
accident almost sidelined his career altogether.
The
former champion will hope to put his name back into contender’s
status when he faces former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar on Saturday
night at UFC 81.
With
Lesnar set to make his UFC debut, the majority of the attention
on the upcoming fight seems to lie primarily on the former WWE
wrestler, but Mir understands the importance of a fight of this
magnitude, which played into why he accepted the fight against
Lesnar in the first place.
“First
off, you weigh out the pros and cons of every match-up in your
head and you know, off the bat, the only thing that worried me
was that people weren’t going to give a lot of respect for
Lesnar for the fact (he’s) coming from only one fight in
MMA, and the pro wrestling background,” said Mir in an interview
with MMAWeekly Radio.
“People
are now paying attention to the fact that he was an NCAA wrestling
champion, has an excellent wrestling background, real wrestling,
and the fact that he has such a large name brought a lot to the
table for me.”
From
day one in the UFC, Lesnar will be one of the biggest names to
ever step into the Octagon because of his former day job with
the WWE, and while Mir understands the celebrity of fighting
someone of Lesnar’s status, he is absolutely not looking
past the danger in this fight.
“Every
heavyweight in the UFC division is dangerous. There is nobody
I can think of right now that I’m like ‘whoa, I can
walk in there half asleep and kill this guy!” commented
Mir. “Everybody poses a threat, that’s why you never
know who’s going to win till they fight. Lesnar has a bigger
name than most anybody else in the UFC because of his former
background, so that just posed that much more reward.”
Many
expect this fight to end up on the ground due to Lesnar’s
extensive wrestling background, and Mir, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
black belt, feels that will play directly into his best asset.
“Most
people know to try to avoid being inside my guard and I’ve
had to learn how to fight jiu-jitsu from the top,” Mir said.
“But in this fight it looks like I’m going to be able
to use a lot of half guard and closed guard maneuvers, because
that’s his style. And no matter what training he’s
done, even if he tries to throw punches and back up to use his
wrestling to counter my takedowns, eventually he’s going
to take me down.”
Mir
also feels that this match-up is very smart matchmaking for the
UFC because the winner is not only a star in the making, but
also an instant contender in the heavyweight division.
“I
can see where there’s really no losing for the UFC in this
fight,” stated Mir. “I win, I’m back into title
contingency, and they have another heavyweight now who now has
a lot more name recognition because I have a victory over Brock
Lesnar, in a highly watched match. He wins, he has a win over
a former champion. So it’s a legitimate statement that he
belongs in the UFC, and he can start moving forward.”
As
previously mentioned, Mir has been on the comeback trail for
the better part of the last three years following the motorcycle
accident that almost stopped his career, but the former UFC heavyweight
champion no longer says that he’s back to his old form and
will now let the fight tell the story.
“That’s
one of those things where I’ll talk a lot and more or less
it’s going to have to be proven the night of the fight,”
said Mir of his performance.
He
is confident about his chances facing Lesnar, but he’s also
realistic as to what he needs to do to pull off a win in this
pivotal heavyweight match-up.
“Definitely
a finish cause that’s the only way I’m going to win,”
said Mir. “I’m not going to out-wrestle Lesnar for
15 minutes and put him on his back and hold him down. So for
me to win I either have to take his arm or neck, or knock him
upside his head.”
Frank
Mir will get his chance on Feb. 2 when he faces Brock Lesnar
at UFC 81 in Las Vegas.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
TYSON
GRIFFIN HOPING FOR KO OF THE NIGHT
Tyson Griffin faces American Top Team trained Gleison Tibau this
weekend at UFC 81 in an Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight
match up that Griffin hopes will end in knockout of the night
fashion.
With
his preparation basically concluded, Griffin is counting down
the days to Saturday. He commented, "It's been an anxious
week where you don't get to hit anybody in the face or get to
throw anything hard. You've just got to workout and sweat."
"I've
had a better training camp than last time, staying healthier
and in better shape. I'm just ready to get this thing over with,"
the Xtreme Couture trained fighter told MMAWeekly.
Griffin
suffered the first loss in his career to Frankie Edgar in Feb
of 2007 but strung together back-to-back wins to close out the
year. Tibau is coming into this fight on a four-fight win streak.
Asked
about his opponent, Gleison Tibau, Griffin said, "I think
it's pretty much a fight like the last one I had with Thiago
Tavares. He doesn't have much stand-up. He doesn't seem like
he really looks for anything on his feet. He trades with the
guys that want to trade but he doesn't really set up big strikes.
He just looks for that takedown and tries to pressure you against
the cage, getting that takedown and working the ground game."
"I'm
going to go out there and work my gameplan, put the pressure
on him and make sure he's fighting at my pace and pushing his
conditioning because I'm in great shape. I'm ready to go three
hard rounds."
The
23-year-old native Californian doesn't expect any difficulties
making the cut in weight down to 155 pounds for weigh-ins and
claims to be in excellent condition.
He
stated, "As long as I diet pretty much four weeks out, a
hard diet, I usually have an easy time making weight. I think
the only time I've really had a hard time making weight was the
Frankie Edgar fight. I got a little fat before that fight, but
I'm lean and meaner this time."
Asked
what we can expect when he and Gleison Tibau step into the octagon
Saturday night, Griffin said, "Expect a hard paced fight
and hopefully a knockout of the night."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Alexander
Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett: It isn't that bad... honestly
Earlier today, the potential matchup between Fedor Emelianenko's
brother, Alexander, and Josh Barnett was hinted to the public
through Alexander's M-1 Mixfight website. While there were many
mixed reactions to this rumor, the most unbearable thought for
a select few was that this would ruin a potential Fedor vs. Barnett
super fight.
Although
a win for Alexander could put a nail in the coffin for the showdown
between Fedor and Barnett, it seems highly doubtful it would
end the possibility. It would most certainly make it less intriguing
for some fans, but Barnett is dangerous enough to be considered
competition to Fedor's skill. He's also one of the only heavyweights
out there with the kind of skills that can potentially defeat
"The Last Emperor".
The
most prominent question asked about this rumor is for what reason
would M-1 Global book Alexander instead of Fedor. Why would they
risk Barnett being defeated and not cashing in on the Barnett
vs. Fedor super fight?
Here's
some reasons:
1.
Rematch of the PRIDE Total Elimination Absolute fight between
the two, Barnett won their first encounter.
2.
Barnett wins, and M-1 Global's marketing department plays a revenge
angle for the Fedor vs. Barnett fight. It has been used before
in PRIDE.
3.
Barnett simply hasn't fought a real MMA fight in over a year
and wants a fight that he believes he can handle before taking
on Fedor.
4.
M-1 Global doesn't feel they can sell Fedor vs. Barnett effectively
in the U.S. or feel it will produce more buys in Japan.
Do
any of these reasons fit the bill? My take is that Josh Barnett
simply isn't ready for Fedor just yet. With an April card in
the United States, I'm not entirely convinced that they can sell
Barnett vs. Fedor. It may be a better sell for another card in
Japan where both names were established PRIDE veterans.
Fedor
vs. Schilt and Alexander vs. Barnett should produce Fedor vs.
Barnett, but that's a wish that may not come true. It's not entirely
impossible that Alexander pulls off an upset. Schilt, on the
other hand, still doesn't have the ground game to beat top 10
heavyweights, expect another Fedor win.
In
any case, the fight will most likely happen within the year.
Relax and enjoy the other mixed martial arts action for now.
Source: MMA Analyst
|
JAKE
SHIELDS VS. DREW FICKETT FOR ELITE XC TITLE
Jakes Shields confirmed that he will be fighting for the first-ever
EliteXC welterweight championship.
“I'll
be fighting Drew Fickett for the EliteXC Welterweight Championship
on March 29th in San Jose, (Calif.),” said Shields in an
announcement on his MySpace page.
Currently
ranked No. 7 in the world at welterweight by MMAWeekly.com, Shields
has won nine-straight bouts since losing his Shooto middleweight
title to Akira Kikuchi in late 2004. He has defeated the likes
World Extreme Cagefighting champion Carlos Condit, top ten-ranked
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Yushin Okami, Dave
Menne, Mike Pyle, and more.
Fickett
is a UFC veteran that has gone 8-2 in his 10 most recent bouts.
His only losses during that time were to Karo Parisyan and Josh
Burkman, and he has wins over fighters like top five-ranked Josh
Koscheck, Mark Weir, and Kurt Pellegrino.
The
bout is scheduled to take place as part of the undercard of the
second Strikeforce and EliteXC co-promoted event, which will
air on Showtime. The main event features Frank Shamrock defending
his Strikeforce middleweight title against undefeated Cung Le
and Joey Villasenor vs. Joe Riggs in another middleweight bout.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Lesnar
vs. Mir: Is Mir's Confidence back?
As we begin to approach February, the Brock Lesnar vs. Frank
Mir matchup is beginning to see more sunshine in the media. Dave
Meltzer wrote an article today profiling the stylistic matchup,
the fanbase split between WWE fans and UFC patrons, and the reasoning
behind Lesnar's paycheck. All interesting details and opinions
revolving around a matchup that pits a fake wrestler with actual
wrestling credentials against a broken down submission artist
who may have one of the most dynamic and vast ground skillsets
in the UFC. Why should you be interested?
A
Tough Sell
This
matchup is a tough sell for a number of reasons. Although it
should sell great to the fans as it will work the angle of WWE
fans wanting to see the fake entertainment wrestling icon take
on real fighters, it looks like a David vs. Goliath matchup in
many regards.
Lesnar
has what is said to be unbelievable power. He has been lifting
grown men for years above his head and dishing out what looks
like immense punishment for the cameras for quite some time.
Dealing with his physique alone in the cage will be a task in
itself. Can Frank Mir really withstand an onslaught from Brock
Lesnar and show that jiu-jitsu prevails over brute power? Is
this a Royce Gracie seminar in the making?
It's
very tough to tell, and the fanbase is even more split than originally
thought. Many fans claim it's a cakewalk for Lesnar. Brute power
with huge size on top of Mir will just crush him. Others claim
that Mir just needs that one opening and one transition to end
it. The fans are correct in both arguments, but which will happen
first?
The
X-Factor for Mir: Confidence
There
is one aspect of Frank Mir that hasn't been mentioned in quite
some time, and it regards his sudden turn around. Interviews
that were done after his last fight indicated his new found confidence
in his leg, horribly broken in a motorcycle accident back in
September 2004. He also suffered massive tendon and muscle damage
from the accident.
One
of the comments Mir stated was that in his fight against Hardonk,
it was the first time he had felt that his leg wasn't going to
break at the instant a kick hit it. He wasn't scared to take
a shot to his leg. According to Mir when questioned about previous
fights, he mentioned that he was very unconfident in the ability
of his leg to withstand a shot or submission hold.
I
found these comments to be intriguing because if you watch some
of the tape on those fights, it's evident that in some instances,
Mir is protecting the leg and is flat footed because of it.
People
make excuses, but the bigger story here is that Mir simply wasn't
confident in his abilities to win. He had lackluster performances,
and he took a few defeats in the process. Can Frank Mir prove
to us in February that his confidence is back, and that his skills
in the Octagon can defeat the Goliath? A confident Frank Mir
with the amount of jiu-jitsu skill that he possesses could prove
to knock off the giant.
Source: MMA Analyst
|
UFC
gambles on untested Lesnar
In
the spring of 2000, Brock Lesnar was a University of Minnesota
senior, just two weeks and a handful of workouts away from the
NCAA Division I wrestling tournament.
Today,
the 30-year-old Lesnar finds himself in a similar situation as
he trains for his match against former Ultimate Fighting Championship
heavyweight champion Frank Mir in the most publicized debut in
UFC history.
The
former “Next Big Thing” of pro wrestling has become
ultimate fighting's next gigantic question mark, a 1-0 fighter
with 69 seconds of ring experience thrown into the deep end of
a shark-infested pool.
Whether
he's in over his head remains to be seen, but the reason he's
being billed as the semi-main event of UFC 81 on Feb. 2 in Las
Vegas is because of his fame as a former World Wrestling Entertainment
champion.
ADVERTISEMENT
The success of this card hinges on people buying the novelty
of a former WWE champion fighting a former UFC champion. The
idea, if it clicks, is to rally the UFC fan base to want to see
the fake wrestler get smashed, and for the pro wrestling audience,
to whom the show is being heavily marketed, to tune in out of
curiosity to see how one of its all-time tough guys can do.
Lesnar
knows his role is to antagonize UFC fans, as he did in dismissing
Mir's submission ability in a commercial. Lesnar noted upon signing
with UFC a few months ago that when it comes to promoting a fight,
he "learned from the best."
"I've
got eight workouts left (as of late last week) and I'm very excited
for February 2," Lesnar said. "I've got it all to lose
and I've got everything to gain. Frank Mir doesn't have the same
kind of pressure."
Lesnar
knows the knee-jerk reaction is to say a WWE champion would get
destroyed in an MMA match. He's heard all the wise cracks: No
scripts. No dance partners allowing you to do your moves. With
his big muscles, he'll gas out in a minute of real fighting.
But what makes this match different from a Kimbo Slice-type of
freak show is that those on the inside are even more intrigued
than those on the outside.
Oddsmakers
are heavily favoring Lesnar, likely because they think people
will bet on him because of name recognition as opposed to handicapping
the match based on who they think has the best chance of winning.
It
would be a mistake to dismiss Lesnar as an over-muscled fake;
he's arguably the best all-around athlete of any heavyweight
in UFC history. Certainly nobody can match his combination of
strength, explosive power, and speed to go along with his 265-pound
fighting weight.
After
one week of training with Lesnar in late 2006, MMA coach Pat
Miletich, a former UFC champion, came away impressed. "In
a year, there won't be a man alive who can beat him," Miletich
said. Lesnar has spent the last 18 months training at Greg Nelson's
Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Minneapolis, concentrating
on striking and jiu- jitsu. He often works out with the national
champion University of Minnesota wrestling team -- in particular,
Cole Konrad, the 2008 Olympic hopeful who was NCAA heavyweight
champion the past two years. Suffice to say, Lesnar gets a regular
reality check of where his wrestling stands.
"I'm
going to stay in his face and control him," Lesnar said.
"I can guarantee I'll be in better condition than Mir."
But
will tremendous athletic gifts and 18 months of training help
Lesnar overcome a lack of MMA experience and an opponent with
enough submission skills to finish even ground experts? People
will be watching to see.
Lesnar's
pro wrestling fame has allowed him to start as one of MMA's highest-paid
fighters. The downside to that fame is it forces him into the
spotlight. While most people with his potential would be brought
along slowly and shielded from such a dangerous opponents so
early in his career, because of what he's getting paid, he has
to be in a match like this one with a theme that will grab attention.
Lesnar's
strengths as a wrestler were conditioning, physical power, takedown
ability, and his ability to turn his opponents over. But outside
of his workout partners, the only evidence anyone has seen of
him as a fighter was his June 2 win over Min Soo Kim at the Los
Angeles Coliseum.
Min
Soo was a 1996 Olympic silver medalist in judo, so he was no
slouch. But he has also had struggles adapting to MMA, with a
4-6 record. Lesnar did a quick takedown and showed unusually
powerful short punches in quickly knocking out the Korean on
the ground.
But
the spot Lesnar put Min Soo -- on his back -- is the exact place
Mir wants to be, working for an armbar or a triangle. Mir's most
famous moment in UFC was an armbar from the bottom that broke
Tim Sylvia's arm and won him the heavyweight title on June 19,
2004.
The
question is, if Lesnar can connect from the top with his heavy
artillery, how long does Mir have to get that submission before
he's knocked silly? While Lesnar will have a significant size
advantage over most UFC heavyweights, Mir, at 6-foot-4 and 250
pounds, will be slightly taller and nearly as heavy as Lesnar,
and he does have a wrestling background, including a Nevada high
school state championship. If he can keep his distance and avoid
a takedown, he'll have a reach advantage, and while not a great
striker, Mir has a huge experience edge in that aspect of the
game.
"Frank
Mir is a black belt in jiu jitsu," Lesnar said. "I've
been training a lot in jiu jitsu, and a lot of jiu jitsu defense
and a lot of striking and defense. My wrestling workouts have
taken a back seat because I did that for 18 years." Lesnar
says he has visualized this fight a thousand times and the only
consistent thing is his hand being raised at the end.
"Anybody
can get knocked out in this sport if you get hit with the right
punch with the size of the gloves," he said. "I don't
have a weak jaw, but if you get hit in the right spot, anybody
can lose. You just try to lower the odds of being in that situation.
If I can avoid that, I can win a lot of fights."
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
MICHAEL
BISPING ADDRESSES MOVE TO MIDDLEWEIGHT
U.K. fan favorite Michael Bisping addressed the UFC Fight Club
recently in England and gave some insights into his fight with
Matt Hamill and his move from light heavyweight down to the middleweight
division.
“I
feel like I should have pushed the pace a lot more, but I am
not going to sit here and whine about it like some other people”
said Bisping of his fight with Hamill.
Talking
of losses to highly regarded American wrestlers in the 205-pound
division, he was considerably more vocal about the prospect of
a rematch with Hamill.
“I
have moved to middleweight, so for the time being, that fight
is out of the window, it was my 15th pro fight and I realized
then that you can’t always go out and have the best performance,”
he stated. “However, he knows I can K.O. him and as long
as he continues to whine and bitch about it, it may be sooner
rather than later.”
When
pressed further on the potential match-ups in his new division,
Bisping stated that at the moment he cannot confirm if he will
indeed be fighting “Chainsaw” Charles McCarthy as that
fight hasn’t been officially announced, but he did acknowledge
McCarthy’s prowess on the ground and stated that it would
be a good match for him and that he “had the measure of
him standing.”
Looking
at the potential bouts for Bisping at middleweight, several names
spring to mind, but the Wolfslair standout refused to be drawn
on who he would like to face in the future by stating emphatically,
“At the moment there is no one obvious. I don’t have
a problem with anyone in this division, but ask me in another
six months and I will probably have a name for you, basically
against anyone who proves to be a gobshite.”
The
Internet is rife with opinions on forums and discussion boards.
While much of it should probably be left on the roadside, Bisping
did address a view held by some that he is protected by the Ultimate
Fighting Championship due to his marketability in the U.K.
“I
feel that Elvis Sinosic and Rashad Evans are tough opponents.
I feel that I am paying my dues and working my way forward, but
I accept that everyone has an opinion and I don’t let it
bother me.”
One
thing that did become apparent is that Bisping feels that there
is a positive effect rippling through the Wolfslair gym at the
moment with fighters such as Alex Cook, Paul Kelly and Tom Blackledge
all being recognized as solid fighters internationally and that
there will be a new pack of lightweights coming out of the camp
soon for fans to keep there eyes on.
Bisping
was rumored to be facing McCarthy on March 8 in the U.K., but
while that date was something that was in the works, it never
came to fruition. UFC president Dana White told MMAWeekly, “We
didn’t scrap the show in England (on March 8), it was never
set.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
“A
weed is but an unloved flower.”
Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1850-1919, American Poet and Journalist
|
Fighting
For Acceptance is Released for Orders!
Two UH
professors that were nice enough to interview us for their book,
"Fighting for Acceptance" are pleased to announce that
the book is now available for purchase. This is not your normal
MMA book, but rather a book that profiles many aspects of MMA
and fighters that has never been explored! They interviewed many
high profile fighters like Dan Henderson, Mayhem Miller, and
too many others to list. You have to read the book!
We highly recommend that you purchase this book, not only to
support MMA, but to open your mind about the many other facets
of MMA that you have probably not considered and is important
for the general public to be educated about MMA.
The book is officially available for purchase online via the
websites, below:
Barnes & Noble
Iuniverse
Amazon.com
http://MMAcademics.angelfire.com
|
Unification?
Yes, Please!
Mixed martial arts is a sport that is growing at an exponential
rate. With that growth comes a whole new set of problems, growing
pains if you will. Possibly the biggest problem currently confronting
MMA is the idea of unification. This idea is ignored by most,
glossed over by others, and not given a thought by the rest of
the MMA community. However, it is becoming readily apparent that
unification in MMA is something that needs to happen. Unification
in and of itself is perplexing and what makes it so perplexing
to most is that they don’t completely understand what unification
means for the sport. Unification in MMA deals with a few different
fronts.
Source: Total MMA
|
MMAWEEKLY
WORLD MMA RANKINGS UPDATED
The latest MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings were released on Wednesday,
January 30. This system ranks the top ten MMA fighters from all
across the world in each of the six largest weight classes, as
voted on by MMAWeekly.
We
take into consideration a fighter's performance in addition to
his win-loss record, head-to-head and common opponents, difficulty
of opponents, and numerous other factors in what is the most
comprehensive rankings system in the sport.
As
always, fighters who are currently serving drug-related suspensions
are not eligible for top ten consideration until they have fought
one time after the completion of their suspension.
Fighters
must also have competed within the past 12 months in order to
be eligible for top ten consideration.
Here
are the current MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings, which are up-to-date
as of January 30.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
HEAVYWEIGHT
DIVISION (over 205 pounds)
#1
Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Fedor Emelianenko
2.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
3.
Randy Couture
4.
Tim Sylvia
5.
Andrei Arlovski
6.
Fabricio Werdum
7.
Gabriel Gonzaga
8.
Mirko Cro Cop
9.
Aleksander Emelianenko
10.
Cheick Kongo
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
LIGHT
HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205-pound limit)
#1
Light Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Quinton Jackson
2.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
3.
Dan Henderson
4.
Chuck Liddell
5.
Lyoto Machida
6.
Keith Jardine
7.
Forrest Griffin
8.
Wanderlei Silva
9.
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
10.
Ricardo Arona
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
MIDDLEWEIGHT
DIVISION (185-pound limit)
#1
Middleweight Fighter in the World: Anderson Silva
2.
Paulo Filho
3.
Matt Lindland
4.
Rich Franklin
5.
Denis Kang
6.
Robbie Lawler
7.
Nathan Marquardt
8.
Kazuo Misaki
9.
Yushin Okami
10.
Frank Trigg
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
WELTERWEIGHT
DIVISION (170-pound limit)
#1
Welterweight Fighter in the World: Georges St. Pierre
2.
Matt Serra
3.
Matt Hughes
4.
Jon Fitch
5.
Josh Koscheck
6.
Karo Parisyan
7.
Jake Shields
8.
Diego Sanchez
9.
Carlos Condit
10.
Marcus Davis
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
LIGHTWEIGHT
DIVISION (160-pound limit)
#1
Lightweight Fighter in the World: Takanori Gomi
2.
Tatsuya Kawajiri
3.
Shinya Aoki
4.
Gesias "JZ" Calvancante
5.
Mitsuhiro Ishida
6.
Gilbert Melendez
7.
B.J. Penn
8.
Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
9.
Joe Stevenson
10.
Joachim Hansen
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
FEATHERWEIGHT
DIVISION (145 pounds and under)
#1
Featherweight Fighter in the World: Akitoshi Tamura
2.
Urijah Faber
3.
"Lion" Takeshi Inoue
4.
Antonio Carvalho
5.
Masakazu Imanari
6.
Hatsu Hioki
7.
Jeff Curran
8.
Tenkei Fujimiya
9.
Yoshiro Maeda
10.
Rafael Assuncao
Source: MMA Weekly
|
TOP
KOREAN FIGHTER, KIM SIGNS WITH UFC
PUNDANG,
South Korea – Undefeated welterweight Dong Hyun Kim held
a press conference at the offices of the Super Action cable network
on Tuesday to officially announce his newly signed contract with
the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Kim,
who stands at over six feet, is a lankly welterweight who walks
around at better than 185 pounds. As originally reported on the
Korean website MFight on Friday, the UFC contract will be for
four fights at 170 pounds.
Few
other details of the contract were discussed during the conference,
save for the speculation that since Kim had received a “better”
offer than some Japanese fighters from the now defunct Pride
Fighting Championships, his management team was hopeful that
his first UFC fight would escape the anonymity of a non-televised
undercard. His UFC debut is set for April or May.
In
response to questions from the local media, Kim commented that
he was not particularly worried about the transition from ring
to cage, nor did he anticipate any problems with adding elbows
strikes to his game while deleting soccer kicks and stomps. His
plan is to relocate to the United States approximately one month
prior to his first fight for cage training, but he has not yet
decided upon a gym.
Though
he got his start in Spirit MC, Kim is best known in Asia as the
fighter who scored a third round TKO over current DEEP welterweight
champion Hidehiko Hasegawa in a non-title contest, only to be
handed a controversial draw in the rematch that followed.
He
was cautious with his words today and the press conference rhetoric
was pretty standard, but among fight fans on this side of the
world, Dong Hyun Kim’s promises ring with truth.
“I’ll
do my best. I will train hard and progress step-by-step. I will
never let down my fans. So keep watching me.”
UFC
fans will have no choice but to watch Dong Hyun Kim, as he will
enter the ranks of the ten best welterweights in the world within
the next eighteen months.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Strikeforce
| The Beast returns, ready to mix it up
Bob
Sapp was a lineman for the Washington Huskies.
Strikeforce
event
Mixed-martial arts: A term invented to cover a fight format that
accommodates a number of disciplines. Judo, wrestling, giu-gitsu
and muay thai are among the many techniques.
Strikeforce:
One of the country's larger mixed-martial arts promotions. It
held the first mixed-martial arts event in California where a
crowd of more than 18,000 attended.
Fight
card: 14 bouts — four amateur fights, 10 professional.
Date:
Feb. 23. Doors open at 7 p.m., fights begin at 8 p.m.
Site:
Tacoma Dome.
Tickets:
$35, $75 and $150. Available at Tacoma Dome box office and Ticketmaster
locations.
TACOMA
— Bob Sapp found out there was no going back as soon as
he got to Washington.
Dad
made that very clear when he changed the family's phone number
after dropping Bob off to play football for the Huskies in 1992.
Sapp's
life has taken a few turns in the 16 years since he first came
to Seattle. He has played in the NFL and been a professional
wrestler. He has beaten Refrigerator Perry in a televised toughman
boxing competition and suffered a broken eye orbital in a kickboxing
match against Mirko Crocop.
And
on Tuesday, the big man with an even larger personality sat at
a table in the nightclub of the Emerald Queen Casino to be introduced
as a participant in a mixed-martial-arts event that will be held
at the Tacoma Dome on Feb. 23.
"I
look forward to showing everyone here in Washington what they've
been missing from the Beast of the East," Sapp said.
The
Beast. That's the 360-pound Sapp's nickname, and he's got the
entertainment part of the job down pat. His character includes
a deep, bass-heavy laugh so loud it seems to echo inside Sapp's
expansive chest. He'll wink for television cameras, too, batting
his right eye.
Sapp
came to Washington as a defensive lineman who switched to offense
his second year at school. He was a third-round pick by the Chicago
Bears in 1997, and he also played for the Minnesota Vikings.
It's fighting that has given Sapp a global name. A man beloved
in Japan, hated in Amsterdam and he estimates he has made in
excess of $7 million in his career. He has endorsed more than
400 products, appeared in feature films like "The Longest
Yard" and had recurring roles in television.
"I'm
enjoying every last thing fighting has brought me," Sapp
said.
Sapp
began kickboxing after the professional-wrestling company he
worked for in the United States — WCW — went bankrupt.
He thought he was getting a wrestling job with a company called
K-1. Nope, a friend told him. K-1 means kickboxing, where combatants
can punch or kick. No choke holds or arm bars, either.
Sapp's
kickboxing eventually led to mixed-martial arts, which is really
a term invented to cover what is as close as you get in sports
to an honest-to-goodness brawl. Combatants can use all sorts
of methods for making an opponent unable or unwilling to continue.
Twist an opponent's arm, choke him or just use knees and fists
to batter him until he quits or can no longer intelligently defend
himself. Judges are available to adjudicate the matter if necessary.
There
are rules to the whole thing. No biting. Can't pull hair and
the eyes and blows to the groin are no-nos, too. The Ultimate
Fighting Championship is the most well-known promotion domestically.
Strikeforce is the organization that will be promoting this event
at the Tacoma Dome. Sapp's mixed-martial-arts record is 9-2-1.
Sapp
will be fighting a man nicknamed "The Giant," quite
creative considering the guy stands 6 feet 10. He weighs 330
pounds, which means that about 700 pounds of humanity will be
in a cage come February.
It's
one of 14 bouts on the card. Four are between amateurs, 10 are
professional. Sapp will be involved in one of two main events.
Maurice Smith will face Rick Roufus in the other event. Smith
attended West Seattle High School and is a world-champion kickboxer
and former UFC champion.
Smith
is also Sapp's trainer. The two first connected when Sapp began
kickboxing and headed to Japan with no idea what was in store.
The fit turned out to be perfect.
"I
was only supposed to go over there for a week," Sapp said.
"And I think I didn't come back until four years later."
He
most recently went to Japan for a fight on New Year's Eve. He
returned Monday.
Sapp
has fought twice in the United States, both kickboxing matches.
Next month's fight will be his first domestic mixed-martial arts
event as the man who has made a global name returns to the state
where he started out as a football player whose father dropped
him off at the University of Washington some 16 years ago.
"I'm
living the American dream, but I'm in Japan," Sapp said.
"But now, I'm living it back here in America."
Source: Seattle Times
|
UFC
Rundown: New matchups announced
The
UFC has been hitting the news wire frequently as of late with
fighters beginning to reveal their potential matchups for their
upcoming fights. Some of them are quite interesting due to the
influx of newer talent that the UFC seems to be bringing along.
The future is always a concern, and it looks like the UFC is
giving some guys a chance to make a splash in their careers.
Let's take a look.
Josh
Koscheck vs. Dustin Hazelett - UFC 82
This
matchup is a bit deceptive. Most people see this fight as a one-sided
affair with Koscheck's outstanding wrestling pedigree dominating
an unknown Dustin Hazelett. The problem here is that most fans
don't see Hazelett fight since he has been featured mainly on
undercards.
Hazelett
(10-3) has had some phenomenal performances as of late in the
cage. He submitted Jonathan Goulet at UFN 11 in impressive fashion
scoring an armbar victory in just 1:14 into the first round.
He's currently on a three-fight win streak, and this is definitely
a move in the right direction as his skills improve.
