Hawaii Martial Arts News & Rumors - Dedicated to Hawaii-Specific Martial Arts News & Rumors

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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)

2008

11/8/08

Aloha
State Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

(BJJ/Sub Grapping)

(Gym #1, UH Manoa)

7/26/08

Maui Jiu-Jitsu BJJ Tournament

(BJJ)

(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)

7/19/08

Affliction - Fedor vs. Sylvia

7/11/08

Hawaii Fighting Championships 10

(MMA)

(Dole Cannery Ballrooms)

7/5/08

UFC 86 - Jackson vs. Griffin

(PPV)

6/27-29/08

OTM Pacific Submission
Grappling Tournament

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)

MMA Expo

(Blaisdell Convention Center)

6/21/08

Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale

6/15/08

Grapplefest

(Submission Grappling)

6/14/08

EliteXC

(MMA)

(Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, HI)

6/7/08

UFC 85 - Bedlam

(PPV)

6/6/08

Punishment in Paradise

Pound 4 Pound

(Kickboxing)

(Ahuna Ranch, Maili)

6/5-8/08

World Jiu-Jitsu Championsihps

(BJJ)

(California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, California)

6/1/08

Hawaiian
Open of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

(BJJ/Sub Grapping)

(Gym #1, UH Manoa)

WEC 33

(Faber vs. Pulver)

(PPV)

5/31/08

CBS EliteXC
Saturday Night Fights

(9-11 p.m. ET/PT)

(CBS)

5/25/08

Man Up Stand Up

(Kickboxing)

(Filcom Center, Waipahu)

5/24/08

UFC 84 - Ill Will

BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk

(PPV)

5/16/08

X-1: Legends

(MMA)

(Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, HI)

5/9/08

Man Up Stand Up

(Kickboxing)

(Filcom Center, Waipahu)

Hawaii Fighting Championships 9

(MMA)

(Dole Cannery Ballrooms)

5/3/08

Hawaii
Fight League

Season 1, Event 3

(MMA)

(Filcom Center, Waipahu)

Full Force 4

(MMA)

(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)

Heart-of-a-Cage-Fighter

(Kauai
Veterans Center, Lihue, Kauai)

4/25/08

Punishment
in Paradise

(Kickboxing)

(Farrington High School)

4/18/08

Local Pride

Friday, April 18, 2008

(MMA)

(Dole Cannery Ballroom)

4/12/08

Man Up &Stand Up

(Kickboxing)

(Filcom Center, Waipahu)

4/6/08

GrappleFest: Submission
Sundays

(Submission Grappling)

(Hawaii Room, Neal Blaisdell Center)

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)

(Californina State University, Dominguez Hills, CA)

Registration ends 3/22/08

3/16/08

Sera's Kajukenbo Open Tournament

(Continuous
Sparring, MMA, Submission Grappling)

(Maui High School Gym, Kahului, Maui)

Icon Fitness Gym Tournament

(Submission Wrestling)

(Icon Fitness Gym)

3/15/08

Icon Sport

(MMA)

(Blaisdell Arena)

3/9/08

2008 Pacific Invitational BJJ Tournament

(BJJ )

(Hibiscus Room, Ala Moana Hotel, Honolulu)

3/7/08

Got Skillz Fighter

(Kickboxing/MMA)

(Waipahu Filcom)

3/1/08

USA-Boxing
Hawaii, Palolo B.C. & Kawano B.C. Presents Amateur Boxing

(Boxing)

(Palolo District Park)

2/29/08

X-1 at the O-Lounge

Fight Club Meets Nightclub 4

(MMA)

(O-Lounge, Honolulu)

2/24/08

Icon Grappling Tournament

(Sub Grappling)

(Icon Gym)

2/17/08

Hawaiian
Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

(BJJ/Sub Grapping)

(Gym #1, UH Manoa)

2/15/07

Midwest Invasion: Team Indiana vs. Team Hawaii

(MMA)

(Coyotes Night Club, 935 Dillingham Blvd, Kalihi)

2/8/08

Hawaii Fighting Championships 7

(Kickboxing & MMA)

(Dole Cannery Ballroom)

2/2/08

Man up and Stand up

(Kickboxing)

(Dole Cannery
Ballroom)

1/26/08

X1 World
Events: Champions

(MMA)

(Blaisdell Arena)

1/20/08

Big
Island Open Jiu-Jitsu Tournament

(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)

News & Rumors

OTHER
TOPICS:

- X1 REVIEW AND OPINIONS

- ANYONE WATCH THE X1 PPV OR STREAM? HOW WAS IT?

- UFC "ILL WILL" PREVIEW

- WOMEN IN MMA? GOOD OR BAD?

- MEET THE "K-TEAM" IN KANEOHE

- BUILDING HAWAII'S TOP 10 LIST OF UP-AND-COMERS

DONT
MISS:

- THE GLACEAU CHALLENGE

- OTM SPECIAL OFFER OF THE WEEK

FAN
LINE: 296-1500

THANKS
TO OUR SPONSORS:

- OTM "ON THE MAT" ON BERETANIA

- GLACEAU VITAMIN ENERGY

- EN FUEGO GRILL AND POKE

- MUSCLE MILK

- BRIT'S AUTO BODY

MAN
UP AND STAND UP

SUNDAY MAY 25

FILCOM CENTER

DOORS OPEN AT 6:00

ATISANOE ATISANOE 300+ SHHELTON MAAVE

SEAN ORTIZ 120 KANALOA COOKE

KELII KAMALU 140 CLEM HALLOWAY

DENNIS CABAHIT 145 DERRICK KAWALO

MAKI PITOLO 200 KALAI IRVINE

DALLAS 200+ BRANDON NALEEHA

ROYAL LONO 205 DAVID VARQUEZ

RICHARD HIT TOO HARD BARNARD 152 MIKE BALASI

JAMES PERGANON 135 ALA

IKAIKA SILVA 195 KIMO

DESMOND TALUB 165 RYAN DESOTO (THE PHARMACIST)

JON MENDONSA 150 COLIN INTENSITY MCKENZIE

FERDINAND RAMIREZ 155 CHAD VALENTINE

JAY WESTBROOK 250+ OTTO HOOPII

DENNIS MONTERA 110 JUSTIN KAHALEWAI

SAI CRAWFORD 75 ELYJAH BADUA

DALE KAMAI 170 TODD YOUNG

PHILLIP AKUI 170 VINCE TOKASHIKI

ANDREW 135 CHEVY RAQUEDAN

MIKE MCNAAB 190 MARIO DIVAS

all matches & participants are subject to change

Source: Derrick Bright

Punishment
in Paradise

Pound 4
Pound

June 6, 2008

Ahuna Ranch, Maili

Source: Brennan Kamaka

JJ
Worlds list takes shape

Last day to sign up with discount

Set
to take place between the 5th and 8th of June, in the California
State University Long Beach stadium, the 2008 Jiu-Jitsu World
Championship is already taking shape. This is because the International
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) has already made a list
available with those who have already signed up for the style’s
biggest tournament on line.

It
is worth noting that those to sign up before midnight tonight,
May 18th, will pay only US$ 107. Now, or those to register between
tomorrow (the 19th) and June 27th (deadline) will pay US$ 122.

Source: Gracie Magazine

EliteXC
Primetime 5/31 Advance

Sherdog.com
reported this morning that EliteXC has sold over 5,000 tickets
for its 5/31 show at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The event is billed as "Primetime" and will be broadcast
live on CBS. The arena is scaled for 12,000. Last November the
UFC drew 11,828 for a gate of $2.1 million.

Sources
have told MMAPayout.com that the company has yet to spend any
money promoting the show in New York.

Source: MMA Payout

GILBERT
MELENDEZ IS SIGNED, SEALED & READY TO DELIVER

Gilbert Melendez is feeling great and is ready to take the American
lightweight scene by storm.

After
years of primarily fighting in Japan, “Ill Nino” is
on the verge of his biggest showdown stateside, as he defends
his Strikeforce title against top 155-pound contender Josh Thomson.
The fight is the main event of the promotion’s June 27 fight
card taking place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

“I
guess it was inevitable that it’d happen,” said Melendez
of the recently finalized fight. “Initially I didn’t
think it was ever going to happen, but now that it is, I’m
excited for it, pumped up and motivated.

“I’m
ready for it. You learn to switch modes and become an animal
and right now I’m out to get Josh. I’m out to get him.”

After
some initial confusion following an early press release by Strikeforce
about the match’s status as a fully agreed to bout, Melendez
is now able to officially announce his participation in the fight.

“Everything’s
ready to go,” he confirmed. “(I) gave it the go, gave
it the thumbs up, and I’m ready. I’m ready to take
on all challengers.”

Currently
the No. 5 ranked lightweight in the world, Melendez is coming
off a dominating performance over Gabe Lemley at March’s
Strikeforce event, while Thomson had an equally impressive outing
in his win over Adam Lynn last September.

Together
the two California standouts have amassed an impressive 27-3
combined record in their professional careers.

When
it comes to the fight now at hand, Melendez says, “I think
it’s going to be a great match-up.

“It’s
really going to be high-paced and we’re both going to go
for the win. I don’t think anyone’s going to sit and
hold back anything.”

What
has him even more excited than fighting a long-time rival is
the fact that, for the first time in his career, Melendez is
the main event of a major U.S. event.

“I’ve
headlined a few times in Japan on Shooto shows, but this is my
first time headlining in the U.S. and it’s a very anticipated,
tough fight that’s main event material,” he commented.

“I
was made for this – I was born for this – right here.”

Melendez
intends to use this gigantic opportunity to truly launch his
assault on the American lightweight scene and prove he belongs
with the likes of B.J. Penn, Sean Sherk and other top fighters
in competing promotions.

He
exclaimed, “On the way to the top, I said I’d take
on anyone on the way here. Now that I’m here, I still want
to take anyone on that wants to take me out.

“My
mindset is right now, ‘I’ll fight anybody. I’m
the champ. I take on all challengers. Anyone want to step up?’”

Source: MMA Weekly

HDNET
FIGHTS PLANNING SUPER-FIGHTS

When Mark Cuban announced his intentions of promoting mixed martial
arts, many people were excited about the possibilities the billionaire
could bring to the sport.

Since
the formation of HDNet Fights last year, the Dallas based organization
has held two events. It's been five months since they've put
on a show, but HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon told MMAWeekly they
plan on putting together "super-fights" in the future.

HDNet
started airing MMA with World Extreme Cagefighting, but has expanded
their coverage to showing several regional events from around
the country as well as Japanese promotions.

"We
have the ability to partner with pretty much any organization
out there," said Simon. "And when the timing is right,
you're going to see us promote again some super-fights."

"We're
going to be pretty opportunistic when we want to promote ourselves.
We're in a little bit of a different position than everyone else.
We have our own television network. We have our own arena in
Dallas with the American Airlines Center, and we're not into
it to just put on fights every month ourselves just because.
I think you're going to see when we come back it will be a pretty
big fight."

Simon
continued, "When HDNet is the promoter, number one, it's
going to be something pretty big. Congrats to the Affliction
guys. They're putting on a pretty big show of big names coming
up, and I think you'll see we'll do something similar, or bigger
names as well. If we can partner with various organizations to
do it as well, we will. There's no ego on our side. We have the
ability, like I said, with our eight or nine partners to really
work and bring the best fighters from a lot of organizations
together."

The
HDNet Fights CEO assured MMAWeekly that HDNet Fights is alive
and well, stating, "We're looking forward to promoting our
own events, and I think they'll be events that the fans want
to see."

Source: MMA Weekly

MEET
JUNIOR GAZZE, CHUTE BOXE JIU-JITSU COACH

As Chute Boxe, a perennial supplier of top-level mixed martial
arts fighters, makes an official move into the United States,
it has begun putting instructors in place for its move into Los
Angeles.

MMAWeekly.com’s
Brazilian correspondent, Ivan Canello, recently sat down with
Chute Boxe U.S.A.’s new jiu-jitsu coach.

MMAWeekly.com:
What is your name and where are you from?

Junior
Gazze: My name is Paulo Cesar Gazze, Jr., but they all call me
Junior Gazze and I am from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

MMAWeekly.com:
Tell us about your experience as an athlete, some of competitions
you have won and your most important fights.

Gazze:
I started with Judo when I was four, then I started to practice
Muay Thai when I was 13 and jiu-jitsu when I was 16. The wrestling
I started with Tito Ortiz, and I’ve been training Muay Thai
Chute Boxe style since 2005.

I
have fought against Dean Lister and Chris Leben among others
in MMA. I had some challenges inside the gym against some big
names in the U.S.A., but this is another story. I had some good
results in jiu-jitsu competitions in Brazil and U.S.A.

MMAWeekly.com:
Who is your jiu-jitsu master?

Gazze:
I started to train with Fepa Lopes and Roberto Godoi; then I
started to train with Milton Maximiniano Trombini, who gave me
the black belt in 2001.

MMAWeekly.com:
How did you get into MMA coaching?

Gazze:
I was already training with Tito Ortiz, Ricco Rodriguez, Jason
Miller, “Razor” Rob, Quinton Jackson, Josh Barnett,
Joe Moreira, Kimo, Fabiano Iha, Renato Babalu, and some years
ago, Fabiano Iha team used to train with Joe Moreira. It was
a huge training, but when Fabiano Iha moved to another state
I was without a place to train in so I started my own gym.

At
the time I had some MMA experience inside the Octagon and I needed
a Muay Thai coach and I had a contact with Roberto Piccinini,
a former Chute Boxe coach. He started to give some classes at
my gym. Today, I am the jiu-jitsu coach and Master Rafael Cordeiro
is the Muay Thai and MMA coach here at Chute Boxe U.S.A.

MMAWeekly.com:
Tell us some names you worked with.

Gazze:
I was one of Tito’s coaches to his fights against Ken Shamrock
and Yuki Kondo, Ricco Rodriguez against Randy Couture, Evan Tanner
against Justin Levens, Quinton Jackson against Ricardo Arona,
Josh Barnett against Mark Hunt at Pride, Michael Bisping some
weeks ago against Charles McCarthy at UFC 83, and many others.

MMAWeekly.com:
So you met Chute Boxe from Piccinini?

Gazze:
Yes, my team needed a Muay Thai coach and I met him in the Jiu-Jitsu
U.S. Open in 2004. Then we had a meeting and started a partnership.
He left Chute Boxe and I started to talk directly to Master Rafael
Cordeiro.

MMAWeekly.com:
Do you believe that this partnership will make champions?

Gazze:
Yes I do. Master Rafael Cordeiro brought some huge experience
and we are going to make some great champions here. In fact,
the week that Master Rafael came to U.S.A. we had one of my students
who is a blue belt winning against a Rorion Gracie brown belt
at MMA. And also Michael Bisping, although he is not a Chute
Boxe athlete, he was here a couple times to train jiu-jitsu with
me.

MMAWeekly.com:
Do you plan to compete or only to coach?

Gazze:
To me is very important to compete and to make champions. It’s
like breathing. Thank God, I’ve been blessed with athletes
who want to train hard. I competed at the Jiu-Jitsu Pan-American,
which I have conquered the silver medal this year.

MMAWeekly.com:
Any last words?

Gazze:
I would like to thank my Master Milton Maximiniano Trombini and
all the athletes of our gym in Brazil, and one special thanks
to Master Rudimar Fedrigo, Rafael Cordeiro and the Chute Boxe
athletes that help me to grow as a coach and as an athlete. Despite
the fact that I live in America, I will always carry the Brazilian
flag. Thank you very much.

Source: MMA Weekly

5/18/08

Quote
of the Day

"Nobody
owes anybody a living, but everybody is entitled to a chance."

Jack Dempsey, 1895-1983, American Boxer

BJ
Penn Talks
Training, Sean Sherk and Revenge

By Jason Perkins

BJ Penn
has less than two weeks until his highly anticipated battle with
Sean Sherk at UFC 84: "Ill Will". Penn has been lauded
as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but
was also considered by many to be unfocused in training and ill
prepared for fights from a conditioning standpoint; basically
a guy who got by on talent alone.

However, after blowing past elite contenders Jens Pulver and
Joe Stevenson in an aggressive and dominant fashion, Penn is
beginning to quiet doubters who once questioned his work ethic
and will look to put all doubts to rest with a victory over cardio-freak,
Sean Sherk. Penn sat down with On The Mat to discuss his new
found work ethic, below are some of the highlights from that
conversation.

Penn On
His Newfound Work Ethic:

This sport
is at another level and I woke up one day and said it's time
to get focused, it’s time to take this serious. I came off
two loses and realized that I was not as focused as I could be,
you know. I still wasn’t in a bad position. I could still
fix all this now. I got focused got back on track and now I am
the lightweight champ and still moving on.

I ran into
a guy named Tony Aponte, he taught me the calorie to workout
ratio. With that I can now train five hours a day, it’s
the eating...I would not be able to do it if I was not eating
properly; five to six meals a day. Wake up eat a meal, train,
eat a couple more meals, not going to tell everyone exactly how
much. In the morning I workout for two and a half to three hours
every day, consisting of everything: plyometics, strength, technique,
bag work, drills, drilling grappling; the mornings are road work,
then stretching and in the evenings its more competitive.

I do everything
in five minute rounds from take down drills, to drilling my own
stuff, to bag drills switching to different combos, bringing
it back to the basics working a lot of technique again doing
20 arm locks to triangle drills each side, just staying sharp.
At one point it was all about drills and you know what I am still
all about it.

BJ Penn
On Training Differently Now For Sherk Than In His Most Recent
Fight Against Joe Stevenson:

Well Joe
was a more deadly submission guy, Sherk probably has a little
better hands and powerful takedowns and explosiveness but I just
gotta keep my focus, train for Sherk but honestly I don’t
really feel like I am the champ and I am here to just fight fights.
Urijah Fabor is here and Grey Maynard is coming, lots of wrestlers
and I know if I train hard and come out sharp, I am not underestimating
Sherk but I don’t see where he stands a chance.

BJ Penn On Future Fight Prospects:

After I beat Sherk it would really be great to see who’s
next in the lightweight division. I would love to keep the lightweight
title and I also want to get a shot to avenge GSP and Hughes,
Anderson Silva is a great fighter but I gotta take care of some
other guys first.

BJ Penn
On Lyoto Machida vs. Tito Ortiz:

Tito has
a really good style for Lyoto. Lyoto hasn’t been in the
fence and Tito can get him there and really use those elbows
and ground and pound. I think that’s what it is going to
come down to, Tito getting his game on getting those takedowns,
stabilizing, making space and ripping those elbows down like
in the old days. Should be a great night for him. Lyoto, he’s
got to do what he did to Sokoudjou. Lyoto is probably a little
better in the trading, but Tito is always getting better with
his stand up. Lyoto needs to work his Jiu-Jitsu, sweep and work
his way back up, but it’s a tough fight. I think Lyoto has
the same strengths as before but his jiu jitsu looks better and
he was a tough guy then and he still is. He punches hard.

Source: Fight Line

THE
MARINES WANT THIS TO ROLL ALL OVER THE U.S.

FRIENDS
ARE BORN, NOT MADE

This
is a poem being sent from a Marine to his Dad. For those who
take the time to read it, you'll see a letter from him to his
dad at the bottom. It makes you truly thankful for not only the
Marines, but ALL of our troops.

THE
MARINE

We
all came together,

Both young and old

To fight for our freedom,

To stand and be bold.

In
the midst of all evil,

We stand our ground,

And we protect our country

From all terror around.

Peace
and not war,

Is what some people say.

But I'll give my life,

So you can live the American way.

I
give you the right

To talk of your peace.

To stand in your groups,

and protest in our streets.

But
still I fight on,

I don't bitch, I don't whine.

I'm just one of the people

Who is doing your time.

I'm
harder than nails,

Stronger than any machine.

I'm the immortal soldier,

I'm a U.S. MARINE!

So
stand in my shoes,

And leave from your home.

Fight for the people who hate you,

With the protests they've shown.

Fight for the stranger,

Fight for the young.

So they all may have,

The greatest freedom you've won

Fight
for the sick,

Fight for the poor

Fight for the cripple,

Who lives next door.

But
when your time comes,

Do what I've done.

For if you stand up for freedom,

You'll stand when the fight's done

By:
Corporal Aaron M. Gilbert, US Marine Corps

USS SAIPAN, PERSIAN GULF

March 23,
2003

Hey Dad,

Do me a favor and label this 'The Marine' and send it to everybody
on your email list. Even leave this letter in it. I want this
rolling all over the US ; I want every home reading it. Every
eye seeing it. And every heart to feel it. So can you please
send this for me? I would but my email time isn't that long and
I don't have much time anyway.

You know what Dad? I wondered what it would be like to truly
understand what JFK said in His inaugural speech. 'When the time
comes to lay down my life for my country, I do not cower from
this responsibility. I welcome it.' Well, now I know. And I do.
Dad, I welcome the opportunity to do what I do. Even though I
have left behind a beautiful wife, and I will miss the birth
of our first born child, I would do it 70 times over to fight
for the place that God has made for my home.

I love you
all and I miss you very much. I wish I could be there when Sandi
has our baby, but tell her that I love her, and Lord willing,
I will be coming home soon. Give Mom a great big hug from me
and give one to yourself too.

Aaron

Jardine
wants the old Wand

Bout to take place at UFC 84

Keith Jardine
is going into UFC 84 with the morale of having just beat Chuck
Liddell, precisely the last person to defeat his next adversary,
Wanderlei Silva. The battle of strikers will take place on the
coming 24th, in Las Vegas, and will be decisive in the futures
of both in the light heavyweight division.

The American,
who came to fame in the The Ultimate Fighter reality show, is
already considered one of the biggest challengers to Quinton
Jackson’s belt, and should he beat the Brazilian will likely
have his so dreamed-of chance.

Now Wand
is in a much more delicate situation. Coming off three back-to-back
losses, the last of which was at the UFC, he cannot think of
any outcome other than outright victory, and for that reason
he is training tirelessly for the big night.

“Now
I want to make my place in MMA history by beating not one but
two of the icons of the sport. I’m expecting to fight “The
Axe Murderer”. The guy we haven’t seen in a while.
The aggressive one who fights across the ring throwing his haymakers.
Chuck beating Wanderlei doesn’t give me any extra confidence
for this fight. The styles match up weird in this sport. We haven’t
seen how my style matches up against Wanderlei. What I can’t
wait for is being in the middle of the second or third round,
being sweaty, bloody, tired, just me and him – seeing who
the bigger man is on the day,” said “The Dean of Mean”
to the site SetantaSports.com.

Source:
Gracie Magazine

Affliction
announces July 19 'Banned' PPV event

Affliction
revealed Wednesday additional bouts for its inaugural "Banned"
card on Saturday, July 19 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

As announced
on HDNet's "Inside MMA" last Friday, the final PRIDE
heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko will take on former UFC
heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in the main event.

Another
former UFC heavyweight champion, Josh Barnett, will get a chance
to avenge a knockout loss from over seven years ago at UFC 30
when he faces off against Brazilian striker Pedro Rizzo.

The former
heavyweight face of the IFL on a 13-fight winning streak, Ben
Rothwell will fight an opponent to be announced. The rumor flying
around is that Rothwell's opponent will be former UFC champion
Andrei Arlovski.

The Ultimate
Fighter 2's Mike Whitehead, who left the IFL with Rothwell due
to a contract dispute, will clash with former UFC title contender
Renato "Babalu" Sobral.

Olympic
Silver Medalist Matt Lindland will test his grappling skills
against Brazilian Black Belt Fabio Nascimento in a middleweight
bout.

Affliction
"Banned" will air live on pay-per-view at 9pm ET for
a suggested retail price of $39.95.

Affliction:
Banned

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Honda Center in Anaheim, CA

265
lbs. | Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia

265 lbs. | Ben Rothwell vs. TBA

265 lbs. | Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo

185 lbs. | Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Nascimento

205 lbs. | Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead

Source: MMA Fighting

Johil
and Daniel Moraes at Jungle Fight

By Eduardo Ferreira

Preparing
the lasts details to the Jungle Fight Qualifying second edition,
that will be hold at May 31st, at Minotauro Team Training Center
, at Rio de Janeiro , the Carlson Gracie’s black belt Wallid
Ismail, starts to announce the firsts fighters that will be at
the show. The veteran Johil de Oliveira, Luta-Livre black belt,
and the BJJ Mundial champion Daniel Moraes, were the firsts names
announced by Ismail.

“Those
guys deserv to be at the main event, but the Jungle fight is
so high level that I could bring together athletes as Johil,
that already was the number 1 of the world and Daniel Moraes,
ADCC champion, at the same card. With them it is not enough to
call this event as a ‘Qualifying’. This card is so
good that it could be the Jungle 8 or 9, because everybody is
praising the last event at ”, commented Ismail.

The card
can have names such as César Profeta, Leonardo Peçanha,
Leonardo Tangerina, Erinaldo Pitbull, Alexandre Pulga and the
athletes from Boxe Thai Felipe Olivieri e Jhonny Eduardo. “The
expectations are as better as possible. My mission is to discover
new talents and bring formers champions to be champions again”,
said Wallid Ismail.

Source:
Tatame

Galvao
at Worlds as medium heavy

Absolute also in Pan-American champ’s sights

Andre Galvao
is as happy as can be. After a perfect Pan-American championship,
where he was consecrated absolute and medium heavyweight champion,
the Brasa star went on to Asia, where he disputed and won two
Jiu-Jitsu tournaments – the Rickson cup, in Japan, and the
Copa Hong Kong II. Back in Brazil, Galvao answered the questions
the Jiu-Jitsu world has been asking since Kron Gracie was promoted
to black belt: In which category will Galvao fight?

Exclusively
to GRACIEMAG.com, he said: “I’ll go in as a medium
heavyweight. I put in a lot of effort to gain weight and I want
to win the absolute. Last year I only fought at middleweight
because Brasa had three athletes in the medium heavyweight, while
at middleweight there was only Lucas Leite [he ended up shutting
out the category with Galvao]. As the absolute was before the
weight fights, I fought poorly, since I was hungry from trying
to make weight,” recalls Galvao, who was eliminated by Xande
Ribeiro in the 2007 quarterfinals.

Asked about
the one laying claim to the absolute division, Roger Gracie,
Galvao wasted no time nor good humor: “I’m going in
to fight. I don’t like drumming up strategies. Imagine if
I were to plan to pull guard and he pulls guard on me, the strategy
would go down the tubes,” argues Andre, who has never faced
the current absolute world champion.

With his
departure for California set for the coming 30th, Galvao carries
on training hard. “I’ve trained a lot of judo in Sao
Caetano. I even trained with Edinanci Silva [Brazilian Olympic
women’s team starter]. She threw me around a lot. I’m
also going to train with the French team, which is coming here
for an exchange,” he tells. Whoever’s seen the absolute
final from 2006, between Xande Ribeiro and Roger, might say Galvao
is on the right path.

Sign-ups
for the 2008 Jiu-Jitsu World Championship are open and will go
till May 29th. The event takes place from the 5th to the 8th
of June, at the California State University Long Beach gymnasium,
in California.

Source:
Gracie Magazine

Pequeno
arrive at ATT

By Eduardo Ferreira

The king
of Shooto, Alexandre Pequeno Nogueira, arrived this Monday (12)
at Miami (EUA), where he met his new teammates at American Top
Team (ATT). “The trip was slack. I am very happy to be here.
André Benkei (ATT coach) picked me up at the airport and
said that I was his best birthday gift. I was very well received
by Ricardo Libório and I met all champions here”,
said Pequeno, that though after a 12 hours fly didn’t resist
at his new home structure and already trained.

“The
structure here is excellent! I made a work with the Muay Thai
coach of the team Mohamed Ouali, that is improving my stand up
to the fight against José Aldo at WEC. He is simply the
best Muay Thai coach of the world and he is with me and Benkei
studying my opponent fights to make my strategy”, said the
Luta-Livre black belt, that arrived at USA with his brother Leonardo
Nogueira.

Source:
Tatame

5/17/08

Quote
of the Day

"Whenever
you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous
decision."

Peter F. Drucker, 1909-2005, Austrian-born Management Consultant
and Author

X-1
World Events presents "Legends"

Results!

Legends
and Legendary Upsets!

X-1 World Events presents "Legends"

Neil Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii

May 16, 2008

By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com

X-1
brings a Hawaiian legend back into the ring. Egan Inoue came
out of retirement to give it one last shot. The outcome of this
fight would determine if he would continue his rise back to greatness
or fade off into the sunset. He took on Hans Marrero, a fighter
who is 19 years his junior and self admittedly idolized Inoue.
The fight was short, but intense, Inoue ducked and narrowly missed
a kick to his head by Marrero and picked up and put Marrero on
the mat. Inoue worked to pass Marrero's guard, but slipped in
punches along the way. One blow hammered Marrero and caused him
to turn away and curl up and Inoue finished Marrero with more
hard punches. The referee had to pry Inoue off of Marrero to
stop the fight. Inoue beat Marrero and Father Time. The event
got off to a rocky start when Sean Sakata threw a kick and injured
his knee, ending his match against John Visante in 10 seconds
without even making contact. Due to this, the fight was ruled
a No Contest. Legends should have been titled Upsets! Another
Hawaiian legend that came out of a semi-retirement was Ray "Bradda"
Cooper. Cooper is one of Hawaii's most talented fighters displaying
knockout power, great wrestling and a solid submission game.
He was originally set up to take on current champ Shane Nelson,
but Nelson pulled out of the fight and the Alaskan Richie Whitson
was brought in to take on Cooper for the newly vacated title.
Whitson proved that you should never count out the last minute
underdog as he turned the tide of the fight with one short straight
left punch that sent Cooper to the canvas. Another upset was
current X-1 Featherweight champ, in a non-title match, Kana Hyatt
was caught off guard by the aggressive Mike Pedro and the speed
at which Pedro could lock up a quick arm bar from the guard.
And the welterweight title was up for grabs as newly crowned
Chad Reiner defended his title against Brandon Wolff. This was
an absolute war, going all 5 rounds, with Wolff relying on nothing
but heart for the last 3 rounds. Wolff's more accurate and powerful
strikes seemed to be the deciding factor, earning him the Welterweight
belt. An outstanding performance by Dylan Clay, who took a leap
up in competition when he was matched up against journeyman fighter
Ron Jhun, was cut short literally when Clay accidentally poked
Jhun in the eye which was a major factor causing Jhun's withdrawal
of the fight. This left the fans wanting a rematch. Legends had
a great card that delivered a number of upsets, which kept fight
fans guessing what would happen in the next bout. It also introduced
new MMA fans to a couple of Hawaiian Legends and a few fighters
that are primed for the next level of competition.

170lbs:
Amateur MMA - 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes

John "The Warrior" Visante (Team Sit U Down) vs. Sean
Sakata (No Remorse)

No contest due to Sakata injuring his knee prior to any contact
in the bout (he threw a kick that missed and injured his knee)
at 0:10 in Round 1.

142lbs:
Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Brandon Visher (Wailuku Boxing Club) def. Lorenzo Moreno (Bulls
Pen)

TKO due to Moreno could not answer Round 3 due to injured ribs.

135lbs:
Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Non-title bout

Mike Pedro (Kahului, Maui) def. Kana "The Riot" Hyatt
(Eastsidaz)

Submission via arm bar at 0:14 in Round 1.

170lbs:
Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Dylan Clay (Brazilian Freestyle Jiu-Jitsu) def. Ronald "The
Machine Gun" Jhun (808 Fight Factory)

TKO due to Jhun could not answer Round 2.

170lbs:
Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Kolo Koka (Team MMAD) def. Michael Brightmon (Gorilla House)

Unanimous decision [(29-28), (29-28), (29-28)] after 3 rounds.

155lbs:
Professional MMA - 5 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Lightweight Title Bout:

Richie Whitson (Sitka, Alaska) def. Ray "Bradda" Cooper
(Freelance)

KO at 3:54 in Round 1.

*Richie Whitson becomes the new X-1 Lightweight Champion

170lbs:
Professional MMA - 5 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Welterweight Title Bout:

Brandon Wolff (Team MMAD) vs. Chad "The Grinder" Reiner
(Southwest MMA)

Split decision [(48-47), (47-48), (48-47)] after 3 rounds.

* Brandon Wolff becomes the new X-1 Lightweight Champion

185lbs:
Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Egan Inoue (Grappling Unlimited) def. Hans Marrero (Team Marrero)

TKO via referee stoppage due to strikes at 2:59 in Round 1.

Sean
Sherk On
BJ Penn

By Jason Perkins

It appears
that Sean Sherk has had enough of the verbal jabs he's taken
through the media from BJ Penn. He swung back today via Insidefighting.com;
addressing Penn's will to fight, his own desire to be in the
UFC hall of fame and much more.

Sherk On BJ Penn's Will To Fight:

BJ, I’ve
seen him broken. In the second fight with Hughes when he was
caught on his back and eating those punches and elbows he was
just flopping around like a fish out of water. That was a guy
that didn’t want to fight anymore. I’ve seen that in
a couple of fights where if the fight is not going his way he
kind of just says, ‘F_k it. I don’t really care.’
You can see it in someone’s face.

Sherk On
Penn's Trash Talk:

He’s
not really fooling anyone with his talk. Maybe that’s what
he uses to motivate himself but I’m not going to quit. He
could be punching my face and I’ll come back and get back
at him. I’ve been in so many wars. Look at how many back
and forth fights I’ve been in and I’ve never given
in. I actually compete better if I don’t like somebody.
It tends to motivate me more, I perform better. I had a couple
fights where things have happened leading into a fight that frustrated
me, things my opponent was doing to throw me off. In those fights
I fought better than ever before. That’s what’s going
to happen with this fight. If I’m mad I don’t see red
to the point where I my lose attributes - I think I gain attributes.
I get faster, stronger, faster-thinking and more technical. I
think it helps me out and that’s one reason why I’m
really looking forward to this fight.

Sherk On
What This Fight Means To Him:

Really this
fight to me represents redemption. It represents me getting back
into the cage, me winning back my title that I shouldn’t
have lost in the first place. It represents a big milestone in
my career because if I win this fight right here I feel I will
make it to the UFC Hall of Fame and that’s my ultimate goal.

Source:
Fight Line

Iceman’s
coach praises Lyoto

“He’s the Larry Holmes of MMA”

Weeks before
the biggest fight of his life, Brazilian Lyoto Machida is being
tipped as favorite, even with two-time champion of the weight
group Tito Ortiz as his adversary. Criticized in the past for
winning all his fights by decision, the karateka is now seen
differently by American fans and has been carving out a place
for himself at the top of the rankings ever since he beat Cameroonian
Thierry Sokoudjou.

