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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2013
11/23/13
Aloha
State Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(Pearl City H.S. Gym)
11/8/13
Reuben "Cobrinha" Charles Seminar
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
11/7-11/13
Reuben "Cobrinha" Charles Training Camp
(Egan's Training Center)
11/4-8/13
Reuben "Cobrinha" Charles Week Long Winter Camp
(Team HK Jiu-Jitsu)
10/19/13
Mad Skillz
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
10/19-20/13
NAGA
Hawaiian Grappling Championship
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(tba)
10/5-6/13
Senior
Master World Championships
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, Cal State Unversity at Long Beach, Long Beach,
CA)
9/28/13
Maui
Open Championship
(Lahaina Civic Center)
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
9/21/13
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Momilani Community Center)
9/14/13
Mad Skillz
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
9/7/13
The Quest for Champions 2013 Tournament
(Pearl City High School Gym)
(Featuring Sport Pankration, Submission Grappling, Continuous
Sparring)
8/24-25/13
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
8/24/13
DESTINY:Proving Grounds II
(MMA)
(Aloha Tower Pier 10)
Battle At The Bay
(BJJ)
(Hilo Armory, Hilo)
8/23/13
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
August
Maui
Open Championship
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(tba)
7/27/13
State
of Hawaii Championship
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Pearl Cityh H.S. Gym)
7/13/13
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Momilani Community Center)
6/22/13
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Kalakaua District Park Gym)
6/8/13
King of the Cage
(MMA)
(Maui)
5/30/13 - 6/2/13
World
BJJ Championships
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, University of California at Long Beach)
5/25-26/13
NAGA:
Pacific Grappling Championships
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Radford H.S. Gym)
5/19/13
Amateur Boxing Event this (Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
5/4/13
Mad Skillz
(Triple Threat)
(Waipahu Filcom)
4/27/13
Star Elite Cagefighting: The Foundation
(Kickboxing)
(Aloha Tower Waterfront)
4/13/13
Hawaiian
Open Championship
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
Denny Prokopos
Eddie Bravo Black Belt Seminar
9AM-11AM
$50
@ O2 Martial Arts Academy
3/23/13
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
3/20-24/13
Pan
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(Irvine, CA)
3/20/13
David Kama Seminar
Rickson Gracie Black Belt
8-10PM
$50
@ O2 Martial Arts Academy
2/23/13
Got Skills
(MMA, Kickboxing, Triple Threat)
(Waipahu Filcom)
2/16/13
Mayhem At The Mansion
Kauai Cage Match 14
(MMA)
(Kilohana Carriage House, Lihue, Kauai)
Boxing Event
(Boxing)
(Palolo Gym District Park Gym)
Uncle Frank Ordonez’s Birthday Tournament
(Palama Settlement Gym)
(Grappling, Sport-Pankration and Continuous sparring)
2/3/13
Diego Moraes Semainr
(BJJ)
(O2MAA)
2/2/13
World
Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship: Hawaii Trials
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(McKinley H.S. Gym)
2/1/13
IBJJF Referee Clinic
(O2MAA)
1/19/13
Destiny
Na Koa 2
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
1/12/13
Reuben "Cobrinha" Charles Seminar
4-7PM
(Ku Lokahi Wrestling Club)
|
|
October
2013 News Part 2
|
O2 Martial Arts Academy
provides 7 days a week training! Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu classes
taught by Black Belts Kaleo Hosaka and Chris & Mike Onzuka
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi.
Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with PJ Dean &
Chris Slavens!
Wrestling program (Folk Style) taught by Cedric Yogi on Wednesdays
and Thursdays.
Kids Classes are also
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Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
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O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Kaleo Hosaka as
well as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
is unmatched. Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA competitor PJ Dean
as well as master boxing instructor Chris Slavens provide incredibly
detailed instruction of the sweet science.
To top it off, Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi heads our Kali-Escrima
classes (Filipino Knife & Stickfighting) who were directly
trained under the legendary Snookie Sanchez.
Our wrestling program is headed by Cedric Yogi who was previously
the head coach of the Pearl City High School Wrestling Team.
Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
the ground up!
Experienced martial artist that wants to fine tune your skill?
Our school is for you!
Mix and match your classes so you can try all the martial arts
classes offered at O2!
If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
a friendly and family environment, O2 Martial Arts Academy is
the place for you!
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Don’t
Expect to See Nick Diaz vs. Michael Bisping Anytime Soon
by Ken
Pishna
Nick-Diaz-UFC-137-Press-01Could
a UFC middleweight bout between Michael Bisping, who is sitting
on the sidelines with an injury, and Nick Diaz, who is sitting
on the sidelines in pseudo-retirement, actually happen?
It
could… in a perfect world.
But
the world is far from perfect, and a bout between the two brash
fighters appears a long way from happening.
Speculation
about the possibility of the bout first surfaced when UFC 166
fighter Gilbert Melendez said he thought his teammate, Diaz,
would fight again if the right fight was offered. One possible
rumored scenario would see Diaz, who usually fights at welterweight,
come back for a fight in the middleweight division.
After
Melendez’s comment, Bisping injected himself into the conversation,
tweeting, “If Diaz wants a fight at 185 I would happily
welcome him to the division.”
Even
though Bisping is currently nursing a detached retina back to
healthy status, and Diaz has been M.I.A. since losing to Georges
St-Pierre in March of this year, Bisping’s offer immediately
sent the Twitterverse into a tantalizing tizzy.
It’s
a fight that piqued nearly every fight fan’s interest, including
UFC president Dana White.
“I
love that fight,” said White in a meeting with the UFC 166
media on Thursday in Houston.
As
excited as he sounded, White was quick to deflate any hopes of
the fight coming together anytime soon.
“Everything
I hear from Nick Diaz is that he doesn’t want to fight.”
The
highest-profile fighting situation Diaz has been in since the
St-Pierre fight in March has been launching his own fight promotion,
WAR MMA. The promotion has thus far held one event, with no details
yet announced for any future promotions.
As
for actually stepping back into the Octagon, Diaz remains mum.
MMAWeekly.com’s
attempts for comment from Diaz and his camp went unanswered at
the time of publication.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Mike
Tyson: ‘No Way I Would Have Won’ Against Royce Gracie
in Early UFC
By Mike
Whitman
Though
the term “Baddest Man on the Planet” has been bandied
about flippantly in mixed martial arts discussions over the past
several years, the man who inspired the nickname will likely
always be regarded as the true holder of that title.
Mike
Tyson was the original “Baddest Man on the Planet”
and remains a vivid part of boxing’s history due to his
vicious knockout power and polarizing behavior. A the age of
20, the Cus D’Amato-trained pugilist became the youngest
heavyweight boxing champion in history by knocking out Trevor
Berbick in 1986, battering his foe with shots he would later
describe as “hydrogen bombs,” according to the Los
Angeles Times. Tyson would eventually unify the WBC, WBA, IBF
and “The Ring” heavyweight titles to become the division’s
undisputed emperor before a shocking upset at the hands of James
“Buster” Douglas and a rape conviction cost him both
his titles and his freedom.
The
question has been posed countless times on MMA message boards:
How would Mike Tyson have fared had he competed in the UFC?
According
to the Brooklyn, N.Y., native, not very well. When asked by “UFC
Tonight” host Chael Sonnen how he would have done in a fight
against then-UFC tournament champion Royce Gracie, Tyson said
he would not have possessed the technical tools to earn a victory
against the grappler.
"Well,
in '93, I was in prison, so there wouldn’t have been a fight,
but there is no way I would have won,” said Tyson. “I
had no idea what was going on with that type of fighting and
would’ve been taken by surprise. I would have had to train
in that particular art of fighting before that happened. That’s
a particular art. You’re not going to go in there with just
your hand and not have a great ground game. You also need a great
wrestling game to be successful, and you won’t be exciting,
as well. You have to have both games. You have to know how to
wrestle and box. That’s just the truth."
As
Tyson said, he was behind bars at the time of Gracie’s initial
UFC dominance. However, had no-holds-barred fighting been popularized
a few years earlier, the former heavyweight boxing champion believes
he might now be looked at as a former Octagon combatant rather
than just a fan of the current sport.
“That
would have been awesome,” said Tyson. “I think I would
have [tried MMA]. My ego would have told me I’m the best
fighter in the world with all the particular fighting aspects,
and I would have tried it.”
Source: Sherdog
|
The
ghost of Howard Cosell on ESPN’s 30-for-30 series about
Duran & Leonard
By Zach
Arnold
Eric
Drath & ESPN’s 30-for-30 series delivered another highly
successful sports documentary. Too bad the mothership didn’t
get off their ass and spend some time promoting the television
program.
You
knew that ESPN would eventually revisit the infamous “No
Más!” incident between Roberto Duran & Sugar
Ray Leonard. It was the angle that they choose to pursue that
made the documentary intriguing. As enjoyable as the Frank &
Ken Shamrock documentary on Spike TV last week but with a lot
more talking heads & resources at the producer’s disposal.
The
hook? After all these years, would Leonard be able to get an
honest answer out of Duran as to why he quit in round 8 of their
re-match in New Orleans on November 25th, 1980 at the Superdome?
Their first encounter in Montreal, five months prior to the rematch,
made what happened in New Orleans all the more shocking. Leonard
decided to go to Panama once and for all to meet Duran and ask
him what happened. Before the meeting, Duran stated that Leonard
could approach him 100,000 times and that he would give Ray the
same answer each time he was asked. Ray stated that he would
hope Duran would tell him the truth and that the truth would
set him free like it did when Leonard told the public that he
was an alcoholic.
There
were cameos from Sal Marchiano (veteran New York sportscaster),
Steve Farhood (now of Broadway Boxing/SNY & Showtime), Mike
Tyson, and Christie Brinkley. Photos of her with Duran before
the New Orleans fight were shown in the documentary.
The
real star of the documentary was, not surprisingly, the late
Howard Cosell. It was like a Tony Kornheiser time warp to when
the network heavies wanted to be on the big boxing telecasts.
Kornheiser believes today’s boxing scene is happening on
barges and broadcast on PPV. What can I say.
There
was a round-by-round break down of the re-match in New Orleans.
Comments from Farhood, Tyson, and trainer Ray Arcel’s widow
were mixed in-between Cosell’s dramatic call of the fight.
Duran was melting down before everyone’s eyes and Leonard
was ratcheting up his jackassery in the ring by taunting him
repeatedly.
Then
Duran quit. The referee asked him a couple of times before stopping
the fight. He was interviewed for the documentary and maintained
his shock to this day about what happened.
Cosell
went ballistic about what happened in the ring. Soon, it became
apparent that Leonard’s masterful performance would be secondary
to what Duran did in quitting. Leonard mentioned buying newspapers
the day after the fight and finding out that the press wasn’t
talking about the way he won. His post-fight comments about how
he was the one who broke Duran down aired and yet the press wasn’t
concerned with that.
In
the words of Sal Marchiano, “Ray got more credit for fighting
courageously in Montreal than cleverly in New Orleans.”
Footage
of Duran sitting at a table with a translator was shown. This
was the footage of Duran announcing his retirement and someone
from the press throwing a rubber chicken at his table. Then came
the litany of excuses. First it was stomach cramps, to which
Ray Arcel’s widow (in 2013) called BS on. Second, it was
issues regarding his weight and losing 10 pounds the day before
weigh-ins. It was noted that a doctor had given Duran some Ex-lax
and diuretics to try to get the weight off at the last minute.
Footage of a Cosell interview with the doctor aired in which
the doctor pulled out the Sammy Sosa “I don’t know
your English” defense when Cosell asked him why Duran needed
diuretics to lose the weight. Third, it was the spicy two steaks
he ate.
No
matter what the truth was regarding Duran quitting, the weight
issue was very real for him heading into the fight. Brinkley
noted just how much food Duran was consuming after the weigh-in
and that he was eating out the whole restaurant. I felt like
I was listening to a critique of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for a
moment.
The
documentary shifted to Roberto Duran’s current day life
in Panama. Ray Leonard is in good physical shape. Duran, not
so much right now. He’s busy playing pool, drinking, and
watching Steve McQueen movies at his house on the projector.
Leonard traveled to Panama to find out what really went down
during their re-match in New Orleans.
The
two met and did a photo-op for the local press. Then ESPN staged
an encounter between the two men at “Arena Roberto Duran”
in which the two men, introduced by the voice of Cosell, entered
into a boxing ring. Leonard noted how the stare-down brought
back scary memories of the past. As the two men talked, Ray asked
him what happened.
“I
had so much rage. I don’t know how to explain myself.”
Ray
tried to bait an answer out of Duran. “What really happened
in New Orleans? Only you know.” Duran kept his guard up.
“I
didn’t say ‘No Más.’ Cosell made that up.”
Duran
elaborated that he spent a lot of his time partying in New York
and drank all the time. He claimed that his manager called him
and told him to get to Panama to visit a doctor for some weight
loss aids (injections/drugs). As Duran rambled, Leonard commented
on what Duran was saying.
Ben
Koo (Awful Announcing): Lack of closure hurts documentary &
disappoints
“I
wasn’t happy (with the response). Deep down inside, I was
dying. … I backed off because I saw him struggle. I saw
him searching for words and I felt almost like a sponsor trying
to help him get by, get through this. I saw something in him
that he still has not been able to totally deal with.”
Duran
said that despite getting heckled on the streets of Panama with
chants of ‘No Más’ that Panama loves Leonard
and what he represented in boxing.
“I
don’t regret anything.”
Leonard
explained why he didn’t press Duran for the truth in their
TV encounter in 2013.
“I
felt that I wanted to protect him and let him know that as far
as I’m concerned, it’s OK. There was nothing else I
could do but let him go.”
Duran
mainted his current stance.
“Up
until this point, I’ve only said the truth.”
The
comments from Farhood and Tyson about Duran trying to make up
for what happened later in his career were great.
“What
he did in return, he made up for everything,” exclaimed
Tyson. He noted that when Duran quit that it personally got to
him when he was watching the fight.
The
show closed out with some quick highlights of the third Duran/Leonard
encounter at the Mirage in Las Vegas many years after the New
Orleans fight. Duran asked Leonard why he was acting like a jackass
in their second fight. It was an Occam’s Razor moment. Leonard
said that he was messing with Duran’s mind because he knew
he could and it worked.
Despite
Leonard stating that he would be the bigger man and let things
go with Duran not fully opening up about what went down in New
Orleans, there was no real happy ending to this documentary.
Not to say that the ending to the Frank Shamrock documentary
on Spike was super-happy or anything but there seemed to be some
sort of resolution in that situation whereas there doesn’t
seem to be a satisfying conclusion for Leonard in his visit with
Duran.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Dana
White: Brock Lesnar and I wanted to make the Fedor Emelianenko
fight 'so bad'
By Shaun
Al-Shatti
HOUSTON
-- There was a time not long ago when Fedor Emelianenko was considered
to be the greatest heavyweight on planet. But despite his mystique,
his titles and his indomitable streak, the Russian could never
agree to terms with the UFC.
Now
retired, Emelianenko recently attributed the insurmountable divide
between the two sides to his belief that UFC President Dana White
‘personally hated' him. White, however, scoffs at the notion.
"Me
and Lorenzo (Fertitta) were f--king laughing about that,"
White said on Thursday. "Yeah so I hated him. Who did I
hate worse than Tito (Ortiz)? The guy lost f--king 100 fights
in a row and retired in the UFC.
"We
made every big fight with every fighter since we bought this
company. You don't think we wanted to do Fedor vs. Brock Lesnar?
I f--king wanted to make that fight so bad."
White
claims that he and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta met with Emelianenko's
M-1 management multiple times at the height of Lesnar's popularity
within the UFC, even flying to a remote island to hammer out
a deal. Nonetheless, the two sides failed to come together, largely
in part to a series of excessive demands from the Russians, which
included M-1 co-promotion among other aspects.
"Brock
wanted that fight. Brock wanted that fight bad," White said.
"We
had to build a f--king stadium in Russia, and we had to do all
this stupid s--t, stuff that no normal f--king human being would
do. And now they lay in bed every night and regret not doing
that deal."
There's
no question that in late-2009, when both men were at the peak
of their immense powers -- Lesnar fresh off a mauling of Frank
Mir and Emelianenko still riding his incredible 27-fight unbeaten
streak -- the match-up would've generated a box office explosion,
potentially eclipsing UFC 100 as the most ordered mixed martial
arts pay-per-view of all-time.
"I
explained this to Fedor," White said. "‘We're
catching a moment in time, right here, right now, where this
fight between you and Brock Lesnar will be f--king massive. We're
talking Dallas, Texas Stadium. This huge fight between these
two big heavyweight guys. We're laying this massive f--king offer
on the table.' I said, ‘You're one punch away from being
worth f--king zero.'
"'This
is the f--king moment, the time. We all need to seize this moment
and make this f--king happen.'"
To
this day, White refuses to reveal exactly how much Zuffa offered
Emelianenko. Though he ominously insists that it was, without
question, the most UFC lucrative contract of its time.
"It's
not even that I regret it," White said. "Dude, when
I tell you that we did everything -- someday I'll tell you the
story of how much we offered that f--ker, too. People will f--king
s--t. It made no sense. It's one of those type of deals.
"The
NFL does $9 billion in television revenue. Makes no sense for
the network. The network doesn't make a dime off the NFL, but
you gotta have the NFL, right? The NFL pulls ratings like anything.
This was one of those deals where it's like, this makes no f--king
sense whatsoever. And literally when we got on the plane, when
we were flying back, we were like, ‘Thank f--king God they
turned that offer down.'"
The
fight lost its luster soon afterward as both Lesnar and Emelianenko
went on to suffer a string of subsequent defeats, ultimately
leading to the retirement of both men.
Now
the match-up is one of MMA's biggest ‘what ifs,' and White
can't help but look back on one of the most substantial missed
opportunities of his tenure as UFC President.
"Maybe
he was (the best in the world)," White acknowledged of Emelianenko.
"Maybe he was when he was fighting in Pride. Maybe he was.
I don't know, because we never got to make some of the fights
we wanted to make.
"Who
knows. Maybe Fedor knocks out Brock, because we saw Brock against
guys that hit hard. And that's probably what (Fedor and Finkelstein)
look at it now. Like, ‘Goddamn.'"
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Fight
Path: Mehdi Baghdad to YouTube highlight creators: Please take
them down
by Kyle
Nagel
Mehdi
Baghdad has traveled the world to become not only a skilled martial
artist but a powerful mixed martial artist as well.
Along
the way, from France to Algeria to Brazil to California, he has
achieved another goal: He trains with his boyhood MMA hero, Dan
Henderson, at Team Quest.
His
next goal is more of a request to those who have included the
impressive videos of him on YouTube: Please take them down.
"It's
on YouTube, and people Google me, and no one will fight me,"
Baghdad told MMAjunkie.com. "I can't understand."
The
leaves Baghdad on a continual search for his next bout. He stands
7-3 in MMA with three straight victories, and he has also fought
professionally in muay Thai. His manager, Bobby Cavian, admits
that Baghdad's record means that the biggest promotions might
not yet be as interested in the fighter.
But
no fights at all?
"In
15 months, he had 21 fights scheduled, and in 20 of them, (the
opponent) pulled out," Cavian said. "If you look at
his highlights, you can see his comments to people saying, 'Please
take this down.'"
In
part, that's because Baghdad has done plenty to get where he
is now. He was once an impressive soccer player, but he said
that sport was too mentally taxing at times, and he grew his
love for martial arts. He eventually trained in Brazil, including
some with Anderson Silva and Team Black House, he said.
Two
years ago, he moved to California and started his training at
Team Quest, which met his boyhood goal of training with one of
his heroes: Henderson.
But
at the same time, his fighting schedule has slowed. Just this
past week, he was asked to be part of the Bellator card in Kansas,
but he didn't have all of his medical information in order that
quickly, so he had to pass. He promises that won't happen again.
"I
think some get into MMA to talk on Facebook and Twitter, but
I'm here to be a warrior," he said.
World
traveler
Baghdad
grew up in France and spent parts of his childhood in Algeria,
where some of his family lived. Through his teenage years, he
was a noted soccer player, which has helped him mentally.
"In
the head, it is more difficult than MMA," he said. "In
the head, not in the body, but just in the head.
"I
was really good at soccer, but when you play like I did and you
just touch the guy, he says, 'Ahhhh,' and he falls down like
he's hurt. It's like that at the higher levels."
When
he was 16, he started his first training in muay Thai, and he
continued dabbling in some other martial arts. Around the same
time, he began watching PRIDE events, and one of his favorite
fighters became Henderson.
That
helped drive his next move.
"People
said that so many fighters trained in Brazil, so I thought that's
where I needed to be," he said. "I thought I need to
go where the best fighters are."
Within
two years, he had saved enough to make the trip, and he joined
with other prominent fighters in that area. He once fought UFC
vet Edson Barboza in a kickboxing bout, and even though he lost
by a draw, he proved that he could compete with top fighters.
That
opened some eyes, and he drew attention from the U.S. That led
to the next step in his journey.
Hoping
for fights
Baghdad
has been a pro MMA fighter since 2008, though he started off
by losing his debut in Brazil. He has since had pro fights in
Brazil, Costa Rica, France and the U.S., traveling wherever he
could to be able to fight.
About
three years ago, he left Brazil and moved to the U.S. to continue
his training. He wanted to focus more on MMA, even though he
had experience in numerous other combat sports, including boxing.
Before
long, he met his idol, Henderson, who helped him get with Team
Quest. He fought in the U.S. for the first time in March 2012,
and he has won all three fights he has taken in the country.
The
trouble has been finding more.
He
has offered to fight outside of his usual weight class of 155
pounds. He has offered to travel to other countries. He even
considered taking boxing matches just to be able to have something
to do.
"My
concern in the beginning was his ground game," Cavian said.
"But his confidence now is 100 percent. For those who look
at his record, I understand what they're saying, but he has a
lot more he can show."
So
Baghdad continues to train and to wait. This past week, his team
got a call from Bellator about a fight on its Oct. 11 card with
little more than a day's notice. Unfortunately he didn't have
all of the medical clearances he needed, so he wasn't able to
take the fight.
"It's
really hard," he said. "Right now I would fight 170.
I would prefer 155 because that's my weight, but I just want
to fight."
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Luca
Fury: Why will UFC fire fighters for bad sportsmanship but not
for failing drug tests?
By Zach
Arnold
A
simple question from Luca Fury that gets right to the heart of
UFC’s haphazard policy of punishing fighters.
If
you exhibit questionable behavior consider beyond the pale, the
UFC will fire you as long as you aren’t a top superstar.
Luca recently (and aptly) pointed out what happened to Renato
Babalu and Paul Daley. He also noted Rousimar Palhares getting
cut from the UFC for holding onto the heel hook hold long after
Mike Pierce submitted during their UFC Brazil fight last Wednesday.