Koscheck
will be looking to begin another ascension into the upper ranks,
but Hazelett's jiu-jitsu could prove to be troublesome. Nonetheless,
Koscheck's top control is good, and he could essentially make
another run for the title.
David
Heath vs. Tim Boetsch - UFC 81
After
Heath's bout was scratched from UFC 81 due to an injured Thomas
Drwal, the UFC put the light heavyweight back on the card and
paired him up with newcomer Tim Boetsch (6-1).
Boetsch
is primarily known for his 2007 IFL semifinal battle with "The
Janitor" Vladmir Matyushenko. In his only career loss, Boetsch
did show an ability to survive against the technically better
Matyushenko. Many consider Vladmir to still be quality UFC material,
and with Boetsch taking him the distance and being a fairly green
fighter, he could improve dramatically in the coming months.
He'll get his chance to make something happen against Heath.
Heath
hasn't been exactly impressive in his last two fights. To be
fair however, Renato Sobral is a world-class grappler and Lyoto
Machida could very well be a dark horse candidate for the title.
Boetsch isn't at their skill level, so it should be litmus test
for Boetsch, and a gauge to see where Heath is at right now.
Diego
Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden - UFC 82
Although
I'm still holding out for news after this fight that Marcus Davis
may fight Diego, Sanchez does need to fight another battle before
that can potentially happen. The UFC seems to think so as well.
Diego
will be matched up with David Bielkheden (12-5). This puts an
end to the rumors that Diego would fight Roan Carneiro. It also
marks another Swede making his debut in the UFC, a market that
the UFC seems to be hitting hard now. Per Eklund, fellow Swede,
was defeated by Sam Stout in a spirited effort at UFC 80 this
last weekend.
Bielkheden
holds a win over current UFC fighter Charles McCarthy although
it was back in February of 2004. The most notable matchup on
his record is taking on Mitsuhiro Ishida at PRIDE Bushido 13
in November of 2006, dropping a decision to the Japanese wrestler.
He
should prove to be an able test for Sanchez even though his name
isn't known in the casual fanbase. He's a BTT member, and will
have good training partners to supplement his skillset training.
With a well-rounded grappling game and some power at times, he
could be an upset pick.
Source: MMA Analyst
|
UFC
ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL BOUTS FOR OHIO
The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Friday officially announced
additional bouts for its UFC 82 event scheduled for March 2 in
Columbus, Ohio.
The
main event features a middleweight title bout between defending
champion Anderson Silva and the final Pride Fighting Championship
middleweight titleholder, Dan Henderson.
The
promotion confirmed three more fights that had been highly rumored
by MMAWeekly.com for some time. Those bouts include a heavyweight
fight between former Pride fighter Heath Herring and French kickboxer
Cheick Kongo, a middleweight contest of Yushin Okami versus the
returning Evan Tanner, and a lightweight bout between Ultimate
Fighter veteran Josh Koscheck and local Ohio favorite Dustin
Hazelett.
The
March 2 event takes place at the Nationwide Arena, the same location
where the UFC set the national total attendance record for a
mixed martial arts event at 19,079.
UFC
82 bouts, officially announced:
-Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson
-Cheick Kongo vs. Heath Herring
-Yushin Okami vs. Evan Tanner
-Josh Koscheck vs. Dustin Hazelett
UFC
82 rumored bouts, not yet announced:
-Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson
-Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O'Brien
-Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden
-Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti
-Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC's
shopping spree continues, looking good for MMA fans
The
UFC seems to have read the handbook on bolstering weaker divisions
with new talent. Many fans consider the Middleweight division
to be the weakest, but some remedies are on their way to the
division. Dan Henderson is dropping down to the weight class,
Michael Bisping is also moving to Middleweight, and the UFC recently
signed Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares as well. Now comes
the Welterweights.
On
the assumption that Georges St. Pierre will defeat Matt Serra
at their matchup in April, the division seems to have the makings
of the weak Middleweight division. Specifically, Georges St.
Pierre would sit atop the division unchallenged while fighters
like Fitch try to work their way up. There is a small talent
gap there, but it looks like the UFC is going to answer the call.
Mfight
reported on Friday that Dong Hyun Kim will make his UFC debut
in March or April at 170 pounds. A Spirit MC and DEEP veteran,
Kim has been impressive in his two most recent battles with DEEP
Champion Hidehiko Hasegawa. He defeated him in a non-title battle
in their first matchup and went the distance in the second matchup
for the title. Many consider the second matchup to be a definitive
Hyun Kim win, but the judges scored it a draw.
His
southpaw stance in the striking game could prove to cause problems
for divisional opponents in the UFC, but Kim also has some solid
wrestling. He also trains with none other than Yushin Okami,
a successful UFC fighter who definitely knows how to utilize
the cage.
All
of these recent acquisitions are definitely beginning to bolster
these divisions. We are beginning to see great up-and-coming
talent that SHOULD be in the UFC actually make it to the promotion.
It'll also help them gain some ground with fans internationally
as they are signing many Asian and Brazilian market fighters
who can bring more fans to the UFC's fanbase. There is still
the problem of solidifying any type of TV deal in Asia, and the
UFC is nearly non-existent in Brazil as far as air time.
Even
with promoting problems in those countries, fans in the U.S.
should be excited for the prospect of some great talent moving
into the ranks. The UFC is impressively gaining a significant
amount of the talent throughout the world.
Source: MMA Analyst
|
Quote
of the Day
“The
beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.”
Chinese Proverb
|
Congratulations
Luke & Gladys!
Our best
friends' Luke and Gladys just had their second baby boy today!
He was 7 lbs 4 oz and the baby is yet to be named. He is welcomed
by his big brother Nicholas.
Go
figure!
Congratulations
and welcome back to nights of no sleep! |
Fighters'
Club TV Tonight!
Channel
72
7:00 PM
Every Tuesday!
Fighters' Club Television Episode 53 is cut and submitted to
Olelo
programming. It will run as a (by) episode as we've been swamped
w/ our
days jobs and should run only this Tuesday the 15th in our normal
times
slot of 7pm(HST) on Oceanic Ch52 Oahu only.
This
episode revisits every Technique of the Week from 2007 and also
features a recent fun interview w/ KJ Noons and also a vintage
interview w/ Tim Sylvia after he beat Wes Sims.
A
new episode featuring our normal antics will run from the following
Tuesday.
|
PENN RETURNS TO THE LIGHTWEIGHT
RANKS
Breaking
down the top ten fighters in the lightweight division...
1.
Takanori Gomi
The final Pride Fighting Championships lightweight champion,
Gomi has been ranked number one for a long time, but that is
likely to come to an end soon. Despite a solid record with wins
over fighters like Hayato Sakurai, Marcus Aurelio, Tatsuya Kawajiri,
Luiz Azeredo (twice) and Jens Pulver; he hasn’t had a fight
since losing to Nick Diaz in February of 2007, a fight that has
since been ruled a “no contest” by the Nevada State
Athletic Commission due to Diaz testing positive for marijuana.
If he doesn’t fight soon, it will have been more than 12
months since his last bout and Gomi will fall out of consideration
for the top ten until such time as he fights again.
2.
Tatsuya Kawajiri
Like Gomi and many other former Pride fighters, Kawajiri was
on the cusp of losing his eligibility due to inactivity. He returned,
however, on Dec. 31 at the co-promoted Yarennoka show, which
basically served as Japan’s farewell to Pride. There he
manhandled Luiz Azeredo en route to an impressive unanimous decision
that boosted his record to 13-2-1 in his last 16 bouts with his
only losses during that time being to Gomi and the currently
No. 6-ranked Gilbert Melendez.
3.
Shinya Aoki
Known for his amazing flexibility and stunning submissions, Aoki
has been on an amazing run since losing to Sakurai in late 2005.
He has since gone 9-0. He had been scheduled to face No. 4-ranked
Gesias Calvancante on New Year’s Eve, a fight that would
have made a strong case for the winner to possibly move to the
top of the rankings, but Calvancante had to withdraw due to injury.
The two are now expected to fight on an as yet unannounced K-1
event in March.
4.
Gesias “JZ” Calvancante
Calvancante established himself over the past year-and-a-half
winning back-to-back K-1 154-Pound Grand Prix tournaments. But
as mentioned, he suffered a knee injury and re-aggravated it
during his winning performance in the 2007 Grand Prix. He is
a very powerful and athletic lightweight that will be looking
to the fight with Ayoki to possibly establish him as the best
in the division.
5.
Mitsuhiro Ishida
Ishida has long been considered a strong contender in the division,
but established his position as one of the best in the world
with his New Year’s Eve performance against Melendez. He
won a unanimous decision over the Californian, but put on an
amazing display of dominance with his superior wrestling skills.
He is now 10-2 in his past 12 bouts with his only losses to Gomi
and No. 8-ranked Vitor Ribeiro.
6.
Gilbert Melendez
Despite the loss to Ishida, Melendez is still regarded as one
of the best the division has to offer. The decision loss was
the first misstep of his entire career. With a professional record
of 13-1 and wins over Kawajiri, Ultimate Fighting Championship
veteran Clay Guida and the legendary Rumina Sato, it won’t
take much for Melendez to make another move back up the ranks.
He is likely to return at the March 29 Strikeforce event in California.
7.
B.J. Penn
Penn is an enigma in the rankings. He is regarded by most as
one of the most talent-laden fighters in the history of the sport,
but his long layoff in the lightweight category has him working
his way back up. Prior to his victory of Jens Pulver in June
2007, he hadn’t fought at lightweight since dominating Gomi
in late 2003. Penn recently followed up the win over Pulver by
dominating Joe Stevenson, submitting him with a rear naked choke
at UFC 80 to win the vacant lightweight championship.
8.
Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro
Ribeiro hasn’t fought since losing to Calvancante in September
of 2007, but that was only his second loss, his first being to
Kawajiri. Despite his recent activity, he is still considered
one of the best in the class and is regarded as one of the top
submission experts in the sport with 12 of his 19 wins coming
via submission.
9.
Joe Stevenson
Despite his recent disappointment against Penn, Stevenson has
proven to be one of the more well-rounded lightweights around.
With wins over Yves Edwards, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Melvin Guillard
and Kurt Pellegrino in the UFC, he is a dominant force. And at
25 years of age, Stevenson has a lot of time left to earn more
shots at the title.
10.
Joachim Hansen
Hansen is a fighter that at one time seemed destined to make
a run up the division. A strong striker with skilled ground abilities,
he racked up wins over the likes of Calvancante, Edwards, and
Caol Uno, before beginning a roller coast ride over his past
few bouts defeating the likes of Luiz Azeredo and Jason Ireland,
but losing to fighters like Kawajiri and Ayoki. He struggled
through the dissolution of Pride, but may have found a home recently
fighting for K-1.
NOTE:
Hayato Sakurai, who was highly ranked in the lightweight division,
recently made the move to welterweight, thus losing his eligibility.
Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk was suspended by the
California State Athletic Commission and thus ineligible for
consideration in the rankings until he has his first bout upon
returning from the suspension.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Betting
on Brock Lesnar? Better read this before you bet…
Brock
vs Frank overview
*
Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir will be squaring off on February 2nd
as the main event at UFC 81. Lesnar is a former WWE star and
college wrestling standout, while Mir has a 10-3 MMA record with
wins over Tim Sylvia, Antoni Hardonk and Dan Christison. Betting
odds and analysis for this fight are below…
Odds
for Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir
*
Brock Lesnar (-150)
* Frank Mir (+120)
Analysis
of Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir
*
The betting odds for this matchup have stunned many MMA bettors.
Brock Lesnar opened as a huge -205 favorite, with the veteran
Frank Mir coming in as a +165 underdog. Despite not having any
real MMA experience, Brock Lesnar has a very good wrestling background.
He was a two time NCAA All American wrestler with a 106-5 career
collegiate record. The problem with betting on Brock, is that
there are way TOO MANY unknowns with him. Is Brock going to be
able to take a punch? How’s Brock’s stand up game?
Will Brock be able to counter any of Mir’s great BJJ skills?
This is way too many unknowns for a -150 favorite.
*
Frank Mir is a submission specialist who has tons of experience
in the octagon and is a former UFC heavyweight champion. Frank
Mir’s win over Tim Sylvia a few years back shows a lot about
how Frank can handle someone who’s bigger and stronger than
him. On the other hand, if you’re ready to unload some big
money on Frank, you should also look at his cardio problems.
Mir has gassed a few times in his past couple fights, and many
people believe if he comes in out of shape, Brock will probably
out work him.
* I think the overall value in this fight lies with Frank Mir.
A veteran fighter at +120 against a complete newbie to MMA seems
to be the best wager at this point…
Source: MMA Betting
|
Stallone,
HGH, and UFC
On
Wednesday’s Spike TV telecast of an Ultimate Fight Night
live event from The Palms in Las Vegas, NV, Joe Rogan did a promo
spot with Sylvester Stallone to promote the latest Rambo movie
release. It was quite the interview.
Stallone
was busted in Australia for bringing vials of growth hormone
in 2007. Today, Stallone was quick to defend his use of growth
hormone. Also, Stallone told the press that he uses prescription
testosterone, but doesn’t take steroids.
Testosterone
is the base chemical for anabolic steroids.
The
last 12 months for UFC has been quite an adventure in terms of
fighters failing steroid tests. Dana White’s aggressive
support for Sean Sherk in the media, combined with media spots
(such as this advertising spot on the UFC web page) with a testosterone
& GH user like Sylvester Stallone, have created an interesting
PR situation for the company.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Inside
the Mind of a Cornerman
By Michael DiSanto
It’s
Saturday night. Anywhere USA. No-name gym. Less-than-sellout
crowd. Two little known men stand opposed in anticipation of
fistic combat.
They
aren’t fighting for money. This is an amateur bout. But
the outcome is no less important to them. Win in the amateurs
and professional fights will follow. Win in the professional
ranks and
*
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money
and fame may follow.
The
bell rings. The two cautiously approach the center. Neither man
is eager to engage in battle. An uneventful, sleep-inducing waltz
of circling and feinting unfolds.
These
men aren’t fighting to win, landing less than 10 combined
punches in the opening round. They are fighting not to lose,
whether from nerves, inexperience or whatever else. Maybe they
feel alone and insecure inside the ring.
In
fact, they are not alone. No fighter is alone. His chief second,
more commonly referred to as the cornerman, is right outside
the ring watching with a critical, yet protective, eye.
Each
man returns to his respective corner for the 60-second rest.
The bell sounds to start the second stanza. It is a carbon copy
of the first round. Although neither is doing much, the fighter
in the blue corner is undoubtedly winning the fight, something
that doesn’t sit well with his cornerman.
John
Hackleman knows that as the chief second, his job in the brief
seconds between the second and final round is a simple one: motivate
his man to shed whatever insecurities are holding him back and
begin fighting to win in the final three minutes, rather than
fighting not to lose.
“The
second he got back to the corner I slapped him in the face,”
Hackleman said, when describing the amateur bout. “I told
him what a disgrace he would be to The Pit and that we would
all walk out of the place with our heads hung low because he
wasn’t man enough to pull the trigger.”
Of
course, it didn’t stop there. Hackleman yelled without pause
for almost the entire minute. He didn’t even take a break
long enough to give his man water or remove his mouthpiece. This
was an old fashioned scolding, also known as old fashioned motivation
– fight style.
“I
yelled that if he didn’t go out there this round and knock
this guy out, I would never talk to him again,” he admitted.
The
tactics worked. The amateur fighter runs out at the beginning
of the third round, throws a barrage of punches and knocks out
his opponent six seconds later.
The
quality of a fighter’s corner is an often overlooked part
of a fight. Unless a fight unfolds exactly like predicted in
training, a cornerman can have a very real impact on the outcome.
Good corners can increase their fighter’s chances of winning.
Inexperienced or unskilled corners can hinder a fighter’s
odds and place his health at unnecessary risk.
Once
the bell sounds, a good cornerman is equal parts weekend psychologist
and master of situational or tactical tidbits, with the latter
often playing as much or more of a role than the latter.
Hackleman,
longtime trainer of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck
Liddell and founder of The Pit (home of Hawaiian Kempo), believes
that by the time a fighter steps into the cage or ring, he should
be so well prepared that the game plan for the night is almost
second nature. His reactions, though drilled through months of
repetition, should be more like instinct than thoughtful execution.
Motivation
or supporting the ever-fragile human psyche, therefore, is often
a major focus of a cornerman come fight night. But Hackleman
is quick to remind that providing in-fight inspiration isn’t
his only focus inside the cage.
“If
my guy isn’t following the game plan, then I will put him
back on track,” he said. “Maybe he isn’t keeping
his left hand up or is circling the wrong way. In those instances,
correcting his technique is my chief concern. If the opponent
is doing something different than we expected, I’ll change
up the game plan during the fight. It all depends on what is
happening. You have to be flexible and adapt to what is unfolding
in the fight.”
Hackleman’s
approach to cornering a fighter is a skill that he has honed
over the past 30 years of his life – time he spent as both
a professional fighter and trainer. He believes that experience,
particularly that gained through competing as a professional
boxer and kickboxer, gives him an edge once the bell sounds.
“I
think my fighters trust what I’m saying more, trust my intuition
more, and trust that I’m looking out for their safety more
because I’ve been there so many times in my own fighting
career,” he reasoned. “They know that I’m going
to stop the fight if they are getting hurt. I’m not going
to throw a guy back out there if he tells me he can’t see.
They know that if it is just a question of them sucking it up
and getting back out there, I’ll tell them that too.”
So,
what exactly has he learned over the last three decades of his
fight-related life that makes him a great chief second?
The
first is that even though the breaks between rounds are 60 seconds
long, a cornerman has roughly less than half of that amount of
time to actually connect with and effectively advise his guy.
“It
takes almost 10 seconds to get into the ring and sit him down
once the bell sounds to end a round,” Hackleman explained.
“[A fighter] needs to breathe first, otherwise he will be
more tired the next round. He needs two or three deep breaths,
which takes time. Then, you start giving him water. You can start
talking to him when you are giving him water. By that time, you
only have about 20 seconds or so before the next round. “
As
a result, Hackleman insists that the best approach is to give
a fighter one direction, two at the most, between rounds, which
means making a quick decision as to what will be most beneficial
-- motivational words, correcting a technique or insight into
what the other guy is doing.
The
one thing he will not do, even when trying to motivate his fighter
through scolding, is use words such as “losing” or
“tired” to describe his guy. Instead, he tries to carefully
pick his words to keep his guy thinking positively.
“I’ll
tell him that he needs to win a round or needs to win a round
big or he needs to score a knockout to win a fight. But I’ll
never put the losing word into someone’s head,” he
said.
“The
closest I came with ‘tired’ was the last fight between
Chuck [Liddell] and Wanderlei Silva [at UFC 79]. You can hear
me telling Chuck that Wanderlei was much more tired than him
heading into the third round. Chuck later told me that really
helped him because he looked across the cage and saw that Wanderlei
was more exhausted. He said that gave him a lot more energy to
start the final round. So, I try to never use negative words
in the corner. Another example is asking a guy if he is OK. I
won’t do that because he will start wondering if he is OK,
and that is never good.”
Hackleman
actually gave two pieces of information to Liddell between the
second and third round of his mega fight with Silva. His motivational
words about Silva’s state of exhaustion gave Liddell a nice
adrenalin boost. But he also offered up a bit of tactical advice
that all but assured Liddell’s victory.
During
training camp, Liddell and teammate Glover Teixeira came up with
a technique that the pair thought would be effective against
Silva. It consisted of a series of punches immediately followed
by a single- or double-leg takedown, something Liddell hasn’t
done in previous fights. They referred to the technique as a
“blitz.”
Right
before Hackleman left the corner, he told Liddell that it was
time for a blitz. The boom microphone caught the advice on the
pay-per-view broadcast. Hackleman instructed Liddell that it
was time for a blitz. The “Iceman” went out and scored
two takedowns in the round, effectively neutralizing any chance
that his exhausted foe had of landing a homerun punch for a come-from-behind
knockout win.
Liddell
and Teixeira created the technique. Hackleman decided when Liddell
would be best suited to employ it during the fight. It is that
sort of cooperation and trust between fighter and cornerman that
maximizes the odds of winning tough, back-and-forth battles.
But
that sort of cooperation and trust also must exist between the
chief second and the other members of a fighter’s corner.
Hackleman is adamant about his rule that only one man talks to
a fighter between rounds. He firmly believes that if more than
one person talks, a fighter won’t hear either one.
Nevertheless,
that rule doesn’t mean that he is always the one inside
the cage giving words of advice.
“I’m
more like the contractor who puts everything together,”
he said. “For example, if Chuck couldn’t stop a takedown,
I’m confident in how to deal with that. But let’s say
Chuck kept getting taken down and he was ending up in the half
guard and he couldn’t get out by escaping to the open door
side, I would ask Glover or John Lewis to go into the cage and
talk between rounds. If he was getting taken down because of
a very technical move while getting pressed against the cage,
I would have Sammy Henson, one of our wrestling guys, go in and
talk to him about how to stop the takedown.”
In
other words, Hackleman
checks his ego at the door each time he walks out of the locker
room and walks to the Octagon with guys like Liddell. His primary
focus is always what is best for his fighter at that particular
moment, and that includes, above all else, what is best for the
fighter’s personal safety and well being. That takes precedent
over winning fights.
Hackleman,
who is known as a guy who won’t hesitate to throw in the
towel, said it is difficult to articulate exactly when to stop
a fight. His basic rule of thumb is that if his fighter is losing
a fight and he doesn’t see any way he can pull it out, then
Hackleman will instruct the referee to stop it.
Nevertheless,
that rule means something different for each fighter and each
fight.
One
such example is Scott Lighty, a K-1 kickboxing standout who fights
out of The Pit under Hackleman’s watchful eye.
“Lighty
gets dropped a lot in fights because he is such a banger,”
Hackleman said. “I’ve seen him get dropped by huge
guys like Mighty Mo, and he was up and ready to go within 10
seconds. I wouldn’t throw in the towel for someone like
him just because he gets dropped, but I might for some other
guys because I know that they don’t recover as well. “
Hackleman’s
most famous example of looking out for his fighter’s safety
has to be the November 2003 war waged between Liddell and the
man who later snatched the UFC title from him, Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson.
The
Iceman and Rampage battled it out for two brutal rounds in the
semifinals for the 2003 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix (PRIDE’s
middleweight division, unlike its counterpart in the UFC, is
for fighters weighing 205 pounds or less). Liddell found some
success striking with Rampage early in the first round, but the
fiery PRIDE veteran found his groove as the round wore on.
Toward
the end of the round, Rampage scored a takedown and then a brief
knockdown from an overhand right. From that point forward, he
was in control of the action. A second knockdown and then a takedown
midway through the second left an exhausted Liddell on his back
with Rampage methodically pounding away.
“I
didn’t think Chuck would get KO’d,” he explained.
“But I knew it was going to get stopped soon. I knew from
Chuck’s position that he wasn’t going to be able to
work back to his feet. I’ve been with Chuck for so long
that I knew he would never quit, but I also knew there was no
point in letting the fight continue.”
Hackleman,
therefore, jumped up on the ring apron and threw in the towel,
bringing an end to Liddell’s quest to win the PRIDE Grand
Prix. It was the third loss of Liddell’s illustrious career,
and his second loss in his last three fights. Liddell undoubtedly
was disappointed at that moment, though he didn’t show it
in the ring.
Fair
enough. Any real fighter would be disappointed when his fight
is waived off before a submission, knockout or the final bell.
That is bushido – the way of the warrior. True fighters
to want to go out on their shield rather than have it ended by
a cornerman.
But
there is also a positive side to the stoppage. Liddell didn’t
sustain any unnecessary injuries in that fight. Three fights
later, he won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, a title
he held for more than two years.
When
Hackleman climbed up onto the ring apron and waved his towel
at the referee, he was acting as Liddell’s advocate and
friend, something he thinks should be at the forefront of every
cornerman’s mind.
“Look
out for the fighter, not you,” Hackleman offered when asked
if he had any advice for young, up-and-coming cornermen. “You
are his advocate. Don’t look for anyone else to stop the
fight. When it is time, you stop it. You don’t ever want
to put a fighter in a position where he tells the referee that
he cannot continue. That is the worst position you can put a
fighter in because these are often very macho guys. It is very
difficult for a real fighter, a proud fighter to quit. If you
aren’t in there looking out for them, nobody else will.
You are their advocate. If you aren’t looking out for your
fighter’s safety first and above all else, then you don’t
belong in there.”
That
is why John Hackleman is known as one of the best in the business.
Source: UFC
|
HATSU
HIOKI STAYS ON TRACK AT SHOOTO
No. 6 ranked featherweight Hatsu Hioki continued his winning
ways with an armbar submission victory over Katsuya Toida on
Saturday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. The win was his second straight
victory after dropping back-to-back split decision losses in
2007.
The
event also signified the retirement of two of Japan’s premier
fighters. Akira Kikuchi and Akitoshi Hokazono both announced
their retirements on Saturday.
Kikuchi
won the middleweight (167-pound) Shooto title in late 2004 with
a win over Jake Shields. He held the title until losing a unanimous
decision to Shinya Aoki in 2006. He also made it to the finals
of the Cage Force Welterweight Tournament in 2007 before losing
in an upset to Yoshiyuki Yoshida.
Undefeated
at 6-0-2, Hokazono has ruled as the champion of the Shooto 132-pound
division. Possibly the top fighter at that weight in the world,
Hokazono has had a very difficult time finding opponents, a factor
which probably played heavily into his retirement.
Shooto
Results
Jan. 26, 2008
Hatsu
Hioki def. Katsuya Toida by Submission (Armbar) at 4:30, R2
Masakatsu Ueda def. Atsushi Yamamoto by Unanimous Decision, R3
So Tazawa def. Shinichi "BJ" Kojima by Submission (Armbar)
at 3:32, R3
Jin Akimoto drew with Junji Ikoma (Majority Draw), R3
Hayate Usui def. Daisuke Ishizawa by Unanimous Decision, R2
Takuya Mori def. Ayumu Shioda by Unanimous Decision, R2
2008
Rookie Tournament Flyweight
Junji Saramaru def. Kazayuki Tori by KO at 1:52, R1
2008
Rookie Tournament Bantamweight
Kota Funamoto def. Yosuke Saruta by TKO at 2:22, R2
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
“Don't
play the saxophone. Let it play you.”
Charlie Parker, 1920-1955, American Jazz Saxophonist and Composer
|
X1
World Events: Champions Results!
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
January 26, 2007
MMA: Amateur 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes
- 140lbs
Alan Hashimoto (HMC) def. Jared Iha (No Remorse)
Majority Decision (2-1) after 3 Rounds.
MMA: Amateur 2 Rounds
- 3 Minutes - 140lbs
Keola Silva (HMC) def. Gary Rebalisza (Westside Connection)
TKO via referee stoppage in Round 1.
MMA: Amateur 2 Rounds
- 3 Minutes - 170lbs
X1 State Welterweight Amateur Title
Sean Sakata (No Remorse) def. Steve Farmer (Universal Combat)
TKO via referee stoppage at 1:58 in Round 2.
*Sean Sakata captures the X1 State Amateur Welterweight title.
MMA: Amateur 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes - 155lbs
Ikaika Moreno (Bulls Pen) def. Aaron Steele (Mid America Martial
Arts)
TKO after the end of Round 1 due to ankle injury.
MMA: Professional
3 Rounds - 3 Minutes - 175lbs
Luke Cadina (Team MMAD) def. Brennan Kamaka (808 Fight Factory)
Unanimous decision after 3 rounds.
MMA: Professional
3 Rounds - 3 Minutes - Heavyweight
Lolohea Mahe (Maui Militia) def. Des Miner (Team MMAD)
TKO via referee stoppage in Round 1.
XMA Division 3 Rounds
- 3 Minutes - 190lbs
Rich Anderson (Team MMAD) def. Cheyenne Padeken (Freelance)
Verbal submission due to leg kicks in Round 2.
MMA: Professional
3 Rounds - 3 Minutes - Heavyweight
Doug Hiu (Team MMAD) def. Eric Edwards (Maili Soljah Fight Team)
Unanimous decision after 3 rounds.
MMA: Professional
3 Rounds - 3 Minutes - Heavyweight
Wesley "Cabbage" Correira (BJ Penn's MMA)) def. Jake
Faagai (808 Fight Factory)
TKO via referee stoppage due to injury (Faagai injured his shoulder)
at 2:17 in Round 1.
MMA: Professional
3 Rounds - 3 Minutes - 170lbs
Michael Brightmon (Gorilla House) def. Anthony Torres (Team MMAD)
Split decision (2-1) after 3 rounds.
MMA: Professional
2 Rounds - 5 Minutes - 185lbs
X1 World Middleweight Title - 4 Man Tournament Semi-Finals
Ricky Shivers (Gracie Barra) def. Kenny Ento (Freelance)
TKO via referee stoppage at 1:18 in Round 1.
MMA: Professional
2 Rounds - 5 Minutes - 185lbs
X1 World Middleweight Title - 4 Man Tournament Semi-Finals
Niko Vitale (808 Fight Factory) def. Joey Guel (Team Shockwave)
Unanimous decision after 2 rounds.
MMA: Professional
3 Rounds - 5 Minutes - 145lbs
X1 World Super Featherweight Title Bout
Eddie Yagin def. "Dirty" Dave Moreno
Unanimous decision after 3 rounds.
*Eddie Yagin retains the X1Featherweight title.
MMA: Professional
3 Rounds - 5 Minutes - 155lbs
X1 World Lightweight Title Bout
"Sugar" Shane Nelson (BJ Penn's MMA) vs. Kaleo Kwan
(Eastsidaz/O2 Martial Arts Academy)
Majority decision [(29-28), (29-29), (29-28)] after 3 rounds.
*Shane Nelson retains the X1 Lightweight title.
MMA: Professional
3 Rounds - 3 Minutes Womens Match
Mia St. John def. Rhonda Gallegoes
KO at 0:44 in Round 1.
MMA: Professional
3 Rounds - 5 Minutes - 170lbs
X1 World Welterweight Title Bout
Chad Reiner (Mid-America Martial Arts) def. Mark Moreno (Bulls
Pen)
Verbal submission due to rib injury after slam at 0:52 in Round
3
*Chad Reiner becomes the new X1 Welterweight champion.