For Ortiz,
the fight on the 24th in Las Vegas at UFC 84 will be his last
one for the UFC, as his relationship with company president Dana
White has gone from bad to worse. With that in mid, the wrestler
is training hard to show the world what he’s capable of.
One took analyze this fight was Chuck Liddell’s trainer,
John Hackleman, who didn’t hide his admiration for the Brazilian.

"Machida
is probably a top 5 light heavy right now. I think he's really
good at making everything work and he's really technical. He
is like the Larry Holmes of MMA. It doesn't look like he's doing
much, but he does enough to keep beating people,” said the
leader of team The Pit to Fighthype.com.

Source:
Gracie Magazine

Norifumi
'KID' Yamamoto slated for

Dream debut on July 14

There is
finally an expected date for the DREAM debut of Norifumi "Kid"
Yamamoto.

The 2005
K-1 Hero's Lightweight Grand Prix champion will fight against
an opponent to be announced on July 14 at DREAM.4, which will
feature the second round of the promotion's middleweight tournament.
The lightweight tournament bout between Shinya Aoki and Katsuhiko
Nagata will also take place at that event.

Ever since
DREAM was unveiled in February, Yamamoto (17-1), an exclusive
member of the K-1 roster the past four years, was a given as
a part of K-1's newest mixed martial arts venture, DREAM.

Yamamoto
last competed on the New Year's Eve K-1 Dynamite event, stopping
former WEC title contender Rani Yahya with strikes in the second
round.

Source:
MMA Fighting

Fabio
Negão ready to Matt Lindland

By Guilherme Cruz

The BJJ
black belt, Fabio Negão, will have the biggest challenge
ever at his career at July 19th, facing the Wrestler Matt Lindland
at the event Affliction, to be hold at California . Training
hard to this challenge at Negão talk to TATAME and commented
his trains, his opponent and the fight. “Probably this fight
will not happen at the stand up, but I will be ready for it or
at the ground”, said Negão.

With a 8
wins and 3 losses card, Fábio Negão analyzed his
opponent. “He is a experienced Wrestler, with many fights
against very tough opponents. I am studing a lot their fight
videos and, with the right training, I have can make a big fight
and defeat him”, said Negão.

To fight
against Lindland, the Brazilian is training his BJJ skills. “I
am training a lot the stand up and I am very confident, but for
this fight I will give more attention to my BJJ, looking to submit
at all the time during the fight, because my opponent is a wrestler”,
commented Negão.

Source:
Tatame

Shogun
asks for Liddell

“I hope he accepts”

Mauricio
“Shogun” Rua arose in MMA as something of a phenomenon.
It didn’t take long before he won over Japan through the
Pride Middleweight GP and dominated his division using stomps
and an attractive fighting style. With the end of the Japanese
organization, the natural route for the Brazilian was the most
promising market of the moment: the UFC.

The Brazilian
arrived in the American organization already tipped to become
champion, and as the most likely to become the main challenger
for the light heavyweight belt, belonging to Quinton Jackson.
But what the world witnessed was an unrecognizable Shogun in
his debut against Forrest Griffin, as a knee injury hindered
his preparations for the fight. Soon thereafter, the UFC threw
him a great opportunity to redeem himself, offering him a bout
against superstar Chuck Liddell at UFC 85.

Once again
the knee got in the way of the Jiu-Jitsu black belt, who is now
focusing his energies on returning to being the fighter everyone
had expected him to be: a fighting ace. With a new gym, having
all the time he needs to return to form and regain his morale,
the youngest brother of Murilo Ninja had a talk with GRACIEMAG.com
about his new phase, his desire to fight Chuck, and recovery.
Check out the main points of the discussion:

Recovery

“I’ve
been lifting weights, doing physiotherapy and swimming every
day. My physiotherapist has cleared me to do some light boxing
next week, but as I’m going to travel with my brother to
catch his fight in Hawaii three weeks from now, I decided only
to return to training after the trip.

Universidade
da Luta (Fight University)

“I’m
also having work done on my house, besides working on inaugurating
the gym (Universidade da Luta), which will take place two weeks
from now. Our gym will be based on Couture’s Xtreme Couture,
and will be at the level of foreign gyms. We decided to stay
here in Brazil and so we’ll have to have the best, including
a 135 sq meter (450 sq ft) mat. We’ll have the best structure
in Brazil.

“If
where I am isn’t first rate, I’d never have left Chute
Boxe. The UFC is my work and my boss. We’re not kids anymore
and will prove to everyone that I’ll be well prepared. We
haven’t even inaugurated yet and we already have a good
team, which everyone will get to know domestically and internationally
in the events to come.”

Chuck Liddell

“I
respect him a lot as a fighter and I think he, besides being
a warrior, is top of the category. I’ve been watching him
since I started fighting. My fans can be sure I’ll be back
at 100%. I’d like for him to wait and fight me at the end
of the year. If I could choose who I’d fight on my return,
it would be him, for sure, and I hope he accepts.

Source:
Gracie Magazine

(Due
to questionable language and, ahem, dubious subject matter --
hey, Baroni was on the call !! -- this transcript has been, at
times, heavily edited ... to listen to a replay of the conference
call in its entirety, please call (800) 475-6701; the access
code is 923246 ... thanks ....)

CONFERENCE
CALL QUOTES

“RUTHLESS’’ ROBBIE LAWLER, SCOTT “HANDS OF
STEEL’’ SMITH,

PHIL “NYBA’’ BARONI & JOEY VILLASEÑOR,

ELITEXC LIVE EVENTS PRESIDENT GARY SHAW

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Crowd-pleasing
EliteXC Middleweight Champion Robbie Lawler of St. Louis will
defend his title against exciting, hard-hitting Scott Smith of
Sacramento, Calif., while fast-talking, colorful, controversial
Phil “NYBA” Baroni of Long Island, N.Y., will meet
determined, dedicated, world-class Joey Villasenor of Albuquerque,
N.M., in a 185-pound scrap in two of the five fights on the inaugural
“CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS” on Saturday, May
31 (9-11 p.m. ET/PT), on CBS.

The first
mixed martial event in primetime on network television will be
presented by Los Angeles-based Pro Elite, Inc.’s live fight
division, EliteXC, led by Gary Shaw, and emanate from the Prudential
Center in Newark, N.J.

Kimbo Slice,
of Perrine, Fla., will face England’s James “Colossus’’
Thompson in the main event on CBS. Other televised fights will
be Brett Rogers of Minneapolis taking on Jon Murphy of Philadelphia
in a heavyweight match and Gina Carano of Las Vegas facing Kaitlin
Young of Circle Pines, Minn., in a women’s bout at 140 pounds.

Tickets
for the live event start at $25 and are available at TicketMaster
locations, by phone (201) 507-8900, online at www.ticketmaster.com
and at the Prudential Center box office (973) 757-6625. Doors
open at 5:30 p.m. ET. The first live fight is at 6:30.

Shaw: We
are so excited to be working with CBS on this first-time ever
(live, primetime MMA event on network television where) all you
need is a screen, rabbit ears and a plug, and you get it for
free, f-r-e-e. So it's really exciting, May 31, 9 p.m., live
in prime time.

The card
is excellent and action packed. We are very, very excited to
present it, as it's going to be a great in-arena experience.
It also will be great television programming for CBS and ELITEXC
as partners.

Smith: I'm
real, real excited to be on this card. The biggest thing about
this card is every time I talk to people that watch an MMA fight
for the first time, they get hooked instantly.

And people
just don't always want to buy it on pay per view. And this is
going to be on free television. We're going to get millions of
people watching this that may have never watched MMA before.
They're just going to get hooked. I think every time it's on
CBS it will get bigger. It's a stacked card, going to be exciting.
Get a lot of new fans and I'm honored to be a part of it.

Shaw: On
May 19 at the CBS lot (in Studio City, Calif.) we're having a
West Coast press conference demonstration. I'll let everybody
know what it's all about. Those that are on the West Coast, we'd
love for you to be there live and attend it with us.

Question:
Scott, can you tell us about your preparation for the Lawler
fight?

Smith: I
always bounce around a lot when I train. I've been up in Big
Bear with Tito Ortiz. I have gone up there a couple of times
for a couple weeks at a time. I am sticking with my same Muay
Thai coach in San Francisco, which is actually about an hour
and 45-minute drive for me. I am on my way back from there now.
I pulled over to talk. I go there two to three days a week. It
is well worth the driver and working with my Jiu-Jitsu instructor.
(Myself) and James Irvin, a fellow fighter, have our own gym
in our own hometown to get the training for this fight. I bounce
around a lot.

Question:
Is Ortiz helping you out with some wrestling?

Smith: Ortiz
is helping me out with the wrestling, and I'm helping him with
the stand-up. We are both fighting a left-handed fighter. His
fight coming up is against a southpaw, and Robbie Lawler is a
southpaw. Both have the same training regiment. So, it works
out.

Question:
How do you and Lawler match up and how do you see this fight
breaking down?

Smith: I
see this as a stand-up fight. If Lawler gets in trouble, he will
take the fight to the ground. Not enough people give me credit
for my wrestling background. I took fourth in state in junior
college in California, which is a pretty good accomplishment.
I've been doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu a lot longer than Muay Thai.
I haven't been able to show that in my fights as much. If this
fight does go to the ground, which I believe (because) I will
get him stunned, get him rocked. I see him trying to take the
fight to the ground.

But, I think
we both want to go out there and put on a show like we always
do. I see this fight staying on its feet and somebody getting
knocked out.

Question:
Even though Lawler had some really good wins in 2007, do you
think he may have a little ring rust?

Smith: I
definitely believe in the ring rust. I have the advantage there.
If I'm fighting every three to four months, it's great for me.
I don't get a chance to get out of shape. I've gone six, eight
months without fighting and it feels like a first fight sometimes.
So, that's a definite advantage for me.

Question:
Do you want to make a prediction for this fight?

Smith: I
will win by knockout. I have no secrets about my game. Not only
would I be willing to give my opponents my fight film, but they
can come in and film me practice. There are no secrets about
my game.

Question:
Did you ever think you'd be fighting in prime time on CBS?

Smith: (No,
I did not. I got into an MMA because I was a fan of it. I wanted
to do it a couple of times. I did it seven, eight, nine, 10 times.
I just kept winning. This is an absolute dream come true.

Every time
I fight, I have some big accomplishments in my career. The fights
become bigger and bigger opportunities for me. I don't see a
bigger opportunity than this right here. Fighting for a belt
on network television is just a dream come true.

Question:
Do you feel you're getting closer to a point in your career where
you're comfortable vertical, horizontal? Do you think you're
50/50 now, or are you leaning one way?

Smith: I
still prefer to stand up and fight. But, I can honestly say in
the last two years I have been doing just enough wrestling and
Jiu-Jitsu to get by. In the last two months preparing for this
fight, I'm actually having fun with it for the first time in
a couple of years.

I look forward
to my private instruction with my Jiu-Jitsu instructor and my
wrestling coach. I was kind of getting myself worried there that
maybe I should be a boxer, Muay Thai fighter. But I'm having
a lot of fun with my ground game now. So, I'm improving every
day.

Question:
Do you think a quick fight favors you?

Smith: A
quick fight favors both of us. A fight that goes the distance
definitely favors Lawler. I'm not going out there to try to outpoint
him. I'm going out there to try to finish the fight. Every combo
I throw is going to try to finish the fight.

Eventually,
I am either going to land a big one or Lawler is going to land
a big one. If it goes the distance, he would outpoint me and
I would be disappointed. I'd probably never want to fight again
if this fight went the distance.

Question:
With this huge platform that you'll be on, are you feeling any
pressure actually to keep it standing?

Smith: I
don't feel the pressure because I'm the challenger and the underdog.
I'm the one with nothing to lose. If anything, Lawler would be
the one feeling the pressure. It is kind of an ego thing.

I assume
people aren't going to stand with me. I'm going out there and
want to stand. If Lawler stands with me, that's great. But I
don't feel the pressure to have to keep it on the feet. I'm not
stupid. If I get rocked, I have no problem trying to take the
guy down.

Question:
Gary, a couple of months ago you mentioned on a conference call
that you would like to put boxing gloves on Kimbo Slice. Is there
any development on that?

Shaw: There
is no development right now. I am concentrating on keeping Kimbo
in the cage, building him to superstar status, which I believe
he's at. We're happy where we are with him in his career. This
is more than a spectacular opportunity for Kimbo to be in front
of a potential audience of 100 million-plus eyeballs. So, for
now, Kimbo is staying in the cage.

Question:
Do you think Kimbo will ever be in the boxing ring?

Shaw: That
is a good question. I think Kimbo is a potential heavyweight
champion of the world, absolutely. But, right now, we're focusing
strictly on his MMA career with Bas (Rutten) and Randy Khatami
and proving all the critics wrong who say he's not really a great
fighter.

We invite
all those critics to (enter) the cage and we'll prove that Kimbo
is a great fighter.

Question:
Scott, what would a win over Lawler mean to you?

Smith: This
would be huge. This would put me right where I want to be. I've
been knocking on the door to the Top 10 so many times, and then
I lose a big fight. Winning a big fight like this would put me
right back there.

If you gave
me a list of the top-20 185-pounders in the world, I would hand-pick
Lawler. So, this is a huge opportunity for me.

Question:
What does it mean to be on national television and be able to
show your skills to a national audience?

Smith: It's
a dream come true. Everybody and their mom are going to be watching
this. I have family in Oklahoma that didn't even know I fought.
They're all throwing huge parties to watch this.

Even I can
afford to watch CBS. You don't have to buy it on pay per view.
I love it.

Question:
Gary, do you foresee Kimbo facing Butterbean in the near future?

Shaw: Anything
is possible. (But) Right now, no, I don't have Butterbean on
the radar for Kimbo. I am trying to get Kimbo in with more MMA
fighters and big-time fighters.

But, there
may be a time that we'll let Kimbo knock Butterbean out. I've
spoken to Butterbean personally. Remember, when Butterbean goes
down, it's with a thud.

Question:
Scott, who do you think hits harder between you and Lawler? How
confident are you standing with him? Do you think that you'll
get the knockout? Do you think your chin can take one of his
punches and vice versa?

Smith: I
do believe Lawler will be one of the hardest-hitting opponents
I've faced. But, I definitely will be the hardest hitting opponent
he's faced. I've faced guys that hit real hard. Pete Sell hits
hard. Jim Irvin hits like a truck. I guarantee Lawler’s
never fought anybody that hits as hard as me. People don't realize
that until they fight or spar with me. Lawler is going to buy
all the hype. Yes, I definitely see me winning this fight by
knockout.

Question:
Is not worrying about the scorecards a new approach or is that
how you've always approached your fights?

Smith: That's
how I approach my fights. I went the distance once with Patrick
Couture. It made me sick to my stomach. Even if I would have
pulled off a decision, he definitely won that fight. If they
would have given me the decision, it would have made me sick,
too. I don't like having those fights where you go out there
not to lose. I want to go out to win the fight.

Question:
Why are you so committed to winning by knockout? Why are you
so turned off by winning by decision?

Smith: No.
1, I'm the underdog. No. 2, I have the power advantage. If I
land a clean shot, I can knock anybody out. I don't care if it's
185 pounds, 205 pounds, or heavyweights. I'm improving on my
speed every day. I'm improving on my technique, and I land those
shots. I'm going to knock those people out.

Question:
Do you feel you should be the underdog in this fight?

Smith: I
definitely should be the underdog. Lawler is the champion. He's
won the bigger fights.

Question:
Gary, can you tell us about some fighters on the undercard that
we should watch for?

Shaw: I
would think you would want to watch our entire card. One thing
I pride EliteXC in is what we do on the fights and fighters that
we present. I'm very proud. We've had very few mismatches. We've
had very few boring fights. Before we sign fighters, we let them
know they've got to fight. We're not interested in having a love
fest.

Skala “Jared’’
Shaw (EliteXC VP):

You’ll
want to keep your eyes on Nick Serra, Matt Serra's brother. He
is a veteran making a comeback at 170 pounds against another
good prospect we have out of Philadelphia named Matt Makowski.
That's going to be an interesting fight. You'll want to keep
your eyes out for Carlton Haselrig, a heavyweight. He is a former
Pro Bowl offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers and N.Y.
Jets. He is 1-0 in his mixed martial arts career. He also was
an accomplished All-American collegiate wrestler. He also defeated
Kurt Angle.

We are very
interested to see Haselrig in the cage. Obviously we're all very
excited at EliteXC about Wilson Reis, who we feel at 140 is one
of the top fighters in the world.

Shaw: What
it boils down to is that it's almost our entire card. I'm trying
to figure out a new way not to define undercards against TV because
these are all going to be the future TV stars.

I really
believe that the in-arena and TV experiences of watching all
these young fighters will excite you.

You'll see
that we try our hardest to give all of you something to be proud
of in the MMA world. We're trying to build MMA as a sport, not
just EliteXC as a brand. If we don't build MMA as a sport, then
the brand will not last. So, I'm glad my son, Jared, gave you
a little rundown. Believe me, Smith wouldn't be challenging for
a belt if we didn't think he was a worthwhile challenger, and
we wouldn't put him on if we didn't think he was one of the most
exciting fighters in the world.

I want to
address one other thing because somebody asked a question about
ratings. I think all the ratings are flawed. I've gone on record
as saying that. They're basically ratings of the UFC fighters.
The UFC has some very, very fine fighters and has put on some
fine fights. EliteXC has some fine fighters and we've put on
some great fights.

So, the
rankings aren't really what they should be because until the
UFC is willing to put their fighters up against our fighters,
then the rankings will always be flawed. But, there are visionaries
like Jay Larkin from the International Fight League (IFL) and
Scott Coker from Strikeforce that see the benefit to the world
of MMA, television and all the fans of these organizations fighting
one another.

So, until
that time happens, I don't go by any rankings. I think Smith
is one of the finest fighters in the world, as is Lawler.

Question:
Gary, since you promote both boxing and MMA events, where do
you see the two sports going?

Shaw: Boxing
continually kills itself by only featuring old fighters, boring
fights, where MMA has all these young Smith-type fighters that
light it up, and that fans want to see.

Fans of
MMA are more rabid than boxing fans. MMA is a lifestyle. A loss
in boxing is close to catastrophic. In MMA, it's not.

So, therefore
MMA is a very fast-paced sport. Once people get in the arena,
it becomes very addictive.

There is
a huge difference. In the beginning, I wasn't sure I liked it
(MMA) myself. But, I can tell you now that I love it. I find
it so exciting. It's just fast. It's great. The talent level
is deep. That's the major difference. That's why this is going
on CBS.

This is
the single biggest thing that will ever happen to mixed martial
arts -- and boxing cannot get on a network.

Question:
How much can mixed martial arts learn from those mistakes and
try and fix it?

Shaw: Hopefully
they can learn. If they cooperate, it will be much better for
everyone. The differentiator is in the UFC where nobody can be
bigger than (Dana White) or the UFC. In EliteXC, everyone can
be bigger than Gary Shaw, not in waist line, but in notoriety.
Everyone can be bigger than our brand. It's supposed to be about
our athletes. We need to get the UFC and other organizations
to cooperate and let the fighters fight one another. We let Nick
Diaz go and fight Gomi when there was Pride, and he wound up
beating Gomi and really made a bigger name for himself.

If there's
a big fight out there for Smith, I'd let him go and fight for
someone else. Those are the opportunities. That's what can be
learned. If we don't learn about it in MMA, the sport will die
on the vine just like boxing. It will be there, but it won't
be what it can be. Right now, mixed martial arts has the single
best opportunity in the history of the sport by having all these
eyeballs on CBS.

Question:
Scott, how surprised were you that your second fight in EliteXC
is now for a title?

Smith: I
was pretty surprised, but I was honored at the same time. I didn't
think I was many fights away from being in a title fight. I didn't
think it would be one win away, but Kyle (Noke) was a top contender
and I took him out, so that puts me right there.

Another
top contender is Joey Villasenor, but Lawler has actually beaten
him. So, I think it makes sense for me to fight Lawler first.

Question:
How strange does it feel to be fighting for a title fight and
not being the main event?

Smith: I
get a lot of questions on that. KCAL-TV in Los Angeles asked
me if I was offended by that. Kimbo Slice is a huge name. He's
an upcoming, great fighter. I'm honored to be on the same card
as him.

I would
much rather fight for a title and fight the second to last fight
than be the main event and not have Kimbo on the card. The fact
that he's on the card is going to have millions of more people
tune in. So, if people tune in to watch him, they're going to
watch me and that's great for me. So, I'm honored to be on the
card with Kimbo.

Question:
Gary, can you comment on the report that Mike Tyson has agreed
to fight Kimbo?

Shaw: First,
I want to comment on what Smith just said. He is now going to
be my assistant promoter. He's better than I am. But what he
said happens to be 110 percent correct.

I have the
media report about Tyson. I have had no discussions with Mike
or anybody surrounding Mike. I know Mike. Yes, I would make that
fight in a heartbeat.

Question:
Scott, can you talk about your personal transition from UFC to
EliteXC? How did that all come about?

Smith: It
was kind of a mutual thing, but, bottom line, they (UFC) ended
up letting me go. I was coming off two losses. They basically
told me to go get a couple of wins before I came back and fought.
I can't stick around and wait. I've got a mortgage and kids.
EliteXC had the door wide open for me, and UFC let me go at the
same time.

So, it actually
worked out great for me. I was a little nervous at first. But
now, with the way EliteXC is going, I'm just thrilled to death
they let me go.

Question:
Is it correct to say you signed on for the show during the Ultimate
Fighter contract?

Smith: Yes,
I still have three fights left with UFC and they let me go after
that.

Question:
Gary, how many seats is the arena set up for?

Shaw: We
are still working on it because of all the CBS television kills
that we have to do. But we'll probably be set for somewhere around
12,000.

We can expand
on that. Scott (Smith), you remember to tell Tito (Ortiz) my
door is open.

Smith: I
think he (Ortiz) knows that.

Shaw: I
happen to be a huge fan of his (Ortiz) on a personal level. No
organization has the best fight, fighters or puts on the best
fights. It's all around. I'll take all the Smiths in the world
every day. They can walk in and there will be a contract. I'm
sure Smith can speak for himself, but we treat every fighter,
whether it's their first fight with us or their eighth, we treat
them all like champions.

Smith: That's
very true.

Question:
Gary, can you address the criticism directed toward Kimbo that
he's getting his big shot on CBS even though he only has a couple
of MMA fights?

Shaw: I'm
doing a big HBO show Saturday in Nevada. It's called Rising Stars
and its three kids that are some of the best fighters in the
world, and one of them has only had nine fights.

So, I don't
think the number of fights determines how good a fighter is,
or whether that fighter could be a star or superstar. There's
a lot of jealousy in this sport. People are jealous of Gina Carano.
I said I was going to make her the face of women's MMA, and we
delivered on that.

I knew Kimbo
Slice could be a superstar. I believe if Smith does what he's
capable of, and it's nothing against Lawler because I'm a huge
fan, but Smith can be a huge star because of his personality,
the way he speaks, the punching power.

For those
that say things about Kimbo to me are haters because they should
be cheer-leading him to lead the way and open more doors. I don't
think MMA has had as much excitement the last few years as Kimbo
is now bringing to the table.

Let me remind
everyone on this call that nobody cared who Mike Tyson fought.
If you asked someone what they were doing Saturday night, they
would say they were going to see Tyson. They didn't say Tyson
against anybody. If he beat up on somebody that wasn't as good
as him, people would say he's the baddest man on the planet.
Some of the questions on this call are about an aging Tyson who
got knocked out in his last fight. But it's still the aura of
Tyson.

That's what
Kimbo Slice brings. I'm proud to promote him and proud to know
him. I'm proud to call him a friend. Everybody should be cheer-leading
Kimbo because he is a reason, not the only reason, but a reason
that CBS really looked up. The logo of CBS, that eye, they put
that eye right on Kimbo Slice.

Question:
Do you think that Kimbo is just maximizing his popularity right
now?

Shaw: I
wouldn't even say Kimbo is maximizing his popularity because
truthfully he's in awe of what's happening to him. Those that
have met him and talk to him will realize that he's in awe. He
doesn't walk around like he's some big kick-ass star, disses
people or whatever. It's the complete opposite. He's quiet and
nice, and he's a special type of person.

It's just
that Kimbo is in the right place at the right time. He had a
huge YouTube Internet following with more than 10 million unique
hits. So, Amen. Give the man credit. He didn't just go to sleep
one night, wake up on third base and thought he hit a triple.

Question:
What’s it about Ortiz you like and makes you interested
in signing him if he's a free agent?

Shaw: Of
all my years in the fight game, I know one thing that I could
see, touch, smell and feel, and that is a star and a superstar.
Every time I see Tito Ortiz, he wreaks of stardom. I think I
can even better his days in the UFC.

I think
I can reincarnate Ortiz. He is a talented fighter and has all
the mechanisms that you need to make someone a superstar.

Can you
imagine Tito Ortiz and Kimbo in the cage together one day? My
door is open. I hope that he's able to negotiate one day because
I would never interfere with a contract. I hope he's sitting
right next to me, not across from my desk, but right with me.

Baroni:
This interferes with my workout to listen to this bulls**t interview
thing. What am I doing? I have no idea. What do you want? I'm
sick of asking questions. It's time to fight. I got my f***king
mouthpiece in right now. Smokin' Joe Villasenor owes me a knockout.
It's the hottest thing in California, get back home and bust
this kid up.

Shaw: Would
you fight the winner of Smith and Lawler?

Baroni:
Yeah, I would fight the winner of Smith and Lawler. Isn’t
the plan to beat the champion? I was just listening to Smith.
He said he can knock out anyone. I don't get knocked out. Smith
won't knock me out. So, that's a fight. If he wins, I'll be there
in the center of the ring. We can go toe-to-toe and trade. I
don't lose those fights.

I'll be
watching that fight after I put Smokin' Joe Villasenor on ice.

Question:
Joe, what are your comments on what Baroni just said?

Villasenor:
Come on, this is ‘Phil the Mouth’ Baroni. Hands down,
he is going to beat me in a words war, but he definitely has
to deal with a lot of heart. I know I'm going into enemy territory,
which totally gets me pumped. I know Baroni is going to have
some family members there, and I'm excited, man. I'm actually
shaking in my pants right now. I'm a little nervous right now,
and Baroni has quite the mouth. I am not going to talk much.
I respect Baroni. I respect the power. But, he says he doesn't
get knocked out. We'll just have to test that out.

Question:
Can you comment on the fact that Baroni said he is going to ice
you?

Villasenor:
(Laughing) That's a good one. He's going to ice me. I don't care
what Baroni says. We know him. He said he's going to do this
and that all the time. But he's got to come through. I didn't
say I'm going to do this or that. I'm going go out there and
perform my best and we'll see what happens in the end.

Baroni:
You are going to get knocked out, kid. Your best isn't going
to be big enough. The bottom line is this is my coming home party,
and you're the victim.

Villasenor:
Your coming out party, Phil? You've been out for a while. You've
been exposed for a while. I'll just have to show everybody on
national television and expose you, expose you at home, expose
you in front of everybody. I'm excited to get the opportunity.

I respect
you, man. I respect the power you've got. But it's coming. It's
coming. You know it's coming. I don't need to talk trash. You
know what's coming. That's all there is to it.

Baroni:
I ain't talking trash. I'm stating the facts, dude. I'm going
to smash you and you'll get hurt real bad. Be ready. Try your
best. Your best is not going to be good enough, and we'll send
you back to Nashville.

Villasenor:
You're getting me even more excited for this. I'm pumped. This
is just what I needed. I needed somebody to talk trash to me.
This is the first time in 30 fights that I've had somebody treat
me this way. Hey, thanks for the motivation.

Baroni:
You're welcome, buddy.

Question:
Phil, are you thinking about a rematch with Frank Shamrock given
his broken arm?

Baroni:
Of course I think about a rematch against Shamrock. I think about
it every day. A day doesn't go past I don’t think about
it. Everyone watched the Cung Le fight saying, ‘Wow, Cung
Le is this, is that. Wow, Shamrock should have had him.’
I was watching the fight thinking, ‘I can't believe I lost
to this bum.’ I can't believe this guy got a “W”
over me.

It is what
it is. Joe Villasenor still owes me a knockout. He is going to
pay for that loss. When Shamrock gets better, he's next. That's
a fight I never should have lost. I fought the guy with a torn
adductor muscle. That's a fight I want back. But, I'm focused
on Smokin' Joe, big mouth Smokin' Joe. I'm focused on him and
shutting his mouth.

Question:
How is your ground game?

Baroni:
It f***ing blows, and it is not going to the ground. Who cares
about the ground game? Smokin' Joe tries to stand and trade.
You saw his last fight. He likes to bang. So, this is going to
be a great fight. That's why it's on CBS.

It is going
to be two guys in there and throwing down for another exciting
fight. Villasenor is not going to leave until he's carried out
on a stretcher. My ground game doesn't make a difference. Who
cares about a ground game anyway? Nobody wants to watch that
s**t.

Question:
Joey, do you have a rebuttal to that?

Villasenor:
I think Baroni is right. His ground game does suck. I'm sure
that's what he wants, for us to bang it out where he has an opportunity
win. I hope he doesn't go down form shock because I'll have to
have to choke him out like Shamrock did.

Baroni:
Yeah, hopefully. Villasenor can't wrestle and he can't take me
down. So, it's not going to the ground.

Question:
Gary, will there be a seven-second delay on Baroni?

Shaw: Baroni
will be a 30-minute delay.

Question:
Robbie, what are your thoughts on the upcoming title defense
on CBS?

Lawler:
I'm just working hard and trying to stay healthy. That's about
it.

Question:
Joey, do you think you have the advantage in overall technique?

Villasenor:
I think my overall game is improving daily. I have power with
movement. It's about executing. Overall, we all know that Baroni
has stand-up power, but I'm going to try to expose him with my
movement. So, it's just all about executing.

Baroni:
Basically to sum it up, Villasenor is going to run. He basically
just said that he (will) bring his track shoes and chase me.
He's going to run. It doesn't matter because in the cage you
can run, but you can't hide. I'm going to find you, I'm going
to hit and everyone's going to think about you.

Villasenor:
You're going to make me pay for your last two losses, right,
Phil?

Baroni:
Uh-huh.

Question:
Joey, how do you feel as far as where your career is headed?
Do you think you're on track and back to where you need to be
to get a title shot?

Villasenor:
I think I've been doing the right things. The Ninja and Lawler
fights were something that I've definitely needed in my career,
some humps to get over with, some things to look at on film and
correct and executing the right training methods for me. So,
those fights definitely needed to happen in my career to move
forward.

I'm excited
for my future and for what's happening with the sport. I think
I'm right on track.

Question:
Do you have any response to Baroni talking about how basically
you're just going to end up running around the cage to stay away
from him?

Villasenor:
I don’t really have a response to that. We all know that
Baroni is getting me tangled into his game right now. This is
where he wins every fight. Baroni wins every vocal fight. He
is getting me a little pumped up and a little pissed off, but
I'm not going to fall into that game. I'm just going to let Baroni
talk, and I'm just going to execute game plans and then we'll
just see what he's saying afterwards.

Baroni:
The game plan is to run, Joe. That is a good game plan, run and
try to survive. A lot of guys tried that game plan against me
on the ground. Get me on the ground. That's what nobody cares
about, Smokin' Joe. Run, get the guy on the ground. No one wants
to watch that sh**t. Just think about this. I'm bigger, and I'm
stronger. I'm faster. I'm a better athlete than you. In fact,
I'm the biggest, strongest, fastest, best athlete in the division.
Remember that. I'm going to catch you. I'm going to catch you
and hurt you. When I'm ripe, I hurt people. I'm ripe for the
fight. I've got my f**king mouthpiece in my mouth right now.
I am ready to go and ready to bust you up

Villasenor:
Put that f**king mouthpiece in deeper, please.

Baroni:
No.

Question:
Gary, is the winner of the Villasenor-Baroni fight entitled to
a title shot?

Shaw: No
one is guaranteed anything. People have to earn it. Let's see
what happens. Let’s see what kind of fight it is, and let's
see how it ends. There are definitely top contenders for the
belt. All four of these guys on the call right now are the premiere
fighters at 185 pounds in all of mixed martial arts.

Question:
Robbie, could you set the record straight on why you dropped
out of your last two fights?

Lawler:
I had to drop out of one fight due to illness. I flew into Hawaii
the night before I got sick. That's how I made weight. I was
on the toilet all night. I made weight, but I wasn't ready to
fight.

The next
one was in December when I was supposed to fight in Hawaii again.
I hurt my shoulder, and actually tore my bicep.

Baroni:
I saw it, too, in Vegas; it was definitely torn.

Shaw: That's
why we're bringing Lawler to the East Coast. It is safer.

Question:
Robbie, are you healthy now?

Lawler:
I'm training hard, so I'm a little sore right now. But, next
week, I'll heal up. I will let my body rest a little this weekend
and I should be ready to go.

Question:
Phil, originally your opponent was (Murilo) “Ninja’’
(Rua). Have you changed anything about your training, or is everybody
the same to you?

Baroni:
Everybody is the same. What you see is what you get. I am coming
to throw bombs. My chin is down. My hands are up. Let them fly.
I'll bring my track shoes. Villasenor will be running. So, thanks
for the heads up, brother. I'll work on my movement and cutting
people off, and knock them down on the run. I've done a lot of
that in my career. As I said, Villasenor can run, but can't hide.
I'm going to get him. The cage gets smaller by the round. I'll
be ready to do my thing.

Question:
Phil, now that you're with EliteXC, do you have a new set of
wheels?

Baroni:
We'll see. We'll see. Gary's (Shaw) is talking s**t about Dana
White, and all this crap. Where's my car, Gary? Hook me up.

Shaw: I'll
take you for a ride in my Ferrari.

Baroni:
I don't want to go in your car. Let me hold onto your watch for
a while we're at it.

Shaw: Let
me hold onto your girl for a while.

Baroni:
(Laughter) Which one?

Question:
Robbie, how concerned are you that you may have a bit of ring
rust?

Lawler:
I'm not too worried about ring rust. I do well when I have some
layoff. I've been training hard. I'm in shape. I'm ready to go.
I'm mentally prepared and that's all that matters. I hadn't even
sparred for the last two years, and I've been sparring for the
last month and a half. So, I feel pretty good.

Question:
Joey, when the fight was offered to you after Rua couldn't make
it, (were you concerned there was not enough time to prepare
for a different opponent)?

Villasenor:
I wasn't really that concerned. I didn’t overexert myself
in the fight with (Ryan) Jensen. It ended within the first round.
I was still in great condition, and when given the opportunity
to fight on CBS, when you have all these positives going in your
direction, it would be hard to say no. I made my mind up as soon
as the phone rang.