Palhares
is the perfect transition to Luca’s over-arching question.
This is a fighter who fought on the UFC Brazil show while coming
off of a drug suspension for… elevated levels of testosterone,
a 9:1 T/E ratio to be exact. The suspension came after Palhares
fought on a UFC Australia card last December. Which makes what
Palhares did to Pierce on Wednesday night even dumber in retrospect.
Now,
let’s point out the obvious: Palhares didn’t get fired
for failing a drug test but he did get fired because of his prior
record of bad sportsmanship. And that is where Luca pointed out
the obvious public relations quandry UFC has right now when it
comes to their selective punishment of fighters who behave badly
or fail drug tests.
Here
is Luca Fury’s commentary on UFC’s current policy on
firing fighters for certain acts but not firing every fighter
who fails a drug test.
When
it comes to the fighters failing drug tests, the UFC does not
have a universal policy. They are not consistent with the way
they punish fighters. In fact, they are very inconsistent. It’s
not about whether you fail a drug test or not that you get cut
or not. It’s about whether you’re a fan favorite or
whether you’re exciting or whether Dana likes you or whatever.
Take,
for example, Matt Riddle. A guy who has won more fights than
he’s lost in recent years, failed a test, they cut him,
said it was because of the failed test that was for the reason.
Take, for example, Lavar Johnson. He was a guy coming off of
a boring performance but he still did have a winning record in
recent years and he tested positive one time, I believe it was
for elevated testosterone, and they instantly cut him and said
that was the reason, it was the positive test.
However,
look at a guy like Thiago Silva. A guy who has tested positive
multiple times yet the UFC has kept him around, haven’t
really punished him. He’s actually only has a couple of
wins in the past five years or something, has a couple of wins
overturned for positive tests, has several losses in there. Really
hasn’t actually looked good recently, either, but the UFC
has kept him around. Now, if it was really because of the positive
tests that they cut Lavar Johnson and Matt Riddle, they would
have cut Thiago Silva as well.
Also,
look at a guy like Chael Sonnen. He tested positive for extremely
elevated levels of testosterone following his title fight against
Anderson Silva but did they cut him? No, they kept him around
and in fact gave him almost an immediate re-match against Anderson
Silva. Now, yes, of course people wanted to see Chael Sonnen
around, people wanted to see him fight Anderson Silva again.
So, obviously, from a fan perspective it was kind of good that
they did that. However, guys know that if they are fan favorites
or they are in exciting fights or they are a good fighter who
is towards the top of the division, they can get away with this
type of stuff and that’s not how it should be. The UFC should
crack down on these guys and say it doesn’t matter if you’re
a top fighter, it doesn’t matter if you’re a champion,
it doesn’t matter if you’re an exciting fan favorite.
If you test positive, if you break the rules something as serious
as a failed drug test, knowingly doing something that’s
banned, you should be cut. There shouldn’t be any leniency
here because if guys know they can get away with it, they’re
going to do it and they’re going to not really care about
doing it because they know it’s fine, basically a get-out-of-jail
free card. What’s the worry?
Now,
I know that athletic commissions [do issue] some punishment.
They’ll fine a guy, they’ll take a small % of his purse,
they’ll suspend him for six months, maybe as a repeat offender
a year. But, think about it — if you’re one of these
guys is towards the upper level of a division, is a fan-friendly
fighter, they’re probably making $100k, $200k a fight. So,
if the athletic commission takes 10% of their purse, 15% of their
purse, really what is that to them? They’re still making
a ton of money. More money than they even need. And so what if
they suspend him six months, a year? These guys usually only
fight twice or three times a year, so if they are suspended six
months that really isn’t anything to them and even if they
are suspended a year, really? I mean, if I’m a fighter who’s
doing these drugs and if they’re helping me get to this
next level, then it’s absolutely worth it. I can get to
the top of the division, make so much more money because I use
these Performance Enhancers and know there’s just one point
in my career where I take a year off but I still make a bunch
of money for that previous fight. I’m going to still use
them, there’s really almost no consequence here. In fact,
it’s totally worth it.
Kind
of goes to the whole situation with baseball. They’re talking
about with the guys, these guys who tested positive for steroids
and stuff. They still got the huge contracts, so really it’s
worth it to them to use the steroids all those years because
they’re locked into that huge contract that’s going
to make them money regardless of whether they’re suspended
or not. It’s kind of the same situation here with MMA fighters.
Like I said, you use steroids for all these years, get to that
high level, get this huge contract, and then just because you’re
suspended at one point for a small period of time [it is] totally
worth it.
Now,
yes, you could say, “Then they’re not going to be able
to use the steroids after that and they’re going to decline.”
Well, the thing is these tests are so easy to beat that it’s
really more of an issue of an IQ test rather than a drug test.
It’s are you dumb enough to get caught because they’re
not really hard enough to beat. So, these guys who test positive
for these banned substances, you’d think that they just
quit them right afterwards and never go on them again? No! They’re
just more careful about not getting caught because, again, these
tests are easy to beat.
But
if you were to say, “hey, you test positive just once, you’re
gone…” People are going to be much more selective about
whether or not they want to make this decision because they’re
going to know that, oh, it’s not an issue where if I on
the off-chance in a very rare situation get caught I’ll
be suspended or whatever but then I’ll just be able to get
right back on the horse and fight for the title again or something.
If they know that, hey, if I get caught just once I’m outta
here, I’m cut from the organization…. I guarantee you
there’s going to be a lot more guys second-guessing whether
or not they should make that decision to use Performance Enhancing
Drugs.
So,
I definitely the UFC should start cracking down on these guys.
Yes, in the short term, it’s obviously not going to be a
very fan friendly (policy) if they cutting guys who are, like
I said, top fighters, fan favorites. But in the long term, it’s
better for the UFC, it’s better for their PR (public relations),
and it’s better for the sport in general to have a clean,
healthy sport rather than something dirty where fighters are
cheating behind the scenes, being able to get away with it and
even if on the off-chance they get caught, they just get a tiny
slap on the wrist (right now) and aren’t really punished.”
Luca
forgot to throw in Ben Rothwell’s name in there. His rant
is a nice companion piece to my article on the brain damage/testosterone
(drug) connection in combat sports. As for why UFC doesn’t
have a consistent policy, it’s because they often treat
their business like it’s horse racing. Whichever ponies
draws the most business at the gate & action at sportsbooks
is going to be favored no matter what the circumstances are when
it’s go time to perform.
Now,
it’s not fair to say that UFC doesn’t take failed drug
tests seriously. They do take them seriously if it means leverage
over a fighter who they view as making too much money and thus
said fighter has a choice of being more flexible in future business
relations. For many fighters, it’s UFC or bust. UFC is the
only major MMA promotion right now and Bellator’s image
amongst free agent fighters is questionable due to what’s
happened to both Eddie Alvarez & Ben Askren.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Nogueira
brothers defend Rousimar Palhares, say he's never hurt anyone
Embattled
welterweight Rousimar Palhares is getting support from his current
MMA team.
In
a prepared statement, brothers and UFC fighters Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira said Palhares isn't a danger
to Team Nogueira.
"[Palhares]
has never hurt anyone," stated ex-UFC champ Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira.
This
past week, Palhares' former coach, Murilo Bustamante, became
the latest to pile on in the controversy over Palhares when he
claimed the fighter had a history of hurting teammates in the
practice room.
"I
got tired of seeing how he hurts people so often when he is sparring,
especially when he has a fight coming up," Bustamante told
Fighters Only. "We used to argue every time it happened,
so we argued a lot."
Nogueira
countered that Palhares was a model citizen and incapable of
malicious behavior.
"He
is a good person, excellent to be around and a man with great
character," Nogueira stated. "I believe that he has
never thought of doing any harm or anything evil to any opponent
because this just isn't his natural conduct."
After
several years under the same roof at Brazilian Top Team, the
Nogueira brothers and Bustamante now find themselves at odds
over Palhares' behavior at UFC Fight Night 29.
Palhares
(15-5), 33, was first denied a performance bonus when he torqued
Mike Pierce's ankle too long at the Oct. 9 event, and the UFC
then banned him outrightfor "unsportsmanlike conduct."
To boot, the athletic commission overseeing the event issued
him a 120-day suspension.
Pierce
(17-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) will find out soon if he needs surgery for
what appears to be a severe sprain of his medial collateral ligament
(MCL).
Meanwhile,
Palhares' professional career is in the dumps. He was scratched
from the 2013 Abu Dhabi submission wrestling championships and
was snubbed by Bellator boss Bjorn Rebney.
Nogueira
defended Palhares' ankle lock of Pierce and said the incident
was the result of the "dangerous position" needed for
the submission hold.
"The
guy who applies it has to be explosive," he stated. "When
it happens, usually there is no time for you to look at your
opponent. [Palhares] lost the position several times because
he lessened it a little.
"It
is a position that you go with everything, or you lose the adjustment.
It is a complicated situation, [and the referee] needs to be
in the right place, very close, to be able to intervene in an
energetic way."
Despite
his view, Nogueira doesn't plan to raise a stink with his employer.
"I
do not question the UFC decisions because the people who are
in command there have a global view of the business, and they
understand it better than anyone in the world the business side
that involves our sport," he stated.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Despite
torn ligament, Mike Pierce likely able to avoid surgery following
Rousimar Palhares heel hook
By Luke Thomas
After
UFC Fight Night 29, Rousimar Palhares earned the heel hook submission
victory early in the first minute of the first round over Mike
Pierce, but was later cut from the organization for holding the
dangerous submission long past the point of Pierce tapping and
even the referee interfering.
While
Palhares has the opportunity to ply his trade in another organization,
the lingering question was the medical status of Pierce.
On
Thursday after receiving MRI results, Pierce gave MMA Fighting's
Ariel Helwani an update on his medical condition.
"Sprained
MCL and an almost completely torn ligament on the outside of
my left ankle," Pierce said via text message. "[Doctor]
says I should be feeling a lot better in 2-3 weeks and that I
shouldn't need surgery. But to check back in with him at that
2-3 week point."
The
heel hook is one of the more dangerous finishes in submission
grappling because of the twisting pressure it simultaneously
applies to both the knee and ankle as well as the speed with
which it can cause serious damage.
Palhares,
a heel hook specialist, was previously suspended by the New Jersey
State Athletic Control Board in 2010 for holding the same submission
too long against Tomasz Drwal at UFC 111.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
boss downs Bellator's Ben Askren offer: They're playing f---ing
games
HOUSTON
– If Bellator MMA officials thought UFC President Dana White
might have been intrigued by their latest offer in regards to
Ben
Askren, they would be wrong.
Bellator
CEO Bjorn Rebney recently offered to let conditional free agent
Ben Askren walk away from the company provided UFC officials
would guarantee him a title shot upon his move to the octagon.
White
wasn't impressed.
"They're
playing f---ing games," White told MMAjunkie.com. "I
don't care what they're doing. It doesn't matter to me."
White,
who spoke to a group of reporters following Thursday's pre-UFC
166 media day in Houston, wasn't at all interested in discussing
the potential merits of the offer, which Rebney insisted was
made with no strings attached.
"I
don't give a s--t what they're doing," White said. "They
don't matter and I don't care."
Askren
(12-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA), the current Bellator MMA welterweight title
holder, is a former two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion,
and is pure skills in that art are considered among the best
in MMA. And while he has endued criticism for a string of six
straight decisions under the Bellator banner, his past two title
defenses both ended with TKO finishes.
He's
currently ranked No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com
MMA welterweight rankings, but some believe his skillset is perfect
to upset longtime UFC champ Georges St-Pierre (assuming Johny
Hendricks isn't the man for that task). However, Bellator retains
matching rights to any offer for Askren until next summer. After
a similar situation involving Eddie Alvarez turned into a legal
hassle, UFC officials have been hesitant to engage in such a
play for Askren.
White
has, in the past, expressed at least some interest in signing
Askren, but this latest offer doesn't seem to have found its
mark.
"When
you're willing to let your f---ing champion go, it's weird,"
White said.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Frank
Shamrock: Bound by Blood is a must-see documentary for all the
right reasons
y Zach
Arnold
The
bad news is that Spike TV didn’t give the documentary a
real promotional push. The good news is that they at least got
a TNA audience lead-in. I think a lot of fans were more than
happy to wash out the sour taste left in their mouths by Dixie
Carter to see a real icon in combat sports.
Loretta
Hunt (Sports Illustrated): Frank Shamrock documentary stirs ghosts
still haunting former UFC champion
The
story was simple — after all of the bad blood between Ken
& Frank Shamrock, the two were finally going to meet to have
a one-on-one sit down to hash out their differences. In the process,
we learned all about Frank’s background in Redding and Susanville,
California. Drinking alcohol at age 7. Heading to juvenile hall
after threatening his sister. Going to Susanville after being
adopted by Bob Shamrock.
Then
came the beatdown by Ken at the Lion’s Den gym. Six months
of training, Frank was sent to Pancrase to fight Bas Rutten in
Tokyo (December 1994 at Ryogoku Kokugikan). He won that fight.
Talk about a flashback to my early days of writing about that
scene. Ken ended up moving to WWE and TNA in the late 90s, which
left Frank to oversee Lion’s Den and he wasn’t comfortable
with Ken having him run the gyms the way Ken wanted them ran.
So, he left. Ken claimed Frank was jealous and that all Frank
had to do was ask for his blessing to party ways. Instead, he
“ran away.” Frank claimed that Bob Shamrock told him
that if he and Ken didn’t get along that there would be
no more relationship.
When
it came to fighting, “Frank was a scientist whereas Ken
was a brute.” Footage of Frank’s fight with Enson Inoue
at Vale Tudo Japan ‘97 was shown. Then the mention of Frank’s
fight against Kevin Jackson and then the encounter with Tito
Ortiz to win the UFC belt. Henry Holmes, Frank’s business
manager, had a cameo where he talked about Frank retiring and
giving up the UFC belt in order to get out of the onerous contracts
at the time.
There
was the K-1 fight against Elvis Sinosic. Then the teaser about
Frank fighting Ken with Bob Shamrock picking Ken to win the fight
because he’s too strong for Frank. Bas Rutten loved the
idea of the two brothers fighting each other. Maurice Smith felt
Frank would have won.
A
review of Frank’s history in Strikeforce was covered –
from mentions of the Cesar Gracie & Renzo Gracie bouts to
Frank becoming the local San Jose hero. “San Jose was quickly
becoming my town and HP Pavilion was my house.” Then came
the pictures of Frank vs. Phil Baroni and finally Frank “passing
the torch” to Nick Diaz. Several interview clips of Nick
Diaz talking about Frank Shamrock was interesting to watch. The
crazy cameo(s) from Mickey Rourke talking about the pain of watching
Frank get beat up by Nick Diaz was oddly compelling.
Then
came the death of Bob Shamrock. Tonya, Ken’s wife, called
Frank and told him that Bob wanted to see him in the hospital
before he died. Frank didn’t appear at the hospital or the
funeral. Ken was super pissed that Frank didn’t go to the
funeral. Frank explained why he did what he did: “I didn’t
know what to do. I really regret not calling him.”
Before
Frank traveled to Las Vegas to meet with Ken, he went back to
his old stomping grounds in Redding to find his older blood brother,
Perry, who happens to be homeless. Perry had written him a year
earlier asking for money. Frank found him under a highway overpass
where there were a couple of chairs, a sofa, and a tent. Perry
hadn’t communicated with anyone in over two years, the last
time he had a laptop. He was surprised that Frank was able to
locate him. Frank promised to help him, hugged Perry, and left
in his car. After the meeting, Frank cried and said “I need
to help him get out of there.”
Then
came the build-up to the meeting between the two brothers. Ken
asked, “What did my dad do to him that caused Frank to not
go to his funeral?”, and stated, “My Dad gave him everything
and he spit on him.”
In
a Las Vegas gym, Ken sat in one folding chair and the other folding
chair was set up for Frank to face him eye-to-eye once he sat
down. Frank took off his shoes and extended his hand to Ken for
a handshake. They shook hands. About six minutes of the reunion
was shown on television. There was a lot of nervous tension.
Frank started talking. It quickly degenerated into a rough back-and-forth.
After Frank thanked Ken for being his mentor, Ken stepped in.
“I’m
a little confused.”
He
wondered why he ran away from Bob Shamrock and the Lion’s
Den. Frank was upset about the beating Ken gave him when he first
stepped foot at Lion’s Den. Ken responded to Frank’s
feelings by stating, “This is (about) your own insecurity,
man.” Ken said that anyone who survived the initiation beating
at Lion’s Den was respected by all the team members.
When
Frank tried to justify not showing up to Bob Shamrock’s
funeral as a sign of respect, Ken had none of it.
“I
don’t buy that (reason). You were a coward. … You let
him die with no closure.”
Then
came time to discuss whether or not the two brothers should fight
each other. Ken wanted to fight Frank. Frank didn’t seem
so into the idea. As they were arguing back-and-forth, Frank
made his position clear.
“I’m
not a fighter, I”m a human being.”
Ken
justified his behavior towards others by stating, “I beat
the hell out of everybody. I yelled at everybody.” Ken prodded
Frank by telling him that Bob asked for him on his death bed
in the hospital. Ken claimed that Bob told him the only way the
two brothers would repair their relationship was if they had
a fight. Ken said he would accept Frank’s decision either
way on the matter now that the topic was out in the open for
discussion. Frank cemented his opinion about not wanting to fight
now.
“We
have to beat each other up to get closure? I don’t want
to get hurt any more.”
The
two brothers hugged each other. Frank was crying and Ken was
smiling. And the two parted ways.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Pros
Pick: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3
By Mike
Sloan
The
two best heavyweights on the planet will converge in the center
of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Octagon for a third
time, as champion Cain Velasquez battles Junior dos Santos in
the UFC 166 main event on Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Dos
Santos dethroned the American Kickboxing Academy ace with a 64-second
knockout at UFC on Fox 1 in November 2011. Velasquez, however,
reclaimed his title with a lopsided unanimous decision at UFC
155 a little more than a year later. Now, they meet again to
settle the score.
Sherdog.com
touched base with a number of professional fighters and trainers
to gauge their opinions on the UFC 166 headliner:
Sherdog
Fantasy MMA: UFC 166 Free Fan Pick’Em
Martin Kampmann: Man, this is going to be another great fight.
I like watching both those guys because they are some of my favorites
to watch. I can’t pick a winner; it’s a toss-up.
Jason
Dent: I’m going with Cain on this one. Cain’s striking
is just as good as JDS’s. However, his wrestling and intense
pace will be too much for Junior in the rubber match. The first
match ended too quickly, but their second meeting showed who
the better fighter was, as Cain dominated from start to finish.
Michael
Guymon: I see each of them hunting and pecking in the first round.
Each of them is afraid of the other’s power: JDS’s
striking power and Cain’s wrestling power. JDS will be more
cautious about the takedown and distance, using good movement.
Cain gets caught pressing for a takedown in an exchange on the
feet in the second or third. Dos Santos wins by KO.
Benji
Radach: I think we will all see the best of both men. I’m
going to have to pull for Cain, though. I just think his ability
to control the fight and taking the fight anywhere he wants for
his own benefit, all while wearing down his opponents with solid
wrestling, is such a huge advantage. I don’t believe JDS
can hang with that unless it’s a one-hitter-quitter night
again. Either way, it’s going to be a fun one.
Mike
Ciesnolevicz: After watching both fights, I came to the conclusion
that Cain is probably the better fighter of the two. The first
fight can be considered lucky to a certain degree, as it was
a one-punch KO. The second fight tells the real tale, as it was
a five-round total domination. Cain treated JDS like a ragdoll.
His striking was better, his wrestling was better and his conditioning
was better. Unless JDS catches Cain early with a big shot, I
think we will see a repeat of the second fight. Cain is just
a different animal, with his well-rounded skills and off-the-charts
conditioning. The only critique you can make on Cain is he doesn’t
have great submission skills, or at least he hasn’t shown
them in the UFC. Cain will control where this fight takes place.
JDS will become fatigued trying to counter Cain’s wrestling
attack. Velasquez takes a unanimous decision.
Vinny
Magalhaes: First off, there is no such thing as a lucky punch.
Sometimes you just get punched and you get knocked out. I still
think Cain is a little more skilled than Junior. I would love
to see Junior win because I am Brazilian, too, and I usually
always cheer for fellow Brazilians unless I’m training a
fighter who is training to beat a Brazilian. I would like to
see Junior win, but I think Cain will win this the same way he
did in their last fight.
Tarec
Saffiedine: Cain wins via unanimous takedown decision.
Igor
Araujo: Dos Santos wins by KO.
Brock
Jardine: The third match between the two best heavyweights in
UFC history, in my opinion, will come down to who lands the first
big punch. JDS did in the first meeting, and the second went
to Cain. I think this time JDS will land that first big punch
on Cain as he is moving in. I predict JDS wins by first-round
KO.
T.J.
Waldburger: Tough pick. I’m not sure on this one, but I
would bet to see the referee with his hand raised at the end.
Saad
Awad: Cain wins.
Tom
DeBlass: This is a tough one. JDS can end any fight at anytime.
However, if Cain stays in his face, the fight should be similar
to last. Cain has cardio for days. Cain wins by decision.
Cameron
Diffley: I am going with Cain in this fight. I think dos Santos
relies on being the quicker fighter, and a motivated Cain is
faster than a motivated dos Santos. Cain also brings more tools
standing, with being able to mix hands, feet and takedowns to
dictate where the majority of the fight is.
Photo:
Marcelo Alonso/Sherdog.com
Dos
Santos toppled Velasquez once before.
Brian Melancon: I have Velasquez by decision. He’s too well-rounded
and has too big of a gas tank. He has the cardio of Clay Guida
but at heavyweight. You can’t top that.
Daniel
Downes: With each fighter owning one-sided wins over the other,
it’s hard to really gauge how this fight will go. JDS has
the power to drop Cain with one punch, but that’s the only
real weapon he has. I see Cain overwhelming dos Santos with his
wrestling and pace. He’ll stay in tight to avoid the power
shot and work his way to another unanimous decision win. It won’t
be the last time these two will fight, but at least we know their
trilogy will be better than “Blade: Trinity.”
J.J.
Ambrose: Cain’s work ethic is legendary, and he moves like
a lightweight with heavyweight power. JDS is an amazing fighter,
but Cain wins via third-round TKO, with his superior wrestling
and ground-and-pound.
Joe
Duarte: JDS has to KO Cain early to avoid getting dragged into
deep waters by Velasquez -- a heavyweight with the energy of
a 4-year old kid on caffeine. If JDS cannot KO Cain early, it
will be a lot like their second fight.
