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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
July 9-12
BJJ World Cup (CBJJO)
(BJJ)
(SESC gym, Salvador, Brazil)
4/3/04
Super
Brawl 33
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/26/04
Shooto Hawaii 2
(MMA)
(Campbell H.S. Gym)
Sometime
between Arnold-Gracie & Pan Ams
Pac-Rim BJJ tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Hawaii)
3/13/04
Rumble On The Rock 5
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/5-7/04
Arnold
Schwarzenegger World Gracie Professional Submission Championships
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Columbus, Ohio)
2/15/04
First Maui Invitational
of Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kahului, Maui, Hawaii)
Punishment
in Paradise 2
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(Campbell H.S. Gym)
2/13/04
Amateur
Fighting Compeition 5
(Toughman)
(Campbell H.S. Gym)
2/8/04
Ring of Honor 3
(Sub Grappling)
(Campbell H.S. Gym)
2/7/04
Super
Brawl 32
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
1/31/04
UFC
46: Super Natural
(MMA)
(Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV)
1/24/04
Ring of Honor 2
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(Campbell H.S. Gym)
1/19/04
Second 2 None Submission Grappling Tournament
(Sub Grappling)
(Oahu)
|
|
January 2004 News
Part 1
Wednesday
night and Sunday classes (w/ a kids' class) now offered!
 
For the special Onzuka.com
price, click on one of these banners above! |
Tuesdays at 6:00PM on
Olelo Channel 52 |
Quote
of the Day
"You are searching for the magic key that will unlock the
door to the source of power; and yet you have the key in your
own hands, and you may use it the moment you learn to control
your thoughts."
Napoleon Hill, 1883-1970, American Speaker, Motivational Writer,
''Think and Grow Rich''
|
Egan
Inoue Appears in Blood of the Samurai
NEW SHOWS TO PREMIERE ON OC16 THIS MONTH
BLOOD
OF THE SAMURAI: THE SERIES - A fine blend of action, humor, and
suspense, BLOOD OF THE SAMURAI: THE SERIES will be an exhilarating
ride from start to finish. The series opens after the events
of the award-winning film, in which two men train and battle
evil with ancient, mystic samurai swords. The 6-part series will
premiere on Oceanic Time Warner Cable's OC16 and stars the likes
of Ban Daisuke (Kikaida), Stephanie Sanchez (Mental Tilapia),
Alicia Michioka Jones (Miss Hawaii USA 2003) and Egan Inoue (former SuperBrawl
Champion), among others.
Premieres
Sunday, January 25 at 9:00pm (Airs Sundays at 9:00pm, repeats
Tuesdays & Thursdays at 8:00pm and Fridays at 10:00pm.
Egan's Background
on the Blood of the Samurai website:
Egan Inoue (SHINZO)
Egan Inoue
makes his acting debut as the vile gangster SHINZO in Blood of
the Samurai The Series, after a long and illustrious career in
the sports arena. Inoue is one of the most revered ultimate fighters
in the world, and is set to compete for the coveted Shooto Champion
Belt from current champion Masunori Suda, on May 9th, at Superbrawl
XVIIII, to be held at the Neal Blaisdell Center.
Egan
Inoue's seasoned technical and powerful style of fighting has
earned him the reputation of being one of the best fighters in
the World in his weight class. His fighting style combines Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu, Greco-Roman Wrestling, Freestyle Wrestling, Boxing,
and Kick-Boxing with an extreme emphasis on peak physical fitness.
Aside from his magnificent achievements in the fighting world,
Inoue is also a former Racquetball world champion in 1986 and
again in 1990, and is also recognized as Sportsman of the Year
and Racquetball Champion of the Year by the U.S. Olympic Committee
in 1996.
According
to Egan, fighting is like being in a very high-stakes chess game.
The winner is the one who stays 2-3 steps ahead of his opponent
at all times and has the physical endurance to outlast his opponent.
Source:
Oceanic Cable |
MENNE
VS VITALE
MMAWeekly.com has learned that Dave Menne will face Faliniko
Vitale in the main event at the next SuperBrawl card. Menne's
manager, Monte Cox confirmed the fight on the radio this week.
Menne
is coming off a win over Sam Cleveland in Extreme Challenge by
TKO and has won three of his last four fights. His only loss
in that time period was due to a cut at the hands of Hayato Sakurai.
Niko
Vitale had won seven fights in a row, before his last fight.
He lost to Matt Lindland at UFC 45. He will now try to refocus
in front of family and friends in Hawaii.
The
fight will take place in February and it's believed that there
are a few other main event type fights that will be announced
very soon.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
The
Sparring Chronicles
List Price: $24.95
Sale Price: $19.95
From
the director of Rites of Passage:
The
Sparring Chronicles takes you on a journey inside the world's
toughest gyms!
See
how the Champions train!
Featuring:
- Mark Coleman vs Kevin Randleman: Columbus Ohio
- Chuck Liddell vs Gilbert Yvel and Martin DeJong: Amsterdam,
Holland
- Wanderlei Silva training in Curitiba, Brazil
- Maurice Smith vs Tsyoshi Kohsaka - Rings Gym, Japan
- Enson Inoue vs Kato, Big John Calvo - Purebred Gym, Japan
- Nigel Hyudson vs Justin Juuko, Los Angeles, CA
Source:
Sherdog |
Best
of the Year 2003 Part 1
By Arnold "The Sushiboy" Lim
Another
year is in the books and like last year, and the year before,
it could be argued that it was the best year ever for MMA around
the globe. I have compiled a Top five best list for the year
2003. This is a list that reflects my own personal opinions and
is compiled mostly of fights that I have watched personally.
We all have our personal favorite moments from the past year
and I have cut the crap and stockpiled the best of the past Year.
What will the year 2003 hold for the MMA fans around the world?
Nobody knows for sure but one thing is for certain… good
things come in fives. Here is part 1 of 5 starting with the top
5 Biggest Upsets of the year and the Top 5 beatings of 2003.
Worst
Beatings of the Year
#5
- Rodrigo Nogueira Over Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filipovic
Pride Final Conflict Nov 9th 2003
Even though he won the fight in the end, for much of the first
round Nogueira took a beating that rivals some of the best in
the business and showed the heart of a true champion through
it all. There was precious little offence from him in round one
but he came back and turned the table in the second stanza, for
that one round however, there is no question that he took a royal
beating. All hail the heart.
#4
- Mauricio Rua Over Akira Shoji
Pride Bushido Oct 5th 2003
Shoji took one for the team, the whole team that is, as he ate
punch after punch on his way to being knocked out against the
rising star of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Rua dismantled
him with strikes from the standup position and always game Shoji
could muster little on his way to being punched and kicked into
the canvas.
#3
- Vanderlei Silva Over Quinton Jackson
Pride Final Conflict Nov 9th 2003
Quinton Jackson started off strong but after a questionable stand
up, the onslaught of knee’s came, and they came hard. Jackson
took more punishment in this fight then many fighters take in
their careers. The best part was, he came out smiling, proving
that their is nothing quite like service with a smile. Big props
to Jackson for taking the shots and showing off one of the hardest
heads in MMA.
#2
- Antonio Carvalho Over Phillip Legace
TKO 13 Ultimate Rush Sept 6th 2003
Not too many people got the chance to see this fight as is not
on DVD or PPV, but Legace took a beating in this fight that should
have been stopped earlier, the refferee must have been out to
lunch. This fight was stopped so late that one of Legace’s
teammates who was scheduled to fight later that evening, refused
to fight after seeing the poor reffing job in this fight. Carvalho
was dishing out a beating but being the sportsman that he is,
was visable upset with the fact that he had to continue dishing
it out when it was clear the fight was over. Bad reffing. Bad,
Bad, Bad.
#
1 - Fedor Emelianenko Over Gary Goodridge
Pride Total Elimination Aug 10th 2003
This fight was not fun to watch. Goodridge has a punchers chance
against just about anyone at heavyweight due to his hard hitting
in your face style, but this was not his night. Everyone and
his pet fish felt the punishment that he endured and it was not
pretty. He took numerous shots to the head culminating in an
early first round stoppage, this is what happenes when you have
gross mismatches, and a slow to react referee.
Honorable
Mention
Evan
Tanner Over Phil Baroni
In another case of the winner taking more punishment then the
loser Tanner took a beating in his fight from one of the biggest
punchers in the division. Baroni tatooed his fist into Tanner's
face but Tanner was able to weather the storm and come out on
top.
Biggest
Upsets of the Year
#5
- Joachim Hansen Upsets Takanori Gomi
Shooto 2003 10th edition Aug 10th 2003
Considered by many At the time of being the uncrowned king of
155, Takanori Gomi was thought to be near unbeatable. His ground
and pound tactics coupled with his granite chin and slick submission
defense was a recipe for an undefeated record of 14-0. Hansen
felt otherwise however, and proved his mettle in the ring. Hansen’s
rise from relative obscurity to ranked Lightweight culminating
in the Title victory over Gomi is one to remember.
#4
- Daiju Takase Upsets Anderson Silva
Pride 26th June 8th 2003
A losing record, including a loss the fight before to Nino Schembri
and a loss in his career to Fabiano Iha did not paint the whole
picture of Takase’s skills. Few pundits gave Takase an albino's
chance in Las Vegas of taking the fight against the undefeated
Anderson Silva, who had recently defeated the highly ranked Hayato
Sakurai and Carlos Newton convincingly. It is amazing how much
one fight can change everything.
#3
- Randy Couture Upsets Chuck Liddell
UFC 43, June 6th, 2003
Coming off two losses to Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez respectively,the
advantage of a drop in weight was deemed to be precious little
for a man that was on the cusp of 40 years on this earth. Liddell
on the other hand was undefeated in 10 fights and without a loss
in 4 years, which is a rarity in MMA. Impressive victories over
Kevin Randleman, Guy Mezger, Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort
and Renato “Babalu” Sobral were already on his resume
and many pegged Liddell as the uncrowned king of the lightheavyweight
division. One fight later, Randy Couture is the Interim Light
heavyweight Champion of the UFC, and Liddell is left to ponder
what went wrong.
#2
- Randy Couture Upsets Tito Ortiz
UFC 44, Sept 26th, 2003
Couture’s win over Chuck Liddell, the man that many feel
Ortiz was ducking, was deemed by some to be a fluke. The truth
was, he had only one win in his last 3 fights and at 40 years
of age, Couture was getting old fast right? Wrong. Couture won
every round in the 5 round marathon and left Ortiz in the losers
column for the first time in almost 4 years to the day. What
a difference a year makes.
#1
- Danny Lefever Upsets Benji Radach
Ultimate Ring Challenge 6 Oct 25th 2003
On October 25th at the Ultimate Ring Challenge, Benji Radach,
the man with 3 impressive UFC appearances, an ever rising stock,
and a recent win over the highly touted Gustavo Machado was about
to get knocked out cold for the first time in his career by a
no-name fighter named Danny Lefaver. Danny Who? Any way you cut
it, a K.O loss to a man with ZERO MMA fights to his name is one
loss that will be tough to get over.
Honorable
Mention
Tetsuya
Kawajiri Upsets Yves Edwards
Georges St Pierre Upsets Pete Spratt
Kazushi Sakuraba Upsets Kevin Randleman
David Loiseau Upsets Anthony Fryklund
Duane Ludwig Upsets Jens Pulver
Joachim Hansen Upsets Rumina Sato
Tim Sylvia Upsets Ricco Rodriguez
Rich Franklin Upsets Evan Tanner
If
you agree or disagree with any of my picks don’t be shy,
Yell Holler and let me know about it, dont feel bad, flame away.
Source:
MMA Ring Report |
Charuto
on MMA Weekly Radio
Today we kick it off with a relatively unknown fighter to some
fans- Charuto
Verissimo.
He will be facing Carlos Newton and if you don't know Verissimo,
just ask Gil Castillo who he is. It was Verissimo who defeated
Castillo at the end of the second round to keep his perfect record
intact. Learn more about him today on MMAWeekly Radio.
The
show airs Monday through Friday at 9am Pacific/ 12 Noon Eastern.
If you leave outside the United States, here are the current
times around the world.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
ZST
SHOW THIS WEEKEND
by Scott Butler
From
ZEPP, Tokyo... ZST is having the finals of their 16-man tournament
this Sunday... but the first round was just one fight... NOW
we will have a 8-man, one-day tournament.
Here
is a breakdown of the brackets, it's a very decent card. You
would have to assume that the winner here is practically rushed
to UFC or other big shows.
First
fight : Naoyuki Kotani (12-0-2) from Rodeo Style is he favorite
to win the Tournament and he is taking on the VERY tough Rich
"No Love" Clementi (12-6-1)
Second
fight : Hideo Tokoro (6-3) from Stand Gym is taking on (my pick)
TAISHO (4-0) from Nagoya BJJ Club. TAISHO, who's real name is
Tomomi Iwama, got his start in DEEP and has really progressed
as a fighter.
Third
fight : The very strange style of Takumi "The Oriental Mystery"
Yano (6-3-3) from Ugo Kai/Wild Pheonix is fighting the VERY DANDEROUS
Remigijus Morkevicius (5-0) from Rings Lithuania. All his wins
by KO... four of those wins by knee. The T-shirts they sell of
Morkevicius's say "Angry Animal" (pretty cool)
Fourth
fight: The monk, Masakazu Imanari (5-1) from Team Roken, who's
only loss came from Mishima, is fighting submission specialist
Marcus Aurelio (6-1) from American Top Team. All 6 of his wins
came by submission, either Triangle or armbar, and his only loss
was a split decision. Tough kid.
BUT
WAIT, there's more!!!
Reserve
match (and I hope we don't need them) Atsuhiro Tsuboi (0-3) from
Alive Komaki (his last 2 losses were KO losses from Morkevicius)
is fighting Jason Maxwell (4-4) from Team Extreme... Maxwell
lost in the first round of this Tournament to TAISHO at 2:14
of the first round.
AND
Single
match (non-tournament) Takuhito Hida (1-7) from Impress (all
his fights came in Shooto... his only win was a decision) takes
on BJJ up-and-comer Alberto Crane (4-0) from Santa Fe Academy
who's biggest win was a decision victory over Javier Vazquez.
...all
in all, it will be a great night of fights. It is NOT on PPV...
quite possibly a DVD will be released later.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Catching
up with Pat Miletich on MMA Weekly Radio
Pat Miletich has been busy getting his new 15,000 square foot
facility up and running. Pat is not retired despite rumors. He
plans on fighting in Chicago, where he got his start, in the
spring against a yet to be named opponent. Pat said he would
like at least one more fight and would like to fight on pay-per-view.
Miletich said he has reached all the goals he wanted to as a
fighter.
He
enjoys training fighters now and watching them win world titles.
When asked if any of his fights stick out to him, Pat replied,
"Not a whole lot stand out" but winning the four man
tourney in the UFC was a great accomplishment. He considers his
toughest fight to have been against Jason Nicholson at SuperBrawl
3, where Pat came away with a unanimous decision. The only fighter
Pat manages is Robbie Lawler and admittedly is better at training
than managing. He considers Robbie to be an exceptional athlete
but doesn't feel now is the time to pit him against the top guys.
He
was asked about Lee Murray, who will be going out to Team Miletich
soon to train. Pat said, "Lee is very dangerous standing
and his ground game has come a long way. He pointed out Lee's
knockout powers and joked that some already know. After Tim Sylvia
tested positive for steroids, Pat was the first person he called.
Miletich said he was never mad at Tim and that everyone makes
mistakes. Tim doesn't need to do that to help his game, he added.
By his account, Matt Hughes is looking good and his stand up
has improved light years. Miletich had nothing but praises to
say about fighter Jason Black. We probably won't see Jason in
the UFC real soon because it would load up the 170lb. division
with one team due to Matt Hughes and Robbie Lawler already competing
there.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Ximú
talks about his leaving from RVT
The fighter, Gustavo Ximú, that recently switched the
Ruas Vale-Tudo by the Gracie Barra Combat Team, prefers to not
respond now the critics he has receiving and admits that his
last days has not been being easy. 'The situation is hard for
me. I have been through a difficult time in my life and I prefer
not to talk about it. I do have to pay my taxes and I need the
money,' revealed Ximú, justifying the main reason of his
leaving. The last bout Ximú representing RVT was at Heat
Fighting Championship 2, with a huge controversy against Allán
Góes. Ximú now is by his old RVT teammate's side
Alexandre Cacareco and Renato Babalú.
Source:
Tatame |
Rodrigo
Minotauro
By André Araújo
Minotauro
is MMA promoter
The
Pride heavyweight champion Rodrigo Minotauro had an amazing experience
in his birthplace as a MMA promoter. The Conquista Fight was
held in Vitória da Conquista (Bahia) at the Raul Ferraz
gymnasium on December 20th and joint together great MMA and Muay
Thai's fighters in a excellent event with a good ring and production
structure. Check out this exclusive interview conceded by Minotauro
from his car days before the Vale-Tudo.
How
is this change from fighter to promoter?
It
has been harder then fighting. This week I lost weight while
doing promoter things as putting everybody in the bus to Bahia.
There were three athletes that got hurt on the last time and
I had to support. If I was just a manager, I wouldn'd care so
much, but I am a fighter and I know what is to be a fighter,
so I drove the kid to the hospital and provided him a doctor.
I care about them and I do have to help them when they need me.
So
being a fighter helped you at this time...
Yes.
I am all about fighting. I do care about paying a good cash for
the athletes and about a good structure and production. The lights,
the cameras position... everything. Pride let me understand a
lot about a MMA event... rules, athletes position and he had
an amazing support of a local manager.
Tell
me about your possible revenge against Fedor?
Is
it going to happen, but not in February. Fedor seems that signed
with Inoki and he had some exclusivity contract with Pride. It
is a mess and I am waiting for a solution. Last time I fought
him I was not feeling well. Now I am much better. I am thinner
and faster. If this fight happens in February I am sure I would
defeat him.
At
that time you got defeated, you received a lot of support...
Is
it important because everybody sees the work I have been doing.
It was pretty hard for me because I was used to win... but this
belongs to life. At this time you have to raise your head and
thanks God for a good recover time. I also fought in March and
in August but it wasn't so great neither. I had plans to until
the end of the year get my belt back. I did it.
How
the idea of fighting the GP came out?
It
was a surprise. Mirko was almost sure to face Fedor and I was
getting myself ready to fight Josh Barnett and twenty days before
the fight, Fedor got injured and I don't believe he was hurt
by the time of the fight. I fought under worse conditions...
This guy is still recovering himself for three long months? I
saw a chance to come back on the top and I went for it. I've
trained Sunday to Sunday... people called me to have fun, but
I just had this fight in my mind. Fortunately I got it.
You
and Wanderlei were together at the Storm showing their belts
to the audience... he said that he will might fight as a heavyweight.
Do you think he will do a great job among them?
I
think it would be harder for a guy that exchange punches and
for a grappling. Because the grappling one is heavier and with
my skills I can defeat him. To the guy that exchange punches,
the heavy hand makes the difference. Wanderlei is an awesome
fighter. He surprised at the medium category and I am sure that
the same may happen among the heavyweights. We can expect anything
from Wanderlei. He didn't have opponents for him at the mediums.
I think the only fight it is missing is Wanderlei vs Ricardo
Arona. Its the only thing its missing. But if he want to fight
among the heavies, he is welcome. The guys is a showman and I
am sure he will be a great opponent. If someday I fight him,
it would be a moving fight.
He
has received the BJJ black belt recently and this fact has been
under a very controversy mood... You are a BJJ black belt. What
do you think about it?
People
from Carlinhos academy came to me and said he didn't deserve
the belt. For the Jiu-Jitsu fighter, who has been training for
10 years, is it hard for them to see that Wanderlei earned that
belt. I think he fought better than many BJJ black belts in a
MMA tournament. For his modality, his ground technique is high
as a black level. Carlinhos is very smart, Wanderlei is a icon
in Japan. This is a great thing to Jiu-Jitsu.
Do
you think you would repeat your victories from Pride at K-1,
once you have good bases at Boxe?
No,
I don't think I would be great at K-1 as I am at Pride. Those
guys have talent and they are good in what they do. I could even
fight at K-1, but to be number one is another deal.
Source: Tatame |
Quote
of the Day
"Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way,
ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of
the future."
Deepak Chopra, Deepak East-Indian- American M.D., New Age Author,
Lecturer
|
Enson
Inoue Returns to MMA
MMA
Weekly’s Mick Hammond learned earlier this week that despite
slightly aggravating a previous leg injury during his January
4th appearance at NJPW’s “Wrestling World 2004”
event, Enson Inoue will be fighting this upcoming Saturday in
Guam against the man he defeated at Pride 5, Siochi Nishida.
Rules
of this “exhibition” fight will be similar to those
of Pride, except all 3 rounds will be five minutes, and if a
fighter is on his hands and knees in a downed position, no kicks/stomps
can be made to the downed fighter (although if the fighter is
on his back then kicks/stomps will be allowed).
Enson
also commented that his NJPW contract is now over and, while
he may resign with the company, he is “going to concentrate
more on MMA over the next three years before I retire for good.”
Enson also stated that a return to Pride is becoming more possible.
Enson said that while he was at Pride’s Shockwave show (Enson's
wife who is training in hopes of making the Japanese Olympic
women’s freestyle wrestling team) Dream Stage Entertainment's
President Nobuyuki Sakakibara told him, “whenever I want
to fight for Pride they will do their best to make it happen.”
Enson
also commented on Pride’s announcement that former WWE/WCW
pro wrestler Vader (real name Leon White) will be fighting at
Pride’s next Bushido show (scheduled for February 15th).
According to Enson, “I don’t know if it will be a shoot
(real fight) or not.” He continued by stating, “I feel
you should keep pro wrestling to pro wrestling and MMA to MMA,
I don’t think you should mix the two.”
Source:
MMA Weekly |
|
LOISEAU
VS HORN IN TKO?
MMAWeekly
told you about the possibility of a Jeremy Horn vs David Loiseau
fight last monty. TKO has a new press release out that says Loiseau
will be on the card for sure. Monte Cox, Horn's manager hinted
at it yesterday on MMAWeekly Radio. Here's the official press
release from TKO.
MONTREAL
(CANADA) - TKO World Middleweight champion David Loiseau will
defend his title for the second time in the main event of TKO
15: UNSTOPPABLE on Saturday, February 28th 2004 at the Pierre
Charbonneau-Center in Montreal, Canada. His opponent will be
announced shortly as TKO is still negotiating with a few contenders
at this time.
In
the co-main event of the evening, the "Lion Heart"
Steve Vigneault will try to redeem himself after losing the Canadian
LHW Championship as he defends the one belt he has left. Going
head to head with Vigneault for the Canadian MW Championship
is none other than the pride of Manitoba - hard hitting CHRIS
FONTAINE. This fight should be a war as two of the most exciting
strikers in Canada collide.