Question:
Gary, what is the status of any negotiations between you and
DREAM?

Shaw: There
are no negotiations. However, we've loaned them some fighters
recently, including Nick Diaz. I will put my fighters anywhere.
I'll let anybody else's fighters fight our fighters. I will co-promote
if the deal is right with anybody.

That's what
mixed martial arts needs. If it's going to survive, that is what
has to happen.

Baroni:
I'm going to hold you to that because I've got two scores I have
to settle over in Japan.

Villasenor:
Go over there and fight, too.

Shaw: Maybe
we'll bring a whole team to fight their team.

Baroni:
Sounds good. Let's do it.

Question:
Robbie, do you think the fight against Smith will be pretty close?

Lawler:
I don't know. What I'm going to try to do is not get hit, first
of all, so if I don't feel his (Smith’s) power, that's going
to be awesome. If I get hit in the right spot at the right time,
I could get hurt. But, I've been training hard and I'm not too
worried about it. I'm in shape, and I'm going to try not to get
hit and that's my game plan.

Question:
Robbie, what are your thoughts on MMA going primetime live for
the first time?

Lawler:
It is awesome for the sport. I don't care about necessarily being
on TV in front of a whole bunch of people. I care more about
making money. Sponsorships are big right now, and that's awesome
for the sport.

Baroni:
Let me answer that question real quick. Guys like me and Lawler
have been fighting for a long time. We were in the UFC when no
one knew what the UFC was. We've been fighting for chump change.
We're fighters. That's what we do. Yeah, it's great to be on
CBS, but when we got into this sport it wasn't even on pay per
view.

So, it's
great to be on CBS and it's great to have all that exposure and
everything else. But, I didn't get into fighting because I wanted
to be a rock star, and neither did a guy like Lawler. That's
not why we did it. I don't really give a sh**t about Gary Shaw's
watch or his Ferrari. I do it for pride, and I do it to set high
goals and accomplishments. Six million people in the world and
there's only one world champion. Lawler is that guy right now.
So, I really don't think it matters to him or the real fighters
about fighting on CBS.

As far as
Kimbo Slice, the guy is pretty much a real fighter. Why? Because
he didn't know he was going to be a big success, MMA guy or be
fighting on CBS. He likes beating people up. That's just what
it is. Big dogs can't get in the yard and see who's bigger. Fight
in the cage. Let's not make it more than it is. It's a fight
in the cage. Fighters fight and people are drawn to fighters.
Football players and sh**t get into it now because they see how
big it is and they see the opportunity. That's bullsh**t. We've
been here a long time, and we're grateful for the opportunity.
We're happy to be fighting on TV. It's great, but that's not
why we're doing it. That's not why we got into it. There was
no TV to get into. We just wanted to get into a fight. We're
basically doing this for free.

Shaw: That's
what the beauty of what you guys have on the call right now,
along with Kimbo and Gina and the rest of the card. None of our
fighters are prima donnas. They're here for the love of the sport
and the pride they fight with, and they're all going to lead
and show you their souls on May 31. You can guarantee that.

Baroni:
That's right. We're real fighters. Joe Villasenor, whatever,
he's a victim. I'm going to kill him. But, he's a real deal fighter.
He's going to fight in a cage. But, he's a champ. He wasn't fighting
for the money, (or) the girls. He wasn't some f**king teacher
that f**king retired so he could be on Ultimate Fighter. He's
a real fighter. He's doing it because he wants to f**king fight.
He wants to prove himself. That's where I am. That's where Lawler
and Kimbo are at. I don't know much about Smith, but he's in
there banging away. He's the real deal to me. So, we're real
fighters. We ain't movie stars.

I didn't
sign a contract with CBS. I signed because I wanted to fight.
I saw the roster and opportunities available to me and I took
it. I want to fight the best fighters in the world. Frank Shamrock
signed with that organization. I want that mother. I want to
kill him. So, CBS, that's a bonus. I'm a real fighter. I want
a shot. I want to fight. Gina Carano, she's a chick that wants
to fight. She wants to kick box. So, we're all real fighters.

Question:
Robbie, what would a win mean for you in terms of getting more
exposure?

Lawler:
Sponsorships will come. My name is going to get out there. I
have to go out there. If I'm ranked high or get my ass kicked,
I have to go out and perform and fight the way I know how. I
need to win, plain and simple.

Question:
Gary, what would it mean to have maybe Randy Couture sign with
EliteXC and have the DREAM match between Couture and Fedor?

Shaw: I
would love to put that fight on. I know everybody is in it for
the money. I appreciate what everybody says. But sometimes deals
cannot be made because people are not realistic. People need
to be realistic in order to put fights on. When Fedor wants to
fight just anybody for $2 million, that is not realistic for
my company. So, somebody wants to give him that kind of money,
not for a real fight, that's strictly up to them.

Question:
Would you take the opportunity to pick up Couture if you had
the opportunity?

Shaw: Yeah,
of course. Couture is a legend. He is in great shape. But every
day at the age that Randy is starts taking its toll on the athlete.
All these guys on the phone can tell you that. I've dealt with
enough fighters to know that there comes a certain time and an
age that they peak and then there comes a time that they just
can't keep up the pace of the training.

I think
it was Lawler who said that his body is hurting right now from
the rugged training. You can't keep that pace up forever. If
it was, George Foreman would still be boxing and Joe Frazier
would still be boxing. I don't know if Couture’s time has
passed. I know he's a spectacular athlete and spectacular talent.
If Randy was not under contract, and I'm not sure if he's clear
of his contract, then I'd be more than happy to sit down and
talk with him. But make sure someone tells Ortiz my door's open.

Question:
Phil, how does EliteXC treat its fighters? How does it compare
to the other leagues?

Baroni:
They're treating me well. I went into the office to do bulls**t
paperwork. They had a birthday cake and surprise party. I'm 29
again this year. I was pretty happy about that. It was pretty
surprising. So, maybe they're trying to butter me up, but whatever
it was, it's the thought that counts. It was a nice thought and
a nice gesture. I'm waiting for my f***ing keys. You can mail
them, Gary. (Laughter)

Lawler:
Some guys are getting cut. Live with it. I was cut a while back,
like four or five years ago. Guess where I am at right now because
I kept working? I don't feel sorry for anyone. Go to work and
get better, plain and simple.

Baroni:
I agree. It's our business. It's not the nice business. It's
not about feeling. It's about winning f***ing fights.

Villasenor:
I've fought for Pride. I've competed against Lawler in Pride.
I fought in Japan. I fought for King of the Cage. I fought for
numerous organizations. It's (EliteXC) the best I've been taken
care of. The staff is down to earth and they don't treat me like
a product. They treat me like a person. I think that's probably
the most important thing with someone like myself. They treat
me like an individual. EliteXC is on the right track with the
way Gary Shaw talks about treating its fighters. Shaw has been
in this game a long time and he understands what fighters want,
what we need and that's being respected. There is no show without
the fighters. Along with that, there's no fight for the fighters
without a good promoter. So, we are all scratching each other's
backs on this one. Hands down, I think that EliteXC is making
some big moves, and they're going to be a force to be reckoned
with.

EliteXC
is the one to get the first big show on the road. I'm just glad
to be a part of it.

Question:
Robbie, aside from the injuries do you think you're at the peak
of your career?

Lawler:
I'm just mentally prepared more than anything. When I first came
into the fight game, I was just raw, just coming out. I was going
to knock everyone out by training hard. But, I wasn't mentally
prepared to go to war and put my body through everything. So,
now I can go to war. I can fight for five rounds and I'm ready
to go. That's the difference between now and six years ago.

Question:
How did you accomplish that change?

Lawler:
When you train with the best in the world and they're doing great,
they're beating people up and I train with these guys every day.
I'm lumping these guys up. I had to look within and try to change
some stuff and slow my game up a little bit and think a little
more when I was out there fighting. That's what I've been doing.

Question:
What do you think of Smith as a fighter? He seemed to indicate
that he expects this to be a stand-up battle.

Lawler:
Standing up is where all fights start. I'm ready to bang. I'm
ready to kick. I'm ready to defend takedowns. I'm ready to take
someone down. I'm ready to do Jui-Jitsu on the top or bottom.
It's going to be a fight. I’m going to start on the feet,
but who knows where it will go.

Question:
Do you think you have better or equal wrestling skills to Smith?

Lawler:
It doesn't matter. I'm a pretty good athlete. I can move really
well and we'll see.

Question:
Do you want to make a prediction for the fight?

Lawler:
It's going to be a great fight. I don't talk a lot of trash.
I'm going to come out there ready to bang and go to war. That's
the way I do it.

Question:
Do you have any closing comments?

Lawler:
I'm training hard. I'm going to be ready to go May 31. I've got
a good team behind me. I have a new facility in Granite City,
Illinois, H.I.T. squad. That's it.

Villasenor:
I am very excited. I am glad that they gave me the ring. I look
forward to going to war in enemy territory. It's never real until
moments like this, and all that hard work and all that training
here in Albuquerque with my team.

I have a
great team behind me. I'd like to say to my family and friends
in Albuquerque and New Mexico I love you and the world finally
gets to see my heart.

Baroni:
I'm kind of shy. I really don't have much to say. Put me on the
spot like that and all. I'm just f***king happy to get home.
I'm happy to get home. I look forward to the East Coast, New
Jersey, New York. I fought a long time in Japan, all over the
place, California, and in dude’s hometowns all the time.
Now, we're coming to my house, and I'm going to defend.

I'm happy
to be back. It's a long time coming, and I'm training real hard.
I'm at AKA. I think it's the best camp in the business. I'm training
real hard. All fighters think their camp's the best, but mine
speaks for itself. I'm in top shape and I'm going to be ready
to go. I'm not going to be denied. Blood and guts. I'm 15 minutes,
rounds all out, man, ready to go. I'm going to be proving what
I started in 2002 before injuries and bulls**t happened. I am
the best 185-pounder in the world. When things are right and
I'm ripe, I hurt people and I knock them out and I'm a show-stopper.
I'm going to stop this show on CBS. I'm winning this fight and
ending it violently. I will separate Joe Villasenor from consciousness.

Smith: I'm
expecting a check from Gary Shaw for my phone bill, an hour and
a half call. But this is a historic event, like everybody's been
talking about, CBS, network television. EliteXC couldn't have
done a better job. The match makers couldn't have done a better
job. These will be exciting fights. If I weren't fighting on
the card, I'd be excited to sit at home and watch the fights
myself. So, tune in, you guys, you will get some good fights.

Baroni:
Gary, tell the people in Jersey (Arturo) Gatti retired, but Phil
Baroni is coming back home.

Shaw: They'll
be there. I wanted two thank yous that are really important other
than our sponsors, main sponsor Rockstar and Burger King. I'd
like to thank Ken Hershman from SHOWTIME, who was the visionary
who allowed me to bring the product and put it on SHOWTIME to
begin with. I’d also like to thank the folks at CBS for
keeping their eye on the ball, and in this case putting mixed
martial arts on TV. I would also like to give a special thank
you to Mitch Graham from the (CBS) PR department who has been
working so hard with us.

The single
most important thing is the health, safety and welfare of the
fighters and caring about the fighters because without the fighters,
we don't have a show. I think it was Joey Villasenor who said
that. On May 31 in prime time, that's the single most important
thing. It is going to be prime time live, not 2 a.m. in the morning,
not a tape, but live. You are going to get to see a spectacular
card with these fighters who are really warriors, really skilled
athletes.

This will
be the single biggest day in the history of mixed martial arts.
It is a chance for people to learn and understand what mixed
martial arts is all about, that these fighters are not just street
fighters or brawlers, but they're highly skilled, trained athletes
that have many different disciplines.

So, I think
it's our chance to await the world to see what it is. For these
fighters on this call and those that also will be fighting on
CBS, their lives will change dramatically. When they pull up
to that arena and see all those satellite trucks that are beaming
this around the world, they'll get the feel of that arena and
they'll realize that they're making history because they're part
of the first event of this type in the history of the world on
network TV.

The fighters
will be a part of that history forever. These fighters that are
on this call will be part of building up the sport of MMA, which
I know is so very important to them.

So, on May
31, you'll get to see them in prime time. The next morning they
will be people who will be in so many households that they'll
be spotted and noticed in train stations, airports, car rental
places, wherever. It's a great day for MMA. It's a spectacular
day for these athletes. I'm proud on behalf of EliteXC and our
staff, who I think really care about the athletes, our match-making
team, which I think is the best in the world. I thank all of
you. I thank the press for indulging us and for being interested
and asking great questions, and you're all apart of it.

I hope you
write what you see on that day, whether it's good or bad. I know
it's going to be good. But, we always take your comments well.
So, I thank all the press. Thank you for giving me and EliteXC
the opportunity to represent all of you.

Source:
Johnny Bey

5/16/08

Quote
of the Day

"To
know the road ahead, ask those coming back."

Chinese Proverb

X-1
World Events presents "Legends"

Today!

X-1 World Events presents "Legends"

Neil Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii

Friday, May 16, 2008

7:30pm

X-1 World Events presents "Legends"

Friday
, May 16th at Neil Blaisdell Arena 7 30pm

7 pm prelimanary match, entertainment, Kaleo Pilanca

Tickets
on sale at Blaisdell Box Office,all Times Super

Market locations,Ticketmaster.com or call 1-877-750-4400

Ticket
discount Children 12 and under and Military.

Infants on lap are free. Prices starting at $25

X-1
World Events announces the Friday, May 16, 2008 "Legends"
event at the Blaisdell Arena featuring the comeback of former
state middleweight champion Egan Inoue. The card is scheduled
to have 9 bouts including the main event showcasing Inoue against
Arizona's Hans Marrero. Inoue, 42, is making his MMA comeback
after a nearly 5 year hiatus. Marrero is 23-years old with a
professional mark of 15-5.

For this event, there will be a LIVE Internet stream available
for $19.99 (total price including tax and fees) for purchase
and viewing through this site. This Friday night LIVE Internet
stream starts at 7:30pm HST (1:30 EST/10:30 PST), with a replay
to follow immediately. Orders will be available 1 hour before
the event (6:30pm HST).

To
see the past X-1 events on Video on Demand. Channel 221 Oceanic
Cable.

142lbs:
Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Chris "Red Bull" Willems (BJ Penn MMA) vs. Brandon
Visher (Wailuku Boxing Club)

170lbs:
Amateur MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes

John "The Warrior" Visante (Team Sit U Down) vs. Sean
Sakata (No Remorse)

135lbs:
Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Featherweight Title Bout:

Albert Manners (BJ Penn's MMA) vs. Kana "The Riot"
Hyatt (Eastsidaz)

170lbs:
Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Ronald "The Machine Gun" Jhun (808 Fight Factory) vs.
Dylan Clay (Brazilian Freestyle Jiu-Jitsu)

170lbs:
Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Michael Brightmon (Gorila House) vs. Kolo Koka (Team MMAD)

170lbs:
Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Welterweight Title Bout:

Brandon Wolff (Team MMAD) vs. Chad "The Grinder" Reiner
(Southwest MMA)

155lbs:
Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Lightweight Title Bout:

Ray "Bradda" Cooper (Freelance) vs. Richie Whitson
(Sitka, Alaska)

185lbs:
Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes

Egan Inoue (Grappling Unlimited) vs. Hans Marrero (Team Marrero)

Source:
Event Promoter

Wand
raring to go Alejarra guarantees:

“He has an incredible desire to win”

The fight
this coming 24th at UFC 84 against Keith Jardine is not just
the 41st of the fighter’s career. Wanderlei Silva, who etched
his name in MMA history by dominating his weight group in Pride
was always known as a great fighter, but coming off three losses
in a row, this time he must win.

The mission
to take place in Las Vegas will not be the easiest, as Jardine
is coming off a win over precisely the last person to beat Wand,
Chuck Liddell. GRACIEMAG.com, just as curious as everyone else,
spoke with physical trainer Rafael Alejarra about how training
is going.

“Preparations
are being done in a seiour, rigid way with much care and emphasizing
the muay thai part and sparring. We will only take a break the
week of the fight, for now we are training hard every day. Some
are critical of how Wand says he wants to put on a show, so let’s
just say he has an incredible will to win this fight, is calm
but has a lot of desire to fight Jardine,” said the instructor,
who recently created the site www.mmaconditioning.net that provides
photos, videos, pointers and articles about physical preperations
for MMA.

Source:
Gracie Magazine

AFFLICTION
VP ATENCIO DEBUNKS RUMORS

by Tom Hamlin

After months
of hush-hush negotiations and a rumor mill working overtime,
clothing company Affliction has stepped out of the shadows to
announce its entry into fight promotion.

In an appearance
on “Inside MMA” last week, Affliction vice president
Tom Atencio announced a card to be held July 19 at the Honda
Center in Anaheim, Calif., featuring a laundry list of top fighters
including the ever-elusive Fedor Emelianenko.

Several
published reports have put Emelianenko’s asking price at
between $1.5 and $2 million. “Not true,” Atencio told
MMAWeekly.com. “They’re rumors, they’re all rumors.”

So how then
did Affliction secure the world’s most expensive fighter?

Atencio
wouldn’t disclose Emelianenko’s base pay, but said,
“It’s a considerable amount of money, but it’s
not what everybody says.”

Still, with
names like Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett, and Matt
Lindland – all high-priced free agents – it’s
apparent that the promotion is starting in the red. Atencio says
that’s fine. He doesn’t expect the July 19 show to
make money.

“I
don’t see how anybody can,” he said. “The only
people who are making money in this business are the UFC and
Scott Coker with Strikeforce. Do we plan on making money this
first show? Absolutely not. The second and third? Hopefully.”

Plans for
a second show in October and a third in February will round out
the first phase of Affliction’s new venture. At that point,
Atencio and his partners will decide whether they still want
to be carnival barkers.

“This
is new to us, so we’re going to take it step by step,”
he said.

Already,
Affliction has attracted the ire of existing promoters, particularly
the Ultimate Fighting Championship, who banned them as a fighter
sponsor. EliteXC followed suit shortly after, echoing the Las
Vegas based organization’s non-compete policy. In a conference
call for EliteXC’s upcoming “Saturday Night Fights”
card on May 31 on CBS, president of live events Gary Shaw took
a swipe at Affliction.

“I
think they should stick to the clothing business,” Shaw
said. ”I predict they will do one or two shows and then
go back to making clothing.”

Atencio
said he understands the arrows slung his way, though he didn’t
expect Affliction to be banned by the UFC. As a lifelong fan
of the sport, he simply sees his company’s venture as a
natural extension of their success in the clothing industry.

“We’ve been involved in the industry as far as the
clothing side of it, and I’ve been personally involved in
MMA for over 16 years. I’m a huge fan of the sport so it
just makes sense for us at this point,” he said.

Affliction
plans to hold press conferences with several of its fighters
on May 20 in Los Angeles and May 22 in New York.

Source:
MMA Weekly

EliteXC
seeks to promote an all-female card by 2009

EliteXC
President Gary Shaw said today that an all women's mixed martial
arts card will happen under the EliteXC banner as soon as the
promotion collects a stable of talented female fighters.

"That's
something that I'd like to present to the public, a night of
women's fights," Shaw said. "I think that would be
a major milestone and it'd be good for the sport."

In the meantime,
the first women's title could happen sometime in the fall. The
winner between Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young on the EliteXC-CBS
card on May 31 will help determine a contender for promotion's
first women's belt, which will represent the 140-pound division.

"There
are a lot of women out there that are unhappy. Not with us, because
we're the pioneers. We're putting our talk, not just coming out
of our mouth, we're acting on it."

HOOKnSHOOT,
based out of Indiana, is arguably the real pioneer of female
mixed martial arts in America, but the promotion does not regularly
promote shows. A new promotion out of California, Fatale Femmes
Fighting has jumped into the forefront of the all-female fighting
circuit by showcasing a number of local talent mixed in with
fighters from Brazil and Japan.

EliteXC
will have the deeper talent pool though. In addition to Carano
and Young, EliteXC's current roster includes Shayna Bazler, Debi
Purcell, Julie Kedzie, Carina Damm and Tonya Evinger.

"I
think by '09, you should look for an all women show," said
Shaw.

Source:
MMA Fighting

Gouveia
looks for a title bout chance

Training
for one more fight at the UFC, Wilson Gouveia has four consecutives
wins and his next opponent is Goran Reljic at the UFC 84 (24th
May), but the Brazilian wants a tough fighter in the other side
of the cage “To be honest, I pulled four wins in a row.
My last fights I won by submission or knockout. I was expecting
a real tough (opponent). It's no problem. I fight anybody they
put against me. I want to fight a big name. If I could pick the
fights I want right now, I would like to fight Chuck (Liddell)
or a rematch against Keith (Jardine). They are the two guys that
are in my mind right now. I'm taking this fight very seriously
though. I trained very hard”, said the American Top Team
athlete to MMAWeekly.com.

Source:
Tatame

Sylvia
leads knockout artists

Cro Cop, Fedor and Minotauro were not forgotten

Tim Sylvia,
twice holder of the UFC heavyweight belt, was always in MMA fans’
sights, mainly the American ones, for being a boring, uninspired
fighter. However, the big man, who recently left the American
organization to join manager Monte Cox’s latest enterprise
(Andrenaline MMA), doesn’t even need to defend himself from
persecution, the numbers do it for him.

According
to the site TheFightNetwork.com, Sylvia leads the list of heavyweights
with the highest career knockout rates, winnning 57% of his fights
in this way (16 of 27). In second place comes Mirko Cro Cop,
whose days at Pride brought him to the 52% mark.

Completing
the list is former IFL fighter Ben Rothwell, with 50%, former
UFC fighter Andre Arlovsky, with 47%, Alexander Emelianenko (44%),
Randy Couture (29%), Gabriel Napao (27%), Fedor Emelianenko (21%),
Fabricio Werdum (21%), Heath Herring (17%), Josh Barnett (15%)
and Rodrigo Minotauro (8%).

Source:
Gracie Magazine

CONFERENCE
CALL QUOTES GINA CARANO & KAITLIN YOUNG ELITEXC LIVE EVENTS
PRESIDENT GARY SHAW

Tuesday,
May 13, 2008

Popular,
unbeaten women's superstar Gina Carano of Las Vegas will face
hard-hitting, confident Hook 'n Shoot champion Kaitlin Young
of Circle Pines, Minn., in one of five fights on the inaugural
"CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS" on Saturday, May
31 (9-11 p.m. ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

The first
mixed martial event in primetime on network television will be
presented by Los Angeles-based Pro Elite, Inc.'s live fight division,
EliteXC, led by Gary Shaw, and originate from the Prudential
Center in Newark, N.J. Kimbo Slice, of Perrine, Fla., will face
England's James "Colossus'' Thompson in the main event on
CBS. Other televised fights: EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie
Lawler of St. Louis defends against Scott Smith of Sacramento,
Calif., Phil Baroni of Long Island, N.Y., meets Joey Villasenor
of Albuquerque, N.M. in a 185-pound scrap and Brett Rogers of
Minneapolis takes on Jon Murphy of Philadelphia in a heavyweight
match.

Tickets
for the live event start at $25 and are available at Ticketmaster
locations, by phone (201) 507-8900, online at www.ticketmaster.com
and at the Prudential Center box office (973) 757-6625. Doors
open at 5:30 p.m. ET. The first live fight is at 6:30.

Shaw: Thank
you, everyone, for joining this call for this inaugural event.
We're all very excited. On Saturday, May 31, in primetime at
9 p.m. ET from the Prudential Center in New Jersey is a historic
card. It doesn't only mean a lot to EliteXC, but it should mean
a lot to all the fighters. More importantly, it's a huge step
for mixed martial arts. It brings the sport to the forefront
so that people no longer think of it as a barbaric sport but
as a real sport with fighters with real disciplines that train
hard, that are professional athletes. We at EliteXC are honored
to be putting on a women's fight. And those that have watched
our SHOWTIME fights know about Gina Carano and what we have meant
to Gina here at EliteXC and what Gina has meant to EliteXC. More
importantly, fans know that Gina has become the face of women's
mixed martial arts. So today we're honored to have Gina with
us on this call and Kaitlin Young. I'd like to turn it over first
to Gina to say opening remarks.

Carano:
I am extremely honored to be fighting on the CBS card. I think
it speaks leagues for how far women have come in the sport. I'm
extremely honored to be fighting Kaitlin Young. I think it's
one of the best match-ups I've ever had. I'm looking forward
to the fight. I am a little depressed because "American
Gladiators'' ratings kind of plummeted a little bit (laughing).
I'm excited to get back in the ring and focus on what my passion
has been in my life and that's been fighting. I'm super stoked
for this fight and I'm anticipating a tough one. My training
has been pumped up for the last two weeks. I had a little side
shot with "American Gladiators'' so we're going to see how
I perform with this crunch-time training. I'm expecting a good
fight. This is going to be awesome. I'm really honored to be
on this inaugural event.

Shaw: Thank
you very much, Gina. Before I introduce Kaitlin, I just want
to say that we always had confidence in women fighting. Gina
led the way for us, but we have other fine women that fight for
our organization. It's been my feeling all along that women should
be treated as equals. If they can go to war, they sure can fight
in mixed martial arts. We're proud to have Gina on this card.
We're proud to have Kaitlin. It's going to be a very good, very
tough match. But more than anything else, the world will be able
to see two professional athletes that can really fight. So without
further adieu, Kaitlin, would you make some opening remarks?

Young: I'm
honored to be fighting on the CBS card and fighting her as well.
I think it's going to be a great match-up, a great stylistic
match-up. The beauty of our sport is that styles make fights.
I really think this will be a great one. Training's been going
very well. I had a lot of notice for this fight so I've been
lucky to be able to put in more time for this one than ever before.
So I'm really excited about that and really excited to be representing
women's MMA for the first time. It's going to be seen by such
a large (audience). I think a lot of people don't realize there
are so many women fighters. Fortunately, EliteXC is there to
showcase women's fighting. It's a great honor to be part of it.

Shaw: Thank
you very much. I also want to say thank you as always to Ken
Hershman from SHOWTIME, who had the real foresight with Matt
Blanc to be able to put mixed martial arts on a premium cable
network. He allowed us to put Gina on. And I'm sure Gina remembers
the day when Ken gave us the OK. And, obviously, to all the powers
that be at CBS for allowing us to bring our product to the airwaves
of CBS. We're very, very respectful for that opportunity. It
is a wonderful opportunity for all our fighters and for mixed
martial arts. So thank you to CBS. And also a special thank you
to Rockstar and to Burger King, two of our sponsors. Anybody
that knows me knows I eat a lot of Burger Kings.

Question:
What weight are you fighting at?

Young: This
fight's at 140.

Question:
Gina, why do you say this will be your best fight yet?

Carano:
I just think it's an awesome match-up. I think it's a great opponent.
I think that I'm definitely somebody who fights better with somebody
better in front of me.

Question:
Are you referring that you are both stand-up fighters?

Carano:
I think she is a good fighter in general. I'm sure she has been
practicing a lot on the ground, so I am not going to count her
as a stand-up fighter; I am going to count her as a complete
fighter, an MMA fighter. I think she is an aggressive fighter.
I just think it's going to be a really good match-up for me,
and I think it's going to make for an awesome fight.

Question:
Kaitlin, how much notice did you have for the fight?

Young: I
don't think I necessarily had more notice than Gina did. I want
to say I had probably a good nine weeks where I suspected that
I would be taking this fight. So I've been training very hard
since then.

Question:
Gina, is there anything that concerns you heading into this one
that maybe you haven't covered in preparation?

Carano:
I wish I would have had nine weeks completely to focus on it
like Kaitlin. But there's not going to be any excuses. I just
chose to do "American Gladiators'' and take my time away
from it. So am I concerned? No. I feel more mentally clear than
I've probably ever felt in my life. I think I'm good. I think
I'm confident. I've got the next two weeks to kind of sharpen
everything up and I'm ready to fight.

Question:
Gina, are you surprised by the level of attention you're getting?

Carano:
You know, I kind of live in my own world anyway. I'm very good
at keeping a good head about me and really looking at things
for what they are. I know who I am and where I am at in my career.
I'm not surprised that all the females are starting to get attention
in the sport because it's well deserved. We put on great fights
all around the country, all around the world -- fights that people
walk away from (still) talking about. So I think females getting
attention is awesome and it's well deserved. I don't buy into
the hype. I know I am 5-0 in MMA. I don't listen to what everybody
says about me I just kind of know who I am and keep my head about
me. I think that's one reason why people might like me.

Question:
Gina, if the bout goes the distance do you think that favors
you or Kaitlin?

Carano:
I think this fight could go either way and I'm planning it on
favoring me. But we're pretty equal in our stand-up. I'm expecting
a pretty equal match-up. As soon as I get in that cage with her
then I'll be able to kind of gauge where we're at.

Question:
Gina, how are you getting back in fighting shape and honing your
technique with the short time you have?

Carano:
I've been fighting in a different way outside the ring for the
last nine months. I think it's going to be pretty refreshing
just to get in there and get physical. I'm not worried about
it at all. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm better at being
physical. I'm better at using my body. I'm better at fighting
than I am at doing any of the entertaining or press conferences.
I'm better at using my body and my physical ability and natural
instincts. It's going to be refreshing. Fighting outside the
ring is not an easy thing. At least when you are in the cage
you know who is throwing the punches (laughing).

Question:
Gina, do you want to keep it standing, go to the ground or are
you ready for anything?

Carano:
You now, I think the game plan is something that I probably like
to keep a little bit more private. I'm not going to give it away
to her right now. I'm not going to tell her exactly what I'm
going to do. So we're just going to keep that under wraps.

Question:
Kaitlin, how is your ground game developing?

Young: I
feel that it's coming on very well. I've done a couple of grappling
tournaments. I try to hit those up when I can in-between fights
to sort of work on the ground game against people of equal size
and weight and skill level. And I try to do as many divisions
as possible for experience. It doesn't go on the record, so it's
kind of nice. I've had some submission victories at grappling
tournaments. I'm feeling pretty confident about the fact that
my ground game has improved quite a bit since my last fight.

Question:
Gary, tell us why you decided to have a women's fight on this
first show on CBS?

Shaw: The
same reason I thought we should have a women's fight on the first
show ever that we did on SHOWTIME. I think there are women out
there that train hard, that have the skills and in my mind are
professional athletes. If we are willing to put women into war
where they can get killed by real bullets and protect us and
protect our country, why shouldn't they have the same right if
they're training hard to be seen by the American public? Just
because they're females? I don't believe in that. Gina's fights
have all been competitive. Gina said it before, in some ways
the fights she's been in have been some of the most exciting
fights that we've presented. I am proud to stand behind the women
that fight for us at EliteXC. I'm proud that our match- making
team has put together the right type of fights. Not only do we
have these two young ladies that will be fighting on May 31 but
we have others that are waiting in the wings behind them that
are equally skilled and ready to go. And I think at the end of
the day you will all be writing the next day about the great
fight between these two athletes and warriors.

Question:
Kaitlin, what does this mean to you?

Young: Like
I said, it really is such a great honor. I do feel a tremendous
obligation to perform well and represent female fighters well.

Question:
Kaitlin, are you more comfortable on the ground now?

Young: Yeah,
I'm feeling much better on the ground. Obviously, it's not as
natural as stand-up feels to me. I don't know if it ever will
be. I'm working on trying to become the same level on the ground
as I am standing up.

Question:
You feel OK going toe-to-toe with Gina?

Young: Yeah.
I'm really excited for that. I know she beat Tonya with a submission,
which is awesome for her to transition like that, but it's hard
to say. I haven't seen much of her other than that fight. So
I think it will be really interesting if this goes to the ground.

Question:
Kaitlin, if it goes the distance, does that favor you or her?

Young: It's
hard to say. I think it's going to be a really good fight. She's
tough and very athletic. So I think it could go other way. Obviously
I'm going to do everything in my power to make it go my way.
But I can't give a sure-fire prediction on that one.

Question:
Gina, how do you maintain focus on the task at hand?

Carano:
I'm crazy (laughing). No, actually, for the last three weeks
I was supposed to go to New York for a promotional tour for "American
Gladiators" and I just finally laid it down to them. I was,
like. 'I can't do it. I've got to just stay at home and train
and get my mind right.' I'm not even doing that many fight interviews.
I'm kind of just detoxing from the public eye for a second. Then
I'm training and just getting my mind straight for the fight.
I would have liked to do it sooner. I've got a beautiful life
and I'm just surprised I've gone so far. I'm just going to stay
positive and go for it. I'm balancing it out. I've got a good
head on my shoulders. I'm able to just cut everything off when
I need to.

Question:
Gina, with this show being on CBS, do you look at this fight
any differently from a prestige standpoint? Or are you approaching
it the same as every other fight?

Carano:
A fight's a fight and once you get in the cage, everything goes
away and it's just you against that person. We can only do the
best we can do. We've both had about the same amount of fights
and we've both (been) brought up in the sport pretty fast. We're
going to put on a good fight. I know that's what we're both made
out of. So I'm not even worried about that. But as far as pressure,
we can only do what we can do. If we just be ourselves, which
we both will be, I think the public will really, really love
it and be drawn to it and want to see more of it. I just try
to appreciate and be honored that I get this opportunity and
I'm so happy that EliteXC has put me out there the way they have
and taken a chance on me. I'm appreciative of what they're doing
for women in the sport. I'm just going to keep doing my thing
because that's really all I can do.

Question:
Gina, if there's been one prevailing criticism of you it is that
you have had trouble making weight. Do you anticipate it being
a problem for May 31?

Carano:
Oh yes, the weight. A fight has never been canceled because I
didn't make weight. Unless one does, then I don't have anything
to be ashamed of. I do cut weight. I get down. I'm not very good
dehydrated, so I walk into the weigh-ins not looking so hot sometimes.
But it's not going to be a problem for May 31. I am in surprisingly
good shape where I am at right now. I feel great. I'm strong
and ready to go. So, no, it shouldn't be a problem and we'll
just see how it goes. I'll just keep on trying to get more professional
and trying to get down faster. (And) try to lay off the ravioli
a little bit more (laughing).

Question:
Kaitlin, what do you think a win over Gina would mean for your
career?

Young: I
think obviously it would give my career a boost. I think just
having this fight regardless of the outcome really does anyway.
But obviously a win would do that much more for it.

Question:
Kaitlin, what are your thoughts on the state of women's MMA and
its potential to grow?

Young: I
think it has great potential to grow. I think some of the women
who have been in MMA for awhile aren't particularly happy with
the state of things right now. But I think it's a very, very
good time for women just getting into the sport. It's growing
so fast.

Question:
Are you willing to elaborate on what other women fighters might
be unhappy about?