Andrew
Craig: We’ve now seen two lopsided fights with these guys.
I’m thinking the third is going to be much more competitive.
I think that Junior will find his range and put his hands on
Cain, unlike the second fight. I also think he’ll do a much
better job defending the takedown and getting back up. However,
I think that ultimately Cain will do what he does, turn this
into one of those fights that makes you tired to watch and take
the decision.
Travis
Wiuff: Cain wins by the same domination he won in the second
fight: easy takedowns and beats him up on the cage. This time,
he finishes him in the fourth round.
Nam
Phan: Brown Pride, all day everyday (laughs).
Johny
Hendricks: Tough pick, but I think Cain wins because his wrestling
was a huge part of him winning. I don’t think Junior can
get that much better in that short of a time.
Robert
Drysdale: Cain wins.
Kyle
Kingsbury: Cain is going to dominate masterfully and prove he
deserves to be in the pound-for-pound discussion. Can you believe
dos Santos said he punches like a girl?
Eric
Prindle: Velasquez wins by KO via ground-and-pound in round three.
Colton
Smith: As we saw in their second meeting, the current champ utilized
a pressure game plan to punish Junior. I do not see the third
meeting going differently. Cain wins by third-round TKO.
Georgi
Karakhanyan: I’m picking Cain to win by decision. He has
the best wrestling in the heavyweight division, and his standup
is very sharp and fast.
John
Gunderson: I’m going with Cain. He will get the takedown,
beat up on Junior and probably finish him.
Mark
Bocek: Cain wins by decision.
Javier
Vazquez: This one could realistically go either way. Dos Santos
has the ability to finish Cain, and Cain can beat up dos Santos
for five rounds again. I usually go with the guy who has the
most explosive way to win, but it’s just hard to vote against
Cain. I say Cain stops him in the fourth round in a great fight.
Travis
Lutter: Well, the guys are 1-1, with two really different fights.
With that being said, I think Cain is the better MMA fighter.
Anything can happen, but I am going with Cain.
Mitch
Clarke: I’m picking Cain by unanimous decision. I think
it’ll play out pretty much the same as the second fight
did.
Chris
Clements: They are both well-rounded and tough as nails. I’ll
go with Cain. No explanation why.
Ray
Elbe: Cain is the best fighter in the world. Upsets happen in
MMA, but the better fighter usually wins most the time. Cain
will dominate the wrestling, while bouncing JDS’s head like
an Allen Iverson crossover in Philly for a TKO victory late.
James
Vick: I have JDS with the upset.
THE
FINAL TALLY
Pros
Picking Velasquez: 27
Pros Picking Dos Santos: 4
No Pick: 3
Source: Sherdog
|
Mario
Sperry, Renzo Gracie Defend Released UFC Fighter ‘Toquinho’
Palhares
By Marcelo
Alonso
The
UFC’s dismissal of Rousimar Palhares following his Oct.
9 submission victory over Mike Pierce has provoked a range of
different reactions in Brazil.
Judging
by message boards and social media, the majority of Brazilian
fans supported the promotion’s decision to cut “Toquinho”
for holding on to a kneebar after Pierce had tapped. However,
some have voiced disapproval, asking for another chance for the
Brazilian welterweight.
Last
week, Brazilian Top Team coach and co-founder Murilo Bustamante
told Fighters Only that Palhares had injured teammates in similar
situations during training in the past. Former BTT coach Mario
Sperry this week denied the statement.
“I
don’t remember him hurting teammates in an intentional manner,”
Sperry told Sherdog.com. “He hurt others and got hurt just
like any other athlete. To tell you the truth, I remember seeing
him hurt more than hurting others. I think he should have paid
more attention to the reaction of his opponent and the referee.
He also had several problems with athletes who tapped and continued
after he released the submission hold without the referee interrupting.
In my view, this can hamper your judgment on when to release
the submission even more in the middle of a fight.”
But,
even in defending Palhres, Sperry said he understood the position
of the UFC and its, president Dana White.
“It’s
a difficult position for Dana, as he has to manage the world’s
largest MMA event,” said Sperry. “Making a realistic
assessment with the events that happened in and after the fight,
I’d fire him to show that where there’s excellence,
there’s no room for mistakes. However, I would hire him
back, because Toquinho is a great fighter for any event.”
Brazilian
jiu-jitsu master Renzo Gracie also defended his countryman via
Twitter on Monday.
“I
just watch the fight and I have to reinforce it... He had no
ill intent. His opponent went on the wrong direction,” Gracie
wrote. “So, if there’s injury involved, it has more
to do with the way his opponent try to get out than his intentions...
We are in a fight business. If we will begin a witch hunt, the
intensity of our sport will be gone. We are supposed to get hurt.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Boxers
beware: Where’s your pension payout from the California
State Athletic Commission?
By Zach
Arnold
Food
fight at CSAC front office over $5.5 million USD boxer’s
pension fund
They
won’t be punishing judges Gwen Adair, Marty Denkin, or Carla
Caiz at this Monday’s California State Athletic Commission
event in Los Angeles. However, the commission’s document
dump for Monday’s meeting contains a boatload of information
about where things are headed.
For
example, page 5 of the 180-page document claims that Karen Chappelle
from the Attorney General’s office in Los Angeles is billing
the commission a lot of money to handle two major lawsuits (Dwayne
Woodard’s age discrimination case & Sarah Waklee’s
sexual harassment case). I would suggest so far that the commission
has gotten the raw end of that deal in terms of quality legal
representation.
On
page 18, there is an itemized list of shows and how much revenue/expenses
CSAC has from each event. What’s interesting to note is
that while boxing revenues are most important, the UFC events
are the easiest cash grabs for the commission. A whole lot of
money.
On
page 41, there is discussion about whether or not the commission
will abandon the rules/regulations regarding color-coded tickets.
On page 72ish, there are detailed booking sheets revealing which
inspectors/officials worked what shows. Around page 100, there’s
a copy of a box office sheet that Andy Foster’s #1 inspector,
Mark Relyea, completed. Guess he’ll get an award for that.
On
page 131, there’s quite a letter from Jeremy Lappen that,
on any other occasion, would be a hot topic of discussion. In
short, after Andy Foster emasculated CAMO over their fee structure
for regulating amateur MMA, CAMO faced a choice — either
go with the program or else risk losing their delegation to the
controversial Steve Fossum. Instead of putting up a rightful
legal challenge in court over what was about to happen to CAMO,
Jeremy Lappen simply walked away. With the prospects of money
drying up for the non-profit entity, Jeremy Lappen diminished
his role with CAMO and left JT Steele at the helm.
However,
all of these items are small potatoes compared to the real main
event issue at Monday’s commission meeting — and it’s
getting little-to-no media attention at all. The issue at hand?
What the hell to do with the $5.5 million dollars sitting in
the boxer’s pension fund. And the fight could get very ugly
between the commission and the third party that is investing
& managing the funds.
How
will CSAC find all the boxers it owes money to?
Every
time you buy a ticket to go to an event regulated by the California
State Athletic Commission, a percentage of the money goes to
the boxer’s pension fund and the neurological fund. Over
the course of many years, the boxer’s pension fund has swollen
in size because the commission has simply not been able to reach
out to boxers who are entitled to a distribution. The inability
of locating boxers who are qualified for a distribution has been
atrocious.
With
so much money in the bank account, the commission is facing a
tough predicament of trying to locate all the new fighters who
are qualified to receive a distribution now that they’ve
reached the age of 50.
In
the state’s Business & Professions Code, Section 18882,
the money in the pension fund is dedicated solely for one purpose:
(c)
The Boxers’ Pension Fund is a retirement fund, and no moneys
within it shall be deposited or transferred to the General Fund.
In
the California Code of Regulations, Title 4: Business Regulations,
Division 2: State Athletic Commission, Chapter 1: Professional
Boxing Rules, Article 12: Pension Plan, some of the rules about
who gets a distribution from the pension fund conflict with each
other. Section 401 defines the following:
(d)
Beneficiary. “Beneficiary” means all persons entitled
under the provisions of this Plan to receive benefits after the
death of a participating boxer.
Section
405(d) defines what a “lost beneficiary” is.
(d)
Lost Beneficiary.
If,
according to the records of the commission, a participating boxer
has reached age 50 and the participating boxer or his or her
beneficiary has not made a claim for benefits, the participating
boxer’s accrued benefit shall be held until the last day
of the third plan year after the participating boxer reached
age 50, at which time it shall be reallocated pursuant to section
403(c); provided, however, that if a claim is later made by the
participating boxer or beneficiary for the forfeited benefit,
the commission shall reinstate the amount of the vested account
balance that had been forfeited, unadjusted by any gains or losses
attributable to such amount. Such reinstatement shall be made
from the contributions for such year of reinstatement, prior
to the allocation of contributions to accounts for the year of
reinstatement.
The
conflict here is simple. Section 401 says a beneficiary can receive
money if the boxer is dead. Section 405(d) says a boxer that
is alive has up to three years to claim their distribution before
it is forfeited. And given the commission’s track record
of not being able to contact or locate fighters who are qualified
for distributions, it means a whole lot of fighters who are entitled
to a distribution are forfeiting cash that is owed to them. And
yet S401 clearly defines a beneficiary as someone OTHER THAN
THE BOXER WHO MUST BE DEAD.
And
you wonder why the boxer’s pension fund is swelling up with
cash that hasn’t been distributed.
These
conflicting code sections have set the table for a food fight
between CSAC’s front office and the third party that is
managing the pension funds.
The
first salvo
On
July 31st, Beth Harrington (who manages the money in the boxer’s
pension fund) wrote a memo to the CSAC front office about why
there’s so much money in the bank account. She defended
her actions in relation to following the conflicting code sections.
BACKGROUND
Since
the inception of this plan, we have not applied [the Lost Beneficiary]
section of the Code as it is written. It was not implemented
in part because the section is titled “Lost Beneficiary”
and Beneficiary is defined in Section 401(d) as “all persons
entitled … to receive benefits after the death of a participating
boxer.” The language in the section does not relate to the
title of the section. It is conceivable that this section was
indeed an option for the commission to forfeit the balance of
a deceased boxer in the event that no family could be identified
or located, and that it wasn’t intended for boxers who were
still living.
The
provision was also not implemented because it seems to be inconsistent
with Section 404(c) which specifies that “income or loss
attributable to the assets of the pension fund … shall be
allocated to the accounts of the participating boxers who had
unpaid balances in their accounts … as of the last day of
the prior plan year.”
PROBLEMATIC
IMPLEMENTATION
Whether
we look to implement this section as it relates to retired boxers
now, or go back and apply the provision retroactively, there
are a variety of reasons that this would be problematic:
1.
The fact that the retirement age was dropped from 55 to 50 in
2009 increases the number of boxers subject to this possible
forfeiture. That rule change increased the number of boxers eligible
for payment from 14 in 2008 to 105 in 2009. Of those 105, 42
were age 53 and would have forfeited at the end of that year.
Would it be fair to someone who would have forfeited at age 58
to suddenly be forfeited because he was over age 53?
2.
The commission has made an effort to find boxers eligible for
payment, but there are still a large number of boxers who have
not been located. Is the commission willing to subject a boxer
to forfeiture of his pension simply because the boxer has not
been located?
3.
If we were to forfeit all boxers who were 53 years old as of
12/31/2013 we would be forfeiting 75 accounts worth $1,297,109.
a) The first forfeiture would have taken place in 2007 for one
boxer who was born in 1949. That boxer is still not paid.
b) Our reports dated 12/31/2008 that were provided to the commission
list 14 boxers who had reached retirement age. Of those 14 only
2 were paid in 2009, and 6 of those 14 are still due $104,611
from the plan.
4.
If we go back to revise the 2007 reports to begin the process
of forfeiting accounts, all participant balances will change
from 2007 forward through 2012.
5.
If we begin a process of forfeiting benefits now, the boxers
who are eligible in 2013 will received a huge windfall of forfeit
allocations. It would give those who boxed in 2013 a huge advantage
over anyone who boxed in prior years.
6.
Section 405(d) indicates that if a boxer’s account was forfeited
and a claim for benefits is submitted later that the benefits
should be paid from current contributions. The annual contributions
to the plan are only about $100,000. There is significant risk
that there would be insufficient funding to restore benefits
if all of those over age 53 are forfeited now. How would the
commission generate funds if boxers who had forfeited under Section
405(d) are later located and the contributions are not sufficient
to re-establish their accounts?
7.
The plan has been through two separate audits by the State Auditor,
and in neither case was this matter identified as a concern.
SUMMARY
This
is a defined contribution plan. If one person gets paid or doesn’t
get paid, it does not impact the balance of the other participants.
If, however, the commission starts forfeiting the balance of
Covered boxers at age 53 simply because they did not submit a
claim for benefits there could possibly be an outcry that the
commission hadn’t done enough to locate the boxers in the
first place. If the boxer was found at a later date it would
further impact the plan because currently contributions would
have to be used to reinstate benefits as opposed to being allocated
to those who fought during the year. The allocation of benefits
to active participants would swing wildly based on those who
forfeited benefits after age 53.
RECOMMENDATION
The
commission should examine the language in Section 405(d) to determine
if it is indeed intended to reference only lost beneficiaries
(as is referenced in the title), or if it should also include
the reference boxers who have not been located. If the commission
does not determine that boxers who have not been located within
3 years of attaining age 50 should forfeit, then additional review
of the challenges that this provision will have on the plan should
be examined as wlel.
Conflicting
codes on the books, a lack of fighters coming forward or being
located to pay out distributions, and organizational chaos have
led to the paralysis with the funds in the account.
Two
months later, CSAC’s front office strikes back
Vern
Hines, a DCA employee recently transferred to help Andy Foster
out in the CSAC front office, wrote a letter to the commission
last week suggesting changes in protocol in how the pension funds
are handled. Here’s the text of that memo:
9/25/2013,
Implementing the Boxer Pension Fund Lost Beneficiary Provision
1.
Failure to implement the Lost Beneficiary Provision 405(d):
The
Commission contracts with a third-party administrator, Beth Harrington
of Benefit Resources, to administer the Boxer Pension Fund (the
Fund). Recently the Commission became aware that Benefit Resources
incorrectly administered boxer fund balances dating back to 2007
when provision 405(d) was not followed. Under provision 405(d)
of our pension regulations, a boxer has three years to apply
for their vested pension benefits. If a boxer does not apply
within three years of turning age 50, the boxer forfeits their
balance for the benefit of other active plan participants. The
provision also allows a boxer to claim their benefit, after it
has been forfeited, from current year contributions.
Why
is provision 405(d) so important? As the Commission members are
probably aware, the boxer pension fund has grown in the past
and continues to grow because finding all eligible boxers is
a difficult, if not impossible task. As a result, the Fund has
grown to almost $5.5 million in assets over the past several
years because fund assets were locked in beneficiary accounts
that could not be found.
Recommendation:
Begin
implementing provision 405(d) as soon as possible in order to
distribute money that has been frozen in lost beneficiary accounts.
By releasing these funds, current boxers participating in the
plan will benefit. In fact, we estimate that within the next
three years, nearly half of the plan assets, or $2.5 million,
may be released to current participants by implementing provision
405(d). As a result, boxers that retire in the near future could
see significant increases in their retirement distribution.
2.
Problems Implementing the Lost Beneficiary Provision:
The
Commission needs to devise a plan that implements the Lost Beneficiary
provision as soon as possible while ensuring the future distributions
are equitable. As stated above, nearly half of the plan assets
will become available within the next few years for distribution,
including a $1.3 million distribution that should have already
taken place. If the Commission were to distribute all of the
required distributions next year, any boxer retiring in that
year would receive a large windfall and take money that should
have been paid to boxers that retired in the past. The first
boxer that should have had his retirement balance forfeit was
in 2007.
Recommendation:
The
Commission should discuss with Benefit Resources what options
are feasible to distribute money to boxers that retired from
2008 to 2013. Boxers that retired during this period should have
benefited from the Lost Beneficiary clause but did not. Starting
in 2014, the Commission should distribute the remaining balance
of forfeited accounts over time, instead of one lump sum. The
Commission should discuss the pros and cons of distribution over
a 1, 3, and 5 year period with our plan administrator, Benefit
Resources.
3.
Potential Funding Issue for Lost Beneficiaries That Reclaim Their
Pension Benefits:
The
last big issue with respect to the Lost Beneficiary provision
deals with how a boxer reclaims their forfeited benefit. The
provision allows a boxer to claim their vested retirement benefit
anytime, even after it has been forfeited due to the three year
rule. If a boxer comes forward at 65 to claim their benefit that
was forfeited at 53, the boxer is entitled to the amount of benefit
he would have received at age 50 with no adjustments for investment
gains or losses. The provision requires the Commission to pay
the boxer from current year distributions to the plan. A problem
may arise in the future if more boxers come forward in any given
year to claim their forfeited benefit than the fund has in current
year contributions. For example, the fund receives approximately
$100,000 a year in contributions from an assessment on each ticket
sold. How would the Commission pay out lost beneficiary claims
of more than $100,000 in any given year? What if current year
contributions drop? Additionally, when lost beneficiary claims
are paid from current year contributions, boxers that fought
in the current year will receive less allocation for that year
than they otherwise would have been eligible to receive. As a
result, it is important for the Commission to do everything possible
to reduce the likelihood that multiple boxers will come forward
in any given year where their lost beneficiary claims may exceed
current year contributions or significantly reduce the amount
of allocations to current year participants.
Recommendation:
Boxers
have three years to claim their benefit before the Commission
is required to forfeit. The Commission should do everything it
can to reach out and contact boxers and pay their benefits before
they are forfeited. The Commission may want to consider utilizing
the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service
features that are available to locate individuals that are due
a retirement benefit. For example, a boxer becomes eligible at
age 50 to receive their retirement distribution and the Commission
must forfeit their benefit at age 53. If the commission does
not hear from the boxer by age 52, the Commission could utilize
the services stated above to help locate the boxer. As a result,
the Commission would reduce the likelihood that a significant
number of boxers will re-claim their forfeited accounts to the
detriment of current year contributions and allocations. The
Commission may want to consider other funding mechanisms to further
mitigate the risk of current year contributions not being sufficient
to cover lost beneficiary claims in any given year.
This
is ugly.
Here’s
the problem with the front office’s stance — let’s
say in a perfect world that they really start locating all the
fighters who deserve a distribution. What are you going to do
to generate over $100,000 a year to cover your perfect scenario
— raise the pension fund tax on tickets even higher? Second,
why should anyone believe that the front office will have a significantly
higher success rate in tracking down fighters than past administrators
have? Furthermore, who’s going to change the code on the
books to make sure none of it conflicts with each other in determining
who qualifies for a distribution and when?
Bottom
line: this is a giant mess and it looks like Beth Harrington
may get thrown under the bus here. On Monday’s meeting agenda,
there’s this item:
10.
Review of Benefit Resources Pension Administration Contract
Is
a business termination coming?
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Soo
Chul Kim confident he needs one punch to beat Bibiano Fernandes
at One FC 11
By Guilherme
Cruz
One
year after a TKO victory over Leandro Issa, South Korea’s
Soo Chul Kim returns to One FC to defend his bantamweight title
against interim champion Bibiano Fernandes, and he is confident
his hands will be the key to the victory on Oct. 18 in Kallang,
Singapore.
"I
expect to show the world that I am the best mixed martial artist
in this division," Kim told MMAFighting.com. "He is
highly touted and very respected. I think it will be a huge victory
for me if I can upset him. He has very good ground game but I
think I can beat him in other areas."
Fernandes
has been finished only once in his MMA career, when he lost via
doctor stoppage to Urijah Faber in his second professional bout
in 2006, but Kim believes he will make a statement by finishing
one of the best 135-pound fighters in the world.
"Yes,
I'm confident I can defeat him," he said. "His striking
might have improved but I still think my striking is better.
I have one punch knockout power and I will showcase it against
Bibiano. I'm still young and only getting better and I will be
much improved from the last time you saw me inside the One FC
cage.
"(A
win over Bibiano Fernandes) will definitely mean I am one of
the best, if not the best, bantamweight in the world," he
continued. "Everybody will be aware of me once I defeat
one of the biggest names in the sport and one of the best in
the world in Bibiano. One FC is such as big promotion and staying
as their champion will make me one of the best in the world."
Kim
has won three straight after going 1-4 between 2011 and 2012,
and all the losses have helped him evolve as a mixed martial
artist.
"It
was a very good learning lesson," he said. "I learned
to push myself further and began to really dedicate myself to
completely train in mixed martial arts. You can really see the
improvement I've made in such a short time and I am just getting
started."
The
South Korean fighter avenged one of his losses with his TKO win
over Leandro Issa at One FC 6, and he wants the opportunity to
beat the other three guys to ever defeat him: Andrew Leone, Gustavo
Falciroli and Jae Hoon Moon.
"It
was definitely a good feeling," Kim said. "Not only
did I manage to avenge a loss, I also did it in decisive fashion
and earned the world championship belt as well. I want to avenge
all the losses I have on my record."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
'talking about' Jose Aldo vs. Ricardo Lamas for UFC 169 in New
Jersey
by Dann
Stupp and John Morgan
HOUSTON
– It's far from a lock, but Ricardo Lamas could finally
get his shot at the UFC featherweight title in February.
UFC
President Dana White today said the organization is "talking
about" booking champion Jose Aldo (23-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) vs.
Lamas (13-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) for its Super Bowl weekend card on
Feb. 1.
"We're
talking about that at Super Bowl weekend, but it's not done yet,"
he said. "We're talking about it, but we talk about a lot
of things."
Unlike
past years, the UFC's annual Super Bowl card won't take place
in Las Vegas. Instead, the pay-per-view event is slated for Prudential
Center in Newark, N.J.
Aldo
vs. Lamas would give the card a title shot. Initially, it was
slated to feature light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (19-1
MMA, 13-1 UFC) vs. Glover Teixeira (22-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC), but with
the champ not expecting to be fully ready to go by then, officials
ultimately nixed it and now expect it to take place in March
or April.
Aldo
is ranked No. 1 and Lamas No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com
MMA featherweight rankings.
Lamas
has won four consecutive bouts since moving from the WEC to the
UFC. He had hoped a January victory over Erik Koch would earn
him a title shot, but the UFC then booked him for a UFC 162 bout
with Chan Sung Jung. However, Jung then replaced injured Anthony
Pettis and lost to Aldo, and Lamas was left without an opponent
and has been waiting on the sidelines since then.
Aldo,
the only 145-pound champion in UFC history, is riding a 16-fight
winning streak, which includes a perfect 5-0 mark in the octagon
following his win over Jung.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
UFC
166 Set for a $2.5 Million Sellout
by Ken
Pishna
UFC
166The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the Toyota Center
in Houston on Saturday for UFC 166, which features the rubber
match between UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and former
titleholder Junior dos Santos.