The
event will also feature the return of The Machine, Mark Hominick
as he defends his Canadian Super-Lightweight championship for
the fourth time against the experienced David Guigui. Once again,
this will be the classic fight between a striker and a grappler.
Guigui wants the belt and thinks his experience will be too much
for the young champion. Hominick knows exactly what to do against
a grappler as he already dismantled the best Canada has to offer
in Nancoo, Diaz and Claveau.
The
"Road to the Predator" will also start at TKO 15 as
Bill Mahood and Yan Pellerin start their hunt for the title.
Bill Mahood has deserved a title shot for quite a while, but
with the Champion being unable to compete for professional reasons,
"The Butcher" wanted to stay active and keep his #1
contender spot. Yan Pellerin wants two things - First he wants
the title but he also wants to redeem himself after losing to
"The Predator". If Mahood wins the fight, he will finally
get what he deserves the most: A shot at the TKO Canadian LHW
championship. If Pellerin wins, he will have the chance to do
both in one night as he will have one more chance against "The
Predator".
Complete
fight card to be announced shortly and will feature 14 professional
fights.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
SUBMISSION
WRESTLING OPEN 1 - SECOND SUPERFIGHT ANNOUNCED!
AFC
#7 and SWO #1 set to explode on February 27th and 28th in Ft.
Lauderdale, Florida!!!
'We
have a second SUPERFIGHT to announce for the Submission Wrestling
Open 1 (SWO #1)' states matchmaker AFC Miguel Iturrate. 'TRAVIS
LUTTER v DAVID TERRELL in the 77-87.99 KG is a match that brings
together 2 of the TRIALS Champions from North America (Lutter
in 2000, 2001 and Terrell in 2003), and it is a match of two
of the premiere grapplers in that weight class.'
Terrell,
a tough Cesar Gracie student who is undefeated in Grappling events
but has been concentrating on his MMA career, returns to Submission
Wrestling for one more challenge. 'We spoke to Cesar, and ho
told me that there are not a lot of people that Dave wants to
go back and grapple with again, he has moved on to MMA.' reveals
the matchmaker. 'When I told him it was Lutter in a superfight,
the tone changed! They wanted that challenge.'
Lutter
comes off a solid 2003, quietly honing his technique in Texas,
Lutter returned to win Rorion Gracie's Ultimate Submission event
in grand fashion, and he returned to MMA as well, scoring a submission
win in a match in Denmark. 'Lutter took the match almost immediately
- he always has a competitive fire burning'' states the matchmaker.
'The
only way this match wont happen is that one of these guys gets
a better offer elsewhere - like Terrell in Pancrase.' states
Iturrate. 'We want this fight to happen badly, but we will let
the guys go if they get a better opportunity. They both want
the match badly also. This way, they only have to listen to good
offers. Of course, if they dont compete in something else, or
if they compete elsewhere and are unscathed, the ADCC Superfight
will happen. This one is ready to go!'
SUPERFIGHTS:
- TRAVIS LUTTER v DAVID TERRELL (77-87.99 KG)
- JEFF MONSON v MARCIO 'PE DE PANO' CRUZ (over 99 KG)
TOURNAMENT
COMPETITIONS:
4 Man Submission Tournament - under 65.99 KG
4 Man Submission Tournament - under 66-76.99 KG
4 Man Submission Tournament - under 77-87.99 KG
8
Man Invitiational - ABSOLUTE (Open Weight)
SUBMISSION
WRESTLING SCHEDULE
In
2004, the venues for SUBMISSION WRESTLING are expanding, with
more than just the TRIALS available for competitors, as well
as a certification program for judges , the number of Submission
Wrestling competitions will be growing in the coming year throughout
the world.
'I
think it is remarkable - the competition has attracted the top
names in the Grappling World since the beginning, yet the level
has gone up every single year.' states ADCC spokesman Miguel
Iturrate.
-
January 17th, 2004: Scandinavian Open, Stockholm, Sweden
- February 28th, 2004: Submission Wrestling Open I, Ft Lauderdale,
FL
- March 13th, 2004: Australian Open, Australia
Source:
ADCC
|
ZST
GP Final - Card is This Weekend!
ZST GP Final
Date: January 11th, 2004
Place: Zepp Tokyo
The
final 8 men in Japan's ZST Grand Prix are preparing to decide
the tournament this weekend. Many of the Americans on the card
spent Tuesday and Wednesday beginning their long flights to Tokyo.
In
addition to the phenomenal GP, the ZST organization has added
a 'GENESIS' tournamnet and undercard of all Japanese fighters.
In the tournametn format, look for GENESIS to yield stars in
ZST's exciting RINGS style format.
ZST
GP Tournament:
Naoyuki Kotani (Rodeo Style) vs. Rich Clementi (Team Extreme)
Hideo Tokoro (STAND) vs. TAISHO (Team Babosa Japan)
Takumi Yano (UGOKAI) vs. Remigijus Morkevicius (RINGS Lithuania)
Masakazu Imanari (Team Roken) vs. Marcus Aurelio (ATT)
Tournament
Reserve Match
Atsuhiro Tsuboi (Alive Komak) vs. Jason Maxwell (Team Extreme)
Single
Match
Takuto Hida (Impress) vs. Alberto Crane (Santa Fe Academy)
Genesis
Tournament:
Takahiro Uchiyama vs. Toshiaki Komatsu
Kenzi Daikanyama vs. Sho Kazama
Yujiro Kushida vs. Tomoya Arakawa
Norimasa Isozaki vs. Roland Fabre
Genesis
Tournament Reserve Match:
Chikara Sato (SK Absolute) vs. Yusuke Shimizu (RIKI GYM)
Genesis
Bout Single Match
Yuta Watanabe (G-Square) vs. Yoshimichi Takino (Rodeo Style)
Source:
ADCC
|
|
MMA
Updates
Wednesday's
midweek edition of MMAWeekly Radio had "Razor" Rob
McCullough and Monte Cox as it's featured guests. McCullough
talked about how his fight game has evolved and various training
partners that have helped in his evolution. Primarily a kickboxer
entering mixed martial arts, Rob said he "had to understand
the dynamics of NHB fighting." He recognized that he may
have bit off more than he could chew when first entering MMA
and that it is more than just standing and banging with a guy.
He discussed his loss to Josh Thomson.
He
said he didn't know much about Josh going into the fight and
that basically Thomson neutralized his game. McCollough trains
with Team Oyama with training partners Tito Ortiz, Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson, Jason Miller, and Tiki Ghosn. He has been hitting the
mat every morning and working on his sprawl. He said Tiki was
doing really well and discussed Tiki's loss to Robbie Lawler
at UFC 40.
He
said Tiki was doing what he was supposed to do and then they
hit the fence. Rob feels that Tiki will be back in the UFC. Not
wanting to start rumors or anything, he said, "It is the
word around the camp fire." Tito is also doing well and
when asked how Tito's stand up is, Rob responded, "That
guy can drop some bombs." McCullough added that Tito has
a "Strong heart, is a good guy and prepared to do what he
has to do." McCullough will be fighting on January 16th
in the WEC "Cold Blooded" show along with training
partner Tiki.
Monte
Cox joined the show and went into the details about the developments
surrounding Rich Franklin. Franklin has a contract with Inoki
and K-1 as they have the same financial backer. His contract
does not prevent him from fighting in the UFC.
Rich
was considered to be on the UFC 46 card but there wasn't any
slots available so he had to look elsewhere for a fight. Cox
gave a play by play version of Rich's loss to Ryoto Machida at
the New Years Eve Inoki show. Franklin was caught by a left hand
early in the fight and dropped by another left late in round
one. Between rounds, in the corner, Rich said he didn't remember
much of the last three minutes. He was hit by another left in
round two that knocked him down and that was it, according to
Cox. Monte said, "Rich didn't seem like himself." It
was the first time Rich and been to Japan and fought in front
of 30,000 people.
Cox
wasn't making excuses for Franklin, he simply put it, "He
didn't have a good fight." Monte is staying busy and gave
updates on some upcoming events and several of his fighters.
On the 16th, he is putting on an event in Cincinnati, Ohio, the
"Ice Show", where Jeremy Horn will be fighting. February
21st, Jeff Curran will be fighting for the first time since his
broken arm in Chicago. The week after UFC 46 is SuperBrawl with
Dave Menne and Niko Vitale fighting.
Cox
is working with TKO for possible fights between Jeremy Horn and
David Loiseau as well as Jason Black against Georges St.Pierre.
Jens Pulver is fighting in an upcoming Muay Thai bout against
Justin Yagin. Rich Franklin will most likely be fighting for
Inoki in March. Also in March, Pride is looking to come to Vegas
and is interested in Jeremy Horn. March 26th, Monte is doing
a show in Minneapolis featuring a four man tourney at 155 and
170lbs. with Menne and Sean Sherk on the card.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
"Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then
wait to hear the answer."
Ed Cunningham |
Punishment
In Paradise II
Looking
for fighters those interested in competing in MMA,Kickboxing
and Muay Thai should email me at second2none@hawaii.rr.com. W are also looking
for a pro 170lbs fighter. This show will be hosted late Febuary.
Source:
Event Promoter
|
Department
of Corrections: Updated WEC Card!
by: Keith Mills
Lemoore,
CA - The latest changes to the upcoming January 16th WEC card
are in. Rob “The Razor” McCullough’s opponent
is Harris Sarmiento from 808 Fight Factory, Poppies Martinez
is now fighting Eric Ramirez, and Kerri Crothers is now fighting
Adrienna Jenkins. Yves Edwards’ opponent has also been changed
to be Deshaun Johnson.
There
are also rumors from the midwest that Chris Lytle, who is coming
off a 47 second, 'message sending' demolition of Pete Spratt,
is off the show to heal some small 'nicks'.
Look
for more changes and updates as they come in!
Card
Subject To Change:
- Anthony Arria vs Gilbert Magana
- Alex Stiebling vs TBA
- George Evangelista vs Rocky Long
- Rob McCollough vs Harris
Sarmiento
- Pedro Tome vs Anthony Gonzales
- Richard Montoya vs Joe Salcido
- Eric Ramirez vs Poppies Martinez
- Lavar Johnson vs Doug Marshal
- John Appleby vs Jack Cardenas
- J.T. Taylor vs Chris Lytle
- Eric Eide vs Abram “Irish Abe” Baxter
- Tiki Ghosen vs Nick Gilardi
- Deshaun
Johnson
vs Yves Edwards
- Albert Rios vs Olaf Alfonzo
- Kerri Crothers vs. Adrienna
Jenkins
- Shonie Carter vs. Gabe Garcia
- Chris Leben vs. Mike Swick
- Mike Kyle vs Joe Pardoe
Source:
ADCC
|
K-1´n
Yakuza in Brazilian soap opera
One of the most important fight shows in the world will take
part of a Brazilian soap opera. The K-1 will be at Metamorfose,
a Record TV production. Written by Mário Prata and directed
by the awarded Tizuka Yamasaki, the story will show the Brazilian
fighters reality doing their ways to take place in the Japanese
rings. It'll also talk about the possible relationship between
the Japanese mafia (Yakuza) and the K-1.
Looking
for a real story, the soap opera producers contracted the K-1
MMA director Sergio Batarelli as a consultant. 'I told them I´would
just accept if they showed the fighting world as it is. They
guaranteed that will be done and I'm in. It'll be a great opportunity
to spread even more the Martial Arts in Brazil', states Batarelli,
that also may appear in the plot as a trainer.
Source: Tatame
|
Rizzo:
"RVT will only end when I die"
Pedro Rizzo says he is fine about Gustavo Ximú's leaving
from Ruas Vale Tudo Team. "Our team is strong and training
hard. About Ximú I have to say that who is my friend is
with me now. Who sells himself is not longer by my side,"
revealed Rizzo. After Ximú, Alexandre Baixinho and Aloisio
Barros on last Tuesday (6), now five athletes switched Ruas Vale-Tudo
by Gracie Barra Combat Team. Wrestlers Alexandre Cacareco and
Renato Babalú were the first ones to switch. Rizzo explains
why:
"They
left motivated by money issues. I don't blame only Unamar. None
of them can complain about me. I've never got any penny of their
prizes," commented Rizzo that also answered back the rumors
that points that Ruas Vale-Tudo would be close to an end. "Ruas
Vale-Tudo only gonna have an end when I die or cannot step inside
the ring anymore. I own everything I am to Marco Ruas. He gave
me my career", stated Rizzo.
Source:
Tatame
|
Britney
Spears Ex-Hubby a Fighter
Much
has been reported about Britney Spears and her brief marriage
to friend Jason Allen Alexander. What has not been discussed,
until now, are his pugilistic interests. Entertainment Tonight
is reporting that Alexander took part in an "ultimate fighting
challenge" in Louisiana called "Whoop Ass Wednesdays."
ET has a clip from his fight on their website (http://et.tv.yahoo.com/music/2004/01/07/britsexfightclub/).
Although Alexander and his opponent wear MMA gloves and the referee
is wearing a Full Contact Fighter hat, the rules appear to be
more like a boxing match as the pair is broken up and the fight
stopped as Alexander beats on his hapless opponent -- after the
fight, Alexander says they claimed he "cheated," ...
that he hit the guy on the ground.
ET
also reports that they will "bring you insde the ring of
Jason's real life fight club!" on tonight's edition of their
television show. Check your local listings for time & channel
(in the New York City area, that's 7:30pm on CBS channel 2).
Source: FCF |
Interview
with Reed Harris, VP of WEC
They went from nobody knowing about their organization, to an
organization everybody wants to fight for. World Extreme Cagefighting,
the WEC, is one of the more reputable MMA companies in the United
States. WEC Vice President, Reed Harris talked to MMAWeekly about
their future, their upcoming show, and what's next for WEC in
our Interview of the Week.
MMAWeekly:
You guys have your next show coming up on January 16th called
"Cold Blooded." You have a ton of big names, Yves Edward's,
Shone Carter, Chris Lyle, Alex Stebling, etc....this is your
biggest show to date, are you guys trying to step up the level
of competition on your show?
Reed:
Ryan, thanks....Of course we are always trying to top our last
show. And as you know, we've had some really exciting events.
Like I've stated before, we really feel an obligation to both
The Palace and the fans to give them the absolute best entertainment
value for their money. When a fan buys a seat to our show, they
know they are in for a full night of non stop MMA fighting. So
much of it is due to my partner Scott Adams and his relationships
with all the different fight teams out there. Plus he knows which
fighters compliment each other and always provides the show with
exciting match ups. That's really the key to our success.
MMAWeekly:
How many shows have you guys done and how can fans see your DVD's
Reed:
This is our ninth show. Scott and I were talking the other day
and we are both satisfied with where the company is right now.
DVD's are just becoming available as we have worked out the editing
and production issues. We are just wrapping up WEC 8 and it will
be available in the coming weeks. Sales of WEC 7 have been good.
Fans should check on MMAWEEKLY.com's online store for information
as to availability.
MMAWeekly:
Can you comment about this upcoming show regarding TV? I was
checking out your website and there are some rumors that fans
might be able to watch this show at the end of the month?
Reed:
Ryan, I'm happy to say the rumors are true! We have signed a
deal with HDNET, which is the television station started by Mark
Cuban and Philip Garvin. Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks
NBA franchise and I've heard a fan of the sport. What's unique
about this deal is that the show will be filmed in true high
definition. If you haven't seen HDNET, it is so much better then
conventional television. I have a high def system at my house
and literally started calling them after watching soccer one
day. In fact, I started watching soccer just because the picture
was so clear. no offense to all the soccer fans out there, but
I had just never been that interested. I have also began watching
the NHL on HDNET. Its like your there. I am very excited about
this arrangement, I believe we will reach a lot of fans across
the county that have never seen MMA before. Believe me, we plan
on putting our best foot forward.
MMAWeekly:
How many shows can we expect for 2004 in the WEC? Will you stay
in California for those shows?
Reed:
Right now we have four shows scheduled. We actually have been
offered to do a couple of more, but Scott and I want to make
sure that the quality of each show improves. I also have to mention
that the venue we're in, The Palace Indian Gaming Center in Lemoore
(just outside Fresno), is the world's best venue for doing shows
like ours. The staff is absolutely the best in the nation, they
love the sport, follow the sport and the fighters, and support
us in every way possible. Plus, we have a huge fan base in Fresno
and sell out every event. This show will be inside due to the
weather, so we'll only be able to put about 2000 in the seats.
Our next three will be in their outdoor arena and we have upwards
of 5000 seats. At our last outdoor event, they literally sold
standing room only wrist bands. That's how popular it is!
MMAWeekly:
We get fans back east that would like to see you again, was the
experience back east one of those things that would keep you
from returning? For the fans that don't know about the problems
you had to go through can you comment about the show at the Mohegan
Sun?
Reed:
Actually, at this time it's probably best that I not comment
on the Mohegan Sun situation. We do hope to have a resolution
soon and would love to get back east and do another show. Ryan,
you were there and I think you'd agree that the show itself was
very well done from both the production and fights standpoint.
I mean, everyone was there, Tito, Chuck, Pat, Matt, Frank...
they all came to support us and we appreciate it so much......it
was like an MMA reunion.
MMAWeekly:
Definitely, the Mohegan Sun show was really well done. The hot
topic in the past month has been promoters that have not be paying
fighters. You guys have a good rep as far as treating fighters
professionally, what is your take on the Chad Mason's, Edward
Kim's, and the other guys who haven't taken care of fighters
by either not paying them or canceling events days before a show
because they won't make a profit?
Reed:
First of all, Scott and I have always felt that the fighters
get paid before we do. And we have never done an event (Mohegan
Sun excluded) where we lost money. In fact, even though we lost
money at the Mohegan Sun, and a lot might I add, everyone who
participated in the event was paid (except us). When we approach
a show, we make sure we have enough in reserves to cover the
event even if we don't sell a single ticket. I don't believe
the promoters you mention were out to screw anybody, it was just
poor planning. As far as canceling an event, again, poor planning.
But, if you know you are about to lose a bunch of money, you
almost can't blame them. All I can say is that anyone who is
thinking about doing a promotion such as this should approach
it very carefully. It can be a very very expensive hobby if you
don't plan properly.
MMAWeekly:
Which is more important, signing big name fighters that the Internet
fans want to see, or just putting on exciting fights with "B"
or "C" level fighters who are prone to laying it all
on the line and entertaining the fans?
Reed:
I've got to tell you that some of the most exciting fights ever
at our shows were guys that just got in there and laid it all
on the line because their girlfriend or dad was out in the audience.
As strange as that may sound, it's true. With that said, you
always need the headliners as they will always produce. Guys
like Gan McGee, Shone Carter, Jeremy Horn, Gil Castillo always
come to fight. And you know when you book them that if their
healthy, their going to show up and suit up. But, you can make
headliners out of the guys in the area. We have a guy fighting
on January 16th named Olaf. Here's a guy that had his nose broken
at WEC 7 and all it did was piss him off. The crowd went crazy
when he got hit, nose started pouring blood, he looks at his
opponent like he just stole his girlfriend and just starts beating
on him. He's been to every event since. The thing about putting
local fighters on the card is that they sell tickets. The upcoming
show has a very talented fighter form Visalia, Doug "The
Rhino" Marshal. He very well known in the area and brings
a lot of fans with him. I guess Scott's goal is to have a good
mix of fighters at every event.
MMAWeekly:
With that said, what are your thoughts about MMA in the United
States? The UFC has been working hard to get the mainstream media
as well as the sports fans involved... what are your thoughts
about the UFC?
Reed:
I'll tell you what, because of people like Dana White and the
UFC group, our sport has probably done in three years what it's
taken others decades to achieve. I truly believe that our success
lies in the mainstream versus the hard core fan. If anyone has
ever been to a UFC show, they are very very exciting. It seems
that all they have to do is get a fan to attend a show and their
hooked. Let me give you an example. At the last Vegas show, I
invited Jerry Tarkanian, the legendary basketball coach to the
Manadaly Bay for the Randy/Tito fight. Jerry has been involved
in sports all his life but had never seen MMA fighting. The first
couple of minutes were spent explaining the moves, take downs,
submissions etc. About half way through the show he looked at
me and said "this is unbelievable". He called me about
a week later and thanked me again and said that if I ever had
tickets again, to please call him I also have to say that I always
have to smile when I read all the criticism on the underground
etc about how the UFC should operate, it's shows etc. I think
what most people need to realize is that this sport was on the
verge of just about dying until they took it over... they have
done a great job and my hat's off to them.
MMAWeekly:
What is your background in MMA? Do you train?
Reed:
I'll tell you the story. I had taught Tae Kwon Do for many years,
did tournaments, that kind of thing. I was a second degree in
Tae Kwon Do, had done all my requirements for my third degree
black belt but began traveling away from home for my real estate
business. I looked in the phone book for a place to train while
on the coast and ended up calling SLO Kickboxing. After going
to the classes for a year or so, I became friends with Scott
and he told me he would get me a couple of private lessons so
I could learn a little ground fighting. I came in that day and
he introduced me to Cruz Gomez, a 145 pound fighter. Now, I'm
about 5'11, 185, was always a decent wrestler and looked at Cruz
and thought, "I'm gonna kill this guy." I think it
took him about 10 seconds to put me in an arm bar... I thought,
OK, you just got lucky, and I think it was about another 15 seconds
before he had me tapping again. I'll never forget thinking...
"I gotta learn this shit"... so I've been training
every week for over three years now and can actually hold my
own with most guys in the gym. I did get a chance to wrestle
Chuck [Liddell] last weekend. I grabbed his leg, took him down
(he's smiling the whole time by the way which is a little discouraging),
I'm on top, the next thing I know he's on top, knee in the chest,
with his right cocked way back like I am going to eat a big one...
I thought, if this was real, I am in big trouble. But the point
is that at 47, I really feel so lucky to be allowed to work with
these guys at the gym. It energizes me every time I do it. I
do have to mention that I have been married for over 20 years,
and my wife Laura does look at me when I come home limping sometimes
and wonder what the heck I'm doing.
MMAWeekly:
Your partner, Scott Adams, has fought in the UFC and helps Chuck
Liddell and Gan McGee get ready for their fights. Are Scott's
fighting days over?
Reed:
If you ask me, I say no. He'll be back. If you ever want to wrestle
a guy that keeps you totally defensive, wrestle Scott. He is
that good. I think he's really focusing on the WEC but will get
back into fighting when the time is right.
MMAWeekly:
Reed, I appreciate the time and once again for the fans, if you
don't have your tickets for January 16th, that's in a few days
and it may be too late.
Reed:
Thanks for the time and for the fans who haven't seen it, you're
right - get your tickets today. It's just 3 1/2 hours from L.A
and 3 1/2 hours from San Francisco. Great location to watch great
fights!
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant
I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got
to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had
learned in seven years."