Young: You
know, I don't want to put words into anybody's mouth, but I think
the general feeling is there aren't as many high-profile opportunities
for female fighters that have been in the game for a long time.

Question:
Gary, do you have plans to add to the women's roster?

Shaw: We
are continually adding to the women's roster. We do have a women's
division. And we do like women fighting for us. We're going to
continue to put them on CBS. We're going to continue to put them
on SHOWTIME and on our ShoXC(Elite Challenger Series) shows as
well. Shayna Baszler is on the roster and we have other women
on the roster. I know the fight team and Jeremy Lappen are working
hard to make additions to the women's roster. We have signed
a couple in the last few weeks. If nobody else wants to do it,
then that's all the better for us. It's not better for the women,
but it's certainly better for EliteXC.

Question:
Gary, do you have any specific guideline for how many women you
would like to have on the roster eventually?

Shaw: As
many as can fight, just like the men. If we find the women that
we find are exciting fighters and we put them on shows that excite
the fans, both on television and in the arena, then we'll keep
continuing to add to them. We don't have a limit. It's not like
we're going to have 10 women in two weight classes and that's
it -- not at all. If the women can fight, then we're signing
them.

Question:
Is there any plan for an EliteXC women's title (fight), say in
the next year?

Shaw: Yes
we're talking about two things. We're talking about a women's
title and we're also talking about an all women's show where
we feature one night of just all women's fights.

Carano:
That would be cool.

Shaw: Thank
you very much. I hope you'll back us. That's something that I'd
like to present to the public, a night of women's fights. And
I think that would be a major milestone. I think it would be
good for the sport and good for women. I think Kaitlin said there
are a lot of women out there that are unhappy. Not with us, because
we're the pioneers. We're (not just talking), we're acting on
it. With the help of CBS and the help of SHOWTIME, we'll continue.
I would think in '09 that you should look for an all women's
show.

Question:
Gina do you regret at all putting so much on your plate when
you didn't really have to?

Carano:
No, (not) at all. Would it have been nice to just focus on the
fight? Of course. But that's not the reality of it. I focus on
the fact I've got a beautiful life and I'm going to go do something
that I really love to do in a couple weeks against Kaitlin Young.
I'm living out my dream right now. It would have been nice to
focus on it more especially since I think it's just going to
be such a difficult fight. But, no, let's just do this. Then
let's look back and see how I do and then make improvements from
there. Definitely for the next fight - (and) I'm sure I'll have
another one sometime this year -- that one's definitely getting
all my attention. I can't wait for that, you know, lifestyle
and that feeling to come back. Really, training for a fight and
spending so much time getting in the mental state is the best
part about it. So we'll see how I do and then look at it from
there.

Question:
Has the taping completed for this season of "American Gladiators"?

Carano:
Yeah, we've been done for about a week I think.

Question:
Now you are 100 percent focused on the fight?

Carano:
Yeah, I've cut off all the media stuff and everything and pretty
much just training.

Question:
Tonight, you'll be featured on ESPN "E:60." Are you
hoping for a positive piece?

Carano:
I think it's going to be a realistic piece. I was completely
myself and I spoke my mind. I'm not going to say it's going to
be a negative piece. I think there are a lot of other female
MMA martial artists out there that have been in it a longer time
than I have and they have bigger records - and so they're wondering
why I'm where I'm at and why they aren't here. I sympathize with
them and I don't know why either. I think that, you know, EliteXC
looked at me and saw something that they could really build and
they saw talent. And people sign new talent all the time. I think
that they did a couple interviews with a couple other female
fighters that might bring up that kind of aspect of it, which
they have all the right in the world to. I hope we get to see
some of these females fighting and I hope I get to fight them.
Now that I'm building up kind of a bigger record, I think it
will be more of an equal match-up now.

Shaw: Let
me (say one thing. The piece on Kimbo on "E:60" was
not negative.

Comment:
I meant EPSN the magazine.

Shaw: The
magazine, (yes) that was a negative article. The article started
off by saying exactly this: 'Although I have never met Kimbo
or spoken to Kimbo' ... I take those articles; I have three dogs
and they're very happy with those articles. I can't respect someone
who doesn't speak to an athlete, doesn't interview an athlete,
and then just gives a one-sided slant on the story. That's not
journalism.

Question:
Gary, has anyone from ESPN contacted you?

Shaw: They
didn't understand why the piece came out. Kimbo has been very
accessible to ESPN for "E:60" not only once, but twice.
He's going to be on (the cover of) ESPN The Magazine where they'll
do an entire article on him. I think if you meet Kimbo , if you
spoke to Kimbo, it might not be the Kimbo the journalist, that
writer, that individual, I don't know what to call him, really
wrote about. The same with Gina. If there's a woman fighter that
doesn't like her or has negative things to say on the "E:60"
piece -- that hasn't seen it yet -- then that's really unfair
because they haven't spoken to Gina. So they don't really know
Gina. Gina didn't push anybody out of the way. She is not a bad
girl. This wasn't some contest that she fixed to get on the air.
Gina was at the right place at the right time. Someone told me
about Gina and (after) they told me, I went after her. I happen
to know her father as well. When I met her, I said to her immediately,
'you're going to be the women's face of mixed martial arts.'
On behalf of EliteXC, we delivered. On behalf of Gina, she delivered.
So that's what it's all about. Like she said, she's in a tough,
tough competition on May 31. It's real fight with Kaitlin. If
she is successful and she wins, then she moves on. If she doesn't,
she'll still move on. Those girls that have negative things to
say, if they're in the right weight class, they're going to have
an opportunity, if they can fight. But just because someone's
done it longer, doesn't mean they're the right person.

Question:
Gary, you now have this new pact agreement with DREAM. Have they
expressed any interest in having Gina fight for them on one of
their cards in Japan?

Shaw: I
haven't had long talks with them. We loaned them Nick Diaz this
past week. They want to do more with us. They're starting to
realize we have athletes and we have the fighters that can really
fight. We're one of the few organizations willing to go out there
and work with other organizations. I'm hoping they allow me to
bring them some of our greatest women fighters.

Question:
Gina, do you feel any pressure fighting in front of a large audience
on such a big stage?

Carano:
No, I don't. It's kind of a different question actually. (As
a person, I'm a bit more shy). I don't get nervous. Fighting,
that's the fun part and I love that. Being in front of people,
I've learned to get use to. But, regardless, once you get hit
it all goes away any ways. So I'm just planning on my natural
instinct to kick in, and it will. So, no, I (feel) good. I'm
keeping a level head.

Question:
Gina, what do you do to relax before a fight?

Carano:
I like to dance a little; dancing kind of shakes out the nerves
a little. And I pray. I pray just for a peace and for God's will
to be done. And whatever the outcome of the fight, just to have
a peaceful feeling about it, you know.

Question:
When do you do the dancing?

Carano:
(Laughing) Just right before I go in the ring. I dance the nerves
out of my body.

Question:
Your dad was a professional athlete. What are his thoughts on
where you've progressed?

Carano:
He has stood behind me 100 percent and it's been a really beautiful
thing. My whole life he has trying to tell me go to school, become
a lawyer, become a doctor, become something of importance. Then
I go and become a professional fighter. It just kind of threw
him off his seat for a second. But he's climbed back on and he
is 100 percent behind me and it's the best feeling in the world.

Question:
You said you were more mentally clear than before. What's different
now?

Carano:
I think what's different now is I have my confidence about me
and I know who I am a little bit more than I ever have. And it's
a really good feeling. Because, you know, at the beginning you
just kind of get shoved up there and you're just trying to do
everything to make everybody else happy. Now I've kind of realized
I need to learn how to make myself happy and by doing that other
people around me will be inspired through that. I am just at
the cusp of grasping a hold of where I am at 26. I'm sure I've
got a lot more to learn, but at least I have a handle on it.

Question:
Gary, where will you be watching the fight?

Shaw: On
May 31, I'll be in that arena. I'll be at a table pressed against
a cage. I'll have a monitor and at the start of the show I'll
have a lot of goosebumps. And, as Gina said, my nerves will be
rattled. And when the first fight takes place and the action
starts, I will shake it out.

Question:
You will be nervous prior to the beginning of the show?

Shaw: For
sure.

Question:
What causes the nerves for you?

Shaw: Well
there's a lot of pressure. First of all, I care about the health,
safety and welfare of all the fighters. So the single biggest
thing in my mind is that not only do they have great fights but
everybody comes out of the cage safe and healthy. That's on my
mind until the final fight is over. The rest is that everything
goes right. We have an arena experience to put on, we have a
television show to put on, we have a lot of responsibility to
all the athletes and we have a lot of responsibility to all the
people that support us. So there's a lot of pressure that nobody
sees and nobody knows (about). You think of everything from,
God forbid, a problem with the cage, to a problem with the camera,
to anything else that can go wrong. So, for me, personally, I'm
not at ease all until it's over. I don't go to parties. I'll
go to a coffee shop or something like that because it wipes you
out. And those that work can understand how much it wipes you
out.

Question:
How gratifying is it after the fact though?

Shaw: Spectacular.
It's a feeling that I wish I could transport to everybody around
me. It's like your graduation. You made it. You got through it
all. And then when you see all these fighters and the smiles
and you see two fighters -- and I'm sure it will happen with
Gina and Kaitlin -- they'll go at each other as hard as any athletes
will fight to knock the other one out or submit them or put them
to sleep, and then the final bell rings or the fight's over,
any way it ends, and they'll just hug one another. I mean, there's
something very special about the fighting game that's much different.
You watch a hard fought tennis match, they walk to the net and
they just shake hands. I mean they don't even do that. Then golf,
there's nothing. But in the fighting game where there's real
physical contact and the winner is the one that does the most
damage, it is just unbelievable that they will then go, men and
women, and hug one another, embrace one another and show that
respect for one another. So, for me, personally watching that
is just joyous. I mean, Gina was talking about her father who
I said I know. In her last match he jumped up -- he is a big
guy to start with - and I thought he hit the top of the arena.

Question:
When you are online, how often do you check ProElite.com and
what's that experience like for you?

Young: I
usually check it maybe once a day or once every two days. Sometimes
I'll talk to people on there, like about interviews or whatever.
If I have time, I like to answer people's questions. Sometimes,
I don't get around to it but I try to.

Carano:
I haven't been on for a while but I will. I will go on there
every once in a while.

Question:
Is exciting for both of you to have that sort of interaction
with fans?

Carano:
Yeah, it is. I wish I could actually respond to more because
I really get some amazingly heart-felt messages on that site.
The problem with responding is if I do respond then people, you
know, think that we have a relationship and then they start wondering
why I don't write back all the time and they start writing to
me all the time and it kind of gets hectic. So I usually don't
respond to messages. But I want people to know I do read and
appreciate them.

Question:
Kaitlin, what was the feeling after you won a Hook 'n Shoot tournament
by stopping three opponents in one night in a combined 1:52 or
1:53 seconds. Also, what is your personal and schooling background?

Young: Well,
I started Olympic style Taekwondo a long time ago when I was
14. For those who don't know what it is, it's full contact but
it's basically above the waist. It's like boxing with your feet,
is the best way I can describe it. I did that for a long time.
Then I got started in amateur kickboxing and made the switch
to MMA this last year. I'm a student at the University of Minnesota
studying kinesiology, which is exercise science if you are not
familiar with that. I am going to be dropping down to part-time
after this semester because it's too much with fight training.
I don't concentrate enough on school.

Question
What's your GPA?

Young: I
want to say around 3.0.

Question:
Gary, do you have any idea when you may launch women's titles
and would there be two of them in two different weight classes?

Shaw: There
might be more depending on how many more women. I would think
we would love to fight the winner of this fight for a title in
the fall. So we would give the first women's title out sometime
in the fall. The other titles will depend on how many different
weight classes we wind up with. We'll wait until we have legitimate
weight classes, legitimate amount of fighters that we're proud
of, then we'll introduce a belt at that time. Not before.

Question:
So 140 would probably be your first one?

Shaw: Yes.

Question:
So the winner between Gina and Kaitlin wouldn't be fighting on
the second CBS card in July, but some other time?

Shaw: Correct.
I think that we're looking to bring these girls back probably
around September.

Question:
You mentioned Rockstar and Burger King as sponsors. Are there
going to be additional ones or are those the two main ones?

Shaw: There
are additional ones but the main sponsors right now are Burger
King and Rockstar. But there are other sponsors on board already.

Question:
You were listed at 155 on "American Gladiators." So
is it a fair assumption you are working within a 15-pound range
to cut this weight in the next couple weeks?

Carano:
I'm thinking by the time I get to New Jersey it will probably
be a five- or six pound weight cut.

Question:
Gina, do you actually enjoy the weight cutting process?

Carano:
Well, you hit a point of complete exhaustion and of complete
emptiness. And you just don't care and you kind of enter this
like euphoric state I guess. It can kind of be a dangerously
addicting thing.

Question:
Gary, what are your expectations for this first show and for
the company, in general, for its future.

Shaw: I
thank you for the question. We're not embarrassed about our numbers.
We're losing money. We'll probably lose more money. But that's
what start-ups do. There are very few companies that start from
day one and make money. It's about staying power. The UFC lost
over $35 million before they (got a) push. We know we have the
product. We know we have the fighters. Gina can speak for herself,
but all the fighters that have come with us are happy they came
with us. They didn't jump ship. They don't read the reports.
They know at the end of the fight they get paid what we promise
them. We've never breached a contract. And we've taken people
like Gina Carano, who no one knew and we made her a huge star.
And we're doing that with Kimbo and Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields
and Nick Diaz and other fighters that have fought for us. So
are we losing money? Yes, we're losing money. Are we going to
be here long term? Yes, we're going to be here long term. We're
the only company out there that has a SHOWTIME type deal and
a CBS deal. Nobody else has that to offer to any athlete. And
for the fighters that fight on May 31, the following day when
they walk through an airport everybody will know them. Just like
those reality shows, "Survivor" -- shows like that,
they're going to be instantaneous stars. So we're going be here
for a long time. We're number two behind the UFC, there's no
question. We're Pepsi to Coke. We're Avis to Hertz. But it's
not always a bad place to be. As I said, we're far, far away
from 16 months ago when we started. I don't think anybody would
have ever believed that we would have been on SHOWTIME, we would
have been going on CBS, and we'd have the rosters that we have,
the product that we have in 16 short months. So where we were
a lap behind the UFC. I tell everybody that knows NASCAR, they
better look out of their rearview mirror because we're right
on their bumper. And it's not a bad place to be. I don't know
if that answers your question. I'm speaking to it. I'm not being
protective of it because I think the future is so bright for
our company and so bright for the fighters that fight for us.
We treat all of our fighters like champions. And Gina can tell
you how she is treated and the guys can tell you how they're
treated. I think, you know, we treat them like they're all champions,
belt or no belt.

Question:
Gary, when do you think you will move to the pay-per-view realm?
How close do you think your company is to that?

Shaw: My
company is the same as my boxing career has been. I do pay-per-views
when they're worthy of pay-per-views and I'm not embarrassed
to ask people for their money and the fans for their money. I
don't think you should be asking fans for their money every single
month. Pay me to see my fighters -- I don't believe in that.
I believe we have a great model with SHOWTIME. We put on great
fights. It's people television. And this is free television on
CBS. You just need a plug, a screen and rabbit ears and you are
in business. So we'll do a pay-per-view when we have a fight
that we believe is worthy of pay-per-view, but not until then.
Look, we gave you (Frank) Shamrock and Cung Lee. That was a spectacular
card, a great fight. We gave it free. I think asking fans to
pay every single month, you are just ripping them off. And that's
wrong and I'm not going to be a party to that. And our company
won't be a party to that.

Question:
Gary, (in terms of) social networking, this (ProElite.com) seems
to open the door for people to talk about all MMA.

Shaw: Yes.
We wanted to do a site that helped MMA. I am a believer that
the stronger we make mixed martial arts, the better it will be
for EliteXC and the better it will be for the fighters. I've
always used this expression and I hope this answers your question:
If you have one restaurant on the street, good or bad, it's only
a restaurant. If you have many restaurants on the street, then
it becomes restaurant row. And the fans grow and people go to
eat there because they says 'let's go to restaurant row, there's
this, this and that.' So I'm not a believer, like the UFC and
Dana White, of crushing everyone around you. I'm more of a believer
of working with everybody around us, build the sport of mixed
martial arts and educate the people that aren't fans out there.
Hopefully it will become an Olympic sport. The fighters know
the discipline that's required. They're highly disciplined fighters.
So we work with others. We loan Nick Diaz. So there are things
out there that we believe in that will make the sport stronger.
We're all about mixed martial arts. It's not just about EliteXC.

Question:
The IFL is very interested in the notion of having unified champions,
wherever it's possible or practical. Would that be something
you would want to get involved with?

Shaw: I'm
all for it. I know Jay Larkin very well. I'd love to fight for
an IFL belt. If they want to do women's, we'll fight for a women's
IFL belt. We'll put our belt at risk as well. I believe in it.
Women like jewelry. The more belts the better for them. They
like accessories. So why not fight for an IFL belt or a DREAM
belt. I've always said all along, we'll put anybody on SHOWTIME
or CBS. If they're legitimate fighters, I don't care if they
fight for the UFC. What's good for the sport is good for my athletes
is good for our brand.

Question:
Kaitlin, how have the finals (in school) been going?

Young: You
know, I have two tomorrow morning, then two Friday morning. So
studying is fine. But I haven't actually taken them or gotten
the results yet, so we'll see.

Question:
What's it like working at the gym you are, especially (from a)
grappling (standpoint) when you consider Sean Shirk and Brock
Lesnar both train at the same gym. Do you feel that you're getting
a lot more wrestling training and lot more grappling training?

Young: Yeah.
Obviously, Lesnar working with me would be hilarious just thinking
of the physics of that. So I don't ever do anything with him.
But Sean has helped me a lot with takedown offense and that kind
of thing. He's been super helpful.

Question:
Gary, what are your thoughts on live TV versus pay-per-view?

Shaw: We'll
do a pay-per-view when a fight warrants itself for pay-per-view.
There's a misnomer out there about pay-per-view; that if you
become a pay-per-view fighter you have really arrived. Well,
a good pay-per-view today does 200,000 or 300,000 buys. This
fight on May 31 live on CBS has the ability to bring 100 million
eyeballs. I mean the numbers are staggering. You could be on
pay-per-view once a month and nobody will know who you are when
you get to the train station. I am telling you live TV is the
real place to be. That's where the notoriety comes from. Not
from pay-per-view. I can name you fighters that have fought pay-per-view
and most of you won't even know their names -- both in boxing
and mixed martial arts. You can prove it because you can bring
them to 42nd street and Broadway in New York City and everybody
will be walking past them all the time. But if you have the eyeballs
as Kimbo has proved with YouTube, as we've proved with SHOWTIME,
as we're about to prove with CBS, there is absolutely nothing
bigger in the world.

Question:
Gary, will being open in the free TV market help with websites
recognizing you more when it comes to rankings?

Shaw: Well
I hope so. I think those that know me personally know how I feel
about rankings and how I feel about websites' rankings. When
I look at most websites -- and I have to be candid -- I don't
read the blogs, I don't go there, they don't rule my world, both
in boxing or mixed martial arts. But when I read them, they're
mostly all UFC fighters. That's because that's all these writers
know or feel because everything's the UFC. But I can tell you
I would put our women fighters against any women in the world.
I'd put Jake Shields against anybody in the world. I think he
is one of the finest fighters in the world. Robbie Lawler. I'm
willing to fight Kimbo against anybody from the UFC, so you know
we have fighters that are tremendous fighters. But they're not
ranked because they're all UFC rankings. So I don't think my
fighters take it seriously. I've never had a fighter coming to
me and ask 'why aren't I ranked third? Why am I not in the ranks?'
It doesn't cut any mustard.

Question:
Gina, did the "American Gladiators" thing help with
your endurance?

Carano:
What it does help with is putting me out in front of people and
getting me used to being in front of crowds and performing. That's
something I definitely need help with. I'm a little bit more
to myself. So that's what it did help with. Being around a bunch
of healthy body builders and positive people, and a great production
team also helped.

Question:
Did anybody from "American Gladiators" say they wanted
to be an MMA fighter?

Carano:
You know, a lot of them have actually trained here and there
in boxing or whatever they trained in. I don't know how many
of them have actually fought. I think they're all probably pretty
much sticking to the entertainment business. I think they found
their niche and they want to kind of ride it out.

Question:
Gary, did you have any resistance on the CBS side to putting
a women's fight in the first MMA show?

Shaw: There
was absolutely no resistance. Zero. As a matter of fact, they
were thrilled to have Gina in the fight on CBS. I put the fight
where I thought it should be for entertainment value and what
I'm looking to do on the card.

Question:
What is the challenge with mixed martial arts with getting people
like ESPN to cover it as a sport rather than cover it as entertainment?

Shaw: I
think we need to do a better job. There was only one player in
the space for a long time. Now, there is us and a lot more. I
think we owe it to the fans to educate the fan base and others
out there to become fans about the discipline and this truly
is a real sport -- because it didn't have its start as a real
sport in the eyes at least of the American public. I can't complain
about ESPN, they've done a spectacular job. We have two athletes
that have now appeared on "E:60" -- when Gina appears
tonight (Tuesday), we're getting coverage of their web sites.
We're getting coverage on the magazine. That's huge. And we're
being covered in a broad way like never before. We're backed
up right now with over 85 requests for interviews from our athletes.
And they're important stuff. And it's important to MMA, the sport,
because it's not just a sport now. We're crossing over to those
like "People" magazine and that direction, let's call
it lifestyle, rather than plain sport. So I think we're in a
very, very good place. I'm very excited about what CBS has brought
to the table for us. Obviously, I always thank SHOWTIME because
they were the ones who took a real gamble on us. But I think
that you are going to see the coverage and it's going to be wide,
a lot wider than any of you that are on this call has ever seen
before. I think it's going to be good for the sport of mixed
martial arts.

Question:
What do you think about doing more than four shows for CBS?

Shaw: I
think it would be spectacular. Obviously, May 31, I don't want
to say it's make or break, but it's sure make or -- maybe its
rather than make and shatter, maybe make and break. If we do
the rating that I think we can do, and the fighters fight like
I think they're going fight, and the match-ups by the fight team
are the correct match-ups, then I think CBS is going to be all
over us to do more than four fights as year. And they have that
right in our contract to ask us to do more than four a year.

Question:
Gary, what do you think of Affliction now having its own promotion?

Shaw: What
a question. I think they're going to find out that they're better
off in the clothing business. Stick with what you know. Stick
with what you do best and don't try to be somewhere that maybe
you shouldn't be. I mean, look, we're not allowing any of our
fighters to wear anything with the affliction name. UFC has done
the same thing. So wouldn't they have been better off being in
the clothing business where they have a spectacular line of clothing
and lifestyle brands and being branded in our show on CBS in
front of potentially 100 million eyeballs than try to do fights
that may not be competitive or may be boring. The names don't
make the fights. The fighters make the fights, not the names
of the fighters. And, you know, we're proving it every day with
new people that we're bringing aboard. I can't wait for Eddie
Alvarez to be a fighter on CBS or SHOWTIME. I mean we've got
some great fighters in the wings, exciting fighters. But as far
as directly to your point, I think that maybe they'll do one
or two fights. My prediction: they'll be back in the clothing
business.

Question:
At that point do you think you would allow your fighters to wear
Affliction again?

Shaw: When
the day comes and they can e-mail me or call me and say we're
back strictly in had the clothing business, yes, that ban will
coming off that second. I always say this, and I'm stealing it
from a boxing promoter so I can't claim the credit for this statement,
but I sure know it's true: The desert of Nevada is littered with
the bones and skeletons of would-be promoters.

Question:
Coming from the world of boxing, what are the most significant
differences you see in the athletes and the promotion of the
sport?

Shaw: The
fan base and the lifestyle. Boxing is not a lifestyle. Boxing's
a sport that people go to that could be an event or they're just
a boxing fan. Mixed martial arts is a lifestyle. They wear the
gear. They wear the lifestyle clothing to the fights, to press
conferences, to weigh-ins. It's a much more rabid fan base. The
true fans are a lot more educated about the sport than a boxing
fan. And when you are there -- when you go to a boxing match
you can sit in the front row and wave to your friends until the
main event comes on because nobody gets there until the main
event. In mixed martial arts, everybody is there when the doors
open. It just shows you the fan base. The other part is the demographic
in mixed martial arts skews much younger. The other part that
still shocks me -- and maybe Kaitlin or Gina can speak to it
because I am really not sure why -- but in boxing there are very
few women in the audience unless on occasion someone brings a
wife or a girlfriend. Very rarely will you see just girls there;
in mixed martial arts you see a group of eight girls coming to
the fight. The place is it littered with women, fans, both with
men and just girls night out. And I don't know why but I do know
that's a huge difference between mixed martial arts and boxing.

Comment:
(For everyone in the Southern California area, CBS Media Day
is this Monday, May 19, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. It will take place
at the CBS Studio Center, 4024 Radford Ave., in Studio City.
It will be on Stage 4. Gina will be part of the proceedings along
with Kimbo, Phil Baroni, Nick Diaz and Jake Shields. Also, this
Monday night, May 19, from 6-8 p.m. at the Best Buy on 1015 North
La Brea Ave., in West Hollywood, Gina, Frank Shamrock, Baroni,
Diaz and Shields will participate in an autograph session put
together by EliteXC.)

Shaw: Just
to go along with that (theme), CBS will send out a release Monday
morning announcing the announcing team on the first CBS card.
We will have the announcers at media day. We are bringing in
a cage. We are going to allow the people that have never been
in the cage to go in the cage with Nick Diaz and Jake Shields.
There will also be demonstrations inside the cage, so it's going
to be a terrific media day.

Question:
Kaitlin, what are your thoughts about fighting your first high-profile
opponent, the highest, the most publicized fighter that you will
be facing in your career?

Young: It's
really exciting actually. This is the first time I have fought
somebody that I've been able to see footage of beforehand. I
think my preparation has been more complete so that part of it
is really great. I think there's that much more exposure available
because she is such a big star right now, so that works out very
well for me. I'm really excited for this fight.

Question:
If this becomes a fight of striking are you confident you are
going to win? Is that how you'd like this fight to play out?

Young: Not
necessarily. You know, it is MMA. I think this fight has the
potential to turn into a fight-boxing match. But it is MMA. It's
mixed martial arts. And it will be a mixed martial arts fight.
It wouldn't surprise me if this fight goes the ground.

Question:
Gina, you mentioned you 're not buying into your own publicity
or own hype. Have you noticed that your profile has gone up as
you walk around your hometown or wherever?

Carano:
Yeah. It's definitely way up. It's not only my hype; I'm not
buying into hype in general. I know who I am and I know how far
I've come probably more than anyone. And I see where I am at
in the sport. I just don't buy into it. A lot more people recognize
me and that's a great feeling, but, you know, most people that
are coming up to me are very genuine. It's cool.

Question:
Gina, can you give a brief idea of what your training normally
consisted of, how many weeks out you started seriously training
for a fight and what you have been able to do for this fight?

Carano:
Normally, I would like to train seriously for a fight for eight
weeks. For this, I've been probably anywhere between three to
four weeks. Again, no excuses. Whatever happens happens and that's
just what's going to happen. I'm not feeling confident in what
I can do. Then, you know, it's pretty much two days, three days
sometimes, of just hardcore preparation for the fight and that's
what it usually is eight weeks out. So, I'm just having to crunch
it into three weeks out. And the difference between what I am
doing now is, I'm kind of just keeping my mind clear and just
relaxing. And we'll see how I do.

Question:
Gary, why is the show in New Jersey?

Shaw: First
of all, I live in New Jersey. I'm a former regulator (for the
athletic commission) in New Jersey. For years, it is just something
that if I thought I would get the opportunity to do, I wanted
to jump at it. The Prudential Center is part of the AEG family,
who I do business with. I think the Prudential Center's a spectacular
place for the fight. When our fighters get there I know they're
going to be impressed. It's close to New York City, major media
including all of you. When you think of the demographics from
Philly to Connecticut, I mean we're loaded with people, loaded
with MMA fans. So to me it's a natural fit. But personally, going
to the campus of the University of Miami for our last big show
where, you know, I'm proud to say I'm a graduate, then coming
home to New Jersey, to me that's like I hit the sweepstakes.

Question
Gary, how are tickets selling?

Shaw: Very
well. We're all out of all the $25 tickets, and I made plenty
available. I think there are six $1,000 seats still left available.
So we're doing very well. We have no complaints. We're going
to have a full house when that CBS TV camera rolls at 9 o'clock..

Question:
Gary, obviously you're aware of the comments of Sumner Redstone
regarding the deal. Were you surprised by his comments? Despite
all the gains that MMA has made in the last couple years, it
is clear there is still a stigma attached to it. How do you combat
that?

Shaw: Good
question. I thought it was a, sort of like just a remark off
the cuff. Because, you know, chairman Sumner Redstone has the
majority stake in the CBS world, but also has Viacom, which has
Spike, which is probably 90 percent UFC. So you can't be a mixed
martial arts hater because he's got 90 percent of it on one of
his channels. I didn't take offense of that. A little bit of
setback? Sure. Any time anybody says anything negative, I think
it's education. I think I've tried to say that all through this
call. You need to meet these athletes up close and in person.
You need to meet Kaitlin, who is telling you that she's a student.
You've got to meet Gina or Kimbo or fighters out of other organizations.
Not just in our organization, but other organizations, too, to
find out that they're good citizens and that they're not animals
or hoodlums. I think part of it is the dress, part of it is the
fighting within a cage and how the sport started. But this is
truly a discipline. It's truly a sport. I mean, go to the gym
with any of these fighters and go through a training session.
You'll have newfound respect for all these fighters. So I think
we just have to really educate the people that it's truly a real
sport and the two girls that are on this call are proud of what
they do and proud of the discipline. And I think a lot of their
friends and family admire them for it. So, education, education,
education.

Shaw

Closing:
This has been a tremendous conference call. I have a lot of respect
for a lot of the questions asked. I've been on hundreds of conference
calls and it's always the same questions to the athlete, tell
us about your training, etc. So the fact you're all interested,
both in our company, myself and our two fighters that I represent,
I thank you all very much.

Question:
Gina, with "Gladiators," did you have to tone down
the kind of aggression you would bring into the ring for your
MMA fights?

Carano:
That's a good question. The first season they were kind of freaked
out having me - well, it seemed like they were kind of freaked
out having me be part of it. Because they're coming back to go
over the rules of each event and they would just be directly
talk to me. They're like no punching, kicking, whatever, don't
check anybody out on the pyramid. I was looking at them like,
I'm just here to have fun and that's exactly the way I look at
it. They should have been telling that to everybody else because
I'm used to being physical on a regular basis. And I was completely
looking at it as fun and games. There were a couple times where
I pulled guard or I wanted to go for a submission or something
and I had to rethink it because of where I was in spandex in
front of people. It's a good question but I didn't have any problems
holding back because it's a completely different mentality.

Question:
Gina, is that very much a case of having to switch on a different
part of your brain for a contest like this?

Carano:
Definitely. I have to just get back to Gina being the fighter.
I have been in a completely different world for the last nine
months. And it's really fascinating to me because I'm coming
back to the fight world. But I like my little refreshing outlook
that I have on it and it's really kind of lightened my load and
kind of refreshed me. I am reminded I love doing this. I love
fighting. If I didn't, I wouldn't do it any more. If it's something
I love to do, I'm not going to dread it. I'm not going to run
from it I'm just going to embrace it and I love the feeling that
comes along with it. I used to get so nervous and now I feel
those nerves coming back and it's like a whole different game
now because I feel refreshed and I'm loving it.

Question:
Is it fair to say that if this hadn't been such a high profile
potential showcase for you, you might have thought twice about
taking a fight at this stage?

Carano:
You know, that's a good question, too. I probably would have
held off and liked to really have put everything into my training
for the fight. But that's not the case. So we're just going to
do it. We're just going to go for it. Think I owe it to EliteXC,
I owe it to my fans and I owe it to myself to get back in there
and not spend so much time in between fights. I'd like to fight
a lot more so I'm hoping to get another fight in this year regardless
of what happens.

Question:
Have you had a chance to compare notes with Laila Ali or discuss
the challenges you're facing in MMA compared to some of the challenges
she's facing in boxing?

Carano:
Yeah, actually I have and it really refreshed me when I walked
into "American Gladiators" and she walked into the
room. I was kind of having second thoughts. I was taking myself
really, really seriously. Too seriously even. And I told her
I didn't know if I was going to do. I want to be taken seriously
as a fighter and all this stuff. She looked at me and she's like
'you know that people are always going to say what they're going
to say. So what you can do for yourself is just do what you do
and have fun. You get just one life to live. So just live it
the way you want to. And don't be worried about what people are
going to say about you because they're always going to have something
to say.' I read through some of the interviews -- I guess , the
old interviews that were done on her and people just gave her
a lot of grief about being Ali's daughter. It's just too bad.
We're standout characters right now. We're doing what we love.
People should be inspired by it instead of trying to bring it
down. Look at it for what it is. OK, fine, I've got a 5-0 record.
There are more females out there that have bigger records but
right now people like watching me. In a month that could change
or in this fight that could change or whatever it is. But it's
not so say we're not skilled. It hurts. It hurt as little bit
that the American public is so focused on building people up
and watching them fall. We should just be more into the inspirational
story of everybody's lives. Laila is a tremendous, awesome boxer.
I've spoke to her trainer and she's awesome. I mean put anybody
in there to spar with her and just watch her go. So, yeah, we
do relate on a bunch of different issues. I'm just learning to
believe in myself and take it for what it's worth.

Carano

Closing:
I want to thank everybody for your support and for all the writers
who look at it from a positive perspective. Thank you -- because
it's not been easy. I can't imagine why people are still even
asking the question, 'why is this really considered a sport'
because there's obviously two professional athletes training
and going against each other in competition. So I thank the writers,
I thank the fans so much for being positive. If it wasn't for
them I definitely wouldn't be where I am at in life. So I really
owe that to them. And for all my trainers and for all the other
female fighters that are in it, you know I appreciate that we're
all doing this together and it's big event. I'm just happy to
be part of it.

Young

Closing:
I am also very thankful for everybody that's covering this fight.
We're going to give you guys a great fight to watch. I'm really
excited about it. I'm really glad to see the EliteXC women's
division is growing the way it is. I recently heard they booked
a fight for 130 so it sounds as though there might be another
weight division coming. This is a very exciting time for women
in general and women's MMA so keep watching.

Source:
Johnny Bey

5/15/08

Quote
of the Day

“Real
generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.”