As
with past events in Houston, the promotion moved tickets at a
feverish pace, already proclaiming the event a sellout.
Tickets
went so fast that UFC officials removed the usual video screens
from the ends of the arena that take out of few upper level seats.
Those seats were made available and immediately sold out as well.
“No
end screens, just the center hung (screens),” said UFC president
Dana White in a meeting with the media in Houston on Thursday.
“This place is going to be jam-packed wall to wall. We like
Houston.”
White
added that they expect a $2.5 million live gate for Saturday’s
event. That slots UFC 166 smack in the middle between its prior
two trips to the Toyota Center, UFC 69 and UFC 136.
UFC
69, which featured Matt Serra’s upset of UFC welterweight
champion Georges St-Pierre in the main event, attracted 15,269
people in attendance for a live gate of $2.8 million on April
7, 2007.
The
third fight between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard headlined
UFC 136 on Oct. 8, 2011, drawing an audience of 16,164 and a
gate of $2.23 million.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
166's 'Big Country' up for challenge, shrugs off poor training
camp
by John
Morgan
(This
story appears in today's edition of USA TODAY.)
HOUSTON
– For a man who has spent the better part of his UFC career
answering questions as to why he doesn't do something to improve
his portly physique, heavyweight contender Roy Nelson is surprisingly
unreceptive to observations that he might have actually slimmed
down.
"That's
what happens when you get depressed," Nelson told USA TODAY
Sports. "When I get depressed, I don't eat."
Nelson,
37, is notoriously quick-witted, and it's often impossible to
discern actual revelations from deadpan schtick. But "Big
Country" seems to be pulling back the curtain a bit when
he discusses his preparation for Saturday's "UFC 166: Velasquez
vs. dos Santos III" event.
"This
has actually probably been the crappiest camp I've ever had,
so it is what it is," Nelson said.
Nelson
(19-8 MMA, 6-4 UFC) meets Daniel Cormier (12-0, 1-0) — who
is No. 3 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA heavyweight
rankings — Saturday on UFC 166's pay-per-view-televised
main card (10 p.m. ET) at Houston's Toyota Center. It's a tough
matchup under any circumstances, much less anything other than
ideal. Unfortunately for Nelson, that's the precise challenge
he'll face.
His
lead boxing coach, Jeff Mayweather (Floyd's uncle), recently
was hospitalized after an apparent energy drink-induced health
scare. A few of Nelson's top training partners were also forced
out, he said.
"I
still had some of my core guys, but I lost (Muhammed) Lawal,"
Nelson said. "I lost Ryan Martinez. ... He broke his hand.
It was one of those camps where anything that possibly could've
happened, happened. You just deal with it. I've been in the game
long enough to know what I'm supposed to do and put the work
in."
This
fight is an important one for Nelson, who looks to rebound from
a disappointing June loss to Stipe Miocic. The result ended Nelson's
three-fight winning streak, all by knockouts. Currently ranked
No. 13, Nelson is at a career crossroads and probably needs an
impressive win to please often-critical UFC execs, including
company boss Dana White.
Nelson
said he never considered withdrawing from the bout until he could
focus on the challenges ahead.
"That's
how other fighters work," he said. "All the other fighters
are like, ‘Oh, my big toe hurts.' They worry about all that
other stuff. People want to pay to see me fight, and I'm going
to put on a show.
"The
UFC, that's what they expect of me, to put on a show and ...
fight. I come to fight every time."
Cormier
is a 6-1 favorite, which he says will be his last at heavyweight
before dropping down to 205 pounds. Meanwhile, Nelson won't reveal
where he expects to tip the scales Saturday, even laughing off
repeated attempts to guess his weight.
"I
think I'm one of the only fighters that goes, 'Woe is me, and
at the end of the day it's my fault that it's not working,'"
Nelson said. "It's not, 'Oh, it's my coach.'
"I
could do the woe-is-me thing, but at the end of the day, if everybody
knew half the crap that everybody has gone through — what
pains and aches — they'd be like, ‘Dude, why do you
fight?' And honestly, I don't know — besides that I love
it."
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
With
Fighting, Jon Fitch’s Motivation Has Changed
Jon
Fitch will look to get back on track Oct. 26 when he meets Marcelo
Alfaya at World Series of Fighting 6, which streams live (undercard)
on Sherdog.com.
Ahead
of the bout, Fitch joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown”
show and discussed his move to New York, why he fights and much
more.
On
his personality: “I’ve always been a bit of a loner.
It’s kind of a weird paradox. I’m a leader, but I’m
a loner at the same time. When I see things that aren’t
right, I need to do something about it. It just frustrates me
to all ends and I get vocal at that point. … I never understood
people who complained about solitary confinement because I would
be happy. I’m happy getting away and being alone for a while.
… My wife used to go to school down at U.C. Irvine and she’d
be gone, and there would be a time when I wouldn’t even
speak to another person for a week. Like after a fight, my management
and P.R. people would call it my cave because all communication
was over. It was me and my Xbox, and no one knew where I was
or what I was doing for at least a week.”
On
fighting: “Initially I got into fighting for the same reasons
a lot of guys do: money, chicks, travel, all the cool fun stuff.
You want to be the best and be on the top and regarded as the
king of the hill. Now my motivations have shifted. I’m fighting
basically because I want to be around my family. I want to hang
out with my family. I don’t want to have to work a nine-to-five.
I don’t want my wife to have to work a nine-to-five. On
any given day, I’m not away from the household more than
three to five hours a day. That’s a lot of quality time
home with the kid, and I’ve got another kid on the way.
I’m looking forward to putting in a lot of time with them.”
On
moving to New York to take a job with Pacific Health Club: “My
main duty over there will be to help set up and create a fight
team for the owner of the gym. This gym is ridiculous. Ninety
thousand square feet. I thought our gym at AKA was big when we
moved into the 29,000-square-feet facility here, but this is
an old Chevy dealership and the guy put in pools, an indoor track.
There’s climbing walls, weight rooms, everything you could
imagine. … It’s the most impressive facility I’ve
ever seen.”
On
training at AKA for his bout against Alfaya: “Just the level
of quality of training partners is not going to be found really
anywhere else. We’re really starting from scratch over there
in New York. Who knows? If in five years we’ve developed
something amazing, then I may just be there full-time, but right
now I’m putting in a year and seeing what we can do within
that year and we’ll see if both ends of the agreement are
happy after that year.”
On
Alfaya: “Really good on the ground, heavy handed, tough
guy. He hasn’t had a lot of activity in the last few years,
but he’s a solid fighter and I’m going to have to be
prepared for anything with this guy.”
Source
Sherdog
|
Daniel
Cormier Deflects Jon Jones’ Criticism Leading Up To UFC
166 Bout with Roy Nelson
Daniel
CormierStrikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier
is working his way down to light heavyweight now that he is in
the UFC. He has said that he would relish a title shot upon his
arrival at 205. Those comments came under heavy criticism from
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Cormier,
however, has a solid grasp on the situation as he continues his
move to 205, but is currently at a point that he doesn’t
have a lot to say to or about Jones, as he’s got a fight
directly in front of him. Cormier squares up with Roy Nelson
at UFC 166 this weekend in what is to be Cormier’s final
fight at heavyweight before moving down a weight class.
Still,
Cormier does have a few thoughts on the current state of the
UFC light heavyweight class and his pending arrival in it.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
World
Champion Reuben "Cobrinha" Charles Maciel Week Long
Training Camp & Seminar in November
Multiple World BJJ Champion, Reuben "Cobrinha" Charles
Maciel is coming to Hawaii and holding a week long "winter"
training camp on November 7-11th. There will be two training
sessions, one in mid-morning and the other in the afternoon.
The entire week will cost $350. If you can only make a day or
a few days, you may also pay $85 per day.
The camp will be held at Egan's Training Center
2851 E. Manoa Road
Suite 1-200
Honolulu, HI 96821
(808) 271-3779
This is your opportunity to learn from one of the best featherweights
in the world!
Cobrinha will also be holding a separate seminar:
Friday, November 8th
7:30-9:30PM
$85 per person
O2 Martial Arts Academy
98-019 Kamehameha Hwy, #208A
Aiea, HI 96701
(808) 484-2324
For more information, please contact:
Daniela Sobreiro
www.CobrinhaBJJ.com
info@cobrinhabjj.com
Phone:323-931-9953
|
UFC
166 Prelims: 5 Reasons to Watch
By Mike
Whitman
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship will return to Houston for the
first time in two years on Saturday, when UFC 166 invades the
Toyota Center.
The
pay-per-view event is topped by an anticipated heavyweight title
rubber match pitting Cain Velasquez against Junior dos Santos
and will also see the unbeaten Daniel Cormier do battle with
former International Fight League champion Roy Nelson.
Before
the pay-to-play festivities begin, however, the UFC 166 undercard
airs live on Fox Sports 1 and Facebook. Here are five reasons
to tune in a little early and scope those prelims:
Sherdog
Fantasy MMA: UFC 166 Free Fan Pick’Em
Lighter ‘Lightning’
After
spending eight years sporting muscles upon muscles and punching
above his weight, Hector Lombard will finally make the cut to
170 pounds for his upcoming duel with Nate Marquardt.
This
should come as welcome news for Lombard’s fans and casual
observers alike, as the hard-hitting Cuban expat dominated solid
but not elite competition for years at middleweight. His punching
power and explosiveness took him to Bellator MMA’s 185-pound
title, but meetings with monsters like Yushin Okami and Tim Boetsch
made it clear that the aggressive southpaw would have difficulty
consistently employing such an approach against men of far greater
natural size.
Now
matched with another onetime middleweight in Marquardt, Lombard
will re-enter the Octagon with many questions surrounding him.
Will his strength and punching power be amplified at 170 pounds
or will the weight cut and quicker opponents throw him once the
cage door shuts? Is Lombard poised to make an impressive run
at the welterweight title or will he wash out? We get our first
indication of what to expect from the judoka in Houston.
Last
Chance at Greatness
Marquardt
has been through quite a bit in the last two years.
Once
a UFC middleweight title contender, “The Great” was
banished from the Octagon in 2011 after a failed drug test forced
the organization to alter the UFC Live 4 headliner the day before
the event took place.
Marquardt,
who revealed he was undergoing testosterone replacement therapy
after his UFC exit, eventually found a home in Strikeforce and
came off his TRT. The former King of Pancrase captured the vacant
Strikeforce welterweight title in his first outing for the organization,
blasting Tyron Woodley into unconsciousness in one of Sherdog’s
“Knockout of the Year” nominees in 2012. Marquardt
would lose the title in his first defense, however, as Tarec
Saffiedine bludgeoned his lead leg en route to a unanimous decision
victory at Strikeforce’s final show. Things would get worse
for the 34-year-old in his Octagon homecoming in March, as he
was brutally knocked out by Jake Ellenberger at UFC 158.
With
Marquardt riding back-to-back losses heading into his showdown
with Lombard, I think the veteran could be looking at a pink
slip if he begins his UFC welterweight run with a 0-2 start.
How will Marquardt respond to his recent adversity?
Barbaric
Treatment
Boetsch
has lost two straight.
Tim Boetsch needs to right his ship -- and pronto.
This
is obviously nothing that the massive middleweight does not already
know, but he is currently staring at a two-fight losing streak
in a division that has grown in quality by leaps and bounds in
the last year.
Look
at Yushin Okami, a former UFC title contender and perennial top-5
talent who just received his walking papers after Ronaldo Souza
snapped his three-fight winning streak. Make no mistake, Boetsch
is a quality fighter and he always carries buckets of toughness
and determination with him into the cage, but that may not be
enough to save his job if he suffers a third consecutive loss.
“The
Barbarian” needs a victory over C.B. Dollaway, who halted
his own two-fight skid last year to defeat Jason Miller and Daniel
Sarafian. Can Boetsch stop skidding or will “The Doberman”
earn a defining victory at his expense?
Kaufman’s
Credentials
There
is no other way to put this: Sarah Kaufman has turned into a
must-watch fighter.
If
you are unfamiliar with the former Strikeforce champion, that
is too bad, because these last three years of her career have
been a blast to watch. Her brawls with Leslie Smith and Alexis
Davis stand up to anything you might have seen on “The Ultimate
Fighter 18,” I promise. It seems that something awesomely
violent awoke in Kaufman the moment she slammed Roxanne Modafferi
in 2010, and it has thus far yielded highly entertaining results.
The
Canadian’s boxing is some of the best in the division; just
ask Davis, Smith and Liz Carmouche, all of whom possess significant
skill in their hands. Even in defeat, Kaufman has gone out on
her shield, and those losses came against two of the sport’s
finest in Marloes Coenen and Ronda Rousey.
I,
for one, am excited to see Kaufman join the growing UFC women’s
roster, and I think her upcoming bout with Jessica Eye could
end up as the best fight on the preliminary card.
‘Evil’
Eye on the Prize
In
Eye, Kaufman faces a dangerous prospect on a roll.
The
27-year-old indeed looked sharp in her time with Bellator, but
can the “Evil” one maintain her momentum against a
competitor as seasoned as Kaufman, especially since Eye will
be moving to 135 pounds from flyweight?
No
disrespect to Zoila Frausto Gurgel, but I do not see Eye grabbing
Kaufman in a standing arm-triangle and rag-dolling her around
the cage like that. The women who compete near the top of the
UFC bantamweight division are big, strong athletes. Gurgel had
a really difficult time making 115 pounds for her Bellator tournament
run, but fighters like Rousey, Sarah McMann and Miesha Tate would
need to cut off an arm in order to make strawweight.
Eye
has not lost in more than two years and rides a seven-fight winning
streak into her UFC debut. She last competed in June, taking
a unanimous decision from nine-year pro Carina Damm under the
North American Allied Fight Series banner.
This,
as they say, is where the rubber meets the road for the prospect.
I am seriously curious to see how she fares against a top-5 talent
like Kaufman, and you should be, too.
Source: Sherdog
|
UFC
166 ‘Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3’ Preview
By Tristen
Critchfield
They
say good things come in threes, and never has that been truer
than in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heavyweight
title scene.
While
the division has come a long way in improving its depth and talent
in recent years, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos continue
to stand out among their peers, which is why the two big men
will square off for a third time in the UFC 166 headliner. The
first two meetings were a study in contrasts: Velasquez’s
relentless pressure and wrestling earned him a dominant decision
at UFC 155, while dos Santos’ dangerous knockout power carried
him in their initial showdown at UFC on Fox 1.
Could
these two be in for a best-of-five series? Much hinges on how
their trilogy plays out at the Toyota Center on Saturday in Houston.
Here is a closer look at the UFC 166 card, with analysis and
picks:
UFC Heavyweight Championship
Cain
Velasquez (12-1, 10-1 UFC) vs. Junior dos Santos (16-2, 10-1
UFC)
The
Matchup: If the trilogy between Velasquez and dos Santos seems
rushed, it is because it probably is. After this latest rematch,
the two heavyweights will have squared off three times in little
more than a two-year span. Dos Santos has beaten two men -- Frank
Mir and Mark Hunt -- between meetings with the reigning champion.
Velasquez, meanwhile, has knocked off Antonio Silva twice. While
the third bout between the two certainly could have used some
more buildup, there was also the chance that an upset loss by
either fighter could have derailed the showdown altogether. At
this point, Velasquez and dos Santos remain the class of the
sport’s big men.
However,
the gap between the two might very well be larger than first
believed. When dos Santos cracked Velasquez with an overhand
right behind the ear to essentially end their UFC on Fox 1 encounter,
it was a testament to the numbing knockout power of the Brazilian.
To date, “Cigano” has finished 12 of his 16 professional
victories by knockout or technical knockout. Still, it was jarring
to see someone at Velasquez’s level go down so quickly.
Velasquez
was coming off a year-long layoff due to shoulder surgery and
appeared far more tentative than usual during the abbreviated
bout. Later, rumors surfaced that the American Kickboxing Academy
product was also hindered by a knee injury leading up to the
fight.
While
it can be easy to dismiss such talk as an excuse, it became clear
one round into his rematch with dos Santos at UFC 155 that Velasquez
was a completely different fighter than the one who appeared
on Fox in November 2011. The Mexican-American heavyweight began
moving forward immediately, throwing punching combinations and
hunting for single-leg takedowns. Although dos Santos was able
to successfully defend many of his opponent’s early advances,
the constant pressure took its toll before the round had expired.
As dos Santos’ pace began to slow, Velasquez capitalized
by dropping him with an overhand right. The tone had been set,
and many watching had to agree with the sentiments expressed
by UFC commentator Joe Rogan at the end of the frame: “This
is the real Cain Velasquez.”
The
title fight took on a rinse-and-repeat feel from there. Velasquez
threw combinations, shot for takedowns and generally kept dos
Santos on his heels. Even when the Brazilian was able to land
a blow of his own, fatigue had robbed his punches of much of
their sting. The statistics produced that night remain mind-boggling.
Velasquez landed a whopping 111 significant strikes while also
successfully executing 11 takedowns in 33 attempts. Thanks to
sheer persistence and a seemingly bottomless gas tank, Velasquez
put a beatdown on dos Santos the likes of which we had never
seen. The overall offensive output generated by Velasquez that
night would likely exhaust any other heavyweight who attempted
to duplicate its execution.
Barring
injury, dos Santos faces a monumental task in Houston. To say
he needs to improve his takedown defense would be inaccurate.
Dos Santos has good hips and balance, and prior to UFC 155, he
had only between taken down twice in the Octagon. The fact that
he thwarted 22 Velasquez tries is remarkable in itself. Too often,
however, the Team Nogueira product was caught moving straight
backward rather than using angles or circling. Usually, that
worked well, as he has been able to use his in-and-out movement
to his advantage. Against Velasquez, however, he was rarely able
to fully commit to his punches, and his generally outstanding
work to the body was kept to a minimum. Dos Santos will have
to take better advantage of countering opportunities, whether
it comes from a telegraphed shot or a lunging Velasquez strike.
Granted, those are few and far between, but they do tend to surface
on occasion.
Velasquez’s
ability to get the single-leg and either score the takedown or
force dos Santos to fight in close quarters with his back against
the cage was a big part of his success. As well as Velasquez
executed his game plan last time, it would be careless not to
acknowledge the fact that it only takes one well-timed blow to
turn the tide of a fight, and dos Santos is as equipped as anybody
to make that happen. Better use of his jab this time around could
serve him well to set up more damaging strikes.
The
Pick: A short fight likely means dos Santos has found an opening
to counter or hurt Velasquez with a combination. A longer time
in the Octagon forecasts a fatigued challenger, with Velasquez
imposing his will much the way he did at UFC 155. Velasquez is
far from a one-dimensional wrestler, making it difficult to pick
against him based on his previous effort against dos Santos.
The champion retains his title by late TKO or decision.
Heavyweights
Daniel Cormier (12-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Roy Nelson (19-8, 6-4 UFC)
The
Matchup: After three straight wins moved him to the brink of
contention in the UFC’s heavyweight division, Nelson’s
limitations were exposed against Stipe Miocic at UFC 161. For
three rounds, Miocic peppered “The Ultimate Fighter 10”
winner with multi-punch combinations while avoiding Nelson’s
powerful overhand right. In addition to looking one-dimensional
against his opponent, Nelson ran out of gas down the stretch.
While some of Nelson’s conditioning issues were undoubtedly
a result of taking the bout on short notice, “Big Country”
has never been known for his endurance.
Cormier,
meanwhile, put forth a workmanlike performance in his Octagon
debut, as he utilized suffocating clinch work to capture a unanimous
decision against former titlist Frank Mir in April. This is supposed
to be Part 1 of an extended weight cut for Cormier, who is likely
to drop to 205 pounds in pursuit of a title shot if training
partner Cain Velasquez remains on top at heavyweight. How this
process affects Cormier’s performance is worth watching.
For
a change, Nelson will not be at a reach disadvantage. However,
the two inches of reach he has on Cormier are not likely to be
a factor. The American Kickboxing Academy product is a skilled
boxer and able to land combinations while moving in and out of
danger. Considering that all six of the portly Las Vegan’s
UFC triumphs have ended via strikes -- including five inside
of a round -- this does not bode well for Nelson’s chances.
An evening of headhunting for Nelson will likely go the direction
many of his bouts against top-tier heavyweights have, with him
wading forward and absorbing a tremendous amount of punishment
for his efforts. Cormier is not likely to present him with the
home-run countering opportunity he seeks.
Nelson’s
other option, of course, is to attempt to punch his way into
the clinch and wear down Cormier before attempting to get his
foe to the mat with a trip takedown. While Nelson, a Brazilian
jiu-jitsu black belt, has a heavy top game, he will find it difficult
to ground a man who has yet to be planted on his back in nine
Zuffa outings. If Cormier can shut down Josh Barnett’s submission
game, he should be able to do the same against Nelson. Instead,
expect Cormier to control the tempo of the bout in the clinch.
If anyone is going to secure a takedown, it will be the two-time
Olympian.
The
Pick: There is always the outside chance that Nelson scores the
upset by connecting with a kill shot; that is a big part of his
appeal. However, Cormier is more versatile on the feet and the
far better wrestler, so he simply has more options. Cormier wins
by lopsided decision.
Lightweights
Gilbert Melendez (21-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. Diego Sanchez (24-5, 13-5
UFC)
The
Matchup: One could watch Melendez’s lightweight title bout
with Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 7 multiple times and score
it differently after each viewing. It was that close, as evidenced
by the varying scorecards of media members tracked by MMADecisions.com.
Losing one razor-thin decision -- Melendez’s first defeat
since 2008 -- should not hurt “El Nino’s” standing
in the championship picture too much, provided he takes care
of business against Sanchez.
A
former 155-pound title challenger, Sanchez returned to the division
for the first time since 2009 at UFC on Fuel TV 8, where he captured
a somewhat contentious split verdict over Takanori Gomi. Sanchez
has long relied on his pace, heart and aggression to carry him
to victory, something that has helped him in the eyes of the
judges in controversial triumphs over the likes of Gomi and Martin
Kampmann. Unfortunately for “The Dream,” it will be
difficult to outwork Melendez, who has fought for 25 minutes
in five of his last six appearances.
While
Sanchez was able to land a pair of takedowns on Gomi in the first
round of their March encounter, his wrestling was shut down for
the bout’s remaining 10 minutes. Additionally, Gomi was
able to keep the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts product off-balance
by using a consistent jab and working the body. Both rounds two
and three were closely contested, but it is possible that a late
Sanchez flurry in round three swayed opinions.