Mark Twain, 1835-1910, American Humorist, Writer |
Mirko
A Free Agent? Report From Japan...
by: Puroresu Power
NOTE: The source of this data is http://www.puroresupower.com/ a phenomenal site
featuring Zach Arnold, with an intense focus on the Japanese
MMA and pro wrestling scene.
Tokyo,
Japan - Sankei Sports reported on Wednesday that Mirko 'Cro Cop'
Filipovic is a free agent and can fight in any promotion he wants
to. The two big targets for Filipovic in '04 appear to be Mike
Tyson and Bob Sapp. An official split has occurred between Filipovic
and power agent Miro Mijatovic of IbizCube Japan. In a letter
sent on 1/1/04, Filipovic told Mijatovic of his intentions to
split because of 'conflicts of interest.' Furthermore, the letter
states that Mirko is looking forward to fighting Emelianenko
Fedor with Miro in Fedor's corner. In response, Miro Mijatovic
told the press that he was perplexed by Filipovic's response,
and that he would continue representing Fedor for PRIDE's Heavyweight
GP tournament starting in April...
Source: ADCC
CRO COP
A FREE AGENT
Sankei Sports and Puroresu Power reported on Wednesday that Mirko
"Cro Cop" Filipovic is a free agent and can fight in
any promotion he wants to.
The
two big targets for Filipovic in '04 appear to be Mike Tyson
and Bob Sapp. An official split has occurred between Filipovic
and power agent Miro Mijatovic of IbizCube Japan. In a letter
sent on 1/1/04, Filipovic told Mijatovic of his intentions of
split because of "conflicts of interest."
Furthermore,
the letter states that Mirko is looking forward to fighting Emelianenko
Fedor with Miro in Fedor's corner. In response, Miro Mijatovic
told the press that he was perplexed by Filipovic's response,
and that he would continue representing Fedor for PRIDE's Heavyweight
GP tournament starting in April.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Gustavo
'Ximu' leaves Ruas Vale-Tudo!
by: Luca Atalla
Gustavo
Machado 'Ximu', an MMA and RINGS Japan veteran and long time
member of Ruas vale Tudo left the RVT team on Tuesday. 'Ximu'
led a migration that included around ten other team maters, including
Alexandre “Baixinho” and his brother Aloisio “Dado”
Barros. 'Ximu' trained for the first time today as a member of
the Gracie Barra Combat Team, following the steps of another
former fighter from RVT, Renato Sobral “Babalu”, who
had moved to GBCT a couple of months ago.
Ruas
Vale-Tudo's decimated ranks now consist basically of former UFC
champ Marco Ruas, the wrestler Antoine Jaoude, his coach Roberto
Leitao and Pedro Rizzo, who had completed his last fight on the
UFC's contract and is now reviewing offers from Japan.
Source: ADCC |
Vitor
Belfort at Master Jiu Jitsu -
Preparing for Couture
by: Master JJ
VITOR
BELFORT is getting ready for his upcoming fight against RANDY
COUTURE on the next UFC January 31st. Vitor has been with one
of the best BJJ teams in the world, honing his ground game! MASTER
TEAM, home of Multiple time BJJ and ADCC World Champion Leo Veiera
is glad to help Belfort! Check out a few pictures at:
www.masterjiujitsu.blogger.com.br
Source: ADCC |
SHAMROCK
SAYS THERE'S STILL HOPE FOR SHOOTBOX
This past weekend, MMAWeekly's Ken Pishna was able to talk with
Frank Shamrock. Yesterday, we told you about Frank's plans to
return to fighting and a possible deal with Pride. Today, we
continue with Frank as he tells us just what the story is with
his Shootbox promotion, which hasn't been heard from since their
first show in Florida last August, and he pulls no punches about
his failed attempt at a fight with Caesar Gracie.
First
of all, when asked just what is up with Shootbox, Frank said,
"Unfortunately, Shootbox is tied up in litigation right
now. Our financiers did not fund as they promised and, though
we had network and pay-per-view interest, we can't continue with
it until we finish the litigation."
Things
are looking up though. He went on to say that, "...the way
litigation is going, I'll own 100% of Shootbox once again and,
hopefully, we'll run another show in February or March."
Pishna
asked if the financiers failing to fulfill their commitment was
why the Shootbox show planned for Las Vegas fell apart. Frank's
answer was rather biting, saying, "That and, you know, Caesar
Gracie turned out to be full of shit. He was never going to fight
me. He was just talking bullshit. It turns out, he was just talking
himself up, trying to build up his school."
Here's
to hoping that someone can make that fight happen. There's definitely
enough hype around it with the real world animosity between the
two to create a lot of interest.
CESAR GRACIE
SOUNDS OFF ON FRANK SHAMROCK
Caesar Gracie was on MMAWeekly Radio yesterday as he responded
to comments made by Frank Shamrock to MMAWeekly's own Ken Pishna
over the weekend.
Frank's
comments were, "You know, Caesar Gracie turned out to be
full of shit. He was never going to fight me. He was just talking
bullshit. It turns out, he was just talking himself up, trying
to build up his school."
Caesar
responded by saying that it is "kinda amusing." Gracie
was training hard for this fight and looking forward to fighting
Frank but it didn't happen. He said, Frank is blaming him for
his "Shootbox" promotion falling through and added,
"Everyone knows what happened." Gracie claimed that
Shamrock made him "jump through hoops" and it wasn't
his fault that the show didn't happen.
The
two were also suppose to fight in the WEC but according to Gracie,
on the day of signing Frank didn't come through. Caesar discussed
his excitement about a few of his fighters out of his Caesar
Gracie Jui-Jitsu Camp.
David
Terrell is coming off a knockout victory over Yuki Sasaki in
Pancrase and Gracie considers him one of the top guys in the
country. Gracie is trying to get Terrell on with the UFC in the
185lb. division.
He
said that Gil Castillo is not done fighting and is possibly fighting
as soon as February in Florida on a card that will also feature
David Terrell verses Travis Lutter. Gracie discussed the Nick
Diaz and Robbie Lawler fight set for UFC 47. Caesar said Diaz
has so many weapons to choose from and although known for his
submissions, is a very well rounded fighter.
Also
on yesterday's radio show was Turi Altavilla, Vice President
of Productions for PrideFC, joined the show and talked about
the great year the organization had in 2003. He said, "it
was just fun to be apart of it." Turi pointed out that Wanderlei
Silva answered a lot of critics in 2003. He said that Quinton
"Rampage" Jackson is really looking forward to this
year. Rampage wants another shot at Silva under different circumstances.
Altavilla discussed the differences between the Japan and U.S.
MMA scenes. He stated, "Japan is just a totally different
environment," not just in the arena but out on the street.
Turi said, PrideFC is definitely coming to the U.S. but couldn't
speak about it at this time. They are working hard to get caught
up on getting the DVDs out to the fans. Altavilla thanked MMAWeekly
for the recognition and being voted as Organization of the Year
in 2003.
Source: MMA Weekly |
TYSON
VS SAPP IN MAY
Sanspo daily news confirmed that Mike Tyson vs. Bob Sapp will
happen in May. The three areas being floated for the fight are
New York, Los Angeles, Hawaii, and Las Vegas.
Given
the heavy Japanese involvement, Hawaii clearly is the top place
to run the fight, then Las Vegas, with New York a distant third.
Also, a Sapp/Akebono re-match is expected and K-1 is trying to
get Akebono vs. George Foreman in an undercard fight for the
Tyson/Sapp bout.
Source: MMA Weekly |
FEATURE
ON NEWTON ON CANADIAN TV
Carlos Newton takes on Renato "Charuto" Verissimo,
who is fighting out of Hawaii in the next UFC.
This was emailed to us at MMAWeekly.com from viewers in Canada....
World-wide
fame, local anonymity for fighter
CTV.ca
News Staff
Carlos
Newton is a legendary figure in his sport, but he's practically
unknown outside of it.
One
thing keeping the 27-year-old from being a name-brand athletic
personality is the nature of his sport: he's an world champion
ultimate fighter.
Ultimate
fighting is a brutal sport, populated by martial arts experts,
where almost nothing is outside the rules.
It's
watched by millions world-wide, but has been banned in many parts
of Canada.
Newton
won't talk about his earnings except to laugh and say, "I
do good, I'm doing fine." He is estimated to make in the
hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
He
lives in Newmarket, Ont., a community north of Toronto.
It
takes two opponents per day to keep up with the welterweight.
"I
just really enjoy it," he said, punching and kicking at
a training bag. "I find fighting itself is an important
aspect of our nature."
He
first started learning karate from his stepfather at the age
of four and went on from there to master other martial arts forms.
But
his current trainer Terry Riggs said what makes Newton so popular
in the Far East is that "he's a very soft guy. They kind
of look at him like he could be anybody's neighbor next door."
Because
of the underground nature of ultimate fighting in Canada, most
people here have no idea who he is.
Newton
said Canadian society has to grow a bit more before it can understand
the role of combat sports, their interplay with sportsmanship
and to think a bit more about what violence is.
In
Newton's opinion, ultimate fighting is less violent than rugby
or football because the battles are more about technique than
brute strength.
Outside
the ring, Newton is indeed mild-mannered. He counts sewing, cooking
and car racing among his interests.
Another
amusement is playing video games.
One
perk of being a famous fighter is a video game has immortalized
him.
"To
come home and play your own video game is totally wow,"
Newton said.
While
he hopes ultimate fighting will catch on in Canada, Newton is
content to fight elsewhere and be a hero to millions of fans
outside his home and native land.
Source: MMA Weekly |
INOKI'S
NEXT SHOW IN MARCH FEATURES BARNETT, RIZZO AND FRANKLIN
Zach Arnold at puroresu power reports that "Inoki's first
MMA show in 2004 will happen on 3/28 at Saitama Super Arena in
Omiya with Pedro Rizzo, Rich Franklin, and Josh Barnett.
The
show will go head-to-head versus New Japan's show in Tokyo at
Ryogoku Kokugikan (Sumo Hall). Meanwhile, more ratings breakdowns
were released in Japan regarding the New Year's Eve MMA shows.
From 10:45-11:00 PM on Nippon TV, Inoki's show pulled a 2.2%
QH rating.
When
Bob Sapp vs. Akebono aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System at 11:00
PM, it hit a peak rating of 43% while Inoki's show went to a
0.2% rating. At the same time, NHK's Red & White Musical
show did a 35.8 QH rating (losing to K-1 in the QH). Ironically,
once Sapp/Akebono was done (the KO finish), Inoki's show rating
for the QH went right back to 4.5.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
TITLE HISTORY
by Nick Mahmood
MMAWeekly's Nick Mahmood has taken the time to break down the
world title history of the UFC. It's truly amazing to break down
what exactly has happened in not only the title history of the
UFC but the tournament history of the UFC. All credit goes to
Nick Mahmood for breaking down this information.
UFC
TOURNAMENT HISTORY (ALL WEIGHT CLASSES)
Royce
Gracie beat Gerard Gordeau to win the UFC I Tournament on November
12, 1993 in Denver, CO
Royce
Gracie beat Patrick Smith to win the UFC II Tournament on March
11, 1994 in Denver, CO
Steve
Jennum beat Harold Howard to win the UFC III Tournament on September
9, 1994 in Charlotte, NC
Royce
Gracie beat Dan Severn to win the UFC IV Tournament on December
16, 1994 in Tulsa, OK
Dan
Severn beat Dave Beneteau to win the UFC V Tournament on April
7, 1995 in Charlotte, NC
Oleg
Taktarov beat Tank Abbott to win the UFC VI Tournament on July
14, 1995 in Casper, WY
Marco
Ruas beat Paul Varelans to win the UFC VII Tournament on September
8, 1995 in Buffalo, NY
Dan
Severn beat Oleg Taktarov to win the Ultimate Ultimate '95 Tournament
on December 16, 1995 in Denver, CO
Don
Frye beat Gary Goodridge to win the UFC VIII Tournament on February
16, 1996 in Bayamon, PR
Mark
Coleman beat Don Frye to win the UFC X Tournament on July 12,
1996 in Detroit, MI
Mark
Coleman beat Brian Johnston to win the UFC XI Tournament on September
20, 1996
Don
Frye beat Tank Abbott to win the Ultimate Ultimate '96 Tournament
on December 7, 1996 in Birmingham, AL
Kazushi
Sakuraba beat Marcus Silviera to win the Ultimate Japan Tournament
on December 21, 1997 in Yokohama, Japan
HEAVYWEIGHT
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Vitor
Belfort beat Scott Ferrozzo to win the UFC XII Tournament on
February 7, 1997 in Dothan, AL
Randy
Couture beat Steven Graham to win the UFC XIII Tournament on
May 30, 1997 in Augusta, GA
Mark
Kerr beat Daniel Bobish to win the UFC XIV Tournament on July
27, 1997 in Birmingham, AL
Mark
Kerr beat Dwane Cason to win the UFC XV Tournament on October
17, 1997 in Bay St. Louis, MS
LIGHT
HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Jerry
Bohlander beat Nick Sanzo to win the UFC XII Tournament on February
7, 1997 in Dothan, AL
Guy
Mezger beat Tito Ortiz to win the UFC XIII Tournament on May
30, 1997 in Augusta, GA
Kevin
Jackson beat Anthony Frykland to win the UFC XIV Tournament on
July 27, 1997 in Birmingham, AL
Dan
Henderson beat Carlos Newton to win the UFC XVII Tournament on
May 15, 1998 in Mobile, AL
WELTERWEIGHT
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Pat
Miletich beat Chris Brennan to win the UFC XVI Tournament on
March 13, 1998 in Kenner, LA
Kenichi
Yamamoto beat Katsuhisa Fuji to win the UFC XXIII Japan Tournament
in November 14, 1999 in Tokyo, Japan
SUPERFIGHT
TITLE HISTORY
Ken
Shamrock drew Royce Gracie for the vacant title on April 7, 1995
in Charlotte, NC
Ken
Shamrock beat Dan Severn to win the vacant title on July 14,
1995 in Casper, WY
Champion
Ken Shamrock draws Oleg Taktarov on September 8, 1995 in Buffalo,
NY
Champion
Ken Shamrock beat Kimo on February 16, 1996 in Bayamon, PR
Dan
Severn beats Champion Ken Shamrock to win the title on May 17,
1996 in Detroit, MI
Title
is abandonded after the creation of the Heavyweight Title
WORLD
HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE HISTORY
Mark
Coleman beat Dan Severn to win the vacant title on February 7,
1997 in Dothan, AL
Maurice
Smith beat Champion Mark Coleman to win the title on July 27,
1997 in Birmingham, AL
Champion
Maurice Smith beat Tank Abbott on October 17, 1997 in Bay St.
Louis, MS
Randy
Couture beat Champion Maurice Smith to win the title on December
21, 1997 in Yokohama, Japan
*Randy
Couture is stripped of the title after he leaves the UFC to compete
in the RINGS organization
Bas
Rutten beat Kevin Randleman to win the vacant title on May 7,
1999 in Birmingham, AL
*Bas
Rutten relinquishes title to move down to Light Heavyweight
Kevin
Randleman beat Pete Williams to win the vacant title on November
14, 1999 in Tokyo, Japan
Champion
Kevin Randleman beat Pedro Rizzo on July 9, 2000 in Cedar Rapids,
IA
Randy
Couture beat Champion Kevin Randleman to win the title on November
17, 2000 in Atlantic City, NJ
Champion
Randy Couture beat Pedro Rizzo on May 4, 2001 in Atlantic City,
NJ
Champion
Randy Couture beat Pedro Rizzo on November 2, 2001 in Las Vegas,
NV
Josh
Barnett beat Champion Randy Couture to win the title on March
22, 2002 in Las Vegas, NV
*Josh
Barnett was stripped of the title after testing positive for
steroids
Ricco
Rodriguez beat Randy Couture to win the vacant title on September
27, 2002 in Uncasville, CT
Tim
Sylvia beat Champion Ricco Rodriguez to win the title on February
28, 2003 in Atlantic City, NJ
Champion
Tim Sylvia beat Gan McGee on September 26, 2003 in Las Vegas,
NV
*Tim
Sylvia voluntarily vacates title after being suspended by the
Nevada State Athletic Commision
WORLD
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE HISTORY
Frank
Shamrock beat Kevin Jackson to win the vacant title on December
21, 1997 in Yokohama, Japan
Champion
Frank Shamrock beat Igor Zinoviev on March 13, 1998 in Kenner,
LA
Champion
Frank Shamrock beat Jeremy Horn on May 15, 1998 in Mobile, AL
Champion
Frank Shamrock beat John Lober on October 16, 1998 in Sao Paolo,
Brazil
Champion
Frank Shamrock beat Tito Ortiz on September 24, 1999 in Lake
Charles, LA
*Frank
Shamrock leaves UFC and vacates title
Tito
Ortiz beat Wanderlei Silva to win the vacant title on April 14,
2000 in Tokyo, Japan
Champion
Tito Ortiz beat Yuki Kondo on December 16, 2000 in Tokyo, Japan
Champion
Tito Ortiz beat Evan Tanner on February 23, 2001 in Atlantic
City, NJ
Champion
Tito Ortiz beat Elvis Sinosic on June 29, 2001 in East Rutherford,
NJ
Champion
Tito Ortiz beat Vladimir Matyushenko on September 28, 2001 in
Las Vegas, NV
Champion
Tito Ortiz beat Ken Shamrock on November 22, 2002 in Las Vegas,
NV
Randy
Couture beat Chuck Liddell on June 6, 2003 in Las Vegas, NV to
win the Interim Title
Interim
Champion Randy Couture beat Champion Tito Ortiz on September
26, 2003 in Las Vegas, NV
WORLD
MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE HISTORY
Dave
Menne beat Gil Castillo on September 28, 2001 in Las Vegas, NV
to win the vacant title
Murilo
Bustamante beat Champion Dave Menne to win the title on January
11, 2002 in Uncasville, CT
Champion
Murilo Bustamante beat Matt Lindland on May 10, 2002 in Bossier
City, LA
*Murilo
Bustamante relinquishes the title and leaves UFC
WORLD
WELTERWEIGHT TITLE HISTORY
Pat
Miletich beat Mikey Burnett in Sao Paolo, Brazil on October 16,
1998 to win the vacant title
Champion
Pat Miletich beat Jorge Patrino on January 8, 1999 in Kenner,
LA
Champion
Pat Miletich beat Andre Pedernairis on July 16, 1999 in Cedar
Rapids, IA
Champion
Pat Miletich beat John Alessio on July 9, 2000 in Cedar Rapida,
IA
Champion
Pat Miletich beat Kenichi Yamamoto on December 16, 2000 in Tokyo,
Japan
Carlos
Newton beat Champion Pat Miletich to win the title on May 4,
2001 in Atlantic City, NJ
Matt
Hughes beat Champion Carlos Newton to win the title on November
2, 2001 in Las Vegas, NV
Champion
Matt Hughes beat Hayato Sakurai on March 22, 2002 in Las Vegas,
NV
Champion
Matt Hughes beat Carlos Newton in July 13, 2002 in London, England
Champion
Matt Hughes beat Gil Castillo on November 22, 2002 in Las Vegas,
NV
Champion
Matt Hughes beat Sean Sherk on April 25, 2003 in Miami, FL
Champion
Matt Hughes beat Frank Trigg on November 21, 2003 in Uncasville,
CT
WORLD
LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE HISTORY
Jens
Pulver beat Caol Uno to win the vacant title on February 23,
2001 in Atlantic City, NJ
Champion
Jens Pulver beat Dennis Hallman on September 28, 2001 in Las
Vegas, NV
Champion
Jens Pulver beat B.J. Penn on January 11, 2002 in Uncasville,
CT
*Pulver
leaves UFC and vacates title
B.J.
Penn drew Caol Uno for the vacant title on February 28, 2003
in Atlantic City, NJ
Source: MMA Weekly |
RING
OF FIRE SIGNS SARAH PONCE
I am not too interested in the Ring of Fire, but check out
Sarah! Roof Roof
For
immediate release from FY Fight Productions, INC.
Tuesday,
January 6th, 2004
Denver, CO
ROF
11 fight card update:
The
complete fight card is done, and an already stacked card has
been made just that much better. FY Fight Productions is proud
to announce the signing of 2003 Ujena Swimsuit Model of the Year,
Sarah Ponce of Houston, TX.
And
we didn't sign her to be a ring girl either.. she will be stepping
in the ring as a fighter.
Following
in K-1 USA's footsteps (K-1 USA has featured Playboy Playmate
Tasha Marzolla on their cards), the Colorado based promotion
adds a little glitz and glamour to the popular series. But make
no mistake, this pretty lady can fight!
Sarah
is an accomplished fighter, boasting a 8-1 record. She has fought
in kickboxing, muay thai, and san shou styles. She holds three
national and international titles in Kickboxing. She finished
third overall in the Ujena fitness challenge.
Her
opponent is no slouch either. Local fighter Carla "Lil'
Hands of Gold" Lopez has just as many accomplishments. Lopez
has a 8-2 record in boxing, and is 1-0 in kickboxing. She finished
second at the 2003 Colorado state golden gloves championships.
Fight reporter Ken Pishna had this to say about Lopez: "She
is of the new breed of female fighters, she is attractive, but
she is a fighter first and foremost, not just eye candy. Carla
has some mad skills and throws a punch that would rock just about
anyone."
These
two beautiful but deadly warriors will start the show off with
a BANG! and look to steal "fight of the night" honors.
RING
OF FIRE 11: BRING IT ON!
Saturday, January 10th, 2004
Douglas County Events Center
Castle Rock, CO
Main
Event:
A tribute to the late Alex Gong. RIP
ISKA
World Muay Thai Title
Duane BANG! Ludwig (USA)
vs.
Malapaiet Sitprapom (Thailand)
Source: MMA Weekly |
FRANKLIN
LEAVES UFC FOR JAPAN
As we reported yesterday on our Soundoff Forum, MMAWeekly.com
has learned that Rich Franklin has left the UFC to go over and
fight in Japan. It appears that Franklin will sign an exclusive
three fight deal to fight with Inoki.
The
reason why he's leaving? You guessed it. MONEY. MMAWeekly talked
briefly with manager Monte Cox who said quote "The money
is just too good to pass up. He made more money losing this past
time than winning twice in the UFC."
As
many of you know, there is a bidding war going on in Japan right
now for the top fighters in the world. The three organizations,
Pride, K-1 and Inoki's show, have been bidding on the top fighters
and Rich will benefit from the bidding, signing with Inoki's
show. Inoki is planning on having multiple MMA shows for 2004.
Franklin actually lost on Inoki's last show to Brazilian fighter
Ryoto Machida by KO.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Interview:
CHRIS LYTLE
Post Fight After Spratt!
by: Keith Mills
On
January 16th at the Palace in Lemoore, CA WEC returns with a
star-studded card including recent UFC vet Chris Lytle. Lytle
takes on JT Taylor, the fighter that lost to Shonie Carter in
their Welterweight belt bout in WEC 8: “Halloween Fury 2”.