MMA: Professional
3 Rounds - 5 Minutes - Heavyweight
X1 World Heavyweight Title Bout
Ron Waterman def. Analu Brash (Maui Militia)
Submission via Americana key lock at 2:10 in Round 2.
*Ron Waterman becomes the new X1 Heavyweight champion.
MMA: Professional
2 Rounds - 5 Minutes - 185lbs
X1 World Middleweight Title - 4 Man Tournament Finals
Niko Vitale (808 Fight Factory) def. Ricky Shivers (Gracie Barra)
TKO, corner throws in the towel due to cut at 0:49 in Round 1.
*Niko Vitale becomes the X1 Middleweight champion.
|
SEAN
SHERK TALKS TITLE AND B.J. PENN
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder B.J. Penn
and former champion Sean Sherk won't square off until May, but
the war of words between the two has been heating up for months.
Sherk
feels he's still the champion and after comments made by Penn
in his post-fight interview following his impressive win over
Joe Stevenson at UFC 80, Sherk says, "Now it's personal."
In
his UFC 80 in-Octagon interview with Joe Rogan, Penn commented,
"Sean Sherk, you're dead."
Needless
to say the comments didn't set well with Sherk who immediately
left his commentary position and entered the Octagon.
"I
thought it was a pretty classless thing to do, but what do you
do? I guess that's just who B.J. is, so I think it will add more
to our fight when we fight later on this year," Sherk told
MMAWeekly.
Sherk
admitted Penn's statements got to him.
"I
was fired up for sure. I mean, I would rather fight any day of
the week than sit on the outside and watch, so it was hard enough
to watch, and then to be threatened afterward. It wasn't an easy
thing to deal with. I was pretty fired up," said the 34-year-old
former champion.
Sherk
plans to use Penn’s threat as motivation to prepare for
their eventual showdown saying, "It definitely plays a big
factor in the motivation because I train hard the way it is and
I've never really fought someone that I had a personal issue
with. Now I've got a personal issue with someone.
“He's
attacking me personally. He's saying stuff about me that isn’t
true. Yeah, it motivates me to train harder. I mean, I can't
lose a fight to someone who is talking smack about me. That's
just something I can't do, so I'm going to train my ass off and
make sure I win this fight."
Although
Penn is the current UFC lightweight champ, Sherk feels the belt
still belongs to him. Stripped of the title due to a positive
test for Nandrolone, a result Sherk disputes, he's eager for
the opportunity to get the belt back.
"I
still feel like the title still belongs to me. I think if you
want to be the champ you've got to beat the champ.
“It's
exciting to get back in there. It's been a long layoff. There's
been a lot of stuff that has happened over the last few months.
It'll be good to get everything behind me, just get my career
back on track and get what I feel is rightfully mine."
While
sitting cage-side commentating the bout between Penn and Stevenson
in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England, Sherk was scouting his future
opponent for strengths and weaknesses he may be able to expose
when the two face off.
He
said, "I see some things in the boxing area that maybe I
can exploit. I see some things on the ground that I could exploit.
You just train to the best of your potential. You surround yourself
with the best trainers and training partners that you can and
you prepare yourself for whatever can happen when you're in the
cage fighting because anything can happen and the game plan could
change within the blink of an eye."
Sherk
continued, "As far as a lightweight goes, I don't think
anyone is going to give him the problems that I'm going to give
him."
Sherk
and Penn were top-ranked welterweights that never got to fight
in that division. When Penn obtained the vacant UFC lightweight
title, stripped from Sherk’s waist, the bout became set
in stone.
"That's
the fight I've wanted for a long time,” stated Sherk. “I'm
finally getting it. It's been a long time coming and I can't
wait to get it done."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Now
I’ve seen it all…
On
Friday’s night edition of WWE Smackdown on The CW Network,
noted MMA fan The Undertaker finished off his opponent (Big Daddy
V, a 500-pounder) with a gogoplata.
Initially,
‘Taker went for the rubber guard and failed in applying
a triangle choke. However, he ended up applying the gogoplata
and V busted out the fake blood packet to start bleeding from
his mouth after tapping out.
I
have no idea what spurred me on to write about this, other than
it’s one of those bizarre moments that you see on television
that you have to comment on.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
COUTURE
WILL WAIT FOR FEDOR
Still recognized as the UFC heavyweight champion, Randy “The
Natural” Couture recently appeared on the ESPN morning show
“First Take” where he addressed the issue of the recent
lawsuit against him filed by Zuffa, the parent company of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship, and his future in the sport of
mixed martial arts.
“I
think everybody’s aware that Zuffa felt that, not my fight
contract, but my employment contract with them was breeched because
I cornered some of the fighters that I train at my school at
a couple of other shows evidently,” said Couture on ESPN.
“So there’s really no merit in that, but I think they’re
just trying to… I’m not really sure what they’re
trying to do, but they’re certainly not trying to bring
me back to the UFC by those standards.”
It
seems that the current heavyweight champion will not defend his
title again inside the Octagon and he is committed to fighting
Fedor Emelianenko as soon as he is legally allowed to do so.
“The
one fight I want is the Fedor Emelianenko fight and they can’t
make that fight happen,” Couture said, speaking of the UFC.
“So it puts me in the situation where I have to go and try
to make that fight happen on my own.”
According
to him, his fight contract will end in July and he hopes soon
after to make the long awaited match-up with Emelianenko a reality.
Couture
didn’t make much mention about any other reason for his
departure from the UFC, but again talked about how much he wants
to fight Fedor next.
“The
rest of them don’t really matter,” he stated about
the other reasons he left the UFC. “They’re history
and they’re debatable and I felt the way I felt over the
years, and first and foremost right now is finding a way as soon
as I’m clear of my UFC contract, my fight contract, to make
that fight happen with Fedor Emelianenko.”
Couture
was on the show to promote a new show called “Fight Science”
airing on the National Geographic Channel. It will debut a mixed
martial arts feature in an upcoming episode.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
BAS
RUTTEN ON 'FIGHT SCIENCE', KIMBO & IFL
Have you ever wondered what it felt like to be slammed by Randy
Couture, elbowed by Tito Ortiz, kicked by Bas Rutten or submitted
by Dean Lister? If so, you’ll get your opportunity to find
out as National Geographic goes into the world of mixed martial
arts tonight with the season premier episode of “Fight Science”
at 8pm Eastern/Pacific on the National Geographic Channel.
Using
state-of-the-art technology the Fight Science crew dissects the
skills of some of the premier MMA fighters to find out just how
much force is behind some of the signature moves of each fighter.
Just
before the show’s premier, MMAWeekly had a chance to speak
to MMA living legend “El Guapo” Bas Rutten to discuss
his participation in Fight Science, as well as his work with
street fighting sensation Kimbo Slice, and his new role with
the IFL.
MMAWeekly:
First off Bas, how did you get involved with National Geographic’s
“Fight Science” series?
Bas
Rutten: Well I got contacted by Dean Lister. Dean had gone in
for submissions and he said (to the producers), “If you
need a striker, you’ve got to get Bas Rutten.” I’m
in more. I’m also in the street fighting episode also, but
my biggest part is in Sunday’s show “MMA Science.”
MMAWeekly:
What was it like using your skills on their state-of-the-art
science equipment?
Bas
Rutten: I loved it, because I really wanted to see how hard we
hit and kick. I didn’t like the bag, because it had sensors
all over it, and if you didn’t hit the sensor directly,
you’d have less power. So I was looking forward to the crash
test dummy, and we all kicked it and it was good, I really enjoyed
it. You’ll see on the show that they (the production team)
were quite blown away. (Laughs)
MMAWeekly:
It must have been fun getting a chance to hang out with the guys
and show people what it’s really like to take a shot from
the pros.
Bas
Rutten: Yeah we did some crazy stuff. Randy (Couture) did some
stuff with throwing the crash test dummy down. I did the kick
and they said it was something like a car crash, but I don’t
want to give it all away, you’ll have to check it out. There’s
a lot of force going on, let me tell you that. Tito Ortiz came
by and did some stuff on the crash test dummy, like elbows and
stuff. We all had a blast, and a really good time, we had a lot
of fun.
MMAWeekly:
Okay, moving away from the show, I understand you’ve been
prepping Kimbo Slice for his return to MMA against Tank Abbot
for EliteXC’s next event on February 16th.
Bas
Rutten: Yeah, I’ve been getting him ready with the boxing
coach in my gym, and Kimbo’s making good improvements. He’s
doing well. It’s going to be his biggest test. Tank is a
tough dude, he can take a punch and he can certainly give one,
so, you don’t want to get hit by Tank. From what I understand
he’s lost like 30 pounds, which is good for Tank, so he’ll
be in shape, but, I don’t see it being too big of a problem.
Kimbo should be able to pull this one off.
MMAWeekly:
You were recently named VP of Fighter Operations with the IFL.
Does this mean you’ll be wearing a suit and tie from now
on?
Bas
Rutten: No, I’ll never do that. (Laughs) I wear a suit on
TV, but thank god they leave me free so I don’t have to
wear a tie, I can just wear shirts.
MMAWeekly:
What are you looking forward to in your new role with the company?
Bas
Rutten: I’m looking forward to putting the right connections
with the IFL to get some guys in there so they can compete in
the promotion, and see if I can pull that off. I have a great
team to work with, with Kurt Otto and Shannon Knapp. They’re
doing a really great job. Also, Shannon has been working with
the American Top Team, so we got that team now coming. Xtreme
Couture is going to be lead by Shawn Tompkins, so that’s
going to be great also.
MMAWeekly:
It looks like this year is going to be a fresh start for the
IFL.
Bas
Rutten: Yeah, definitely, it’s all new. Especially with
the new teams coming in and the individual fights, so we can
find out who is the strongest fighter in the weight class. We
have the 145-pound weight class added also. I’m stoked;
I’m really excited about it. Now we really need a good TV
deal, so we can show the fights live, if that can happen it will
be an unbelievable season.
MMAWeekly:
We all know what kind of a busy person you are, so having said
that, what else is going on for El Guapo these days?
Bas
Rutten: Well I’m going to shoot an infomercial Sunday. It’s
a product that I can’t talk too much about, but you can
put it pretty much anywhere you’d like, living room, garage,
gym, wherever you want to put it and you can beat the shit out
of it. It’s really cool, we can use the Bas Rutten work
out with the new thing when it comes out, and after one round
I had to take a break because it really takes a lot out of you.
I’ve
got two movies coming up also that I’m in. I’ve got
a TV show that I’ve pitched and someone that really wants
to do it who has a bunch of shows already on TV, so that looks
good. Next week I’m going to pay a visit to the kids (that
are portrayed) in the movie Gridiron Gang with The Rock. Myself
and Hector Pena are going to go over there and talk to those
kids, and I’m looking forward to that. Those things I really
enjoy doing, seeing if we can go and make a difference.
MMAWeekly:
Seems like you’ve got a lot going on, and this after you
tell us that you’re going to slow down a bit.
Bas
Rutten: You know I say it every year, that I’m going to
slow down, then maybe next year, maybe next year, but it’s
simply not going to happen. But you know what? I love it. I love
what I’m doing and I’m having a really good time with
it. I just really enjoy it. I started out as a Mixed Martial
Artist, and now I want to promote it and get it out there. The
more people I can get hooked to it, the better it is.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Q&A
with WEC vice president Peter Dropick
World
Extreme Cagefighting made tremendous strides in 2007 in its first
full year under the ownership of Zuffa, which is also the parent
company of the UFC. Under Zuffa's guidance, the WEC upgraded
its television deal from HDNet's reach of six million homes to
Versus, which is currently available in 77 million. The promotion
also imported several stars from the ill-fated World Fighting
Alliance, a fight organization Zuffa acquired select assets from
in December 2006.
Some
of those "assets" include the promotion's current lightweight
champion, "Razor" Rob McCullough, and featherweight
champion Urijah Faber, who doubles as the franchise face of the
WEC. As strong of a campaign as 2007 was for the WEC, the plan
is to take things up a notch or two in 2008, according to the
company's vice president of operations and production, Peter
Dropick.
Dropick,
tapped by Zuffa to head the WEC following eight years as an executive
at the former Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, revealed in an exclusive
interview with CBSSports.com that the promotion not only is planning
to promote multiple shows outside of its home base in Las Vegas
but is eyeing pay-per-view as well. Dropick also spoke at length
about the WEC's additional plans for 2008.
CBSSports.com:
Are there any new plans for the WEC in 2008 that you can reveal?
Peter
Dropick: We're going on the road. We were based in Las Vegas
at the Hard Rock during 2007. We're taking the events on the
road and we have our first event on the road in Albuquerque on
Feb. 13, which we've announced. I have plans to look at a couple
more markets outside of Vegas in 2008.
I
still want to have some presence in Vegas but there are a few
other markets we're looking at. They range from Southern California,
Northern California, Texas, Oklahoma, New Jersey and Florida.
A lot of them are mid-markets (as) we're not getting overly aggressive
and thinking we can fill a coliseum, or something to the effect.
So we're being smart and looking at (which cities) are some of
our top TV markets on Versus. We're also looking at the hometowns
of some of our top fighters and just general good MMA markets
or fight towns, and Albuquerque is one of them.
Q:
There's been a rumor that the WEC show scheduled for March could
be held in Sacramento in Urijah Faber's hometown. Is there any
truth to that?
A:
It's a possibility. We're still looking at dates and venues and
our availability for TV, if it's Versus or possibly ... we are
looking at a pay-per-view opportunity as well. I hope to have
that wrapped up within a week, hopefully. That's obviously a
fight (Faber vs. Jens Pulver for the WEC featherweight title)
that makes sense, and I think everyone wants that fight.
Q:
I'm glad you brought PPV up because I was going to ask you about
that. PPV can be a tough nut to crack for a fight promotion.
What needs to happen before the WEC transitions from being televised
for free on Versus to going on PPV? What do you feel are some
of the other things the WEC needs to bring to the table?
A:
I think we need to keep growing our audience on Versus. Our ratings
have been trending upwards every fight, which we're very happy
about. I think we need to expand our market a bit more. We have
been based strictly in Vegas. By going to new cities you are
growing your audience.
And
I think we also need the right card as well. Everyone wants to
see Jens and Urijah fight, and that's very attractive but we
want a solid card from top to bottom. If there's (only) one superfight
in a sense then I'm not sure that makes sense from a financial
standpoint. We want to be smart about it. We have a good roadmap,
and we're not just going to throw it on pay-per-view and try
to sell out a big arena just to say we did it; that's not in
my plans.
Q:
How many shows does the WEC plan to run in 2008?
A:
It's going to be a minimum of six fights. That's what I have
scheduled now and I could potentially add a few more to that.
In addition to that we have the WrekCage taped program on Versus.
That program will be a combination of fights that didn't make
our live broadcasts along with some of our best fights that have
aired already. So we have eight WrekCage programs in 2008. That's
six live and eight WrekCage.
Q:
The goal of the WEC is to build a roster that is on par talent
wise with the UFC, which is not something that happens overnight.
Can you talk about some of the bigger challenges the promotion
has had to overcome within the last year?
A:
Part of it is identifying the talent. There's so many organizations
out there and there's guys that are in different countries, whether
it's South America or over in Japan, it's just (a matter) of
finding these guys. There's obviously a challenge in showing
these fighters that we're one of the best organizations in the
world. We say we're the second-best organization in the world,
next to the UFC. And it's educating these fighters of who we
are and what opportunities we're going to bring to them (and)
how they can grow with us. Versus is an amazing TV partner that's
in 77 million homes.
There's
no one else out there outside of the UFC on Spike TV that can
give a fighter that type of exposure. Educating these guys to
grow with us and not to take the quick money and fight on a cable
network that is in five million homes or 18 million homes just
to take a little bit more money just to do that ... some of these
guys don't get that. We want guys to grow with us and as we grow
they're going to benefit from that inside the cage and outside
the cage.
You're
going to see here over the next month or so some announcements
from an advertising standpoint. We just announced the Harley
Davidson deal. I've got another one that I'm in contract stages
with that I hope to announce before the February fight in Albuquerque
and then there's a third that we're finalizing, and we hope to
make that announcement as well. These are mainstream, known Madison
Avenue sponsors and advertisers. This would be huge for us in
taking that next step.
But
back to my point, that's going to start benefiting some of these
fighters, because now these advertisers are going to want to
sponsor fighters directly. To only grow that sponsorship will
give us even more exposure and those are just some of the benefits
we'll be bringing to the table and you're going to see that pretty
quick here with some of these guys.
Q:
There has been some talk that Budweiser could be in the fold
soon.
A:
We're talking to all the major sponsors in a range of advertisers
to get us out there in all the top categories from beer, to spirits,
to auto, to clothing, to soft drinks, to water, etc. We're in
discussions with all these advertisers. They're starting to see
that this is something they are more comfortable with.
Q:
Urijah Faber has really stepped up as the franchise face of the
company. He's been unstoppable. His next test could be his stiffest
when he defends his title against Pulver. If Faber gets past
Pulver, is there a plan in place to make sure he continues to
be challenged?
A:
Absolutely. We've said from the beginning that we want to get
the best guys in the world. The advantage to having the lighter
weight classes is that we can have the best fighters in the world
at bantamweight and featherweight. So we can go out to some of
these guys and say, "You're going to fight in the WEC, you're
going to fight the best guys in the world in your weight class.
I think there are a few more guys out that can challenge Urijah
and there are just more and more coming along. The talent pool
is growing every day with fighters. That's one of the advantages
that we have.
Q:
Very few fighters have been transferred from the UFC roster to
the WEC roster. Jens Pulver and Leonard Garcia are the only fighters
who I can really think of, and they only moved because the UFC
didn't have a 145-pound weight class. Might we see more UFC fighters
transferred over to the WEC as you look to build out your roster?
A:
We're not really crossing guys over. We've said this all along;
this isn't a farm system or a developmental league so we wouldn't
look to "bring a fighter down" because he didn't perform
in the UFC. Jens was a prime example of how we think this should
work. He was fighting at '55 and said, "You know what, '45
is my natural weight class and there's only one place to go.
And that's the WEC." I think for opportunities like that
we'd look at it but it's not something where we're going to be
bouncing guys back and forth between organizations.
Q:
The WEC is the highest rated show on Versus. But while Versus
has done a great job increasing its reach, it doesn't off the
same size of an audience as say a Spike TV or ESPN. What can
be done to maximize the distribution levels of the WEC's product?
A:
We're only talking a difference ... I think ESPN is in 92 million
homes and Spike is in 91 million homes. It's not that huge of
a difference. Versus is growing their distribution every day
so it won't be in the same amount of homes and Comcast is their
parent company, which is a massive media company. We've seen
them put a lot more into promoting Versus as a network and Versus
as a brand.
They've
been very aggressive in going out and acquiring the rights to
more leagues. They've got the NHL, PBR, college football, college
basketball so when you start to bring out those leagues, you're
only going to grow your audience, which is only going to help
us. We work with them constantly in finding new ways in getting
us out there. But Versus is a great, strong partner of ours and
we're extremely pleased. I think we're growing everyday and I
think that more people are realizing who Versus is, which ultimately
helps expose the WEC.
Q:
How much input does Dana White have when it comes to the WEC?
As a part-owner in Zuffa, obviously he's a boss. But how involved
is he when it comes to the day-to-day operations?
A:
Dana stays involved. He stays up to speed with everything that's
going on. We work closely, as well with some of the other executives
here. Dana plays an intricate part, absolutely. He just necessarily
hasn't been the face as he has been of the UFC and I think that's
just naturally developed.
Source: CBS Sports
|
SHOGUN
& TEAMMATES READYING NEW CAMP
While
their new camp is not ready yet, Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua, Andre "Dida" Amade, Murilo "Ninja" Rua
and Mauricio "Veio" Amade are training in a Tae Kwon
Do gym near their houses. It’s a good space for boxing,
Muay Thai and wrestling.
According
to the athletes, they will move to their brand new gym in Curitiba
in about two or three. MMAWeekly will be there when the gym opens.
This
new team was formed by former Chute Boxe athletes who weren’t
very happy with the system and some other things going on within
the Brazilian team. All four trained under supervision of Master
Rafael Cordeiro and Master Rudimar Fedrigo who gave them their
Muay Thai Black Belts, but now have decided to follow their own
path and together they are UDL - Universidade da Luta (translated
in English to Fight University).
MMAWeekly
spoke with Shogun, Dida and Veio in this exclusive interview
to talk about the recent move and plans for the new gym.
MMAWeekly:
Shogun, tell us how do you feel about these recent changes in
your life?
Shogun:
This is a whole new life for me. It’s a whole new kind of
training; it’s a new era. Our training is completely planned
now. We have here Alejo Morales who was the Cuban wrestling coach
for 17 years, we have now Mauricio "Veio" coaching
Muay Thai and we are training lots of Jiu Jitsu. Now our coaches
talk to each other and they plan our practice according to our
needs. So in fact we are training more, with more quality than
before and that's what we want to do, to improve.
MMAWeekly:
Since Ninja is in the U.S right now, lets talk about your next
fight in Ultimate Fighting Championship. What do you know so
far and how is your health and injuries?
Shogun:
Murilo Rua is in the U.S to help a friend who will have an important
match and I think I will be fighting in April or May, but next
week I think the right day and the opponent will be released.
About my injuries, I am 100%. I just came back to training and
now its just work.
MMAWeekly:
What are your thoughts about Chute Boxe?
Shogun:
I don't keep any hard feelings from Chute Boxe or any of my ex-teammates,
but we saw that if we try this new path, we will be more successful
with more preparation and better training.
MMAWeekly:
Mauricio Veio you were living in Canada and you had about 300
students and now you are here at Curitiba again, is this what
you want?
Veio:
For me it’s a professional evolution. I was very happy with
this invitation. When Shogun and my brother Andre Dida called
me to invite me to get part of this project I was very excited
with the opportunity. We all have a huge potential and I believe
a lot in them and I really believe that we are going to be world
champions.
MMAWeekly:
You were invited to be the Muay Thai Coach in this new team called
UDL (Universidade da Luta), right?
Veio:
Exactly, and we have in Canada another camp which also is UDL
and our athletes will have the opportunity to go train there
and our Canadian athletes will have the opportunity to come to
Brazil and train here. In the coming weeks, some athletes from
Canada are already coming to Curitiba to train with us.
MMAWeekly:
About the structure of UDL, is it already done or will we have
to wait more to see the new camp?
Veio:
We are almost there. It’s pretty much ready for the opening
show and we hope MMAWeekly can be with us in some days again
to cover our training.
MMAWeekly:
The UDL Team is a brand and gym. How does this work? Who is the
owner of the UDL brand?
Veio:
It’s basically divided between me, my younger brother Andre
Dida, Shogun and his brother Murilo "Ninja" Rua. We
form like a board direction, any decision has to pass through
everybody.
MMAWeekly:
Andre Dida, do you still have a long-term contract with Hero’s
in Japan? How is this change working for you?
Dida:
I am very happy. In fact, this is the time I am training most
in my entire life. All the training is high quality and I am
learning a lot. In fact, I am training a lot of Jiu Jitsu, which
I didn't train so much. I am ready to learn more. I will be a
student forever and as long I have my team with me, I will learn
forever.
I
have my next fight in March and I hope I can represent Brazil
like I represented before.
About
UDL, we have a lot of new athletes here, and some others are
coming to work with us and soon some big names will be released
to the press.
MMAWeekly:
About your next fight, do have any names of possible opponents?
Dida:
Well, my manager Ersílio doesn't know the name yet, but
I am training a lot to face whoever they put in front of me.
MMAWeekly:
Is UDL opened to new athletes, students and normal people who
just want to get in shape or will it only be a camp for professional
fighters?
Dida:
UDL will be a camp opened to all kinds of students, from beginners
to advanced, and just like my brother Mauricio "Veio"
said, for an athlete be part of the UDL he must pass through
me, Shogun, Ninja and Veio, and we want to grow together. If
you want to be part of this new project, send us an e-mail to
mauricioveio@hotmail.com.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
“A
problem well stated is a problem half solved.”
Charles F. Kettering, 1876-1958, American Engineer and Inventor
|
Trinidad-Jones
a box-office success
By Kevin Iole
Roy Jones Jr. likely bought himself another major fight, not
so much with his performance Saturday in the ring against Felix
Trinidad as with his performance at the box office.
The
bout did an unexpectedly high 500,000 pay-per-view sales, said
Mark Taffet, the senior vice president of HBO Sports. It generated
$25 million in pay-per-view revenue. Both figures were the second-best
of Jones' career. He sold 604,000 pay-per-views when he won the
WBA heavyweight title from John Ruiz in 2003.
Jones,
39, won a unanimous decision over Trinidad in the bout at Madison
Square Garden. He had largely been inactive the past three years,
while Trinidad had been retired for 31 months, so pay-per-view
expectations were low.
Taffet
praised promoter Don King's effort in drawing attention to the
show and noted that Jones fully participated in the promotion
of the bout. That is a rarity for Jones.
Taffet
said Jones-Trinidad did better on pay-per-view than all 2007
bouts except for Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s two fights, against Oscar
De La Hoya in May (2.4 million) and Ricky Hatton in December
(850,000).
"Roy
and Tito have always had large, adoring fan bases and so we hoped
and expected the fans would support them in this fight,"
Taffet said. "But in this business, good, solid fights are
between 300,000 and 400,000 buys. At 500,000, this definitely
exceeded expectations, both inside and outside of the ring."
After
the fight, Jones called out super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe,
De La Hoya and the winner of the Feb. 19 bout between Kelly Pavlik
and Jermain Taylor. He offered to fight De La Hoya at 156, a
weight he hasn't made since 1991.
But
by doing so well on pay-per-view, he's made a summer or fall
fight with any of them financially viable.
The
bout was the third-best pay-per-view performance for Trinidad.
He did 1.4 million buys for his 1999 fight with De La Hoya and
560,000 in 2000 against Fernando Vargas.
Source: Fight Opinion/Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
Fight Night 12 Salary Report
These are the fighter salaries that were reported by the UFC
to the Nevada State Athletic Commission for UFC Fight Night:
Swick vs. Burkman on Jan. 23. Winners each receive a win bonus
(usually the equivalent of their guaranteed pay).
Fighter
UFN 12 Result Previous UFC Bout Result
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Swick $20,000 W N/A (UFC 69) L
Josh Burkman $10,000 L $20,000 (UFC 77) W
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patrick Cote $28,000 W $24,000 (UFC 74) W
Drew McFedries $10,000 L $14,000 (UFN 10) W
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thiago Tavares $18,000 W $9,000 (UFC 76) L
Michihiro Omigawa $5,000 L $5,000 (UFC 76) L
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nate Diaz $30,000 W $16,000 (UFN 11) W
Alvin Robinson $7,000 L $6,000 (UFC 77) W
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kurt Pelligrino $20,000 W $8,000 (UFC 74) L
Alberto Crane $4,000 L $4,000 (UFC 74) L
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gray Maynard $16,000 W $16,000 (UFN 11) W
Dennis Siver $7,000 L N/A (UFC 75) W
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeremy Stephens $10,000 W $6,000 (UFC 76) W
Cole Miller $8,000 L $16,000 (UFN 11) W
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corey Hill $16,000 W UFC DEBUT -
Joe Veres $3,000 L $3,000 (UFN 11) L
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matt Wiman $16,000 W $16,000 (UFC 76) W
Justin
Buchholz
$4,000 L UFC DEBUT -
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Gesias
vs Aoki rescheduled
Denis Kang also on card
Initially meant to take place at Yarennoka, on December 31, in
Japan, the bout between Gesias Cavalcanti and Shinya Aoki will
take place in March. According to the site MMAJunkie, the information
was provided by Richi Guerreiro, manager of the Brazilian top
team, of which JZ is a part.
According
to Richi, Gesias is fully recovered from knee surgery and back
training in the gym. Another whose participation was confirmed
for K-1 in March is Denis Kang, whose opponent is yet to be determined.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Shooto
Sends Off Talented Kikuchi
by Jordan Breen
Akira Kikuchi in front (Shinya Aoki on his back)
Shooto fans will bid farewell Saturday to one of Japan's best
talents in recent years.
The
organization will hold a retirement ceremony at its Jan. 26 Korakuen
Hall card for former Shooto world champion Akira Kikuchi.
An
All Japan amateur Shooto champion in 2001, Kikuchi quickly emerged
as one of the best up-and-coming talents in the pro Shooto ranks.
The biggest victory of his pro career came in his rematch with
the highly regarded Jake Shields in December 2004. In that bout
Kikuchi took a commanding and impressive decision to avenge the
first loss of his pro career and to become the seventh world
middleweight champion of pro Shooto.
Kikuchi
lost his title in February 2006 to current star Shinya Aoki in
what was Aoki's breakout performance. In a second hotly disputed
match, Kikuchi failed to regain his title, dropping a split decision
to Aoki the following February.
Last
year Kikuchi was a prohibitive favorite in GCM's Cage Force 170-pound
tournament. Many believed he would be bound for the UFC after
an inevitable tournament win, but Kikuchi was upset in brutal
fashion by eventual winner Yoshiyuki Yoshida.
The
29-year-old Kikuchi has given no reason for retiring. He bows
out with a career mark of 16-4.
Okami
Returns to Octagon Against Tanner
Yushin
Okami, the Octagon's most successful Japanese fighter, will return
to the UFC at the promotion's April 19 Canadian debut at the
Bell Centre in Montreal. He'll take on former UFC middleweight
champion turned fan favorite and eccentric, Evan Tanner.
The
26-year-old Kanagawa native re-signed with Zuffa and the UFC
in late November, following his unanimous decision over Jason
MacDonald in October. A strong source confirmed to Sherdog.com
that Okami had been informed in mid-December that a returning
Tanner would be his likely opponent in early 2008.
The
highly regarded Wajyutsu product has gone 5-1 since his UFC debut
in August 2006. With a win over Tanner, Okami could emerge as
the most likely 185-pound title contender in the UFC after March's
anticipated showdown between Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson.
Tanner,
36, hasn't competed since April 2006, when he notched a first-round
submission over Justin Levens. Anticipation for Tanner's return
has been fueled by his eccentric, nomadic behavior, which he
has documented in well-publicized online diary entries.