Melendez
has improved his standup considerably since his early Strikeforce
tenure, and he figures to have success landing multi-punch combinations
in the pocket against Sanchez. However, he cannot become too
comfortable and coast during later moments in rounds. A series
of clean strikes can easily be negated by Sanchez’s unrelenting
pressure and aggression, even if the New Mexican is not consistently
landing.
When
he was at his best, Sanchez overwhelmed foes with his wrestling,
setting a rapid pace in scrambles and transitions while landing
flurries of ground-and-pound. More recently, that approach, which
relied more on brute force than technique, has been stymied.
Since he cannot count on draining Melendez’s cardio, he
must be creative in using his striking to set up takedowns and
clinches. Josh Thomson had some success in executing trip takedowns
against Melendez in their meeting under the Strikeforce banner;
perhaps Sanchez can do the same if he finds himself getting outpointed
on the feet.
The
Pick: Thanks to his will and ability to absorb damage, Sanchez
is never out of a fight. However, Melendez has more than enough
gas to survive 15 minutes with “The Ultimate Fighter 1”
winner. Melendez wins the majority of the exchanges and mixes
in some timely takedowns to take a decision.
Heavyweights
Shawn Jordan (15-4, 3-1 UFC) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (15-7, 10-6
UFC)
The
Matchup: Jordan has done his best to put a forgettable UFC 149
showing against Cheick Kongo behind him, scoring technical knockout
triumphs over Mike Russow and Pat Barry in his last two outings.
Blessed with strength and athleticism, Jordan is an intriguing
talent in a division that can always use new blood. Gonzaga will
serve as a solid measuring stick to see just how much “The
Savage” has improved since the Kongo bout.
A
former heavyweight title challenger, Gonzaga has experienced
a resurgence of late. After a brief hiatus from the promotion,
the Rio de Janeiro native has won three of his last four inside
the Octagon. The only setback during that time came at the hands
of rising star Travis Browne, a loss that Gonzaga claims came
as a result of illegal elbows from his opponent.
Nonetheless,
the 34-year-old “Napao” has the type of skill set to
give Jordan fits. Gonzaga is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
with nine submission victories to his credit, and thus far in
his career, Jordan has not faced anyone nearly as capable of
making him tap. Jordan was also smothered in the clinch by Kongo;
if Gonzaga is fighting strategically, he will force tie-ups against
the fence before working for takedowns. Like most heavyweights
Gonzaga has fight-ending power, but while his head-kick knockout
of Mirko Filipovic remains one of the sport’s most memorable
moments, striking is not his bread-and-butter.
Gonzaga’s
best assets on the feet are his thudding leg kicks, but below
average speed and mobility leave him vulnerable if this becomes
a full-fledged brawl. Jordan is not the most technical striker,
but he has heavy hands and is capable of stringing together combinations.
The
Pick: If Jordan can be the aggressor and hurt Gonzaga early,
the fight will swing in his favor. If “Napao” survives
the initial rush of his opponent, his grappling and submission
game will prove to be the difference. Gonzaga wins by submission
in round two.
Flyweights
John Dodson (14-6, 3-1 UFC) vs. Darrell Montague (13-2, 0-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: For a time, Montague was perhaps the most highly regarded
flyweight not on the UFC roster. The fact that the Las Vegas-based
promotion paired “The Mongoose” with Dodson, a recent
title challenger, is perhaps an acknowledgement of Montague’s
reputation. It will be a stiff test for a promotional debut,
but Montague should be well-prepared.
The
former Tachi Palace Fights titlist has competed against some
of the world’s best already, including Ulysses Gomez, Ian
McCall and Mamoru Yamaguchi. Montague was particularly impressive
in his December triumph over Yamaguchi, a former Shooto champion.
Facing an opponent accustomed to having his way on the feet,
Montague repeatedly beat his man to the punch and maintained
consistent pressure with one-two combinations en route to a narrow
split verdict.
McCall
mixed striking and takedowns to gradually wear down Montague
in a third-round submission victory, but Dodson seems more likely
to keep things standing. Among the quickest and most explosive
athletes in the division, Dodson possesses the type of knockout
power rarely seen at 125 pounds. In his title bid at UFC on Fox
6, the Jackson’s MMA product rocked reigning champion Demetrious
Johnson on a couple occasions with his formidable left hand.
Prior to that, “The Magician” dropped former world
No. 1 Jussier da Silva twice in a second-round knockout triumph
at UFC on FX 5.
In
short, Montague must be wary of Dodson’s power. The Milennia
MMA product conceivably has the footwork, movement and multi-faceted
arsenal to pull off the upset, but Dodson will be difficult to
defeat if he is allowed to find a rhythm. The New Mexican will
throw punches and kicks in rapid succession, making it difficult
for Montague to apply the type of pressure that Johnson used
to tire Dodson in a 25-minute fight. While Dodson’s left
hand has been his most trusted weapon of late, his athleticism
allows him opportunities to unleash more creative offerings,
as well.
The
Pick: This is no “gimme” for Dodson. Montague will
test “The Ultimate Fighter 14” winner, but look for
Dodson’s speed, power and creativity to be the difference
in a narrow decision triumph.
The
Prelims
Middleweights
Tim
Boetsch (16-6, 7-5 UFC) vs. C.B. Dollaway (13-4, 7-4 UFC): Originally
paired with former Strikeforce ruler Luke Rockhold, Boetsch now
gets a very different stylistic matchup in Dollaway, a former
All-American wrestler at Arizona State University. “The
Doberman” carries a two-fight winning streak into the bout,
but he must be wary of leaving himself exposed on the feet. Boetsch
certainly has the potential to drag Dollaway into a down-and-dirty
brawl, but he must remain upright to do so, as he struggled to
combat the ground-and-pound of Mark Munoz in a loss at UFC 162.
Dollaway is not as fluid a striker as Rockhold, but he should
be able to secure enough takedowns to win a decision.
Welterweights
Hector
Lombard (32-4-1, 1-2 UFC) vs. Nate Marquardt (32-12-1, 10-5 UFC):
As impressive as Lombard was outside of the Octagon, the former
Bellator MMA middleweight champion has not delivered on his significant
hype since signing with the UFC. In all fairness, he has not
been blown out in either of his losses, but another defeat could
result in his release. Marquardt, meanwhile, might be facing
similar circumstances. The former 185-pound No. 1 contender has
suffered back-to-back losses, including a first-round knockout
to Jake Ellenberger at UFC 158. It will be interesting to see
how Lombard handles the cut to 170 for the first time. While
“Lightning” has the ability to test Marquardt’s
chin, five-plus years between knockout defeats does not yet equal
a trend. Marquardt wins by decision.
Bantamweights
Sarah
Kaufman (16-2, 0-0 UFC) vs. Jessica Eye (10-1, 0-0 UFC): Eye
is a natural flyweight, but since no such division yet exists
for women in the UFC, it is worth the risk to try her hand a
weight class above. Kaufman, a former Strikeforce 135-pound queen,
is coming off a hard fought split verdict over Leslie Smith in
Invicta Fighting Championships. While Kaufman can land in great
volume using crisp straight punches, she also tends to absorb
her share of punishment. It will be up to Eye to bring the fight
to the Canadian on the feet. Kaufman wins an entertaining matchup
by decision or late TKO.
Lightweights
K.J.
Noons (11-7, 0-1 UFC) vs. George Sotiropoulos (14-5, 7-3 UFC):
Noons has certainly had his struggles of late, losing five of
his last six fights, but if Sotiropoulos cannot get the Strikeforce
veteran to the canvas, he could be in for a long night. Noons’
ability to land combinations while utilizing feints and angles
far exceeds anything the Aussie can do on the feet. After winning
his first seven Octagon appearances and establishing himself
as a dark horse contender, Sotiropoulos has lost three in a row.
This one has a bit of a desperate theme, with the Aussie needing
to do whatever it takes to make it a grappling match. Noons takes
this by KO or TKO in round one or two.
Welterweights
Adlan
Amagov (12-2-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. T.J. Waldburger (16-7, 4-2 UFC):
Amagov, whose only professional defeat came at the hands of knockout
artist Robbie Lawler under the Strikeforce banner, showcased
a bevy of flashy techniques in a win over Chris Spang at UFC
on Fuel TV 9. He will attempt to keep the fight standing against
Waldburger, an active ground specialist averaging a whopping
6.36 submission attempts per 15 minutes. Amagov’s ability
to control distance with kicks carries him to a decision.
Lightweights
Tony
Ferguson (13-3, 3-1 UFC) vs. Mike Rio (9-2, 1-1 UFC): After beginning
his UFC tenure with three straight wins, Ferguson had no answer
for the speed and athleticism off Michael Johnson at UFC on Fox
3. “El Cucuy” returns to action for the first time
in nearly a year and a half against Rio, who is unlikely to present
nearly as many problems on the feet. Rio, a three-time national
champion wrestler in college, will not be able to rely solely
on his top game against his opponent. Ferguson uses solid takedown
defense and counterpunching to win via KO or TKO in round one
or two.
Featherweights
Jeremy
Larsen (8-4, 0-2 UFC) vs. Andre Fili (12-1, 0-0 UFC): Larsen
did well for two rounds against Lucas Martins at UFC on FX 8,
but a counter right hand in round three led to the Arizona Combat
Sports product’s second loss in as many Octagon appearances.
An intriguing prospect out of the Team Alpha Male camp, Fili
makes his promotional debut riding an eight-fight winning streak.
Fili wins by decision.
Bantamweights
Dustin
Pague (11-8, 1-4 UFC) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (11-1, 0-0 UFC): Yushin
Okami must look at someone like Pague and wonder why he no longer
has a job in the UFC. Though not necessarily a big draw, “The
Disciple” is still around after four losses in five outings.
Pague figures to have his hands full with Horiguchi, a 22-year-old
Krazy Bee export and Shooto 132-pound titlist. Horiguchi has
the ability to test Pague’s chin, and he will. Horiguchi
wins by KO or TKO in round two.
TRACKING TRISTEN 2013
Overall
Record: 187-116
Last Event (UFC Fight Night 29): 5-5
Best Event (Strikeforce “Marquardt vs. Saffiedine): 9-2
Worst Event (UFC 156/UFC on Fuel TV 8/UFC Fight Night 28): 5-6
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Bellator
104: What to Watch For
By Mike
Whitman
Bellator
MMA returns to Spike TV on Friday for another episode of caged
combat. This week will feature the semifinals of the Season 9
welterweight tournament and showcase the Bellator debut of the
man who broke Badr Hari’s jaw.
Bellator
104 takes place at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, and marks the promotional debut of arguably the second-best
fighter in the world with an arachnid-centric nickname. Here
is what to watch for at Bellator 104:
Weedman’s Gun Show
Brent
Weedman is back at welterweight, and he is looking mighty fine.
Did
you see his quarterfinal fight against Justin Baesman? This was
not your grandfather’s Weedman. He looked like he just got
back from a boot camp hosted by that clay-faced P90X guy. The
functional muscle mass Weedman put on this year paid big dividends
at Bellator 100, as he grounded Baesman and manhandled him on
the mat, passing his guard and locking up a slick armbar.
The
Weedman I saw last month was a far cry from the wiry welterweight
who stumbled in Seasons 4 and 5 and a country mile from his drawn-out
state during his short-lived experiment at 155 pounds. Weedman
will now face Rick Hawn, the man who ended his run in the Season
6 final. Can the man from Kentucky even the score?
Another Go-Around for ‘Genghis’
In
Hawn, Weedman faces a man likely best suited to the lightweight
class but is nevertheless capable of beating most welterweights.
Though Hawn stepped up on short notice to accept this tournament
bid, it did not appear to affect the Olympic judoka, who methodically
broke down Herman Terrado with little issue in the quarterfinal
round.
Hawn
has gone from prospect to measuring stick in a short period of
time, and his ascension has been well-deserved. Debuting at 170
pounds, Hawn fought his way to the Season 4 welterweight final
before topping a Season 6 lightweight field that included Weedman
to earn his ill-fated title shot against Michael Chandler. Put
simply, Hawn is a nightmare to take down, and his right hand
is a force to be reckoned with at both 155 and 170 pounds.
Can
“Genghis” turn the same trick twice and send Weedman
packing?
Well-Oiled ‘Machine’
While
War Machine showed signs of rust fighting against Blas Avena,
I expected the welterweight to show marked improvement in his
quarterfinal appearance. After all, who among us would not need
a little cage time to shake off the cobwebs after spending a
year in jail and tearing his ACL? The Machine did not disappoint.
He granted Vaughan Anderson no quarter at Bellator 100, taking
the 35-year-old to the mat before rendering him unconscious with
a rear-naked choke. The man formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver
seems to have found the focus and stability that were previously
absent in his life, and I think that makes him a threat to every
welterweight on the Bellator roster.
Can
he get past Ron Keslar and earn a berth in the Season 9 final?
‘Rolling Thunder’ from Down Under
If
you like combat sports and you have never seen Peter Graham’s
2006 knockout of Hari in the K-1 ring, I order you to spend no
less than two minutes in the Sherdog penalty box, during which
time you will watch Graham’s heel connect with Hari’s
jaw over and over again.
This
was not an isolated instance for the Australian, who used his
“Rolling Thunder” kick to bludgeon plenty of foes during
his 13 years as a kickboxer. The technique is unique in that
it resembles a spinning heel kick until Graham turns his hips
over, almost creating an axe kick angle at the release point.
The heavyweight often comes completely off the ground to accomplish
this, which, as you might imagine, looks pretty cool.
We
can only hope that “Rolling Thunder” makes an appearance
against Eric Prindle, but even if it does not, Graham is by no
means a one-trick pony. As you would expect from a man with 68
pro kickboxing fights, the 38-year-old possesses devastating
leg kicks and a jackhammer right hand.
Since
the departure of Cole Konrad, Bellator has been left without
any elite wrestlers in the heavyweight division -- a fact that
clearly bodes well for Graham. Can the K-1 veteran best a former
title challenger in Prindle and make a case for his inclusion
in the next heavyweight tournament?
Debuting ‘Da Spyder’
What
type of impact will Kendall Grove make in Bellator’s middleweight
division?
The
long, lean 185-pounder has fought with mixed results since departing
the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2011, rattling off five
wins in his first six appearances outside the Octagon before
dropping three straight bouts from December to June. Grove returned
to his winning ways in his last outing, however, when he stopped
Danny Mitchell with strikes under the Global Warrior Challenge
banner just three weeks after his June 8 defeat to Michal Materla
in Poland.
The
30-year-old will now face fellow UFC veteran Joe Vedepo, who
looks to rebound from a first-round knockout at the hands of
Louis Taylor in December. Can Grove use his length and dangerous
knees from the clinch to begin his Bellator career on a positive
note or will Vedepo spoil “Da Spyder’s” debut?
Source:
Sherdog
|
Honeymoon
over: Officials, inspectors, insiders turning on California State
Athletic Commission
By Zach
Arnold
Behind-the-scenes
in California, Saturday night’s fight between Julio Cesar
Chavez Jr. and Bryan Vera became a turning point for Andy Foster,
the Executive Officer of the Consumer Affairs-controlled California
State Athletic Commission. It’s close to a year since he
took over the job of Sacramento’s regulatory body. The MMA
industry was excited to see his arrival. The boxing types had
no clue what to expect and were stunned at DCA’s selection.
A year later, the book from MMA insiders is that they like Andy
Foster. The book from boxing insiders is that he’s naive,
can be easily manipulated, and doesn’t know what he is doing.
In
a state where boxing revenue eclipses MMA revenue, the opinion
of those in the boxing scene matters.
There
is no way to skirt around what happened on Saturday night with
judges Gwen Adair, Marty Denkin, and Carla Caiz of the Caiz clan.
It was a total disaster. Bryan Vera won the fight. He didn’t
lose it. The worst-case scenario should have been a draw. Instead,
Chavez was selected as the winner via unanimous decision. On
the surface, Carla’s scorecard could be justified…
except she scored the last six rounds in favor of JCC. This pissed
off people in the boxing scene big time. It spurred one of our
favorite Twitter personalities to produce this graphic:
It’s
hard to score a round when you’re spotted on camera not
watching the action. Virgil Hunter said he saw suspicious people
hanging around the judges at ringside.
When
the scores were announced, I wrote the following passage:
Andy
Foster has his first major image crisis on his hands here. Should
Andre Ward get past Edwin Rodriguez in November (in Ontario,
California), it would appear that HBO will help set up Ward vs.
JCC… and that fight will likely happen in California in
2014 — which makes the events that transpired tonight look
even worse than they appear to be on the surface. Bet the conversations
between Danny Goossen and Bob Arum will be fun for that meeting.
It
appears that the plan could happen in 2014. As it turns out,
Bob Arum got exactly the kind of outcome he wanted on Saturday
night with JCC/Vera — hunger for a rematch. Surely with
the friendly outcome in California, Top Rank would love to host
the rematch in California and pay back the commission… right?
Bob Arum told the press that the rematch ain’t happening
in California.
“Texas.
Texas. Texas. I want to do it right in Vera’s home town.
At 168 (pounds). I mean, here’s another crazy thing. I just
mean so kooky. The guy says, ‘I’ll make the sacrifice
and go down to 160.’ What, is he going to cut his arm off?
I mean he’s a big kid, how he’s going to make 160?
“Definitely
Vera wants the rematch, obviously, and so does Chavez. I don’t
care what he said after the fight. That was then… today
is today. He wants to do the rematch.”
Thanks,
Marty! This was the equivalent of Bob yelling, “So long,
suckers!” at Andy Foster. Despite JCC only drawing 5,200
at Home Depot/StubHub Center, California judges gave Arum an
outcome ripe to make money with and now he’s running to
Texas to reap the rewards. No state income tax, Vera’s home
turf, and a rather pliant athletic commission.
The
outcome has left Andy Foster holding the bag. It’s an uncomfortable
spot to be in.
No
good, negative response
The
avalanche of anger started pouring in. Bryan Vera’s camp
was so incensed about what happened that they planned on filing
a protest with the commission to get the result overturned or
to get a hearing regarding the judges involved in the fight.
The response was clear — the commission thought nothing
was wrong with the result of the fight. They believed JCC won
the fight. So, no overturning of the result. Furthermore, no
disciplining of the judges or hauling them in front of the commission
next week in Los Angeles and having them suspended or reprimanded.
None of that.
The
reaction to the non-action from the Executive Officer has been
blistering behind the scenes. Many of the new enemies he has
made are using this incident as proof to try to convince others
to join their side and turn on him politically. Some of Andy
Foster’s biggest supporters are nervous and are on-the-fence
right now as to whether or not it is the right move to keep backing
him in terms of his judgment.
One
top Southern California inspector summed it up this way.
“Andy
is too dumb to discipline Gwen (Adair) and (Marty) Denkin because
of the Hall of Famers baloney.”
When
I heard that Sacramento saw no problem with JCC winning Saturday’s
fight, I knew it was going to be trouble. These kinds of scandals
aren’t simply blips on the radar. They linger. They metastasize.
They become a benchmark for competency. To not suspend or fire
the judges involved is a reaction of tone-deafness. If the people
who are sacrificing the most to help regulate & promote shows
in the industry think action is needed, then action should be
taken. To not respond and show proactive strength simply hardens
the polarization on the ground. The morale on the ground matters.
The attitude amongst many of the top Southern California inspectors
& officials who work many of the big boxing shows has turned
in a hurry against Andy.
As
for Bob Arum, he has a lot of reasons to be thankful for Gwen
Adair, Marty Denkin, Carla Caiz, and Andy Foster.
Thanks
to our friends at FightHubTV.com, Arum elaborated the trials
& tribulations of dealing with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and
the decision win he was gifted.
“He
won the fight. I don’t give a shit what they (say)…
I was brought up in the era where if the fighters are exchanging
punches and the punches aren’t doing any damage and one
guy belts the other and that punch does damage, he gets the round.
He gets the round. Everything else is bullshit. That’s how
they used to score and that’s the way they scored. That’s
the way they scored this fight. So, yeah, I mean 8-to-2 (Gwen
Adair) is sort of little crazy. I thought Chavez could have gotten
6-to-4 or could have been a draw and look at the HBO score. They
had Vera leading 5-to-4 going into the 10th round. And Chavez
won the 10th round, they gave it to Vera. So, you know, it could
have been 6-4 either way I thought and you know they gave it
to Chavez because his punches were the most authoritative. It
was not a robbery. The one score 8-to-2 was a little crazy. Even
Marty Denkin’s 7-3 wasn’t crazy. A little bit of a
stretch but, you know, I could see where he was coming from.
But 6-4? Yeah. If Vera won 6-4, OK too.
“So,
hopefully there will be a rematch and we’ll do the rematch
in December and we’re talking now to HBO about the rematch
and if HBO is unable to do it because of financing and so forth,
I’ll just put it on PPV because the fight, Chavez fight
(was) the highest-rated boxing event of the entire year by far,
this last one. Why? Because Chavez has a constituency that wants
to see him and even though we know that from time-to-time he
becomes a fuck up, it’s like a reality show. You know? People
are always looking, you know, and the guy that taught everybody
that most and really made it because of it was Mayweather! Mayweather
became a reality show, right? So whatever bad he said, whatever
he was saying, people wanted to tune in to see it. People are
curious. People don’t want the ordinary stuff and they don’t
want the bullshit about ‘he throws a good left hook, a left
jab and this…’ Bullshit! They don’t care about
that, they want to be entertained. They want something that really
catches their imagination and Chavez, for whatever reason, does.
“Listen,
the guy can have all the potential in the world. He can be a
natural. If he’s a fuck-up, he’s a fuck-up. The potential
never shows. How good is Chavez could he be if he wasn’t
a fuck-up? I don’t know. I don’t know. I never saw
a fighter train for a fight in his living room. Whatever I say
to him, he agrees to. What does that mean? Tomorrow, he’ll
still be the same fuck-up.”
A
lot of people, after Saturday night, not only believe JCC is
a screw up but so are the people working for the California State
Athletic Commission. The image problem is real.
While
JCC/Vera was happening Saturday night at StubHub Center, there
was a Don Chargin fight at Cache Creek Resort & Casino about
45 minutes north of Sacramento. It was a five-fight card that
featured two curious bookings. The main event featured then 13-2-1
Paul Mendez (24 year old local fighter) versus then 9-10 fighter
Rahman Yusubov. Yusubov ended up with a ruptured ear drum. On
the same card, then 1-0 local fighter Darwin Price faced a then
2-19-4 fighter named Johnny Frazier from Las Vegas. There were
people at the show who were floored that this fight was approved
on the card and expressed concern that the booking should have
never happened. Needless to say, Mr. Frazier’s record went
to 2-20-4 after the fight. After his loss, Frazier was given
a two day mandatory rest suspension by the commission.
Bottom
line? The fights shouldn’t have been approved by the front
office, but they were.