With only two weeks between fighting Pete Spratt in Reality Submission
Fighting on January 2nd and this show it’s difficult to
keep up with Lytle. Lytle still has the AFC Welterweight belt.
Could he now be on a quest for Shonie’s WEC belt?
KM:
How did the fight against Pete Spratt go? CL: It kind of went
like I thought it might, but not really. In all honesty I planned
on testing the standup a little bit longer than it actually went.
The way it kind of worked out I hit him with one pretty good
punch and he kind of threw a kick that just stepped right into
me. I had to move out of the way and basically my head ran into
his body. There was almost no way I couldn’t take him down.
So I took him down.
KM:
Just instinctive? CL: Mm-hmm.
KM:
All I heard was you managed to get his back and choke him out.
What was the time on that fight? CL: I don’t know, forty
seconds maybe.
KM:
How long did it take you to get mount? CL: I never got mount.
As soon as I got the takedown I was in kind of a side…he
had me like in his half guard, not full guard. Then it was a
matter of about ten to fifteen seconds of me getting from the
half guard over to side mount. He rolled kind of over to his
back right there. I was able to get the hooks in and it was a
matter of me finishing the choke off.
KM:
I thought if he had you in half guard he’d try to reverse
you to the side like he did St. Pierre. CL: I didn’t see
that fight, I don’t know. Basically in a side guard I was
trying to go around and get to the side mount and he had a hold
of my right arm and I was trying to get out where I could get
side mount and as soon as I did that he rolled over to roll out
of it. I just put my hooks in and got his back.
KM:
Well congratulations. CL: Thank you.
KM:
So how does it feel to beat somebody of his stature? CL: It felt
really good. I’m happy and looking towards hopefully getting
back in and fighting UFC and such.
KM:
You are on the WEC card. CL: Yeah.
KM:
Your opponent is JT Taylor. What do you know about Taylor? CL:
Nothing really too much. I heard he is a really strong wrestler
type guy. I’m sure he fights mainly like a wrestler does,
some ground and pound stuff.
KM:
I’m told his record is a little misleading because he has
a mixed record but his fights have been exciting and close. It’s
a little misleading to think he is coming off a win, loss, and
draw and facing you as lopsided. How are you planning on preparing
for this differently than against Spratt? CL: I only have a little
time to prepare but I’m going to do more stuff with wrestlers,
guys that are bigger than me. Try to take me down, hold me down.
I’m pretty lucky I have different types of people to work
with. That will help me out, to work with different style people.
KM:
Is the two weeks between fights any factor? CL: Yeah. To be honest
I don’t like it. I kind of learned I need more time to prepare
for each different type of person.
KM:
Usually we hear fighters say two weeks out they try to peak in
their training and the week before they taper off. In that sense
the Spratt fight was your peak in training. CL: Yeah. I really
don’t like the way this is. It kind of worked out and you
know…
KM:
At least in the Spratt fight you didn’t get too banged up.
Accepting the WEC fight, wasn’t this a career gamble? CL:
Yeah, it is but I felt most fights I’m taking now are. A
lot of people are like ‘you shouldn’t be doing all
this’ and I’m like ‘well, I just want to stay
active’. Only problem is it really does hurt because there
are so many good people out there and any night anyone can get
beat. You get instances where people are signed to fight UFC
and then boom, they lose a fight they think they shouldn’t
and they’re out. It’s rough.
KM:
This could be the same thing like when Spratt lost to St. Pierre
and he’s out of the UFC and St. Pierre is in. Most people
think you are getting back in pretty quickly. What if you underestimate
your opponent…how do you feel about that chance you are
taking? CL: People ask me about all kinds of things like ‘what
do you think about the next UFC or the next leg of that Shooto
tournament I was in’, I’m like ‘man, I’m
not looking at anything except what I got going on right now.
KM:
Yeah, not looking past those bills you got to pay. CL: That is
just setting up a disaster right there.
KM:
You are a lot more in-demand since the Lawler fight. CL: Yeah,
I know. (Both laugh)
KM:
That is going to be looked at as a landmark in your career for
a while. How does that make you feel, that that fight is getting
you more attention than some of the fights you have won? CL:
It’s like what I talked to you about before. I can beat
ten guys in Japan or ten guys here and nobody knows if they didn’t
see it. That is why I’ve been wanting to get on different
shows that people are going to see, that publicize more. That
is what that was. I fought a good fight and people see that and
they say ‘I want to have this guy fight on one of my shows’.
KM:
The WEC cage is relatively small. The UFC one is much larger
and most of your fights recently have been in rings. Is that
going to affect your training at all? You might be more likely
to be pinned up against the cage against somebody you say has
more of a wrestling background. CL: When I was getting ready
for Lawler we worked a lot against the fence. I’ve been
working like that anyway. I’ll continue to work for that.
I’m somewhat used to people trying to do that. I fought
in rings a lot where you kind of do the same thing. Not quite
like you can in a cage but you can push a guy against the ropes
and hold him there and work certain things. I’m going to
be working defending that.
KM:
On the WEC card there are a lot of name fighters but their opponents
aren’t as well recognized or are coming off losses. Many
of those fighters like yours may be coming off losses but are
exciting fighters or were close losses. I don’t necessarily
agree with the perception but how do you respond to the perception
the UFC fighters are being handed wins? CL: I think they’ll
see the way this sport is going now you aren’t handing people
wins. You’re earning them or they’re getting beat by
some of these people. Everybody has really gotten so much better
that just because…for everybody you have heard of there
are probably ten that are as good, you just haven’t heard
of them yet. These might be some of those people and some of
them might pull off wins. You never know. At some point nobody
heard of me and nobody heard of Lawler. They’re fighting
these kind of fights against bigger people, that is how they
made their name. I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody is
making a name in this fight coming up. I hope it’s not the
guy I fight. (Both laugh)
(Chris’
child tries to speak into the phone)
CL:
We just got home. She’s all psyched to play with Daddy.
KM:
I don’t want to take time from your family. Is there anything
else you want to get across? CL: I’m feeling really good
right now. I’m just getting to a level where I feel I’m
a complete fighter or more so than most. I hope at some point
everybody realizes ‘this is the most complete guy out there.
He can do it on the feet or submission on the ground or whatever
it takes.’
Source: ADCC |
INTERVIEW
OF THE WEEK:
WEC V.P. TALKS ABOUT EVENT ON TV
There is a few Hawaii fighters on the card from HMC and 808
Fight Factory.
They
went from nobody knowing about their organization, to an organization
everybody wants to fight for. World Extreme Cagefighting, the
WEC, is one of the more reputable MMA companies in the United
States. WEC Vice President, Reed Harris talked to MMAWeekly about
their future, their upcoming show, and their next event on television
in our Interview of the Week.
MMAWeekly
- You guys have your next show coming up on January 16th called
"Cold Blooded." You have a ton of big names, Yves Edward's,
Shone Carter, Chris Lyle, Alex Stebling, etc....this is your
biggest show to date, are you guys trying to step up the level
of competition on your show?
Reed:
Ryan, thanks....Of course we are always trying to top our last
show. And as you know, we've had some really exciting events.
Like I've stated before, we really feel an obligation to both
The Palace and the fans to give them the absolute best entertainment
value for their money. When a fan buys a seat to our show, they
know they are in for a full night of non stop MMA fighting. So
much of it is due to my partner Scott Adams and his relationships
with all the different fight teams out there. Plus he knows which
fighters compliment each other and always provides the show with
exciting match ups. That's really the key to our success.
MMAWeekly:
How many shows have you guys done and how can fans see your DVD's
Reed:
This is our 9th show. Scott and I were talking the other day
and we are both satisfied with where the company is right now.
DVD's are just becoming available as we have worked out the editing
and production issues. We are just wrapping up WEC 8 and it will
be available in the coming weeks. Sales of WEC 7 have been good.
Fans should check on MMAWEEKLY.com for information as to availability
etc.
MMAWeekly:
Can you comment about this upcoming show regarding TV? I was
checking out your website and there are some rumors that fans
might be able to watch this show at the end of the month?
Reed:
I'm happy to say the rumors are true! We have signed a deal with
HDNET, which is the television station started by Mark Cuban
and Philip Garvin. Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks
NBA franchise and I've heard a fan of the sport. What's unique
about this deal is that the show will be filmed in true high
definition. If you haven't seen HDNET, it is so much better then
conventional television. I have a high def system at my house
and literally started calling them after watching soccer one
day. In fact, I started watching soccer just because the picture
was so clear. no offense to all the soccer fans out there, but
I had just never been that interested. I have also began watching
the NHL on HDNET. Its like your there. I am very excited about
this arrangement, I believe we will reach a lot of fans across
the county that have never seen MMA before. Believe me, we plan
on putting our best foot forward.
MMAWeekly:
How many shows can we expect for 2004 in the WEC? Will you stay
in California for those shows?
Reed:
Right now we have four shows scheduled. We actually have been
offered to do a couple of more, but Scott and I want to make
sure that the quality of each show improves. I also have to mention
that the venue were in, The Palace Indian Gaming Center in Lemoore
(just outside Fresno), is the worlds best venue for doing shows
like ours. The staff is absolutely the best in the nation, they
love the sport, follow the sport and the fighters, and support
us in every way possible. Plus, we have a huge fan base in Fresno
and sell out every event. This show will be inside due to the
weather, so we'll only be able to put about 2000 in the seats.
Our next three will be in their outdoor arena and we have upwards
of 5000 seats. At our last outdoor event, they literally sold
standing room only wrist bands. That's how popular it is!
MMAWeekly:
We get fans back east that would like to see you again, was the
experience back east one of those things that would keep you
from returning? For the fans that don't know about the problems
you had to go through can you comment about the show at the Mohegan
Sun?
Reed
- Actually, at this time it's probably best that I not comment
on the Mohegan Sun situation. We do hope to have a resolution
soon and would love to get back east and do another show. Ryan,
you were there and I think you'd agree that the show itself was
very well done from both the production and fights standpoint.
I mean, everyone was there, Tito, Chuck, Pat, Matt, Frank...they
all came to support us and we appreciate it so much......it was
like a MMA reunion.
MMAWeekly:
Definitely, the Mohegan Sun show was really well done. The hot
topic in the past month has been promoters that have not be paying
fighters. You guys have a good rep as far as treating fighters
professionally, what is your take on the Chad Mason's, Edward
Kim's, and the other guys who haven't taken care of fighters
by either not paying them or canceling events days before a show
because they won't make a profit?
Reed:
First of all, Scott and I have always felt that the fighters
get paid before we do. And we have never done an event (Mohegan
Sun excluded) where we lost money. In fact, even though we lost
money at the Mohegan Sun, and a lot might I add, everyone who
participated in the event was paid (except us). When we approach
a show, we make sure we have enough in reserves to cover the
event even if we don't sell a single ticket. I don't believe
the promoters you mention were out to screw anybody, it was just
poor planning. As far as canceling an event, again, poor planning.
But, if you know you are about to lose a bunch of money, you
almost can't blame them. All I can say is that anyone who is
thinking about doing a promotion such as this should approach
it very carefully. It can be a very very expensive hobby if you
don't plan properly.
MMAWeekly:
Which is more important, signing big name fighters that the Internet
fans want to see, or just putting on exciting fights with "B"
or "C" level fighters who are prone to laying it all
on the line and entertaining the fans?
Reed:
Ive got to tell you that some of most exciting fights ever at
our shows were guys that just got in their and laid it all on
the line because their girlfriend or dad was out in the audience.
As strange as that may sound, it's true. With that said, you
always need the headliners as they will always produce.
Guys
like Gan McGee, Shone Carter, Jeremy Horn, Gil Castillo always
come to fight. And you know when you book them that if their
healthy, their going to show up and suit up. But, you can make
headliners out of the guys in the area. We have a guy fighting
on January 16th named Olaf. Here's a guy that had his nose broken
at WEC 7 and all it did was piss him off. The crowd went crazy
when he got hit, nose started pouring blood, he looks at his
opponent like he just stole his girlfriend and just starts beating
on him. He's been to every event since. The thing about putting
local fighters on you card is that they sell tickets. The upcoming
show has a very talented fighter form Visalia, Doug "the
rhino" Marshal. He very well known in the area and brings
a lot of fans with him. I guess Scott's goal is to have a good
mix of fighters at every event.
MMAWeekly:
With that said, what are your thoughts about MMA in the United
States? The UFC has been working hard to get the mainstream media
as well as the sports fans involved...what are your thoughts
about the UFC
Reed:
Ill tell you what, because of people like Dana White and the
UFC group, our sport has probably done in three years what it's
taken others decades to achieve. I truly believe that our success
lies in the mainstream versus the hard core fan. I mean, if anyone
has ever been to a UFC show, they are very very exciting. It
seems that all they have to do is get a fan to attend a show
and their hooked. Let me give you an example.
At
the last Vegas show, I invited Jerry Tarkanian, the legendary
basketball coach to the Manadaly Bay for the Randy/Tito fight.
Jerry has been involved in sports all his life but had never
seen MMA fighting. The first couple of minutes were spent explaining
the moves, take downs, submissions etc. About half way through
the show he looked at me and said "this is unbelievable".
He called me about a week later and thanked me again and said
that if I ever had tickets again, to please call him I also have
to say that I always have to smile when I read all the criticism
on the underground etc about how the UFC should operate, it's
shows etc. I think what most people need to realize is that this
sport was on the verge of just about dying until they took it
over....they have done a great job and my hats off to them.
MMAWeekly:
What is your background in MMA? Do you train?
Reed:
Ill tell you the story. I had taught Tae Kwon Do for many years,
did tournaments, that kind of thing. I was a second degree in
Tae Kwon Do, had done all my requirements for my third degree
black belt but began traveling away from home for my real estate
business. I looked in the phone book for a place to train while
on the coast and ended up calling SLO Kickboxing. After going
to the classes for a year or so, I became friends with Scott
and he told me he would get me a couple of private lessons so
I could learn a little ground fighting.
I
came in that day and he introduced me to Cruz Gomez, a 145 pound
fighter. Now, Im about 5'11. 185, was always a decent wrestler
and looked at Cruz and thought, "IM gonna kill this guy"
I think it took him about 10 seconds to put me in an arm bar.....I
thought, OK, you just got lucky, and I think it was about another
15 seconds before he had me tapping again. Ill never forget thinking..."I
gotta learn this shit"....so,Ive been training every week
for over three years now and can actually hold my own with most
guys in the gym. I did get a chance to wrestle Chuck last weekend.
I grabbed his leg, took him down (he's smiling the whole time
by the way which is a little discouraging), Im on top, the next
thing I know he's on top, knee in the chest, with his right cocked
way back like I am going to eat a big one...I thought, if this
was real, I am in big trouble. But the point is that at 47, I
really feel so lucky to be allowed to work with these guys at
the gym. It energizes me every time I do it. I do have to mention
that I have been married for over 20 years, and my wife Laura
does look at me when I come home limping sometimes and wonder
what the heck Im doing.
MMAWeekly:
Your partner Scott Adams has fought in the UFC and helps Chuck
Liddell and Gan McGee get ready for their fights. Is Scott's
fighting days over?
Reed:
If you ask me, I say no. He'll be back. If you ever want to wrestle
a guy that keeps you totally defensive, wrestle Scott. He is
that good. I think he's really focusing on the WEC but will get
back into fighting when the time is right.
MMAWeekly:
Reed I appreciate the time and once again for the fans, if you
don't have your tickets for January 16th, that's in a few days
and it may be too late.
Reed;
Thanks for the time and for the fans who haven't seen it, your
right get your tickets today. It's just 3 1/2 hours from L.A
and 3 1/2 hours from San Francisco. Great location to watch great
fights.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
"The less you open your heart to others, the more your heart
suffers."
Chopra, Deepak East-Indian- American M.D., New Age Author, Lecturer
|
ADCC
Exclusive Interview: Red Devil's AMAR SULOEV
For
fans that haven’t been keeping an eye out for the Russian
fighters you don’t know what you are missing. M-1 has grown
to be without a doubt the biggest promotion in Europe right now
while the Russian team Red Devil Sportsclub have some of the
toughest, best skilled, and most exciting fighters around. Now
with Fedor Emelianenko being the Pride Heavyweight Champion recently
signing to Red Devil and Amar Suloev recently fighting in Inoki
Bom-Ba-Ye the walls are coming down and the Western World is
starting to see for themselves.
Suloev
is a Middleweight two-time UFC vet with Chuck Liddell and Phil
Baroni being his only two losses in three years. Together with
two losses from his first two fights to Andrei Semenov in May
of ’99 (who he beat in a rematch in May ’00) and Darrell
Gholar back in April ’00 his total verifiable record appears
to now be 16-4-0. In October Suloev fought Yushin Okami in M-1
Mix Fight “Russa vs. the World 6” in Moscow. Suleov’s
standup was solid and his takedown defense at times seemed to
defy gravity as he kicked his legs out behind him to sprawl.
He came off looking powerful, graceful, and above all fast as
he picked up a TKO win at 4:44 in the single 10-minute round.
On
New Years Eve Suloev fought Din Thomas, a UFC veteran Lightweight
from American Top Team who has consistently hovered on the border
of most people’s list of top 5 fighters in that division
since he submitted Jens Pulver. Although Suloev and Thomas usually
fight two weight classes apart Din is known for cutting more
weight than Suloev while Suloev is thought of as being a little
light to fight on the world stage at Middleweight. There is a
size difference for sure but not as much as some people have
made it seem. Still, the size difference was described by a third
party as being noticeable in Suloev’s domination of Thomas
this night on his way to a 1st round TKO victory at 4:22. Whether
or no Suloev continues to fight at Middlewieght or looks into
dropping to Welterweight he is one of the most exciting fighters
coming out of Russia right now.
We
acknowledge the help of Stan from Red Devil Sportsclub for his
assistance with translation.
KM:
What are your thoughts on being the #7 ranked Middleweight on
the ADCC News Top 10? AS: I am very glad to have appeared in
seventh place in the Top 10 fighters ADCC ranking, but that is
not the limit for me. I hope that in the near future you will
see my name at the top of the ratings.
KM:
Can you describe your fight against Din Thomas? AS: It was difficult
fight for me. Difficult in the sense that it was inconvenient.
Din constantly avoided me, and at every opportunity he tried
to transfer the fight to the ground. But I had other ideas. I
managed to catch him and I earned the win.
KM:
What does Fedor training with Red Devil mean to you? Do you get
to train against him? What is that like? AS: Unfortunately, Fedor
is a member of team Red Devil, but we train in different gyms,
Fedor is in Stary Oskol City and I am in Saint-Petersburg. Therefore
we have not been able to train together yet. I think in the near
future Fedor will move to Saint-Petersburg and we can train together.
I think that training together with Fedor will be of use for
all fighters Red Devil, and it will help him too.
KM:
When will we see you fight again? AS: I think that in March 2004
I will fight in Japan on the next Inoki show. If I am not called
to fight in Japan I shall go to fight in the USA with pleasure.
KM:
If you could pick any opponent to fight who would it be and why?
AS: Certainly I would like to fight with Phil Baroni, because
I still owe him one (I mean rematch). But I heard, that he has
some problems with health. I am ready to fight with any sportsman
in my weight category.
KM:
Denis Kang recently beat your teammate Andrei Semenov. What do
you think about that fight? What do you think about Kang? AS:
Concerning Denis Kang I can tell that he is a very good fighter.
Strong in submission technique, and in stand-up also very good.
Concerning Andrei Semenov, he had a little condition drop off,
and I think that it is connected with his new trainer.
Source: ADCC |
H
O T Property = Rodrigo Gracie
It
seems that Japan has discovered Rodrigo Gracie. After his 3 Pride
appearances with grand entrances as 'Changeman' and great results
(3 - 0), the young Gracie was in high demand during his last
stay in the Land of the Rising Sun! This past December Rodrigo,
who was in Japan for Shockwave 2003 in support of Royce, Ryan
& Daniel, was approached not only by Pride but also by K-1
for possible appearance in their shows!
Everyone
is keeping their mouths shut and we don't know what K-1's plans
for Rodrigo would be but in light of Genki Sudo's win in the
year end K-1 and the fact that the two have already fought in
ADCC 2001, one could speculate that would be one possible scenario
and it would be a great match with lots of action and excitment.
More
on this as it develops, but one thing is sure: Rodrigo is HOT
property in Japan.
Source: ADCC |
The
New Year's Wars Part 1: The Pride Special
As
far as quality of matches is concerned, Pride won the New Year's
MMA war. This card had some of great matches, a long awaited
rematch, one surprisingly competitive spectacle involving a giant
prowrestler and Heath Herring. Read on for highlights of the
Pride Special.
Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Wow. What a great fight. Anyone who needed proof that "little"
Nog has a bright future got it in New Year's Eve. Anyone who
thinks Saku is finished needs to see this fight. From beginning
to end, Nogueira/Sakuraba was a grueling drama of sharp punches
and even sharper grappling technique.
True
to his word, Nogueira tried to win standing. As soon as the bell
rang, Nog shot across the ring launching a series of knees at
the japanese legend. Saku ate a few and blocked a few, but he
escaped an early KO. Less than a minute later, Saku caught Nogueira
with a straight right before shooting for a single. It opened
a big cut over the brazilian's eye and almost prompted a doctor
stoppage.
The
fight continued and saw both men landing hard punches and kicks,
with the brazilian's being more accurate. But Saku was winning
in the takedown, putting Nog on his back twice. In the brazilian's
guard he was hacking away at Nog's cut with slaps and chops.
Nogueira's eye started bleeding again.
The
rest of the round saw Saku landing leg kicks and Nog tagging
him with straights. Twice it looked like the japanese fighter
was down and twice it ended in a defensive shoot for a single
leg takedown. As the round closed, Nog was backing up Sakuraba
with punches. Then Saku caught a kick and countered with a left
straight that put him on his back.
After
ten minutes of fighting, Sakuraba was sucking wind and looked
a little dazed. But he was countering nicely and taking Nogueira
down a lot. Nogueira was hurt and bleeding from right above the
eye, but he was tagging Saku with some really accurate punches.
It looked like a fight that could end at any moment.
Round
2 opened with more knees by Nogueira, but this time none get
through. As he forces Sakuraba into and tries to take his head
off with punches, Saku shoots. Nog defends and tries to transition
into a crucifix submission. Saku turns hard to the left and dumps
the brazilian on his head. As Saku tries to catch an arm, Nog
pulls guard. After being stood up again, Nogueira's eye started
bleeding againg and he was fighting cautious. But Saku was swinging
at it any chance he got with straights and wild looping punches.