Albert Camus, 1913-1960, French Author and Philosopher

For
Immediate Release:

X-1 LOOKS
NORTH FOR REPLACEMENT

X-1
World Events is pleased to announced 22-year old Richie Whitson
from Sitka, Alaska, will battle local boy Ray "Braddah"
Cooper for the vacant X-1 World Lightweight Championship Friday
night May 16, 2008, at the Blaisdell Arena. This championship
bout is one of many fights scheduled for the X-1 World Events
"Legends" card featuring the comebacks of Ray Cooper
and former middleweight champion Egan Inoue.

Whitson
steps into the Blaisdell ring 10 days after recording his third
professional victory, a TKO win over Schon Ellis May 7, 2008,
at the Alaska Fighting Championships (AFC 47) held in Anchorage.
Whitson began his MMA career in March, 2007, and has a perfect
3-0 record. Whitson replaces Hilo's "Sugar" Shane Nelson
who unexpectedly pulled out of the match. X-1 stripped Nelson
of the lightweight belt which he held for only one year. The
hard slugging Cooper returns to MMA after a 2-year hiatus and
has a pro mark of 14-8.

One
other change to the card has Chris Willems of the BJ Penn MMA
facing Maui's Brandon Visher. Willems will be making his second
pro appearance and replaces Danny Steele who withdrew for unspecified
reasons.

X-1
World Events presents "Legends" May 16, 2008, at the
Neal Blaisdell Arena. The event can also be seen live on Oceanic
Time Warner pay per view. Tickets can be purchased by calling
Ticketmaster at 1-877-50-4400, Blaisdell box office, or at all
Times supermarket locations.

X-1 World
Events presents "Legends"

Tomorrow!

Friday , May 16th at Neil Blaisdell Arena 7 30pm

7 pm prelimanary match, entertainment,Kaleo Pilanca

Tickets
on sale at Blaisdell Box Office,all Times Super

Market locations,Ticketmaster.com or call 1-877-750-4400

Ticket
discount Children 12 and under and Military.

Infants on lap are free. Prices starting at $25

This
event will be shown LIVE on pay pre view on channel 260 and in
HD

channel 1260. Time 7 30pm and replay at 10 30pm. Also Saturday
at

7 00 pm. (Oceanic Cable)

Also
LIVE on web at www.x1ppv.oceanic.com

To
see the past X-1 events on Video on Demand. Channel 221 Oceanic

Cable.

BLUE
CORNER RED CORNER

185

Hans Marrero vs Egan Inoue

Team Marrero Grappling Unlimited

170
welterweight title

Brandon Wolff vs Chad"the grinder"Reiner

Team MMAD Southwest mixed martial arts

155
lightweight title

Richie Whitson vs Ray"bradda"Cooper

Sitka Boxing Club Freelance

170

Michael Brightmon vs Kolo Koka

Gorila House Team MMAD

170

Dylan Clay vs Ronald"the machine gun"Jhun

brazilian freestyle jiu jitsu 808 Fight Factory

135
featherweight title

Albert Manners vs Kana"the

riot"Hyatt BJ Penn MMA

Eastsidaz

150

Chris"Red Bull"Willems vs Brandon Visher

BJ Penn MMA Wailuku boxing club

170
Amatuer title

Sean Sakata vs John"The Warrior" Visante

No Remorse Team Sit U Down

St.
Pierre's love life makes headlines

Montreal
fighter Georges St. Pierre is back squarely in the mixed martial
arts limelight and that includes his personal life, it seems.

The
tabloid Star magazine reported that actress-singer Mandy Moore
has a crush on GSP, which has since escalated into reports they
are dating (Britain's Sun) and Moore is in love (American Girls
blog, www.usgirl.org). Other Internet outlets following the Star
report simply described Moore as “crushing hard” on
the Canadian.

Moore
was in the Bell Centre crowd in Montreal last month when St.
Pierre regained his welterweight title.

So
what is the skinny on GSP outside the cage?

A
spokeswoman for the 26-year-old St. Pierre says UFC president
Dana White introduced Moore to the fighter backstage prior to
one of the Canadian's Las Vegas bouts last year. The two are
not romantically involved, although St. Pierre “did say
that he would date her if given the opportunity,” according
to the spokeswoman.

It
appears the ball is now in Moore's court. The 24-year-old has
previously been linked romantically with actors Zach Braff and
Wilmer Valderrama, musicians Greg Laswell and Ryan Adams, and
tennis star Andy Roddick.

UFC
fighters and the ladies also figure in Chuck Liddell's entertaining
autobiography “Iceman.” Liddell notes that after a
night of celebrating his UFC 47 win over rival Tito (The Huntington
Beach Bad Boy) Ortiz, he brought some company to his room. “A
lot of company. I can't remember how many women, but I know it
was more than two.”

White
came to Liddell's hotel room the next morning and found two women
asleep in the living room, two more in the bathroom and another
in bed with Liddell. “None of us had any clothes on,”
the unmarried fighter said.

In
the “we didn't really need to know” department, Liddell
adds he ended that morning by having sex while doing a phone
interview with a radio station.

“Again,
I'm not trying to brag,” wrote Liddell. “That is just
the way it was. What else can I say? It's good to be a winner.”

Chase
Gormley is hoping third time's the charm when he takes on fellow
American Eric (Big E) Pele in the co-main event of MFC 16: Anger
Management on Friday night in Enoch, Alta.

Gormley,
24, is the third opponent for Pele (11-4), replacing Gary (Big
Daddy) Goodridge and Wayne Cole. That meant the six-foot-three
265-pounder has had less than two weeks to prepare, but Gormley
says he's ready to fight.

“I've
had a few fights that fell through in the last few months so
I was actually in shape,” he said. “That's the only
reason I took the fight. It was just convenient for me because
I was actually looking for a fight, so it actually worked out
perfectly to tell you the truth.”

Gormley
(5-0) was slated to make his pro debut at 18 but put his fighting
career on hold when he got a wrestling scholarship to Montana
State Northern and then Lindenwood University in Missouri, where
he was an NAIA all-American and placed fourth in the U.S.

Now
based in Los Angeles, Gormley is managed by Ed Soares, whose
clientele includes middleweight champion Anderson Silva and interim
heavyweight title-holder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Soares is
a longtime Gormley family friend.

Fighting
is in the Gormley blood. His father boxed and his brother, fighting
as heavyweight Josh Dempsey, was ranked as high as fourth in
the world in 1997-98.

Gormley
trains full time during the week — his coaches include IFL
veteran Antonio McKee — and works weekends as a bouncer
at the Red Rock club on Sunset Boulevard.

After
fighting in smaller circuits, Gormley is looking forward to the
Maximum Fighting Championship.

“I
feel like the MFC's going to be kind of like a huge step up from
where I was so it's going to be nice to be actually treated like
an athlete instead of just another body to throw in there,”
he said.

And
as for Pele, Gormley plans to test the 38-year-old's conditioning.

“I
definitely think he wants to stay on his feet. So pretty much
my job is to make him work, hit him with big punches and really
see how his cardio is, test him out, see if he does have a gas
tank.”

NOTES
— Spike TV is airing Chuck Liddell's epic UFC 79 battle
against Wanderlei (The Axe Murderer) Silva on May 31 (10 p.m.
ET), following the TV debut of the documentary “Ultimate
Iceman: Chuck Liddell” (9 p.m. ET). ... Some tidbits from
Liddell's autobiography: Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter”
reality TV show cost the UFC US$10 million to produce. Spike
TV paid nothing for the show, providing only the airtime while
the UFC had to find the advertising. Liddell made just US$800
a week during the show. UFC president Dana White gave Liddell
a US$330,000 Ferrari “for being a guy the UFC counts on.”
... The International Fight League will debut a hexagon-shaped
ring on Aug. 15, at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.
Dubbed “The Hex,” the six-sided surface will measure
24 feet (7.3 metres) across and 27 feet 8 inches (8.4 metres)
end-to-end and will be enclosed by five ropes. The IFL currently
uses a traditional boxing ring.

Source: Globe Sports

FLORIAN
TO HOST MMA SHOW FOR ESPN.COM

A new online show focusing on the world of mixed martial arts
is set to debut exclusively on ESPN.com Thursday night at 7 p.m.
ET. Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight contender Kenny
Florian, along with ESPN’s John Anik and Newark Star-Ledger
reporter Franklin McNeil, will host the show.

“(It’s)
kind of a fast-paced show on the current news and events going
on in the sport. There’s a whole lot of guys at ESPN that
have been trying to get this done I guess for two years,”
said Florian in an exclusive interview with MMAWeekly.com.

The
show will talk about all aspects of the sport, including various
promotions including the UFC, EliteXC, Dream, and other organizations.

The
Boston native said the deal with ESPN was in the works even before
his last fight. Now the show has finally become a reality.

“Basically,
I was contacted by ESPN about two weeks before my fight against
(Joe) Lauzon, and there was some interest. They finally got the
okay to do an MMA show, and they were interested in using me
for this show,” Florian said.

It
will be called “MMA Live” and feature segments with
Florian, Anik and McNeil. They will discuss the latest news and
notes from the sport, and eventually will look to add interviews
and other possible ideas as they move forward.

Right
now the show will be featured exclusively on ESPN.com, but Florian
says with the right reaction it could find its way to television.

“It’s
strictly going to be on ESPN.com. It’s not going to be on
TV as of right now,” he commented. “Basically they’re
going to do a run for three shows on ESPN.com and see what the
response is, see how it does. Then if it goes well, we’ll
do a regular thing on the Internet, and if it does even better,
then possibly you’ll see it on TV.”

Each
show will be 30 minutes long. It debuts on ESPN.com on Thursday,
May 15.

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
VET TREVOR PRANGLEY: "I HAVEN'T GONE AWAY"

It’s been six months since preeminent middleweight Trevor
Prangley last stepped foot inside a competitive arena.

After
being stopped for the first time ever in a fight during his career
at the finals of the Strikeforce middleweight tournament by Jorge
Santiago, he was in need of a long-deserved break.

After
healing up from various nagging injuries and taking time to visit
his native South Africa, Prangley has returned to the States
renewed and ready to reestablish himself as a contender in the
middleweight division.

Speaking
from his adopted hometown of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, he explained
his recent absence from the MMA scene, his personal restoration
and the future of his fighting career.

MMAWeekly:
First off, Trevor, what have you been up to since November’s
Strikeforce event?

Trevor
Prangley: I was going to take three months off after that (tournament).
I had fought like seven fights in a fourteen-month period, so
I was pretty tired and was going to take time off anyway. When
I came back, I guess Bodog went through some changes, and so
on and so on, and I’m just looking for new home now.

MMAWeekly:
Speaking of Bodog, it’s apparent that they’ve closed
down their fight promotion. What do you think about coming back
only to have that happen?

Trevor
Prangley: It’s business. They needed to do what was best
for them, just like I have to sometimes do what’s best for
me. I don’t have any hard feelings. I had a good time while
I was there, and it is what it is, right?

MMAWeekly:
Now that you’ve had time to just take a step back, recoup
and get healthy, how do you feel?

Trevor
Prangley: I feel great. I really forgot how it felt to be rested
up and get back to training when you’ve rested. I don’t
have a problem and I’m ready to go right now. I’ve
been training for the last two months. I go down to AKA (American
Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif.) every two weeks, and
two weeks up here. I’m back in shape, ready to fight, and
I’ve just got to find a place to fight.

MMAWeekly:
Was the reason for taking such a hectic fight schedule out of
a sense of urgency or some other reason?

Trevor
Prangley: Basically for me, the more I fight the better I get.
I think I improve with every fight. I just wanted to stay busy,
stay in shape a lot better, but it was also a sense of urgency
too. The money was out there. The fights were out there. So why
turn them down? Now I’m sitting without a fight. You can’t
complain when you’ve got the work, so you’ve just got
to take it.

MMAWeekly:
Are there still any residual thoughts from your last fight, or
are you over it and moved on?

Trevor
Prangley: It doesn’t matter. It was a tournament. Not taking
anything away from Jorge either, but he had an 18-second first
(fight); I had a war. Basically I fought two fresh, top-level
guys in one night, and anybody can suffer a loss with that. He
won the tournament, fought a great tournament, but didn’t
fight the best Trevor Prangley there is. I’m not too concerned
about it, it happens, and it’s the luck of the draw in the
tournament.

MMAWeekly:
Would you want a rematch under more conventional circumstances?

Trevor
Prangley: I’m not the guy who hunts rematches. If it comes
up, it comes up; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. It’s
not going to bother me or be something I dwell on the rest of
my life, you know?

MMAWeekly:
Moving on to the present, what will fans see when you return
to action?

Trevor
Prangley: I think they’re going to see a stronger, faster
and a better conditioned Trevor. I’m rested up and my body
feels good again. I was falling apart before that tournament.
I was going in there with three or four injuries, and two of
them were really bad. I committed to taking it, I wanted to do
it and I was excited to do a tournament again, but looking back
in hindsight now I probably should have taken some time off in
between there. But as I said, when the work is there, you’ve
got to take it. That’s what fighters do; they fight.

I’m
rested up now and feel 100 percent better than I did before that
last fight. I was really burnt out. For me it’s a heavy
cut (to make 185 pounds), and to cut it so many times in one
year, I think my body paid a big toll for it.

If
you’ve watched my fights you know I’m somebody that
will stand in and take a couple (shots) to give a couple, and
I’m trying to change that aspect of it. I’m trying
to give more than I take. It used to be that I’d take the
same amount or take a little more, just so I could deal out a
little more damage, but I don’t want to do that any more.
I really want to become a better fighter and not rely on having
a great chin or just being mentally tough and working my way
through it.

If
you’ve never been stopped or never been put down, like I
had, you get a false sense of security that you can’t be
put down. So I thought the tournament was a learning curve for
me, knowing that when you’re worn and tired like that, you
can be put down by somebody, so I definitely don’t want
to go there again.

MMAWeekly:
Needing a new promotion to call home, what do you feel you can
provide an organization looking to bring Trevor Prangley into
their 185-pound division?

Trevor
Prangley: Really, I think any organization I go into, will be
beneficial for both of us. Right now I do believe I’m the
toughest 185-pounder out there that’s not signed to an organization.
I’ve always said I believe I’m a Top 10 fighter. I
still believe that, and I’m not signed to an organization.
I did some great fights for Bodog. Every fight I did there was
exciting, whether it was quick or a long grueling match; it was
an exciting fight. I didn’t have any sleepers in there or
anything.

I
changed my philosophy from when I was in the UFC; where I just
wanted to win, win at all costs, whether you have to stall it
out or not. I just want to go in there and fight now. I find
when I go out there to put on an exciting fight I tend to win
a lot easier and a lot more. So wherever I go, I believe it will
be beneficial for all of us. I need a home and people need exciting
fights, and I’m there to give it to them.

MMAWeekly:
Sounds great, Trevor. Thanks for taking time out for us. Is there
anything you want to say in conclusion?

Trevor
Prangley: I want to tell the fans that I haven’t gone away.
I’ve been quiet for a while, but I’m just looking for
a home, the right place to fight. I’ll be back. I haven’t
disappeared. I may be old, but I’m not done yet. I’m
hoping to do at least three fights this year. (I want to work
my way back into title contention) in one of the organizations;
I believe I deserve to be there. If you believe that, you have
to put in the work to prove it, and I’m ready to do it.

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
SIGNS TOP BRITISH FIGHTER DAN HARDY

The
Ultimate Fighting Championship on Tuesday announced the signing
of British welterweight Dan Hardy.

He
is a staple of the U.K. mixed martial arts scene, having fought
the majority of his career for the Cage Warriors fight promotion.
Hardy is currently the promotion’s welterweight champion.
He also fought his way to the finals of Japan’s Cage Force
welterweight tournament before losing to Yoshiyuki Yoshida via
disqualification due to delivering an illegal kick to the groin.

Hardy
is a member of Team Rough House, which is also the home of fellow
British standouts Paul Daley and Andre Winner.

“The
plan was always to fight in the UFC when I felt I was 100% ready.
But there were things I felt, as a fighter, I needed to work
on before I made my UFC debut,” Hardy said on CageWarriors.com.
“I probably could have fought in the UFC before now, but
I wanted to work on my skills, my BJJ and my wrestling. I have
trained as a striker since I was six years old, but have really
worked very hard on my ground game over the last four years,
including working with Eddie Bravo out in the States, and I feel
I've got one of the most well rounded games of any fighter in
Europe."

With
an impressive 8-1 record in his last nine fights, including a
TKO win over UFC veteran Chad Reiner, the multi-colored Mohawk
sporting Brit enters one of the UFC’s most crowded divisions.
Currently ruled by welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre,
the division includes many of the top fighters in the world including
Jon Fitch, Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Thiago Alves, Diego Sanchez,
Karo Parisyan, Josh Koscheck, and more.

No
information has been forthcoming from the UFC or Hardy on when
he will make his debut in the Octagon.

Source: MMA Weekly

IFL
LOOKING FOR NEW PARTNERS OR BUYER

During a media conference call on Thursday, International Fight
League CEO Jay Larkin confirmed rumors that the organization
is actively shopping the promotion for new investors and could
even possibly sell the company.

“Are
we actively looking for a partner or a sale? The answer is, yes,”
Larkin stated on the call. “We entertain phone calls and
questions almost on a daily basis from potential investors, potential
buyers, people who want to get in the MMA business, people who
are already in the MMA business.”

The
news comes just prior to the organization’s May 16 event,
which will take place at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. The
promotion will then go on a brief hiatus until its August 15
event, which will feature a newly designed hexagon-shaped ring
dubbed “The Hex.”

Larkin
also stated that the company recently made significant changes
in its business structure to cut losses. While they are actively
shopping the promotion, they have received support from its original
investors.

The
CEO of the IFL also went on to comment that he believes solidarity
between promotions is the only way MMA will survive and be successful
in the future.

“This
harkens back to something I’ve been saying consistently,
is that I do believe the MMA world is a fractured world, and
the way to make it a healthier, stronger, and a mainstream sport
and industry, is through consolidation and roll-up,” Larkin
stated. “There’s just too many little groups out there
who are fighting over the same meatless bone.”

For
now the IFL will prepare for its upcoming show on May 16 and
then wait until August to debut “The Hex.”

Source: MMA Weekly

SENGOKU
III SLOWLY COMING TOGETHER

With the fight card for Sengoku II finalized and the event set
for May 18, World Victory Road has begun piecing together its
Sengoku III event, which is scheduled to take place on June 8
at the Saitama Super Arena.

Bodog
Fight welterweight champion Nick Thompson returns to Japan to
face Chute Boxe fighter Michael Costa. Thompson makes his second
start for World Victory Road having won a decision victory over
Fabricio Monteiro at Sengoku I. This will be Costa's first fight
outside of South America, most recently scoring a knockout victory
over Gerson Gonceicao at Capital Fight in Brazil.

Several
participants have been announced for the card as well: Pride
superstar Hidehiko Yoshida, Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran
Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz, Chute Boxe middleweight Fabio
Silva, Brazilian lightweight Rodrigo Damm, and Pride veteran
Kazuyuki Fujita.

Source: MMA Weekly

AFFLICTION
MMA PROMOTION NOW OFFICIAL

Tom
Attencio, a vice president at Affliction Clothing, on Friday
officially confirmed the company’s new mixed martial arts
promotion. He made the announcement on a preview of Friday night’s
edition of HDNet’s Inside MMA program, which is currently
available for public viewing on YouTube.com.

Fights
between Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia, as well as Josh Barnett
and Pedro Rizzo, have already been confirmed by the fighters
and/or their camps for the July 19 event.

Matt
Lindland also recently confirmed that he would be fighting on
the event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Attencio noted
on Inside MMA that Lindland’s opponent would be the previously
speculated Fabio Negao.

He
also announced the participation of Ben Rothwell, Mike Whitehead
and Renato “Babalu” Sobral. Although Attencio did not
mention the match-up, the Xtreme Couture web site lists Whitehead
– an Xtreme Couture fighter – as facing Sobral at the
Affliction event.

Source: MMA Weekly

DAY
TO FACE BISPING AT UFC 85 IN LONDON

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Friday announced that Jason
Day will step in to replace Chris Leben in a proposed bout with
Michael Bisping on June 7 at UFC 85 in London.

Leben
recently turned himself in to authorities in Oregon for a violation
of his probation stemming from a past DUI arrest. He was sentenced
on Thursday to 35 days in jail, effectively removing him from
the bout against Bisping.

Day
most recently competed on the UFC 83 event in Montreal, stopping
Alan Belcher in the first round. Bisping also compete in Montreal,
defeating Charles McCarthy, when the American Top Team fighter
was unable to answer the bell for the second round.

Day
and Bisping will compete as part of the main card at the O2 Arena,
which is headlined by a bout between former UFC welterweight
champion Matt Hughes and fellow contender Thiago Alves. The event
is scheduled to include 13 bouts in total, the most of any UFC
event since the 1990s.

-Matt
Hughes vs. Thiago Alves

-Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon Vera

-Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites

-Michael Bisping vs. Jason Day

-Rashad Evans vs. James Irvin

-Marcus Davis vs. Mike Swick

-Martin Kampmann vs. Jorge Rivera

-Paul Kelly vs. Jonathan Goulet

-Ryo Chonan vs. Roan Carneiro

-Thiago Tavares vs. Matt Wiman

-Luis Arthur Cane vs. Jason Lambert

-Jess Liaudin vs. Paul Taylor

-Neil Wain vs. Antoni Hardonk

Source: MMA Weekly

BRAD
IMES STEPS INTO IFL TITLE BOUT

The International Fight League on Friday announced some changes
to its upcoming fight card scheduled for May 16 at the Mohegan
Sun in Uncasville, Conn.

Heavyweight
champion Roy Nelson had been scheduled to defend against UFC
veteran Brandon Lee Hinkle. Due to an injury during training,
however, Hinkle was forced to withdraw from the bout. Stepping
in to take his place is another UFC veteran in Brad Imes. The
bout will still be for Nelson’s title.

Fabricio
Camoes, who had been scheduled to face Jim Miller, also had to
back out of his bout due to injury. Following Camoes withdrawal,
Miller also backed out of the fight.

155
lbs.: Frank Latina vs. John Franchi

205 lbs.: Aaron Stark vs. Lamont Lister

170 lbs.: John Howard vs. Nick Calandrino

155 lbs.: Zac George vs. Josh Souder

185 lbs.: Matt Horwich vs. Joey Guel

185 lbs.: Danillo Villefort vs. Mike Massenzio

Championship
Bouts

185 lbs.: Ryan McGivern vs. Dan Miller

265 lbs.: *Roy Nelson vs. Brad Imes

155 lbs.: *Ryan Schultz vs. Deividas Taurosevicius

Source: MMA Weekly

SOUTHWORTH
DEFENDS AGAINST RUIZ AT STRIKEFORCE

Strikeforce vice president Mike Afromowitz on Friday confirmed
to MMAWeekly.com that Bobby Southworth will defend his light
heavyweight championship at the promotion’s June 27 event
in San Jose. He will face Anthony Ruiz.

Southworth
and Ruiz met for the first time in November of last year in a
non-title affair. Ruiz won their initial pairing by TKO due to
a cut early in the second round.

Prior
to the loss to Ruiz, Southworth, a veteran of the inaugural season
of The Ultimate Fighter, had won back-to-back bouts defeating
Vernon White for the vacant title and defending it against Bill
Mahood.

Since
losing to Trevor Prangley in October of 2006, Ruiz has turned
things around, currently riding a six-fight winning streak. His
defeat of Southworth was the fourth victory in that streak. He
has since added wins over super heavyweight Jimmy Ambriz and
Brad Imes, another Ultimate Fighter veteran.

The
event, to be held at the HP Pavilion, is headlined by another
title bout. Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez,
currently ranked No. 6 in the world in the weight class, will
defend his belt against American Kickboxing Academy fighter and
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Josh Thomson.

Source: MMA Weekly

Braz.
Natls: Braga Neto and Souza in absolute final

Kyra Gracie and Luzia Carmem decide women’s

Once
again, the creme de la creme of Brazilian domestic Jiu-Jitsu
gets together in the Tijuca Tennis Club, and GRACIEMAG.com was
there to tell the story. The 13th Brazilian Domestic Championship
again brought together new and old talents, as well as lots of
excitement for the public.

In
the prestigious absolute category, Antonio Braga Neto, of Gordo
JJ, guaranteed his place in the final going past four adversaries
(three by submission), including an advantage win over Otavio
Souza (Gracie PE) in the quarterfinals and a hotly disputed semifinal
against Augusto Ferrari (Barbosa JJ), who had to give up from
a choke.

The
one to face the man from the Amazon in the final, which is also
worth a ticket to the World championship, is current European
champion Alexandre Souza, who was considered more combatitive
by the judges after 10 minutes and a 0 to 0 score against Murilo
Santana, of Barbosa JJ, in the semis.

“Tomorrow
is revenge for the 2007 Brazilian Nationals. I’ve been working
hard for this title and I’m going after it. I expect a tough
fight, and that it will be a great spectacle, not to mention
that I will also fight at weight tomorrow. All this has been
a dream for me. Perhaps I’ll be on my way overseas after
this championship, but what I learned here in Rio and what (Roberto)
Gordo taught me was very important. I will always represent his
name and wherever I may be I will be a representative of his,”
said Neto.

Now
in the women’s absolute black belt, Kyra Gracie (Gracie
Barra) has arrived at another and will dispute the final against
Gracie Cuiaba representative Luzia Carmen, who had one of the
most exciting fights of the tournament. The semifinal with Luana
Moraes brought the crowd to its feet, and after much back and
forth fighting, Luzia had her arm raised thanks to a riveting
9 to 6 score. Nor did Kyra have it easy in the semis. The Gracie
had to rally back from a score of 3 to 0 to win by 8 to 3 against
Diana Menezes.

Luzia
to face Kyra at women's final

Meanwhile
at brown, the weight groups were going off, unlike the absolute,
in which Fabio Gurgel’s Alliance reigned supreme and shut
out the category. The winners were Antonio Peinado Batista, who
had already won his weight division (heavy), and Leonardo Pires.
The teammates tapped out the Nova Uniao athletes Daniel Garcia
and Ricardo Henrique in the semis.

Check
out the Brown belt disputes by weight

Rooster
– Paulo Oliveira (Monteiro) became champion by beating Elvis
Deyvid Fernandes (Alliance)

Super
feather – Pablo da Silva Santos (Gracie BH) submitted David
Moreira (Brasa) with a triangle and took the gold.

Feather
– Guilherme Mendes (Brasa) submitted Pan-American champion
Tiago Clemente (Alliance) in less than a minute with a kneebar,
avenging his brother Rafael Mendes, who was disqualified in his
fight against Tiago. “I took the X-guard and went for the
kneebar. I went to have revenge for my brother and everything
turned out alright, thank God,” said Gui.

Lightweight
– Sandro Vieira (Brasa) showed a lot of resilience in overcoming
Gracie Rio Sport Center athlete Guilherme Ferreira Iunes by 6
to 0 with two guard passes.

Middleweight
– In one of the most disputed categories of the belt, Wencler
de Oliveira (UGF) sunk a triangle on his opponent Rafael Torres
(Alliance Sul), who by judges’ decision was disqualified
for trying to flee the mat with the hold in place. “I’m
from Sergipe, we don’t have support over there. I have to
work to go to college and train at midnight, but the conquest
is very gratifying,” said Wencler.

Medium
heavyweight – Kleber Buiu of Gracie Barra was the big champion.
After getting the submission in the semifinal with a footlock,
Buiu, who used an arsenal of beautiful takedowns throughout the
competition, went past Joao Zeferino in the final with a score
of 6 to 0 (taking the back and takedown). “I’d like
to dedicate this title to Lucio Lagarto (black belt and GB teacher).
He won a battle against cancer and is an example to us all,”
said the GB athlete.

Heavyweight
– Before taking the absolute, Antonio Peinado Batista (Alliance)
took home his second Brazilian Nationals title in the belt with
a 14 to 0 drubbing of Guybson Sa (Nova Uniao). And about a possible
belt change, the cheerful athlete said: “Getting the black
belt depends on the general (Fabio Gurgel)”

Super
heavyweight – Sergio Teixeira (DDR-JJ) achieved victory
over Fernando Colombo (Gracie Floripa) after passing the guard
once and getting a takedown (5 to 0).

Ultra
heavyweight – Gustavo Dias (Chute Boxe) didn’t want
to hear about it and took home his fifth Brazilian championship
title (two at blue, one at purple and now one at brown) by submitting
Alan Francisco (Godoi JJ) with an americana, when the score was
15 to 0 for the chuteboxer. Despite the conquests, Gustavo showed
he was in no hurry: “Black only after the worlds.”

Source: Gracie Magazine

Gesias
comments his bout against Aoki

Gesias
Cavalcante was the center of some controversy at the GP lightweight,
at his fight against the Japanese Shinya Aoki. The athletes made
two bouts: the first was declared No Contest and at the second
the Brazilian was defeated, at judges decision. After that Aoki
left the event with a fracture in the face and Gesias did not
took his place, due an knee injury. In a conversation with TATAME.com,
Gesias talked about the second fight against the Japanese, with
a possible return fight against Aoki and his plans for the future.
"It has many things that I could have done, but there come
the “if”, "and “if" my mother was a
cow, I could have been born calf" said the Brazilian.

Source: Tatame

Jorge
Santiago

By Marcelo Alonso

"Now I’m happy that we will finally have the opportunity
to fight in Japan, a place that I always dreamed to fight"

Jorge
Santiago, JZ's best friend

He
was one of the first Brazilians to came to ATT (six years ago).
He was also the first Jiu-Jitsu top guy to have courage to spend
3 months in Holland training Muay Today with 23 fights (16 wins
and 7 losses), Jorge Santiago (1,85m/84kg) is being pointed as
one of toughest guys of 83kg weight division. After four impressive
wins in 2007 knocking out tough guys like Andrei Semenov (Bodog
Fight), Trevor Prangley and Sean Salmon (Strike Force) and submit
the experienced Jeremy Horn (Art of War), the best friend of
Gesias Cavalcante, is ready to face another big challenge, the
Japanese Yuki Sasaki (21-13-1). Very nice and humble Santiago
talked with us right after a hard training session with his Muay
Thai trainer Mohamed Owali. Check the conversation in the sequence.

How
you started practicing Jiu-Jitsu?

I started training Jiu-Jitsu with Angelo Mandovani (Bustamante’s
black belt). He took me to train in Murilo and then I went to
AABB and started to train with Libório and when He came
here (ATT), He brought me to came with him. By that time I was
still a brown belt and had just win the Pan-American JJ championship.
I started to train Vale-Tudo when I arrived in ATT, six years
ago, when I was only 21 years old. Today I´m 27. Since
than I did 23 MMA fights.

I’ve
heard you and Gesias are like brothers. Do you live together?

Not now. Now I live in Coconut Creek very close to the academy
with my wife and our 8 months old daughter and Gesias is living
with his girlfriend. But we always came together to the gym,
we have lunch together we do physical train by same time, that’s
why people make jokes we are brothers.

I’ve
heard you were one of the first Jiu-Jitsu fighters to improve
the stand up skills in ATT?

When I started to fight in here in Hook´s shoot and AFC
events I felt that MMA were improving and to be a top guy I should
learn stand up fight, so I decided to go to Holland.

How
you decided to go there?

Marco Aurélio went there. He met some guys from Gene Alckman
(Drago, Melvin Manhoef, Badahari) and He told me that those guys
needed someone to teach them Jiu-Jitsu, so I decided to go. By
that time I was really interested about learning Muay Thai so
I went there and spent 3 months in there. I taught a lot of Jiu-Jitsu
for them but also learned Muay After this, I started to be more
comfortable in the stand up fight.

Who
was your best Muay Thai teacher in there?

Badahari, a very tall guys that already fought in K-1. I also
got very close to Melvin Monhoef, whom I use to teach everyday
and also Drago. Those guys I was together everyday. They were
very inexperienced on the ground so I taught them in the ground
in the morning and they teach me Muay Thai by night time. Today
we are very close friends. They always came here to train Jiu-Jitsu
with us and we always go there to train Muay Thai with them.
Actually they helped Gesias a lot in the fight against Masato.
The reflex of this hard train with them could be seen in my last
fight. On 2007 I fought four times and won three by knock outs
and one by submission. This is result of my train in Holland
and also, mainly, by the excellent daily train of our striking
trainer Mohamed Owali who is an amazing trainer.

I’ve
hear a lot of good things about him. What’s the difference
of Ali and the other trainers in your opinion?

He
was four times world champion in Muay I should say that He has
two very important points. First He teaches Muay Thai for MMA,
He is pretty much focused in MMA rules, He don’t prepare
his fighters for Muay Thai fights. Also He concerns a lot about
improve the technique of each one of his students. Today for
example I trained with him twice. In the morning He leaded a
sparring stand up train correcting every details of my kicks
and punches and tonight I trained only with him. It’s amazing
the way He always finds mistakes in little details. When you
train with him guy like that you always feel yourself as a beginner,
but you also can feel improvement every week when you fight your
partners in the ring.

What’s
the difference of Muay Thai for MMA?

The fighter way of walking in the ring, the hand guard (because
MMA glove are smaller) has to be closer. He also joined very
well wrestling sprawls with knee clinching and He took away a
little bit of the kicks, so I should say that his striking classes
are pretty much focused in Boxing and the right way to move in
the ring. Leg kicks are probably 40% of his drills.

What’s
the secret of ATT?

I should say that the union between Andre Benkei (physical trainer),
Ricardo Libório (ground trainer) and Ali (Muay Thai) is
a perfect union. Besides being excellent professionals they make
ATT like a family. Here there is no ego. Everybody is treated
the same way. Even with all this excellent structure I should
say that this family climate is the most important in our team.

What
about Wrestling. Don’t you have someone taking care of take
downs in the team?

Today we are working with Mike brown and Carmello, but I heard
Libório is trying to bring a top guy, probably Darrel
Gohlar.

What
about your next opponent, the Japanese Yuki Sasaki?

We were going to fight when I were the champion of Strike Force
tournament. It was supposed that we fight in the first fight
of the tournament, but He had some problem with his medical exams
in Japan and He could not fight, so I fought the alternate Sean
Salmon (UFC fighter). Now I’m happy that we will finally
have the opportunity to fight in Japan, a place that I always
dreamed to fight.

What
do you think about him?

I liked very much his fight against Dean Lister I was in UFC
in that day. He is a very tough guy to be submitted in the ground
who likes very much the stand up fight. He is Typical Japanese
fighter who feels comfortable in any place (stand up or in the
ground).

What’s
your game plan for this fight?

I have to look other of his fights and try to find a hole in
his game, but as far as I could see in his fight against Lister,
He is a very tough guy, like most Japanese fighters and I’m
expecting a tough fight.