The
irony of all ironies? Che Guevara, the former Chief Athletic
Inspector who resigned due to not fulfilling his job responsibilities,
was reportedly in attendance at the event. (He’s relocating
to Los Angeles.)
Miserable
morale between Sacramento & inspectors, officials
Since
the departure of George Dodd and the arrival of Andy Foster,
one word best describes what is happening with the grunts on
the ground: turmoil.
There
is a new wave, a flood if you will, of fresh-faced 20-somethings
who are largely inexperienced and ready to take over for many
of the more seasoned, knowledgeable athletic inspectors that
were either working the B-shows or weren’t getting booked
at all due to ignorance or politics. In addition to the purge
of various inspectors, there are issues such as not paying full-time
state employees time-and-a-half (only a couple will now get this
benefit) and refusing to pay travel expenses. California is a
big state to travel. If you won’t pay for travel expenses,
then it means you’re going to have work shortages. It’s
a ‘you get what you pay for’ scenario playing out.
Filling
in the gaps now are newbies who are working on a volunteer basis.
On
top of that, quietly a stunning admission is being made by the
front office. For nearly 18 months, we’ve written articles
about Che Guevara not properly training athletic inspectors when
it comes to calculating box offices. It cost the state a whole
lot of cash. So, the next solution was to teach lead inspectors
on how to use an Excel spreadsheet so that the box offices could
be calculated on a computer. Apparently that wasn’t a good
enough measure because now state workers who have little-to-no
fight experience or fandom are being brought in to work shows
as inspectors. They will not handle fight-related duties. They
will handle the paperwork. Meaning, if a crisis appears from
skinned gloves, illegal hand wraps, drug usage, or other kinds
of locker room issues… the new state inspectors won’t
know what to do in those situations or will have to rely on others
to help out.
Like
drug testing.
It’s
no secret that Andy Foster is not a hard-ass when it comes to
doping in combat sports. He and I are on complete opposite ends
of the spectrum on this issue. He has sympathy towards fighters
and what they go through in training since he was a fighter.
It was not his call to temporarily halt testosterone hall passes
in California — that was the call of Consumer Affairs lawyer
Michael Santiago. Regardless of that edict, there have been fighters
who have used testosterone (with permission) and some who have
not. One person who did not have permission was Lavar Johnson.
When
Johnson tested positive, he was given a choice: accept a reduced
suspension or take your chances in front of the commission at
a hearing in Los Angeles. He accepted a reduced suspension. Only
now is the press discussing this:
In
this matter, there’s only one person giving out suspensions
— Andy Foster. It’s his call. There is nobody else
making that call. Nobody else is involved unless a fighter appeals.
So, don’t expect announcements to be issued on matters of
this nature unless fighters discuss their situations publicly
at a commission meeting.
The
decision-making process from Sacramento has rubbed some of the
top athletic inspectors & officials the wrong way in the
state. I’ve heard plenty of complaints from the grunts but
nobody wants their name attached to quotes. The irony, of course,
is that the fight business attracts some of the biggest cowards
who won’t put up a fight when they’re getting wronged.
The athletic inspectors had a chance to unionize and they couldn’t
agree on how to organize a vote. Unionizing in California is
not exactly the hardest thing in the world to accomplish. The
inspectors had a chance to sue the state for issues relating
to travel pay & time-and-a-half pay and that has gone nowhere
because some of the inspectors only care about themselves and
have neglected others. So, it is entirely fair to ask why should
anyone care about their opinions. The reason is simple: they’re
the ones working the shows and see all the ugly details up close
and in person.
What
changed Saturday night? It wasn’t the volume of internal
reaction I received. It was who the reaction came from. It came
from some names that I haven’t talked with before. Names
of people who are both pro-Andy Foster and anti-Andy Foster.
One new contact in particular was adamant about why the officials
are concerned about what is happening in the state.
“[Andy
Foster] knows nothing about boxing, refuses to learn and has
no one on his staff with knowledge of boxing in one of the biggest
boxing jurisdictions in the world. What is wrong with this picture?
If he knows nothing about boxing, then why is he here in California?
California is boxing crazy. This makes no sense.
“They
are assigning incompetent inspectors and officials to fights.
They are making huge mistakes and no one is overseeing their
actions, therefore, they are committing the same mistakes over
and over again.
“They
are breaking every rule and policy in the book, from approving
mismatches to improperly assigning officials. There are rules
in place to how many officials should be assigned to a championship
fight or high profile event which have many bouts & rounds
on the card so that there are fresh officials for the co-main
and main events. Instead, they are assigning fewer officials
than usual requiring the championship or main event officials
to have to work numerous rounds on the undercard as well. There
has always been a separate crew of officials for championship
bouts and this rule has recently been ignored and consistently
broken. Their reasoning is they want to entice promoters to come
to California by eliminating the much needed extra officials
to save the promoters money. CSAC has been approving fights that
we as inspectors just cringe when we walk in the dressing room
with these fighters as many of them can barely carry a conversation
or walk a straight line. They are hurt, beaten and regularly
outclassed fighters and the last place they should be is in the
ring or cage with quality fighters who can seriously hurt them
permanently or worse. No amount of new promotions coming to [California]
is worth someone’s life. Not only are these fighters in
danger but imagine the liability to the state.”
The
source finished with this sentiment.
“This
is not [Andy Foster's] first real crisis. He is facing many.
Several qualified inspectors who were unhappy resigned, many
are considering or currently in the process of resigning and
many of us are ready to revolt against this incompetent individual.
There are boxing and MMA officials, ringside doctors and time
keepers that are also extremely upset and ready to act against
him.
“Inspectors,
doctors, ring officials and even timekeepers are afraid to speak
up because they have seen how [Andy] Foster, [John] Frierson
and [Martha] Shen Urquidez have retaliated against those who
have dared to speak up. They have put everyone on notice that
you do not ask questions or you do not complain because you will
not work and your license might be pulled.”
And
my response to that claim is simple — you’re giving
Andy Foster what he wants. If he didn’t hire you, then chances
are you aren’t going to last much longer. The sooner you
quit, the easier you’re making his job. If you believe so
passionately in helping protect fighters and that the replacements
he’s bringing in to fill the regulator jobs will endanger
fighters, wouldn’t quitting now mean the fighters are being
placed in a more precarious position for health & safety?
As
for threats of retaliation, hey, John Frierson mistook a person
in a parking lot last year in El Monte, California as being yours
truly and tried to pick a fight with the poor guy.
Bottom
line right now? The grunts working the shows for Andy Foster
& the California State Athletic Commission fear him but don’t
respect him. Going forward, that’s going to become a bigger
problem for Sacramento. He’s having a difficult time reading
the temperature of his show crews and needs to come up with a
new strategy before he gets politically undermined sooner rather
than later.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Roy
Nelson Expects Title Shot if He Beats Daniel Cormier at UFC 166
by Jeff
Cain
Top
10 ranked heavyweight Roy Nelson faces No. 2 ranked Daniel Cormier
in the UFC 166: Velasquez vs. dos Santos 3 co-main event on Oct.
19. If he defeats the undefeated Cormier, Nelson expects to be
in line for a title shot.
“DC
is top of the food chain. The only other person that’s before
him is dos Santos and dos Santos is already fighting for the
belt. So I look at DC as a guy to beat and you get the belt shot,”
Nelson recently told MMA’s Great Debate podcast. “If
I can beat DC, I’m fighting for the belt next.”
Nelson
is coming off of a loss in his last outing. He accepted a short-notice
fight against Stipe Miocic at UFC 161 and was soundly defeated
by unanimous decision. The fight was the last on Nelson’s
previous contract, but he has no regrets about the way it’s
played out.
“Everything
worked out. I’m in the UFC. I’m fighting the No. 2
guy in the world. Everything works,” said Nelson.
The
Las Vegas native recently inked a new nine-fight deal with the
promotion with the goal of fighting for the championship.
“There’s
not too many people that can get a nine-fight deal out of the
UFC. I’m a staple in the UFC, and they know the type of
fans that I bring and what kind of entertainment value that I
have for the UFC,” he said.
“It
ended up working out in my favor. I’m fighting my last fight.
I got more money, and now I get a chance to fight for the belt.
That’s basically my goal,” added Nelson. “I’ve
got my goals and the UFC helped me and we laid it out, the best
way to accomplish my goals. As long as they can make money off
me, they don’t really care.”
UFC
166 is headlined by the heavyweight title fight between champion
Cain Velasquez and former titleholder Junior dos Santos. Dos
Santos holds a win over Nelson, but the 37-year-old feels he
has unfinished business with the Velasquez. According to Nelson,
the two were supposed to fight in 2006, but Velasquez turned
down the fight. If given the choice, Nelson would rather face
Velasquez.
“Probably
Cain because I’ve already fought Junior, and I’m always
about fighting everybody at least once,” he said. “I
was supposed to fight Cain in my sixth fight ever in MMA and
he turned that down so it’s definitely a fight that I’d
like to fight.”
If
a title fight doesn’t materialize for Nelson, he’d
like to get opponents that he considers legends in the heavyweight
division.
“The goal is to get to the title. If I’ve got to sit
back and wait for a couple of different things to fall into place,
I’ll fight people that I’ve always wanted to fight,
legends in the sport,” he said. “Like Big Nog (Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira).”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Report:
Bryan Vera’s camp filing protest with California State Athletic
Commission
By Zach
Arnold
You
know what happened with the score cards from Saturday night’s
fight in Carson, California between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and
Bryan Vera. Not only did we break down the scores, we also broke
down the politics & lawsuits from each of the players involved
in the controversy: Gwen Adair, Marty Denkin, and Carla Caiz.
In
Saturday night’s article, I strongly suggested that Andy
Foster drag Adair & Denkin in front of the commission on
October 7th in Los Angeles. Bryan Vera’s camp (Banner Promotions),
according to Boxing Scene, will be filing a formal protest to
Andy Foster about what took place. Don’t expect the protest
to even be given consideration whatsoever, unfortunately.
The
score cards were so bad that Kevin Iole on Yahoo, Chris Mannix
on Sports Illustrated, Dan Rafael on ESPN (web & TV), Bill
Dwyre in The Los Angeles Times, Steve Kim of Maxboxing, David
Avila of The Sweet Science, Gabriel Montoya at Doghouse Boxing,
Doug Fischer at Ring TV, and Mark Whicker in The Orange County
Register tore into the judges & the California State Athletic
Commission.
Here’s
the bad news for all the critics: no punishment, let alone admonishment
will be issued against Gwen Adair, Marty Denkin, or Carla Caiz.
Any protest filed by Vera’s camp will be immediately dismissed
by Sacramento. Sacramento is well aware of the public outcry
but do not expect any action whatsoever to be taken. They genuinely
believe that Chavez won the fight on the merits and do not see
what happened as a scandal. You can call it tone-deafness, considering
what happened two weeks ago with Cynthia Ross in Nevada, or you
can call it a cynical calculation based on the 24/7 news cycle
which causes ADD amongst scribes & fans.
One
thing is for sure — the honeymoon between Andy Foster and
various members of the combat sports media is over.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Firas
Zahabi: Georges St-Pierre is not planning on retirement any time
soon
By Dave
Doyle
Is
Georges St-Pierre planning on retiring after his UFC 167 bout
with Johny Hendricks?
Not
so fast, says his trainer.
Firas
Zahabi was quoted by the Canadian French language outlet TVA
Sports last week as hinting the end of the road might be near
for the UFC's longtime welterweight champion. In a translated
quote, the head of Montreal's Tri Star gym said "George
told me if the occasion should retire after this fight. If he
still has the motivation for another training camp, it will continue.
Otherwise, he will take his retirement."
But
according to Ariel Helwani on Wednesday's edition of UFC Tonight,
Zahabi says his words were taken out of context.
Zahabi
said that St-Pierre, who has been champion since April, 2008,
has always maintained that when he hits the point that he loses
his full motivation in his training camps, he will retire from
the sport.
But
Zahabi said that such is not the case now, as St-Pierre prepares
to meet Hendricks on Nov. 16 in Las Vegas. While St-Pierre's
previous two training camps, for title defenses against Carlos
Condit and Nick Diaz, weren't so great because he was coming
off a knee injury, the Hendricks camp has been his best in a
long time.
"GSP
has always that said if he loses the drive to really go through
with a great training camp and push himself, then he will retire,"
Zahabi said through Helwani. "GSP's camp has been his best
in years, last two not so great, because he was so rusty because
of the knee injury."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Just
how similar are AKA teammates Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier?
by Ben
Fowlkes
It's
not unreasonable to look at UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez
and American Kickboxing Academy teammate Daniel Cormier and come
away thinking they're two slightly different versions of the
same fighter.
They
both came to MMA from wrestling. They're both smaller heavyweights
who find themselves routinely swatting up at the faces of the
division's giants. They've both built reputations as highly successful,
high-pace fighters who can smash opponents with power punches
or take them down at will.
But
when they squared off in weekly sparring sessions for their respective
UFC 166 bouts, did it really feel like looking in a mirror? Are
they really as similar in practice as we sometimes assume they
are in theory?
As
both Velasquez and Cormier told MMAjunkie.com in interviews for
this weekend's special UFC 166 pullout in USA TODAY (on newsstands
Friday), not necessarily.
"Technically,
I think Cain is the better boxer of the two of us," Cormier
said. "His combinations are always really tight, and he's
in good position, whereas sometimes I tend to wing punches because
I just want to hit people so bad."
According
to Velasquez, he's learned to keep his punches tighter because
"when I get out wide like [Cormier] does ... that's when
I tend to get hit."
When
it comes to wrestling, both agree that Cormier – an Olympian
who captained the U.S. men's wrestling team at the 2008 games
in Beijing – has the edge. He serves as the head wrestling
coach at AKA, teaching the craft to his peers on the fight team
as well as to a group of kids who show up each week for Cormier's
own brand of high-intensity instruction.
Still,
Cormier said, despite his expertise on the mats, "Cain just
has that pace. No other heavyweight keeps a pace like that."
While
preparing for Saturday's pay-per-view fights at Houston's Toyota
Center, Cormier said, he and Velasquez did "about 80 percent"
of their overall prep together – essentially everything
except strength and conditioning. Early on in camp they might
spar several times a week, and then taper off to once a week
as the fight gets closer.
"Then
on Saturdays we get together to wrestle," Cormier said.
"Just me and him."
The
end result is that they know each other's strengths and weaknesses
as well as anyone possibly could. And, as Velasquez put it, "Especially
now when we're both in the best condition we can be in, it makes
things even more competitive in the gym."
But
according to Cormier, for all their camaraderie in the gym and
the hours they've spent sweating and bleeding side-by-side, on
fight day they'll both retreat to their own separate bubbles.
Call it part of the mental preparation, if you like. As they
get closer to that time when they'll have to be alone in the
cage with only their opponent, they also get accustomed to being
alone inside their own minds, but in their own separate ways.
"When
it comes to fighting, we are pretty similar," Cormier said.
"We both just want to win so bad. But outside the gym, I
don't really know how he prepares. On fight day, I don't bother
Cain. I won't see him until we're there getting ready to go out.
I try to give him his space because I know what kind of space
I need."
If
all goes as planned on Saturday night, with both AKA heavyweights
competing in back-to-back bouts, they might also get a chance
to find out what it's like to celebrate together.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Fact
Check: Bellator 104
By Brian
Knapp
Rick
Hawn and Brent Weedman are chasing the same prize.
Hawn
and Weedman will collide in the Bellator MMA Season 9 welterweight
tournament semifinals at Bellator 104 on Friday at the U.S. Cellular
Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The winner will advance to the
final against either War Machine or Ron Keslar, with a six-figure
payday and coveted title shot on the line.
A
four-time national judo champion, Hawn last appeared at Bellator
100 in September, when he cruised to a unanimous decision over
Herman Terrado at the Grand Canyon University Arena in Phoenix.
The 37-year-old has posted five wins in his past six appearances,
a submission defeat to reigning Bellator lightweight champion
Michael Chandler the lone blemish. Hawn, who has delivered more
than half (10) of his 16 professional wins by knockout, defeated
Weedman by unanimous decision in the Season 6 lightweight tournament
final in May 2012.
Weedman
punched his ticket to the 170-pound semifinals with a first-round
armbar-induced submission against Justin Baesman at Bellator
100. The 29-year-old Kentucky-based welterweight has compiled
an 8-3 mark since arriving in Bellator in April 2010. Wins over
Marius Zaromskis, Dan Hornbuckle and Douglas Lima anchor his
resume. A proven finisher with a diverse skill set, Weedman has
secured 19 of his 22 victories by knockout, technical knockout
or submission.
With
the Hawn-Weedman welterweight semifinal on the marquee, here
are 10 facts surrounding Bellator 104:
FACT
1: Hawn has medaled 11 times at the U.S. National Judo Championships,
capturing gold in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2007, silver in 2005 and
2006 and bronze in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2008.
FACT
2: War Machine has yet to go the distance in victory, the controversial
31-year-old having finished all 14 of his wins -- eight by knockout
or technical knockout and six more by submission.
FACT
3: Kendall Grove (Season 3) is one of eight former winners of
“The Ultimate Fighter” reality series not currently
competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Forrest Griffin
(Season 1), Joe Stevenson (Season 2), Matt Serra (Season 4),
Travis Lutter (Season 4), Efrain Escudero (Season 8), James Wilks
(Season 9) and Jonathan Brookins (Season 12) are the others.
FACT
4: Australian heavyweight Peter Graham holds a 57-11 record as
a professional kickboxer, with wins over 2001 K-1 World Grand
Prix winner Mark Hunt and 2009 K-1 World Grand Prix finalist
Badr Hari.
FACT
5: Nine of Robert Emerson’s 10 career defeats have come
by decision.
FACT
6: Team Kaobon’s Paul Sass has secured eight submissions
via triangle choke, hence the nickname “Sassangle.”
FACT
7: Frenchman Karl Amoussou has fought in eight different countries
as a mixed martial artist: the United States, France, Japan,
Finland, the Netherlands, Russia, England and Switzerland.
FACT
8: Former Ring of Combat middleweight champion Paul Bradley was
a two-time NCAA All-American wrestler at the University of Iowa.
FACT
9: During his 30-fight professional career, Duneland Vale Tudo’s
Rod Montoya has never won or lost more than three bouts in a
row.
FACT
10: Iowa will be the 28th state in which Bellator has promoted
an event.
Source
Sherdog
|
No
good, really bad week for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. & California
State Athletic Commission
By Zach
Arnold
Andy
Foster’s first real crisis has arrived as head of the Sacramento
DCA-controlled California State Athletic Commission. In fact,
the whole week with Top Rank & Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has
been one giant embarrassment.
Scott
Christ summed up the absurdity here.
Coming
off of his suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission
due to testing positive for marijuana metabolites, Chavez signed
a bout agreement to fight Brian Vera in basically what, on paper,
amounted to a squash. The fight was booked after Andy Foster
(rightfully) ruled in arbitration that Dan Goossen had not violated
his contract with Andre Ward. Thus, Ward couldn’t jump ship
to Top Rank and fight JCC. So, what originally looked like a
fight scheduled for Staples Center with JCC/Ward turned into
JCC/Vera at 163 pounds. Then it went up to 168. Then it went
up to 173 pounds.
Then
came the rumors of JCC trying to cut weight to make it to 173
(at Azteca gym) for the fight and that Vera allegedly got a 6-figure
payoff from Top Rank for his troubles. Plenty of folks in the
boxing press wanted action from the California State Athletic
Commission to put a stop to the circus. Andy Foster was going
to allow the fight to happen as long as there wasn’t a spread
of more than 11 pounds in weight between Vera & JCC. So,
if Vera showed up at 173, JCC had up to 184 pounds or else the
fight would have been called off.
When
it came time for weigh-ins, Vera and JCC made the 173 benchmark.
At fight time, Chavez was bigger… and Vera was smacking
him around enough to where he should have won the contest.
Andy
Foster is an MMA guy. He is not a boxing guy. California is a
state that is boxing-crazy and driven by boxing revenue much
more so than MMA. This is where Andy’s background came into
play. He assigned Lou Moret as the referee. Moret, for all intents
and purposes, is now the #2 boxing referee in California (behind
Jack Reiss). Pat Russell isn’t getting booked as #2 any
more. As for the judges assigned to JCC/Vera, you couldn’t
have possibly booked a worse crew if you tried: Gwen Adair, Marty
Denkin, and Carla Caiz. Yes, of that famous Caiz clan with Raul
Sr. and Jr.
Gwen
Adair has previously sued the state of California in the past
on sexual/racial claims and has gotten settlement(s) treatment.
Job security will remain intact as long as there’s a legal
avenue to use. Sports Illustrated did a profile article on Gwen
Adair in October of 1998, talking about how her mother launched
Fatburger and appearances on M*A*S*H. The Los Angeles Times profiled
her in November of 2009. They quote Marty Denkin in the piece.
They also quote Gwen stating that she wished she got more high-profile
bookings. You don’t say.
If
you talk to various inspectors and officials down South, they
speak of old-timer Marty Denkin as someone who views himself
(still) as a political wheeler-and-dealer. His daughter Jackie,
despite being on somewhat tenuous political ground, remains a
judge.
As
for the Caiz clan, Raul Sr. is in political favor. Jr. on the
other hand, not so much. Carla is booked as well.
As
for one Louis F Moret, he has political juice in the state. For
years, he was a member of the board of administration that dealt
with California’s public employees retirement system. Otherwise
known as the monstrous behemoth named CalPERS. Moret views himself
as a political mover-and-shaker close to big wigs like Nancy
Pelosi.
Don’t
believe me? Read this June 18, 2008 article in The Los Angeles
Times titled Pension board member helped fix deal, suit alleges
with the sub-headline Louis F. Moret is accused of conspiring
to arrange a $48 million dollar South Gate garbage contract.
Gwen
Adair scored Saturday’s fight 98-92 in favor of JCC. Gwen
only gave R8 & R9 to Vera.
Marty Denkin was 97-93. Marty only gave R3, R8, and R9 to Vera.
Carla Caiz was 96-94. Carla gave first four rounds to Vera &
last six rounds to JCC.
Che
Guevara, the hack who was CSAC’s Chief Athletic Inspector,
came from a boxing background. He got his job because he did
the wrong thing when it came to throwing others under the bus
with the Antonio Margarito hand wrap situation back in 2009.
Hell, he got his job promotion because of it. I don’t think
that Che, if he was walking the straight and narrow, would have
allowed this combination of officials to work a fight like JCC/Vera.
I say this bitterly given my utter disgust with the man’s
prior on-the-job behavior.
Andy
Foster has his first major image crisis on his hands here. Should
Andre Ward get past Edwin Rodriguez in November (in Ontario,
California), it would appear that HBO will help set up Ward vs.