In
the last minute, Nog went on the offensive, hitting Sakuraba
with another nice straight. Before Saku could shoot for the single-leg
again, Nogueira went for a guillotine choke and then fell back
into the guard to cinch it tiight. But Sakuraba blocked the choke
and escaped, only to have Nogueira immediately transition to
a triangle choke/armlock combo. In the most harrowing moment
of the fight, Nog almost had Saku's arm and head locked in, with
Nog straining to past the fulcrum of his hips and Saku wrenching
the elbow back between his legs. It looked like it was all over,
but Saku escaped to the side and started looking for his own
sub as the bell rang.
Round
three opened with Nog hitting Saku with a stiff jab that was
right on the button and Saku went straight for the single leg
again. But the brazilian defended and drove Saku into the ropes,
hitting him with knees and punches. But japanese legend gave
as good as he got and drove Nogueira back with his own combinations.
The round continued that way, with each fight jarring the other
with hard punches. With two minutes to go, Sakuraba was coming
forward with his hands low and eating punches. But Nogueira couldn't
put him down. Then, with ten seconds left, Nogueira was backing
Saku up when the japanese fighter slipped, covered while Nogueira
threw a few shin kicks at him as the bell rang.
In
the end, Nogueira was awarded a well-deserved decision. But Sakuraba
definitely won back the respect he lost after his loss to Schembri.
He proved his chin's still strong and his game's still top-shelf.
Royce
Gracie vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
I'm not sure if the fans got what they wanted, but Royce sure
seemed happy. In what looked more like an excerpt from the "Gracies
in Action" video than a Pride fight, Royce got to punch
Yoshida a lot on his way to a draw. But other than that, no one
really seemed in trouble.
This
fight started off weird. First, Royce decided to fight for the
first time in his pro MMA career without a gi, but Yoshida kept
his on. Then, in the first minute of the fight, Royce accidentally
kicks Yoshida in the groin and gets a yellow card. But it seemingly
served no purpose because there were no judges and thus no score
cards to record it on. (Maybe they decided to give yellow cards
in case on of the fighters fouled so many times they'd have to
stop the fight.)
After
the Yoshida's groin recovered, the fight started for real. Royce
was throwing jabs and kicks, but Yoshida closed the distance
and cuffed Gracie with a left hook and right uppercut as the
brazilian rolled back into his guard. Then Royce had Yoshida
in the half-guard. For the next few minutes it looked a lot like
the first Yoshida/Gracie, with Royce trying for ankle locks and
heel-holds but not getting them.
Near
the 5 minute mark, Yoshida manged to escape the leg tie-up, pass
Royce's guards, and get his back. As Gracie escaped, the judo
champ tried an armlock. But Royce slipped out of it and ended
up in Yoshida's half-guard, punching his ribs. Meanwhile, Yoshida
attempted his infamous sleeve choke from the bottom position.
The rounded ended with Royce getting mount position and then
back position and pecking away at the japanese fighter with light
punches while looking for an choke.
In
the second and final round, Royce not wearing the gi started
having an effect. He could control Yoshida's arms easily without
worrying about his own. It seemed to make the tiring judo champ
too cautious about getting arm locked or choked. After another
back and forth battle to clamp on an ankle hold, Royce got the
mount and then the back. Through it all Royce was punching while
Yoshida was clinch, holding Gracie's hands, or covering up. He
couldn't buck or roll Royce off and seemed content to take Gracie's
light punches and not give up his neck or arm. Royce, on the
other hand, seemed content to ride him and hit him a lot.
At
the end of twenty minutes, it was declared a draw.
Gary
Goodridge vs. Don Frye
This was billed as Goodridge's retirement bout. But it looked
like it should've been Frye's too. After a few brief exchanges,
Goodridge hit Frye upside the head with a solid shin kick and
it was all over. Frye was face down on the canvas and out cold.
It
was great for Goodridge to go out with a win, especially a KO.
He deserved it for giving us so many great fights over the years.
But it's also tough seeing a former champ in decline. That's
four losses in a row now for Frye, if you count his K-1 misadvenure.
It might be time for the former UFC great to call it a career.
Heath
Herring vs. "Giant" Silva
Going into this fight, a lot of people predicted this would be
an easy fight for Herring. "Giant" Silva is a freakishly
large pro-wrestler who looks like a brazilian Andre the Giant
with heavy metal hair. That is, he looks like a monster but there's
no evidence he can fight like one. But Herring found his easy
fight was a lot hard than everyone predicted.
First
off, Herring was way smaller than Silva. The brazilian pro-wrestler
was almost a foot taller and 90 lbs heavier. Second, Silva was
pretty tough. Even though he moved like he was wearing metal
knee braces, he took leg kicks from Herring for almost the entire
first round and still kept chasing him. The problem was he had
no technique. He seemed to be learning how to fight as he was
fighting.
Most
of the fight consisted over Herring kicking the giant's legs
and quickly moving back out of range. When Silva would swing
with huge, slow hook punches Herring duck and circle around to
the side. When he crowded Herring into a corner, the american
would literally duck and run the the other side of the ring.
Silva's best moments came when he figured out he could catch
Herring if he swung straight down, like he was mashing a fly
on a table top. What followed was some slapstick comedy where
Silva chased Herring around, swatting him on the top and the
back of his head as the american struggled to keep his balance
and get away.
The
fight ended in the final round when Silva finally caught one
of Herrings kicks and they tumbled to the ground together. Herring
ended up on the bottom with the giant pro-wrestler trying to
cradle him and crank his neck. But escaped and got Silva's back,
finishing him with a rear naked choke at 35 seconds into the
3rd round.
Quinton
Jackson vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
Sometimes you feel admiration for guys taking fights they can't
win. Sometimes you just worry about how bad they'll get injured.
In this fight, Minowa inspired a little of both feelings. Not
only is Jackson 10 centimeters taller and ten kilos heavier,
he's also the #2 middleweight in Pride, maybe in all of MMA.
So there was little doubt about how this fight would turn out.
All we could do was admire Minowa's guts and hope things didn't
turn out too bad for him.
Things
did turn out bad for the japanese challenger almost immediately.
He scored a decent clinch and trip on Jackson, but "Rampage"
rolled him off and mounted him. Minowa got to his feet and tried
a standing kimura, only to have Jackson hoist him in the air
and slam him on his head. The rest the first round was a repeating
pattern. Jackson's punches or knees (or both) would start to
get through Minowa's defenses. The japanese fighter would try
a submission. After looking like he might be in trouble for a
few seconds, Jackson would escape and resume beating on Minowa
at a leisurely pace. Rinse and repeat...for ten long minutes.
The
end came early in the second round when Jackson slammed a knee
into Minowa's chin and the ref stopped it. Minowa was up immediately
and in Jackson's face, apparently trying to show he wasn't really
out. But it didn't matter. Minowa was on his way to a loss even
if he managed to gut out a decision.
Jackson
by TKO at 1:05 of the second round
Yuki
Kondo vs. Mario Sperry
At first contact, Sperry was on Kondo like he was made of glue.
Whether he was clinching, trying a takedown, or transitioning
on the ground, the brazilian was hugging tight to whatever Kondo
gave him and trying to do something with it. Unfortunately for
Sperry, he could only keep it up for 3 minutes against the pancrase
star. Once Kondo made some space and got the side position, he
opened up a nasty cut near Sperry's eye with his some well placed
knees. The doctor stopped the fight at 3:27 of the first round.
Kondo's
post fight comment? "Silva's next," he said matter-of-factly,
then gave the microphone back and left the ring.
Kiyoshi
Tamura vs. Rony Sefo
Rony Sefo, a kickboxer and brother of K-1 contender Ray Sefo,
came into this bout outweighing Tamura by almost 50 lbs. But
it didn't help because he didn't have a chance to land a single
punch or kick. The japanese pro-wrestler from putting Sefo on
his back and had the mount in a mere twenty seconds. Two minutes
later, Tamura got the armlock and the win.
Tamura
by armlock at 2:20 of the first round.
Daniel
Gracie vs. Wataru Sakata
In a ho-hum match, Daniel Gracie stuffed Sakata's first takedown.
Then Gracie ended up puttiing him on his back of a failed guillotine
choke and kept him there most of the first five minutes, mostly
just pounding on him. Even though the japanese wrestler reversed
him once, Gracie soon got the top position and an armlock. The
only excitement was when refused to tap and struggled desperately
to escape, almost succeeding at one point before giving up.
Gracie
by arm lock at 7:12 of the first round.
Murilo
"Ninja" Rua vs. Akira Shoji
At first, Shoji seemed to do a good job of keeping Rua on the
ground. But Chute Boxe guys usually don't stay there for long.
Once he fought his way back to his feet, Rua unloaded on the
Pride stalwart and KO'd him with a knee at 2:41 of the first
round.
Source: Maxfighting |
ARIZONA
STATE UPSETS IOWA STATE AT SUN DEVIL DUALS; MISSOURI AND CAL
STATE FULLERTON RESULTS
When
Thom Ortiz wrestled at Arizona State from 1986 to 1990, his coach
was the best that school had ever had: Bobby Douglas. In 1988
Arizona State won the only NCAA Div. I national title in its
history, and was a runner-up in both 1989 and 1990. While wrestling
at ASU, Ortiz himself was a three-time All-American.
Douglas
later moved on to coach at Iowa State, and Ortiz followed him
there. For nine years Ortiz served as head assistant coach at
Iowa State under Douglas. But in April 2001, opportunity came
knocking and Ortiz answered. Lee Roy Smith was stepping down
as head coach at Ortiz's alma mater, and Ortiz took over the
wrestling program in his first assignment as a head coach.
So
when Arizona State hosted the Sun Devil Duals this past weekend
and wrestled three teams, including second-ranked and 9-0 Iowa
State, still under Bobby Douglas's helm, there was added significance
to this showdown. There was the theme of student vs. teacher,
as well as Arizona State's attempt to end Iowa State's unbeaten
streak this season.
When
it was over, Arizona State prevailed by a slim 22-20 margin.
You can pick this meet apart and note that Iowa State didn't
field all of its normal starting lineup, and that each team forfeited
one weight. No matter. For at least personal reasons, and as
an incentive to his team, this had to be one of the biggest wins
of Thom Ortiz's young coaching career.
We
also have more results from the Sun Devil Duals and the Lone
Star Duals, compiled from the teams' press releases.
ARIZONA
STATE
Wrestling
Upsets No. 2 Iowa State to Finish Undefeated at Sun Devil Duals
Sun Devils win first three duals of the season with wins over
Embry-Riddle, Stanford and ISU
January
4, 2004
Alex Ryan
TEMPE,
Ariz. - In search of its first win of the season and slated to
compete in three duals on the day, the No. 11 Arizona State wrestling
team swept its opponents, including an upset of undefeated and
No. 2 Iowa State, to move to 3-2 (1-0 Pac-10) following the 2004
Sun Devil Duals inside Wells Fargo Arena. The Sun Devils defeated
intrastate rival Embry-Riddle, 32-12, conference foe Stanford,
24-17, and ISU, 22-20.
The
Duals opened with the Sun Devils downing the Eagles of ERAU for
the fifth time in a row as eight of ASU's 10 wrestlers earned
wins. Leading the way was No. 10 Brian Stith (Fr., Hampton, Va.)
with a forfeit victory at 157. Also scoring wins were No. 12
Nick Frost (Sr., Tucson, Ariz.) at 184, No. 11 Cain Velasquez
(So., Yuma, Ariz.) at heavyweight and Christian Staylor (Fr.,
Chesapeake, Va.) at 125, all with technical fall wins while No.
3 Ryan Bader (So., Verdi, Nev.), at 197, and Jeremy Mendoza (So.,
Temecula, Calif.), at 141, each won by major decisions. ASU jumped
out to an early 19-0 lead on the way to remaining undefeated
all-time against ERAU.
Following
its first dual win of the season, ASU looked to earn its first
conference victory of the season and got just that with a 24-17
defeat of the Cardinal. Six individual wins, including the first
five matches of the dual, earned the victory for the Sun Devils
in their first dual with Stanford since 1986 when ASU moved to
3-0 all-time against SU. Bader and Velasquez each picked up technical
fall wins while Frost and Mike Simpson (Jr., Anaheim, Calif.)
at 133 both won by major decisions as the Sun Devils took a commanding
21-0 lead to open the dual. Williams earned the final win of
the dual for ASU with a decision win.
The
final dual of the day saw the Sun Devils snap the Cyclones nine-match
winning streak this year, as well as halt ISU's winning streak
over ASU at 11, with an opening-bout upset at 184. Frost, ranked
12th, defeated Kurt Backes, the seventh-ranked wrestler in the
nation, 6-2, to set the tone early. Bader followed with a 5-1
decision before Velasquez pushed the advantage to 10-0 with a
21-8 major decision at heavyweight. Staylor increased the margin
to 16-0 with a forfeit win at 125.
Following
a loss at 133, Mendoza won a tough battle, 15-9, to increase
the lead to 19-3 with only four matches remaining. With the team
needing just one win to secure the dual, Stith came out on the
mats and won a 6-2 decision to push the advantage to 22-9 and
solidifying the win. ISU won by technical fall and forfeit in
the final two bouts to close the margin to its final of 22-20.
On
the day, five Sun Devils went undefeated in their bouts with
four wrestlers posting 3-0 marks. Frost, Bader, Velasquez and
Staylor each won all three of their matches on the day with Mendoza
taking his two bouts. Overall, 939 fans saw eight teams compete
with ASU and No. 8 Missouri each going 3-0 on the day. ISU and
No. 18 West Virginia each went 1-1 with Stanford, ERAU and No.
23 Cal Poly posting 1-2 marks. American finished 0-3.
ASU
returns to action Friday and Saturday, Jan. 9-10, at the Virginia
Duals in Hampton, Va. No. 3 Lehigh and No. 4 Nebraska will be
on hand as the two highest-ranked teams in the field.
#11
Arizona State 32 1-2 (0-0 Pac-10)
Embry-Riddle 12 3-2
Winner Type Loser Score ASU ERU
184 #12 Nick Frost (ASU) Tech Fall Jeoffry Landers (ERAU) 20-5
(4:55) 5 0
197 #3 Ryan Bader (ASU) Major Bob Charlton (ERAU) 12-2 9 0
285 #11 Cain Velasquez (ASU) Tech Fall Robert McConkie (ERAU)
17-1 (5:51) 14 0
125 Christian Staylor (ASU) Tech Fall Jared Tavasci (ERAU) 15-0
(4:33) 19 0
133 Richard Byrd (ERAU) Dec Aaron Suzuki (ASU) 14-8 19 3
141 Jeremy Mendoza (ASU) Major Eugene Garza (ERAU) 13-1 23 3
149 #10 Patrick Williams (ASU) Dec Tyler Moran (ERAU) 7-3 26
3
157 #10 Brian Stith (ASU) FORF forfeit 32 3
165 Morgan Scott (ERAU) DQ James Terry (ASU) DQ (5:46) 32 9
174 David Rivera (ERAU) Dec Jason Trulson (ASU) 7-2 32 12
#11
Arizona State 24 2-2 (1-0 Pac-10)
Stanford 17 2-3 (0-1 Pac-10)
Winner Type Loser Score ASU SU
184 #12 Nick Frost (ASU) Major John Garfinkel (SU) 12-4 4 0
197 #3 Ryan Bader (ASU) Tech Fall Ian Bork (SU) 18-2 (4:21) 9
0
285 #11 Cain Velasquez (ASU) Tech Fall Shawn Ritzenthaler (SU)
21-5 (7:00) 14 0
125 Christian Staylor (ASU) Dec Tanner Gardner (SU) 6-3 17 0
133 Mike Simpson (ASU) Major Paul Gross (SU) 12-3 21 0
141 Brad Metzler (SU) FORF forfeit 21 6
149 #10 Patrick Williams (ASU) Dec Luis Vendrell (SU) 7-4 24
6
157 #6 Matt Gentry (SU) Dec #10 Brian Stith (ASU) 2-0 24 9
165 Brian Perry (SU) Dec Jamie Robbins (ASU) 3-2 24 12
174 Imad Kharbush (SU) Major Jason Trulson (ASU) 9-0 24 16
#11
Arizona State 22 3-2 (1-0 Pac-10)
#2 Iowa State 20 9-1 (0-0 Big XII)
Winner Type Loser Score ASU ISU
184 #12 Nick Frost (ASU) Dec #7 Kurt Backes (ISU) 6-2 3 0
197 #3 Ryan Bader (ASU) Dec Trevor Smith (ISU) 5-1 6 0
285 #11 Cain Velasquez (ASU) Major Richard Schopf (ISU) 21-8
10 0
125 Christian Staylor (ASU) FORF forfeit 16 0
133 #5 Zach Roberson (ISU) Dec Mike Simpson (ASU) 4-1 16 3
141 Jeremy Mendoza (ASU) Dec Jesse Sundell (ISU) 15-9 19 3
149 #5 Trent Paulson (ISU) Fall #10 Patrick Williams (ASU) 4:19
19 9
157 #10 Brian Stith (ASU) Dec Jason Knipp (ISU) 6-2 22 9
165 #16 Nick Passolano (ISU) Tech Fall Jamie Robbins (ASU) 17-2
(7:00) 22 14
174 Kevin Amesquita (ISU) FORF forfeit 22 20
IOWA
STATE
No.
2 Iowa State Wrestlers Split at the Sun Devil Duals
TEMPE,
Ariz. -- The second-ranked Iowa State wrestling team posted a
1-1 mark at the Sun Devil Wrestling Duals, defeating Cal Poly,
18-16 and a falling to No. 11 Arizona State, 22-20, at Wells
Fargo Arena Sunday. The split gives the Cyclones a 9-1 dual record
this season.
In
the victory over Cal Poly, Iowa State won the dual's last four
matches to overcome a 16-3 deficit. With the Cyclones trailing
16-14 heading into the final match at 174 pounds, ISU redshirt
freshman Grant Turner major decisioned Sam Temko, 19-6, to complete
the Iowa State comeback and give the Cyclones the victory.
Iowa
State redshirt freshman Trent Paulson started the ISU resurgence
with his 17th win of the year at 149 pounds. The fourth-ranked
Paulson major decisioned No. 14 Matt Cox, 11-0. Paulson's twin
brother Trent followed in similar fashion with a 14-1 major decision
over Keith Kroeger at 157 pounds, moving the Cyclones within
five of Cal Poly with two matches remaining.
ISU
junior Nick Passolano further closed the gap with a 6-0 decision
against Eric Shortenhaus at 165 pounds, setting up Turner's match-winner.
Similar
to its dual against Cal Poly, Iowa State fell behind to Arizona
State, 16-3, but could not duplicate its earlier comeback. Starting
at 184 pounds, the Sun Devils won the meet's first four matches
to take an early 16-point advantage.
After
ISU forfeited the 125-pound match, Cyclone Zach Roberson got
ISU on the board with a 4-1 decision over Mike Simpson at 133
pounds. Roberson, the nation's third-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds,
moved to 16-1 on the season after losing earlier in the day to
Cal Poly's ninth-ranked Darrell Vasquez, 7-3.
After
ISU lost the 141-pound match, Cyclone Trent Paulson moved Iowa
State closer at 19-9 with his fourth fall of year at 149 pounds.
Paulson pinned No. 11 Patrick Williams at the 4:19 mark, improving
his season record to 18-0.
Arizona
State's ninth-ranked Brian Stith gave the Sun Devils a 13-point
advantage with only two matches remaining with his 6-2 decision
over Jason Knipp at 157 pounds. ISU's Passolano won his second
match of the day at 165 pounds with a 17-2 technical fall over
Jamie Robbins. Passolano upped his season mark to 10-2. Arizona
State forfeited the 174-pound match.
Iowa
State was scheduled to compete against West Virginia, but the
two teams decided not to wrestle.
The
Cyclones will get a day off before heading to Fresno, Calif.,
where they will meet San Francisco State at 6 p.m. and Fresno
State at 9 p.m. in the North Gymnasium.
No.
2 Iowa State 18, Cal Poly 16
184 - Ryan Halsey (CPU) dec. Kurt Backes (ISU), 11-6
197 - Trevor Smith (ISU) dec. Ralph Garcia (CPU), 5-0
HWT - Art Basulto (CPU) dec. Richard Schopf (ISU), 8-4
125 - Vic Moreno (CPU) dec. Grant Nakamura (ISU), 3-2
133 - Darrell Vasquez (CPU) dec. Zach Roberson (ISU), 7-3
141- Steve Esparza (CPU) maj. dec. Jesse Sundell (ISU), 16-5
149 - Trent Paulson (ISU) maj. dec. Matt Cox (CPU), 11-0
157 - Travis Paulson (ISU) maj. dec. Keith Kroeger (CPU), 14-1
165 - Nick Passolano (ISU) dec. Eric Shortenhaus (CPU), 6-0
174 - Grant Turner (ISU) maj. dec. Sam Temko (CPU), 19-6
No.
2 Iowa State 20, Arizona State 22
184 - Nick Frost (ASU) dec. Kurt Backes (ISU), 6-2
197 - Ryan Bader (ASU) dec. Trevor Smith (ISU), 5-1
HWT - Cain Velasquez (ASU) maj. dec. Richard Schopf (ISU), 21-8
125 - Christian Staylor (ASU) won by forfeit
133 - Zach Roberson (ISU) dec. Mike Simpson (ASU), 4-1
141 - Jeremy Mendoza (ASU) dec. Jesse Sundell (ISU), 15-9
149 - Trent Paulson (ISU) pinned Patrick Williams (ASU), 4:19
157 - Brian Stith (ASU) dec. Jason Knipp (ISU), 6-2
165 - Nick Passolano (ISU) tech. fall Jamie Robbins (ASU), 17-2
(7:00)
174 - Kevin Amesquita (ISU) won by forfeit
MISSOURI
Missouri Wrestling Has 3-0 Day at Sun Devil Duals
Burleson Finds Win Number 100, Reese Leads Missouri in Career-Falls
www.mutigers.com
Sunday, Jan. 4, 2004
Emily Gatewood
Tempe,
Ariz. - Walking into the sunset with a 5-0 season dual record,
the eighth-ranked Missouri wrestling team defeated No. 16 West
Virginia (22-15), No. 18 Cal-Poly (37-6) and non-ranked American
University (51-3) at the Sun Devil Duals in Tempe, Ariz (Wells
Fargo Arena). Along the way, senior captain Kenny Burleson of
Neosho, Mo., landed win number 100, making him only the ninth
Tiger in Missouri wrestling history to hit the century mark (101-31),
while senior J.P. Reese found his 42nd career-pin, to top the
Missouri all-time falls chart.