What’s
the Japanese fighter you like the most?

I think Kawajiri is the most complete among all Japanese fighter.
I admire very much his game. He is good standed up and in the
ground. I love to see him fighting.

Source: Tatame

Salaverry's
Last Stand

To say Ivan Salaverry has seen a lot in MMA would be a massive
understatement. When he began fighting in 1999, the sport was
still outlawed in many states and the UFC was on financial life
support. Fast forward to 2008, MMA is now the fastest growing
sport in the world, guys like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell
are household names and the UFC is making money hand over fist.
While the sport has changed, the Seattle based Salaverry has
remained the same grounded, humble and well rounded fighter that
won over many fans. I recently had a chance to speak with Ivan,
as he prepares for what could be his last professional fight,
at UFC 84: Ill Will. The 12-5 Salaverry will take on the highly
regarded Rousimar Palhares in one of the event's under card fights.

TK:
Thanks for talking with me, how has training been going?

IS: Phenomenal. I had to take some time off after my last fight
(a TKO loss to Terry Martin last May) to take care of a few things,
but I've had a nice little training session and I can't wait
to fight.

TK:
Your opponent is a bit of an unknown, but he is a Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu black belt and has a solid 7-1 record, do you have a specific
game plan in mind for him or are you sticking with what you've
always done?

IS:
He is obviously a very very good grappler and the number one
rated fighter out of Brazil. I always train a good general martial
arts base. I do a lot of striking and a lot of grappling. Obviously
for Palhares, I'll try to keep it standing, but if it goes on
the ground, I don't mind. I enjoy the ground. Either way, it
doesn't really matter to me, but the strategy going in; we're
going to keep it up.

TK:
How much longer do you plan on fighting professionally?

IS: This is about it brother. I can't tell you this is it, no
more for sure. If someone comes up to me with the right offer,
guess what? I'll be back training again, but I've been doing
this since 1999 and my priorities have switched over now to my
gym and my family. I have two kids and that takes a lot of out
you. Before, I could pick up and go train at Team Punishment
or in Japan. Now, those things aren't as easily available to
me. I love fighting and I'm not going to say "never."
I really want to start veering into building up my gym within
a team aspect. I want to bring MMA into the Seattle scene in
a respectable way. I maybe want to promote fights and promote
grappling tournaments, things of that nature. I also want to
spend a lot of energy on my team and have my guys go on to bigger,
better things.

TK:
What made you decide to become a pro fighter?

IS: I just immediately fell in love with it. The same fever that's
catching people now? I had that fever 12 years ago. The first
UFC was phenomenal. Here was Royce Gracie, a skinny little guy
that looked like my dad, beating giants. Back then, people didn't
see the reality of fighting and thought it was about fancy kung
fu moves and holistic martial arts and it really wasn't. It came
down to fundamentals of good grappling and good striking, things
like boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and
Judo. Those to me are realistic striking and grappling arts.

TK:
You've seen the sport undergo a lot of changes. Talk about some
of the biggest changes between the days of Royce Gracie and today.

IS: Elite athletes are now coming into MMA. Guys who are NCAA
champions are now also great strikers. Amateur boxers and Golden
Gloves champions are now learning to grapple. Fighters now have
grown up watching the UFC from 1993 until 2008. Not only the
UFC, but PRIDE, Shooto, Pancrase and all the different promotions
that they've seen and grown to love. Back then, it was martial
art versus martial art, now everyone are hybrid fighters, good
at everything.

TK:
If you had all the power over MMA, what would you do to improve
the sport?

IS: I think there needs to be a way to give fighters more leverage
in determining their own worth. Promotions are very powerful
and can make it hard for the fighters to negotiate. Within that,
there needs to be an organization, a situation, some form of
representation or union just like any other pro sport. Unless
you pay for it on your own, no fighters have medical insurance.
You are covered during your fight, but you train three months
before that fight! Millions are being paid to these promotions
and fighters, if you really break it down, get just a fraction
of that. There needs to be a place where we can go, to negotiate
our own worth.

TK:
You are fighting on a very stacked card, what are your thoughts/predictions
for the BJ Penn/Sean Sherk fight?

IS: My favorite is BJ. I just love his style, I think he's a
phenomenal athlete and a freak of nature in grappling. He's also
not afraid to bang, he's a hard head. I think right now, he's
on a good path. Before, his focus may have veered off a bit,
but he's looked very focused in his last few fights. Sean Sherk
is a beast and I won't take anything away from him, but I'm picking
BJ for the win.

TK: Thoughts/predictions for the Keith Jardine/Wanderlei Silva
fight?

IS: Wow, that's a good one. It all depends, if Wanderlei goes
out there with the ferocity he showed in PRIDE, then Jardine
is going to have a tough time. But Jardine trains hard and is
with a very good team down in New Mexico. Wanderlei left his
Chute Boxe team in Brazil and is now in Las Vegas and I'm not
sure what his training is like now. Based on that, I say Jardine
has the edge.

TK: Last, but not least, talk about the fight between your friend/training
partner Tito Ortiz and Lyoto Machida.

IS: My support is absolutely for Tito. I think his style is one
of the few styles that might be able to get Machida. Lyoto has
an awkward style. He's got that old Karate style with a very
diagonal stance. He's also no slouch on the ground, has beaten
some no joke fighters lately and he's got a lot of momentum.
Tito however, can nullify all of that, if he can bring him down.
If he can put him against the cage and throw down punches and
elbows, Lyoto's going to have a tough time.

TK:
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

IS: I like to have dinner with my wife bro. I like to chill,
go to Alki Beach and just look at Seattle. With my career, family
and gym, there's not time for much else. I live a very fortunate
life, so I'm allowed to do, what I love to do.

TK:
How do you balance the time between training your students with
your own training?

IS: I've allotted some of my training sessions/classes over to
my better students. That gives me the capability to do my own
two-a-day workouts (in the morning and the late evenings). I
have a lot of good guys helping me out right now like Brad Blackburn,
Shad Lierley, Bristol Marunde, and Maurice Smith. I've got a
bunch of guys who are helping me become a better fighter and
also teaching some of my classes. I think the students here can
also appreciate me taking a little time off from teaching so
I can fight in the UFC.

TK:
How many students do you currently have, what's the typical class
size and what's the overall feel of the gym?

IS: We have about 170. We have about 20-25 per class. It's such
a great situation. I'm very fortunate that this place took off
from the get go. I think Seattle really needed it because all
the great MMA schools are outside the city. I just wanted something
here and it's taken off. We have a variety of people who train
here including students, business people, women, younger kids,
we have it all.

TK:
How many of your students are training to become pro-fighters
themselves?

IS: Just a handful actually. My gym's focus is for people who
want to do realistic martial arts as a lifestyle, not for competition.
My fighters actually come train later at night because I try
to separate those animals from the regular folks. What I try
to do, is teach regular people the fundamentals of fighting;
boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and submission wrestling.

TK:
Do you feel a certain responsibility to teach more than just
fighting at your gym?

IS: Yes, but only to a certain extent. I'm not a guru or anyone's
sensei, but I do have a certain philosophy that I like to push
and that's to be a good sportsman. Within that scope, I think
things settle into being a good person. It's difficult for someone
who works all day, comes in here and trains for 2 hours, to get
into a lot of trouble. When you're working out all your frustrations
on the mat or on the bag, then it's hard to be a mean person
when you leave the gym. I'm lucky because almost all my students
and training partners are really nice, sweet people.

TK:
Any advice for up and coming fighters who want to make fighting
a career?

IS: Wow. I'd say have your (expletive) squared. That means you
have to have a job that supports all your necessities like food,
rent, training, insurance, etc. You need to make sure your base
is strong enough to support what you love. If you have rich parents;
good for you! If you don't, you better have a good job that can
pay for everything. That's when you can think about becoming
a fighter because fighting doesn't pay until way later on. You
have to literally fight, to get to the point of making money.

Source: Seattle PI

5/14/08

Quote
of the Day

“When
what we are is what we want to be, that's happiness.”

Malcolm S. Forbes, 1917-1990, American Publisher

PRO
ELITE & DREAM ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP

At
a pre-fight press conference held on Saturday in Japan for Sunday’s
DREAM.3, officials from both Dream and ProElite, Inc. announced
a working relationship between the two promotions that will include
sharing of fighters and referees, as well as co-promoted shows
in the future.

“In
the last year ProElite and EliteXC and other brands have made
a lot of progress, and some of our progress is due in part to
our relationship with FEG and now with Dream,” said ProElite
executive William Kelly. “We are sharing fighters. We are
sharing referees. We intend to do co-promotions with Dream both
in Japan and in the U.S.”

Kelly
also mentioned possibly taking co-promoted shows between Dream
and EliteXC to places like England and Korea in the future. He
commented on the strong relationship between ProElite and television
giants CBS and Showtime, and indicated that they will work to
present EliteXC and Dream co-promoted shows on the networks.

ProElite
also announced the intention of opening offices in Japan, with
the hopes of putting on an EliteXC show there at some point in
the future.

On
the current Dream card set to take place on Sunday, two EliteXC
fighters are already competing, as Nick Diaz faces Katsuya Inoue
and Eddie Alvarez squares off in the second round of the lightweight
Grand Prix against Joachim Hansen.

ProElite
executive and former ICON Sport owner T. Jay Thompson also mentioned names
like Kimbo Slice, Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, and Jason Miller
as other U.S. stars that the promotion would like to introduce
to Japanese fans in the future.

DREAM.3
takes place on May 11 and will broadcast live in the United States
on HDNet.

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
ON FORBES IS A BIG DEAL - BUT HOW BIG A DEAL IS THE UFC?

Mixed
martial arts is featured in the May 5 issue of Forbes.

On
the cover.

The
headline is “Ultimate Cash Machine,” and it is superimposed
over a photograph of the Fertitta brothers - Lorenzo and Frank
- with sort of menacing, half-shaven looks. Underneath it - “How
two casino moguls turned a violent fight club into a billion-dollar
sports empire.”

We
can debate another time, I guess, about whether one can truly
be a “mogul” when one has essentially inherited their
situation, but suffice it to say that what these gentlemen have
managed to accomplish is indeed Forbes-worthy. I know a lot of
you don’t read Forbes, but take my word for it - it’s
a big deal.

In
terms of revelation, the cover story itself was something of
a disappointment, although for those readers unfamiliar with
either the UFC or MMA, it might have been quite shocking to find
out, for example, that a UFC event on pay-per-view can do as
well with the key 18-49 demographic as, say, last year’s
Ohio State-Michigan football game.

The
story also has some background on how Station Casino Inc. was
started by the father, Frank Fertitta Sr., and how the sons transformed
the company, taking it public and taking it private again, and
in general how there could have been $44 million available to
pump into the UFC enterprise.

If
they got most of the guts of the story from Lorenzo (i.e., if
they didn’t do a lot of research on the internet or speaking
with MMA “insiders” who were outside the bounds of
the UFC), it is understandable that details are a bit sketchy
as to how the UFC was somehow unsanctionable under the ownership
of Bob Meyrowitz but perfectly acceptable under the control of
Zuffa, the Fertittas’ holding company.

Naturally,
there is the implication that Zuffa and the “new” UFC
pioneered standard rules that made the sport more palatable to
the so-called establishment, something that has come to be called
the “Zuffa Myth.”

And
then there’s the tale - well-worn by now - about how desperate
the Fertittas were to sell after presumably blowing the aforementioned
$44 million. I know it adds color to the success story we see
now, but I wonder how much of it was embroidery.

One
of the themes centers around how much the UFC might be worth.
The brothers claim that they have received offers that are in
excess of $1 billion. Maybe that’s true, but it got me wondering
as to what the buyer would be getting in such a transaction.

This
wouldn’t be like selling a company lie Coca-Cola or General
Motors - ongoing concerns for years that are “corporate”
in every sense of the word, distancing themselves from the cult
of personality, seemingly giving the impression that they run
on auto-pilot, with nameless, faceless power behind them.

I
would think that a tremendous portion of the value in a company
like the UFC, outside of the brand itself, would not necessarily
be that which is intrinsic in the company, but instead what is
contained in the creative imagination and vision of the Fertittas
and Dana White. In other words, the management is largely responsible
for the value, and without these guys in the picture that value
would seem to get considerably lower. And I do believe that this
is the case with the UFC to a much greater extent than it is
with the vast majority of companies that would carry a billion-dollar
price tag. I mean, if Vince Lombardi had owned the Green Bay
Packers and wanted to sell out, what good would it do you to
have paid top dollar for the team if he wasn’t going to
be around to coach it? He takes a lot of the value you paid for
with him.

And
this doesn’t even address the fact that ongoing operations
might continue to dip; to use the figure that is represented
in the Forbes article, IFC controls 90% of the MMA industry.
Well, that figure should be trending a bit downward if it isn’t
already, simply by virtue of new entrants into the marketplace.
Under ownership that was NOT part of the group that built the
90% position in the first place, one could expect that the figure
would diminish just a little bit.

So
maybe these guys are in a bit of a quandary - to an extent, they
may have gotten too successful for their own good, because from
a discriminating buyer, they may never really get what they think
it’s worth.

Of
course, that’s a quandary I wouldn’t mind having.

Source: MMA Memories

Silva
both a fighter and a fan

LAS
VEGAS – For many years, Wanderlei Silva was regarded the
same way at Zuffa headquarters that Derek Jeter is at Fenway
Park.

UFC
president Dana White, who for years had been eager to see Chuck
Liddell knock Silva unconscious, makes no bones about his feelings
toward the man who was the face of the rival PRIDE Fighting Championship.

“He
was my enemy,” White says unhesitatingly.

No
longer is that true, however. Because on any given day, White
will saunter downstairs from his office into the tiny gym located
in the bowels of UFC headquarters to find Silva preparing for
his fight with Keith Jardine at UFC 84 on May 24.

They
greet each other with an embrace and a smile and while away the
time discussing their mutual passion for mixed martial arts.

Silva
is such a fan of the sport, he said he’s pleading with White
to make a match between middleweight champion Anderson Silva
and welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, who currently are
ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Yahoo! Sports poll
of the world’s best fighters.

“If
Dana can make that fight, I’ll be in the line to buy a ticket,”
Silva said, beaming. “What a great fight. I am a fighter,
yes. It is my job, and it is a job I love. But before I’m
a fighter, I am a fan. I love this sport.”

And
that’s why White has fallen for Silva the way a high school
football star might for a sultry cheerleader.

White
is making money, and lots of it, in the UFC, but it’s a
double bonus to him because he’s indulging his passion.

“The
reason I got into this (expletive) in the first place is because
I love it so (expletive) much,” White said. “Part of
the way I run the company is from a fan’s perspective. If
I want to see a fight as a fan, then I know it’s a fight
that we should make and that’s what I do.

“Well,
Wanderlei is the same way. You see the passion he has for this
sport. He told me once that he’d rather lose a fight and
have the fans going crazy instead of winning a fight where the
people are booing. That’s the kind of guy I want in my company
fighting on my shows.”

After
a recent workout at the UFC gym, Silva was talking of his love
for MMA and for pleasing his fans. He’s a black belt in
Brazilian jiu-jitsu and probably could have won a lot of his
fights much easier by doing more work on the ground.

Grapplers
tend to have longer careers than strikers and Muay Thai fighters
because it puts less strain on the body.

But
Silva rarely uses his jiu-jitsu, largely because he’s aware
that he’s an entertainer when he walks into the cage.

“The
people love to see a fight between two guys who are standing
up and trying to knock each other out,” Silva said. “Go
to any fight card and you can see that. That’s why I fight
that way. Give the people what they want.”

He
has done that even during his current three-fight losing streak,
which began in 2006 when he was knocked out by a kick from heavyweight
Mirko Cro Cop.

Silva
later was stopped by Dan Henderson and then lost a unanimous
decision to Liddell at UFC 79 in December.

Most
UFC fighters on a three-bout losing streak would be in serious
jeopardy of being cut. White recently released a number of fighters
from their contracts, including high-profile men such as Travis
Lutter.

The
company’s roster of fighters had swollen to much more than
its normal 250, White said.

“We
need to give these guys three fights a year, and we just had
too many guys and it was getting harder and harder to give them
the fights we owed them,” he said. “So we started to
let some guys go.”

And
have no doubt that the ones let go were ones whom White wasn’t
particularly fond of watching. The majority of those the UFC
has cut were ones White felt weren’t regularly producing
exciting fights.

Win
or lose, all of Silva’s fights are edge-of-the-seat heart-pounders.

But
Silva concedes the fight with Jardine is a significant one in
his career. He’s not interested in losing yet another stirring
battle and is desperately trying to find a way to win again.

He
hasn’t had his hand raised in triumph since July 1, 2006,
when he defeated Kazuyuki Fujita.

“I
don’t feel like there is pressure for me to win, but I want
to win so I am training so much harder,” Silva said. “This
is the hardest I’ve ever trained.”

A
loss to Jardine would all but force Silva to drop to the middleweight
division. White said, “If you can make the weight, that’s
probably the division you should be fighting in,” but he
respects Silva so much that he’ll let him make his own decision.

Silva
is mulling it around and said he walks around between fights
at 210, just five pounds over the light heavyweight division’s
limit of 205. He seems a perfect fit for middleweight and would
add considerable spice to a division in desperate need of a jolt.

But
Silva also knows he’s capable of beating anyone at 205.
“I have two wins already over the champion,” he says,
referring to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, “and so
maybe it would be good to stay here and try to get a fight with
him.” But he also is realistic enough to know that as the
sport evolves, it’s going to get progressively more difficult
for guys his size to compete at light heavyweight.

Ultimately,
he says, the move will be dictated by where he can put on the
best fights.

“He
just wants to be able to blow your mind every time he fights,”
White said. “That’s how he is. I just wish I had 250
other guys like him. If I did, this sport would be so far in
front of everything else, it would never get caught.”

Source: Yahoo Sports

SANTIAGO
LOOKING TO FINISH SASAKI AT SENGOKU

American Top Team fighter Jorge Santiago will take on Yuki Sasaki
on May 18 at World Victory Road’s Sengoku II in Tokyo. These
two were supposed to square off in Strikeforce’s middleweight
tournament last November. Sasaki, however, was pulled from the
fight after failing to get medical clearance. Now, Santiago is
ready to finish what he never had the chance to start.

MMAWeekly
Radio had a chance to speak with Santiago amidst his final preparations
for the fight. “I'm so excited,” exclaimed Santiago.
“I've been training harder than ever. I'm prepared to put
on a big show for the Japanese crowd.”

Since
they were previously scheduled to fight, it wasn’t much
of a problem to adjust to Sasaki’s style. “I studied
him before because we were supposed to fight.”

While
Santiago had mixed results in the UFC, he has rebounded well
since then. After finishing Andrei Semenov in Bodog, he submitted
the always tough Jeremy Horn in Art of War 3.

Santiago
then went on to the Strikeforce middleweight tournament and drew
Sasaki, who would have to pull out of the tournament. Instead,
he took on Sean Salmon, who he knocked out in just 24 seconds
of the first round. In the finals of the tournament, he finished
Trevor Prangley in less than a round.

However,
since his win in Strikeforce, he hasn’t had the chance to
come back to the promotion. “I'm still waiting for a chance
to go back. I hope I'm going to go back to Strikeforce. For now,
I just need to fight here in Sengoku, but I'll be available to
fight in the U.S.”

An
intriguing match up for Santiago in the Strikeforce promotion
could be its middleweight champion, Cung Le. Le is undefeated
and just completed the biggest fight of his career, defeating
former UFC champion Frank Shamrock to capture the Strikeforce
belt.

He
welcomes the chance to fight Le. “That would be perfect.
Cung Le is a tough guy. He's a good fighter. He's got some stand-up
skills. I would really look forward to fighting Cung Le, for
sure.”

If
Santiago were to fight Le, he would look to take him where no
one else has yet: the ground. “Yeah, if I fight him, for
sure,” he said. “I'm gonna choose the ground.”

Before
he plans a fight with Le, Santiago has a tough test ahead of
him in Sasaki and he’s not taking it for granted. “I'm
really in my best shape,” he commented. “I know I can
do it. I'm really excited. I had a dream to fight in Japan. It's
a dream come true. I'm so excited for this.”

Santiago
is well aware of the dangers his opponent possesses and does
not take it for granted. “I think he's dangerous on his
feet. He has a good jab and a right hand.” However, he also
believes he will have an advantage on the ground. “I've
been training all of the positions, so when I see an opening,
I'm going to finish.”

Even
though he wishes to fight back in Strikeforce at some point,
Santiago has no problem fighting for Sengoku again either. “I
still have three fights in one year. If they want me to fight
in Sengoku III, I'm ready.”

With
the way Santiago has fared in his last couple of fights, he believes
he can finish this fight like the rest of them. “It's not
going to be by decision. I'm going to finish this fight as soon
as I can, in the first round or the second round. It won't go
to the third. I promise.”

Source: MMA Weekly

END
OF THE ROAD: ORTIZ PLANS FUTURE WITHOUT UFC

The end of the journey for “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,”
Tito Ortiz, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship seems to be
drawing near. The former light heavyweight champion has all but
packed his bags to leave the company after his May 24 fight against
Lyoto Machida.

“I
really think it’s time for me to move on,” said Ortiz
during an appearance on MMAWeekly Radio. “I’d love
to finish my career with the UFC, but the way they treat me,
it’s just… it’s really, really bad. It really
hurts me. It’s really disrespectful towards me. I’ve
given them 11 years of my life, blood, sweat and tears in that
Octagon, putting my heart on the line, putting my life on the
line, and they give me no respect for it because I’m outspoken.”

The
outspoken nature of which Ortiz speaks is his tendency to try
and fight for fighters to receive a higher salary from the various
promotions, a battle he has been fighting for many years.

“I
believe the fighters should get a fair cut of what they (UFC)
make. They’ve made their money back time and time over,
now it’s time I think for the fighters to start receiving
revenue that they get because of us,” Ortiz stated. “I’ve
been a person to be outspoken about that, and no one else has.

“I
think Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell should be thanking me from
three years ago when I spoke out and they started getting paid
more money, and I started making more money. That’s what
it’s really about, focusing on fighters of the future, not
just being paid low sums like some of the undercard guys are
getting.”

Obviously,
Ortiz has been fighting a very public battle with UFC president
Dana White. The California native can’t deny it’s a
major reason for his departure.

“To
me, it’s just with Dana White, he has such hard feelings
against me, he’s been very disrespectful towards me, and
I’m willing to move on,” he commented. “To not
have to wake up every day and worry about what he’s going
to say about me.”

While
the former champion doesn’t deny the tough relationship
with White, he also says that he’s ready to put all of that
behind him and just go somewhere else.

“I
really just want to focus on what’s going to happen after
this. I’m willing to move on, I’m willing to think
about the positive stuff that’s around me and diss all the
negative stuff,” Ortiz said about his future. “I’m
over all the negative stuff, I’m over talking about Dana…
I’m very thankful for Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, for what
they’ve done for me. I’m very thankful, and they don’t
want to help me anymore, which is fine.”

Ortiz
went on to say that he was negotiating for a new contract with
the UFC, but ultimately the talks ended and the last fight on
his current contract, the fight against Machida, will likely
be his last UFC fight ever.

“At
this point it’s pretty much stopped,” he said of the
contract negotiations. “I gave them my first offer. They
came back at me with some totally… I thought was ridiculous
(offer). I held out, and I held out, and I held out until they
gave me something else, which was a six-fight contract, and I
don’t want to be held down for six fights with them.

“I
want to go to a company that they’ve got respect, that’s
the biggest thing. It’s not about the money, people got
to understand, the money’s going to be there no matter what.
It’s about a fair cut and being respected as a champ, as
the fighter I am.”

After
his May 24 fight against Lyoto Machida, Ortiz stated he has a
60-day waiting period before he can negotiate with another company.
During that time he plans on attending some shows, checking out
the production value and how the various organizations handle
promoting their events.

He
also talked about working behind the scenes of a promotion to
help with marketing, while working to build young fighters and
make new stars in the sport.

Specifically,
Ortiz mentioned organizations such as EliteXC and Affliction
as promotions he intends on checking out. And what kind of animal
does Tito Ortiz hope to unleash when he works with a new promoter?

“I
think it’s going to be huge for any company that does sign
me,” said Ortiz about a positive relationship with a new
company. “The marketability I’ll have where I want
to put my heart and soul into it, as I did for the UFC.”

Source: MMA Weekly

HCF
closes its doors

Minotouro and Babalu had contracts with the event

As
with all big sports, accelerated growth causes some damage. The
unexpected news that the Canadian HCF will be closing up shop
came at precisely the moment in which the news of its sale to
a Canadian television network was expected, which according to
organization president Keith Crawford, would propel the company
into second place, right behind the UFC.

The
news as reported on the Sherdog website does not explain the
reasons for closing, although it states keith and his partner
Houshiar will remain in the realm of MMA events promotion. Brazilians
Renato Babalu and Rogerio Minotouro had a contract with the Canadians,
who organized only four events.

Rodrigo
Minotauro’s twin brother’s next fight would have been
on July 9th, while Babalu would have fought on the May 10th show,
although there was an unexplained postponement and its seems
the event will no longer take place.

Source: Gracie Magazine

5/13/08

Quote
of the Day

“Morning
comes whether you set the alarm or not.”

Ursula K. Le Guin, American Author

Fighters'
Club TV Tonight!

Channel 52, Tuesdays
at 7:00 PM

FCTV episode
58 will run in our normal timeslot of 7pm on Oceanic Channel
52 Olelo Oahu Tuesday nights, March 25, April 1, 8, & 15.

Episode
58 features:

Highlights
from the Pacific Invitational Jiu-Jitsu tournament including:

1. Interview & footage with purple belt heavyweight &
absolute winner, Kelly Grissom

(Relson Gracie Kaneohe Team)

2. Interview with tournament director Ronn Shiraki

3. Highlights & great subs from Jake Scoval & Luke Hacker
from Longman JJ, Dustin

Grace from Kaneohe Team, Lenora from Team HK, Andy Marshall vs.
Dr. Suehiro & many

more...

-HFC
highlights from the Dole Cannery including:

-Interview with fight promoter Sly Kekahuna

-170 lbs HFC champion Keoni Bryant

-Interview with Koa Ramos with highlight of fight with Bryson
Kamaka

-Highlight of Brennan Kamaka in action

Technique
of the Week:

-Mario "Zen Machine" Sperry demonstrates the standing
guard pass

Rob
Demello's report

-Kala Hose vs Phil Baroni fight highlights & inteview with
Kala Hose

-Extended unedited interview with Phil Baroni

Comments,
Questions, and Suggestions to: fctv@onzuka.com

MIKE
DOLCE'S ULTIMATE FIGHTER 7 BLOG: WEEK 6

I’ve
been waiting two whole months for last night’s episode of
“The Ultimate Fighter 7” to air.

The
anticipation has almost been too much to for me. I was like a
little kid waiting for Christmas, only this was way better.

You
see, Santa Spike had brought all the good little girls and boys
a glorious gift tonight.

That
gift was cold, sweet justice, served straight to the face of
Jeremy May, compliments of Matt Brown’s left foot, leaving
a broken, bloody nose and a suffocating mouthful of good old
humble pie for Jeremy to chew on.

Now,
nobody died, Jeremy is okay, back to practicing Jeremy-Jitsu
I’m sure, so just relax a second and hear me out.

My
reasons are admittedly selfish.

I
wanted to see Jeremy May get kicked into a coma by Matt Brown’s
foot for a second time! And with my DVR, I can relive that glorious
moment anytime I need to crack a smile and pontificate on life’s
universal truths!

You
certainly do reap what you sow.

Before
you cast me as some sort of evil and crazy man, I must let you
know that I have my reasons.

“If
it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with
all men.” – Romans 12:18

In
my daily life I try to follow the teachings of the Bible. Much
of the Bible I do not know as well as many others.

Some
lessons though, have shaped the kind of man I have grown to become
and Romans 12:18 is one such lesson.

After
weeks of rationalizing Jeremy’s behavior to the cast and
production staff as a simple social ineptitude, a cry for attention
that should be sympathized with, I extended my hand to Jeremy
many times as a friend and confidant only to feel it smacked
away with a daily barrage of cruel misdeeds. Some of which I
can not yet tell, as we are barely half-way through the season.

Let
me back this story up a few months.

My
first impression of Jeremy May was not very pleasant. Standing
in the living room of the fighters’ house talking to my
new roommates, I turned to my left and saw a tall, dark man standing
in the open kitchen about 15 feet from me, wearing a burgundy
and black bathrobe, styled and chosen as a direct result of one
Mr. Hugh Heffner!

Identical
in design to Heff’s in every way, except Jeremy’s “robe”
was made of Wal-Mart cotton and Mr. Heffner’s “identity”
is woven from the quiet dreams of pubescent American males and
the sweet scented sweat of blossoming buxom beauties that all
live just next door.

But,
I digress.

The
BAMF’s (as he likes to call himself) robe was open to the
naval and tied in a way as to show off his bare torso? His hair
was freshly styled with a gel-like substance and he appeared
to have oiled his body with some kind of lube? He was pacing
the kitchen with no true reason other than to be seen? It was
quite creepy!

I
slammed my eyelids shut as if I had just been maced and turned
back to the living room wondering what I had gotten myself into.
Where is my contract? I want to see the fine print!

“Is
that guy really wearing a Playboy jacket and posing for a house
full of dudes on the very first night? This must be a gimmick
by the producers,” I thought to myself.

“Either
he’s a homosexual or a bleeping bleep,” the fighter
seated next to me said. (Well, he actually used slightly more
offensive words than I care to relate, but you get the picture.)

Unfortunately
for the cast, Jeremy did not turn out to be a homosexual.

Though,
he did prove to be a big smelly turd…and no matter what
wrapper you cover a turd in, it is still quite offensive to anybody
in its vicinity, as Jeremy tried very hard to be.

That
is my first impression of The BAMF, and as many chances as I
gave him to alter my opinion in those first four weeks, Jeremy
failed miserably each time.

By
the way, The BAMF is an acronym for The Bad Ass Mother F***er.
That is Jeremy’s “official” nickname. Yes, it
really is. He made it up himself.

As
far as training goes, Team Rampage really only had seven members,
aside from the coaches that could be counted on as training partners,
because Jeremy never actually trained.

Well,
scratch that, he did train three whole times that I am aware
of. Mind you, Team Rampage trained twice per day, seven days
per week for six weeks.

Am
I coming off a bit too harsh here? There were some positives.

As
it turned out, Jeremy wasn’t totally self-absorbed, he stepped
up and did his part to help out around the gym while the rest
of us were busy training.

You
see, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is a human being, and
as such, probably has normal, healthy bowel movements each day,
just like most other human beings, but being the champion of
the world in addition to taking on this coaching job, Rampage
was a very busy man.

Jeremy,
possibly concerned for the health and well being of our coach’s
sphincter, saw fit to follow him around the gym each day with
his head shoved so far up his behind, I actually thought Quinton
was a centaur for two full weeks!

Until
of course, Quinton stepped into the Octagon, then Jeremy ran
off to the bicycle.

With
that much ass kissing, I’m genuinely surprised that Rampage’s
backside didn’t get extremely chafed. Or, maybe that is
why Tinactin was brought in as a sponsor? Hmmm?

Jeremy
May proved to be lacking as a person, lacking as a roommate,
lacking as a teammate, but most importantly lacking as an athlete.

He
did himself a huge disservice by acting in a way that would ensure
an inordinate amount of air time, yet ostracize himself from
a terrific group of young athletes and ruin his reputation on
an international scale.

Had
Jeremy focused on his craft and trained seriously for his fight
with Matt Brown, maybe the result would have been different?

Nah!

Mike
Dolce is a cast member of “The Ultimate Fighter 7.”
He is a professional fighter, strength coach, and sports nutritionist.
For more information, to read past blogs, or to learn about “The
DOLCE Diet,” go to www.MikeDolceMMA.com.

Source: MMA Weekly

ADRENALINE
CEO ANNOUNCES DEBUT EVENT

Fledgling mixed martial arts promotion Adrenaline MMA is scheduled
to debut in Chicago on June 14. Adrenaline MMA's CEO, Monte Cox,
spoke with MMAWeekly.com about the organization's plans and it's
first fight card.

"It's a nice card that's probably going to be shown on HDNet
or something like that," Cox said. "We're going to
try to make money and put on a good show at the same time. We're
heavily biased here towards Chicago talent (for the first event)
because it's in Chicago. I've got like 18 guys with Chicago ties."

Cox has been around the fight game as long as anyone and has
worn many hats in the industry. Along with managing more than
sixty fighters, the Adrenaline MMA CEO has promoted several events.

"I
see Adrenaline being very much like Strikeforce. I think that's
a good thing," he commented. "Obviously, Adrenaline
has Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell signed. Those are two pretty
good names. We have Eddie Alvarez also. I'm looking at the fight
card, and... I have 12 guys right now that are UFC guys, and
not guys from UFC 3. I have some current guys.

“My
show will be, what I hope other shows will be like, they're a
mixture. I've got a guy who's under contract with Pro Elite fighting.
I have guys who are under contract to the IFL fighting. It's
a mixture of a little bit of everything."

In
getting Adrenaline MMA off the ground, Cox isn't looking to go
straight to pay-per-view, which can be a costly way to build
a following for a start-up promotion.

"If
you look at my card and compare it to Affliction, I'm not going
to be that card," continued Cox. "That's why they're
on pay-per-view and I'm not. But if you look at it just from
here's a guy spending hundreds of thousands of dollars just to
make a fight card, well I have a pretty good show."

Although the first two Adrenaline MMA events are scheduled in
Illinois, Cox plans to take it on the road in the future.

"We'll
travel. Right now, I'm happy... I love Chicago as a fight town.
My next show for Adrenaline will be September 6 and that's going
to be at the i wireless Center in Moline, Ill. And that's basically
the Quad Cities, home of the Miletich Fighting Systems. That
show will include Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell."

Discussing the promotion's debut fight card, Cox said, "My
main event is going to be Jeff Monson and Mike Russow. That's
a really good fight for anybody who knows MMA and has been around.
The one other fight that I've got that I'm really proud of is
Terry Martin is going to fight Daiju Takase. Of course, Takase
is a guy that has beaten Anderson Silva... Terry Martin is 16-4
and never lost outside of the UFC."