JCC… and that fight will likely happen in California in
2014 — which makes the events that transpired tonight look
even worse than they appear to be on the surface. Bet the conversations
between Danny Goossen and Bob Arum will be fun for that meeting.
As
for Andy Foster, if folks like Gwen Adair will sue to keep their
gigs then the only recourse he has left is to put the judges
on the agenda for the next commission meeting on October 7th
in Los Angeles. Let John Frierson & Martha Shin-Urquidez
dispose of the malcontents. Dan Rafael went on ESPN television
and ripped Marty Denkin, stating that Marty should have been
put out to pasture years ago.
Kevin
Iole summed up the situation on Yahoo in a relatively detailed
manner. Vera’s camp believes that HBO will book a JCC/Vera
rematch. Good luck with that.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
World
Champion Reuben "Cobrinha" Charles Maciel Week Long
Training Camp & Seminar in November
Multiple World BJJ Champion, Reuben "Cobrinha" Charles
Maciel is coming to Hawaii and holding a week long "winter"
training camp on November 7-11th. There will be two training
sessions, one in mid-morning and the other in the afternoon.
The entire week will cost $350. If you can only make a day or
a few days, you may also pay $85 per day.
The camp will be held at Egan's Training Center
2851 E. Manoa Road
Suite 1-200
Honolulu, HI 96821
(808) 271-3779
This is your opportunity to learn from one of the best featherweights
in the world!
Cobrinha will also be holding a separate seminar:
Friday, November 8th
7:30-9:30PM
$85 per person
O2 Martial Arts Academy
98-019 Kamehameha Hwy, #208A
Aiea, HI 96701
(808) 484-2324
For more information, please contact:
Daniela Sobreiro
www.CobrinhaBJJ.com
info@cobrinhabjj.com
Phone:323-931-9953
|
Former
heavyweight boxing champion John Ruiz to promote mixed martial
arts
By Luke
Thomas
Two-time WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz retired from boxing
in 2010, but has returned in 2013 as a promoter of mixed martial
arts. According to a press release, Ruiz, acting through his
Quietman Sports, LLC, purchased American Fighting Organization
(AFO), its website and existing debt. AFO, based out of New England,
intends to promote both amateur and professional MMA as well
as boxing events beginning in January with an amateur MMA tournament."to
determine the best in New England."
"We
are going to put on the best shows in New England," Ruiz
said via release. "I'm investing a lot of money to promote
events and fighters, in addition to putting on great MMA and
boxing shows for fans."
"I'd
been talking about promoting and this opportunity came out of
nowhere," Ruiz continued. "AFO was structured as one
of the oldest MMA promotional companies in New England. It was
also in place and that was better for us than starting out from
scratch. AFO's reputation within the industry may not have been
the best but we've paid off its debts and are now prepared to
make the new AFO the best combat sports promotional company in
New England."
AFO
also intends to host 12 shows in 2014 and potentially a boxing-MMA
hybrid card.
"Fighters
are fighters. At my gym (Quietman Sports Gym in Medford, MA)
we teach MMA and boxing. It has a nice ring and cage, too. Since
I retired as a boxer, I've always felt like I would get into
promoting boxing, and AFO will be boxing and MMA. I want to bring
more class to both sports. Our shows will offer better competition
and more entertaining fights, in both MMA and boxing in New England."
Ruiz
is currently the owner and operator of Quietman Sports Gym in
Medford, Mass. Ruiz boxed professionally for 18 years and holds
wins over Andrew Golota, Hasim Rahman, Evander Holyfield, and
Fres Oquendo. He won the WBA heavyweight title twice, first in
2001 against Holyfield and again in 2003. He retired in 2010
after his corner threw in the towel in the ninth round in WBA
heavyweight-title bout with David Haye.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
A
league of denial on brain damage & testosterone
By Zach
Arnold
On
Tuesday night, Public Broadcasting via Frontline aired a two-hour
documentary on the National Football League called League of
Denial. If you have followed the concussion dilemma in American
football over the last decade closely, then nothing in the documentary
was necessarily news to you. However, the documentary is based
on a book written by the Fainaru brothers (Steve & Mark)
who also happen to write for ESPN… and ESPN backed out at
the last-minute from the cooperation with PBS according to a
report in the New York Times that alleged that the NFL …
convinced… ESPN that backing out would be the right thing
to do.
After watching the documentary online, you can see exactly why
the NFL and its business partners wanted nothing to do with the
television presentation. PBS presented evidence we already largely
knew about but did so in such a methodical, easy-to-understand,
detailed manner that you’ll never look at NFL politicos
the same way ever again. It had all the echoes of Big Tobacco
from a generation ago.
I mention this as a back drop to initial results released from
a medical study via the NIH two months ago related to boxers
& mixed martial artists who agreed to participate in a study
for the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health (Cleveland Clinic).
If anyone can provide me with a PDF of the up-to-date study results,
I would be very grateful.
The NIH abstract from the brain study states the obvious —
that both boxers and MMA fighters can suffer from concussive
brain damage due to blows to the head in fights. We know about
pugilistica dementia. What the study does conclude is that the
specific type of brain damage suffered by boxers and MMA fighters
is different.
Transversal diffusivity in the posterior cingulate cortex of
brain. Translation: the part of your brain that controls your
memory, speech, recognition, and pain. Damage to the posterior
cingulate means a greater risk of suffering from Alzheimer’s
Disease.
The testosterone connection
I bring this study up because of the growing number of MMA fighters
who are, publicly or privately, using testosterone to try to
extend their fighting careers. Just last week, we saw three names
floated in the press – Lavar Johnson, Ben Rothwell, and
Joe Warren. We also know that there are four top contributing
factors as to why fighters gravitate towards testosterone (anabolic
steroid) usage: 1. damage from weight cutting, 2. previous and/or
current steroid use that has damaged the endocrine system, 3.
abuse of pain killers, and 4. brain damage that impacts how much
testosterone your body produces.
We know that steroid usage in MMA is prolific. Damage from weight
cutting is also a real concern (see: Leandro Souza). Pain killer
usage is heavy. Brain damage amongst veteran fighters is real.
Looking at the four factors as to why fighters turn to testosterone,
it’s a perfect storm of circumstances.
I mentioned Ben Rothwell’s name as a member of the testosterone
brigade in MMA. A quote from an MMA Junkie article talking about
why UFC suspended him for 9 months:
“I had applied for TRT after an endocrinologist and Wisconsin
athletic doctors diagnosed me with hypogonadism. They felt it
was caused by a car crash in 1999 that left me with severe head
trauma and in a coma. Doctors told me TRT was something that
could stop the hypogonadism from degrading my body.
Let this quote sink in for a minute. He asked a third-rate kinda-sorta
commission for an anabolic steroid pass and got it… because
he supposedly suffers from brain damage. And they gave it to
him! UFC allowed him to fight in the cage while he claims to
suffer from brain damage. He got suspended by UFC for elevated
levels of testosterone because the Wisconsin commission wouldn’t
suspend him. They’re not stopping him from fighting again
in the future. They’re suspending him because of elevated
levels of testosterone.
The UFC should give Ben Rothwell an ultimatum to come clean.
Either the story about the brain trauma is true and he retires
from fighting or the story is false and he admits that he worked
the system to use testosterone, the base chemical of anabolic
steroids. Neither result is pretty but I’d rather hear the
truth than another lie from a steroid user in the sport. If the
UFC continues to book him for fights while knowing his public
claim/admission that he suffers from brain damage, then anything
bad that happens to him in the cage makes them & the athletic
commission regulating the fight open to potential liability.
It is interesting to note that when UFC suspended Rothwell for
nine months, he did not put up a fight.
If you want to know why I fight so hard when it comes to the
quality of athletic commissions, this right here is a shining
example of why I do what I do. In theory and on paper, I am a
believer of athletic commissions when properly staffed with competent
individuals. Unfortunately, most individuals involved in combat
sports regulation should be nowhere near the industry. If athletic
commissions are meant to create an atmosphere of health &
safety as opposed to simply being tax collectors, then why do
so many of the major AC’s possess only one line of defense
when it comes to examining the brain health of combatants? It’s
all about volume. Many fighters go to “one-stop shop”
doctors to get all their tests taken care of and medical paperwork
sent to the AC’s. In Southern California, Dr. Richard Gluckman
is the one-stop shop. He has so much business that the California
State Athletic Commission front office practically views him
and his assistant Rose Saavedra as an unofficial extension of
Sacramento. It’s why there is political favor for Rose Saavedra
to work as an athletic inspector on fight shows despite the obvious
conflict of interest. It is often doctors like Richard Gluckman
who are the only line of defense in detecting any sort of brain
abnormalities before a fighter is approved by a commission to
fight. You can’t expect the doctors at live shows to be
able to perform on-site MRI scans to determine recent or past
brain damage. Therefore, the onus is on the front office of the
AC’s to perform their due diligence and save the fighters
from themselves if they are physically impaired.
As Steve Kim documented in an article about boxer Tim Bradley’s
brain health, it was Dr. Gluckman who recently did an MRI on
Bradley’s brain. Steve’s article is a must-read when
it comes to the health issues Bradley is facing coming off of
the brutal fight with Ruslan Provodnikov.
I understand why MMA commentators like Luca Fury scream about
people who rip into testosterone usage. He looks at it from the
perspective of a handicapper who sees people on social media
making claims that testosterone can impact win/loss records for
fighters. He denies that T provides an advantage in that category
and I (mostly) agree with his sentiments. Therefore, I always
argue the testosterone issue in Mixed Martial Arts as a health
& safety issue. If you have to use testosterone in order
to function as a human being to compete in a fighting contest,
then I have major issues with promoters & commission allowing
such a person to fight in the first place. If you have brain
damage and need testosterone to function, stop fighting. If you
abuse pain killers and need testosterone to function, you have
a problem. If you previously and/or currently use steroids and
want to double-dose on testosterone, that’s a red flag.
If you damaged your body from bad weight cuts, that too is a
health & safety issue.
As Dave Meltzer appropriately stated last week, never has he
seen so many grown men with such muscular bodies in one particular
sport publicly cry for the need to use testosterone to function
for basic athletic competition. And yet when it comes to issue
of testosterone usage in Mixed Martial Arts, be prepared for
the avalanche of fans & commentators who will scream “shame
on you!” if you say testosterone usage should be banned.
I have long stated that athletic commissions should not be giving
testosterone passes out to fighters and that if the fighters
have a problem with it, then sue the athletic commission(s) and
prove that the Americans with Disabilities Act gives you a right
to use testosterone in combat sports simply because a doctor
wrote you a prescription for testosterone. Establish case law
for combat sports if your need for testosterone is so important.
Jack Encarnacao wrote an article two years ago about the George
Hartmann case. Combat sports are legally classified as ultrahazardous,
which makes it tougher to argue in front of a judge that an athletic
commission should allow a fighter to use testosterone, let alone
the concept of getting licensed by an athletic commission for
combat sports while suffering from the effects of brain damage.
This ain’t golf, brother.
After watching League of Denial on PBS, I will still watch combat
sports and American football. As we learn more information from
the medical community about brain trauma caused from activity
in these sports, the contestants will become more informed about
the risks they are taking. As long as you know the risks involved,
then have at it. To those regulating such activity, be open &
honest & watchful. Be transparent. Be vigilant. Most importantly
for fighters & regulators, know when it’s time to stop
fighting. There’s nothing wrong with participating in combat
sports (or football) but when it’s time to talk away, it’s
time to walk away. As we’re learning from the Cleveland
Clinic study about brain damage in combat sports, we should place
greater scrutiny on testosterone usage amongst fighters. The
testosterone usage appears to be a symptom of bigger problems
in terms of physical damage. There is no reason to allow older
fighters who are suffering from brain damage to use testosterone
in order to extend their fighting careers and inflict further
brain damage on both themselves & future opponents.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
will kick off 'European Tour' next March in London (updated)
By Ariel
Helwani
A "UFC European Tour" will kick off in London, England
in March 2014.
UFC
CEO Lorenzo Fertitta told BT Sport's "Beyond the Octagon"
on Tuesday that the promotion will hold a series of Fight Night
shows across the continent next year.
"It's
going to be a significant event and we're really excited that
we're going to be here on a consistent basis," Fertitta
said.
"We
are going to find some incredibly talented fighters from various
countries in this market that someday will probably be a UFC
champion."
Fertitta
didn't announce any specific dates for the tour.
On
Monday, UFC president Dana White said the organization was considering
putting Alexander Gustafsson on a card in either Sweden or London
next year.
The
UFC returns to England on Oct. 26 for an event headlined by Mark
Munoz vs. Lyoto Machida in Manchester.
Update:
Garry Cook, the executive vice president and managing director
of Europe, Middle East and Africa for the UFC, told the Leaders
Sports Summit in London on Wednesday that the UFC's London event
will take place on the first weekend of March 2014. The current
plan is to hold six events in Europe next year with Istanbul,
Dublin, Lodz, Glasgow and Berlin also being considered.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Michael
Bisping Wanted to Fight Despite Eye Injury; Dana White Pulled
the Plug
by Ken
Pishna
Michael
Bisping was recently yanked from the UFC Fight Night 30 headlining
bout opposite Mark Munoz due to a recurrence of the detached
retina he suffered in his last fight.
Dropping
out of that fight was possibly more emotionally painful for Bisping
than it was physically. UFC Fight Night 30 is slated for Oct.
26 in Manchester, England, and he was looking forward to headlining
on his home turf.
Bisping
wanted to fight so badly that he was willing to risk fighting
despite the eye injury. It was UFC president Dana White that
forced Bisping out of the bout.
“I
heard that he was having these problems with his eye,” White
explained during a Monday media call. “And I care about
Michael Bisping… a lot. I called him up, and I could just
tell by the conversation that he was trying to fast-talk me.
“I
felt like I was talking to a used car salesman, basically telling
me that he could fight, that his doctor said he could fight.
And I was like, stop, stop; my doctor is going to talk to your
doctor and I’m pretty sure you’re not gonna fight.”
A detached retina is a serious eye injury, and let’s face
it, the eyes are a prime target in any sport where punching is
involved.
Bisping
may have wanted to fight, but at what cost?
After
consulting with the doctors, the price… the risk… was
too high for White to allow.
“It’s
not worth it,” he declared.
“(Bisping)
was flipping out that he wanted this fight so bad. He wanted
to fight in Manchester, but no way.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Chinzo
Machida wants to join his brother in the UFC
By Guilherme
Cruz
Chinzo Machida started fighting MMA two years after his brother
Lyoto Machida made his MMA debut, but his career has yet to take
off like the more famous member of his family. His only win in
three professional fights happened in 2005, but he’s willing
to restart his path in MMA to join "The Dragon" inside
the cage.
Chinzo
Machida signed with Resurrection Fighting Alliance earlier this
year, and he was expected to meet James Barber in June, but he
was forced to withdraw with a broken foot. The featherweight
will finally make his RFA debut on Nov. 22, when he takes on
Justin Houghton.
"I’ve
been training hard for a long time," Machida told MMAFighting.com.
"I did my preparation in Belem, Brazil, but now I’m
going to Manchester with Lyoto. After his fight [with Mark Munoz]
I’ll finish my preparation in California."
Houghton
is 4-2 in MMA with three knockout wins, but Machida, a 12-time
national karate champion, wants to prove he’s the better
striker at RFA 10.
"I’ve
seen [Houghton's] fights already," he said. "He’s
a muay Thai fighter, likes to stand and fight, but I couldn’t
see how his ground game is. It’s an MMA fight. Maybe I’ll
have the opportunity to take him down, and I don’t see any
problems with that -- but I want to fight him standing."
Machida
last fought in an MMA event back in December 2010, but a first-round
injury forced him to change his strategy and he ended up losing
to Leonardo Laiola at WFE in Salvador, Brazil.
"I
broke my hand in the first round of my last fight and fought
two more rounds, so my bone shattered," he said. "I
did one surgery but had to do another with the same hand later.
It was a slow recovery, but I’m completely healed now. I've
started to become a more complete fighter, training more ground
game and wrestling."
Lyoto
Machida is a former UFC light heavyweight champion, and Chinzo
wants to show that that kind of greatness runs in the family.
RFA flyweight champion Sergio Pettis recently signed with the
promotion to join his brother Anthony Pettis in the UFC, and
that's ultimately what Chinzo Machida wants.
"The
UFC is the biggest promotion in the world, that’s where
the best fighters are, but I’ll have to show what I can
do to get there," he said. "It doesn’t matter
if I’m Lyoto’s brother, he did his career and I’m
doing mine. I’ll have to win fights to get in the UFC, and
that’s why I’m training and fighting for."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
Fight Night 33 Fight Card Rumors
by Scott
Petersen
XyienceUFC
Fight Night 33
Hunt vs. Silva
Date: December 6, 2013 – in U.S.
December 7 – local time in Australia
Venue: Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Location: Brisbane, Australia
-Mark
Hunt (9-8) vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (18-5)
-Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (21-8) vs. James Te Huna (16-6)
-Soa Palelei (19-3) vs. Pat Barry (8-6)
-Dylan Andrews (16-4, 1 NC) vs. Clint Hester (8-3)
-Anthony Perosh (14-7) vs. Ryan Bader (15-4)
-Nick Ring (13-2) vs. Caio Magalhaes (6-1)
-Takeya Mizugaki (18-7-2) vs. Nam Phan (18-11)
-Robert Whittaker (11-3) vs. Brian Melancon (7-3)
-Krzysztof Jotko (13-0) vs. Bruno Santos (13-0)
-Andreas Stahl (9-0) vs. Alex Garcia (10-1)
-Julie Kedzie (16-12) vs. Aleksandra Albu (5-0)
UFC
Fight Night 33 Times:
Preliminary Bouts: TBA
Main Card on Fox Sports 1: TBA
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Georges
St-Pierre Headling UFC 167 Bout Brings Promotion Back to the
Big Screen
Press
Release
Georges-St-Pierre-UFC-Expo-2013The
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to movie theaters
nationwide on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7:00 p.m. PT as NCM Fathom
Events and UFC bring UFC 167: ST-PIERRE vs. HENDRICKS to the
big screen. Fight fans will get a front-row view of all the pulse-pounding
action when longest-reigning champion in the UFC, welterweight
king Georges St-Pierre (also known as “GSP”), returns
to the Octagon to face No. 1 contender Johny “Bigg Rigg”
Hendricks. GSP will take on his most dangerous challenger to
date in the sledge-hammer handed Hendricks. Broadcast live from
the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, audiences will witness
all the excitement as the undisputed champion in the UFC welterweight
division is determined during the UFC’s 20th anniversary
event.
Tickets
for UFC 167: ST-PIERRE vs. HENDRICKS are available at participating
theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. The event
will be presented in more than 350 select movie theaters around
the country through NCM’s exclusive Digital Broadcast Network.
For a complete list of theater locations and prices, visit the
NCM Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject
to change).
“UFC fans will want to experience GSP and Hendricks go head
to head in UFC 167 on the big screen,” said Dan Diamond,
senior vice president of NCM Fathom Events. “Audiences will
feel like they have a ringside seat with every move these fighters
make. The only way to get closer to the action would be to get
in the Octagon.”
Montreal’s
finest, Georges St-Pierre (24-2), the UFC welterweight champion
since April 2008, has posted an impressive 11-fight win streak
during his reign atop the 170-pound division. The dynamic GSP
holds black belts in both Kyokushin karate and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
The two-time champion’s historic and unrivaled reign includes
wins over UFC’s toughest including Matt Hughes, B.J. Penn
and Jake Shields.
The
hard-hitting Johny Hendricks (15-1), fighting out of Dallas,
Texas, is the top-ranked challenger in the 170-pound division.
He earned his shot at GSP by putting together a six-fight unbeaten
streak in the UFC. A two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion
with one punch knockout power, “Bigg Rigg” is set on
derailing St-Pierre’s march to the Hall of Fame. He is known
for his extensive wrestling background and powerful punches,
particularly from the left hand, which has earned him three Knockout
of the Night bonuses and one Fight of the Night award.
The
event features an exciting co-main light heavyweight bout between
former UFC champion Rashad Evans and former two-division title
challenger Chael Sonnen.
The
old school will also meet the new breed at UFC 167, as the resurgent
“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler meets Canada’s Rory MacDonald.
After returning to the UFC in 2013 following a more than eight
year absence, Lawler has looked better than ever in knocking
out Josh Koscheck and Bobby Voelker. The 24-year-old MacDonald
is currently sporting a five-fight winning streak that includes
wins over BJ Penn and Jake Ellenberger, but he has yet to face
someone with the power of Iowa’s Lawler, making this a must-see
welterweight battle.
For
more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All
bouts live and subject to change.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
BELLATOR
105 GETS SARNAVSKIY-TIRLONI, AWAD-BROOKS LIGHTWEIGHT SEMIFINALS
BY MIKE
WHITMAN
Can
“Tiger” Sarnavskiy roar his way to a Bellator title
shot? | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Bellator’s
Season 9 lightweight semifinals will be contested Oct. 25, promotion
officials announced Wednesday, as Saad Awad will rematch Will
Brooks and Alexander Sarnavskiy will meet Ricardo Tirloni at
Bellator 105.
The
semifinal pairings air live on Spike TV and take place at the
Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M. Additionally, the evening’s
televised card will see Andreas Spang clash with Eugene Fadiora,
while longtime kickboxing veteran Siala-Mou Siliga -- better
known as “Mighty Mo” -- takes on tournament veteran
Ron Sparks.
Just
prior to the TV broadcast, the Bellator 105 undercard streams
live on Spike.com and is highlighted by the third promotional
effort from undefeated U.S. National and Pan-American wrestling
champion Shawn Bunch, who battles Steve Garcia at 135 pounds.
Awad,
30, has won seven of his last eight bouts. After coming up short
in the Season 8 tournament finals this past March, the Californian
returned to his winning ways last month in the opening round
of the Season 9 draw by submitting Martin Stapleton with a first-round
rear-naked choke.
Brooks
has won two straight fights since suffering a 43-second knockout
at the hands of Awad in the Season 8 semis, first pounding out
Cris Leyva in July and then outpointing John Alessio in the Season
9 quarterfinals to earn his return bout with Awad.
Sarnavskiy
wasted no time in taking out Marcus Davis to earn his spot in
the round-of-four, as “Tiger” floored the UFC veteran
early in their Sept. 27 confrontation before submitting “The
Irish Hand Grenade” with a rear-naked choke in 1:40. The
Russian has lost just once in 25 pro outings and rides a four-fight
winning streak into his clash with Tirloni.