Source: Sherdog
|
Coleman
to UFC Hall of Fame
Wrestler may be inducted at UFC 82
Former UFC heavyweight champion, and Pride GP 2000 champion beating
Igor Vovchanchyn in the final, Mark Coleman, 43, has not yet
given up on the rings but could already have his name etched
into the sport’s history. Coleman is rumored to join names
like Royce Gracie, Randy Couture, Don Frye and Ken Shamrock in
the UFC Hall of Fame.
The
announcement should be made by Dana White, president of the American
organization, at UFC 82 which will have as a main event the confrontation
between Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson for the middleweight
title and should take place on March 1st. With a record of 15
wins and 8 losses, and known by the nickname “The Hammer,”
Coleman has not fought MMA since October of 2006, when he was
submitted by Fedor Emelianenko. Currently he has been dedicating
himself to pro-wrestling in Japan, where he is very popular.
The athlete, who was on the American wrestling team at the Barcelona
Olympics in 1992, is seen by many as the inventor of the popular
ground and pound method, where the opponent is taken down, landing
on his back and is punished by the fighter on top.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
Let your
heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and
let your hand give in proportion to your purse."
George Washington, 1732-1799, 1st President of the United States
|
Congratulations
to 2 O2MAA Members!
Bo Suh
has been a fixture at our academy, but moved back to New York
after getting out of the military and returned to training with
Team Renzo Gracie. Bo was just awarded his purple belt by Nick
Serra. Congatulations brother, you deserve it!
And our O2MAA family has grown by one more member. Jan Combs
recently delivered a bouncing baby boy. Tanner Kala Combs was
born on Monday, 1/21/08 at 5:18 am. This kid is going to be part
of our heavyweight team because he weighed in at a healthy 7lbs
13oz. Congratulations to Garry and Jan and their beautiful baby!
|
X1
World Events: Champions Today!
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
January 26, 2007
Fights
start at 5:00PM
X1 World Middleweight
Title - 4 man tournament 185lbs
Niko Vitale
Ricky Shiver
Joey Guel
Kenny Ento
X1
World Heavyweight Title
Analu Brash vs. Ron Waterman
X1
World Welterweight Title 170lbs
Mark Moreno vs. Chad Reiner
Womens
Match
Mia St. John vs. Rhonda Gallegoes
X1
World Lightweight Title 155lbs
"Sugar" Shane Nelson vs. Kaleo Kwan
X1
World Super Lightweight Title 145lbs
Eddie Yagin vs. "Dirty" Dave Moreno
170lbs
Michael Brightmon vs. Anthony Torres
Heavyweight
Jake Faagai vs. Wesley "Cabbage" Correira
Heavyweight
Doug Hiu vs Eric Edwards
190lbs
- Pro
Cheyenne Padeken vs. Rich Anderson
Heavyweight
- Pro
Lolohea Mahe vs Des Miner
175lbs
Pro
Brennan Kamaka vs Luke Cadian
165lbs
Pro
Walter Hao vs Kona Ke
X1
State Amateur Title 170lbs
Sean Sakata vs Steve Farmer
140lbs
- Amateur
Keola Silva vs Gary Rebalisza
140lbs
- Amateur
Jared Iha vs Alan Hashimoto
155lbs
Ikaika Moreno vs Aaron Steele
Source: Event Promoter
|
Kala
Hose Wins, Ross Ebanez Loses
ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series
Friday, January 25, 2008
Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ
ROUND-BY-ROUND
RESULTS:
185
lbs: Kala
Kolohe Hose
(184.6 lbs) vs. Frederic Belleton (184.3 lbs)
R1:
Hose misses a Superman punch. Belleton lands a hard leg kick.
Hose rushes in with a combo. Belleton avoids them all. Belleton
lands another leg kick. Hose acknowledges the kick and the two
touch gloves. Belleton connects with another leg kick. Hose tries
another punch combo and this time he makes more contact. Belleton
responds with a leg kick. Hose with more flurrires. Belleton
blocks most of them but he's still absorbing punishment because
Hose is throwing so many strikes. Belleton lands a leg kick,
which causes Hose to move in with another flurry. Hose is unloading
with punches. Hose slips from a punch. Back up, Hose with another
punch combo. Hose finally knocks out Belleton with a straight
right.
Hose
wins via KO - R1 (4:32)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
140
lbs: Julie Kedzie (139.7 lbs) vs. Tonya Evinger (140 lbs)
R1:
Evinger scores the immediate takedown. Evinger tries a kimura
and lands punches in Kedzie's halfguard. Kedzie gives up her
back. Evinger works for the rear naked choke and eventually gets
it.
Evinger
wins via submission (rear naked choke) - R1 (1:43)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ken
Shamrock, who trains Evinger, enters the cage and talks about
his upcoming fight on March 8 at Cage Rage 25. He says if he
wins, he plans on returning to fight in the U.S. and dropping
back down to light-heavyweight (possibly hinting at a fight against
Frank Shamrock).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
150
lbs: Bobby McMaster (151 lbs) vs. Bao Quach (151 lbs)
R1:
Quach with a leg kick and misses a 1-2 combo. Quach with leg
kicks. McMaster answers back with punches but they don't connect.
Quach again with leg kicks, which McMaster doesn't have an answer
for. McMaster misses with a big overhand and Quach takes McMaster
down. Quach loses side control. McMaster kicks Quach off and
they are back on their feet. They are battling for position in
clinch. They separate with 1:41 left in the round. Quach misses
a leg kick and McMaster answers by landing a leg kick. Quach
lands a leg kick and moves forward with a punch combo. McMaster
takes Quach down with 17 seconds left.
R2:
They scramble for position and McMaster gets the takedown. McMaster
drops down punches from inside Quach's guard. They get back up.
Quach lands a left that momentarily stuns McMaster. McMaster
fights back with punches that are mostly blocked. They clinch
and Quach lands a body kick after pushing McMaster off. McMaster
with a couple of hard punches. Quach with body shots and a leg
kick. The action is slowing down. Quach hits McMaster with a
punch to the body. The second round ends with the two men in
clinch.
R3:
Quach lands a jab. Quach lands four consecutive leg kicks. McMaster
finally lands a shot halfway into the round. Quach is still effectively
working the leg kicks. McMasters, knowing he needs to finish,
tries a punch combo but Quach takes him down with a minute left
in the fight. Quach gets up from McMaster's guard with 13 seconds
left. Quach connects with another leg kick.
Quach
wins via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Color
Analyst Stephen Quadros interviews Frank Shamrock about his upcoming
fight against Cung Le. Shamrock says Le will run away like a
girl in the fight and then try to take him down. Shamrock also
talks about how the Shamrock brothers helped built the sport.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
170
lbs: Paul Daley (171.7 lbs) vs. Sammy Morgan (171.4 lbs)
R1:
Morgan immediately shoots in for the takedown and gets it. Daley
quickly pops back up. Morgan puts Daley back on the mat. Morgan
pushes Daley against the cage. Morgan shoulders Daley against
the cage. The referee stands them up. Morgan tries the takedown
again but Daley defends it this time. Daley with a knee after
popping out form the clinch. Daley, with the Muay Thai clinch,
lands knees to the body and a left elbow. Morgan immediately
shoots but Daley stuffs the takedown and finishes Morgan with
a right elbow. Morgan covers up and the referee stops the fight.
Daley
wins via KO - R1 (2:10)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
165
lbs: Eddie Alvarez (164.9 lbs) vs. Ross Ebanez (164.8 lbs)
R1:
Alvarez comes in with a lot of head movement. He shoots for the
takedown and gets it. Alvarez lands punches from Ebanez's guard.
Ebanez kicks Alvarez off. They are back on their feet. Alvarez
misses a big right and shoots. He doesn't get it this time. Alvarez
with knee strikes utilizing the Muay Thai clinch. Ebanez is in
trouble. Alvarez has mount. Ebanez escapes and doesn't appear
phased anymore. Alvarez with a flurry of punchces. Ebanez is
dropped. Ebanez pops back up. Alvarez stays active with punches
and kicks.
R2:
Ebanez starts to land a couple of punches. Alvarez takes Ebanez
down with a single. Alvarez drops lefts in Ebanez's half guard.
Ebanez escapes. Alvarez trips Ebanez and before Ebanez can stand
back up, Alvarez sends him back down with a right. Alvarez follows
up with punches and the referee stops the fight.
Alvarez
wins via KO - R2 (2:32)
Source: MMA Fighting
|
CAMP
REPORT: AMERICAN TOP TEAM
by Damon Martin
American Top Team is regarded as one of the best training camps
in all of mixed martial arts and the list of top fighters going
there to train just keeps growing and growing. In the latest
ATT camp report, we learn of new team members and a ton of great
fights coming up for the Florida based team.
UFC
& ATT
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship and American Top Team seemingly
go hand in hand with all of the fighters from the camp making
their way to the Octagon lately.
At
UFC 81, ATT lightweight Gleison Tibau makes his 4th appearance
for the promotion as he faces Tyson Griffin in what should be
a fast paced bout that could steal the show for Fight of the
Night.
UFC
82 will feature the return of Luigi Fioravanti as he faces former
“Ultimate Fighter” competitor Luke Cummo.
Also
it appears that new American Top Team member, Alessio Sakara,
fresh off the heels of his win over James Lee at UFC 80, will
make his 185lb debut at the Columbus, OH show, but as of now
nothing is confirmed and no opponent has been named.
UFC
Fight Night on April 2 in Denver, CO will host three American
Top Team members as Din Thomas returns following a knee injury
suffered in his last bout with Kenny Florian, Marcus Aurelio
makes his third trip to the Octagon, and Thiago Alves squares
off against Karo Parisyan in a welterweight bout.
While
no bout agreements have been put in place, it appears Thomas
will square off against Josh Neer while Marcus Aurelio will face
off against Miletich lightweight Spencer Fisher.
Yet
another American Top Team talent appears headed to the UFC as
well as Steve Bruno is expected to make his Octagon debut sometime
in April or May.
Radach
& Polley Head For The IFL and ATT Looks To Field A Team
Benji
“Razor” Radach will return to action on Feb 29 as a
representative of Randy Couture’s Xtreme Couture squad as
they face Mario Sperry’s team in IFL competition. Radach
is coming off of a loss to Matt Horwich, but the long time American
Top Team contributor looks to bounce back in February.
Also
slated to help out Xtreme Couture’s team at the IFL is rising
star Lew Polley who will represent the camp at 205lbs against
an as of yet unnamed opponent. Polley is currently undefeated
as a professional and recently won a huge fight over Roger Hollett
in Canada.
Polley
also looks to defend the ECC light heavyweight championship he
won by defeating Hollett in the near future, most likely in March.
Representatives
from the IFL are also looking into an American Top Team representation
for the league which has changed its format to a camp versus
camp style this year, as opposed to the city based teams for
previous seasons.
March
K-1 Event To Feature 3 Top ATT Fighters
Coming
off an injury that forced him off of the New Year’s Eve
card in Japan, top lightweight prospect Gezias “JZ”
Calvancante will return in March to face another perennial top
ten lightweight in Shinya Aoki as K-1 puts together another stellar
MMA card set to take place in March, although no date has been
set yet.
Calvancante
had a tremendous year in 2007 and he looks to continue that momentum
as he faces Aoki who will be a formidable test for the ATT standout.
Also,
new American Top Team member and grappling legend Marcelo Garcia
will return to action for his second fight in K-1, while top
ten middleweight competitor, Denis Kang, will also make his way
back to active competition with the K-1 show in March. Neither
fighter has an opponent as of now, but both are expected to be
featured on the card.
News
& Notes From Around ATT
Antonio
Silva, currently the top heavyweight in Elite XC, returns Feb
16 in Miami,
Fla as he faces former UFC heavyweight champion, Ricco Rodriguez.
Yves Edwards will also return to action on the same card as he
faces Edson Berto in a lightweight match-up.
Micah
Miller returns to action in the WEC on Feb 13 to face Chance
Farrar. The featherweights were scheduled to meet at the last
WEC show, but an injury forced Farrar off the card and no replacement
was found so the bout was scratched from the event entirely.
Jorge
Masvidal, regarded as one of the top lightweight prospects in
the world, will look for his 7th win in a row as he faces Ryan
Healy on the StrikeForce card in Tacoma, Wash featuring the return
of Bob “The Beast” Sapp to MMA.
Jorge
Santiago, who won the first ever StrikeForce middleweight tournament
in November, is looking to get back to action soon, most likely
on the March 29 StrikeForce card featuring a main event between
Frank Shamrock and Cung Le.
Thiago
Silva will make the trip to Florida to work out with the fighters
at American Top Team in the next few weeks. There is no indication
that this is a permanent move, simply just a chance for the rising
205lb fighter to train with the camp and work with many top competitors
in and around his weight class.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Strikeforce:
The Beast returns, ready to mix it up
By Danny O'Neil
Seattle Times staff reporter
Bob Sapp was a lineman for the Washington Huskies.
Strikeforce
event
Mixed-martial
arts: A term invented to cover a fight format that accommodates
a number of disciplines. Judo, wrestling, giu-gitsu and muay
thai are among the many techniques.
Strikeforce: One of the country's larger mixed-martial arts promotions.
It held the first mixed-martial arts event in California where
a crowd of more than 18,000 attended.
Fight
card: 14 bouts — four amateur fights, 10 professional.
Date:
Feb. 23. Doors open at 7 p.m., fights begin at 8 p.m.
Site:
Tacoma Dome.
Tickets:
$35, $75 and $150. Available at Tacoma Dome box office and Ticketmaster
locations.
TACOMA — Bob Sapp found out there was no going back as soon
as he got to Washington.
Dad
made that very clear when he changed the family's phone number
after dropping Bob off to play football for the Huskies in 1992.
Sapp's
life has taken a few turns in the 16 years since he first came
to Seattle. He has played in the NFL and been a professional
wrestler. He has beaten Refrigerator Perry in a televised toughman
boxing competition and suffered a broken eye orbital in a kickboxing
match against Mirko Crocop.
And
on Tuesday, the big man with an even larger personality sat at
a table in the nightclub of the Emerald Queen Casino to be introduced
as a participant in a mixed-martial-arts event that will be held
at the Tacoma Dome on Feb. 23.
"I
look forward to showing everyone here in Washington what they've
been missing from the Beast of the East," Sapp said.
The
Beast. That's the 360-pound Sapp's nickname, and he's got the
entertainment part of the job down pat. His character includes
a deep, bass-heavy laugh so loud it seems to echo inside Sapp's
expansive chest. He'll wink for television cameras, too, batting
his right eye.
Sapp
came to Washington as a defensive lineman who switched to offense
his second year at school. He was a third-round pick by the Chicago
Bears in 1997, and he also played for the Minnesota Vikings.
It's fighting that has given Sapp a global name. A man beloved
in Japan, hated in Amsterdam and he estimates he has made in
excess of $7 million in his career. He has endorsed more than
400 products, appeared in feature films like "The Longest
Yard" and had recurring roles in television.
"I'm
enjoying every last thing fighting has brought me," Sapp
said.
Sapp
began kickboxing after the professional-wrestling company he
worked for in the United States — WCW — went bankrupt.
He thought he was getting a wrestling job with a company called
K-1. Nope, a friend told him. K-1 means kickboxing, where combatants
can punch or kick. No choke holds or arm bars, either.
Sapp's
kickboxing eventually led to mixed-martial arts, which is really
a term invented to cover what is as close as you get in sports
to an honest-to-goodness brawl. Combatants can use all sorts
of methods for making an opponent unable or unwilling to continue.
Twist an opponent's arm, choke him or just use knees and fists
to batter him until he quits or can no longer intelligently defend
himself. Judges are available to adjudicate the matter if necessary.
There
are rules to the whole thing. No biting. Can't pull hair and
the eyes and blows to the groin are no-nos, too. The Ultimate
Fighting Championship is the most well-known promotion domestically.
Strikeforce is the organization that will be promoting this event
at the Tacoma Dome. Sapp's mixed-martial-arts record is 9-2-1.
Sapp
will be fighting a man nicknamed "The Giant," quite
creative considering the guy stands 6 feet 10. He weighs 330
pounds, which means that about 700 pounds of humanity will be
in a cage come February.
It's
one of 14 bouts on the card. Four are between amateurs, 10 are
professional. Sapp will be involved in one of two main events.
Maurice Smith will face Rick Roufus in the other event. Smith
attended West Seattle High School and is a world-champion kickboxer
and former UFC champion.
Smith
is also Sapp's trainer. The two first connected when Sapp began
kickboxing and headed to Japan with no idea what was in store.
The fit turned out to be perfect.
"I
was only supposed to go over there for a week," Sapp said.
"And I think I didn't come back until four years later."
He
most recently went to Japan for a fight on New Year's Eve. He
returned Monday.
Sapp
has fought twice in the United States, both kickboxing matches.
Next month's fight will be his first domestic mixed-martial arts
event as the man who has made a global name returns to the state
where he started out as a football player whose father dropped
him off at the University of Washington some 16 years ago.
"I'm
living the American dream, but I'm in Japan," Sapp said.
"But now, I'm living it back here in America."
Source: Fight Opinion/Seattle Times
|
Fedor
drops guard
Russian talks about several subjects in new interview
Even though he doesn’t fight for the UFC, the name Fedor
Emelianenko is one of the most talked about in the MMA world.
Some say he’s not all that, others accept the Russian’s
talent, which has earned him 27 wins in 28 fights, but what cannot
be denied is the popularity of the man who is M-1 Global’s
hope in box office. His last fight was against the giant South
Korean Hong Man Choi, on December 31 of last year, and the return
to the ring will probably be on April 11 in Chicago, at the event’s
debut in the United States, against an adversary yet to be announced.
In
an interview on the site Complex, the former Pride champion spoke
about a variety of subjects, from his much anticipated fight
with Randy Couture to an imaginary bout between Russian president
Vladimir Putin and American leader George Bush, check out the
main topics of the interview:
Meeting
with Couture
We just had some photos taken and made a commercial. We talked
about a bunch of random subjects, like family, invited each other
to each others houses and he told me about the time he went to
Russia to train, that’s all. I think our fight will happen,
because everyone wants it, especially the fans. If I win, I’ll
be considered one of the strongest fighters of all times.
Weight
I’m comfortable the way I am now, I wouldn’t consider
a drop to light heavyweight, even if just because I’d have
to diet a lot and I hate that (laughs).
Interest
in fighting
When I was small my mother suggested I do martial arts, I went
and started training fanatically. I started with sambo and judo
and later decided to get in the ring as I needed money (laughs).
I think that if I hadn’t gotten into MMA, I’d be training
young fighters.
Bush
vs Putin
Our president (Vladimir Putin) is a judo black belt and master
of sambo, so if they were to face off… (laughs). But I think
our leaders should resolve their problems differently.
Plans
for the future, aside from MMA preparations
I have two sambo tournaments to go to and the rest of the time
I want to be with my family.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Long
Road Paying Off for Camacho
by Cesar Garcia
Joe
Camacho grew up in an East L.A. neighborhood known for its macho
mentality. The violence of early UFC events did not deter him,
nor did the sight of two sweaty men rolling around inside a cage.
Instead, Camacho, who had dabbled in taekwondo and boxing, saw
a free-flowing art.
He
might not have known it at first glance, either, but watching
an early UFC would mark the first day of the rest of his life.
Fast-forward
to the present. After fighting some of the best lightweights
in the game today, Camacho is ready to headline "King of
the Cage: Premiere" on Thursday against yet another tough
opponent. Thomas "The Wildman" Denny is a guy Camacho
calls a KOTC icon and someone he is definitely not taking lightly.
"He's
an experienced, smart fighter," says Camacho of Denny, whom
he'll fight at 160 pounds. "He's well rounded. Our styles
mix well. We both can fight on the ground and on our feet. It's
going to be a technical fight."
It
will be a tough fight for the Aloisio Silva BJJ black belt, but
it won't be his toughest assignment. Camacho has fought all over
the world, against top fighters such as Roger Huerta, Wander
Braga, Antonio McKee and Joe Stevenson.
Yep,
the same Stevenson who just fought B.J. Penn for the UFC lightweight title. That
experience has given Camacho the long-toothed confidence to face
an opponent who normally fights at 170 pounds.
And
while Camacho's 12-11-3 record might not be the most impressive,
it's the way that he built that record that is.
"When
I first started, MMA hadn't exploded yet. It was still banned,"
remembers Camacho with a smile. "When I fought for Empire
Submission Fighting, before it was called King of the Cage, we
fought in a ring in the middle of a tennis court. That's when
I first fought Joe Stevenson.
"Back
then it was for fun. We didn't care about padding our record,
stacking it with wins. Now you have to pad it. You have to be
6-0 or 7-0 to get into the big shows."
Camacho
sees those "L's" on his record as lessons, not loses.
"I
learned the hard way about taking last-minute fights," he
says. "I fought Roger Huerta and, yeah, he beat me by TKO
because of a cut, but I fought on a week's notice and I spent
that whole week just cutting weight. I didn't even train for
that fight and I dropped him with a right cross and had him in
several submissions, but I was too weak [from cutting weight]
and I couldn't finish him.
"Through
trial and error, as I've learned and matured in the sport, I've
gotten better and better and I've become a more methodical fighter,
a more skilled fighter."
The
proof is in the pudding. Camacho has put together a five-fight
unbeaten streak, including a draw against top-ranked Shooto fighter
Akiyo "Wiki" Nishiura in a bout that Camacho controlled
and should have won.
Don't
think that the big shows haven't noticed. Aside from fighting
on Thursday's King of the Cage/EliteXC card, Camacho will roam
the rings of the IFL in 2008.
But
first he has unfinished business against Denny. With a win, not
only will Camacho move one step closer to being a permanent fixture
on MMA's biggest stages, the Garfield High product believes he
can help make a big difference in helping Mexican fans start
to see MMA the way they see boxing.
"I'm
from East [Los Angeles]. I'm true Mexicano. I eat the cajetas,
maza panes and churros," says Camacho of the traditional
Mexican treats. "I went to school with Oscar De La Hoya.
If [Mexicans] supported him, then I think they'll support me."
If
he continues to knock out opponents -- nine of his 12 victories
have been by knockout -- the highly sought-after Latin fan base
will have to notice.
If
that doesn't happen, though, maybe Camacho will one day become
the Pat Miletich of East L.A. He currently trains fighters with
the help of his cousin, WEC bantamweight contender Charlie Valencia,
whom he credits for introducing him to the ground game. Already
Camacho has helped lightweight Armando Sanchez become a TFA champion
and helped featherweight Albert Rios build an 8-3 record.
With
all his experience, Camacho has built a foundation that will
help pave the road for a future fighter to become MMA's version
of De La Hoya.
That's
one day. But right now, with a few more wins, that fighter could
be him.
Source: Sherdog
|
The
Life and Times of Jay Hieron
This
is the first installation in what will be a series of weekly
(time permitting) entries on the life of Jay Hieron, as told
by Jay. There is likely a lot you don’t know about Jay.
For one he was involved in the bloodiest fight in UFC history.
A fight UFC has kept the public, outside of the fans in attendance
at the Hard Rock to watch UFN 1, from seeing. Jay dominated that
fight but lost due to a cut. You also probably don’t know
that Jay is one of the most intriguing and cerebral athletes
in the fight game today. Check out The Life and Times of Jay
Hieron and learn about this incredible young man.
Jay
Hieron isn’t his real name, but it is what everyone calls
him. If you’re writing him a check make it out to James
Hieronymous. Jay changed Hieronymous to Hieron for fighting purposes
since he got tired of people mispronouncing his surname as “hairy
mouse”. That mistake was made a lot during his High School
and college wrestling careers. But ask Jay and he’ll tell
you, “I love the name Hieronymous. I’m proud of my
last name and my mother. I just don’t want to hear ring
announcers saying here comes the hairy mouse.”
Jay’s
mother is Theo Hieronymous. She and her then husband John adopted
Jay when he was a baby. Jay’s mother was a young woman from
Coney Island in Brooklyn. She had some issues and wasn’t
ready to raise a child. So Jay became a part of the seven child
Hieronymous family, joining an adopted brother and two sisters
to go with the three children Theo and John had together.
The
Hieronymous’ lived in Freeport a town on Long Island’s
South Shore not far from the Queens border. Freeport is what
is politely called a town in transition. It has a beautiful harbor
area called the Nautical Mile where families sit on piers and
enjoy local clams and lobsters in the summer. But Freeport is
best known as a rough and tumble town where drugs, crime, shootings
and stabbings cause the working class to never get too comfortable.
It was in the rough edged Northern part of Freeport that borders
on the shady sections of Baldwin and Roosevelt that Jay was raised.
John
and Theo Hieronymous divorced when Jay was 10 and he went to
live with Theo, his mother, two of his sisters and one of his
brothers. Jay was a small kid in bad neighborhood. That made
him a target for the larger, ill tempered bullies of which there
are plenty in Freeport.
“The
neighborhood tough kids used to give me a real hard time,”
reminisces Jay, “I didn’t grow up in the best area
and I was getting chased home every day. I’d run to the
7-11 and call my sisters who were older to come pick me up. They
still make fun of me about that. They’re always teasing
me about how I’m a pro fighter and I used to call them everyday
to come save my ass. So when I was 13 I started going to the
PAL (Police Athletic League) boxing gym in Westbury. I loved
boxing. My sister’s boyfriend used to take me up there.
But Westbury is about a 25 minute drive from Freeport and I didn’t
have a car so it got to be hard getting me up there and I stopped
going when nobody could take me. I was scared going into high
school because Freeport High School is a real tough place. I
decided to go out for the wrestling team to learn how to defend
myself.”
That’s
how a 91 pound 14-year-old named James Hieronymous got started
on the road to becoming one of the top Welterweight fighters
in Mixed Martial Arts. He took an instant love to the sport of
wrestling and showed that he had a natural ability at it.
“I
was good at wrestling right off the bat. I made varsity Freshman
year. It felt great to find something I was really good at. I
gave everything I had to learning the sport and getting my body
in shape. Mid season this new kid named Tom English came out
of nowhere and joined the team. The kid mopped me. He put me
in a pretzel and stuck me for a pin. He was too strong. He had
grown man strength and I was just a kid. Tom English crushed
my feelings and took my spot on the team. But they kept me on
varsity as an alternate. But losing to Tom just made me more
determined to become great at wrestling. I stayed after practice
every day to learn moves from my coaches Russ Celland and Terry
Haise. It paid off. Sophomore year I was Nassau County champ
at 91-lbs and runner up at State. Junior year I moved up to 105-lbs
and was Nassau County champ. But I was cutting too much weight
and didn’t place in the States.”
That
summer Jay got his license and things changed.
“I
got a car right before the start of senior year. It was a $200
orange piece of shit. But it was my freedom. I could go wherever
and do whatever I wanted now. I quit wrestling. I thought wrestling
was gay. I looked ugly in the singlet. I didn’t want any
girls coming to check me out when I was wearing it. I looked
like a beanpole in that thing, it was embarrassing. Cutting weight
was having an effect on me. I didn’t want to cut weight
anymore. I don’t think kids in High School should be cutting
so much weight, its bad for you. I shot up in height after high
school and I think I stunted my growth some from all the weight
cutting. I also felt like I had sacrificed three years for wrestling
and now I wanted time to myself. After the High School season
I did three years of Freestyle season with coach Haise. I was
wrestling all year round. Now I had my car and I was hanging
out with girls. Coach got mad when I quit. He wouldn’t talk
to me. he’s stubborn like I am and was furious that I was
giving up so easy.
“I
was also hanging out with the guys who weren’t doing so
good. I was smoking some weed a little bit and getting in trouble.
My coach really didn’t like that. Russ Cellan the assistant
coach was always trying to get me back into wrestling practice.
He’d hunt me down. I was leaving school five minutes before
the bell everyday just to avoid him. But Russ was crafty. Halfway
through the season he caught me in the hallway. He said ‘man
just come down we just want to talk with you.’ I said, ‘Ok,
whatever’. I had it in my mind that there was nothing this
guy could say to get me back in. I was riding around in my little
orange car having too much fun. But I owed it to him to listen.
When I went back to talk with him and coach Haise wrestling practice
was in full swing. I had a lot of old feelings come back to me.
I could smell the sweat and the intensity in the room. I saw
guys I used to beat up on getting shaper. I missed it. I talked
with coach Haies and coach Cellan. They told me I was throwing
away my senior year and pretty much any shot I had of wrestling
in college. At that point I wasn’t even thinking of college.
It wasn’t something that I was interested in. They put a
lot of things in perspective for me. I figured why not give it
a shot. I came back with a fury. I damn near ripped guys’
heads off. Sometimes it takes that for me. To have something
taken away to make me realize how much I love it. I loved wrestling.
I won County for the third straight year, this time at 126-lbs.
Something that is very hard to do in Nassau County because there
are a lot of great wrestlers there. I finished as runner up in
States losing to Terry Showalter in double overtime. Terry went
on to be an All American D-1 wrestler.
“My
coaches then focused on how to get me into college. Terry Haise
knew I was getting into trouble with the crew I ran with. He
told me the best thing to do was to go away to school and put
those bad influences behind me. We all sat down to figure out
how to do that. Back then Iowa was the best wrestling school
in the country. But I didn’t have good grades. The plan
was for me to go to junior college in Iowa then transfer to Iowa
State.
“I
was an 18-year-old on the bus for 15 hours going to Iowa. I had
never lived out of New York or been anywhere for longer than
3 days. The only times I ever went away was to go to wrestling
tournaments. I got to Iowa and was homesick from day one. It
wasn’t me down there at all. I ended up just passing the
days training. I wasn’t into it at all. I didn’t even
have the drive to really wrestle. When the semester ended I decided
that I had it and went home. Coach Haise didn’t agree. But
I switched to Nassau Community College.”
Iowa
wasn’t for me. It was just cornfields. That’s a big
change coming from New York. It was a real culture shock. I left
Iowa after my first semester and enrolled at Nassau Community
College. I felt Nassau was good for me because I was back home.
Back to where I know.
I
had some great wrestling coaches at Nassau, Coach Henkie and
Paul Schmidt. They had wanted me to go there coming out of High
School and were glad to have me.
During
the season I was working hard and doing well for myself. I was
keeping my grades up so I could stay on the team. My first year
I finished 3rd in the country at 150-lbs for Junior College.
Not bad, but I felt I could do better.