With
a 7-4 decision over No. 9 Matt Lebe of West Virginia, sixth-ranked
Burleson scored his 100th win, and now stands in the company
of greatness. The first Tiger to take 100 wins since John Kopnisky
(1997-2002), Burleson is on track to finish the season among
the top-five Missouri wrestlers with wins over 100. Wes Roper
(1978-82) holds the most wins by any MU wrestler at 131. Burleson
is the first Tiger with 100 wins that weighs 157 pounds.
Also
etching his name in the Mizzou history books was Reese. Wrestling
at 141-pounds, Reese dropped Daniel Lobsenz of American in 32
seconds and Steve Esparza of Cal-Poly in 2:40. The two falls
brought Reese's total to 42, putting him ahead of recent graduate
Kevin Herron (HWT, 41). To date, Reese has recorded 10 pins on
the season, eight shy of Herron's season-setting high 18 (2002-03).
The
Missouri wrestling team opened its day at 11 a.m. CT against
American University. With a final score of 51-3, the Tigers won
nine of their matches, five coming with falls, one by decision
and three by forfeits.
The
day continued for the Tigers at 2:30 p.m. CT as they paired with
No. 16 West Virginia. Starting at 184-pounds the Mountaineers
jumped out to an early lead with No. 2 Greg Jones defeating junior
J.C. Russell with a fall in 3:44. Sophomore Jeff Foust (No. 20)
brought the Tigers within three points earning a 4-1 decision
over Ryan Wilman at 197-pounds, but heavyweight senior Mike Whitehead
(No. 11) suffered a disappointing 4-2 decision to No. 7 Brent
Miller. Sophomore Austin DeVoe's (125) 4-1 decision, combined
with a four match winning streak at 149-, 157-, 165- and 174-pounds,
helped Missouri regain control of the board and take the 22-15
win.
In
the final dual of the day, No. 8 Missouri met with No. 18 Cal-Poly
for the second time in school history. Competing one year to
the day of their last matchup (Jan. 4, 2003-Lonestar Duals),
Missouri took a 37-6 win and increased its lead to 2-0 over the
Mustangs. One of the biggest wins of the dual came at 133-pounds
as junior transfer sixth-ranked Paul Collum challenged No. 9
Darrell Vaszuez and won with a fall in
2:41.
'We
wrestled our best against Cal-Poly today,' head coach Brian Smith
said. 'We had four pins, and Paul (Collum) dropped top-ranked
Darrell Vasquez. The performance was much better than what we
had seen in our first and then final match of the day.'
The
Tigers will travel to Chattanooga, Tenn., for a three-way meet
against Tennessee Chattanooga, and Ohio State on Sunday, Jan.
10, 2004.
'The
tough weeks that we have ahead will really tell us where the
team stands,' Smith said. 'If we are truly interested in vying
for a national championship come March, we can't afford to make
some of the mistakes that we made today. Fortunately, we're able
to walk away from today's duals with a better understanding of
what we need to work on back in the practice room.'
Missouri
over American: 51-3
184-Daniel
Waters (American) over J.C. Russell (Missouri): 9-2, decision
197-Jeff Foust (Missouri) over Adam Montgomery (American)-Fall,
1:45
HWT-Mike Whitehead (Missouri) over Jared Hyman (American)-Fall,
2:55
125-Austin DeVoe (Missouri) over Matthew Pelligrino (American)-Fall,
3:22
133-Brett Watkins (Missouri) over Ben Lamson (American)-Fall,
1:55
141-J.P. Reese (Missouri) over Daniel Lobsenz (American)-Fall,:32
149-Cody Greene (Missouri) over Tom Kniewski (American)-10-7,
decision
157-Kenny Burleson (Missouri)- Forfeit
165-Tyron Woodley (Missouri)-Forfeit
174-Ben Askren (Missouri)-Forfeit
Missouri
over West Virginia: 22-15
184-Greg
Jones (WVU) over J.C. Russell (Missouri)-Fall, 3:44
197-Jeff Foust (Missouri) over Ryan Wilman (WVU)-4-1, decision
HWT-Brent Miller (WV) over Mike Whitehead (Missouri)-4-2, decision
125-Austin DeVoe (Missouri) over Casey Brewster (WVU)-4-1, decision
133-Seth Lisa (WVU) over Paul Collum (Missouri)-5-3, decision
141-Joe Clarke (WVU) over J.P. Reese (Missouri)-6-3, decision
149-Jeremy Spates (Missouri) over Andrew Joseph (WVU)-10-1, major
decision
157-Kenny Burleson (Missouri) over Matt Lebe (WVU)-7-4, decision
165-Tyron Woodley (Missouri) over Zack Fryling (WVU)-4-3, decision
174-Ben Askren (Missouri) over Douglas Studenik (WVU)-Fall, 1:52
Missouri
over Cal Poly: 37-6
184-Ryan
Halsey (CP) over J.C. Russell (Missouri)-8-2, decision
197- Jeff Foust (Missouri) over Ralph Garcia (CP)-Fall, 5:53
HWT- Mike Whitehead (Missouri) over Art Basulto (CP)-6-4, decision
125-Vic Moreno (CP) over Austin DeVoe (Missouri)-8-5, decision
133- Paul Collum (Missouri) over Darrell Vaszuez (CP)-Fall, 2:41
141-J.P. Reese (Missouri) over Steve Esparza (CP)-Fall, 2:40
149-Jeremy Spates (Missouri) over Matt Cox (CP)-10-2, major decision
157-Kenny Burleson (Missouri) over Keith Kroeger (CP), Fall-3:40
165-Tyron Woodley (Missouri) over Eric Shortenhaus (CP)-9-0,
major decision
174- T.J. Hansen (Missouri) over Sam Temko (CP)-11-4, decision
CAL
STATE FULLERTON
Cal
State Fullerton Wrestling Results at the Lone Star Duals in Grand
Prairie, Texas, on Jan. 3
January 4, 2004
Mel Franks
Wartburg
23, Cal State Fullerton 18
125 - Miramontes (F) pinned McClintock (W), 1:45
133 - Saxon (W) dec. Arreola (F), 9-4
141 - Mora (F) dec. Kelly (W), 6-4
149 - Mehlert (W) pinned Silva (F) 2:46
157 - Vance (F) dec. Connell (W) 5-2
165 - Knaack (W) dec. Wilkerson (F), 8-6
174 - L.Sanchez (F) dec. M.Sturm (W) 10-4
184 - R.Sturm (W) tech fall Contreras (F), 22-4
197 - Seefeldt (F) dec. Carter (W), 2-1
Hvy - Gillis (W) pinned Fitu (F), 2:30
Cornell
28, Cal State Fullerton 15
125 - Mormile (C) maj dec. Miramontes (F), 13-5
133 - Lee (C) maj. dec. C. Sanchez (F), 20-7
141 - Lijo (C) dec. Mora (F), 4-2
149 - Manotti (C) tech. fall Silva (F), 26-8
157 - Roth (C) dec. Vance (F), 9-6
165 - Wilkerson (F) inj. default over Mazzurco (C)
174 - L.Sanchez (F) pinned Baier (C), 1:01
184 - Rinaldi (C) inj. default Contreras (F)
197 - Seefeldt (F) dec. Greenberg (C), 7-5 ot
Hvy - Bogumil (C) dec. Fitu (F), 6-1
Brown
28, Cal State Fullerton 9
125 - Hicks (B) dec. Miramontes (F), 6-5
133 - Arreola (F) dec. Appello (B), 4-1
141 - Ashton (B) dec. Mora (F), 9-4
149 - Dies (B) maj. dec. Silva (F), 17-4
157 - Vance (F) dec. Savino (B), 7-3
165 - Brown (B) dec. Wilkerson (F), 11-4
174 - L.Sanchez (F) dec. Heist (B), 8-3
184 - Mosley (B) by forfeit
197 - Ciarcia (B) dec. Seefeldt (F), 2-1
Hvy - Beane (B) pinned Fitu (F), 0:34
Purdue
38, Cal State Fullerton 9
125 - Miramontes (F) pinned Schmaltz (P), 4:32
133 - Beebe (P) pinned Arreolaa (F), 1:16
141 - Sprunger (P) dec. Mora, (F), 7-4
149 - Jankowski (P) maj. dec. Silva (F), 16-2
157 - Vance (F) dec. Harper (P), 3-1
165 - Groski (P) pinned Wilkerson (F), 4:42
174 - Lange (P) maj. dec. L.Sanchez (F), 14-6
184 - Wissel (P) by forfeit
197 - Moore (P) dec.Seefeldt (F), 7-3
Hvy - Blevins (P) pinned Fitu (F), 4:04
Source: ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something. It's
our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit."
Mary Lou Retton {American Olympic Gymnast}
|
Mike
Tyson in Hawaii
I know all of you thought "what Tyson is in Hawaii?"
when you heard of his live broadcast for the K-1 event. Well,
here is a little picture of Iron Mike at Aloha Stadium during
that broadcast.
Thank you to Super Brawl promoter T. Jay Thompson for sending
us the picture and the lucky guy got to hang out with Tyson.
He also watched the K-1 event along with Tyson. Big news may
be coming for Hawaii fans that is related to this, but we won't
tell...
|
Rumors
on Hawaii Fighters
The rumor floating around is that the up and coming Ring of Honor
main event may possibly match up Ron Jhun and UFC veteran Chris
Lytle. Chris lost via decision to Robbie Lawler in the last UFC,
but bounced back to rack up a win over Pete Spratt this past
weekend.
Another rumor floating around is a possible rematch between Ron
Jhun and Tiki Ghosen in the UFC on April 2. For those of you
that saw this match at Super Brawl 31, it was a war with both
fighters unloading on each other. This match would fit nicely
as a prelim on the Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell card that will
be back in Vegas.
|
MARIO
SPERRY: From the Department of EYE CUTS!
by: Marcello Tetel
The first time Mario Sperry got a cut to the eye in an MMA competition
happened during training way back in 1991. Sperry was a purple
belt, already one of the highest ranked fighters from his generation
at the old Carlson Gracie Team. He was one of the sparring partners
preparing the team for the now legendary Jiu-Jitsu X Luta Livre
challenge matches, During one of the rugged training sessions,
this particular one under the coordination of the legendary Marcelo
Behring, Sperry made his 'debut' in the eye cut business. SOme
recall the worry of combatant Fabio Gurgel, who lost a citical
sparring partner. The lack of sparring partners so close to the
fight was bothering Gurgel, who was still young at 21 years old.
After
that, Mario evolved into a master and PHD in the department of
eye cuts during his own fights! Four years after that fateful
day in 1991, Sperry made his MMA debut (January 1995) against
Jose Balduino at a Brazilian event calle 'Duelo de Titans' and
although the win was scored easily after total dominance, Mario
emerged from the battle with a cut.
It
was a cut that required 8 stitches, smaller than the 1991 cut,
but Sperry's MMa debut looked like a bloody mess.
At
the end of 1995, Mario was set to make his debut internationally.
The event was the 'Extreme Fighting 1' and fans may recall the
now legendary controversy surrounding this bout! Mario tapped
out to Igor Zinoviev? No, Sperry confirms. The only thing left
are the memories and the scar of another 10 stitches Mario received,
the cut making the referee stop that fight. He was getting the
soft skin - he was becoming adept at the eye cuts!
Mario's
next international bout was at the Australian 8 man tournament,
where he fought 3 fights on his way to the belt. In the finals,
Mario earned the glory by defeating Chris Haseman. Guess what
else Mario 'earned'? Exactly - another cut! This one was small,
only 3 stitches, but it was another notch on a growing number
of eye cuts!
In
2002, Mario Sperry is performing at the UFO show in Japan, his
opponent is Wataru Sakata. Sperry won a judges decision, but
at one point in the match, Ze Mario had to convince the doctor
to let the fight go despite the cut. Guess where? In the same
place - the eyes! And this was a big cut on a big event, so he
was lucky the cutman stopped the bleeding. Mario managed to win
in conservative fashion.
Now,
welcome to the New Years eve event in 2003. Japan's PRIDE is
hosting it's first New Year's event in a party atmosphere, and
Mario is there competing. His oponent is Yuki Kondo who already
cut another brazilian, Saulo Ribeiro back in 2000 at the COLLESUM
event. The result of the matchup between Sperry and Kondo was
a doctor stoppage due to a cut. Can you guess where Mario was
cut? Exactly........
Source:
ADCC |
Interview
– Brazilian MMA veteran Ebenezer Braga
By Gleidson Venga / Team Tatame
Ebenezer
Braga is back after a solid performance at HEAT 2. After being
defeated by Forrest Griffin in the first edition of the event,
Ebenezer has defeated Rodrigo Riscado at Jungle Fight, but he
wanted to erase the bad impression he left in Natal at HEAT 1.
He did it! Ebenezer is one of the most beloved fighters of the
Brazilian audience, and he receieved redemption by totally controlling
tough Eric Wanderlei and winning by referees’ decision.
We
spoke to him about that match and more!
Tell
us a bit about the fight with Erik Wanderlei. That victory was
awesome, I was ready. Now I realize that at 34, with a difference
of almost 10 years over my opponent, I punched, kicked, went
to the ground, got him in guard! It was going good standing,
so did I have to go into his guard? Inside the guard he was going
to rest, so I made him stand and I broke him standing. We went
until the end. Also, as always I’m thankful to God for one
more victory in my life.
And
now, are you intend on getting a rematch with Forrest Griffin?
He said he will give me the rematch, but now, I don´t know,
since now he saw me fighting in the way I used to, I doubt if
he will fight with me again. He saw he played with someone different.
The
HEAT promoted an excellent show in its first edition and the
second one was solid as well. Do you think the event is here
to stay?
I´m
praying to GOD, asking him to give heat to HEAT! I want to see
this event blasting in Brazil and around the world! In order
to keep seeing these events coming and to keep them improving
as they already are. HEAT is ther,e with presentation, match
making, event treatment, I hope it is here forever!
And
how are the training sessions at Brazil Dojo? The training with
our master Luiz Alves, with Darrel Gohlar and with master De
La Riva are awesome. They are preparing our guys to perform.
There´s Cyborg, Ricardão, Baruk, there are all our
guys who are more than ready. We need to throw them among the
tough guys see where the cards fall. We will be psychologically
and physically ready.
Any
details on plans for the future? My hope is to fight again for
the Ultimate or Pride, and get into them real hard, and I would
like to stay there, stay at the elite shows internationally.
I look forward, using Brazil Dojo as my base,to taking my career
to a new peak. I was set up with a match in Russia, but it got
messed up, so, now, I´m here at Heat. My main problem was
'gas', but now this problem is past, I´ve got this issue
solved.
Any
final words for the fans of Natal??
I
want to say one thing: let God guide you, trust him and He will
do the rest. I´m not saying this 'by mouth', this comes
from my heart. He is our redeemer for the good or bad moments,
because He is the only one who can give us support.
Source:
ADCC |
The
Savage Truth - Savage Suck Up
By Greg Savage
It’s
been a while since I typed up one of these columns but it was
not for lack of effort. I just didn’t have anything nice
to say. And like my mother and numerous MMA fans have told me
over the past year, “If you don’t have something nice
to say, especially if they don’t think I would have the
guts to say it to the person’s face, not to say anything
at all.”
First
off I would like to tell all my friends at Zuffa, parent company
of the UFC, what a great job they did last year. Who cares if
they ended 2002 with a bang and their most successful show and
then proceeded to grind the swell of momentum to a disastrous
halt? They gave it their all and did their best to bring us MMA
here in North America. That’s all that really counts.
They
even delivered a couple really good shows with 43 and 44 so we
will just pretend UFC 45—their hyped up 10th anniversary
show—didn’t happen. Remember, it never happened, never,
never, never. Because if it did happen we might have to say something
kinda mean. Hey they swept UFC 33 under the rug, so it can be
done. Let’s just look to the future and UFC 46 which is
shaping up to be a great card.
One
last thing on the UFC in 2003….Hooray for the UFC, hooray
for Zuffa!!!
How
bout that great Japanese show Pride? They sure have some wacky
matches over there in the Land of the Rising Sun. I think that
Sakuraba is the best. He fights all these super big guys and
tries his hardest but usually loses.
His
three matches with Wanderlei Silva were awesome even though all
three of them ended with a brutal knockout or beatdown of the
smaller Sakuraba I was happy they had three matches because you
never know when the underdog can rise up and take down the champ.
I hope they have three more matches so we can really find out
who the best man is.
It
is also very encouraging to see these other Japanese organizations
doing their best to build MMA like tonight’s ultra-anticipated
match ups between Genki Sudo and Butterbean along with the sure
to be technical battle between Bob Sapp and Sumo great Akebono.
I don’t know about you guys but I was glued to the edge
of my seat on that one. I stayed up all night to catch the results
as they come in from Japan.
Now
on to my good friends in the MMA media, I hope you will all follow
my lead and make you New Year’s resolution to be super duper
nice when reporting on the sport. It needs your support if it
will grow beyond being a fringe sport.
Did
I just call MMA a fringe sport? Oh my gosh, I meant an “about
to blow up into the mainstream” sport.
You
really gotta watch out when you write these things because being
negative is so easy sometimes. Like my friend Josh Gross, former
editor of Fightsport magazine and editor of Maxfighting.com.
Sometimes he can be downright cutting edge with his pointed questions
and even sharper analysis of the sport of MMA.
A
guy like that can be dangerous because some fighters and other
people associated with the sport don’t like any kind of
criticism at all. I don’t blame them either because nothing
gets me more irritable than a negative email after one of my
columns. I know these people wouldn’t dare say any of this
to my face. I can’t believe they have the nerve to write
it in an email and send it to me. It just gets me furious.
Along
with pissing us MMA personalities and fighters off, negativity
doesn’t help the sport in any way, shape or form. All it
does is create friction, friction that slows down the growth
of the sport.
I
have to say these last six years or so have been great for me
as I have watched this sport go from the brink of extinction
to a position where it’s poised to make the jump to the
mainstream. But since I haven’t fought yet I think I am
going to stop covering the sport. That’s right folks, I
am thinking about calling it quits.
You
see the best journalists in every sport are the guys who have
competed at the top levels of their chosen sports. Broadcasters
like Ryan Bennett, Mike Goldberg, Joe Rogan and Eddie Bravo are
just like Al Michaels, Jim Lampley, and Bob Costas in that they
are all expert former practitioners of the sports in which they
broadcast.
The
print media should follow along those lines as well. Pick up
any sports page or sports periodical and you will see they are
full of former athletes who give the kind of knowledge only an
athlete has to offer. So in hopes that my colleagues will follow
suit I think I will call it quits.
Remember
this is all in hopes of supporting the sport.
Happy
New Years
Note
to reader: If you can not see the sarcasm in the above article
please throw yourself off a bridge.
This
sport will never be taken seriously while there is no critical
analysis of the sport itself and the people involved in it. This
is just the tip of the iceberg, as the sport continues to grow
and the fighters and personalities surrounding the sport gain
acclaim, they will come to find much harsher criticisms along
with that notoriety. It’s time for everyone in this sport
to start acting like big leaguers and professionals. If we can’t
accept the honest truth much less informed opinions how are we
going to deal with the spotlight that mainstream athletes are
thrust into everyday?
Source:
Sherdog |
Quote
of the Day
"The four cornerstones of character on which this nation
was built are:
Initiative, Imagination, Individuality and Independence."
Capt. Edward V. Rickenbacker, 1890-1973, American Aviator, World
War I Ace
|
News
on Hawaii MMA Fighters
In what is growing into one of the best growing shows, World
Extreme Cagefighting, is adding some Hawaii fighters to the January
16th card. HMC's Deshaun Johnson will be fighting Yves Edwards,
replacing Doug Evans. Also on the card, Harris Sarmiento (808
Fight Factory) will be fighting Razor Macollugh and Adrienna
Jenkins (HMC) will be fighting Kerrie Crothers.
Jhun-Carter
3?
The Machine Gun returns to action, as Ron Jhun was suppose to
fight Carlo Prater but it didn't work out so it looks like he
could face Shonie Carter again in May for the third time for
the WEC Championship.
Guam's
Jungle Rules features Hawaii fighters and Enson's Return
Guam's own MMA event, Jungle Rules will take place on January
10th and will feature Ed Newalu (808 Fight Factory) vs. Issei
Hirano (Purebreed Guam), Bryson Monterde (808 Fight Factory)
vs. Kolo Koka (Grappling Unlimited), Bob Ostovich (Jesus Is Lord)
vs Kaipo Kalama (Grappling Unlimited) and Enson Inoue is the
main event in his comeback fight.
Source: "Cobra" Kai Kamaka |
1st
Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
Information
packets are being sent out, so if your school did not receive
one, please feel free to email Lee at the email below and he
will get it to you. Mike & I will be there to support our
team and help out with the tournament. See you all there!
Luis 'Limao' Heredia wants to remind and invite everyone to his
1st Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu Tournament. The event will take place
on February 15th, 2004 at the War Memorial Gym in Wailuku, Maui,
HI! There will be both Gi and No-Gi divisions in all belts and
weight categories.
Additionally
the promoters are scheduling a Professional Gi and No-Gi bracket
with $$$ and other prizes!
For
information contact (808) 283-7460 - (808) 357-0657 or www.mauijiujitsu.com or Mauibadboy@aol.com
Source: ADCC |
The
Complete Card For WEC - January 16th
by: Keith Mills
Lemoore,
CA - With only two weeks left the next WEC card is almost complete.
Only WFA vet Rob “the Razor” McCullough, Poppies Martinez
and Canadian female fighter Kerri Crothers still lack opponents.
At
first glance, the January 16th card looks like some uneven fights
for the UFC vets and top up-and-comers. For instance, Yves Edwards
is one of the best Lightweights around with an internet verifiable
MMA record of 21-8-1, while his opponent Doug Evans has an MMA
internet verifiable record of 3-10-0. Evans seems to have not
won one of his last nine fights, with his last reported MMA win
being against John Olson in February of 1999. Yves is a six-time
UFC vet with his last four fights in the UFC being wins. Doug
has been fighting mostly at 170 and is light for that class and
now he is making the cut to 155. Yves did the same thing back
in 2001 when he entered the UFC. This is a chance for Doug to
start over at a new weight class closer to his size but starting
out against Yves Edwards is a daunting task. Point is the perception
Yves is being handed an easy win is not necessarily accurate;
Doug is someone his own size with a strong background in muay
thai and enough experience to give him a shot against Yves.
The
one thing that all the fighters on this card with less-than-impressive
records share is they put on exciting fights. WEC and IFC, although
two distinct and separate entities share several key people who
tend to have the same philosophies; put on an exciting fight
and win or lose you will be back. The perception is most fans
don’t care if Edwards, Lytle, Ghosen, or Carter fight people
with mixed records, the fans just want to see someone they recognize
from television against a local hero in a tough battle.
The
angle that still makes WEC stand out is the strength of the undercard
from the team perspective. Stiebling/Sonnen looks like it could
steal the show and it is the second fight of the night. McCullough’s
opponent hasn’t been named but if 'The Razor' has improved
his ground game since WFA a year ago he should be one to watch.