Six
years older than his upcoming foe, Tirloni, 30, halted a two-fight
skid in his quarterfinal battle with Rich Clementi, which ended
in a unanimous decision victory for the Brazilian at Bellator
101. Prior to that triumph, the 20-fight pro was outpointed by
Dave Jansen and Will Brooks to end his runs in the Season 7 and
8 tournaments.
Source: Sherdog
|
Jose
Aldo offered to move up to 155, but coach and Dana White declined
By Guilherme
Cruz
Jose Aldo and Anthony Pettis want to fight each other, but the
fight is on hold – for now.
Aldo
is still recovering from a broken foot after he defended his
UFC title with a TKO win over Chan Sung Jung at UFC 163, and
Pettis, the lightweight champion, puts his championship in the
line for the first time against Josh Thomson on Dec. 14.
Aldo
revealed during Tuesday’s Q&A with the fans in Barueri,
Brazil that he asked the UFC to move up to the lightweight division
and challenge Pettis. However, according to the 145-pound champion,
UFC president Dana White didn’t accept his offer.
"Many
people talked about moving up (to 155 pounds), and I’ve
asked for that," Aldo said. "But Andre (Pederneiras,
his coach) and Dana (White) said it wasn’t the right moment.
Moving up to lightweight is closer and closer. When they think
it’s time to move up, I’ll do it no problem."
"Many
fans talked about it, and we’re waiting to do this super
fight. But they matched him (against Josh Thomson)," he
continued. "If it was up to me it would have already happened
at any weight. I’m an employee and I don’t see any
problem with that. I wanted (to fight Pettis) at 155 pounds,
of course. He has his title and he wouldn’t be able to steal
mine (laughs)."
Aldo
is ranked number one in the featherweight division since he beat
Mike Brown for the WEC title on November 2009 and has said many
times he would move up to the 155 division in the future, pending
the approval of his manager Andre Pederneiras.
The
Brazilian never called out opponents, but changed his style a
bit when asked by the fans who he would like to fight next in
the UFC.
"I
never chose opponents, but I can say one name now, and it’s
Pettis, for all the talk that has happened," he said. "He
would be the right person for me to fight today. It would be
even better to fight him at lightweight so I wouldn’t need
to cut weight (laughs)."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Boxers
beware: Where’s your pension payout from the California
State Athletic Commission?
By Zach
Arnold
Food fight at CSAC front office over $5.5 million USD boxer’s
pension fund
They won’t be punishing judges Gwen Adair, Marty Denkin,
or Carla Caiz at this Monday’s California State Athletic
Commission event in Los Angeles. However, the commission’s
document dump for Monday’s meeting contains a boatload of
information about where things are headed.
For example, page 5 of the 180-page document claims that Karen
Chappelle from the Attorney General’s office in Los Angeles
is billing the commission a lot of money to handle two major
lawsuits (Dwayne Woodard’s age discrimination case &
Sarah Waklee’s sexual harassment case). I would suggest
so far that the commission has gotten the raw end of that deal
in terms of quality legal representation.
On page 18, there is an itemized list of shows and how much revenue/expenses
CSAC has from each event. What’s interesting to note is
that while boxing revenues are most important, the UFC events
are the easiest cash grabs for the commission. A whole lot of
money.
On page 41, there is discussion about whether or not the commission
will abandon the rules/regulations regarding color-coded tickets.
On page 72ish, there are detailed booking sheets revealing which
inspectors/officials worked what shows. Around page 100, there’s
a copy of a box office sheet that Andy Foster’s #1 inspector,
Mark Relyea, completed. Guess he’ll get an award for that.
On page 131, there’s quite a letter from Jeremy Lappen that,
on any other occasion, would be a hot topic of discussion. In
short, after Andy Foster emasculated CAMO over their fee structure
for regulating amateur MMA, CAMO faced a choice — either
go with the program or else risk losing their delegation to the
controversial Steve Fossum. Instead of putting up a rightful
legal challenge in court over what was about to happen to CAMO,
Jeremy Lappen simply walked away. With the prospects of money
drying up for the non-profit entity, Jeremy Lappen diminished
his role with CAMO and left JT Steele at the helm.
However, all of these items are small potatoes compared to the
real main event issue at Monday’s commission meeting —
and it’s getting little-to-no media attention at all. The
issue at hand? What the hell to do with the $5.5 million dollars
sitting in the boxer’s pension fund. And the fight could
get very ugly between the commission and the third party that
is investing & managing the funds.
How will CSAC find all the boxers it owes money to?
Every time you buy a ticket to go to an event regulated by the
California State Athletic Commission, a percentage of the money
goes to the boxer’s pension fund and the neurological fund.
Over the course of many years, the boxer’s pension fund
has swollen in size because the commission has simply not been
able to reach out to boxers who are entitled to a distribution.
The inability of locating boxers who are qualified for a distribution
has been atrocious.
With so much money in the bank account, the commission is facing
a tough predicament of trying to locate all the new fighters
who are qualified to receive a distribution now that they’ve
reached the age of 50.
In the state’s Business & Professions Code, Section
18882, the money in the pension fund is dedicated solely for
one purpose:
(c) The Boxers’ Pension Fund is a retirement fund, and no
moneys within it shall be deposited or transferred to the General
Fund.
In
the California Code of Regulations, Title 4: Business Regulations,
Division 2: State Athletic Commission, Chapter 1: Professional
Boxing Rules, Article 12: Pension Plan, some of the rules about
who gets a distribution from the pension fund conflict with each
other. Section 401 defines the following:
(d) Beneficiary. “Beneficiary” means all persons entitled
under the provisions of this Plan to receive benefits after the
death of a participating boxer.
Section
405(d) defines what a “lost beneficiary” is.
(d) Lost Beneficiary.
If,
according to the records of the commission, a participating boxer
has reached age 50 and the participating boxer or his or her
beneficiary has not made a claim for benefits, the participating
boxer’s accrued benefit shall be held until the last day
of the third plan year after the participating boxer reached
age 50, at which time it shall be reallocated pursuant to section
403(c); provided, however, that if a claim is later made by the
participating boxer or beneficiary for the forfeited benefit,
the commission shall reinstate the amount of the vested account
balance that had been forfeited, unadjusted by any gains or losses
attributable to such amount. Such reinstatement shall be made
from the contributions for such year of reinstatement, prior
to the allocation of contributions to accounts for the year of
reinstatement.
The
conflict here is simple. Section 401 says a beneficiary can receive
money if the boxer is dead. Section 405(d) says a boxer that
is alive has up to three years to claim their distribution before
it is forfeited. And given the commission’s track record
of not being able to contact or locate fighters who are qualified
for distributions, it means a whole lot of fighters who are entitled
to a distribution are forfeiting cash that is owed to them. And
yet S401 clearly defines a beneficiary as someone OTHER THAN
THE BOXER WHO MUST BE DEAD.
And you wonder why the boxer’s pension fund is swelling
up with cash that hasn’t been distributed.
These conflicting code sections have set the table for a food
fight between CSAC’s front office and the third party that
is managing the pension funds.
The first salvo
On July 31st, Beth Harrington (who manages the money in the boxer’s
pension fund) wrote a memo to the CSAC front office about why
there’s so much money in the bank account. She defended
her actions in relation to following the conflicting code sections.
BACKGROUND
Since
the inception of this plan, we have not applied [the Lost Beneficiary]
section of the Code as it is written. It was not implemented
in part because the section is titled “Lost Beneficiary”
and Beneficiary is defined in Section 401(d) as “all persons
entitled … to receive benefits after the death of a participating
boxer.” The language in the section does not relate to the
title of the section. It is conceivable that this section was
indeed an option for the commission to forfeit the balance of
a deceased boxer in the event that no family could be identified
or located, and that it wasn’t intended for boxers who were
still living.
The
provision was also not implemented because it seems to be inconsistent
with Section 404(c) which specifies that “income or loss
attributable to the assets of the pension fund … shall be
allocated to the accounts of the participating boxers who had
unpaid balances in their accounts … as of the last day of
the prior plan year.”
PROBLEMATIC
IMPLEMENTATION
Whether
we look to implement this section as it relates to retired boxers
now, or go back and apply the provision retroactively, there
are a variety of reasons that this would be problematic:
1.
The fact that the retirement age was dropped from 55 to 50 in
2009 increases the number of boxers subject to this possible
forfeiture. That rule change increased the number of boxers eligible
for payment from 14 in 2008 to 105 in 2009. Of those 105, 42
were age 53 and would have forfeited at the end of that year.
Would it be fair to someone who would have forfeited at age 58
to suddenly be forfeited because he was over age 53?
2.
The commission has made an effort to find boxers eligible for
payment, but there are still a large number of boxers who have
not been located. Is the commission willing to subject a boxer
to forfeiture of his pension simply because the boxer has not
been located?
3.
If we were to forfeit all boxers who were 53 years old as of
12/31/2013 we would be forfeiting 75 accounts worth $1,297,109.
a) The first forfeiture would have taken place in 2007 for one
boxer who was born in 1949. That boxer is still not paid.
b) Our reports dated 12/31/2008 that were provided to the commission
list 14 boxers who had reached retirement age. Of those 14 only
2 were paid in 2009, and 6 of those 14 are still due $104,611
from the plan.
4.
If we go back to revise the 2007 reports to begin the process
of forfeiting accounts, all participant balances will change
from 2007 forward through 2012.
5.
If we begin a process of forfeiting benefits now, the boxers
who are eligible in 2013 will received a huge windfall of forfeit
allocations. It would give those who boxed in 2013 a huge advantage
over anyone who boxed in prior years.
6.
Section 405(d) indicates that if a boxer’s account was forfeited
and a claim for benefits is submitted later that the benefits
should be paid from current contributions. The annual contributions
to the plan are only about $100,000. There is significant risk
that there would be insufficient funding to restore benefits
if all of those over age 53 are forfeited now. How would the
commission generate funds if boxers who had forfeited under Section
405(d) are later located and the contributions are not sufficient
to re-establish their accounts?
7.
The plan has been through two separate audits by the State Auditor,
and in neither case was this matter identified as a concern.
SUMMARY
This
is a defined contribution plan. If one person gets paid or doesn’t
get paid, it does not impact the balance of the other participants.
If, however, the commission starts forfeiting the balance of
Covered boxers at age 53 simply because they did not submit a
claim for benefits there could possibly be an outcry that the
commission hadn’t done enough to locate the boxers in the
first place. If the boxer was found at a later date it would
further impact the plan because currently contributions would
have to be used to reinstate benefits as opposed to being allocated
to those who fought during the year. The allocation of benefits
to active participants would swing wildly based on those who
forfeited benefits after age 53.
RECOMMENDATION
The
commission should examine the language in Section 405(d) to determine
if it is indeed intended to reference only lost beneficiaries
(as is referenced in the title), or if it should also include
the reference boxers who have not been located. If the commission
does not determine that boxers who have not been located within
3 years of attaining age 50 should forfeit, then additional review
of the challenges that this provision will have on the plan should
be examined as wlel.
Conflicting
codes on the books, a lack of fighters coming forward or being
located to pay out distributions, and organizational chaos have
led to the paralysis with the funds in the account.
Two months later, CSAC’s front office strikes back
Vern Hines, a DCA employee recently transferred to help Andy
Foster out in the CSAC front office, wrote a letter to the commission
last week suggesting changes in protocol in how the pension funds
are handled. Here’s the text of that memo:
9/25/2013, Implementing the Boxer Pension Fund Lost Beneficiary
Provision
1.
Failure to implement the Lost Beneficiary Provision 405(d):
The
Commission contracts with a third-party administrator, Beth Harrington
of Benefit Resources, to administer the Boxer Pension Fund (the
Fund). Recently the Commission became aware that Benefit Resources
incorrectly administered boxer fund balances dating back to 2007
when provision 405(d) was not followed. Under provision 405(d)
of our pension regulations, a boxer has three years to apply
for their vested pension benefits. If a boxer does not apply
within three years of turning age 50, the boxer forfeits their
balance for the benefit of other active plan participants. The
provision also allows a boxer to claim their benefit, after it
has been forfeited, from current year contributions.
Why
is provision 405(d) so important? As the Commission members are
probably aware, the boxer pension fund has grown in the past
and continues to grow because finding all eligible boxers is
a difficult, if not impossible task. As a result, the Fund has
grown to almost $5.5 million in assets over the past several
years because fund assets were locked in beneficiary accounts
that could not be found.
Recommendation:
Begin
implementing provision 405(d) as soon as possible in order to
distribute money that has been frozen in lost beneficiary accounts.
By releasing these funds, current boxers participating in the
plan will benefit. In fact, we estimate that within the next
three years, nearly half of the plan assets, or $2.5 million,
may be released to current participants by implementing provision
405(d). As a result, boxers that retire in the near future could
see significant increases in their retirement distribution.
2.
Problems Implementing the Lost Beneficiary Provision:
The
Commission needs to devise a plan that implements the Lost Beneficiary
provision as soon as possible while ensuring the future distributions
are equitable. As stated above, nearly half of the plan assets
will become available within the next few years for distribution,
including a $1.3 million distribution that should have already
taken place. If the Commission were to distribute all of the
required distributions next year, any boxer retiring in that
year would receive a large windfall and take money that should
have been paid to boxers that retired in the past. The first
boxer that should have had his retirement balance forfeit was
in 2007.
Recommendation:
The
Commission should discuss with Benefit Resources what options
are feasible to distribute money to boxers that retired from
2008 to 2013. Boxers that retired during this period should have
benefited from the Lost Beneficiary clause but did not. Starting
in 2014, the Commission should distribute the remaining balance
of forfeited accounts over time, instead of one lump sum. The
Commission should discuss the pros and cons of distribution over
a 1, 3, and 5 year period with our plan administrator, Benefit
Resources.
3.
Potential Funding Issue for Lost Beneficiaries That Reclaim Their
Pension Benefits:
The
last big issue with respect to the Lost Beneficiary provision
deals with how a boxer reclaims their forfeited benefit. The
provision allows a boxer to claim their vested retirement benefit
anytime, even after it has been forfeited due to the three year
rule. If a boxer comes forward at 65 to claim their benefit that
was forfeited at 53, the boxer is entitled to the amount of benefit
he would have received at age 50 with no adjustments for investment
gains or losses. The provision requires the Commission to pay
the boxer from current year distributions to the plan. A problem
may arise in the future if more boxers come forward in any given
year to claim their forfeited benefit than the fund has in current
year contributions. For example, the fund receives approximately
$100,000 a year in contributions from an assessment on each ticket
sold. How would the Commission pay out lost beneficiary claims
of more than $100,000 in any given year? What if current year
contributions drop? Additionally, when lost beneficiary claims
are paid from current year contributions, boxers that fought
in the current year will receive less allocation for that year
than they otherwise would have been eligible to receive. As a
result, it is important for the Commission to do everything possible
to reduce the likelihood that multiple boxers will come forward
in any given year where their lost beneficiary claims may exceed
current year contributions or significantly reduce the amount
of allocations to current year participants.
Recommendation:
Boxers
have three years to claim their benefit before the Commission
is required to forfeit. The Commission should do everything it
can to reach out and contact boxers and pay their benefits before
they are forfeited. The Commission may want to consider utilizing
the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service
features that are available to locate individuals that are due
a retirement benefit. For example, a boxer becomes eligible at
age 50 to receive their retirement distribution and the Commission
must forfeit their benefit at age 53. If the commission does
not hear from the boxer by age 52, the Commission could utilize
the services stated above to help locate the boxer. As a result,
the Commission would reduce the likelihood that a significant
number of boxers will re-claim their forfeited accounts to the
detriment of current year contributions and allocations. The
Commission may want to consider other funding mechanisms to further
mitigate the risk of current year contributions not being sufficient
to cover lost beneficiary claims in any given year.
This
is ugly.
Here’s the problem with the front office’s stance —
let’s say in a perfect world that they really start locating
all the fighters who deserve a distribution. What are you going
to do to generate over $100,000 a year to cover your perfect
scenario — raise the pension fund tax on tickets even higher?
Second, why should anyone believe that the front office will
have a significantly higher success rate in tracking down fighters
than past administrators have? Furthermore, who’s going
to change the code on the books to make sure none of it conflicts
with each other in determining who qualifies for a distribution
and when?
Bottom line: this is a giant mess and it looks like Beth Harrington
may get thrown under the bus here. On Monday’s meeting agenda,
there’s this item:
10. Review of Benefit Resources Pension Administration Contract
Is
a business termination coming?
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
Poised to Set Rigid Deadline for Sidelined Champions to Return
to Action
by Ken
Pishna
Regardless
of his affinity for UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and
his plight to return from a devastating knee injury, UFC president
Dana White on Monday said that his company is about to institute
a rigid deadline for how long a champion can be out of action
before being stripped of the title.
“We
have thought about it, and we will do it,” White said during
a media call. “We’re probably going to do that soon.”
As
much as White doesn’t want to strip Cruz of his belt, the
135-pound champ is the case study for why the UFC is poised to
impose a deadline on a champion’s inactivity.
Cruz
has been the champion since holding the belt in the WEC and having
his weight class melded into the UFC. He immediately became the
UFC champion and defended it twice prior to blowing out his knee.
The initial surgery to repair the knee failed, and he underwent
a second surgery, which has been deemed successful, although
he has yet to return to the Octagon.
As
of Oct. 1, Cruz crossed the two-year threshold for retaining
the bantamweight belt without defending it.
“This
is one of those situations where Dominick Cruz is a good kid.
He’s a great champion,” said White. “He was supposed
to fight Urijah Faber at the end of that season of The Ultimate
Fighter. He’s a champion; he gets a piece of pay-per-view.
That fight was supposed to be on the Anderson Silva vs. Chael
Sonnen card, which was a home run for him. It’s literally
a lottery ticket on how much money that kid would have made.”
That
has played a large part in why Cruz has yet to be stripped of
the belt. White just hasn’t had the heart.
“It’s
a combination of me feeling really bad for him, and him being
such a good person.”
In the meantime, Renan Barão won the interim title and
defended it twice, leading White to insinuate that the championship
hasn’t really been in limbo.
“The
fact that we did get a guy in there, Barão, who had the
interim championship and is a very impressive fighter. The kid
was out there fighting all of the guys that Cruz would have fought
anyway. So we kind of just let the thing go. For all intents
and purposes, Barão has been the champion, taking on all
the best guys.”
White
knows that, regardless of his feelings for Cruz, the situation
can’t be allowed to continue. And if Cruz isn’t prepared
to fight by early 2014, he will be stripped of his belt.
“Do
I think we let it play out too long? Maybe,” White said.
“But if I look at who the champion is, then I say no. I
feel bad for the kid.”
Once
the UFC institutes a concrete deadline for future situations,
however, White won’t have to be tortured with the idea of
whether or not to take away what this fighter worked so hard
for. As with most large companies, it will simply be a matter
of policy.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Paul
Daley's BAMMA return set for Dec. 14
By Ariel
Helwani
Paul Daley will officially return to BAMMA later this year.
"Semtex"
will face Romario Manoel da Silva at BAMMA 14 on Dec. 14, promotion
officials informed MMAFighting.com. The event will take place
at the LG Arena in Birmingham, England.
Daley
(33-12-2) has won his last four fights in a row by either first
or second-round stoppage. Daley returns to BAMMA for the first
time since he defeated Jordan Radev at BAMMA 7 in September 2011.
Da
Silva (23-10), a 13-year veteran who trains with the Blackzilians
in South Florida, will enter the welterweight bout on a two-fight
winning streak.
Also
on the card, former UFC fighter Colin Fletcher will meet Mansour
Barnaoui for the BAMMA lightweight title.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Tom
Niinimaki signs with the UFC, fights Rani Yahya at TUF 18 Finale
By Guilherme
Cruz
Another featherweight bout is set for TUF 18 Finale in Las Vegas.
After
the addition of the 145-pound clash between Maximo Blanco and
Akira Corassani, the UFC announced Tuesday that jiu-jitsu wizard
Rani Yahya welcomes Tom Niinimaki to the UFC on Nov. 30 at the
Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
Yahya
(19-7) enters the cage riding a three-fight win streak, including
a first-round submission victory over Josh Grispi at UFC on FOX
4. An ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship champion,
Yahya holds victories over the likes of Mike Brown, Eddie Wineland
and Mark Hominick during his UFC/WEC career.
Niinimaki
(20-5-1) makes his Octagon debut after racking up 11 consecutive
wins, eight of them in his homeland of Finland, including a decision
win over former WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beebe last May.
The
TUF 18 Finale will be headlined by the flyweight title fight
between Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez, and will also
feature the finals from TUF 18: Rousey vs. Tate in both men's
and women's 135-pound divisions.
Source: MMA Fighting
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Lee
Morrison Finally Hits the International Stage, Staring Down an
M-1 Global Championship
by Mick
Hammond
After
a 10-month layoff, Washington featherweight Lee “American
Bulldog” Morrison kicked off 2013 with an impressive win
over one of his region’s highest ranked fighters in Julian
Erosa at CageSport 25 in July.
“It
was a match-up I was trying to make happen for years,” said
Morrison. “I felt pretty good going into the fight and when
out there and once the cage door closed, the bulldog side of
me came out and I performed really well.
“I
grinded him out; that’s a big part of my game plan is just
kind of ambush him with a non-stop, push-the-pace action, and
I was able to get the unanimous decision victory.”
The
win raised Morrison’s record to 12-3 and helped him earn
an opportunity to expand his career to the international market
with his recent signing to M-1 Global.
“I’ve
been fighting in the Northwest now my whole amateur and pro fight
career; which is the better part of 10 years now. So to go and
travel and see another part of the world otherwise, I’m
stoked,” he said.
“It’s
a great opportunity to be able to go overseas and fight in a
bigger promotion and get my name out there.”
Morrison
will make his promotional debut at M-1 Challenge 42 on Oct. 20
in St. Petersburg, Russia, against Mikhail Malyutin (27-10) in
a bout that could determine the future of the company’s
145-pound division.
“He’s
kind of on the same boat as me, looking to get that M-1 title
fight and riding a winning streak,” said Morrison of Malyutin.
“He has two or three times as many fights as I have, so
he’s a little more seasoned. He doesn’t have one discipline
that I can look at, he’s very well-rounded, and nothing
in particular stands out.
“I’m just looking to go out there and show up with
my A-game, and hopefully he shows up with his A-game, and I can
get my hand raised and move up that ladder of success onto a
title shot and bigger and better things.”
As
Morrison told MMAWeekly.com, claiming the M-1 title is the only
thing he’s focused on in his MMA career in the coming year.
“The
situation as it stands right now; this is supposed to be kind
of a No. 1 contender fight, so whoever wins will be fighting
for the belt in their next fight,” said Morrison.
“As
soon as I get through this victory, I’m looking to fight
for that M-1 title belt early next year, that’s my plan.”
Source: MMA Weekly
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