Even
though wrestling was going well for me, I was getting into problems
in the off season. I was getting into shit whenever wrestling
didn’t occupy my time. I was hanging out in the streets
all night on Pearsall Avenue back in Freeport. Getting into fights,
smoking weed, just basically up to no good. I was driving back
and forth to Brooklyn, 3, 4 times a day buying weed. I would
buy it, sell most of it and smoke the rest.
After
Freshman year at Nassau I felt that I should have won JuCo at
150-lbs. I told myself I’m winning it this year. I was going
to practice more often and taking it more serious. I was working
like a man possessed. Sophomore year (1997) I won JuCo at 158lbs.
I graduated from Nassau which is a 2-year school.
Hofstra
University was right up the block. They had a new wrestling coach
Tom Ryan. I wanted to stay local because I had had the bad experience
of going away. Hofstra offered me a sponsorship. Done deal. I
did well for myself going there. Junior year of college, which
was my first year at Hofstra, I went to Nationals and lost to
the guy who won it by a couple points.
Senior
year I was ranked #3 in the country at 158lbs going into the
season. I knew this was my season. I was going to go out and
win the NCAA D-I championship. I could feel it. My workouts were
incredible. My determination was incredible. There would be no
stopping me.
Hofstra
started a new rule my senior year. The school said if you failed
any drug tests you’re out for the season. I ended up failing
a drug test for smoking weed a couple weeks before the start
of the season. It blew my mind. This was my last year or wrestling.
I was trying to do everything I could to see if I could get back
on the team and get my suspension cut to a half season. Hofstra
wasn’t having any of it.
I
was bitter even though it was my fault for smoking the weed.
I felt the coaching staff and Athletic Director could have gone
to bat for me. There were football players who got popped for
smoking weed and doing steroids and they were all back before
the end of their seasons. I felt like I didn’t get support
from the AD because I was a wrestler. I really resented them
and the school, even though like I said I knew it was my fault
for doing drugs.
I
was having mixed emotions. I thought this was supposed to be
my year. I was focused on winning the D-I Nationals. Every time
in my life I had put all the BS aside and focused on Wrestling
I had won. Now because of my suspension I wasn’t going to
have that chance. I started to feel like I had spent half my
life wrestling and had nothing to show for it. And I starting
thinking why did I even bother to get started with wrestling
in the first place. It can only take you so far. I should have
gotten into Football or another sport.
Coach
Ryan told me that even though I couldn’t wrestle, I could
keep going to school on my scholarship. I only had a 15 credits
needed to graduate, but I wasn’t really interested in that.
I was really depressed. I suppressed all of my competitive drive.
I took all of my wrestling gear and threw it out. I decided it
was time to start making money.
I
was done making sacrifices for wrestling and all I could think
about was making money. That’s when I really started selling
drugs. I had been messing around picking up some weed from Brooklyn
but now I was serious. I put all my attention and effort into
selling drugs. I was moving weed and coke from Brooklyn around
Freeport and the surrounding towns. I made a lot of money. Fast.
I had a Mercedes Benz, a BMW, a quad 4-wheeler, a jetski and
two motorcycles a Honda CVR 900 and a Yamaha R-1. I used to tear
it up on those bikes. I was riding with the Exit 21 Fubu riders.
I got one going 180mph on straightaway by Jones Beach.
I
was running two lives at that point. I had an apartment in Baldwin,
the town next to Freeport, where I’d spend a lot of my time
and that I used for business. I kept my cars and bikes there.
I was also living with my family. I kept a room at my mom’s
house. I had a little crap beater car I’d drive when I was
going to my mother’s house. I told them that I was selling
cars. And I was. I wasn’t stupid, I knew I always had to
keep a legit job so that my family wouldn’t worry about
me and I’d have some income to show the government. I’d
buy old cars at auction or out of the newspaper, fix them up
and resell them. I’d put the cars by the train station with
a sign on them or at the gas station. I was making some money
off that too. Sometimes I’d make double on the cars. I was
putting money in mutual funds and saving a good portion of what
I earned. A couple of people smartened me up to the game when
I first got started. They told me that I had to set money aside
in case I ever needed it. Luckily I listened to them. I’d
like to thank those guys but I can’t say who they are.
When
I wasn’t at my mother’s house I was driving the Benz
or the beamer. The Benz had a hollowed out area where the airbag
was supposed to be that I used as a stash box when I’d pick
up in Brooklyn. A friend of mine made it for me. Cost me $2,500.
Those rides from Brooklyn back to Long Island were terrifying.
Butterflies in my stomach the whole way. It was scarier than
getting ready for a fight. A lot scarier. I knew that if I got
pulled over or in an accident, that was it. Jail time.
Even
though I was making money selling drugs, and I liked the money,
I didn’t like what I was doing. I never felt good about
it. I had fake feelings. I liked the money but I didn’t
like myself at that point.
By
2000 I had dealt for a couple years and started to think that
I needed to do something else. I was looking to get out of the
business. I was thinking about going in half on a body shop with
a friend or maybe opening up a car lot. My plan was to make as
much as I could off selling drugs then legitimize my money by
opening up a legal business. But the trick is, once you start
making fast money its hard to leave. I was partying, spending
money, buying bottles in the clubs and having a good time. It’s
hard just stop that.
Right
around that time a couple guys I knew got arrested. Then this
one kid who was a customer got arrested. I thought he was setting
me up because he was calling me all the time after he got arrested.
I told him to leave me alone. But it was too late. He’d
already set me up. He was just trying to set me up some more.
One
day the cops stopped by my mom’s house when I wasn’t
home. My brother called me up and told me, the cops are here,
they have something on you and that I had to call them or turn
myself in. I was driving in my car at the time and got a crazy
feeling. I was in shock. I pulled over to think. I saw my whole
life flashing before my eyes. When I came back to my senses I
called my lawyer. I had a good lawyer who had represented me
after I got in a couple of street fights in high school. He told
me to relax, that he’d call the cops and find out what’s
going on. He called me back and said they had me on an A-2 felony.
I said what’s that? He told me the worst is an A-1 felony.
I had an A-2 which carried 3-years to life. Mandatory 3 years
with life parole. It was around the holidays when all this was
going down. I didn’t want to turn myself in right there.
I told him I wasn’t turning myself in before Thanksgiving.
It
turns out that saving money to start a legal business was the
smartest thing I ever did. Because of that I was able to afford
a lawyer. A lot of guys in the business don’t save any money
and they can’t afford good lawyers when they get in trouble.
I ended up having to pay my guy up front and it just about wiped
me out financially.
After
Thanksgiving I turned myself in. The police wanted me to talk
but I couldn’t do that. Because where I’m from they
don’t do that. Actually I can’t say that because a
lot of guys do talk. But I didn’t. I kept saying talk to
my lawyer. That obviously didn’t get us anywhere and I was
sent to Nassau County jail. They’re supposed to give you
an orange jumpsuit and a mattress when you show up. All I got
was the jumpsuit my first night. I ended up sleeping on a metal
bed with no mattress. It was freezing. It was grimey. There was
literally shit on the wall. Some guy had taken a dump and wiped
it on the wall with his hand. I was like, “this isn’t
for me”.
I
was in there a month and a half before my mother bailed me out.
She put up her house. Thank God for mom. I came home and my court
proceeding started. I was out of jail but I was broke. I was
trying to sell everything I had because I knew I was done in
the business. A lot of people get popped and they keep going.
But once was enough for me. I had wanted out anyway. Now I’m
stressing because I know I might be doing some hard time. It
was the lowest point of my life.
About
a year or so before that all started I had helped my buddy Phil
Baroni train for an MMA fight. Phil and I went way back to when
we were kids. He grew up in Massapequa, which is a couple towns
further out from Freeport on Long Island. We were both on the
All County team in high school and went to a lot of the same
tournaments in the off-season. Then we went to Nassau and Hofstra
together. Phil was hilarious and we were always getting into
trouble with each other over the years. He was a real good friend.
After college he was doing Toughman and amateur boxing competitions.
He was always trying to get me into them but they weren’t
really for me, but I’d help him get ready.
While
I was out of jail I went to the gym that Phil trained at. It’s
called Bellmore Kickboxing Academy. I went in there because I
wanted to sweat and train and take my frustration out on a bag
or something. I had so much frustration and anger built up that
I wanted to release. I joined the gym and started doing my own
thing. I was getting ready for prison at this point. I didn’t
know what was going to happen. The best way I knew to get rid
of stress was to work on the bags. Get that release. Everyday
I was going in there, sweating and hitting the bag even though
I didn’t know what I was doing technique-wise, it was working.
It made me feel better. One day I asked the guy there, Keith
Trimble, if he could train me. I didn’t have any money.
He remembered me from coming in with Baroni. He said yeah. I
was coming in and training in Boxing and Kickboxing. It was addictive.
I would go in and hit mitts and hit the bag. Every day I was
feeling better and better. Phil was training for his fights there
too.
Next
I started getting into watching MMA. I was watching a lot of
UFC and PRIDE. Phil had a box of tapes he left in the gym of
all types of fights, Shooto, Pancrase, old boxing fights, Muay
Thai you name it. They had a room there with a couch, a TV and
VCR. The guys at Bellmore still laugh about it. They said all
I would do all day is watch tapes and then try out combinations
on the bag. It was addictive, I fell in love with the sport.
I fell in love with the competition. I also started feeling a
little bit better about myself.
Now
during this whole time at Bellmore Kickboxing Academy, I was
going through my court proceedings. At that point I’d been
training with Keith for over a year while my lawyer was working
on my case and everything. Phil asked me to go out to Vegas with
him for one of his fights and I saw all of the big name guys
in the sport training. When I went back home I said, this is
what I want to do. Before that I was using the sport to relieve
stress and I liked it but I fell in love on that trip and decided
that MMA is what I wanted to do with my life. I woke up at 6am
every day and did my road work. I did 3-6 miles. I’d do
pads with Keith after my run. I found a jiu jitsu gym in Lynbrook
a couple towns away. It was Rodrigo Gracie’s school. I enrolled
there and started working on my ground game.
The
court case was coming up and my lawyer was telling me it could
go either way. Because it was my first case I could get up to
5 years of probation and avoid prison. My charge was automatically
going to get knocked down to a B felony because I pleaded guilty.
We were trying to get it knocked down to a C, which doesn’t
have a mandatory jail sentence. A “B” comes with a
mandatory 6 months sentence. It was up to the judge. On the last
day of court I was prepared to go to prison. I had on 2 pairs
of drawers and 2 pairs of socks. I had gotten a bunch of letters
from my wrestling coaches, judging my character saying I could
change. Basically the letters all said that I was a good guy
and not a hardened criminal. My lawyer turned in the letters.
I waited for the verdict. My future was up to the judge and God
blessed me that day. The judge ended up giving me 5 years of
probation and no time behind bars.
That
day I started training harder because I realized I had things
to lose in life. I did a nosedive into the game after that. It
became my life. I instantly tried to get a fight. After a couple
months of training I did get a fight. It was in a high school
gym in Bayonne, New Jersey for Reality Fighting. July 19, 2003
against a guy named Keith Plate. Phil Baroni and Keith Trimble
cornered me. Phil told me, “chin down, hands up and let
‘em fly.” That’s our advice. He always says that
to me and I always say that to him, to this day. I came out and
threw a combo. He grabbed me. I took him down and ground and
pounded him. It was a blur for me because it was my first fight.
I fought that fight strictly on emotions.
That
first fight was on a Saturday. Monday I was back in the gym.
I felt like I had a second chance at doing something with myself
and making something with my life. I felt like I’m not going
to waste this chance I got. I still feel that way.
I
had suppressed the feelings of competition and wrestling after
my drug test at Hofstra. But all those feelings and the competitor
in me came out again when I got into MMA. I was hungry for competition.
I knew there was a little bit of money in the sport. But I wasn’t
even really thinking about that. I knew I could be good at it.
And I wanted to be good at it.
I
was trying to get fights after the first one. But things kept
happening. I had guys pulling out on right and me left. Three
times I had fights and the guy dropped out the day before. You
deal with that in the small shows. I just kept training. First
and foremost I love to train. It made me feel good about myself.
I knew that if I kept focused and kept training the fights would
come. And they did.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Quote
of the Day
Let your
heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and
let your hand give in proportion to your purse."
George Washington, 1732-1799, 1st President of the United States
|
X-1
Weigh-Ins Today!
WEIGH-IN
:
Friday, January 25, 2008 - 1PM
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
Remember
to come to the event early because the fights start at 5:00 PM.
|
SHOXC
FINAL QUOTES
'
Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008,
Trump Taj Mahal Atlantic City Hotel & Casino
Philadelphia's
Eddie Alvarez faces Ross
"Da Boss'' Ebanez, of Hilo, Hawaii, in a 165-pound co-featured
bout tomorrow/Friday on the 2008 premiere of ShoXC: Elite Challenger
Series on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).
The
other co-feature will match England's Paul "Semtex'' Daley
against Sam "The Squeeze'' Morgan, of St. Paul, Minn., in
a 170-pound scrap.
Other
televised fights: Bobby McMaster, of Boston, Mass., will try
to regain his winning ways against the always-dangerous Bao Quach,
of Huntington Beach, Calif., at 150 pounds; "The Hawaiian
Rocky Balboa,'' Kala
Kolohe Hose,
of Honolulu, faces Fred Belleton, of Stoughton, Mass., at 185
pounds; and Julie Kedzie, of Albuquerque, N.M., by way of Greenwood,
Ind., will attempt to win her fourth straight when she battles
Tonya Evinger, of Reno, Nev., by way of Oak Grove, Mo., at 140
pounds.
Scheduled non-televised undercard bouts include: Zach Makovsky
(3-0), of Philadelphia, vs. Wilson Reis (2-0), of Philadelphia
at 140 pounds; James "Binky'' Jones (4-5), of Baltimore,
Md., vs. Mark Getto (1-3-1), of Philadelphia, at 160 pounds;
Sergio Vinagre (2-1), of New Jersey, vs. Brett Linebarger (2-1),
of New Jersey, at 185 pounds; Joe Shilling (pro debut), of Los
Angeles, vs. Matt Makowski (1-0), of Philadelphia, at 170; and
Drew Puzon (1-1), of New Jersey, vs. Charlie Brennemen (4-0),
of Philadelphia, at 170 pounds.
The
fights at Trump Taj Mahal Atlantic City Hotel & Casino are
scheduled for three, 5-minute rounds with the exception of Kedzie-Evinger,
which is slated for three, 3-minute rounds.
Tickets,
starting at $40, are available at the Trump Taj Mahal box office
and online at www.ticketmaster.com. The live card begins at 9
p.m.; doors open at 8.
EDDIE ALVAREZ
"This is going to be a great fight. Style-wise, I look at
Ebanez and he reminds me of me. With two fighters who like to
come forward and give their all, the fans are in for a treat.
"I
expect - and want - him to bring out the very best in me so I
can show the world what Eddie Alvarez is really all about. Fighting
in my backyard and on SHOWTIME is a great opportunity.
"I've
been around long enough to know how to handle any pre-fight jitters,
but I am truly excited for this one. Fighting an aggressive southpaw
is perfect. This is an exceptional main event.''
(more)
2-2-2
Final ShoXC Quotes - Jan. 25, 2008
ROSS EBANEZ
"I've prepared myself to hear a lot of boos when I come
into the cage and get introduced, but, hopefully, I can silence
them and eventually have them on my side and rooting for me at
the finish. But Eddie is a good, solid, aggressive fighter who
deserves the attention he is getting.
"For
me, career-wise, this is quite an accomplishment. To fight a
guy like Eddie, in his backyard, in the main event on SHOWTIME,
is extremely exciting and satisfying.
"This
is a tremendous fight for the fans. I'm ready to go, and I know
he feels the same way. I have fought all kinds, though, so I
doubt he is going to present me with any situations that I have
never seen before. I am very confident.''
PAUL "SEMTEX'' DALEY
"The fans know me in Europe, but not so much here, so I
am thrilled to be fighting again in the United States. The exposure
all of us get from fighting on SHOWTIME is invaluable.
"Morgan
has fought a lot of tough opponents, but he hasn't had many tough
fights. That's what is going to happen again. I am going to outclass
him and do what I do best: knock him out and put on a great show
for the fans. Morgan is going to feel like he got ran over by
a truck.
"I
really want to thank EliteXC and SHOWTIME for putting me on this
card.''
SAMMY "THE SQUEEZE'' MORGAN
"Some people may think Daley is something special, but I
don't. I'm going to knock him out and send him home to England
to his 'mummy' so they can have their tea and crumpets together.
"I
really am confident that I am not only going to win this fight,
but that I am going to win convincingly and shock a whole lot
of people along the way.
"I
fear nothing. I've been hit in the face and taken to the ground
before. If he thinks this is going to be an easy fight, he is
in for a major surprise. I am not a joke, or someone who can
be taken lightly. This is the fight that is going to get me right
to where I need to be in this division.''
BOBBY MCMASTER
"It took me a few weeks to put that last fight behind me,
but I have. Still, it's hard to believe it ended the way it did.
But that's what happens when you get overanxious.
"I
am fighting a real tough guy with a lot of talent and experience.
I have a lot of respect for Bao. But I do not worry about what
any of my opponents can do. They have to worry about me.
"Fighting
on SHOWTIME is like making it to the major leagues. You can't
cut corners at this level. This is going to be a great fight.
But I am going to do my thing and win it.''
. (more)
3-3-3
Final ShoXC Quotes - Jan. 25, 2008
BAO QUACH
"I really don't like to talk a lot but I am very excited
about this opportunity I am getting. I have trained very hard
and am in really good condition. This is a good opponent. He
can wrestle and ground and pound. But so can I.
"In
some ways, I think we are alike. But I feel very strong and confident
and I am ready for a war. I always expect a tough fight. This
could be the fight of the night.''
JULIE KEDZIE
"After my fight with Gina (Carano), she became a superstar
and I am very happy for her and I appreciate her giving me the
chance to fight her. But even though I got my butt whipped, I
didn't feel like I lost. I came away from that fight feeling
good about myself and my ability to compete.
"Because
of that fight, I got recruited to fight for Jackson's Mixed Martial
Arts in Albuquerque, and it has been a blessing. I haven't lost
since and I feel like I have improved my skills in all areas.
I am happier than ever. I am busting my butt in the gym, but
it is paying off.
"I
am looking forward to fighting Tonya. She is tough as nails.
But this is my chance to show I can fight an opponent with a
different style. It's an honor for me to fight again for EliteXC
on SHOWTIME.''
TONYA EVINGER
"I fought like crap against Gina. About halfway through,
I just went stupid. I think I got distracted by her (good looks).
"I
am ready for a rematch right now, but I have to win this fight
first. Then, maybe I can fight Gina again and beat her and get
my career back on top.
"Julie
is a good fighter, but this fight, like all my fights, is about
me, and me sticking to my game plan. If I can do that, I'm confident
I will win.''
KALA
KOLOHE HOSE
"Every fight is important to me and you can't beat the exposure
you get when you fight on SHOWTIME, so I am ready. My opponent
is a really tall fighter with a lot of good experience, but I
have fought experienced, tall guys before.
"All
people want to talk about is me fighting Robbie Lawler and all
the postponements. But I am not even thinking about Lawler now.
"My
only focus is on winning Friday. To underestimate or look past
anybody would be a big mistake for any fighter.''
. (more)
4-4-4
Final ShoXC Quotes - Jan. 25, 2008
FRED BELLETON
"This is a great opportunity for me to make a good name
for myself against a quality opponent. I am more excited than
nervous. It is quite an achievement for me to make it all the
way to a SHOWTIME card, but the next step is for me to win the
fight.''
"I
have worked very hard and I still have a lot to prove. But this
is my golden chance to break through. I am treating this like
the biggest fight of my career.''
About
ProElite, Inc.
ProElite Inc. [PELE.PK] delivers the most exciting entertainment
experience in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) with live
arena-based entertainment events, cable television programming
on Showtime Networks and community-driven interactive broadband
entertainment via the Internet. ProElite embraces MMA with the
highest levels of honor, integrity, discipline and self-esteem
all the while remaining inclusive for fighters, fans and schools.
ProElite's live fight division, EliteXC, delivers spectacular
live MMA fight events that showcase the world's top fighters
[elitexc.com]. ProElite's interactive business, ProElite.com,
capitalizes on the growing popularity of the sport of mixed martial
arts by building a community of MMA enthusiasts. In addition
to streaming the most exciting live fights to the web, ProElite
expands the fan base of the sport by providing a comprehensive
set of online social networking tools for fans, fighters and
organizations. ProElite.com - Empowering the Fight Community
TM
About
Showtime Networks Inc.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS
Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks
SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® and FLIX®, as well
as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE,
SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®,
SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE
CHANNEL® XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE
CHANNEL® HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL®
ON DEMAND. SNI is also an owner and manager of SUNDANCE CHANNEL®,
a venture of NBC Universal, Robert Redford and SNI. SNI also
manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and
the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound
using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and
entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view
basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.
Contacts:
Showtime Networks Inc. EliteXC (Brener Zwikel & Associates,
Inc.)
Chris DeBlasio / Ivy Moon Dan Clavadetscher / John Beyrooty
(212) 708-1633 / (212) 708-7319 (818) 462-5602 / (818) 462-5601
Chris.DeBlasio@Showtime.net DanC@bzapr.com / Johnnybey@aol.com
Ivy.Moon@Showtime.net
Source: Johnny Bey
|
Ultimate
Fight Night 13 Results
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Pearl Concert Theater, Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Mike
Swick def. Josh Burkman by Majority Decision after three rounds
Patrick Cote def. Drew McFedries by TKO - 1:44 rd. 1
Thiago Tavares def. Michihiro Omigawa by Unanimous Decision after
three rounds
Nate Diaz def. Alvin Robinson by triangle choke - 3:39 rd. 1
Kurt Pellegrino def. Alberto Crane by TKO - 1:55 rd. 2
Gray Maynard def. Dennis Siver by Unanimous Decision after three
rounds
Jeremy Stephens def. Cole Miller by TKO - 4:44 rd. 2
Corey Hill def. Joe Veres by TKO - 0:37 rd. 2
Matt Wiman def. Justin Buchholz by rear-naked-choke - 2:56 rd.
1
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Roger
vs Yoshida in March
“It’s nearly 100% certain,” says Gracie
GRACIEMAG.com
went straight to the source to find out what Roger Gracie’s
next MMA commitment would be. According to the black belt, the
deal is nearly sealed for him to return to the ring against Olympic
gold medal winning judoka and former Pride star Hikehiko Yoshida.
The battle will take place on March 5th, during an event called
Sengoku, overseen by World Victory Road, to take place in Japan.
“I’ve
already accepted all the terms, I’m sending the forms back,”
said Roger, direct from England. Preparations for the fight have
already begun and the final touches will be made in February,
in New York. “He’s doing really well, and training
a lot,” guarantees his friend Braulio Estima.
The
battle with the Olympic judo star will be the second professional
MMA fight in the current Jiu-Jitsu black belt absolute world
champion’s career. His victorious debut took place in December
of 2006, when, at Bodog Fight, Roger submitted the experienced
Ron Waterman with an armbar at 3:38 min. Yoshida too has been
away from the MMA ring since December of 2006. On the occasion,
he was defeated by James Thompson (TKO – punches), at Pride
Shockwave 2006.
World
Victory Road (WVR) is an organization created in Japan in October
of last year, and is being pointed out by many as a possible
substitute for Pride in the country. Other fighters being linked
to the organization are Sanae Kikura and Makoto Takimoto, who
recently beat Murilo Bustamante at Yarennoka.
Stay
tuned and soon we will be back with more information regarding
Roger Gracie and Sengoku.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
STILL WORKING ON NEW TELEVISION DEAL
by Ken Pishna
It was strongly rumored that the Ultimate Fighting Championship
would be making its broadcast network debut on CBS when, in November,
Mediapost Publications reported that the two entities were in
the final stages of a broadcast deal.
Mediapost
Publications is a trade publication for advertising media professionals.
That
deal has yet to come to fruition. But it apparently hasn’t
been dismissed.
In
a media conference call on Thursday, UFC senior vice president
of operations and production, Craig Borsari, when asked about
CBS replied, “We're talking to a lot of different networks
right now.”
Although
he didn’t confirm a specific network or give any insight
into how close the promotion is to finalizing a deal, Borsari
did offer a hopeful timeframe for something to happen.
“We
have several events that we're doing in the U.K. and we're looking
for broadcast partners for all of them,” he said.
The
UFC reportedly has plans to return to the O2 Arena in London
on June 14 and Borsari indicated that event is one that the promotion
has its sites set on.
“Yeah.
That's one we're looking at, probably in June.”
He
also confirmed that, hot on the heels of a recently inked deal
with Harley-Davidson, the UFC is expecting to announce more big
sponsorship deals in the near future.
“We're
not ready to announce them yet, but definitely some big announcements
in the sponsorship area coming very soon,” said Borsari.
The
partnership with Harley-Davidson was a particularly impressive
accomplishment as the company’s senior vice president and
chief marketing officer, Mark-Hans Richer stated, “This
is the first major worldwide sports sponsorship for Harley-Davidson
outside the motorcycle/automotive category.”
No
information was forthcoming as to when either a new television
deal or sponsorship partner would be announced.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Alexander
Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett:
It isn't that bad... honestly
by LR
Earlier today, the potential matchup between Fedor Emelianenko's
brother, Alexander, and Josh Barnett was hinted to the public
through Alexander's M-1 Mixfight website. While there were many
mixed reactions to this rumor, the most unbearable thought for
a select few was that this would ruin a potential Fedor vs. Barnett
super fight.
Although a win for Alexander could put a nail in the coffin for
the showdown between Fedor and Barnett, it seems highly doubtful
it would end the possibility. It would most certainly make it
less intriguing for some fans, but Barnett is dangerous enough
to be considered competition to Fedor's skill. He's also one
of the only heavyweights out there with the kind of skills that
can potentially defeat "The Last Emperor".
The
most prominent question asked about this rumor is for what reason
would M-1 Global book Alexander instead of Fedor. Why would they
risk Barnett being defeated and not cashing in on the Barnett
vs. Fedor super fight?
Here's
some reasons:
1.
Rematch of the PRIDE Total Elimination Absolute fight between
the two, Barnett won their first encounter.
2.
Barnett wins, and M-1 Global's marketing department plays a revenge
angle for the Fedor vs. Barnett fight. It has been used before
in PRIDE.
3.
Barnett simply hasn't fought a real MMA fight in over a year
and wants a fight that he believes he can handle before taking
on Fedor.
4.
M-1 Global doesn't feel they can sell Fedor vs. Barnett effectively
in the U.S. or feel it will produce more buys in Japan.
Do
any of these reasons fit the bill? My take is that Josh Barnett
simply isn't ready for Fedor just yet. With an April card in
the United States, I'm not entirely convinced that they can sell
Barnett vs. Fedor. It may be a better sell for another card in
Japan where both names were established PRIDE veterans.
Fedor
vs. Schilt and Alexander vs. Barnett should produce Fedor vs.
Barnett, but that's a wish that may not come true. It's not entirely
impossible that Alexander pulls off an upset. Schilt, on the
other hand, still doesn't have the ground game to beat top 10
heavyweights, expect another Fedor win.
In
any case, the fight will most likely happen within the year.
Relax and enjoy the other mixed martial arts action for now.
Source: Fight Opinion/MMA Analyst
|
The
Champion's Catharsis
by Mike Sloan
It's been a rollercoaster ride for Randy Couture since he voiced
his intention to leave the UFC.
Despite
the turmoil that has enveloped him, Couture has focused on doing
something good recently with a new hobby that doesn't involve
pummeling an opponent in a cage.
In
his spare time since exiting the UFC, Couture took up poker and
recently assembled a successful charity event to raise money
for American GIs. "Operation: All In" had more than
130 participants signed up to play poker with professional card
sharks, fighters and other celebrities. Couture hoped to raise
more than $60,000 that would go toward his GI foundation.
Before
the event he took lessons with Jamie Gold, a champion poker player,
and joked that he fully expected to get his behind kicked. Couture
was also amazed at how much skill is involved in high-level poker.
"On
the outside, from a cursory look, you'd think that playing this
game would be luck," said Couture, who is also planning
a similar event in spring at the Hard Rock Hotel pool. "But
I think definitely there's some strategy. As the cards were being
dealt at our practice table, Jamie was giving me the lowdown
on not only how many chips were in the pot but also the ratio
it was going to cost him to play that particular hand and how
many cards were still left in the deck that could potentially
affect his hand or his opponent's hand to make his hand either
playable or unplayable. There's definitely a strategy involved
as there are certain things they look for, the look on their
opponents' faces, the position they sit at the table, where the
dealer sits, where the blinds are, etcetera. I was blown away."
The
jovial Couture was easily read, though. He was in a festive mood
preparing for his afternoon to help military men and women, but
it was visible that he had been worn out with the UFC contract
situation and the continual questions from various media outlets.
Couture
shrugged his shoulders, let out a brief sigh and said that it
has been a trying time in his career. He was wishing for a smooth
transition out of his contract but acknowledged that before he
officially stepped away from Zuffa, he knew his resignation "wouldn't
be easy."
"I
am just trying to wait out my contract since I cannot breach
the contract I signed with them," Couture said. "It
runs out in July for the fighting contract and then October for
the employment contract, and from there I'll pursue a way to
make that Fedor fight happen."
Clearly
it's a fight that the vast majority of the MMA world would love
to witness, but it certainly seems like a pipedream. Since the
conclusion of the charity poker event, which raised more than
$93,000, it appears less likely that the mega bout will take
place this year. Whatever modicum of hope there was for a Couture-Emelianenko
battle in 2008 further put into question when Zuffa sued Couture
for allegedly breaching terms of a deal he had with the MMA promoter.
Asked
about a potential scrap with former PRIDE heavyweight monarch
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures), a man some believe is the
second best heavyweight ever, Couture admitted it would be a
true test of skill and determination, but it's not the showdown
he covets.
"I
have a lot of respect for Nogueira," he stated. "I've
watched him fight a lot, and he fought Danny Henderson twice,
who is one of my training partners and a longtime friend. But
in my mind, at this stage in my career, the only fight that makes
sense is the one with Fedor. I want to fight the best guy and
I want to settle the debate as to who is the best heavyweight
in the world right now: me or him."