ADRENALINE MMA

June 14, 2008 * Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Main
Event

Jeff Monson vs. Mike Russow

Main
Card

Daiju Takase vs. Terry Martin

Zac George vs. Clay French

Tony Fryklund vs. Brian Gassaway

Jeff Cox vs. Bart Palaszewski

Taiwon Howard vs. Rory Markham

Mark Miller vs. TBA

Herc Hayes vs. Kerry Schall

Rob Kimmons vs. Hector Urbina

Aaron Rosa vs. Ron Fields

Preliminary
Bouts

Dom O'Grady vs. Mike Stumpf

Joe Jordan vs. Ryan Williams

Joe Pearson vs. John Hosman

Source: MMA Weekly

Tim
Credeur's 'The Ultimate Fighter 7' Journal - Episode 6

By Tim Credeur on May 8, 2008

This
blog is going to be very different than any of the other blog’s
from the show. During the show I kept a day to day personal journey
about my experiences on the show. It is very personal but will
give you insight into the mind and feelings of a fighter going
through this very difficult process that we have come to know
and love as the Ultimate Fighter.

“Crazy”
Tim Credeur’s Ultimate Fighter 7 Journal

Episode
6

I
would like to apologize to everyone for my lateness in turning
in my Blog. I was in a panic because I could not locate my journal
which by the way contains the show’s contents and if found
and released would violate my 5 Million dollar gag order and
get me pretty much skinned alive and massacred at the hands of
Dana White himself. The cause of the problem goes back to my
life long struggle with an extreme case of ADHD and my ability
to lose everything that I put my hands on. I have to this day
lost 4 wedding rings in 3 years. I found the journal just slightly
to the left of where I usually leave it and I guess that was
just out of eye site for old Timmy. Well without further ado,

Day
16

I
had a pretty restless night of sleep that I would sort have to
attribute to our team’s extremely hard training that takes
place each and every day. I am not an expert and I do not know
if we are overtraining or not but one thing I do know is that
we are working as hard as we can possibly work. Forrest says
“Control the variables”, we are controlling all of
them and we are really controlling them if you know what I mean.
Just about every practice is a ball buster but I feel myself
getting better and stronger every day. I woke up really early
and made breakfast and got ready for our day. For the am practice
we really worked hard on our Muay Thai training with our coach
Kru Mark Beecher leading us through a blistering Thai style practice.
Beecher’s nickname is the Hyena for a reason, he is tough
and no nonsense in the gym. He laughs a lot but expects you to
be doing work and he never stops yelling and bitching at you
to make sure you’re putting forth your best effort with
every strike and technique you deliver. He has about 60 Muay
Thai fights and 5 MMA fights plus he also has earned a legit
purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu so he has a well rounded fight game
and coaching style. His practices are really intense and very
motivating for fighters. We came home after and eat and then
had to go right back to the gym for the weigh-in’s between
Matt Brown and Jeremy May. The stare down was brutal and I can
actually see the fear all over Jeremy May. That kid really insulted
Matt again last night by staying up all night and drinking. We
heard he was just drinking water trying to play his games but
it is just sad that the kid does not realize how ridiculous he
is going to look. Many fighters have worked for years to erase
the stereotypes that guys like Jeremy May bring to the sport,
it is sad to see that after all that work this douche bag just
ruins it with his pathetic and childish attempts to get attention
and acceptance. Mentally Jeremy May is a small child and Matt
Brown is about to do some spanking. He needs to learn a lesson
and I could think of no one better to teach him than the one
and only Matt “the Man” Brown. When we got home we
rested until the pm practice because Forrest told us it would
be brutal once again. We did a 15 min warm-up and then 5/ 5min
rounds of hard sparring in the small MMA gloves. When we finished
that we went over some Jiu-Jitsu Techniques and drilled for about
an hour and then did a 25 min ground and pound drill on the floor
dummies. We were all having a pretty difficult time standing
up after the practice was over but it felt good to be training
so hard like real warriors. No matter what happens I know I gave
this thing my 100% effort everyday and honestly that is all I
can do.

Day
17

This
morning I woke up to a very sore back, extremely bruised body,
possible broken nose, shin splints and no skin on any of my knuckles
due to our very tough training sessions. I just love it but I
am really overtraining myself at this point. It is not in any
way, shape or form Forrest’s fault or any of the other coaches
on our team for that matter. They tell us to take as much time
off as we need too. They never pressure us to train or imply
anything derogatory if we do not. They just provide tough quality
training sessions twice a day that make you better. It is really
up to you what you want to do with the trainings they are providing.
I am extremely impressed with the situation and in this type
of environment I can see myself getting a whole lot better at
my overall MMA game. For the am practice we did a long warm-up
and then we did 6 5 min. rounds through a variety of different
MMA scenario stations. We covered some Jiu-Jitsu techniques after
with Cameron Diffley aka Peter Parker and then did a warm down
stretch. I decided not to train for the pm practice later tonight
to let my body heal and rest from what it has already been through.
In the van we almost died laughing at JT Money and his insane
poetry. I just hope America gets to be privy to this guys amazing
lyrical talent. Our whole team returned to the gym at 4pm for
the Matt Brown and Jeremy May bloodletting. It is really weird
fighting there in the gym in front of only 20 or 30 people. It
feels more like a sparring session than anything to be honest.
We all encourage Matt Brown and told him not to let the emotion
get the best of him and to stay focused through the anger. He
seemed very very relaxed in the cage. Jeremy came out acting
like a douche bag as always. The fight started with Jeremy throwing
wild uneducated Hail Mary bombs that had Matt Brown defending
and slipping easily but not countering much. The fight went to
the ground with both getting on top at different times and throwing
heavy ground and pound. Then at about 2 min into the fight it
seemed like Jeremy May was done, he was like that kid with the
shiny new toy who gets his feelings hurt and then takes his game
home with him so no one can play. Matt caught him with a hard
knee and some hands to follow it up and as Jeremy fell Matt connected
with a picture perfect head kick or face kick that knocked Jeremy
completely out and sent him to the canvas in a heap. I felt as
though it was a reckoning for Jeremy May and I truly hoped he
was humbled and would now learn his lesson. I for one was going
to give him a second chance. After the fight Jeremy was taken
directly to the hospital and the doctor told Matt Brown that
he would also need to go and get an X-Ray on his foot and leg
just to make sure he was ok and it was not broken. In the locker
room we all congratulated Matt and were really proud as a team
to be 4-0 against team Rampage especially since 3 of the 4 were
finishes. We were dominating those guys and our hard work and
training were really beginning to show and pay off. 3 of us had
10G’s to show for it and Dante had 5G’s. At the pm
practice that night Forrest told us that he was really proud
of us but he was concerned that we were not fighting up to our
full potential. He said we are all 10 times better than what
we were showing in our fights and that he wanted us to think
more about transferring what we do in practice to the ring more
seamlessly and more efficiently. I could actually not agree with
him more. We are winning but we should be destroying. I am going
to really start working on being the fighter I am in practice
in the ring. I sat during the pm practice and just really worked
hard on mentally preparing myself for my next bout. I already
had 10G’s but another 10 or 20 would really help Mamie and
me out a great deal right now. I am ready to fight anyone at
all even my teammates if need be. I am prepared to do whatever
it takes and endure and hardship no matter how great it is for
Mamie. After practice we were hanging out in the living room
listening to JT Money’s poetry when Jeremy returned from
the doctor. Right away he ruined his 2nd chance with me. He started
talking about how he was actually dominating Matt Brown the whole
fight until he realized he was fighting in the UFC (by the way,
no he was not, it is just a reality show to get an opportunity
to fight in the UFC and you are only fighting in front of 20-30
people not 20,000 screaming fans and cameras so it is not even
close to the same thing at all) and it just kind of freaked him
out and he accidentally dropped his hands and got caught with
Matt’s one lucky shot. This guy is delusional. Matt Brown
let him throw and defended everything and then just destroyed
him that is what happened. At least when you lose be a man and
admit it, you douche bag. I just can’t wait till he disappears
back into whatever white trash hole he came out of in Florida.
He is a stain on MMA in my opinion and if even a broken face
knock-out does not teach him his lesson he is just a lost cause.
Tomorrow is fight announcement and I think our last pick Luke
Zachrich is going to challenge Dan Cramer from ATT. I call Luke
the dark horse because I think he is a sleeper. The guy is Rich
Franklin’s #1 training partner and he is really a beast
to be honest. I am positive that I can beat him by submission
but he can be really tough to takedown. I think if you use the
fence on him that is your only real option. I think the fight
might go the distance but I think Luke will beat Dan up pretty
bad in the fight. We only have 3 weeks left until we go home.
I can do 3 weeks anywhere standing on my head. I just really
miss my wife. I can’t stop thinking about her and about
her smile and her face. Being here has really given me a new
outlook on how much I truly love her. I have been blessed with
such a wonderful person in my life and I can never allow myself
to take her for granted. She is truly one in a million.

Day
18

This
morning Forrest told us we could have the am practice off. It
was awesome and really something that we all needed. We still
had to go to the UFC training center at noon for the fight announcement.
Dana was there and had a really nice normal conversation with
us. He is really a cool down to earth guy that just loves the
sport with his whole heart. I have so much respect and admiration
for the man and for what he has done for the sport I love so
much. I just hope to continue to impress him and have a successful
career with his company. For the announcement we had control
once again and our last pick Luke “the Dark horse”
Zachrich called out Dan Cramer. Dan is hands down the hottest
guy on the show. He looks like he just walked out of an Abercrombie
and Fitch catalog. I know he is from ATT and made friends with
my good friend Yves Edwards down there. I swore to Yves to watch
out for him if we made it on the same team but we did not and
he is going to have his hands full with Luke for sure. Luke is
a tough dude from the Ohio camp of Gurgel and Franklin. Luke
played linebacker in college for Bowling Green. He is one of
the guys from the gym that gives me lots of problems in the gym.
On the ground I do well with him but standing up we battle pretty
good and he is very hard to take down and keep down. Cramer does
not have very good stand up but he throws and his wrestling is
also not very good either but he battles through it and gets
it done somehow. Cramer is just very mentally tough and he does
not give up an inch. I see the fight going a ways in because
Cramer is so tough but I just see Luke getting the W in some
fashion eventually. For our pm practice we did one hour of jiu-jitsu
rolling non-stop. It was so much fun to get back on the mat and
do some good old jiu-jitsu. I think I am going to send Nick Kline
a purple belt in the mail when I get home. He is really good
and slick on the ground. He caught me in a triangle the other
day clean. I did pretty well with Matt Brown he is just a tough
SOB. Dante and I mauled each other and I think we both tapped
a couple times but we just love rolling with each other really.
Dante has a really good foot lock he keeps catching me with and
he is powerful enough to break it off if he needs too. Forrest
and I went crazy on each other as usual but it was a great roll.
Finally I rolled with Amir”TNT”Saddollah and I was
trying to help coach him and help him along with some techniques
and what not but he was having none of that. He looked at me
and said “Just tap me as many times as you can and that’s
it OK!!!” So I rolled as hard as I could roll with him and
I was catching him early on pretty good but he kind of got better
during the roll and I was starting to have trouble with him.
That guy is very resilient and learns quickly he even began to
counter correctly and get me in some bad positions. As always
I am very impressed with Amir, the kid is intense and a quick
learner, I envy his drive and determination. He is an awesome
training partner to work out with. He keeps shit real, no bullshit
rolling or sparring with Amir only 100% or you’re getting
an earful, I love it. When we got home I made diner and a bunch
of guys eat my leftovers as always and then me, Dante, Matt Brown
and Amir played spades for about 2 hours. Dante and I killed
them this time. The nightly hot tub ritual keeps us all in one
piece and it helped me again tonight. The barbers also came today
and I felt bad having someone else do my hair but Mamie. I had
a great barber clean me up real nice; I might be hooked on their
style now.

Day
19

I
feel much better now in my body with the soreness and fatigue.
I think physically and mentally I got over the hump and my body
has accepted and adjusted to the conditions. Our morning practice
was called “light sparring”. We did some technique
and then proceeded to completely beat the crap out of each other
for at least 6 5 min. rounds. My nose as always was busted open
and spewing blood all over me and all my training partners. Matt
Brown and I pretty much go 110% power and speed every time we
spar. It is like being in the middle of a war the whole round.
We are getting better because of it though. I sparred with Forrest
again and he is just huge and strong. I got a couple in but only
a couple at best. After practice Luke Zachrich and Dan Cramer
did their weigh-in and Cramer was really giving Luke the evil
eye. I think Luke has his number and is going to knock him out.
For our pm practice we did the kick for a minute then grapple
for two minutes from bad positions drill. With your partner switching
it is a 6 minute drill and we did about 8 rounds of this. Then
Norn our strength and conditioning coach came in and set up 8
brutal stations for us. We were to do one minute per station
and Forrest made us do the rotation 3 times in a row. That is
24 minutes of non-stop plyometric exercises. It was rough. We
were all crushed after the practice was over. I only weighed
190 after 202 the very same morning. When we got home I went
straight to the supplement shelf, food and then right to bed.
Training like this is really no joke. This is some real professional
athlete type of training going on here.

Day
20

I
woke up sore but ready to train again. We got to do a lot of
technical Muay Thai training at the am practice with Mark. It
really helped me out a lot with some things I do in my game.
We did a burn out cardio deal after and I felt great. I eat at
home and then it was back to the gym for the Zachrich and Cramer
fight. From the beginning of the fight Luke just did not look
like himself. It was like Cramer was just really throwing off
his rhythm somehow. At the end of the first round Luke took him
down and mounted him and began punishing him. Cramer gave his
back and I thought it was going to be over but the round ended.
Luke looked really tired in the corner and from the beginning
he was taking shots that he should have not been taking. His
hands were down a couple times but he was throwing back a little.
Kramer got a takedown to side mount and then immediately went
to the mount. From there it was all Cramer till the ref stepped
in to stop the fight. Our team had suffered its first loss and
we were all pretty devastated but none so much as Luke. I watched
him sit alone outside with tears in his eyes and it broke my
heart because I know that road and you go down it alone and it
is tough. I think BJ Penn said it best “Winning is not that
great, it is just losing that sucks so bad”. I immediately
asked Forrest if I could fight Cramer in the next round. He said
that it was up to Dana and not up to him. I asked for Cramer
from the beginning when he beat my friend Jeremiah Riggs but
the team thought he was too easy of a fight for me. I bet they
don’t think that now. I just want to try and avenge my friends
Jeremiah and Luke, nothing personal …. Well maybe a little
personal. On the van ride home none of us said a single word.
We were in shock and the loss was hard for us to swallow even
though we knew this day would was inevitable. The pm practice
was really cool because Forrest brought in one of his training
partners and my brother-in-law Ross’ favorite fighter Mike
“Quicksand” Pyle. Mike had just returned from a victorious
fight in Canada for the Hardcore Fighting Championship organization.
We warmed up hard then wrestled and did jits for an hour and
a half. We trained non-stop and it was awesome. It took Mike
about 10 min. to finally pass my guard and then he caught me
in a head and arm choke. I was just so impressed with his ground
game. He is really smooth and very knowledgeable. After practice
Forrest offered to give my wife Mamie a call on Valentine’s
Day and tell her I love her. That is a really cool offer and
I plan on taking him up on the offer. I am sure she has no idea
that Forrest Griffin is going to call her for Valentine’s
Day. That will be pretty funny I guess. I miss her so much. It
is only 3 weeks left and I got the most important fights of my
young life ahead of me. I can’t believe I even made it to
the 32 much less the final 8 now but I am here to win this thing
and I am giving it my all in practice and in controlling the
variables. I will not fail. I will fight to my last breadth because
I have promised someone the world and she deserves it so I see
to deliver no matter what the cost to myself.

I
would like to take this opportunity to thank some of my sponsors
for all of their help, support and hard work in my career. Third
Coast Combat is definitely reping the Deep South (www.thirdcoastcombat.com).
Assassin Athletics is a new and enterprising company down here
supporting local fighters and myself as well (www.assassinathletics.com).
Rocky and Kevin Miller from Xtreme Nutrition of Lafayette at
both locations have gone above and beyond to really help my career
in terms of suppliments and diet thanks a ton guys (www.xnonline.net).
John Ouano at Ouano Kimonos has been sponsoring me with GI’s
and supplies for the last ten years plus he has been a jiu-jitsu
teacher and mentor all of my jiu-jitsu career, John you will
never be forgotten (www.ouano.com). Scotty, Gumby and all the
guys at On the Mat have been brother’s in arms for many
years and have always supported me thanks a million guys (www.onthemat.com).
All the guys at Manto Fight have been amazing with their sponsorship
and their interests in my career thanks guys (www.mantofight.com)
. Courtesy Mazda of Lafayette is a new sponsor that has come
on board and really taken a chance with me I promise you won’t
regret it Paul Stroderd. City Bar in Downtown Lafayette thanks
for all of the support and love. I would also like to thank Barczyk
Chiropractor Group and Dr. Barczyk for all his help. Dr. Thomas
Montgomery and all his staff have been amazing thank you as well.
I would never be here without my mentor and master Rodrigo Medeiros
who has been a real life Mr. Miyagi to me in my life, your work
with me has changed my life and I thank you (www.bjjrevolutionteam.com).
Last but not least I would like to thank everyone out there who
has believed in me and made my career possible there are just
too many to name. To all my students never stop training and
remember the secret is in the journey not the destination.

This
blog is my personal opinions and personal experience from the
show. I cannot speak for anyone else but this is how Tim Credeur
see’s it so enjoy it. If you have any questions concerns
of comments please hit me up on www.myspace.com/crazytimbjj or
crazytimbjj@yahoo.com.

Don’t
miss the party every Wednesday night at City Bar Downtown. Please
attend if you can it will be a great time to support your local
UFC fighter and I am down to earth and cool so feel free to come
introduce yourself and ask me any questions you have or discuss
fights. I am the guy that looks like a wilder beast. I will also
be selling the new "Crazy" Tim T-shirts that you can
view on my myspace page. Until next week keep on fighting.

Source: MMA Fighting

Dana
White exalts Wand

“I’d like to have 250 guys like him”

The
fight against Keith Jardine on May 24, at UFC 84, will be Wanderlei
Silva’s second since his return to the UFC. In his debut
for the organization, the former Pride champion was overcome
by Chuck Liddell. The loss was his third in his last three appearances,
but was far from shaking the prestigious Brazilian fighter in
the eyes of Dana White, UFC president.

“You
see the passion he has for the sport. Once he told me he’d
rather lose a fight driving the fans wild than win the fight
with people booing. That’s the kind of guy I want in my
company, fighting in my event. He just wants to be able to drive
you wild every time he fights. And that’s how he is. I’d
like to have 250 guys just like him. If I had them, this sport
would be way beyond anything else, and would be unmatchable,”
said Dana White to Yahoo! Sports.

Source: Gracie Magazine

Who
wins? Wanderlei or Jardine?

At
TATAME.com new poll, we want to know your opinion about Wanderlei
vs. Jardine, schedule for the UFC 84, to hold at Las Vegas ,
at May 24th. Wanderlei came from three defeats (Cro Cop, Henderson
and Liddell) and Jardine came from a unbelievable win over Chuck
Liddell. Mr. Pride tries the redemption to return to win victory
and Jardine tries to prove again that he is one of the top fighters
at the weight division. Check out and vote at our new poll.

At
our last poll, we asked “What would happen in a bout between
Anderson Silva Roy Jr.?” and with 43% Roy Jones Jr. was
pointed as a possible winner by KO. Anderson was pointed a KO
winner by 19% and with 20% pointed Roy Jones by decision. 14%
believed that “this bout is just marketing”, while
2% voted in a draw and 1% at Anderson winning by decision.

Source: Tatame

The
Man who is going to kill MMA

Chuck
Liddell has spent a career to make MMA mainstream. How quickly
will Kimbo Slice destroy that work? Photo Courtesy: Zuffa, LLC

Mixed
martial arts has come a long way in this country since the original
UFC pay-per-view in November 1993. It has been a non-stop journey
uphill to not only get the sport to catch on in mainstream America
but to show the legitimacy of the sport and the fighters as truly
great athletes. Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Rampage Jackson
and Forrest Griffin are not only great athletes but epitomize
the face of an all-around great fighter. All the blood and sweat
and hard work are on the verge of being thrown away. On May 31st,
the majority of the country will get to see a man that could
not be worse for the sport, Kevin Ferguson better known to fight
fans as Kimbo Slice.

Make
no mistake about it, Kimbo Slice is NOT a mixed martial artist,
he is nothing more than a glorified street fighter in a cage.
If you don’t believe me, just check out some of his ‘fights’
on Youtube. Slice has entered the Cage three times as a professional
and has seen a total of two minutes and 14 seconds of action.
He submitted Ray Mercer with a guillotine choke in 1:12. He won
via TKO with strikes over Bo Cantrell in his EliteXC debut in
only 19 seconds. His latest fight came against MMA ‘legend’,
Tank Abbott in February. That fight lasted all of 43 seconds
before Slice knocked out Abbott.

Slice
comes out to his opponents like a freight train and there is
no doubt he packs a punch. His opponent on CBS will be James
Thompson and he is the perfect foil to continue to build the
Kimbo legend. Thompson is a six foot, five inch giant that will
give the illusion of over-matching Slice. That couldn’t
be further from the truth. Thompson has a glass jaw that will
likely shatter and send him sprawling when Kimbo starts throwing
his haymakers.

EliteXC
will likely continue to feed Kimbo fighters that have no hope
of beating him but will lose in spectacular fashion to build
his ‘reputation’. If you’re a fan of train wrecks,
then Kimbo Slice is your man. The smart move would be to tune
in to check out the freak show and never, EVER watch another
one of his fights again. Better yet, just tune into Spike TV
that night as they will pay homage to Chuck Liddell, a real mixed
martial artist.

Source: MVN

Dan
Henderson: What's Next?

Feburary 24th, 2007: Dan Henderson Reaches the Summit

After spending the majority of his career as a good (not great)
fighter, Dan Henderson surprised most of the MMA world with a
knockout of all-time great Wanderlei Silva to win the Pride middleweight
(205-pound) title. It was obvious that the fighter once known
as "Decision Dan" had morphed into something more fearsome:
"Dangerous Dan" and "Hollywood Henderson"
were just some of the new and fanciful nicknames offered to the
fighter who had previously been submitted by both Nogueira brothers.

While
those submissions represent no large defeat (considering that
the Nog brothers are two of the best submission experts in the
sport), they did represent Henderson’s placement near the
middle of the pack. Sure, he was always heralded as a talented
fighter, but until the Wanderlei KO, he was not a star.

But
with his new tools, a one-punch knockout and a now two Pride
title belts (he also owned the 185-pound belt) around his waist,
the former Olympic wrestler was primed to take his game to the
top and set off for the UFC, the pinnacle of professional MMA
competition.

Present
Day: Uncertain Future

Henderson chats on the phone with MMA Madness, explaining how
he’s 0-2 in the UFC and no longer holds either title belt.

"I
have no idea what’s next for me," he says.

It
is a startling fall from grace. Just months ago, Henderson was
primed for MMA's first-ever Pride champion vs. UFC champion showdown
with a chance to collect his third championship belt. If he had,
he would doubtlessly be considered the greatest fighter of all
time.

September
8, 2007: UFC 75 Champion vs. Champion

Rampage Jackson proves to be too much. Henderson is technically
solid, but generally overmatched and, at times, outwrestled.
The match was close heading into the fifth round -- tied on one
judges' card -- but Rampage won the fifth convincingly. Despite
the loss, Henderson shows that he can hang with the UFC’s
elite. And at least he’s still got that belt at 185…

March
1, 2008: UFC 82 Pride of a Champion

Henderson cut weight to face Anderson Silva, the consensus best
pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Still, because of his wrestling
background and strength, Henderson became a fashionable pick
as the fight drew near. If anyone could beat Silva, the thinking
went, it would be "Dangerous Dan," who seemed to possess
the right skillset. "Obviously, my plan was to set up takedowns
and pound of him for a little bit," Henderson said. "I
stuck to my game plan fairly well. Maybe I could have opened
up a little better…"

Henderson
started well, taking Silva down and pounding to the best of his
ability. Despite avoiding any real punishment, Silva loses the
first round -- the first round he has lost since joining the
UFC. It’s obvious that Henderson, through sheer strength
and control, is taking this fight. Until…

"My
body felt a little bit odd and fatigued, it might have had to
do with the weight cut, which didn’t go as planned,"
Henderson said. "I got tired going into the second."
In the second, Silva rocked Henderson on their feet before the
fight moved to the mat. Henderson's wrestling background was
supposed to give him an advantage on the ground. But Silva tied
him up and submitted him via rear naked choke late in the second
round.

"He
definitely beat me. He came out ready to go in the second event
after he got beat up," Henderson admitted. "My hat
is off to him."

Present
Day: Idling

His two titles now a memory, Henderson is still one of the top
fighters in the UFC. But he knows he can’t ask for another
title shot…at least not just yet.

"I
want another title shot, but it’s hard to justify that considering
I lost in both weight classes," he says. " They probably
feel that I need to beat someone."

For
Henderson, being second best in the world in two different weight
classes is just about as painful as it gets.

"I’ll
take whoever they give me. Possibly (Yushin) Okami at middleweight.
Or at light heavyweight, Chuck (Liddell) is right in there. Even
Wanderlei. I’ll consider anything," says Henderson.

Still
winless in the Zuffa UFC and further away from a title shot than
ever before, Henderson is steadfast in his commitment: "I’ll
do what I need to do."

Fast
forward: The Future

Henderson ducks under a right and pops with a jab. As quickly
as it left, the confidence is back. The sweat trickles down his
brow and into the cut above his eye. But it does not distract.
Instead, Henderson focuses deeper and snakes under another punch,
quickly finding himself in familiar territory. He’s felt
this moment before…the Wanderlei fight…that left hook.
Henderson fires his hips and slingshots the left. It connects.

Source: MMA Madness

5/12/08

Quote
of the Day

"I
can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, nature is company
enough for me."

William Hazlitt, 1778-1830, English Writer and Literary Critic

Fighters'
Club Radio Today!

Tune in
every Monday morning for your weekly fill of MMA talk on the
radio with Pat and Mark.

Tell
everyone to tune in to AM 1500 from 9:00 to 10:00 am every Monday
morning right after Leahey and Leahey!

On tomorrow's show we want listeners to call in and tell us:

"are
you loyal to the HG or MMAHawaii or both?" and "why?"

i
think we could get a lot of callers for this one, as there's
something of a silent rivalry between the two.

fan-line:
296-1500

9am-10am

AM 1500

Maui Jiu-Jitsu BJJ
Tournament Date Announced!

On July 26th, Maui Jiu-Jitsu will host another one of their great
tournaments on the Valley isle. Stay tuned for more details as
they become available.

X-1
World Events presents "Legends"

This Friday!
Get Your Tickets Now!

Friday
, May 16th at Neil Blaisdell Arena 7 30pm

Tickets
on sale at Blaisdell Box Office,all Times Super

Market locations,Ticketmaster.com or call 1-877-750-4400

Ticket
discount Children 12 and under and Military.

Infants on lap are free. Prices starting at $25

This event will be shown LIVE on pay pre view on channel 260
and in HD channel 1260. Time 7:30pm and replay at 10:30pm. Also
Saturday at 7:00 pm. (Oceanic Cable)

To
see the past X-1 events on Video on Demand. Channel 221 Oceanic
Cable.

More
info at X1events.com , mmahawaii.com , onzuka.com

185

Hans Marrero vs Egan Inoue

Team Marrero Grappling Unlimited

155
lightweight title

Ray"Bradda"Cooper vs "Sugar" Shane Nelson

Freelance BJ Penn MMA

Fight Cancelled. No replacement for Shane named at this time.

170
welterweight title

Brandon Wolff vs Chad"the grinder"Reiner

Team MMAD Southwest mixed martial arts

170

Michael Brightmon vs Kolo Koka

Gorila House Team MMAD

170

Dylan Clay vs Ronald"the machine gun Jhun

brazilian freestyle jiu jitsu 808 Fight Factory

135
featherweight title

Albert Manners vs Kana"the riot"Hyatt

BJ Penn MMA Eastsidaz

170 (Amatuer) title

John Visante vs Sean Sakata

Team Sit U Down No Remorse

145

Brandon Visher vs Danny Steele

Maui boxing club Team Steele

140

Tony Giraldi vs TBA

Giraldi muay thai

Source: MMA Weekly

HANSEN
& ALVAREZ PRE-FIGHT COMMENTS

Joachim
Hansen takes on Eddie Alvarez in the second round of the DREAM
Lightweight Grand Prix. MMAWeekly caught up with both competitors
before they face off May 11 in Saitama, Japan.

Joachim
Hansen is coming off back-to-back wins, entering this fight as
the favorite, but many feel Eddie Alvarez is the dark-horse to
win the tournament.

"We
have similar styles and it's going to be a good fight,"
Hansen told MMAWeekly.com.

Alvarez
respects Hansen's abilities and agrees with his assessment of
their fighting styles. "Even before this tournament, I was
a big fan of Joachim," said Alvarez. "I like the way
Joachim fights. He's much like myself. He fights to finish the
fight, not to win the fight, and I think the two of our styles,
the way we clash, it can only make for the most exciting fight
of the tournament."

This
is the biggest fight of Alvarez' career and the American fighter
recognizes the opportunity before him. "I realize the opportunity
that's ahead of me, and it's allowed myself to push myself beyond
barriers that I've ever pushed myself," said Alvarez.

"I
believe this is the finals match. It's unfortunate that it has
to happen so soon, but if we didn't get to fight, it would also
be unfortunate. If we're going to fight, we might as well do
it now and give the fans what they want to see. I think it's
a great match up."

Hansen
is a natural lightweight and has competed in that division his
entire career. Alvarez recently moved down to the lightweight
division from the 170-pound welterweight class. "I've been
training very hard this time, so I'm a little bit under weight,"
commented Hansen. "I'm eating a lot to make the weight."

Alvarez
will have a size advantage over Hansen, and expects to enter
the ring well above the 154 weight limit after re-hydrating following
stepping on the scales for the weigh-ins.

"I
usually start my cut around 176, something like that, 176 pounds
and I cut my weight down to 154 ," stated Alvarez.

"I
would have never come down to 154 if I didn't feel it was to
my advantage," said the Pennsylvania fighter. "I feel
like I'm a lot bigger than some of the guys, and I'm a lot stronger.
I've proved I can knock guys out at 170 pounds, and I think I
can do it again here at 155, just in more devastating fashion."

Both
athletes foresee conditioning being a factor in the outcome of
the fight. "The first round is ten minutes and we're prepared
to go ten minutes," said Hansen. "You have to be smart
and try and save some strength to use."

"I'm
in the best condition that I've ever been in, in my life,"
commented Alvarez. "I think a lot of it will come down to
conditioning. We both seem to get ahead of ourselves. We're very
aggressive. We try to finish fights, so that will be a key factor.
I think conditioning is going to play a key role in the outcome
of the fight."

FIGHT-BY-FIGHT:
DREAM 3 PREDICTIONS

LIGHTWEIGHT ROUND 2

DREAM
Lightweight GP Bout:

Tatsuya
Kawajiri vs. Luis Buscape

Former
Shooto welterweight champion Tatsuya Kawajiri takes on Brazilian
Top Team lightweight Luis Buscape. Kawajiri has a 21-4-2 record
and trains out of T-Blood with Mitsuhiro Ishida. Buscape has
a 12-3 record and trains out of the Brazilian Top Team with Murilo
Bustamante.

Kawajiri
comes off a decision victory over Kultar “Black Mamba”
Gill at DREAM 1, while Buscape submitted Kazuyuki Miyata at the
same show.

This
will be a rematch of a fight that happened several years ago
at Pride Bushido 8, where Kawajiri won a decision. A lot more
is riding on this fight than their first encounter, so expect
them to take more risks and be more aggressive this time around.

Kawajiri
has been steadily improving his striking in recent years and
coupled with his wrestling, he should have an edge over Buscape.
On the other hand, Buscape is the better submission fighter of
the two and will no doubt look to end the fight in that manner.

Look
for Kawajiri to be more aggressive this time around. He will
secure a takedown right off the bat and begin to pound on Buscape
with relentless strikes. Buscape will need to capitalize if Kawajiri
gets a little too careless, throwing submissions from his back
and looking to lock one either for a finish or a possible sweep.
The fight will play out with Kawajiri pounding on Buscape en
route to a decision victory.

Prediction:
Tatsuya Kawajiri by decision.

DREAM
Lightweight GP Bout:

Joachim
Hansen vs. Eddie Alvarez

Former
Shooto welterweight champion Joachim Hansen faces off with former
Bodog Fight welterweight champion Eddie Alvarez. Hansen has a
17-6-1 record and trains out of Hellboy Hansen MMA in Norway.
Alvarez has a 13-1 record and trains out of the Fight Factory
with Stephan Haigh.

Hansen
scored a dominant decision victory over Koutetsu Boku at DREAM.1,
while Alvarez comes off a stoppage victory over Andre “Dida”
Amade at the same show.

This
is going to be the most competitive and evenly matched bout of
the night. Expect it to be all action and vie for fight of the
night honors.

Hansen
is the better striker and submission fighter of the two, but
Alvarez is the better wrestler. That could play a big factor
in this one. Another factor will be which fighter will be better
conditioned to go the distance.

Alvarez
got tagged several times by Amade and switched strategies in
the fight by taking him down and pounding out a stoppage. Hansen
will be willing to trade, but if Alvarez gets tagged again, look
for him to shoot for a takedown like in his last fight. The only
difference is that Hansen will threaten from his back with submissions,
unlike Amade. This is a tough fight to pick, but the difference
will be Alvarez’s wrestling, which will win him a hotly
contested decision.

Prediction:
Eddie Alvarez by decision.

DREAM
Lightweight GP Bout:

Mitsuhiro
Ishida vs. Caol Uno

Former
Shooto Pacific Rim welterweight champion Mitsuhiro Ishida takes
on K-1 Hero’s veteran Caol Uno. Ishida has a 16-3-1 record
and trains out of T-Blood with Tatsuya Kawajiri. Uno has a 24-10-1
record and trains out of Wajyutsu Keisyukai Tokyo with Yushin
Okami.

Ishida
comes off a decision victory over Bu Kyung Jung at DREAM.1, while
Uno dropped a decision to Andre “Dida” Amade at K-1
Hero’s 10.

Ishida
has been on the cusp of greatness, but fell short in a loss to
Takanori Gomi. He has another chance by winning the DREAM lightweight
grand prix. For Uno, it may be his last chance at making another
run at being a relevant fighter.

The
edge in wrestling goes to Ishida, but Uno is the better submission
fighter. Neither is known for his striking and it could go either
way on the feet.

Ishida
has stated his displeasure over Uno skipping the first round
of the tournament and being seeded into the second round, while
every other fighter had to fight his way in. Uno is a former
shell of himself and this could be his last hurrah as a relevant
competitor. Look for Ishida to take Uno down and pound out a
brutal decision victory.