Overall look for many of the fights to be one team that sent
a fighter to the UFC against another. Bottom line is for fans
either only familiar with the pay-per-view events or those looking
to see who the next fighters emerging onto the national stage
out of California might be this show is a great place to start.
Card
Subject TO Change:
- Anthony Arria vs. Gilbert Magana
- Alex Stiebling vs. Chael Sonnen
- George Evangelista vs. Rocky Long
- Rob McCullough vs. TBA
- Pedro Tome vs. Anthony Gonzales
- Richard Montoya vs. Joe Salcido
- Poppies Martinez vs. TBA
- Lavar Johnson vs. Doug Marshal
- John Appleby vs. Jack Cardenas
- J.T. Taylor vs. Chris Lytle
- Eric Eide vs. Abram 'Irish Abe' Baxter
- Tiki Ghosen vs. Nick Gilardi
- Yves Edwards vs. Doug Evans
- Olaf Alfonso vs. Albert Rios
- Kerri Crothers vs. TBA
WEC
Championship Welterweight Fight
- Shonie Carter vs. Gabe Garcia
WEC
Championship Middleweight Fight
- Chris Leben vs. Mike Swick
WEC
Championship Heavyweight Fight
- Mike Kyle vs. Joe Pardoe
Source: ADCC |
PRO
WRESTLERS IN MMA.... GOOD OR BAD FOR THE SPORT?
It's interesting to see the continued influx of pro wrestlers
in the sport of mixed martial arts. A few pro wrestlers have
made the move successfully, most notably Sakuraba of Japan and
Ken Shamrock who spent many years in WWF before it was the WWE
and if memory serves us correct the WCW organization as well.
Now
the latest news from Japan is that the wrestler known as Vader
will fight on the upcoming Bushido show. Nobuyuki Sakakibara
confirmed Vader's participation for their 2/15 show at the Yokohama
Arena.
Pro
wrestlers in MMA has been accepted in Japan, but would it ever
be accepted in America? It seems some MMA fans don't want anything
to do with it, others are tolerant of it.
MMA
Broadcaster Ryan Bennett, who does play by play for the IFC and
WEC, not to mention does a daily MMA radio show on this site,
was a pro wrestling fan years back. Bennett said quote..."I
would say 90% of MMA fans in the States, absolutely hate pro
wrestling having any involvement with MMA. Most people even hate
the fact that anyone mentions it in the same breath with MMA.
If you took Bill Goldberg and put him on a UFC card there is
no doubt in my mind that the pay per view buys would be off the
charts." Bennett continued...
"With
that said, when Goldberg gets overwhelmed by whomever, let's
say Vitor Belfort for instance, then you have to wonder it the
ppv buys would go up just for that one show, like Ortiz vs Shamrock
did at UFC 40. You would also have to wonder if there would be
any spike in the ratings for future UFC shows without pro wrestlers
on those types of cards. Couple the fact that the UFC is getting
away from the spectical production image with fireworks and pyro,
now going with the traditional boxing entrances, making this
more of a "sport", I don't ever see the UFC being associated
with pro wrestlers. It's not an image they want at this time."
The
MMA fans have been talking about this subject on the Soundoff
Forum this weekend and here are some of your repsponses....
"I
hate wrestling! Mainly for the fact if I bring up UFC people
who have never watched it go "You know that stuff is fake?"
And of course I argue that and tell them that it isn't pro-wrestling
but they still seem to think, if they have yet to see it, that
it is somehow a pro-wrestling thing. My view is even if it would
boost the ratings of UFC I still don't want to see it. The reason
being that if a pro-wrestler were to enter the octagon, ignorant
people would think it is fake. They could see a Marvin Eastman
cut and still say, "He cut himself with a razor blade to
do that!" - Lord_Abortion on Soundoff
"It
would be a bad move to have Pro-wrestlers in UFC. If we have
anyone, then the word "work" will be in the picture."
- FirstRound KO
Other
fans see a double standard with the subject...
"
I support it, although I don't see it happening. Unfortunately,
not many MMA fans see the connection between Wrestling and MMA,
and neither does the one major MMA promotion on this side of
the continent. UFC needs to realize it soon, or UFC won't be
around. I love UFC, but, its a business and businesses need to
make money. UFC isn't making money right now, so I think they
need to keep their options open."
Luke
Nicholson
Political Science Major
University of Saskatchewan
"isn't
it interesting the huge difference between fans in the U.S. and
Japan. American fans are extremely micro-focused in what they
accept in sports entertainment. And everyone needs to realize
that MMA is sports entertainment as are all sports that exist
for the desired return of financial profit. Anyone who thinks
MMA is some honorable Shaolin pure sport only done for the spirit
of competition needs to wake up. Shamrock, Frye, Coleman, Randleman,
Sak, Sapp, Herring, Fujita and so many more have either come
from pro wrestling or done pro wrestling. Everyone comes from
somewhere so whether it is from bar bouncing, collegiate wrestling,
football or pro wrestling, why does it matter? The reason is
matters is that many U.S. MMA fans are scared to death of the
sport being worked. If Bill Goldburg or any other wrestler came
in and won a U.S. match, 99% of the people here would scream
it was a work no matter what. Predator (Sylvester Terkay) just
won his match in Japan by beating the bejeezus out of his opponent.
Yugi Nagata was whipped, and the guy has amatuer credentials
and might be a decent fighter if he trained at it and wasn't
thrown to the wolves at the last minute. Fujita won his match.
Japanese fans accept the matches and are the most intelligent
in the world in my opinion. Compare their knowledgable crowds
to the beer swilling rednecks at many U.S. events and I rest
my case. They understand mma, pro wrestling and the workers moving
between the two. That would give U.S. fans the rocket shits and
apoplexy.
Thus,
while you could draw new fans with pro style marketing and personalities
you would risk losing the current mma die hards who are totally
rigid in their views and unwilling to accept any type of change.
The question is whether the trade off is worth it. The Fertittas
need to grow the UFC to try and make money and as much as we
may like things the way they are, the die hards aren't providing
the return on investment that the Fertittas desire. One can only
support a money losing business for so long until they say no
mas." - CBear on Soundoff Forum
Source: MMA Weekly |
MCGEE
SETS SIGHTS ON JAPAN
It looks as though Gan McGee could be the next fighter to make
a living in Japan. MMAWeekly.com has learned that there has been
preliminary talks between McGee and Pride.
McGee
was even offered a fight on the December show, but it's believed
that McGee wasn't ready for that type of fight on short notice
because it wouldn't give him enough time to train properly.
McGee's
last fight was a loss to the champion at that time in Tim Sylvia.
McGee looks forward to a possible change of venue as it's believed
he would make a little cash fighting overseas. Look for McGee
to fight for Pride in the upcoming months.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Getting
Back In Touch With... JORGE RIVERA
by: Keith Mills
Rivera
prepares for his second UFC appearance at “UFC 46: Super
Natural” January 31st, 2004, at the Mandalay Bay in Las
Vegas, Nevada.
On
January 31st Team Elite’s Jorge Rivera takes on the United
Kingdom’s Lee Murray in UFC 46: “Supernatural”.
Rivera last fought on UFC 44: “Undisputed” in September
where he made his UFC debut by beating Canada’s David Loiseau
by judges decision. Rivera still holds the Ring Of Fire and HOOKnSHOOT
Light Heavyweight belts.
KM:
What are your thoughts on fighting Lee Murray? JR: I think he’s
a tough guy. I think it should be a great fight. It is going
to be his shot and he is going to be ready so I need to be ready
too.
KM:
His last fight was in Extreme Force 1 in London. Did you get
a chance to see tape from that show? JR: No I haven’t.
KM:
In the first round Jose Pele Landi-Jons seemed to be getting
the better of Murray in the clinch knees and with the takedowns
but he came back in the 2nd to score the KO. On the ground he
had Pele in half guard while Pele would choke him with one forearm
and punch. JR: I’m surprised to hear Murray wasn’t
taking him down. I know he’s seen my last couple of fights
and I have never seen him fight at all.
KM:
Reason I was hoping you did is in the early part of your UFC
debut you seemed to be getting the short end of the stick in
the clinch against Loiseau. In the second you came back. Basically
both you and Murray seemed to be having trouble with the early
clinches in both your last fights. Do you think that is accurate?
JR: To be honest I work a lot of the clinch in my training. I
know why I was getting hit by The Crow. It was just an adjustment
I have been making on my training now. I kept on digging the
underhook when I should have been putting my hand either on his
bicep of his shoulder. I would dig the underhook and he would
make space and throw the elbow. To his credit he is a good fighter,
he knew what he was doing. He kept on catching that and he did
well with it. My hat goes off to him. He knows what he is doing,
he is a good fighter, and he got me.
KM:
That is what was so surprising; the clinch is where the damage
to you was being inflicted when we are used to seeing you dominate
the clinch. JR: Loiseau is tough. I really truly enjoyed fighting
him. There are a lot of similarities in our backgrounds and stuff
like that. Just to get in there and fight him, especially since
he was being highly touted, to get in there and beat him was
a great feeling. It was a tough fight though and that makes it
even sweeter.
KM:
The Northeast US fighters don’t have the publicity machines
that California and Canada do right now. JR: That is the way
I look at the Miletich camp and stuff like that. I don’t
worry about the publicity machine, I do my publicity in the ring.
Slowly but surely the fans will open up their eyes to it and
hopefully we’ll get what we want.
KM:
How much of the Loiseau fight was nerves or tension? JR: It was
my first time in there and you don’t want to make any mistakes.
I’ve never been in front of that many people before and
I know he had been in there before. It’s hard to explain;
I don’t want to burn out too fast and make a mistake. I
was thinking way too much instead of just reacting and acting
towards the fight. Hopefully this fight here will be a little
bit easier for me and I’ll be able to perform a little bit
better. We’ll see how it goes.
KM:
So you think this next one will be more like the Jorge Rivera
we are used to seeing? JR: Hopefully it will be even better than
that.
KM:
As far as the rest of Team Elite how is the team doing? JR: I’m
being honest, I’m really excited about our team right now.
We have a great team and I love the guys that I train with like
I love my brothers. Pat Barbieri, Doug Colenda, Keith Rockel,
Nuri Shakir, Matt Lee, Jim DeSousa, and Big Sash. Sash is one
of those guys that does a lot of dirty work and he doesn’t
get any press for it. If it wasn’t for him…he is a
big help to what we accomplished in our team.
KM:
What is Sash’s last name? JR: I don’t know. The Russian
nightmare.
KM:
It does seem like Team Elite is getting some of the breaks I
think are long overdue. Keith Rockel was back in the UFC, Mike
Brown won the AFC 145 belt… JR: Mike Brown will be in the
UFC hopefully really soon. He’s a tough tough guy.
KM:
Yeah, the only downside to Mike is fighting at 145 he doesn’t
have many opportunities in the US. There are only a handful of
good 145 fighters. You have to go to Shooto. JR: I’m sure
Mike can come up to 155.
KM:
I hope so. That is what Hermes Franca did when he entered the
UFC. JR: Mike actually fought Hermes Franca in HOOKnSHOOT. Hermes
ended up getting him with a triangle but it was a good fight.
KM:
I’m sorry I missed his last fight where he won the AFC belt.
I was out in Russia. (Jorge asks about Denis Kang). Speaking
of which how would you feel about fighting someone like Denis
Kang? (They are currently different weight classes)
JR:
I don’t care who I fight but my training partner has some
unfinished business to take care of with Denis first and I would
rather have him take care of his business with him. We’ll
take it from there.
(Note:
Rivera is referring to Ring Of Fury 3 in May of ’03 where
Kang knocked out Keith Rockel in 2:59 of round 1)
KM:
I’d like to see a rematch since they couldn’t fight
for the Ring Of Fury title and all. JR: I want to see them fight
for the title. Keith took that fight on really short notice.
I’m not sure if the outcome would be any different but as
far as I’m concerned that is Keith’s guy right now.
When it’s all said and done with we’ll take it from
there.
KM:
We’re still about a month out from UFC. Have you peaked
in your training yet? JR: I feel really really good right now.
I hope to peak on January 31st.
KM:
How was training through the holidays? JR: This is my job. I
don’t care for the partying, I don’t care to be hanging
out, I only care to win. I’m going to do what I need to
do to win.
KM:
In that sense does it take priority over the family? JR: No,
because training is an all-day thing for me. Something I do for
so many hours a day. My children don’t live with me right
now so I see them when I see them which is every other weekend
and days here and there. Basically I have a lot of free time
to train and when I’m not training I’m with them. I
try to balance my life right now. I told you I have a strong
faith in the Lord; I do my part and let things work themselves
out.
KM:
So you are going to keep on going until the show? You’re
not going to take the last week off? JR: When I fly out to Vegas
is when I start to taper off. Until then it’s balls to the
wall.
KM:
I’m not sure how appropriate this question is. In boxing
there is a great emphasis on a fighter’s nationality. You
are Puerto Rican? JR: Puerto Rican 100%. I take great pride in
that.
KM:
I hope this isn’t offensive. In boxing we see some fighters
getting breaks because basically they draw in more fans. People
will come in and support a Puerto Rican fighter or whatever.
Do you even notice that in MMA? JR: I hope to make that kind
of impact on MMA. I want people to come watch me fight not only
because I hope to be a good fighter but because I’m one
of them. I hope to bring a positive message to my people too.
I’m not a punk, I have something positive to give back to
people. That is how I want to be thought of. I take pride in
that.
KM:
Would you rather be projected as a Puerto Rican fighter or for
your religious beliefs… JR: I don’t want to be considered
a religious man because I’m really not. I have my faith
and I believe my relationship with God is something that is on
an individual basis. I have achieved what I have because he has
blessed me with it and I have to publicly acknowledge that on
my behalf. I thank the Lord for his blessings and beg him for
forgiveness because without him I’m screwed.
KM:
I’m a little uncomfortable with an emphasis on a fighter’s
nationality or heritage but you are fine with that? JR: Yeah.
That is who I am. I’m Puerto Rican. I was born that and
I’m going to die that. That doesn’t bother me at all.
If that draws more fans then that is great. I was born in America
and I’m an American. People in Puerto Rica are American
citizens. That is why I come down with both flags. I served for
this country; I was in the army. I love this country. It has
provided me with great opportunities like what I’m doing
right now. I love it but I also love my ethnic background.
KM:
Anything else to get across to the fans right now? JR: Thank
you very much for your love and support and I hope to give you
something exciting to cheer about. I hope that this fight will
be a good one. I know he is coming to fight and so will I.
For
more information on Team Elite and the Massachusetts Submission
Academy check out http://www.masssubmissionacademy.com/index.htm
Source:
ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"Failure
is nature's plan to prepare you for great responsibilities."
Napoleon Hill, 1883-1970, American Speaker, Motivational Writer,
''Think and Grow Rich''
|
Japan's
New Years Eve Shows - Looking Back...
The
annual New Year's eve extravaganza event traditionally held in
Japan became an all out frenzy this year, as 3 Mixed Martial
Arts organizations (PRIDE, Inoki and K-1) competed for the lucrative
TV ratings prize by running three different major events. What
resulted may have been an internecine battle of mutual destruction,
as preliminary reports in the Japanese media are pointing towards
a split of the live gates, with an average of about 40,000 people
attending each show. This is not close to previous records, and
several of the arenas were not close to sold out. However, the
all important TV numbers will tell the tale in the end.
TV
NUMBERS - EARLY LOOK
NOTE:
The source of this data is http://www.puroresupower.com/ a phenomenal
site featuring Zach Arnold, with an intense focus on the Japanese
MMA and pro wrestling scene.
(TV
Ratings) According to a 1,000-person MBS (Mainichi Broadcasting
System) questionnaire issued to New Year's Eve TV viewers, here
were the initial results:
1.
Red & White (Kohaku) Music Festival - 39.6%
2. K-1 12/31 Nagoya Dome - 17.4%
3. PRIDE 12/31 Saitama Super Arena - 10.9%
4. Inoki 12/31 Kobe Wing Stadium - 3.7%
5. Others (Beat Takeshi on TV-Asahi, TV-Tokyo movie, etc.) -
28.4
FIGHTERS
LEFT OUT IN THE COLD
All
the events created an atmosphere that was simply not conducive
to having good fights.
Champions
Wanderlei Silva, Mirko 'Cro Cop' and 'Minotauro' Nogueira all
elected to sit out rather than participate, despite big incentives
to fight. Certainly the atmosphere of confusion contributed to
the more cautious champions taking the event off.
Several
factors contributed to the atmosphere. Few matches were set in
stone for a long time, though there were exceptions. Additionally,
Inoki ran a 'preliminary' event, JUNGLE FIGHT in September, and
despite the rumors that fighters were told they would get conisderation
for the BOM BAY YE, no American or Brazilian fighters emerged
from that show. Likewise, K-1 ran an event on November 27th,
2003 in Brazil, hyped as a preliminary event to test the rules
and potentially scout fighters - none were used on New Year's.
Many fighters trained, had opponents shuffled and changed, and
many turned down other opportunities to wait for the final call.
Many fighters and teams were lost in the shuffle.
There
was a lot of talk about legal battles and contract reviews, as
the three organizations battled for the sport's top stars. Much
of what went on may never be known, however what emerged were
3 good events, rather than 1 amazing extravaganza.
INOKI's SAVING
GRACE?
Inoki
Bom-Ba-Ye at the Kobe Wing Stadium reportedly attracted just
over 40,000 live spectators, and was shown on Nippon TV. The
above preliminary TV numbers may spell disaster for Inoki, as
his event seems to have been the least watched. Keep in mind,
previous BOM BAY YE events were done in conjunction with K-1
and no direct competition, so Inoki was under a lot of pressure
to perform.
Long
known as one able to recycle his image, Inoki's event may have
a hidden surprise - Lyoto Machida. Inoki's protege did the unexpected
in taking out rugged, undefeated Rich Franklin. Lyoto's emergence
as a true MMA fighter, along with Inoki's ties to New Japan Pro
Wrestling, whose new star Josh Barnett is among the top MMA fighters
in the world, mean his makeover as an MMA pioneer will likely
continue.
COMPLETE
RESULTS - INOKI BOM BAY YE:
- Rene Rooze def. Tadao Yasuda by TKO Ref Stoppage at R1.
- Lyoto Machida def. Rich Franklin by KO (Left Hook) at 2R 1:03
- Emelianenko Alexander def. Angelo Araujo by TKO (Doctor Stoppage
/ Cut) at 2R 4:28.
- Josh Barnett def. Semmy Schilt by armbar at 3R 4:48.
- Michael McDonald def. Hiromi Amada by KO at 2R 0:46
- Stefan Leko def. Kazunari Murakami by KO at 1R 1:04.
- Emelianenko Fedor def. Yuji Nagata by TKO (Ref Stoppage) at
1R 1:02
- Kazuyuki Fujita def. Imamu Mayfield by side choke (Ref Stoppage)
at 2R 2:15
- Amar Suloev def. Din Thomas by TKO (Ref Stoppage/punches and
kicks on the ground) at 1R 4:22
- Alistair Overeem def. Tomohiko Hashimoto by TKO (Ref Stoppage
/Ground Strikes) at 1R 0:36
K-1 Dynamite!!
- The BIG WINNER?
The
K-1 event at the Nagoya Dome appears to be the early winner of
the ratings. The live gate was 45,000, but that does not tell
the whole story. The match featuring Bob Sapp taking on Sumo
wrestler Akebono was long publicized, and it is the only match
on all the events receiving crossover media coverage. When all
is said and done, Japanese TVs will probably be focused on this
match, despite it's 'celebrity boxing' quality and appeal. K-1
was already the biggest MMA company name in Japan, and they relied
on their stable of solid stars for the event.
Keep
in mind, they are already running K-1 events in the USA, and
VP Sergio Batarelli is on record as saying that K-1 wants to
do MMA in the US. If they come out of New Year's strongly positioned,
look for these plans to become more advanced in 2004. Additionally,
with Mike Tyson aboard, and Rickson Gracie in attendance, K-1
will continue to have the attention in the Japanese media.
COMPLETE
RESULTS - K-1 DYNAMITE!:
- Kristopher Midoux defeated Tom Howard - Rear Naked Choke 4:21
1st Round
- Genki Sudo defeated Eric 'Butterbean' - Heel Hook 0:41 2nd
Round
- Masayuki Naruse defeated Jan 'The Giant' Nortje - Rear naked
choke 4:40 1st Round
- Yusuke Fujimoto defeated Francois Botha - Judges Decision (K-1)
- Francisco Filho defeated TOA - Judges Decision ( K-1)
- Sylvester Terkay defeated Mauricio da Silva - TKO 13seg 1st
round
- Yoshihiro Nakao defeated David Khakhaleichivili - KO 1:13 2nd
round
- Alexey Ignashov defeated Shinsuke Nakamurav KO - 1:19 3rd round
- Ernesto Hoost defeated Montanha Silva KO 2nd round (K-1)
- Bob Sapp defeated Akebono TKO - 1st Round (K-1)
PRIDE 2003
Otoko Matsuri - On Course For 2004?
The
PRIDE event, held at the Saitama Super Arena reportedly had approximately
39,000 in attendance. With Royce Gracie versus Hidehiko Yoshida
as the main event, and a lineup packed with Japanese fighters
who starred in other Japanese events (Sakurai - SHOOTO, Kondo
- Pancrase, Tamura - RINGS) in solid matches, PRIDE will probably
receive the most support from the MMA purists.
Additionally,
reports indicate that PRIDE may have received considerations
from the BOM BAY YE event, as PRIDE star Emelianenko Fedor appeared
on that event instead. After much pre-fight manuveuring, the
brothers Fedor appeared outside of PRIDE, though the numbers
above indicate they did not help the all important TV ratings.
If PRIDE comes through the New Year's events a solid second to
K-1, look for their plans to run in North America in 2004 to
proceed as well.
Despite
a draw, it may be Royce Gracie who may be ready to make the leap
to Rickson-like legendary status in Japan. His bout with Yoshida
was announced with a lot of hype, and after Sapp-Akebono, it
was certainly the marquee match of the weekend. In his late 30's,
this match may have been Royce's last bout - certainly he can
sit back and review the offers that come in now with disgression.
COMPLETE
RESULTS - PRIDE SHOCKWAVE 2003:
- Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson Def. Ikuhisa 'The Punk' Minowa -
Ref Stoppage 1st round
- Heath Herring Def. 'Giant' Silva - Rear Naked choke 1st round
- Hayato Sakurai def. Daiju Takase - Judges Decision
- Murilo Ninja def. Akira Shoji - By KO 1st Round
- Royce Gracie v. Hidehiko Yoshida - Draw
- Gary 'Big Daddy' Goodridge def. Don Frye - By KO 1st Round
- Daniel Gracie v. Wataru Sakata - Arm Bar 1st Round
- Yuki Kondo def. Ze' Mario Sperry - Kondo via Doctor Stoppage
due to a cut
- Kiyoshi Tamura v. Rony Sefo - Tamura by Arm Bar 1st Round
- Kazushi Sakuraba v. Rogerio 'Minotouro' Nogueira - Noguiera
by Judges Decision
Source:
ADCC
|
Catching
Up With 'SHAOLIN' Ribeiro - SHOOTO's New Welterweight Kingpin!