It's
Fedor or bust for Couture, who broke his left arm again in training
before his charity event while checking a head kick. The injury
will force him out of training for six weeks. Still, he said
he'll be in perfect condition come autumn provided he will be
able to meet Fedor in either a ring or a cage.
If
the fight can't happen, Couture said he'd probably retire.
"I
think that'll be my last fight," he said. "I'll fight
Fedor and whatever happens, happens in that fight. I'll be done
fighting for good after that fight. It's the only fight I want.
If it can't be made for whatever reasons there may be, well,
I don't know. It's the only fight that I want -- nobody else."
Tackling
the Zuffa lawsuit might not be a walk in the park for the multiple
world champion, but it's a battle he'll try to wage like all
the others in his celebrated career.
Couture
has defied the odds before. If his fighting career is indicative
of things to come, somewhere down the line Couture might just
be locking horns with a Russian recognized as the top heavyweight
in the world.
Source: Sherdog
|
“El
Guapo” Named IFL Vice President, Fighter Operations
By FCF Staff
The International Fight League announced today that the promotion
has named mixed-martial-arts legend, Bas “El Guapo”
Rutten, to the newly created position of Vice President, Fighter
Operations. According to today’s announcement from the IFL,
Rutten will;
“Oversee
the contact between the IFL, its current athletes and other athletes
in the sport, as well as working to create potential future match-ups
and cards both internally and with other organizations. He will
report directly to IFL CEO Jay Larkin.”
Rutten
has been a prominent figure in the IFL for some time now, first
holding head coaching duties with the L.A. Anacondas, before
moving onto commentating duties with the league.
Today’s
news is just the latest in a series of announcements from the
IFL over the last few months, bringing noticeable changes to
the league as it prepares for the upcoming 2008 campaign. During
that time the IFL has introduced a new logo, several new coaches
and has altered the team concept of the league to one focused
on fight teams themselves, rather than city locations.
The
league will debut its new format February 28th at the Orleans
Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, when Team Quest will take on Ken
Shamrock’s Lion’s Den, and Xtreme Couture will face
off against Mario Sperry’s World Class Fight Center. So
far, only one match-up in team competition has been confirmed,
Sperry’s Alexandre Ferreira will take on Xtreme Couture’s
light-heavyweight, Lew Polley.
The
card will also feature bouts with three of the league’s
newly crowned champions. At heavyweight, champion Roy Nelson
will take on Fabiano Scherner, middleweight title holder, Matt
Horwich, will look to defend his belt against Tim Kennedy, and
lightweight champion, Ryan Schultz, is scheduled to face John
Gunderson.
Source: FCF
|
Xyience
files for Chapter 11 protection
By Zach Arnold
UFC’s
largest corporate sponsor in 2007, Xyience, has filed for bankruptcy
(according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal).
Xyience
Inc., the energy drink company headquartered at 4572 Hacienda
Ave., reported $42.3 million in liabilities and $5.3 million
in assets. Xyience sells its energy drink through 230 convenience
and grocery stores, mostly in the Southwest.
The
voluntary bankruptcy petition, filed on Friday, follows an involuntary
petition that was filed Jan. 3 by founder and former CEO Russell
Pike and others. The involuntary petition remains pending.
Frank
and Lorenzo Fertitta, members of the family that founded Station
Casinos, own UFC. They also are creditors of Xyience with $12.5
million in unsecured claims and $5.3 million in secured claims,
according to the bankruptcy filing. Attempts to reach the Fertittas
on Monday were unsuccessful.
The
meat of this story comes on allegations that Xyience founder
Russell Pike supposedly threatened Xyience management. Given
the close nature between UFC and Xyience, it is important that
Zuffa makes a public statement about this matter. It was UFC
that gave Xyience the most public exposure, pushed the company
the hardest, and also reportedly got financing for the operation.
A
question that I want to see answered: If Xyience paid UFC $15
million USD/year for being the company’s largest corporate
sponsor, why was UFC so intimately involved in helping the company
get financing and having fighters featured in prominent sponsorship
deals? Let me phrase this differently… why would UFC, the
largest company in their respective sport, take money from a
sponsor, then prop up that ailing sponsor financially, and then
have their top fighters sign sponsorship deals with that company?
There are many legitimate questions that should be asked here
and need to be asked. Will others ask the tough questions?
Whether
UFC likes it or not, the fact is that their company is associated
with Xyience in the eyes of many media writers. Just look at
the LVRJ headline in the first place. UFC has to be candid and
open (read: talk to other media writers besides Kevin Iole) to
any and all questions relating to Xyience. They opened up pandora’s
box by helping Xyience get financing.
The
LVRJ article is must-read material and certainly puts the company’s
$25 million USD lawsuit against writer Rich Bergeron into a whole
new perspective. Keep a close eye out for future articles on
this story at MMA Payout.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Quote
of the Day
“In
between goals is a thing called life, that has to be lived and
enjoyed.”
Sid
Caesar, American Comic Actor and Writer
|
X-1
Press Conference Today!
The press
conference is scheduled for 2:30 pm at Dave and Busters.
Come
down to meet your favorite fighters on this stacked fight card!
Remember
to come early because the fights start at 5:00 PM.
|
EliteXC
Prez explains Gina Carano's absence from Feb. 16 card
Gina Carano as "Crush"
EliteXC President Gary Shaw has explained why Gina Carano is
off the Feb. 16 EliteXC: Street Certified card, saying Carano
is being kept busy with her obligations as an American Gladiator.
"Sure,
we wanted her to be on the show," Shaw said. "She was
training for American Gladiators, and at this point she wasn't
ready to compete on this date."
Shaw
also dispelled rumors that he was against Carano's participation
on the hit NBC show -- which has already been renewed for a second
season.
"We
have a long-term contract with Gina. It was a great opportunity
for her to be on American Gladiators’ and be Crush, and
I think it will help her career."
Shaw
is hoping that Carano will be ready for the Strikeforce-EliteXC
event on March 29, headlined by Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le in
San Jose.
"As
soon as they're done with all the meetings they have to do, all
the PR appearances -- she was just on The Today Show two days
ago -- she'll be ready to fight."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
DIEGO
SANCHEZ TO FACE ROAN CARNEIRO AT UFC 82
Carneiro
now out of the fight with Diego. See the post below!
Diego Sanchez will return to action on March 1 in Columbus, Ohio
and will face new American Top Team member Roan Carneiro, as
Sanchez himself announced via his MySpace page on Friday.
Sanchez
is coming off of back to back losses to Josh Koscheck and Jon
Fitch, the first losses of his career, and he hopes to get back
on track in the fight with Carneiro.
The
Ultimate Fighter season one winner also recently talked about
his new team of trainers which will consist of Rob Garcia, who
will handle his stand-up and strength and conditioning, along
with Saulo and Xande Ribeiro, who will work with Diego on his
ground game.
Carneiro
currently sports a 2-1 record inside the Octagon with his lone
loss also coming at the hands of Jon Fitch, but recently the
fighter migrated to the American Top Team academy in Florida
where he will train alongside one of the best MMA camps in the
world.
The
fight could be a ground clinic as both competitors are known
for their tremendous jiu-jitsu games, and while no official announcement
has been made by the UFC regarding this fight it is believed
this match-up will go on the main card for the pay-per-view featuring
a headline title fight between champion Anderson Silva and Dan
Henderson.
This
will be the second trip to Columbus for the UFC, the first of
which being UFC 68 which is still one of the largest live audiences
the promotion has ever had for an event.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
DIEGO
SANCHEZ GETS NEW UFC 82 OPPONENT
MMAWeekly.com
has learned that Diego Sanchez will now face Pride veteran David
Bielkheden at UFC 82. He was originally scheduled to fight Brazilian
fighter Roan Carneiro, but according to Sanchez, Carneiro was
forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed illness
Sanchez
said several opponents were proposed to him, but it was Bielkheden
who accepted the fight and will now make his Ultimate Fighting
Championship debut
Bielkhedhen
will be the second Swedish fighter in the UFC, following in the
footsteps of fellow countryman Per Eklund, who dropped a decision
to Sam Stout at UFC 80.
Bielkheden
comes into the fight off a stoppage victory over Nikola Matic
at Lord of the Rings: Schilt vs. Guelmino.
“He’s
a tough guy that comes forward and he fights out of American
Top Team,” said Sanchez of his new opponent. “He has
good ground and stand-up and was man enough to take the fight.”
Sanchez
spoke to MMAWeekly about his thoughts on 2007 and what it meant
for his career, he discussed his two losses and the new improved
Diego Sanchez.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
JON
FITCH LIKELY TO FACE CHRIS WILSON AT UFC 82
Team Quest fighter Chris Wilson has verbally agreed to step in
and face top ten welterweight fighter Jon Fitch at UFC 82 in
Columbus, Ohio as confirmed by MMAWeekly.com with sources close
to the fighter.
The
news comes on the heels of Fitch’s original opponent, Akihiro
Gono dropping out of the bout due to a hand injury lingering
from his last trip to the Octagon.
Wilson,
who defeated Derrick Noble in his last fight in October 2007,
is a veteran of a number of MMA promotions including Sportfight
and the International Fight League.
While
the bout agreements are yet to be signed, it is expected that
both fighters will agree to terms and the fight will take place
as a part of the main card for UFC 82.
Wilson
has been known as a top training partner at Team Quest for years
and the opportunity to fight in the UFC, while on short notice,
is still the culmination of a career of hard work.
Fitch,
currently ranked as the No. 4 welterweight in the MMAWeekly.com
World Rankings, is on a 14-fight win streak with seven of those
victories coming in the UFC.
The
welterweight showdown between Wilson and Fitch is expected to
be on the main card for the event featuring a headline bout between
middleweight champion Anderson Silva and challenger Dan Henderson.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFN
13: Thiago Alves vs Karo Parisyan
Event takes place on April 2, in Colorado
Brazilian
Thiago “Pitbull” Alves already has the date of his
return to the octagon confirmed. American Top Team representative,
he was confirmed as the adversary of American Karo Parisyan at
Ultimate Fight Night 13, set for April 2, in Broomfield, Colorado.
The
return to the state known for its beautiful mountains is a cause
for celebration among the UFC’s directors, as in its beginning,
the UFC carried out events in Colorado in 1993, 94 and 95. Soon
thereafter, MMA events were banned in local legislation. The
prohibition would later be thrown out, thus clearing the way
for the famous octagon’s return.
Besides
Thiago Pitbull vs Karo Parisyan, UFN 13 has other fights confirmed
on the card. Check out the provisional card:
Kenny
Florian vs Joe Lauzon
Stephan Bonnar vs Matt Hamill
Thiago Alves vs Karo Parysian
Marcus Aurelio vs. Spencer Fisher*
Anthony Johnson vs. Tommy Speer*
*
not yet officially announced
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Thiago
Silva
“I think I would do a great fight with Lyoto Machida and
Chuck Liddell, because they like an exchanging fight”
With
a new home
After
the leaving of the Italian Alessio Sakara and the ADCC and Jiu-Jitsu
World Champion Marcelinho Garcia, the unbeaten Thiago Silva (12
victories, 10 by knock-out) announced his leaving to American
Top Team (ATT). In interview for site TATAME, Thiago said that
he is ready to go to United States by the end of the month. Thiago,
that will fight associated with ATT against Rashid Evans on UFC
at May 24th, told on a chat that you can check below, about his
leaving from Macaco Gold Team, his connection with Team Link
and his ex-partners on Chute Boxe Mauricio Shogun and Wanderlei
Silva.
How
did you changed to ATT?
I’m
anxious, I can’t see the time to get there. That’s
a good change and I’m really happy. I’m on the biggest
Vale-Tudo event of the world and needed a big infrastructure,
that doesn’t exists in Brasil yet, that’s why I choose
to change. I did a research and saw that ATT is one of the best
gyms of the world and has an incredible human material. I’ll
move to by the end of the month, but I don’t know where
I would live, the people from ATT is taking care of this for
me.
So
you left Macaco, Chute Boxe and Team Link?
To
tell the truth, I was training at Macaco and doing and exchange
with Chute Boxe. The only link with Team Link was the owner from
the gym, Marcos ALvan, that was my manager on UFC. I never trained
on Team Link. I only trained with Napão on Macaco’s
gym and it was an excellent training, really hard and determinate.
Who
is your manager now?
Now
i’m with Alex Davis, the same manager from Thiago Tavares,
Roan Jucão, Antonio Pezão, and others.
When
is your next fight in UFC?
I’ll
fight against Rashad Evans at May 24th. I wanna continue unbeaten,
that’s my goal. I know he likes to get down and work on
ground n’ pound. He has a heavy hand too, but nothing that
scares me. I’ll work on a better way to defeat him, because
I wanna fight for the UFC belt this year.
After
this fight, who would you like to fight?
There’s
a lot of guys that I would like to fight in UFC, but I think
I would to a great fight against Lyoto Machida and Chuck Liddell,
because they like an exchanging fight.
You
used to train with Mauricio Shogun and Wanderlei Silva on Chute
Boxe and they’re on your UFC category. Will you fight with
them?
No
problem with that. I’m a professional. That thing: friends,
friends, business is business. Happened that on my last fight
Houston Alexander. He is a great friend of mine, was my first
American friend and happened to fight with him.
How
are your trainings?
I’m
coming back from vacations, so I’m restarting my training
emphasizing my physical preparation. Taking care on the cardiovascular
part.
Speaking
on Houston Alexander, have you expected a so fast fight?
Actually,
no. I expected leaving a little beaten, because he is a tough
fighter, with experience and with a heavy hand, but I did a right
strategy and won fast.
What
does Jorge Patino Macaco represents in your life?
Macaco
was the guy that gave me the opportunity to start on Vale-Tudo,
besides giving me the Jiu-Jitsu’s black belt. He represents
the beginning of my MMA carrer.
Like
Macaco, did you have any rivalry with Ryan Gracie?
I
had no rivalry with him. That thing was between them. Like I
defended his flag, stays that thing of rivalry. But I has nothing
personal with Ryan, as I don’t have with nobody.
How
many fights you still have on UFC?
I
renovated for more four fights and I’ll do the first of
them against Rashad Evans.
Source: Tatame
|
WCF:
1 LEFT + 1 RIGHT = KICK-ASS REPS
Here’s
a quick tip for you when you’re doing full-body Dumbbell
(DB) or Kettlebell (KB) exercises such as snatches, cleans, clean
& press, clean & jerk, etc. This only applies to exercises
done with one DB/KB at a time, though.
Instead
of doing all your reps for a set on one side, then switching
to the other side, do only one rep each side at a time. So, let’s
say you were going to do a set of 8 snatches. Instead of doing
8 snatches left, then 8 snatches right, do 1 snatch left, put
the DB/KB down, do 1 right, put the DB/KB down, 1 left, put the
DB/KB down, 1 right, etc. until you’ve done 8 each side.
Now,
this might look like it’s not anything different, but in
many ways, this “1 Left + 1 Right” method is vastly
superior to doing straight sets.
First,
because you’re essentially doing your reps in a “rest-pause”
sort of fashion, you’re getting a small rest between each
rep. This will allow you to be able to use a heavier weight than
you normally would; yet still keeping your form tight. By using
a heavier weight, you tax strength more, while still working
endurance.
Another
great benefit is that you’ll ensure a full range of motion
(ROM) with every rep. Many times, ROM shortens some, as you don’t
go all the way down to bottom. Take a look at somebody performing
snatches – at the bottom of the movement, their hand may
only come down to knee level or so. However, this way (especially
if using DBs), when you have to put the DB down, you increase
the ROM with each rep. Increased ROM = more work done and more
power produced.
Next
on the list is that generally more force will be produced with
each rep. By doing rep after rep you take advantage of a certain
amount of momentum – getting in a “groove” so-to-speak.
But with this protocol, since each rep is like a first rep of
a set, you must produce maximal force to get the weight moving
from a dead-stop. This is the difference between “starting
strength” and “reactive strength” (taking advantage
of the stretch reflex).
When
you put these factors together, one of the overall benefits is
increased training economy. In other words, you get more “workout”
– or do more work – in the same amount of time, and
utilizing roughly the same amount of recovery ability.
This
is so important to fighters, as they have so much skills training
to do, that they can’t spend too much of their efforts on
S&C training, as to not become over-trained. A fighter needs
to be in shape before coming into camp (which is a topic I’ll
be covering in an article to come), or runs the risk of trying
to do too much, and either getting injured, or being burned out
by the time fight day arrives.
Train
Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard.
Matt
"Wiggy" Wiggins is a strength coach and author living
in Cameron, NC. Having trained 15+ years, Wiggy is a strength
moderator at mma.tv, columnist for MMA Weekly, and an avid fan
of Mixed Martial Arts Training. His site, Working Class Fitness.com,
is dedicated to designing low-tech, high-result MMA Workouts,
Navy SEAL Workouts, and programs for "regular joes."
ATTENTION:
Physical exercise can sometimes lead to injury. The information
contained at WorkingClassFitness.com and MMAWeekly.com is NOT
intended to constitute an explanation of any exercise, material,
or product (or how to use/perform them). WorkingClassFitness.com
and MMAWeekly.com are not responsible in any way, shape, or form
for any injury that may result from any person's attempt at exercise
as a result of the information contained herein. Please consult
a physician before starting any exercise program, and never substitute
the information on this site for any professional medical advice
or treatment you may receive.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MORE
BOUTS ADDED TO WORLD VICTORY ROAD'S DEBUT
Upstart Japanese mixed martial arts promotion World Victory Road
on Tuesday officially announced that addition of two more bouts
to its debut event entitled Sengoku.
Former
Pride Welterweight Grand Prix champion Kazuo Misaki will face
current Shooto light heavyweight (183-pound) titleholder Siyar
Bahadurzada and Chute Boxe fighter Evangelista “Cyborg”
Santos will square off with Olympic silver medalist Makoto Takimoto.
Bahadurzada
is riding a seven-fight winning streak, while Misaki just had
his last victory, over Yoshihiro Akiyama, ruled a no contest.
Takimoto
has traveled a bumpy road to a 4-3 professional record, but has
scored recent victories over Murilo Bustamante and Zelg Galesic.
Cyborg has had his own troubles recently, going 3-3 in his past
six fights. The bout against Takimoto is one of five that he
has agreed to fight over the next three months.
WVR
had already announced a bout between Phil Baroni and Sanae Kikuta for its March 5 debut
at Yoyogi Gymnasium in Tokyo.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
TOMASZ
DRWAL REPORTEDLY OFF OF UFC 81
Polish fighter Tomasz Drwal is injured and will be unable to
face David Heath on Feb. 2 at UFC 81 according to a report by
Ulrich Huppertz of German website Ground & Pound. The report
stated that Drwal’s manager, Marcin Blicharski confirmed
that his fighter had injured his knee.
UFC
81 is headlined by Tim Sylvia versus Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
for the interim heavyweight championship and Brock Lesnar’s
Octagon debut against former champion Frank Mir.
Drwal
made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 75 in London
where he lost to rising light heavyweight talent Thiago Silva.
The loss was only the second of his professional career, following
a 13-fight winning streak dating back to 2004.
Heath
is 7-2 in professional competition having lost his last two bouts
at the hands of Lyoto Machida and Renato “Babalu” Sobral.
Couple that with a 2-2 record in the UFC and Heath is in need
of a victory to get back on track.
No
replacement had been named at the time of publication.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
“My
guiding principle is this: Guilt is never to be doubted.”
Franz Kafka, 1883-1924, Bohemian-born Novelist
|
The
2008 Hawaii Boxing Team has been named.
The Hawaii
State and Regional Boxing Champions who won on Jan. 19th, 2007,
will be representing Hawaii at the 2008 U.S.A. National Championships
at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. on March
8 to the 16th.
Hawaii Delegation Consists of:
106lbs- Keola McKee (Wailuku B.C.),
112- Bruno Escalante (East Oahu Waimanalo B.C.),
119- Isaiah Manalo (East Oahu Waimanalo B.C),
125- Lean Gumboc (Central Maui B.C.),
132- Isaac Arasato (Palolo B.C.),
141- Earl Fitts III (Wailuku B.C),
152- Kolten Foo (Evolution B.C.),
165- Kainoa Oca-Kauhane (Kawano B.C.),
178- Nainoa Seitz (Palolo B.C.),
201- Matt Monkewicz (Kawano B.C.),
201+- Keenyn Pahio (Kawano B.C.),
Females are
95lbs- Gina Ramos (Kawano B.C.),
101- Colleen Loo (Honolulu B.C.),
106- Evonne Amantial -Williams (Evolution B.C.),
138- Triva Pino (Kawano B.C.),
176- Meredith Hilderman (Evolution B.C.),
Team Manager- Jeff McKee, Head Coach- Bruce Kawano, Coaches-
Joel Kim, and Donovyne Moleta, Official- Joe Feliciano.
Oustanding
Awards went to:
Outstanding Sportsmanship- Lean Gumboc (Central Maui B.C.)
Outstanding Bout- 132lbs Isaac Arasato (Palolo B.C.) vs Thomas
Matias (Waianae B.C.).
Outstanding Boxer- Isaac Arasato
Team Championship- Kawano B.C.
Outstanding Volunteer- Dr. Coralie A.K. Texeira
Thank
You,
Bruce
Kawano
USA-Boxing Hawaii Junior Olympic Chairman.
USA-Boxing Hawaii Board of Dir./Gov.
Ringside Board of Advisors.
USA-Boxing NMU Task Force Committee.
|
Ultimate
Fight Night Tonight!
Spike TV Oceanic
Digital 559
7:00 PM
The weigh-ins
for UFC Fight Night 12 went on without a hitch, as all fighters
made weight without any trouble.
In
the main event, Mike Swick will make his debut in the welterweight
division, when he faces fellow Ultimate Fighter alumni Josh Burkman.
The
rest of the televised card includes: a middleweight showdown
between Patrick Cote and Drew McFedries; an international lightweight
showdown as Thiago Tavares faces off against Pride veteran Michihiro
Omigawa and Ultimate Fighter 5 winner Nathan Diaz takes on Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu standout Alvin Robinson.
UFC
Fight Night 12
The
Pearl at the Palms
January
23, 2008
Welterweight
Bout
Josh
Burkman- 170 lbs.
Mike
Swick- 170 lbs.
Middleweight
Bout
Drew
McFedries- 185.5
Patrick
Cote- 184
Lightweight
Bout
Michihiro
Omigawa- 154
Thiago
Tavares- 155
Lightweight
Bout
Alvin
Robinson- 155
Nathan
Diaz- 155
Lightweight
Bout
Alberto
Crane- 155
Kurt
Pellegrino- 155
Lightweight
Bout
Dennis
Siver- 154
Gray
Maynard- 155
Lightweight
Bout
Jeremy
Stephens- 155
Cole
Miller- 155
Lightweight
Bout
Joe
Veres- 155
Corey
Hill- 154
Lightweight
Bout
Justin
Buchholz- 155
Matt
Wiman- 155
Source: MMA Weekly
|
PELLEGRINO
WANTS TO SUBMIT CRANE
Kurt Pellegrino had won three straight fights and was cruising
through the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight
talent with successive submission victories over Nate Mohr, Junior
Assuncao and Jesse Chilton; when his win streak crashed to a
halt as he collided with the man UFC fans know simply as ‘Daddy.’
Joe
Stevenson, “Daddy’s” alter ego, stopped Pellegrino’s
progression in the division by reeling in a hard fought unanimous
decision victory at UFC 74 last August.
Pellegrino
broke his hand in the match with Stevenson and told MMAWeekly
Radio that because of the hand he had to take a couple of months
off to heal up and recover. Now, coming off both a loss and an
injury, he can hardly stand his anticipation to get back into
the ring.
The
man that Pellegrino will meet in the cage at UFC Fight Night
is none other than Brazilian Jiu-jitsu wizard Alberto Crane.
Crane has but one UFC fight – a TKO loss to Roger Huerta
– but fans shouldn’t expect the same man who was defeated
by Huerta to come out tonight.
Crane
brings a varied arsenal of weapons into the Octagon with him
any time he fights, but there is no doubt that what he is most
known for is his proficiency on the ground. Of Crane’s eight
mixed martial arts wins, seven are by submission, evidencing
the fact that he is a force to be reckoned with once a fight
hits the mat, regardless of whom his opponent might be.
Pellegrino
is no stranger to this fact, though, and he told MMAWeekly, “I
think I’ve watched every fight that he’s fought in
King of the Cage and every fight he’s fought since he’s
been in the UFC.
“I’m
not really worried, you know. I know he’s a phenomenal grappler
and he’s so great on the floor, he’s a master at it,
but to be honest with you, I’m not even really worried about
the ground game at all.”
One
might find it hard to believe that Pellegrino isn’t at all
apprehensive about the prospect of facing such a talented submission
fighter, but he sees it differently.
“I
played Jiu-jitsu with some of the best guys in the world when
I trained at Renzo’s; and when I was at (American Top Team)
I trained with all of those guys and they are phenomenal Jiu-jitsu
guys,” he said.
“To
be honest with you, I’d like to stay on my feet, but when
that cage door shuts I’m pretty much reckless. I was going
to stand up with Joe Stevenson the whole entire fight and I ended
up taking him down every single round.”
As always, his No. 1 objective in this fight is victory. Beyond
the obvious, though, Pellegrino stated, “To be honest with
you, my goal for this fight is to submit him. If I take him down,
I want to submit him, that’s my goal. If I can submit him,
I can submit anyone in this weight class.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
FIGHT-BY-FIGHT:
UFC FIGHT NIGHT 12
MMAWeekly’s Ricardo Mendoza takes a look at tonight’s
UFC Fight Night event at the Palms in Las Vegas. The main event
features Mike Swick in his welterweight debut taking on “The
People’s Champion” Josh Burkman. Mendoza breaks it
down… fight-by-fight.
WELTERWEIGHT
BOUT:
MIKE SWICK VS. JOSH BURKMAN
Ultimate
Fighter season one veteran Mike Swick takes on Ultimate Fighter
season two veteran Josh Burkman. Swick has a 10-2 record and
trains out of the American Kickboxing Academy with Jon Fitch.
Burkman has a 9-4 record and trains out of Team Punishment with
Kendall Grove.
Swick
comes off a decision loss to Yushin Okami at UFC 69, while Josh
Burkman comes off a close split decision victory over Forrest
Petz at UFC 77.
This
will be Swick’s first fight in the welterweight division
after competing at middleweight for his entire career. Burkman
hasn’t been able to reach the next level of his MMA career,
faltering in all his big fights and not being able to break through
tough opponents.
Swick
lacked real strength at middleweight, that shouldn’t be
a problem any more as he will be bigger than the majority of
fighters in the division. He has already had a couple of test
cuts prior to this fight, so dropping the weight shouldn’t
zap any of his strength or energy.
This
is do or die for Burkman, he has been on the losing end against
top welterweights and hasn’t looked good recently, struggling
to win decisions over fighters that are less experienced then
him. He needs to make a statement against Swick if he ever wants
to be considered as a viable contender for the title.
Swick
has the clear advantage on the feet with quick technical striking,
while Burkman will look to ground the fight and use his wrestling
to control Swick. Burkman will start out explosive, pressuring
Swick in the early going, but as the fight wears on Swick should
take over.
Look
for Swick to tag Burkman with constant shots, always keeping
him on the defense and not letting up en route to a decision.
Prediction:
Mike Swick by decision.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
BOUT:
PATRICK COTE VS. DREW McFEDRIES
Canadian
slugger Patrick Cote takes on Miletich trained striker Drew McFedries.
Cote has an 11-4 record and trains out of BTT Canada with Fabio
Holanda. McFedries has a 6-2 record and trains out of Team Miletich
with Pat Miletich.
Cote
comes off a stoppage victory over Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Kendall
Grove at UFC 74, while McFedries knocked out Bulgarian wrestler
Jordan Radev at UFC Fight Night 10.
This
fight is going to be a straight-up slugfest between two very
skilled strikers that constantly swing for the fences. Neither
fighter is going back down from the other and this fight will
more than likely see little action on the ground.
Cote
has finally gotten past that hump of never winning in the UFC
by winning two straight including knocking off Ultimate Fighter
season three winner Kendall Grove in impressive fashion. McFedries
has looked impressive in the UFC, but he comes off a serious
staph infection that sidelined him for the tail end of last year.
This
fight could come down to which fighter has the better chin, seeing
that both fighters will try to knock off the other’s head.
Cote has never been seriously rocked in any of his UFC appearances,
while McFedries was rocked several times in his debut against
Alessio Sakara. Neither fighter is too well versed on the ground,
so it’s pretty even in that aspect of the fight.
These
two will bang it out, but as the fight gets into the latter stages
of the opening round, look for Cote to take over with hard precise
shots that will hurt McFedries and finally finish him off with
strikes.
Prediction:
Patrick Cote by TKO in the first round.
LIGHTWEIGHT
BOUT:
THIAGO TAVARES VS. MICHIHIRO OMIGAWA
Exciting
young grappler Thiago Tavares faces off with Yoshida Dojo lightweight
Michihiro Omigawa. Tavares has a 12-1 record and trains out of
Nova Uniao with Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro. Omigawa has
a 4-5 record and trains out of the Yoshida Dojo with Makoto Takimoto.
Tavares
comes off a close split decision loss to Tyson Griffin at UFC
76, while Omigawa dropped a decision to Matt Wiman at the same
event.
This
should be an exciting ground fight between two very skilled grapplers.
Tavares lost a controversial decision to Griffin in a fight that
many believe he should of won and I agree with them.
Omigawa
is a very exiting and skilled judoka, who has made the successful
transition to MMA. His only problem is that he lacks size and
strength to compete with the lightweights in the UFC.
Tavares
will want to make a statement in this fight; he rightfully believes
that he should have won his last fight and will take out his
aggression against Omigawa. He will use his strength and size
advantage over Omigawa to ground him, then to pound his head
in.
Omigawa
should be able to defend against submissions, but Tavares will
pour on the heat with strikes on the ground and finish him.
Prediction:
Thiago Tavares by TKO in the first round.