Prediction:
Mitsuhiro Ishida by decision.

DREAM
Middleweight GP Bout:

Jason
“Mayhem” Miller vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Former
ICON Sport middleweight champion Jason “Mayhem” Miller
takes on pro wrestler Katsuyori Shibata. Miller has a 20-5 record
and trains out of Team Quest with Dan Henderson. Shibata has
a 2-3 record and trains out of Japan with Masakatsu Funaki.

Miller
in his last outing won a decision victory over Tim Kennedy at
HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon, while Shibata comes off a stoppage
loss to Min Suk Heo at K-1 Hero’s Korea 2007.

Although
the first round is already complete, this will be the last match-up
of the middleweight grand prix. Miller never fails to deliver
an entertaining fight and this one should be no different.

Miller
has the edge in every aspect of the fight. He is the better ground
fighter and the better striker. Shibata only has his tenacity
behind him in this fight and not much else.

This
is an easy fight for Miller. He is clearly the better fighter
and Shibata is on a three-fight losing streak, which will continue
with this fight. Look for Miller to entertain the crowd and submit
Shibata with ease.

Prediction:
Jason “Mayhem” Miller by submission in the first round.

DREAM
Middleweight GP Reserve Bout:

Melvin
Manhoef vs. Dae Won Kim

Dutch
striking machine Melvin Manhoef faces off with Korean wrestler
Dae Won Kim. Manhoef has a 20-4-1 record and trains out of Holland.
Kim has a 4-3 record and trains out of Korea

Manhoef
earned a stoppage victory over Pride veteran Yosuke Nishijima
at K-1 Dynamite!! 2007, while Kim won a doctor’s stoppage
over Marcelo Garcia at K-1 Hero’s Korea 2007.

Manhoef
just fought a K-1 rules kickboxing match, getting knocked out
by former K-1 world champion Remy Bonjansky. It seems, though,
that he is injury free entering the fight. Kim has always looked
good in his fights, but hasn’t been able to break through.

Manhoef
is by far the better striker of the two, but Kim has the edge
on ground with his wrestling skills. Neither fighter is too well
versed in submissions. If cardio plays into the fight, expect
Kim to have the edge because Manhoef typically tires out early
trying to finish the fight.

This
is a classic striker vs. grappler match-up. Whoever can get off
first will win the fight. Kim needs to be patient and avoid Manhoef’s
onslaught of strikes, then score a takedown to work his game.
Although he can very well win, Kim will be unable to avoid Manhoef’s
fierce striking game and will be finished.

Prediction:
Melvin Manhoef by TKO in the first round.

DREAM
Welterweight Championship Eliminator Bout:

Katsuya
Inoue vs. Nick Diaz

Former
welterweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue takes on EliteXC
veteran Nick Diaz. Inoue has a 16-5-3 record and trains out of
Wajyutsu Keisyukai RJW with Kenji Osawa. Diaz has a 15-7 record
and trains out of Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu with his brother, Nathan
Diaz.

Inoue
comes off a draw with Russian fighter Djamal Kurbanov at Pancrase:
Shining 3, while Diaz suffered a stoppage loss to KJ Noons at
EliteXC: Renegade.

Inoue
dropped down to lightweight in his last fight and it didn’t
seem to work for him. Now he returns to welterweight to try and
recapture success. Diaz has had a troubled year, but finally
gets a chance to fight after being prevented to do so in his
last scheduled outing in California due to complications with
the athletic commission.

Inoue
is the better wrestler and has technical striking, but lacks
power in his strikes. Diaz is a wizard in submissions and, just
like Inoue, is technical on the feet, but lacks power in his
strikes. Both fighters have decent cardio, but Diaz had to cut
weight on late notice and might be jet-lagged, affecting his
cardio.

At
the beginning of the week, Diaz was told by EliteXC that he would
not be allowed to fight because of the close proximity of this
bout to his next fight for EliteXC, but that decision was later
reversed midway through the week. Inoue is a tough fighter, but
Diaz should be able to control the fight and win a decision to
get a chance to fight Hayato “Mach” Sakurai for the
title in late July.

Prediction:
Nick Diaz by decision.

Lightweight
Bout:

Daisuke
Nakamura vs. Bu Kyung Jung

Pride
veteran Daisuke Nakamura faces off with 2000 Olympic Judo silver
medalist Bu Kyung Jung. Nakamura has a 13-9 record and trains
out of the U-File Camp with Kiyoshi Tamura. Jung has a 0-2 record
and trains out of Team Yoon with Dong Sik Yoon.

Nakamura
comes off a decision victory over Juri Ivlev at M-1 Challenge,
while Jung dropped a decision to Mitsuhiro Ishida at DREAM.1.

This
should be an interesting fight because Nakamura has shown himself
to be a talented fighter, while Jung will finally get a chance
to fight someone on his level and really show how good of a fighter
he is.

Expect
an entertaining ground battle between these two. Both are well
versed in submissions, but an edge would have to go to Jung,
who almost submitted two of the best lightweights in the world.
On the feet, Nakamura would have a slight edge because of his
experience in MMA.

Jung
finally gets an opponent that he has a chance at beating after
being put up against two of the best lightweights in the world
in Top 5 lightweights Shinya Aoki and Mitsuhiro Ishida. Nakamura
has always been a game fighter, but he may be in over his head
against Jung if the fight goes to the ground. Expect Jung to
get the fight down and work his ground mastery, locking on a
submission late in the opening stanza.

Prediction:
Bu Kyung Jung by submission in the first round

Featherweight
Bout:

Takeshi
Yamazaki vs. Shoji Maruyama

Team
Grabaka fighter Takeshi Yamazaki takes on lightweight King of
Pancrase Shoji Maruyama. Yamazaki has a 13-7-2 record and trains
out of Team Grabaka with Kazuo Misaki. Maruyama has a 6-2-1 record
and trains out of K.I.B.A. in Japan.

Yamazaki
won a submission victory over Daiki Ozaki at Cage Force: EX Eastern
Bound, while Maruyama comes off a draw with Koji Oishi at Pancrase:
Shining 3.

The
winner of this fight might have a showdown with Kid Yamamoto
for the DREAM featherweight title in his future, so a lot is
riding on this fight. They have contrasting styles, which could
make for an entertaining fight.

Yamazaki
has the edge on the ground, being a better wrestler and submission
fighter. Shoji will have the edge on the feet and is the bigger
fighter, cutting down to fight at featherweight.

This
bout will be an exciting back and forth affair with both fighters
getting in their shots. Yamazaki will dominate on the ground
and Maruyama will crack him on the feet, but it will be Yamazaki’s
ground control that will win him the decision.

Prediction:
Takeshi Yamazaki by decision.

Source: MMA Weekly

DREAM
3 REVIEW: UNO AND ALVAREZ VICTORIOUS

DREAM on Sunday held its second event in two weeks at the Saitama
Super Arena in Saitama, Japan before 21,789 fans in attendance.
DREAM.3 was highlighted by the second round of the DREAM Lightweight
Grand Prix.

In
the upset of the night, Caol Uno submitted tournament favorite
Mitsuhiro Ishida in an entertaining affair. Uno stuffed Ishida’s
early takedown attempts, tagging him with punches and stunning
him on several occasions. Ishida began to bleed profusely from
his nose, unable to get the fight to the ground. As the fight
unfolded on the feet, Ishida began to land some strikes, but
it was clear that Uno was still getting the better of the exchanges.
Ishida finally scored a takedown towards the latter stages of
the first round and secured Uno’s back, but was unable to
sink the choke as Uno reversed out as the round ended.

The
second round began better for Ishida, who was able to get the
fight to the ground right off the bat. A scramble ensued with
Uno securing a rear naked choke without the traditional hooks
in, but Ishida tapped out none-the-less at 1:38 of the first
round.

Eddie
Alvarez and Joachim Hansen engaged in a fifteen-minute war, in
what will be considered a fight of the year candidate. They began
trading early with Alvarez dropping Hansen, who stayed composed
and attempted an armbar before making his way back to his feet.
They began to trade again, with Alvarez again stunning Hansen,
getting on top of him on the ground and dropping punches. Alvarez
mixed in his crisp striking with wrestling, getting several takedowns
and controlling the opening round.

The
second round was much closer with Hansen finally finding his
range on the feet, tagging Alvarez with combinations. Alvarez
continued to take Hansen down, but was continually threatened
with armbar attempts. Hansen nearly secured the lock on several
occasions, but Alvarez managed his escapes. As the fight came
to a close, Alvarez landed a high kick and the bell rang as the
two were trading blows. Hansen made the fight close in the second
round, but Alvarez walked away with the unanimous decision and
a spot in the semi-finals of the Lightweight Grand Prix.

Tatsuya
Kawajiri also moved on to the semi-finals of tournament, pounding
out a decision over Luis “Buscape” Firmino. Buscape
tried his best to score a takedown, but Kawajiri defended well,
putting the Brazilian on his back. From there Kawajiri would
unleash a barrage of ground and pound. Back on their feet, Kawajiri
dropped Buscape with a combination and continued his ground and
pound attack.

The
second round played out much like the first with Kawajiri stuffing
Buscape’s takedown attempts and ending up on top, then unleashing
his ground and pound assault. Buscape’s only bright spot
in the fight came towards the end when he secured Kawajiri’s
back, threatening with a choke. Kawajiri, however, reversed out
and ended the fight with a barrage of strikes, securing a unanimous
decision.

Following
a week of being on the fight card, being removed, and then being
added back in at the last minute, the always controversial Nick
Diaz returned to action against former welterweight King of Pancrase
Katsuya Inoue in a title eliminator for the DREAM welterweight
title. These two traded blows for the duration of the bout, with
Diaz landing the crisper and more powerful punches, bloodying
Inoue’s nose early in the fight. Inoue was game, returning
fire with combinations of his own, but not finding the same success.
After a restart, Diaz turned up the heat on Inoue, landing a
series of stinging punches that had him staggered and out of
the fight. Diaz continued to land unanswered punches until Inoue’s
corner threw in the towel, stopping the fight at 6:45 of the
opening round.

In
an entertaining lightweight contest, U-File Camp lightweight
Daisuke Nakamura knocked out 2000 Olympic Judo silver medalist
Bu Kyung Jung. They exchanged submission attempts in the first
round with Jung almost locking in an armbar. Nakamura escaped
and an entertaining ground battle ensued with Nakamura going
for armbars, kimuras and heel hooks.

The
second round started with Nakamura attempting a standing kimura
then transitioning to an armbar once they hit the ground. Jung
escaped and got back to his feet. Back on their feet, Nakamura
landed a stinging right that knocked Jung down, finishing the
fight with strikes at 1:19 of the second round.

Dutch
striker Melvin Manhoef survived early trouble to stop Korean
judoka Dae Won Kim. Both fighters started tentative, sizing each
other up before Kim attempted to get the fight down on the mat.
Shortly thereafter, they began to trade punches with Kim getting
the better of the exchange and then taking the fight to the ground.
After some struggling, Kim attempted a triangle choke, but Manhoef
escaped, landing in side mount and ending the fight shortly thereafter
with a devastating knee and following it up with punches until
the referee stepped in at 4:08 of the first round.

Jason
“Mayhem” Miller advanced to the second round of the
DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix – this was the final bout
of the middleweight tournament’s opening round – thoroughly
dominating former Japanese pro wrestler Katsuyori Shibata. Miller
seemed to be toying with Shibata throughout the fight, leaving
his chin out and getting tagged with some punches before taking
the fight to the ground. From then on, Miller dominated Shibata
tagging him with punches and knees, mixing in an armbar attempt,
which Shibata escaped. The end came midway through the round,
when Miller in full mount, rained down punches until the referee
finally stepped in to save Shibata from further punishment at
6:57 of the first round.

The
featherweight division made its first DREAM appearance, when
DEEP veteran Takeshi Yamazaki faced off with lightweight King
of Pancrase Shoji Maruyama. Maruyama started out the fight in
the air, partially landing a flying knee on Yamazaki, who immediately
took the fight to the ground. Yamazaki would control Maruyama
with punches and submission attempts, as Maruyama fought back
with stinging punches of his own from the bottom.

Yamazaki
nearly ended the fight towards the end of the opening round,
locking on a tight armbar that looked to have the fight finished.
Maruyama somehow escaped, however, and made it out of the round.

Yamazaki
employed the same strategy in the second round, taking the fight
to the ground and avoiding Maruyama’s dangerous stand-up.
Maruyama did land one strike, a stinging high kick that hurt
Yamazaki, who immediately took the fight back to the ground.
In the end, the judges were impressed with Yamazaki’s ground
control, awarding him the unanimous decision.

-Caol
Uno def. Mitsuhiro Ishida by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at
1:38, R2

-Eddie Alvarez def. Joachim Hansen by Unanimous Decision, R2

-Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Luis Buscape by Unanimous Decision, R2

-Nick Diaz def. Katsuya Inoue by TKO at 6:45, R1

-Daisuke Nakamura def. Bu Kyung Jung by KO at 1:19, R2

-Melvin Manhoef def. Dae Won Kim by TKO at 4:08, R1

-Jason
Miller
def. Katsuyori Shibata by TKO at 6:57, R1

-Takeshi Yamazaki def. Shoji Maruyama by Unanimous Decision,
R2

Source: MMA Weekly

On
the mat with David Mamet

Playwright
David Mamet has a purple belt in jiu-jitsu.

HOLLYWOOD
— David Mamet would prefer to avoid conflict, but he isn't
above choking another man into unconsciousness. He knows where
the body's pressure points are and how to use them. And although
the Chicago transplant never sets out to "win" a fight,
his aim, should he be drawn into one, is simple: Don't lose.

Turns
out Mamet's got a purple belt in jiu-jitsu. Who knew?

Quite
a bit of dojo wisdom came up in conversation one sunny morning
outside Street Sports Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the Santa Monica academy
where the Pulitzer Prize winner has studied martial arts for
the last seven years. Lately, the way of the warrior has been
front of mind for Mamet on professional and personal levels.

The
writer-director's cerebral martial-arts potboiler, "Redbelt,"
opened in Seattle and other cities Friday. The film follows a
jiu-jitsu academy owner (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who obeys a strict
samurai code of honor; the prizefight circuit is anathema to
his sense of integrity. However, when he gets sucked into a typically
Mametian vortex of corruption, exploitation and deceit, the character
must either suit up for a high-stakes cage fight at an Ultimate
Fighting Championship-style event or fall short of his high moral
ideals and face bankruptcy.

"The
movie is my love letter to the world and philosophy of jiu-jitsu,"
Mamet said.

Also,
through his connections at Street Sports, Mamet was able to enlist
a who's who of mixed martial-arts and boxing luminaries in supporting
roles. Three-time UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture has
a role as a commentator; former WBA lightweight champ Ray "Boom
Boom" Mancini plays a movie stunt coordinator; and John
Machado, a multiple world jiu-jitsu titleholder, and Ejiofor's
character must square off in the film's climactic battle.

Mamet
credits Renato Magno, his instructor at Street Sports and a technical
consultant on "Redbelt," with inspiring him. "Much
of it is a homage to Renato and the people he introduced me to,"
he said. "A lot of them, guys from Brazil like John Machado,
Rorian and Rickson Gracie, they understand jiu-jitsu as a spiritual
discipline. It's a way of looking at life."

Even
though mixed martial arts has reached a kind of cultural apogee
lately — with televised bouts scheduled to appear on CBS
and reality television shows about the sport regularly airing
on Spike TV and Black Entertainment Television — Mamet said
nothing other than personal enthusiasm and kismet had factored
into his making "Redbelt."

"It
takes a long time to do a movie," he said. "And to
have it synergistically mesh with something that's going on in
the world, it's an accident."

Mamet
surveyed the practice facility's padded walls and floors. "The
guys who train here are real fighters," he said. "Cops
and Navy SEALS, stuntmen and bouncers. They come to learn skills
in the real world.

"Why
do a movie about this? There's no real answer. One's choices
are not the result of intellectualization. It's the result of
inspiration."

Source: LA Times

Red
Belt Movie Review

(AP)
- It sounds like a jarring combination at first, as if the two
just don't to go together -- until you learn that Mamet himself
is a purple belt in Jiujitsu. Clearly, this is a subject that's
dear to his heart.

Then
you realize while watching "Redbelt" that many tenets
of the sport -- the ideas of control, manipulation and one-upmanship
-- jibe perfectly with themes the playwright, director and screenwriter
has explored for decades in some of his best-known works, such
as the plays "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Speed-the-Plow."

And
so "Redbelt" makes sense in its own weird way: a mix
of sports-flick cliches and Mamet's patented rat-a-tat writing.
It's "Rocky," it's "The Karate Kid" -- only
with more stylized, rhythmic dialogue.

Several
Mamet regulars show up (Ricky Jay, Joe Mantegna, David Paymer
and Mamet's wife, Rebecca Pidgeon), which does put us in somewhat
comfortable territory. But it's Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Dirty
Pretty Things"), the film's star, who commands our attention.
As the unflappably moral, placid Jiujitsu instructor Mike Terry,
Ejiofor can be both attractive and warm, fierce and intimidating.

A
series of strangely intertwined events forces Mike into the ring,
a place he's never wanted to be, to fight for $50,000. Among
the players pushing him into battle are his sexpot wife (Alice
Braga); a jittery lawyer (Emily Mortimer); an aging movie star
(Tim Allen); a producer (Mantegna); a loan shark (Paymer); and
a shady fight promoter (Jay).

It
goes without saying in Mamet Land that none of these people can
be trusted.

But
Mike truly practices what he preaches, handling every obstacle
and challenge that thrusts itself into his path with the same
calm he urges his students to achieve.

"Breathe.
Breathe. Breathe. You know the escape," he'll repeat when
someone looks particularly defeated during his class. Here's
a bit of advice that he takes, which comes from his wife, Sondra,
and gets him further into trouble: "Let the wheel come around."

Mike
and Sondra are already struggling to maintain their West Los
Angeles studio at a time when the more violent Ultimate Fighting
and mixed martial arts are in vogue. A shattered front window,
the result of an accidental gunshot, puts them further into debt.
Then a chance encounter at a bar with Allen's Chet Frank seems
to turn their financial troubles around.

In no time, Mike is visiting Chet on the set and talking about
receiving a producing credit, and Sondra, a fabric designer,
is working with Chet's wife, Zena (Pidgeon) on a clothing line.
(Allen is surprisingly good in an uncharacteristically cynical,
haggard role.)

Could
all this happen so quickly? And could it all disappear just as
fast? Probably not. But something has to get Mike into the ring
for The Big Showdown. Even though the championship match doesn't
play out exactly the way you've seen it before, it still adheres
to the same hackneyed conventions. And the final moment, which
was probably intended to be poignant, instead feels laughable.

"Redbelt"
is also overly familiar in its serious, "Crash"-like
collision of disparate Los Angeles denizens, tied together by
fate.

It
is novel, though, that Mamet didn't subject us to the obligatory
training montage. Perhaps that's because he figured it would
be one less opportunity to have his characters talk.

"Redbelt,"
a Sony Pictures Classics release, is rated R for strong language.
Running time: 99 minutes. Two stars out of four.

Source: Penn Live

5/11/08

Quote
of the Day

"I
can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, nature is company
enough for me."

William Hazlitt, 1778-1830, English Writer and Literary Critic

Sugar
Shane Pulls Out of X-1

Here is
a statement by Sugar Shane Nelson in regards to him pulling out
of his fight at X-1 against Ray "Bradda" Cooper. Many
people were looking forward to this fight and are disappointed,
but at least Shane stepped up to release a statement.

"I regretfully have to withdraw from my may 16th bout with
braddah cooper and will also be relinquishing my title and status
as champion I apologize to the fans and especially braddah! Thanks
to x1 for taking care of me and the support from everyone. "

Thanks , Shane

Werdum’s
eyes on Minota

Chuteboxer wants title dispute in December

Having
beaten for the second time also-Brazilian Gabriel Napao, chuteboxer
Fabricio Werdum returned to the list of top challengers for the
UFC heavyweight belt, according to the president of the organization
himself. But to remain at the top, the fighter has a tough task
ahead of him: Philippino/American Brandon Vera.

Despite
the loss at UFC 77 to Tim Sylvia, Vera, a Jiu-Jitsu brown belt,
is coming off eight wins in a row against such names as Frank
Mir, Mike Whitehead and Assuerio Silva.

To
avoid any setbacks, Werdum has been applying himself in training,
to show once again a dangerous mixture of muay thai and Jiu-Jitsu.
Should he win, Werdum has no doubts: he wants Rodrigo Minotauro’s
belt.

“Training
has been really tough, intensive. Every day we train from 5 to
6, sometimes even seven hours per day. I’m sure it will
be a good fight (against Vera), from the fact that I want the
belt by year’s end. I’ll fight this one, but I’m
already thinking of the next one, I’m going to concentrate
on this fight, but in December I want to fight Minotauro to be
able to take this belt,” said the fighter in an interview
on the official Chute Boxe site.

Source: Gracie Magazine

UFC
to go head-to-head with EliteXC on May 31

When EliteXC debuts on CBS on May 31, the UFC will devote an
entire night on Spike TV to one of its biggest stars, Chuck Liddell.

To
lead off two new Spike TV specials, the night will begin with
a repeat of "Ultimate Knockouts 4" at 8:00pm ET/PT.
Previously only available on DVD, a one-hour documentary on the
life of Liddell called "Ultimate Iceman: Chuck Liddell"
will make its television premiere at 9:00pm ET/PT. Following
that will be a special called "Liddell vs. Silva: UFC Unleashed,"
which features the UFC 79 from last December.

This
programming was designed to draw eyeballs away from the live
EliteXC event on CBS featuring Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson.

Source: MMA Fighting

Steve
Heath's Second Comeback

by Mike Sloan

Not
too long ago mixed martial artist Steve Heath (Pictures) was
hit with a dose of reality harder than any punch he had ever
taken.

He
had endured a knee injury at some point in his fighting career,
but due to a divorce, a new house and an eventual lack of financial
stability, he was unable to treat the knee properly.

Instead
he allowed the injury and residual discomfort to linger, which
hindered his performance against Yuki Kondo (Pictures) in their
2004 Pancrase bout. Kondo easily tapped out Heath with a rear-naked
choke, but the loss was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg
for the Cesar Gracie (Pictures) student's problems.

"I
had a couple of bad runs in the past few years with knee injuries,"
Heath said matter-of-factly in a recent interview with Sherdog.com.
"It happened [while training] with my little buddy Randy
Spence (Pictures), and I ripped my ACL all to hell. I couldn't
afford to take off nine months from work, as that was how long
[the recovery] was going to take. I wound up taking a little
more than a year off from fighting and I had a cadaver put in
my knee with a couple of screws."

And
that's when everything tumbled downhill, hitting every single
rock along the way.

While
Heath was training for a fight after the Kondo loss, one of the
screws broke and gouged his knee, causing a bone infection. He
felt an annoying discomfort that straddled a badly swollen leg.
But since he thought nothing of the situation save for maybe
a slight sprain, Heath allowed the infection to spread until
he was ravaged by terrible fevers.

Eventually
his girlfriend rushed him to the hospital, where physicians performed
emergency knee surgery. Had she not taken Heath in, he never
would have fought Phil Collins (Pictures) last April and he certainly
wouldn't be set to lock horns with Jaime Jara (Pictures) this
Friday on the Pure Combat card in Stockton, Calif.

The
infection had slowly rotted away the tissue in Heath's knee,
and the gangrene had become so severe that Heath's leg nearly
had to be amputated.

"Things
get put into perspective real quick when the doctor says that
you have to have your leg amputated," he said. "Things
you thought were important no longer mean anything. The doctor
came in and said the gangrene has spread throughout my leg …
and the infection is very serious and I need to tell you where
it may lead."

Always
one to liven up a situation, Heath simply cracked a joke to the
man wielding the stethoscope.

"I
said to him, ‘Doc, if you gotta saw off my leg at the knee,
you better sew on a big, giant horse d---.' He then looked at
me and said, ‘I'm not joking with you; you're about to lose
your leg.'"

Suddenly
the wisecracks turned into grave seriousness, and the treatment
began. Two torturous weeks later, Heath was in the clear, though
he remained on a stringent rehab and prevention program in which
a PICC line for antibiotics was attached to his bicep and ran
straight into his heart. About nine months later, he was able
to get up and run around like normal.

Heath
had staved off the threat of losing his leg. Next he got himself
back into fighting shape and finally climbed into the ring against
Collins some three years after the Kondo bout. He took care of
business, too, choking out Collins in 2:14.

Then,
however, he injured the other leg.

Fortunately
the injury was nowhere near as severe as the first. There was
no threat of amputation, but it was another setback and another
series of rehabs.

Now
it's been more than a year since Heath submitted Collins in his
first comeback. To say he is amped to fight the 17-5 Jara on
Friday in a second comeback would be a gross understatement.
Preparation with Cesar Gracie (Pictures) and the Diaz brothers
has gone well, and Heath knows that now is the time to make a
name for himself in a sport he has competed in professionally
since 1998. He'd also like to make some money.

"I
would like to somehow get back some of the $375,000 I paid to
the doctors for my two knee surgeries," he said.

Heath
is ready to resume what was a promising career, though he snickers
in disbelief at how big the sport has become.

"Back
when I was starting out, there were no rules, really, and I'd
fight a guy as big as a house," he mused. "I had that
awesome fight with Chuck [Liddell], and now there are rounds,
weight classes and all these rules. When I used to tell people
what I did, they were like, ‘You do what?' Now it seems
like everybody is a fighter these days, and all these guys look
the same -- trendy tattoos, the shaved heads and the goatee.

"What
MMA is today, really, is a way to keep a lot of white trash out
of jail," he added with a hearty laugh. "Seriously,
the way to keep the jail rates down is to give these guys a job.
No disrespect to my opponent, Jaime Jara (Pictures), because
he has a ton of tattoos and he's a legitimate full-time fighter.
But if you watch that ‘Ultimate Fighter' show, they all
look the same and it amuses the hell out of me."

Heath
readily admits that fighting isn't the most important aspect
of his life. He's a father and works full-time as a supervisor
at a bakery plant. Yet he also maintains a passion for the sport
that almost took his leg.

"I
love to fight," Heath concluded. "I'll fight anybody
at anytime. Hell, I'll even fight Chuck again. I don't know too
much about Jara, but I do know that the only thing he does is
fight and full-time fighters are always hard to fight because,
well, that's all they do. I don't know what to expect from Jaime
Jara (Pictures) except that I know he'll bring it 100 percent
on Friday. Pure Combat has been great to me, and I expect to
give them the fight they want."

Source: Sherdog

Rodrigo
Damm sign with Sengoku

By Guilherme Cruz

Five
times Brazilian Wrestling champion and BJJ black belt, Rodrigo
Damm is the new Brazilian fighter confirmed to Sengoku third
edition, schedule to 8th June at Japan. Without a opponent yet,
Damm is going to train at Minotauro Team. “I am already
training for this fight. I have four bouts to make in one year
an a half of contract. I get in contact with (Rodrigo) Minotauro
and I am going to train with him. He is going to open his academy
at Miami but I’m going to train here at Rio de Janeiro for
this fight, because is near my home and it is more comfortable
for me, but for the second one, I’m going to train there”,
said Damm.

Source: Tatame

AMERICAN
TOP TEAM CAMP REPORT

by Damon Martin

Considered one of the best training camps in the world, American
Top Team continues to churn out top fighters on what seems like
a daily basis. In the latest installment of the American Top
Team camp report, we catch up with the latest fighters and match-ups
from the Florida based team.

Gesias
“JZ” Calvancante And The Dream Grand Prix

After
dropping a unanimous decision to famed grappler Shinya Aoki at
the recent Dream event, rumors began circulating immediately
that Aoki could possibly have to withdraw from further fights
in the tournament due to injuries sustained in his fight with
Calvancante.

Rumors
then began to circle that Calvancante turned down the opportunity
because of financial issues dealing with Dream. MMAWeekly.com
has confirmed with American Top Team representatives that Calvancante
was unable to continue in the tournament due to a nagging knee
injury that would not have healed in time for his next round
opponent.

At
this point, Calvancante is simply resting his injuries. While
he wished he could have stepped up and taken the fight, he could
not because of health reasons.

Din
Thomas Released From UFC; WEC Bound?

Din
Thomas was recently released from his Ultimate Fighting Championship
contract, as confirmed by representatives at American Top Team.
He most recently lost by unanimous decision to Josh Neer at UFC
Fight Night 13. Soon after the verdict was in, Thomas learned
that he would be released from his contract.

The
news comes on the heels of Thomas stating his intent on dropping
to 145 pounds, a weight class the UFC currently does not utilize.

While
there is no contract currently in place, Thomas is expected to
end up fighting for Zuffa’s other promotion, World Extreme
Cagefighting, competing in their ever-growing featherweight division.

July
5 Event Could Be Called UFC: ATT

While
American Top Team fighters are seemingly a part of every sizable
event out there, the July 5 UFC event featuring a headline bout
between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Forrest Griffin,
will also have a number of ATT fighters on the undercard.

In
lightweight action, Gleison Tibau returns to action against former
top contender Joe Stevenson, Marcus Aurelio takes on Tyson Griffin,
and Cole Miller puts himself to the test against Jorge Gurgel.

Also
on the show will be Ben Saunders taking on former “Ultimate
Fighter” housemate Jared Rollins, while Steve Bruno takes
a shot at Chris Wilson.

Other
News & Notes from American Top Team:

–
WEC featherweight Alexandre Franca Nogueira will be making the
trip to American Top Team in preparation for his upcoming fight
against Jose Aldo.

Match-ups
featuring American Top Team fighters:

–
IFL, May 16 – Danillo Villefort vs. Mike Massenzio

–
World Victory Road: Sengoku II, May 18 – Jeff Monson vs.
Josh Barnett; Jorge Santiago vs. Yuki Sasaki

–
UFC 84: May 24 – Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic; Thiago
Silva vs. Antonio Mendez

–
WEC: June 1 – Mike Brown vs. Jeff Curran; Antonio Franca
Nogueira vs. Jose Aldo

–
UFC 85: June 7 – Roan Carneiro vs. Ryo Chonan; Thiago Alves
vs. Matt Hughes

–
Elite XC: June 14 – Yves Edwards vs. K.J. Noons

–
Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale: June 21 – Luigi Fioravanti vs.
Diego Sanchez

Source: MMA Weekly

Big
Stage Set for June Sengoku

by Tim Leidecker

With
the card for its May 18 show set since the beginning of the week,
Sengoku promoter World Victory Road has now moved on to planning
its third event, scheduled for June 8.

After
shows at the 10,500-seat Yoyogi National Gymnasium and the 10,000-seat
Ariake Colosseum, WVR will try to fill the roughly 37,000-seat
Saitama Super Arena in June.

The
venue, which is located just outside Tokyo, has a sentimental
value for Japanese fight fans. It was the main arena for the
Pride Fighting Championships for the past seven years.

Headlining
the show will once again be WVR showpiece Hidehiko Yoshida. The
Olympic judo gold medalist is coming off the first submission
defeat of his career, losing in March to Josh Barnett. An opponent
for the 38-year-old Japanese grappler is being chosen from a
selection of four foreign fighters, according to the promotion,
and will be announced in the next few days.

Yoshida,
along with his management company J-Rock, is also responsible
for the booking of the event.

"We
want to put on a show which the customer can enjoy," he
told the Japanese media. "I am currently working very hard
on my boxing. At least once in my career, I would like to win
by knockout."

The
promotion also announced the first fight for the June 8 show.
In a welterweight clash, Bodog Fight welterweight champion Nick
Thompson will take on Brazilian muay Thai specialist Michael
Costa of Chute Boxe fame.

Thompson
was in action at the first Sengoku event, winning a controversial
decision over Costa's countryman Fabricio Monteiro. Costa has
spent the majority of his career fighting for Chute Boxe's house
show, Storm Samurai.

Also
scheduled to appear on the card is five-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu
world champion Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz, Bodog Fight
veteran Rodrigo Damm, former K-1 MMA heavyweight champion Kazuyuki
Fujitaand another member of Chute Boxe in Fabio Silva.

Takanori
Gomi stated in an interview that he also plans to return at Sengoku
III, but the "Fireball Kid" has yet to be officially
confirmed by the promotion.

Source: Sherdog

Boxing
at Palolo Gym!

Boxing
Show will be on Sat. June 7th at Palolo Gym starting at 6 p.m.
Admission will be $10. It's a fundraiser to help the Hawaii Junior
Olympic Boxing Team. If you need more info. email me back.

Thanks
for the Support!!

Bruce Kawano

Hawaii Junior Olympic Regional Coordinator/Team Manager.

USA-Boxing Hawaii Junior Olympic Chairman.

USA-Boxing Hawaii Board of Dir./Gov.

Ringside Board of Advisors.

NMU Boxing Program Task Force Member.

Pacific
Submission Grappling Tournament

June 27,
28, 29, 2008

Neal Blaisdell Exhibition Hall

For more info: www.grapplingtournaments.com

Hawaiian
Open Championship BJJ Tourney Date Change!

The Hawaiian
Open Championship BJJ Tourney Has Been Moved To Sunday, June

1st!

HAWAIIAN
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

Competitor
Fees:

Adults: $65

Kids: $35

When:

Sunday June 1, 2008

11am Kids Rules Clinic & Kids Matches

PM Adult Matches

Location:

Klum Gym

University of Hawaii

TIMELINE:

http://www.hawaiitriplecrown.com/

EARLY
ONLINE REGISTRATION DEADLINE

(1 WEEK PRIOR TO EVENT DAY)

LATE
ONLINE REGISTRATION DEADLINE

(5 DAYS PRIOR TO EVENT DAY)

"PRE-REGISTERED"
CHECK BY APPLICANTS

(4 DAYS PRIOR TO EVENT DAY).

ALL
ERRORS MUST BE ADDRESSED BY THIS DATE OR NO.BRACKETS POSTED ON
WEBSITE

(2-3 DAYS PRIOR TO EVENT DAY)

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

STAFF

Time/Score keepers and Referees are needed for the Hawaiian Open
2008

Would
you like a front row seat to see the Hawaiian Open Championship?
Help

our sport grow and be an active part of the development of Brazilian

Jiu-Jitsu?

We
are currently filling staff positions for the Hawaiian Open 2008.
We are

in need of Time/Score keepers and referees. You do not have to
have any

experience to be a time keeper, just the willingness to hang
in there for a

long fun filled day. We will offer a staff meeting at the start
of the day

to answer any questions that you might have.

Information:

Hawaii Triple Crown Staff

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