LIGHTWEIGHT
BOUT:
NATHAN DIAZ VS. ALVIN ROBINSON
Ultimate
Fighter season five winner Nathan Diaz takes on Ring of Fire
lightweight champion Alvin Robinson. Diaz has a 7-2 record and
trains out of Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu with Nick Diaz. Robinson
has a 9-2 record and trains out of The Lab MMA in Colorado.
Diaz
comes off a submission victory over Junior Assuncao at UFC Fight
Night 11, while Robinson dominated Jorge Gurgel en route to a
decision victory at UFC 77.
This
is going to be an exciting fight between two young, talented
fighters that have a bright future in the UFC. Diaz looked better
in his last fight against Assuncao than when he won the Ultimate
Fighter 5, looking relaxed and confident in his skills.
Robinson
didn’t make an impressive UFC debut as nerves and the skills
of Kenny Florian got the better of him. He dominated Gurgel in
his return fight, showing the talent that got him into the UFC.
Neither
fighter has much of an advantage over the other in the stand-up
and both fighters are explosive ground fighters with solid cardio.
The difference in the fight will be wrestling and Robinson has
the edge over Diaz in that category of the fight.
Look
for Robinson to use the same strategy that Manny Gamburyan used
against Diaz, grounding him and pounding him with strikes. Diaz
will throw up submissions from his back, but Robinson is more
than competent to defend them and will take home a decision.
Prediction:
Alvin Robinson by decision.
LIGHTWEIGHT
BOUT:
KURT PELLEGRINO VS. ALBERTO CRANE
Colorful
Armory lightweight Kurt Pellegrino faces off with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
black belt Alberto Crane. Pellegrino has a 10-3 record and trains
out of The Armory with Rich Crunkilton. Crane has an 8-1 record
and trains out of New Mexico.
Pellegrino
comes off a decision loss to Joe Stevenson at UFC 74, while Roger
Huerta stopped Crane with strikes at the same event.
Both
fighters are coming off losses and will want to get back on the
winning track with an impressive victory. Pellegrino lost a hard
fought decision to Stevenson, he had his moments in the fight,
but his cardio betrayed him in the end.
The
same story goes for Crane, who had his opportunities against
Huerta, but ultimately his cardio lost him the fight. Ring rust
must have played a factor too, but now he has no excuses going
into his second UFC fight.
Both
fighters are dynamic ground fighters, but Pellegrino has the
edge in the stand-up and he is a better wrestler than Crane.
Pellegrino will control the fight with superior striking and
he will take it to the ground at his choice.
Pellegrino
will control the fight by putting Crane on his back and avoiding
Crane’s submission attempts en route to decision victory.
Prediction:
Kurt Pellegrino by decision.
LIGHTWEIGHT
BOUT:
GRAY MAYNARD VS. DENNIS SIVER
Xtreme
Couture lightweight Gray Maynard takes on German-trained striker
Dennis Siver. Maynard has a 3-0 record and trains out of Xtreme
Couture with Mike Pyle. Siver has an 11-4 record and trains out
of the OC Fight Team in Germany.
Maynard
comes off a quick knockout victory over Joe Veres at UFC Fight
Night 11, while Siver knocked out ZST veteran Naoyuki Kotani
at UFC 75.
Maynard
is a very talented fighter and with some more fight experience
under his belt, he could become a star in the UFC lightweight
division. Siver has primarily fought at welterweight, but moving
down to lightweight might have reinvented his career.
Maynard
is an excellent wrestler, who fights at a frantic pace and training
at Xtreme Couture has only honed his skills. Siver has the advantage
on the feet being a world-class kickboxer and won’t want
to the fight to go on the ground.
Look
for Maynard to ground this fight in a hurry and unleash a furious
ground and pound attack throughout the fight. Siver might get
his shots in, but he will spend most of the fight on his back
and losing a decision to Maynard.
Prediction:
Gray Maynard by decision.
LIGHTWEIGHT
BOUT:
COLE MILLER VS. JEREMY STEPHENS
Lightweight
Cole Miller takes on Midwest striking phenom Jeremy Stephens.
Miller has a 13-2 record and trains out of American Top Team
with Marcus Aurelio. Stephens has a 12-2 record and trains out
of Iowa.
Miller
comes off a decision victory over Leonard Garcia at UFC Fight
Night 11, while Stephens comes off a decision victory over Diego
Saraiva at UFC 76.
Miller
is one of the best prospects from the Ultimate Fighter season
five and Stephens is one of the best up-and-coming fighters out
of the Midwest. These two will both want a victory to slowly
creep up the ladder in the crowded lightweight division.
Miller
has shown improved striking since his time on the Ultimate Fighter
5, utilizing his size and reach advantage over opponents in the
stand-up. He is primarily a ground fighter and that will play
into his advantage against Stephens, who doesn’t have a
strong ground game.
Stephens
is a great striker and has shown flashes of that in the UFC,
but a lack of a quality ground game is holding him back from
reaching his full potential as a fighter. He needs to be able
to keep the fight on the feet or else he’s going to have
a bad night.
These
two will trade early on and Stephens will get his licks in, which
will force Miller to take the fight to the ground and work his
magic. Miller will wear Stephens down over the course of the
first round and continue it into the second round, where he will
finally lock on a submission to end the fight.
Prediction:
Cole Miller by submission in the second round.
LIGHTWEIGHT
BOUT:
COREY HILL VS. JOE VERES
Team
Miletich lightweight Corey Hill takes on wrestler Joe Veres.
Hill has a 1-0 record and trains out of Miletich Fighting Systems
with Jens Pulver. Veres has a 4-2 record and trains out of California.
Hill
comes off a stoppage victory over Stryder Fann at Kickdown Classic
31, while Gray Maynard at UFC Fight Night 11 knocked out Veres.
This
will be Hill’s UFC debut and he is one of the more talented
prospects to come out of the Ultimate Fighter since its inception.
Veres gets one more crack at winning a UFC fight, but a loss
could mean his exit from the Octagon.
Although
Hill isn’t experienced, his pure talent and enormous reach
make up for that. Look for Hill to use his significant size and
reach advantage over Veres en route to knocking out the less
touted fighter.
Prediction:
Corey Hill by KO in the first round.
LIGHTWEIGHT
BOUT:
MATT WIMAN VS. JUSTIN
BUCHHOLZ
Ultimate
Fighter season five veteran Matt Wiman faces off with UFC newcomer
Justin Buchholz. Wiman has an 8-3 record and trains out of the
Tulsa Top Team in Oklahoma. Buchholz has a 7-1 record and trains
out of Ultimate Fitness with World Extreme Cagefighting champion
Urijah Faber.
Wiman
comes off a decision victory over Michihiro Omigawa at UFC 76,
while Buchholz stopped Ikaika Choy-Fu at Elite XC: Uprising.
Wiman
has looked impressive in the UFC, losing only his debut fight
to Spencer Fisher at UFC 60. Buchholz has an immediate chance
to make a name for himself in the UFC by knocking off one of
their more exciting fighters.
The
difference between these two fighters is experience, although
they have a similar amount of fights, Wiman has fought in the
UFC and has faced tougher competition. Wiman also has an advantage
on the ground and they will come into play.
Buchholz
will come out swinging, but his inexperience in the UFC will
get to him and he will tire himself out, once that happens look
for Wiman to lock on a submission midway through the fight.
Prediction:
Matt Wiman by submission in the second round.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
NOT LIKELY IN HAWAII UNTIL 2009
Although fight fans in Hawaii are ready and so is the promotion,
the Ultimate Fighting Championship isn’t likely to make
its Hawaiian debut until at least the second half of 2009.
According
to an article by Billy Hull in the Honolulu Star Bulletin, UFC
president Dana White had been planning to hold an event at Aloha
Stadium as soon as later this year, but mixed martial arts regulation
is not yet finalized.
“Thirteen
new states regulated MMA last year and Hawaii is one of them,”
said White recently, “so we want to come there, but the
regs aren't done yet. We're not like all these other ‘cheese
ball’ shows; we can't go there until the regs are done.”
What
he’s referring to, says Hull, is House Bill 1866, which
establishes many new rules that govern MMA in Hawaii. It was
enacted into law in July of 2007, but doesn’t go into effect
until July 1, 2009.
The
UFC has been very aggressive in expanding its markets recently,
moving across the United States and the United Kingdom and consistently
promising further moves across Europe and into Canada, so its
not unreasonable to think that it will set up the Octagon in
Honolulu as soon as regulation goes into effect.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
X1
World Events: Champions
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
January 26, 2007
5:00PM
Weigh ins will be held at Blaisdell Arena on Friday, January
25 at 1:00 pm. Come down to meet the fighters!
X1 World Middleweight
Title - 4 man tournament 185lbs
Niko Vitale
Ricky Shiver
Joey Guel
Kenny Ento
X1
World Welterweight Title 170lbs
Mark Moreno vs. Chad Reiner
Womens
Match
Mia St. John vs. Angelina Abata
X1
World Lightweight Title 155lbs
"Sugar" Shane Nelson vs. Kaleo Kwan
X1
World Super Lightweight Title 145lbs
Eddie Yagin vs. "Dirty" Dave Moreno
Heavyweight
Analu Brash vs. Ron Waterman
170lbs
Michael Brightmon vs. Anthony Torres
Heavyweight
Jake Faagai vs. Wesley "Cabbage" Correira
Heavyweight
Doug Hiu vs Eric Edwards
190lbs
- Pro
Cheyenne Padeken vs. Rich Anderson
Heavyweight
- Pro
Lolohea Mahe vs Des Miner
175lbs
Pro
Brennan Kamaka vs Luke Cadian
165lbs
Pro
Walter Hao vs Kona Ke 165 Pro
X1
State Amature Title 170lbs
Sean Sakata vs Steve Farmer
140lbs
- Amateur
Keola Silva vs Gary Rebalisza
140lbs
- Amateur
Jared Iha vs Alan Hashimoto
155lbs
Ikaika Moreno vs TBA
Source: Event Promoter
|
M-1
Global Eyes April U.S Debut
While
M-1 Global's U.S. debut has been very slow to get off the ground,
preparations for another joint project -- this one in Holland
-- are already running at full speed.
Fedor
Emelianenko and his manager, Vadim Finkelstein, were in Los Angeles
over the weekend along with M-1 Global Vice President Apy Echteld.
Officially the trio made the trip to California because Emelianenko
is spearheading a large-scale advertising campaign for Affliction,
a popular clothing company.
Finkelstein,
however, made no secret of the fact that they were also planning
to meet UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture. On the agenda
was Couture's health -- the 44 year old recently reinjured the
arm he had broken in his last title defense against Gabriel Gonzaga
-- as well as the lawsuit between the fighter and Zuffa.
Obviously
M-1 Global is working hard even in the early stages to make the
multi-million dollar Couture-Emelianenko fight happen.
In
the short-term, M-1 Global pushed back its U.S. debut from February
to April. The promotion had the chance to book the United Center
in Chicago for Feb. 16 but opted against it as fighter negotiations
had not progressed accordingly. April 11 now appears to be the
targeted date for either the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.,
or the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.
Regardless
of venue and date, Emelianenko is headlining the event. As for
his opponent, Dutchman Semmy Schilt seems to have overtaken Pedro
Rizzo and Jeff Monson in favor with Finkelstein and company.
The three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion made a successful
comeback to MMA on Jan. 12 and will be in Moscow the second weekend
in February to negotiate the details.
Despite
his impressive merits, Schilt is virtually unknown stateside.
In fact, an Emelianenko-Schilt fight could be pushed back for
a show in Holland, where it would be a huge draw. Consequently,
IFL star Ben Rothwell, winner of 13 straight, is also in the
raffle for a crack at the Russian.
Meanwhile
in the Netherlands, preparations for the first M-1 Global Challenge
are in full swing.
Similar
to the Yarennoka show in Japan on New Year's Eve, the event will
be a joint venture with Slamm Events, one of the biggest kickboxing
promoters in the Netherlands, to have a 20-bout mega show at
the Topsportcentrum in Almere, 25 miles east of Amsterdam.
The
crowd at the small but mighty 3,000-seat arena will be treated
to the fourth edition of the highly popular Nederland vs. Thailand
series in which the best kickboxers from Holland take on some
of the biggest stars from the homeland of Muay Thai. In the main
event, two-time K-1 World MAX champion Andy Souwer will square
off against Lumpinee and WBC Muay Thai world champion Yodsaenklai
Fairtex.
The
marquee bout of the M-1 Challenge MMA portion of the card will
feature Armenian Gegard Mousasi moving up in weight to fight
experienced Dutch knockout artist Dave Dalgliesh in a light heavyweight
contest.
Additionally,
a rematch between Dutch bad boy Brian Lo-A-Njoe and Russian vale
tudo regular Sergei Bytchkov is scheduled. In two all-Dutch duels,
lightweights Oktay Karatas and Furdjel de Windt as well as Romano
de los Reyes and Vincent Latoel will battle for 161-pound supremacy.
German
fighter Cengiz Dana confirmed in an interview with groundandpound.de
that he will also be part of the show. Submission master Ricardo
Wondel, one of the primary ground fighters in Holland, has also
been connected with M-1 Global.
Because
preparations for Slamm IV are taking so much time, the M-1 Global
Challenge Germany, originally scheduled for April, has been postponed
to the second quarter of 2008.
Nonetheless,
most of Germany's top fighters have already announced their support
of the show. Currently in the front row for the five spots at
139, 161, 183, 205 and 205-plus pounds are grapplers Jesse-Björn
Buckler (featherweight) and Franco de Leonardis (lightweight)
and kickboxers Andi Asangarani (middleweight), Martin Vath (light
heavyweight) and Marko Zschörner (heavyweight).
As
there could be a preliminary qualification round before the first
official event, the jury is still out on who will represent Germany.
Besides
Team Holland and Team Germany, there will also be Russian, French,
European, Japanese and American teams competing in M-1 Global
Challenges around the world. Fighters who are impressive at those
tryout shows will be drafted into the bigger events, where they
will get a shot at established superstars.
The
first "big show" is casting its shadow already. Just
like in 2005 and 2006 with the Rotterdam Rumble and Pride &
Honor events, Echteld is planning a big event at the 10,000-seat
Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam. While the show doesn't have a name yet,
it is rumored to take place on Oct. 4.
Source: Sherdog
|
PATRICK
COTE IS REFOCUSED AND READY TO SHINE
Patrick Cote burst onto the UFC scene in perhaps the biggest
way one could, fighting former Ultimate Fighting Championship
light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. He took the fight on short
notice when Guy Mezger, Ortiz's original opponent had to pull
out due to injury.
Cote
made a good showing for himself in his fight with Ortiz and he
even dropped him at one point in the fight. In the end, though,
Ortiz's veteran composure coupled with a solid game plan helped
him pull out a unanimous decision victory over the Canadian.
He
certainly did not have an easy entrance into the UFC. Cote faced
his fair share of controversial decisions and tough fights in
the early days of his UFC career, including a razor-thin decision
loss to Chris Leben and a submission loss to gritty veteran Joe
Doerksen.
In
his fight with Doerksen, Cote had his opponent rocked a number
of times and Doerksen even admitted afterwards that he fought
the majority of the fight semi-conscious. Doerksen showed the
poise that accompanies 40 professional fights, though, and the
moment that Cote made a mistake, he ended the fight with a textbook
rear naked choke.
Following
his losses to Ortiz, Doerksen and Leben, fans knew Cote as perhaps
the most talented UFC fighter still with a goose egg in the win
column. It was at that time in his career that he decided to
sharpen his skills elsewhere. He chose to take some time away
in order to gain more experience by competing in other organizations.
Though
Cote was on a leave of absence from the UFC, he certainly did
not forgo tough competition. While on an Octagonal hiatus, he
fought UFC veteran Bill Mahood and future UFC competitor Jason
MacDonald. Cote won each of these fights by submission and it
seemed as though he was primed for a UFC comeback.
It
was at this time that he got the call to be a part of “The
Ultimate Fighter” season four “The Comeback.”
The show's title seemed quite fitting for the Canadian since
he had recently recorded two impressive wins and he seemed ripe
for re-entrance into the big show.
Cote
accepted the offer to participate on the reality show and did
well for himself making it all the way to the finale still undefeated.
As was typical in his UFC career, however, Cote would come up
short to Travis Lutter and would fail to win the coveted title
of The Ultimate Fighter.
With
the loss to Lutter now behind him, it seems that Cote is finally
back on track. The man who came into the UFC on a five-fight
win streak and undefeated is again headed in the right direction,
forward.
He
showed his improvement by recording his biggest career victory
to date. At UFC 74, Cote faced Kendall Grove, the winner of season
five of The Ultimate Fighter. With Cote's teeter-totter record
and Grove's recent tear through the division, Grove was the definitive
favorite going into the fight.
This
time, though, Cote was ready. With just over 15 seconds left
in the first round, he caught Grove with a punch and jumped on
him and finished the fight. Finally, Cote had secured a high
profile UFC win.
Of
his fight with Grove, he said, “It felt very good. I haven't
knocked a lot of people out in the UFC and everybody was presenting
me as an idiot because I wasn't able to finish my opponent with
a knockout, and finally I have a knockout and I proved to everybody
that I have a heavy hand.”
He
continued, “I knockout a lot of people outside of the UFC,
but now I'm able to knockout somebody in the UFC. It was very
good for my confidence and right now, my confidence is really,
really high. I can just see a lot of good things for me in the
future.”
For
his upcoming fight against the hard-hitting Drew McFedries, Cote
is splitting training time between his gym in Canada and Mark
DellaGrotte's gym in Boston.
Cote
said of this camp, “It's the best training of my life. Since
I'm down here (at Sityodtong) I'm undefeated. Nobody's a superstar
and everybody tries to help each other and I think that's the
key. You've got to find a good place where you are comfortable
and you have a good training partner.”
When
you have the punching power of Cote though, keeping training
partners, not finding them, may be the problem. He has well documented
heavy hands and now that he has the confidence to accompany that
power, he will be a tough task for anyone in his way.
Many
fighters that he has faced in the cage come into matches talking
a big game of how they are going to stand with him and knock
him out. When it comes time to back it up, however, most of these
men seem much more interested in looking for a quick double-leg
takedown or a slick submission and much less interested in slinging
leather with the heavy hitter.
McFedries
is a man who has shown power in both hands in his UFC career
though, and he may just be that man who is willing to stand and
trade with Cote. What are Cote's thoughts on that?
“I
have a good chin and I can take a punch and I can knock everybody
out … I'm ready for everything. The thing is I like to focus
more on my game plan than to focus on my opponent's.”
With
his new training partners and his newfound skills now both in
his arsenal, what does Cote believe is in store for him in the
near future?
“I
think now I have the perfect combination to go to the top of
the middleweight division.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
DREW
MCFEDRIES WANTS TO FINISH PATRICK COTE
“Impressive” is the first word that comes to mind when
thinking back to Miletich-trained fighter Andrew (Drew) McFedries’
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut. McFedries came into his
first fight for the mixed martial arts juggernaut tasked with
facing Alessio Sakara, the man many considered one of the best
pure boxers competing in the organization at the time.
McFedries
appeared to take a lot of punishment early in his fight with
Sakara – though one would have never known by seeing him
afterwards – but what was maybe even more impressive than
his apparent lack of injury was the fact that he beat the stand
up artist by TKO… and he did it on his feet.
Yeah,
you heard it right. It took McFedries less than one round to
land heavy leather with those four ounce gloves and equip his
Italian opponent with a one way ticket to queer street. The man
so heavily touted for his stand-up skills was TKO’d by a
man making his Octagon debut. McFedries’ plans to upset
Sakara had been realized and he had officially arrived in the
UFC.
His
ascent in the middleweight division was short lived, however.
When McFedries faced Martin Kampmann at UFC 68 in Columbus, Ohio,
this time he was the one who was lying unconscious on the Octagon
floor at fights’ end, not his opponent.
His
displacement from consciousness against Kampmann was from neither
a nicely timed knockout punch nor a well-placed kick, it was
instead courtesy of a Kampmann arm triangle that McFedries waited
too long to – or simply refused to – tap out from.
After
his loss to Kampmann, he came back strong with a KO victory over
Jordan Radev and with that win put himself back into a position
to make a run for the UFC’s middleweight title.
McFedries
is now faced with tough Canadian striker Patrick Cote. If ever
he wanted to truly test out both his chin and his stand-up ability,
this fight may provide just the occasion.
He
said of his upcoming opponent, “I wouldn’t say that
it’s fun necessarily (to train for an opponent who excels
in the stand up game), but I will say that I’m not expecting
him to try to take me down. But more or less, there’s really
not too many guys that stand with me.”
While
Sakara might have been the most technically proficient boxer
that he has faced in the UFC, Cote might very well be the most
devastating one. In a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio,
Cote said of his upcoming fight with McFedries, “I have
a good chin and I can take a punch and I can knock everybody
out… I’m ready for everything.”
With
that statement, the Canadian is clearly geared up to trade blows
with McFedries, but what will be interesting to see will be what
game plan McFedries chooses to utilize in this fight. Will he
choose to test the waters standing, or will he try to make it
a ground battle since Cote has had a variety of notable struggles
there?
He
didn’t disclose his specific game plan, but he did tell
MMAWeekly, “If you look at my record, if you know anything
about me, you know everything I do is TKO’s. Even the guys
who beat me, you know I come out of there looking just fine and
they still are all still chopped up in one way or another. So,
he can’t be thinking that he’s going to stand with
me the whole time.”
One
thing that helps McFedries prepare for such tough fights is training
at the world-renowned Miletich Fighting Systems (MFS). Training
at MFS affords him the opportunity to train with a number of
talented fighters in his weight class, perhaps none more well
known than Robbie Lawler, a man who currently holds middleweight
titles in two different organizations.
Of
training with such great partners, he said, “It’s exciting
for me. Me and Robbie, we actually went to high school together
too, so we’re real competitive against each other cause
we want to prove to our hometown who’s better, me or him.
But at the same time, we’re good friends. We don’t
injure each other. We push each other in training and we even
push each other through matches.”
All
of his hard training with Lawler and all of the other MFS guys
has prepared him for battle and when asked what he expects the
outcome to be when he and Cote lock horns, McFedries said, “
I’m just going to tell it like I always tell it. I’m
going to come out swinging trying to knock him out. That’s
what I’m always looking for and I’m always looking
for an easy paycheck.”
He
finished by saying; “I’m going to try to finish him
in the first. Standing, on the ground, however it works out…
I’m always trying to finish it in the first and I’m
trying to give the most exciting show I can. That’s my only
prediction.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Inside
MMA Recap: Kim Couture to make MMA debut
Right
off the bat, Kenny Rice asked Chuck Liddell about his big win
over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79 in December. Chuck said that life
was good and after taking two weeks off after the fight, he is
back in the gym training. When asked if he felt it was a must
win situation as much of the media had been saying, Liddell said
he definitely felt the need to perform as it was a big fight.
He then said he will be around for awhile.
Next
up Ron Kruck, in the newsroom, talks about the lawsuit that Zuffa
recently filed against UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture.
Kruck had a quick interview with Couture at his charity poker
tournament last week. When asked about his fight status, Couture
said, “I am still waiting the contract out. Our interpretation
of the contract is that it expires in July; that was the 18 months.
They have to offer me one more fight, which they publicly said
I’m gonna fight the winner of Nogueira and Sylvia now, which
isn’t actually accurate but they’re gonna offer me
that fight I’m sure”. Couture also said that he has
a no-compete clause in his employment contract that runs until
October, so to be safe, he will not fight in another organization
until October. Kruck said that it should be noted that the interview
was conducted before news of the Zuffa/Couture lawsuit was made
public.
Still
in the newsroom with Kruck, he mentions the next Couture fight
would be on February 23 -- only it is Randy’s wife, Kim
Couture. Inside MMA sat down with Kim to discuss her upcoming
debut fight and she had the following to say. “Actually,
once Gina Carano started at the gym, I had another female to
grapple with and someone more at my weight class to roll around
with, so I started having thoughts to take it to the next level.
When you’re practicing anything, you kinda wanna see how
you would compete against somebody else you don’t know or
someone you didn’t train with everyday”. Couture’s
fight will be at a smoker event at the Xtreme Couture gym, and
her opponent will be a girl from Vancouver, Washington. When
discussing her motivation for her desire to fight, Couture said,
“I’m going to have fun with it. It’s not a priority
for me to get attention or put myself out there to be the next
Gina Carano, but it’s a good stress reliever for me (laughs),
with all the businesses we have going on. When I work all day
it’s nice to go out there and punch something. It’s
going to be fun to be able to release all that.”
With
the upcoming lightweight title fight this weekend, Kruck caught
up with Sean Sherk to discuss his ongoing situation with his
steroid case. With regards to the California State Athletic Commission,
Sherk said, “the CSAC acts as the judge, jury, and the prosecution.
They don’t want to find people innocent, they want to find
them guilty.” When asked about sitting cage side for the
BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson title fight, Sherk said “emotionally,
watching this fight cage side is gonna be real hard. I feel like
I should be the guy in their fighting. They’re fighting
for my belt that was taken from me for something I didn’t
do. It’s gonna be hard watching cage side. I’d rather
be in there, but I gotta approach this situation as a professional.
I’m announcing the fight, so I have to approach this situation
the best I can.” Sherk confirmed that he will fight the
winner of the fight.
Finally
from the newsroom, Kruck brought up Elite XC’s signing of
both Ken Shamrock and his son Ryan. As he sent it back to the
studio, Kruck made a joke that if Ken Shamrock can still fight
at age 43, what about El Guapo, Bas Rutten. Rutten joked that
if it were against Kruck he would be there, but in all seriousness
his knees hurt too much to fight again.
As
the show goes back to the studio, Kenny Rice brought up the recent
WCO fiasco in which the CSAC cancelled the show the day of the
event due to insufficient funding. They showed interviews with
Armando Garcia of the CSAC, and Bruce Bellocchi of WCO who both
put blame on each other for the event falling through. Ken Pavia
had a seven of his fighters on that card, and was upset as even
though they were paid 20 percent of their purse, some of his
fighters travelled from far distances for a pay cheque that wasn’t
there. Pavia said he was lucky that he was able to get six of
those seven fighters a fight in the next three weeks, in order
to get a payday. Chuck Liddell mentioned how hard it is on a
fighter after training so hard for so long, and spending all
their money on training, and in the end to find out it was all
for nothing. He said that when fighters train they pay out all
this money and on fight night is when they are supposed to get
paid back, not to mention actually have a fight.
Talk
then shifted to the Zuffa/Couture contract. Bas Rutten right
away said he wants to stay out of it, as he does not know all
the details. Ken Pavia said it was a standard 17-page UFC contract,
but feels that neither Dana White, nor Randy Couture actually
know if they are right, and it will be up to the lawyers and
the judge. It was interesting when they asked Liddell about the
situation. He just shook his head and said he tries to stay out
of it as he doesn’t know a lot about it. When asked about
life in the UFC, Liddell responded, “I’m doing alright.
I like it there and they treat me very well.”
After
brief discussion about pound for pound rankings and interim titles,
Bas Rutten answered some viewer mail on another edition of “Toe-to-Toe
with El Guapo”. When asked about a potential fight between
Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva, Rutten said, “Everyone
wants to see this fight. Who doesn’t want to see this fight?
Georges has to go up in weight though because I don’t think
Anderson Silva can go down in weight. Two great strikers, but
I think on the ground Georges has more to offer than Anderson.
I know [Silva] is a black belt [in BJJ], but I just think so.”
After
showing highlights of some of the smaller shows around the country,
the panel went over Saturday’s upcoming UFC 80 in England.
First up is the title fight between BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson.
The entire panel believes Penn will win the fight, although Stevenson
will be one of the toughest fights BJ has had in awhile. Liddell
said he doesn’t like to make predictions, but feels BJ Penn
has better stand up than Stevenson, and that will be the difference
in the fight as they are both great on the ground. When debating
the Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Fabricio Werdum fight, the panel had
mixed feelings. Ken Pavia feels the American audience does not
know who Werdum is, and he will beat Gonzaga again just like
he did years ago. Josh Gross disagreed by saying that Gonzaga
has grown a lot as a fight in those years. Rutten mentioned Gonzaga’s
ground and pound and elbows when fighting Mirko CroCop, and feels
that will be the difference in the fight against Werdum. He feels
Werdum will not be able to submit Gonzaga from his guard and
Gonzaga will lay down the ground and pound.
After
going through a list of fighters who are out of action due to
injury, Chuck Liddell said that training with an injury is just
as hard on you mentally as it is physically. He said it takes
a lot to rebuild the confidence to use that part of the body
without the fear of re-injury or risk of permanent damage. He
said it takes a lot to mentally get over an injury. After Rutten
said even the smallest injuries can affect your training, Kenny
Rice joked that he is doing the show with a paper cut but was
toughing it out.
The
show then closed with footage from Las Vegas from Randy Couture’s
charity poker tournament in support of GIs. They had quick interviews
with some fighters who were in the tournament including Stephan
Bonnar, Gina Carano, Tyson Griffin as well as celebrities such
as David Wells, Dean Cain, and Jose Canseco. In the end, MMA
fighter Frank Trigg lost to Vegas local James Scott and the tournament
raised close to one hundred thousand dollars for injured soldiers.
Not
a lot of panel discussion this week, and very little talk from
the always quiet Chuck Liddell. That’s it for another week.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Quote
of the Day
“Marriage
is not just spiritual communion; it is also remembering to take
out the trash.”
Joyce Brothers, American Psychologist/Columnist/Author
|
Fighters'
Club TV Tonight!
Channel
72
7:00 PM
Every Tuesday!
Fighters' Club Television Episode 53 is cut and submitted to
Olelo
programming. It will run as a (by) episode as we've been swamped
w/ our
days jobs and should run only this Tuesday the 15th in our normal
times
slot of 7pm(HST) on Oceanic Ch52 Oahu only.
This
episode revisits every Technique of the Week from 2007 and also
features a recent fun interview w/ KJ Noons and also a vintage
interview w/ Tim Sylvia after he beat Wes Sims.
A
new episode featuring our normal antics will run from the following
Tuesday.
|
DEBUTING
AT 170, SWICK PREDICTS BEST FIGHT EVER
The waiting game has not been easy for Mike Swick, who has sat
out since his fight with Yushin Okami in April 2007, but now
the American Kickboxing Academy fighter is ready to return at
UFC Fight Night on Jan. 23. Making his debut at 170 pounds, he
will face Josh Burkman in the main event.
Originally,
Swick was ready to come back in September to face Jonathan Goulet
at another UFC Fight Night show, but a rib injury kept him off
the card. Now he’s more ready than ever to put the injury
behind him and fight.
“It
recovered very well, it’s 100% now,” said Swick about
the rib injury. “It recovered pretty fast. When it initially
happened it separated pretty good so I was contemplating fighting
anyway, but I couldn’t even move hardly.”
Now
back to full strength, he may have one of the biggest advantages
of any fighter set to debut in the welterweight class, as his
training camp currently consists of three top ten 170-pound fighters
that he trains with on a daily basis.
“I
feel great for this fight. My training partners are amazing,”
Swick stated. “I have Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck and Jake
Shields. It’s been a dream camp to get ready and I feel
really good, really fast, really explosive and I’m going
to be stronger, faster and more explosive in this fight and actually
bigger I think than when I fought (Yushin) Okami.”
Fighting
at middleweight in the UFC, Swick went an impressive 5-1, but
after facing Okami, who is known as a physically stronger fighter
than most at 185 pounds, the former Ultimate Fighter prospect
made the decision to drop to the 170-pound class.
“It’s
never been a big cut,” Swick commented about the move to
welterweight. “Even as I was fighting middleweight, all
the guys like Fitch and all those guys were always cutting more
than me. Not cutting more than me, but they were always bigger
than me and cutting to welterweight as I was fighting middleweight.
I’ve never been super huge for welterweight anyways, more
or less from middleweight where I never cut at all.”
Knowing
how to make the cut effectively is something Swick takes very
seriously and has already practiced for this fight.
“I
have cut a few times and feels good,” he said.
Obviously
making the cut in training and then making the weight for a fight
and actually fighting are separate issues, but Swick is confident
with his chances.
“I’ll
let you know right after the fight,” he said with a laugh
about how he expects to feel after the cut. “Like I said,
I train with these guys and I spar and fight with Fitch and Koscheck
and Shields and all these guys at our gym. It’s going to
be nice to look across the ring and see a guy that’s my
size or smaller, and I know I’m going to be really strong
for this division. I’ve always felt really strong at middleweight
and I feel even stronger now than when I fought Okami.”
Working alongside such a strong training camp, he also has the
benefit of working with Fitch, who actually fought and defeated
Josh Burkman previously, but Swick isn’t getting too caught
up in picking his teammate’s brain for ideas going into
this fight.
“You
can’t assume he’s going to be the same fighter that
fought Fitch,” he commented. “I’m assuming he’s
going to be a lot better. You’ve got to assume he’s
going to be a lot faster, more explosive, better cardio. I’m
preparing for the best Burkman anyone’s ever seen.”
At
the end of the night, Swick is only expecting good things in
the fight with Burkman… in fact he’s expecting his
very best.
“I’m
predicting it’s going to be the best fight of my career.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
SHAMROCK
VS SHAMROCK IN EARLY 2009
Frank Shamrock will defend his Strikeforce middleweight title
against Cung Le on March 29 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Cali,
but it's his bout planned for the first quarter of 2009 that's
getting the most attention. Frank Shamrock confirmed that he
will fight his adoptive brother and UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock
early next year.
"Oh
yea. Unless I die, it's going to happen," the younger Shamrock
told MMAWeekly.
Frank
is a middleweight, 185 pounds, and Ken has fought most of his
career as a heavyweight, but his most recent bouts have been
in the light heavyweight division, 205 pounds. Frank revealed
the two will compete at light heavyweight.
Frank
said, "I do know the weight will be at 205. That's what
Ken wanted. The where doesn't matter. The when will be the first
quarter of 2009. The how will be right hand, left hook, right
hand, and then that will be it."
The
35 year-old Strikeforce champion believes the match with the
older brother that made the Shamrock name famous first will be
the biggest fight in mixed martial arts history.
"It's
going to be because this is the story that everyone can understand.
Even if you don't like fighting, you get the story. You get the
storyline. You get the characters. You get the players. I think
this is what breaks our sport open to the masses, for real."
Shamrock
plans to promote the fight heavily, unprecedented marketing of
an MMA fight. He said, "I'm going to commentate on this
next (Elite XC) event. I kind of got clued in on using the Showtime
vehicle to promote these pay-per-views, these matches. In particularly
we're all gearing up and focusing on the Blood Brothers: Shamrock
vs. Shamrock match. We're both going to get it on, on Showtime,
show our faces and build this fight the way a fight should be
built."
He
continued, "I've been examining the sport for a while. I
think HBO has got it right for boxing, doing the 27/7 series,
having a term of marketing, creating a docudrama, docu-reality
type atmosphere leading up to an event. We're going to do the
same with Blood Brothers. This will be the first fight that has
a solid 13 to 14 months of marketing behind it and real story
lines, real stars. I think this is the fight that's going to
change the sport of mixed marital arts, make it more talent oriented
instead of company oriented."
After
all these years of back-and-forth banter between both sides,
will the Shamrock feud be finally put to pasture when the two
legendary combatants fight for real?
Frank
Shamrock stated, "I think that's the big answer. I can tell
you how I think it's going to be because I wrote the storyline,
but that might be giving away the goods. I can tell you what
it's not going to be. It's not going to be boring. It's not going
to be not exciting. I think in the end it's going to be a loving,
cathartic, family bringing together experience that everybody
can understand, but it could just be a young brother kicking
his older brother's a**. I don't really know."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Nat
Geo’s Fight Science: Mixed Martial Arts and Special Ops
a no miss
By Stone Martindale
Building
on the success and popularity of the original, the National Geographic
Channel (NGC) premieres two new episodes of Fight Science on
Sunday, January 27, 2008, beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
The
ancient warriors handed down secrets through the ages, of every
conceivable fight style known to man today. National Geographic
unlocks the real impact and inner workings of man's art of physical
combat in the new series, "Fight Science."
MMA,
boxing and wrestling fans will love this revelation of the mechanics
of the punch, kick and throw.
One
group consists of some of the most highly trained athletes on
the planet, capable of delivering lethal blows with lightning
speed as champions from one of the world's most popular sports.
The
other group includes elite, superbly conditioned soldiers who
must deliver peak performance with only a moment's notice, under
the most adverse, hostile conditions.
Each
stretches the limits of the human body in the pursuit of extreme
physical challenges. What can science show us about the true
extent of their abilities and their comparative strengths, advantages
and limitations?
Building
on the success and popularity of the original, the National Geographic
Channel (NGC) premieres two new episodes of Fight Science on
Sunday, January 27, 2008, beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
First,
Fight Science: Mixed Martial Arts reveals the astonishing data
behind the athletic capabilities of legendary mixed martial arts
(MMA) fighters, including controversial Ultimate Fighting Championship
(UFC) heavyweight champion Randy Couture.
Then,
at 9 p.m. ET/PT, Fight Science: Special Ops brings together a
team of the world's best special operatives to reveal the science
behind how these supersoldiers redefine the upper limits of human
performance and thrive in high-threat environments.
Fight
Science brings together leading scientists, motion-capture specialists
and CGI animators to test these fighters in a state-of-the-art
studio that is part gym, part high-tech lab and part studio.
Deploying
dozens of infrared motion-capture cameras, high-definition cameras
and ultra-high-speed cameras, the studio allows scientists —
including Randy Kelly, an automotive crash testing and human-injury
expert, Dr. Cindy Bir, an impact injury expert, and David Sandler,
a sport physiologist — to measure and map the speed, force,
range and impact of muscles and bones in the fighters' bodies.
The
motion-capture technique, requiring reflective markers over the
fighters' entire bodies, allows for sophisticated real-time three-dimensional
models (seen in films like "Lord of the Rings"). These
results are combined with other data to create separate sophisticated
animations of the fighters' bones, muscles and nerves.
Fight
Science juxtaposes the fighters' real-life movements with their
animated selves for extraordinary insight into exactly how the
body generates each move in real time.
Fight
Science: Mixed Martial Arts
Sunday, January 27, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
At
the pinnacle of mixed martial arts is the UFC, which has sought
to legitimize MMA in a league that has become a pop culture phenomenon.
The sport requires a display of strategy, knowledge of anatomy
and superb conditioning. MMA fighters master a broad range of
martial arts disciplines so that they can strategically deploy
elements from each style. At any moment, fighters can draw upon
a wide range of tactics, such as lightning-fast punches used
in boxing, knee strikes used by a karate master, elbow blows
displayed in kung fu or grappling practices perfected by Brazilian
jiu-jitsu artists.
"I
think MMA athletes are the best athletes on the planet,"
says Couture. "If you consider their conditioning, the discipline
and all the things that go into making one of these athletes,
there are not a lot of people that can do what we do."
Fight
Science: Mixed Martial Arts analyzes the unique fighting styles
and capabilities of legendary fighters like Couture, former UFC
heavyweight champion Bas Rutten, former UFC light heavyweight
champion Tito Ortiz and two-time world submission grappling champion
Dean Lister. The results show the comparative strengths, advantages
and limitations of each technique these fighters may use during
combat. Among the results, scientists determine that Rutten's
kick generates a force equivalent to a 35-mph car crash, and
Couture's endurance is nearly 10 times better than that of the
average person and his blows generate double the force of a heavyweight
boxer's best punch.
"I've
been doing crash testing for the last 20 years, and I've never
seen these kinds of numbers," says Kelly. "I would
never have believed it if I hadn't been here to see it."
Fight
Science: Special Ops
Sunday, January 27, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Special
operations are elite military units trained for unconventional
warfare, often to execute dangerous, covert missions behind enemy
lines. The soldiers must excel beyond normal human capabilities,
displaying superior physiology and extraordinary mental ability.
This is evident in the strength and stamina of U.S. Navy SEALs,
the speed and focus of U.S. Green Berets and the lightning reflexes
of Israeli Commandos. Unlike athletes, who prepare for a scheduled
competition under controlled conditions, these elite soldiers
must excel in ruthless situations that can become deadly without
warning. Now, in Fight Science: Special Ops, these warrior athletes
are put to the test by science and cutting-edge technologies
to exhibit their maximum capabilities under the most adverse
circumstances. Some of their superhuman abilities studied include
how a former Navy SEAL can withstand hypothermia while submerged
in 50 degree water without compromising his ability to complete
an obstacle course; and how a member of Israel's most elite Commando
unit can ace agility and firearm tests while withstanding a 104
degree fever and losing 3 percent of his body weight.
Fight
Science is produced by Base Productions, Inc., for the National
Geographic Channel. For Base Productions, Inc., executive producers
are Mickey Stern and John Brenkus. For the National Geographic
Channel, executive producer is Chris Valentini and senior vice
president of production and development is Juliet Blake.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Miletich
wants revenge on Renzo
Frank Shamrock also in his sights
Known
for being one of the best MMA coaches in the world, veteran Pat
Miletich, 38, is still not thinking of retirement. The fighter
who has already been UFC champion twice and coaches athletes
like Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, Robbie Lawler and Jens Pulver has
not fought since September of 2006, when he was submitted by
Renzo Gracie with a guilloting, in the IFL, where Pat was also
a coach.
However,
the “Croatian Sensation,” as he was known during his
days in the UFC, warns that he isn’t thinking of calling
it quits, and that he already has some offers to return to the
ring and when asked who his ideal adversary would be, he doesn’t
need a moment to ponder the answer.
“I’ve
had some offers to fight and I am considering them. I think a
revenge bout with Renzo would be good. I would also love to fight
Frank Shamrock,” said Pat to Houston Chronicle.
As
a coach in the IFL, Miletich was champion of the team tournament
twice, and nearly won a third time, but was defeated by the Pitbulls
in New York in the final. The coach of the Pitbulls was none
other than Renzo Gracie.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Gilbert
Melendez vs. Josh Thomson off 3/29 Strikeforce card
The lightweight championship bout between champion Gilbert Melendez
and Josh "The Punk" Thomson has been scrapped from
the March 29 Strikeforce "Shamrock vs. Le" card.
As
first reported by Sherdog.com, Thomson suffered a shoulder injury
while training with WEC champion "Razor" Rob McCullough.
Thomson will undergo surgery on Thursday.
Strikeforce
confirmed to MMAFighting.com that Melendez will remain on the
card with a new opponent to be announced shortly.
Strikeforce
"Shamrock vs. Le" is scheduled to take place March
29 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The event is being
co-promoted with EliteXC and will be televised live on Showtime.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Quote
of the Day
“No
man can be happy without a friend, nor be sure of his friend
until he is unhappy.”
Thomas Fuller, 1608-1661, British Clergyman and Author
|
Fighters'
Club Radio Today!
Tune in
to AM 1500 from 9:00 am to 10:00 am and hear hosts Mark
Kurano and Pat Freitas kick off the return of an MMA radio show!
Mike will
be pinch hitting for Mark who is away on vacation!
We have a lot planned and look forward to all the fans, fighters,
and promoters calling in to throw in their 2 cents.
You
can call in to 296-1500.
Please spread the word and let the sponsors of the show know
that you are listening to the show and buying their products
so that this radio show will be on for a long, long time.
|
HAWAIIAN
CHAMPIONSHIP OF BJJ 2008
Competitor Fees:
Adults: $65
Kids: $35
Note:
If payment is not received by deadline, you will be subject to
an additional late fee of $10.00
When:
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
Location:
University of Hawaii Manoa, Athletic Complex, Gym #1 (Next to
Klum Gym)
Event
Schedule:
Friday, February 8, 2008 – MAIL-IN REGISTRATION DEADLINE!
Sunday, February 10, 2008 – ONLINE APPLICATION DEADLINE!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 – “REGISTRATION CHECK”
DEADLINE (COMPETITORS VERIFY AND CORRECT ALL INFO ON WEBSITE:
www.hawaiitriplecrown.com.)
Sunday, February 17, 2008 (Day of Event)
9:45 Kids Rules Clinic
10:00 am Start of Competition
Divisions:
Adult, Kids, Women
All Weight Divisions, All Levels.
The Adult division is open for everyone, but athletes of other
age divisions willing to compete here will not be allowed to
fight in their own division (athletes can only enroll in one
age division)
Medals
for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place
Most Technical Competitor Award
Team competition trophy and prizes
Weigh-in: Before his/her first fight, the athlete will check
his/her weight with the GI. There is only one opportunity to
check the weight. If the competitor does not make his/her weight,they
will be immediately disqualified. Please make sure that you are
in the correct weight division. You can not change divisions
,if you do not make your designated division. No changes will
be accepted in the tournament day, no refund.
Weigh-in
will be held in the following manner: Division called up to the
announcement table (i.e. White belt 149-161lbs); Your name will
be called to ensure you are present; Once name is called, you
will be required to step on the scale to weigh-in. Weight of
the Gi will be accounted for to 7lbs.
(Note: These are the same registration guidelines as set forth
by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation/Pan American
Jiu-Jitsu Championships).
Please
review website for more detailed information.
www.hawaiitriplecrown.com
email: david@hawaiitriplecrown.com
Source: David Hattori
|
DANA
WHITE CONFIRMS PENN VS. SHERK AND MORE
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE – In his post-fight comments following
B.J. Penn’s lightweight championship victory over Joe Stevenson,
Ultimate
Fighting Championship president Dana White confirmed that Sean
Sherk would be Penn’s first defense. He stated that the
bout is planned for an unannounced event in May.
Much
was made leading up to Saturday night’s main event at UFC
80 of Penn’s legacy in mixed martial arts. The win over
Stevenson made him only the second fighter in UFC history to
win a title in two different weight classes. The first was disgruntled
heavyweight champion Randy Couture.
White
stated that if Penn is able to defeat Sherk and hang on to the
lightweight title, he could eventually see him returning to the
welterweight division to fight Georges St. Pierre, assuming that
St. Pierre still holds the belt if and when that time comes.
Aside
from announcing Penn versus Sherk, White also indicated that
Fabricio Werdum would be first in line to face the winner of
Tim Sylvia and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, assuming that Couture
doesn’t change his mind and decide to return and fight for
the UFC. The winner of Sylvia versus Nogueira will be crowned
the promotion’s interim heavyweight champion as the UFC
refuses to strip Couture of his title designation, disgruntled
or not.
Having
recently taken up house with the Chute Boxe camp in Brazil, a
newly aggressive Werdum defeated Gabriel Gonzaga on Saturday
night, earning his shot at the interim champion.
Continuing
with fighter related topics, White also said that Andrei Arlovski
would be fighting at UFC 82 on March 1. He is expected to face
an undefeated Jake O’Brien.
He
also stated that Tito Ortiz would be fighting in May, if he accepts
the UFC’s offer to face Lyoto Machida.
Other
post-fight news and notes from Dana White:
–Mirko
“Cro Cop” Filipovic is currently thinking about his
future and is undecided about what his next move is.
–Croatia,
Scotland, Germany and Dublin are all “on the map” now
and that the UFC plans to run an event in Germany this year.
–UFC
intends to return to England in June at the O2 Arena in London.
–
Season seven of The Ultimate Fighter, featuring coaches Quinton
Jackson and Forrest Griffin, will start shooting following Jan.
23’s UFC Fight Night 12 event.
–
World Extreme Cagefighting is being moved around, starting with
the Feb. 13 event in Albuquerque, N.M., but won’t be coming
to the U.K. until next year.
Other
UFC 80 notes:
–
Announced attendance of 8,412
–
No. 1 selling event in the history of the Metro Radio Arena
–
Fight of the Night awarded to Paul Kelly and Paul Taylor (Each
fighter given a $35,000 bonus)
–
Knockout of the Night to Wilson Gouveia ($35,000 bonus)
–
Submission of the Night to B.J. Penn ($35,000 bonus)
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Werdum
goes up top at UFC
Brazilian should be next heavyweight title challenger
The
win over Gabriel Napao at UFC 80, which took place last night
in Newcastle, England, may represent Fabricio Werdum’s direct
flight to dispute the American organization’s heavyweight
title. As indicated by Dana White after the event, the black
belt is at the top of the list of challengers, and probably should
the winner of the battle between Rodrigo Minotauro and Tim Sylvia,
set for February 2.
White
also said Tito Ortiz could return to the octagon in May should
he accept the UFC’s offer to face Brazilian Lyoto Machida.
Also
during the post-event press conference, Dana White said Mirko
Cro Cop is evaluating what direction his career should take and
is indecisive as to what to do in the future.
According
to the bald big boss, countries like Croatia, Scotland and Ireland
are on the map for hosting future events, and the UFC plans to
hold and event in Berlin, Germany, in 2008.
The
brands success confirmed in the UK, the UFC was watched by 8,412
people, an absolute record in the history of the Metro Radio
Arena.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Monday
Morning Reverie: Ultimate England
If
I could only use one adjective to describe this past Saturday's
UFC, it would be "incredible."
Only
one of the televised bouts went the distance, and that fight
was exhilarating from beginning to end. Since the event was filled
with fights that nearly all ended early and emphatically, Zuffa
was able to squeeze in every single off-TV bout save for the
Sam Stout-Per Eklund battle.
The
story of the night was without question B.J. Penn's utter domination
of Joe Stevenson. It was sheer wizardry: a dazzling array of
strikes, agility, athleticism and, of course, magnificent submission
prowess.
It
wasn't as if Penn fought some stiff that was pulled out of the
crowd. Stevenson came into battle as prepared as he ever has
been before and made it entertaining. He was able to pull Penn
back to guard after "The Prodigy" achieved full mount
with grapevines more than once. Even when B.J. dropped "Daddy"
with a compact left uppercut seconds into the fight, a woozy
and wobbly Stevenson regrouped and made things interesting.
Yet
with all that Stevenson escaped and fended off, it was nowhere
near enough as Penn seemed four or five steps ahead every second
of the contest. The Hawaiian did whatever he wanted almost whenever
he wanted, and it was just a matter of time before a perplexed
and battered Stevenson would succumb.
As
it turned out, thanks heavily to Stevenson having suffered a
horrific gash on his forehead, Penn sunk in a textbook rear-naked
choke and forced his opponent to tap out.
It's
hard to say whether Penn ever looked better. His obliteration
of Matt Hughes in their first fight, the all-too-easy submission
of Jens Pulver in their rematch or the destruction of Caol Uno
in their initial encounter were fights of mythic proportions.
It's just a little difficult to envision either of those conquests
sizing up to how decisively Penn outclassed Stevenson in England.
It's that B.J. Penn that has made him one of the most beloved
and ballyhooed fighters in MMA's relatively short history.
But
Not So Fast …
After
Penn triumphed over Stevenson, he shouted into the microphone,
"Sean Sherk, you're dead!" His win, coupled with Sherk's
failed urinalysis after his win over Hermes Franca, multiplied
with how angry Sherk was after he was called out, makes for one
hell of a showdown.
But
before you lay down mortgages on another impressive Penn victory,
take a closer look at Penn's win over Stevenson. Did anybody
else notice how exhausted Penn appeared when he was talking to
Joe Rogan? Heck, he was leaning up against the commentator, and
it looked as if he was about to pass out from fatigue.
Revisionist
history is too easy, but it's not out of the realm of possibility
that had Stevenson not suffered such a grotesque laceration,
he may not have fallen victim to the choke. And had the fight
gone into the third, I wouldn't be too quick to suggest that
maybe Penn would have tanked like he did against Georges St.
Pierre and against Hughes in their rematch.
Considering
Penn's propensity to gas out in recent years during his contests,
it's amazing that 83 percent of the nearly 25,000 poll-taking
Sherdog readers tab him to beat Sherk. I'm sorry, guys, but Sherk
won't go out that easily when he tangles with Penn. Sherk's gas
tank is akin to those snazzy new hybrids.
In
a nutshell, Sherk will be able to fend off the first two rounds
of attrition from Penn and drag him into sherk-infested waters:
rounds four and five. Don't be surprised when Sherk winds up
stopping a depleted Penn late in the fight to showcase the true
UFC champion at 155.
The
XFA
On
Saturday afternoon I covered the live news conference/fighter
tryouts for the brand new fight club, Xtreme Fighting Association.
The owners of the organization seem genuinely excited about how
successful their particular brand of fighting could be in the
coming months.
The
XFA is a standup-fighting only organization not unlike the fledgling
World Combat League, though their brand takes place inside a
regulation-sized boxing/kickboxing ring. Fights will all be three
three-minute rounds, and everything but elbows are allowed in
the battles.
Owner
Harold Reis and president Chris Reis proclaim that they have
a solid network television deal and will host several shows throughout
the year, their first being in March in Las Vegas. They also
boast that their fighters will not be locked down to exclusive
contracts, and the promotion will be family friendly and not
tolerate profane language or actions or drug use of any kind.
Despite
their energy and passion, the Reis duo has an uphill battle ahead
of them. The WCL has not taken off and K-1, Asia's biggest and
most successful fighting organization, has struggled mightily
in North America. K-1 has had extreme difficulty selling out
the smallish convention center rooms in both the Bellagio and
Mirage, and let's not even discuss the promotion's U.S. pay-per-view
presence, or lack thereof. Furthermore, I've been hearing rumors
lately that K-1 won't even bother to make an appearance in Vegas
in 2008 after only one show came to fruition in '07.
Don't
get me wrong, the Reis guys seem like wonderful human beings,
and I absolutely love striking. But after hearing and seeing
their discomfort in answering some of my questions and considering
how WCL and K-1 have faired here in America, it seems the XFA
has a serious uphill battle if it's going to find success.
Misc.
Debris
As
the title of this column deftly suggests, UFC 80 should not have
been titled the cheesy "Rapid Fire" (who at Zuffa comes
up with these tacky monikers anyway?). It sure would be swell
if the UFC would go back to naming its events after the countries
they're held in, like Ultimate Japan and Ultimate Brazil. UFC
80 should have been labeled "Ultimate England." Maybe
one day we'll see Ultimate Antarctica inside some igloo. …
I'm
a bit puzzled following what transpired in the Jorge Rivera-Kendall
Grove fight. After watching most of Rivera's professional fights
and his slow decline, I figured the younger and more athletic
Grove was going to bounce back from his loss and trounce him.
I was wrong. Now the question begs: Is Grove vastly overrated
or has Rivera finally taken a step in the right direction? We
should have the answers in their next outings. …
And
speaking of overrated, I'm starting to think that maybe Gabriel
Gonzaga's massive obliteration of "Cro Cop" was a fluke.
Sure, he looked good in the Octagon against Randy Couture before
being stopped. But he wound up being pummeled by Fabricio Werdum,
a fighter I'm still not totally sold on. I could be a bit off
base here, but it seems like "Napao" has fallen in
love with his kicks. Or maybe he, like Grove, is overrated. …
Hey
Rogan and Goldberg! Antoni Hardonk scored the TKO over Colin
Robinson because he delivered a perfectly disguised straight
left onto Robinson's chin. After about a dozen replays, the two
commentators kept gushing over the leg kicks that took out Robinson.
I saw the punch when it happened and said to myself, "Oh,
good sneaky punch!" It wasn't until Hardonk pointed it out
to Rogan that the funnyman realized what had happened. Predictably,
Goldberg still didn't see it and talked about the leg kicks that
knocked out Robinson at the closing of UFC 80. …
Who
does Marcus Davis think he is? A guy that size shouldn't be allowed
to carry explosives in his fists. I'm starting to think that
Davis would be able to bowl a perfect game just by punching bowling
balls down the lanes. …
I
watched UFC 80 several hours after it was live because I had
to do some errands and cover the XFA open tryouts. Also, the
Felix Trinidad-Roy Jones fight came first because, well, I named
my stinkin' dog "Tito" after Puerto Rico's greatest
boxer. Enough said. Suffice it to say, poor Trinidad was dropped
twice and lost a wide unanimous decision. I was beyond bummed
out, and unless UFC 80 was exciting, I wasn't going to be cheered
up. Luckily for yours truly, UFC 80 wound up being arguably the
greatest, most action-packed UFC event in the Zuffa era, maybe
of all-time. Naturally I'll have to review my list of greatest
UFCs, but off the top of my head, I can't recall an event that
was filled with so many explosions from start to finish. Kudos
to our chums within Zuffa's walls.
Source: Sherdog |
Nathan
Diaz Pre-Fight Interview
GF: How has your training been going leading up to this fight?
ND:
Really good. I feel I've improved my boxing skills and that I'm
hitting a lot harder. I'm focusing on my jiu-jitsu game for the
last couple of weeks and I feel I'm ready.
GF:
What do you think about your opponent?
ND:
I'm sure he's tough. Everybody's kinda tough these days and I'm
not under estimating him. I've only seen a couple of his fights
so we'll see when I get in there.
GF:
Manny Gamburyan has been looking to get a rematch with you, stating
whenever he can that he only lost because of a shoulder injury.
Any thoughts?
ND:
You know up until now I've tried to be respectful about him since
we were on the same team and everything but he's making it hard
for me to be that way. He must have forgotten how our training
sessions went in the house. I can tell you I wasn't the one getting
tapped out and socked up the whole time but if he's still holding
a grudge and wants to fight me again than let him beat some guys
and work his way back up. He'll also need to get that operation
so he can't use that as an excuse again. If he can do that I'll
be happy to fight him again.
GF:
After this fight what can we expect from you?
ND:
I want to keep busy competing in tournaments or anything else
to keep me busy. I hope the UFC starts giving me more fights.
I see some guys fighting 5 times a year and I'd be happy to do
that.
GF:
Thanks Nathan and good luck.
Source: Gracie Fighter
|
X1
World Events: Champions
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
January 26, 2007
5:00PM
X1 World Middleweight
Title - 4 man tournament 185lbs
Niko Vitale
Marcus Gaines
Joey Guel
Brian Warren
X1
World Welterweight Title 170lbs
Mark Moreno vs. Chad Reiner
Womens
Match
Mia St. John vs. Angelina Abata
X1
World Lightweight Title 155lbs
"Sugar" Shane Nelson vs. Kaleo Kwan
X1
World Super Lightweight Title 145lbs
Eddie Yagin vs. "Dirty" Dave Moreno
Heavyweight
Analu Brash vs. Ron Waterman
170lbs
Michael Brightmon vs. Anthony Torres
Heavyweight
Jake Faagai vs. Wesley "Cabbage" Correira
Heavyweight
Doug Hiu vs Eric Edwards
190lbs
- Pro
Cheyenne Padeken vs. Rich Anderson
Heavyweight
- Pro
Lolohea Mahe vs Des Miner
175lbs
Pro
Brennan Kamaka vs Luke Cadian
165lbs
Pro
Walter Hao vs Kona Ke 165 Pro
X1
State Amature Title 170lbs
Sean Sakata vs Steve Farmer
140lbs
- Amateur
Keola Silva vs Gary Rebalisza
140lbs
- Amateur
Jared Iha vs Alan Hashimoto
155lbs
Ikaika Moreno vs TBA
Source: Event Promoter
|
MAN
UP & STAND UP
KICKBOXING
FEB 2 2008 SATURDAY
DOLE CANNERY BALLROOM
SEMI PRO SUPER LIGHT WEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
JARID IHA 139 RYAN LEE
DIDO RODRIGUES 85 JUSTIN KAHALEWAI
EVAN QUIZON 125 SEAN ORTIZ
JUMAR ESCOSIO 135 JONAH VISANTE
BRENDON MORENO 145 BRONSON CAYETANO
SEMI PRO WELTER WEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
NUI WHEELER 146 MIKE BALASI
JOSIAH BROWN 130 SHANE DILIWITH
MANA KRYZKA 155 JACOB SMITH
BOOKIE 150 GEORGE SIPO
BRANDON PACLIE 150 KELII KEKONA
NOA 200+ OTO
DALE KAMAI 170 TYLER MAYEKAWA
BRANDON NALEEHA 230 JAMES AWANA
RANDY EBRIGHT 155 CARLOS ARUEGLO
DOUG OWENS 230 ROYAL
HARRISON KOLO 170 DEVON PETROSSION
CHRISTINE MIRANDA 130 ANGIE PERIA
EDDIE OHIA 175 CALEB PRICE
TODD YOUNG 170 MAKANA FARONDE
RICHARD HIT TOO HARD BERNARD 150 JARID MATSUDA
JEREMY ABREGARA 125 RUSTY RIVERA
JUSTIN QUILET 170 DENNY MAGDUAL
Source: Event Promoter
|
|