After
closing out the year of 2003 with a great win over Joachin Hansen
to capture the coveted SHOOTO Welterweight Title, the new Champion
Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro ended the year as ADCc NEWS #1 ranked
fighter at 155 lbs. as well. 'Shaolin' celebrated with a barbecue
party for his teammates, parents and friends.
At
the party, Shaolin showed off his new belt, and he also showed
z video of his HUGE win. Famous fighters like Pedro Rizzo, Claudio
Coelho (Boxing trainer) and Judo Champion Léo Leite were
on attendance, as well as a host of Nova Uniao's finest fighters.
Before
the soccer game erupted at the party, Shaolin announced his forthcoming
marriage to Jananaina Raris. He also talked to us about the challenge
made by countryman Junior Buscapé. (BTT) 'As champion,
I will see this from now on. I think it's part of the game. On
the day I won the belt, Japanese fighter KAwajiri stepped into
the ring to challenge me. It comes with the territory. SHOOTO
will choose who I fight, they name him ands I will be there'
states the champ.
For
next year, Vitor promised more surprises from the Nova União
Team. 'Robinho and Loro are getting close to there shots in SHOOTO.
If they finally make the opportunity for my teammate Joao Roque
to face 'Pequeno', I think Nova União has a good chance
to win 3 more Shooto belts in 2004', predicted SHOOTOs' latest
undefeated poster boy.
Source:
ADCC
|
Buentello
off KOTC Florida Event
It’s
all in the wraps; Title fight off for Buentello
It
looks like Paul Buentello is going to sit out the Florida debut
of KOTC on January 24, 2004. Licensed under Stonecutter Event
Promotions, Inc., the KOTC Heavyweight Champion was to be the
main event on the proposed PPV card.
The
29-year-old may have hurt his hand in a fight against Lloyd Marshbanks
at XXXtreme Impact in Tijuana, Mexico, on December 28, 2003,
where he gave up some 35+ pounds to his opponent, in earning
the TKO win. The injury was further complicated Tuesday during
a training session at AKA in San Jose, California.
This
was to be the first title defense for Buentello since winning
the belt in a rematch against former champion Bobby “The
Bad Seed” Hoffman on November 22, 2003.
Source:
ADCC |
ZST
Grand Prix
Zepp, Tokyo, Japan
DATE: January 11th, 2004 (Sunday)
The
ZST Grand Prix at 155 lbs is coming up next week. The brackets
are announced, with Team EXTREME's Rich Clementi getting the
top draw of Naoyuki Kotani in the opening round. The other end
of the bracket features American TOP TEAM's Marcus Aurelio taking
on leg lock wizard Masakazu Imanari. another dark horse is Remigijus
Morkevicius, who faces the technique-wise Takumi Yano. The young
eastern european fighter is 5-0 with 5 KO's, and is known for
his precision knees.
The
complete brackets appear below...
Opener,
Round 2 and Finals:
- Rich Clementi versus Naoyuki Kotani
- Hideo Tokoro versus TAISHO
-
Takumi Yano versus Remigijus Morkevicius
- Marcus Aurelio versus Masakazu Imanari
ALTERNATE
MATCH:
- Jason Maxwell versus Atsuhiro Tsuboi
ZST's
Grand Prix started in November with 16 fighters in the less than
70kgs weight class (154 lbs). That event featured only the 1st
round of eight fights, with the 2nd Round, Semi-final and Final
rounds scheduled for January 11th, 2004.
November
23, 2003 (Sunday), 1ST Round
Event Location: Zepp, Tokyo, Japan
COMPLETE
RESULTS - Under 70kg - (OPENING ROUND):
-
Naoyuki Kotani (Rodeo Style) vs Mindaugas Smirnovas (Lithuania):
Kotani by arm bar.
- Masakazu Imanari (Team Roken) vs Jorge Gurgel (Team Extreme):
Imanari by leg lock.
- Takumi Yano (Ugokai) vs. Igor Isaikin (Russia): Yano by Judges
Decision.
- Hideo Tokoro (Stand) vs. Masahiro Oishi (K'z Factory): Tokoro
by arm bar.
- TAKUMI (Paraestra Osaka) vs Marcus Aurelio (American Top Team):
Aurelio by arm bar.
- TAISHO (Team Barbosa Japan) vs Jason Maxwell (Team Extreme):
Taisho by arm bar.
- Remigijus Morkevicius (Lithuania) vs. Menno Dijkstra (Pankration):
Morkevicius by KO.
- Rich Clementi (Team Extreme) vs Aloisio Barros (Ruas VT System):
Clementi by Judges Decision.
Source:
ADCC |
'Minotauro'
is all over the Brazilian media!
The
first Vale-Tudo event promoted in Bahia was run by the Pride
champion Rodrigo 'Minotauro', and it was hailed as an awesome
event. Before and ever since, 'Minotauro' has been ruling the
Brazilian press. After appearing nationally on Brazilian TV's
biggest program, 'Minotauro' returnedto his home up north and
gave important interviews to the local TV there.
Recently,
Rodrigo Nogueira and Diamante Negro, one of the fighters from
Conquista Fight held on December 20th, were guests on the daily
morning show segment 'Café da Manhã' (Breakfast)
on the program 'Bom Dia Cabrália' (Good Morning Cabrália),
aired by the local TV Cabrália (channel 7).
During
the interview, 'Minotauro' explained the rules of the tournament
and invited the local audience to check out the fights. 'Minotauro'
also talked about how he is famous in Japan, and he elaborated
with many stories on things he has been through in the land of
the rising sun. Rodrigo told an amazing story about how local
journalists came to know of him after a major report in Japan
came out. 'It was during the Soccer World Cup, and some Brazilian
journalists were talking with the Japanese press. The Japaneseand
they were asking the Brazilians about me, 'Do you know Rodrigo
Nogueira?' The Brazilians didn't have a clue who I was! The Japanese
reporters got impatient, and they were just amazed that I was
an unknown in my own country. 'How come they don't know him?'
Well, it made an impact on the Brazilians, who came back and
looked me up.' stated the champion.
Source: ADCC |
Catching
up with Chris Brennan
The
leader of Team Next Generation, Chris “The Westside Strangler”
Brennan, recently returned to the United States after 6 days
of seminars and affiliating academies in England and Ireland.
Brennan
reports the seminars were great and that he added 2 affiliate
academies to his Team. The academies are owned by Paul Rimmer
and Jason Tan in England and Dave Jones in Ireland. Rimmer, Tan
and Jones travel to the United States to train with Brennan at
his southern California academy 3 months a year and they bring
Brennan to their respective academies 2 times a year for seminars.
The
New Year brings more travel for Brennan and multiple members
of TNG. On January 10th, Adam Lynn fights in Guam followed on
the 17th by teammates Buck Greer, Josh Smith and Zach Brennan.
The 'Westside Strangler' is expecting to return to Pride Bushido
on February 15th. No opponent is named at this time.
Source: ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"The
greatest mistake a man can ever make is to be afraid of making
one."
(Elbert Hubbard) 1859-1915, American Author, Publisher
|
PRIDE
FC - SHOCKWAVE 2003 - Quick Results!
PRIDE FC
- SHOCKWAVE 2003
December 31, 2003
Saitama Super Arena Tokyo, Japan
COMPLETE
RESULTS:
-
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson Def. Ikuhisa 'The Punk' Minowa - Ref
Stoppage 1st round
- Heath Herring Def. 'Giant' Silva - Rear Naked choke 1st round
- Hayato Sakurai def. Daiju Takase - Judges Decision
- Murilo Ninja def. Akira Shoji - By KO 1st Round
- Royce
Gracie v. Hidehiko Yoshida - Draw
- Gary 'Big Daddy' Goodridge def. Don Frye - By KO 1st Round
- Daniel Gracie v. Wataru Sakata - Arm Bar 1st Round
- Yuki Kondo def. Ze' Mario Sperry - Kondo via Doctor Stoppage
due to a cut
- Kiyoshi Tamura v. Rony Sefo - Tamura by Arm Bar 1st Round
- Kazushi Sakuraba v. Rogerio 'Minotouro' Nogueira - Noguiera
by Judges Decision
Royce Gracie was
ecstatic after his fight with Hidehiko Yoshida and gave Kid this
short statement:
'I
am very happy with my performance. You know how much I had that
fight stuck in my throat and how hard I trained for this one.
I turned everything back, it was like U.F.C. I all over again!
I want to thank all my friends and supporters for believing in
me!'
Royce
Gracie
Here is a description of the fight that we found on the internet.
It looks like Royce dominated the fight.
I dont think the groin kick was intentional by Royce, or faked
by Yoshida. But I also think Yoshida recovered well after and
it did not have an effect. Yoshida made a strong attack right
after the fight was restarted and looked to have a superior position
on Royce, getting close to side position. But Royce's excellent
guard work got him back in good position and he went for a close
ankle lock. There was some really fun grappling to watch at this
point in the match. Yoshida got Royce's back for a short time
but Royce showed good defense and shrimped him off. Then Yoshida
went for an armbar, but it wasnt really close. >From here
Royce was in Yoshida's half guard for a while, smacking him in
the stomach many times. Then he got really close to full mount
and when Yoshida went to turn, he got Yoshida's back with the
hooks in. When Yoshida rolled to his back, Royce switched to
a figure 4 with his legs. From here, Yoshida could do nothing
except defend. He takes some looping punches from Royce and then
the round ends.
In
the 2nd round, Royce shows some improved standup, but the fight
goes to the ground without anyone taking damage. On the ground,
Royce goes to the same position as in the 1st round, attacking
Yoshida's left leg from below, looking for the heel hook. He
figure-4's Yoshida's left leg with his legs and throws punches
while trying to take away Yoshida's balance. He succeeds in doing
this, and I think he had a chance to catch Yoshida if he was
faster and more aggressive in attacking the heel as Yoshida fell
backwards. Some nice grappling follows, with both men exchanging
positions, but before you know it Royce gets mount position at
6min left, and from here it all goes downhill for Yoshida. Yoshida
had ok defense, but Royce's punches start getting in. I think
Yoshida might have been trying to bait Royce to take his arm
for jujigatame but Royce chose to just keep punching. Then Yoshida
turtles, goes to his back, and can only defend. Royce gets lots
of looping punches in. At 1:48 left, Royce gets mount again and
10 seconds later yoshida turtles again. This is happening in
front of Royce' corner, and you can see and hear Royler laughing
and saying "What kind of fight is this, man? He's on his
back again. This guys killing me". The rest of the fight
is Royce on Yoshida's back, smacking him around. The picture
already posted here showing the end of the fight pretty much
sums up how each fighter felt about his performance. One other
cool thing. At the end when Royce comes over to Yoshida and they
hug, the mic picks up Royce saying "Now, I respect you".
Source: ADCC
|
Royce
Gracie Post-Fight Q&A
In
1993, jiu-jitsu specialist Royce Gracie ushered in a new format
for combat sports, dominating the early UFC scene with his family's
grappling expertise. A decade on, Gracie stripped off his trademark
Gi for the first time in order to settle a long-standing feud
with Olympian Hidehiko Yoshida. Their first encounter - a grappling
contest in August 2002 - ended in a controversial stoppage when
the referee believed Gracie was out.
The
New Year's Eve rematch allowed strikes, and Yoshida's battle-damaged
visage was the result. The fight ended in a draw after two ten-minute
rounds, though Gracie was in control for much of the bout. A
press conference followed. Thanks go out to DSE for providing
the footage for the transcript.
On
father Helio and family...
I'd like to first say "Thank you" to my father, not
for teaching me this style, not for teaching me how to fight,
but for teaching me not to be lazy.
Thank
you to my sparring partners for getting me up at five o'clock
in the morning, every day, so I can put myself in Japan time.
My
wife, my kids, for putting up with this life.
Thanks
to Royler for coming up with this strategy, and for pushing me,
keeping me going.
Nono,
for teaching me about the stand-up world. I totally threw him
(Yoshida) off with the strategy Nono and Royler put together.
And
I can't forget Rickson. Like he said, "In a perfect world,
the last thing I'd be would be a fighter." He helped put
my head together, to look at the fight in a different way. He
couldn't be here today, but I thank him very much. He's the top
of the Gracie family.
I
can't forget Royler, either. The guy's awesome.
On
his physique...
I was able to take my Gi off because of James. He's my strength
coach. He did a miracle! And I can't forget Dr. Patrick. He's
been to all my fights. My brothers break me, and he fixes me.
I'm
a product of their work. I have discipline, and I know how to
listen.
On
his training time...
Seven weeks. I heard rumors that Yoshida was asking for a rematch
eight weeks ago. I thought, "Something's coming."
I
asked for a rematch right after the last fight. But apparently
they had other plans for him. I don't know if it was Pride or
Yoshida that asked for it, but I'm glad they could put it together,
to clean this up. That last match was stuck in my throat.
I've
lost before. I know how to lose. Just don't rob me.
On
the outcome...
You look at the fight, and you answer yourself. You tell me.
Yes, it was a draw. He's a very tough opponent. He's very strong,
very tough. But look at the fight, and you tell me who won.
On
the appeal of the match...
It cleared up something that was stuck in my throat for the past
year and a half. I got robbed. They stopped the fight for no
reason. I was disgusted.
On
a third bout...
That's something for the show to decide. Right now I just want
to go home and see my kids.
On
Yoshida...
Right after the fight, I told him, "Now I respect you."
He took a beating like a man. Now I can sleep at night: he can
sleep. We put a rock on top of this. Now it's done.
He's
an expert in grappling, a world champion, an Olympic champion,
and an open-weight champion in Japan. He knows how to defend.
It's not easy to catch him. He's strong, he knows what he's doing.
I gotta tire him out, I gotta punch him a couple times to soften
him up.
On
taking off his Gi top...
It was a strategy Nono and Royler came up with. I just listened
to them. (We decided to do it) about a month ago. Jiu-jitsu is
not just with a Gi. It's self-defense, it's not just a Gi sport.
I changed my stance, with my right foot out.
On
persuading him to take off the Gi was a "miracle"...
It was no miracle. My team told me to do it. He can't hold on
to me, he can't stall. Watch how he stalls in this fight. He
stalls a lot.
On
preparation...
Watch the fight. That's exactly how I was trained. If you get
video of the training, and watch the fight, it's exactly the
same. The training was on track.
On
last words...
Let's say that tonight, I was driving a yellow bus, a school
bus, and I took Yoshida to school.
Source: ADCC
|
Inoki
Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 Quick Results!
Inoki
Bom-Ba-Ye 2003
Date: 12/31/2003
Location: Kobe Wing Stadium, Kobe Japan
Produced by Antonio Inoki
COMPLETE
RESULTS:
-
Rene Rooze def. Tadao Yasuda by TKO(Ref Stoppage at R1.
-
Lyoto Machida def. Rich Franklin by KO (Left Hook) at 2R 1:03
-
Emelianenko Alexander def. Angelo Araujo by TKO (Doctor Stoppage
/ Cut) at 2R 4:28.
-
Josh Barnett def. Semmy Schilt by armbar at 3R 4:48.
-
Michael McDonald def. Hiromi Amada by KO at 2R 0:46
-
Stefan Leko def. Kazunari Murakami by KO at 1R 1:04.
-
Emelianenko Fedor def. Yuji Nagata by TKO (Ref Stoppage) at 1R
1:02
-
Kazuyuki Fujita def. Imamu Mayfield by side choke (Ref Stoppage)
at 2R 2:15
-
Amar Suloev def. Din Thomas by TKO (Ref Stoppage/punches and
kicks on the ground) at 1R 4:22
-
Alistair Overeem def. Tomohiko Hashimoto by TKO (Ref Stoppage
/Ground Strikes) at 1R 0:36
Source: ADCC
|
K-1
Dynamite!! Quick Results!
K-1
Dynamite!!
31 December 2003
Nagoya Dome, Nagoya, Japan
Early
#s from Japan state that the live gate attendance was the highest
for the K-1 event, out of the three offerings, with roughly 45,000.
The real competition was over TV numbers, put it is interesting
to see that none of the events put up the 60,000+ numbers that
have been racked up in the past in Japan.
COMPLETE
RESULTS:
-
Kristopher Midoux defeated Tom Howard - Rear Naked Choke 4:21
1st Round
- Genki Sudo defeated Eric 'Butterbean' - Heel Hook 0:41 2nd
Round
- Masayuki Naruse defeated Jan 'The Giant' Nortje - Rear naked
choke 4:40 1st Round
- Yusuke Fujimoto defeated Francois Botha - Judges Decision (K-1)
- Francisco Filho defeated TOA - Judges Decision ( K-1)
- Sylvester Terkay defeated Mauricio da Silva - TKO 13seg 1st
round
- Yoshihiro Nakao defeated David Khakhaleichivili - KO 1:13 2nd
round
- Alexey Ignashov defeated Shinsuke Nakamurav KO - 1:19 3rd round
- Ernesto Hoost defeated Montanha Silvav KO 2nd round (K-1)
- Bob Sapp
defeated Akebono TKO - 1st Round (K-1)
Source: ADCC
|
Sapp
Beats Akebono on New Year's Eve
[December
31, 2003] NAGOYA, JAPAN, December 31, 2003 -- Bob "The Beast"
Sapp beat former Sumo Grand Champion Akebono in the Main Event
at the Fields K-1 Premium 2003 Dynamite event. The New Year's
Eve extravaganza also featured K-1 veterans, Boxers, Grapplers,
Pro-Wrestlers, Muay Thai and Karate fighters, a former Judo Olympic
Gold Medallist, and live satellite commentary from Mike Tyson
in Hawaii.
Six
of the ten fights were fought under the new K-1 MMA Rules, including
the first bout, which was one of a number of David and Goliath
matches on the card.
American
fighter Butterbean brought a 100 kg weight advantage into the
ring against opponent Genki Sudo of Japan. At the pre-event press
conference, Butterbean said the match would be "brute strength
against skill." Replied Sudo, "I am an expert in MMA,
I'll show everyone that skill is greater than power."
This
time, skill won out. After dancing into the ring with a team
of cheerleaders (to the old rock and roll hit Wild Thing!), the
wily Sudo deftly drew Butterbean into a game of cat-and-mouse.
Sudo kept circling his opponent, staying close to the ropes,
then periodically snuck in to hit Butterbean with low Kung Fu
kicks. The frustrated Butterbean tried to get a hold of Sudo,
who slipped away repeatedly -- on one occasion executing a summersault
to narrowly escape. Late in the first, Sudo dove in on Butterbean's
leg and got the big guy down. They mixed it up for awhile, Sudo
showing that superior skill. Early in the second, Sudo and Butterbean
again went to the mat, and here Sudo slipped down to get an ankle
hold on, then twisted a bit to submit Butterbean. The crowd loved
this fight, and exploded in with delight when Butterbean tapped
out.
There
was another Japanese giant killer in the second MMA bout. Masayoshi
Naruse, who is 50 kg lighter than opponent Jan "The Giant"
Norte, simply outmaneuvered his South African opponent, staying
in, moving to a side mount position midway through he first.
When Nortje went to the four point position in an attempt to
get back to his feet, Naruse got around and submitted him with
a rear sleeper.
With
Cyril Abidi sidelined due a shoulder injury, Brazilian fighter
Mauricio Da Silva stepped in against American pro-wrestler The
Predator. The Predator said that although he is not used to obeying
the rules, he would try to do so against Da Silva. Actually,
rules were never an issue, because this time around, size did
matter (The Predator weighed in at 139kg to Da Silva's 97kg).
It took mere seconds for The Predator to connect with a left-right
straight punch combination to put Da Silva on the canvas. In
a flash, the Brazilian's corner threw the white towel into the
ring, and that was that.
In
the first of three consecutive K-1 rules fights, Francois "The
White Buffalo" Botha met Karate fighter Yusuke Fujimoto.
In live commentary from Hawaii, Mike Tyson wished both fighters
the best of luck, and when the bell sounded the men came out
with fire in their eyes for what turned out to be a fast and
hard-fought bout.
Botha
had taken a lot of punishment from Abidi's low kicks at the GP
Final, and here he tried to close the distance faster, coming
in to work hooks and uppercuts. Fujimoto did get some low kicks
in, and from the second threw more kicks to the body and up toward
the head. Botha's punches, meanwhile, were just not connecting.
In
the third, as the White Buffalo was charging, Fujimoto got a
tight left hook up to the jaw to score a down. Try as he might,
Botha could not get back into this one -- when he stayed outside
Fujimoto worked the kicks, and when he closed in, too often he
ended up in the clinch. Judges awarded Fujimoto a well-earned
unanimous decision.
New
Zealand's Toa promised he would make a war out of his K-1 rules
fight with Kyokushin legend Francisco Filho, but it was Filho
who took charge here. The Brazilian kept Toa at bay in the early
going, peppering the big Maori Warrior with low kicks, repeatedly
launching high kicks up to the head. In the second, Toa came
out more animated and tried to deke his way inside, but Filho
quickly connected with a solid right straight punch, and after
that it looked like Toa simply did not know how to proceed.
Filho
kept up the pressure, and a frustrated Toa faded further and
further out of the fight. The unanimous decision was a good way
for Filho to end what had been a disappointing year in the K-1
ring -- in July he and Mike Bernardo went through the motions
in a soporific slow dance that ended in a draw (although some
thought both fighters should have been disqualified for lack
of fighting spirit), and in October he lost to Stefan Leko. Japanese
fans love Filho -- he got one of the loudest receptions of the
night -- and it was great to see him back in good form.
The
next fight saw four-time K-1 World GP Champion Ernesto "Mr.
Perfect" Hoost in a K-1 rules bout with big Brazilian Montanha
Silva. Here again we had a big size difference -- Silva at 225cm
towers a full 36cm over Hoost, and outweighs him 152 to 109kg.
Hoost
said he was back to 100% after a severe skin ailment kept him
out of action for the last couple of months, and started this
fight in trademark fashion -- patient, well-defended, looking
for openings. Silva actually looked faster than he has in the
past, but Hoost still was able to stay out of harm's way. When
Hoost got his 12th low kick in during the second round, Silva
started twitching, obviously his front leg was very tender. Silva
also got his second Yellow Card for clinching in this round.
In the third, Hoost had only to stick with the game plan, Silva
jabbed a bit and did throw some hard rights, but did not have
follow-ups to any of his attacks. A unanimous decision for Hoost.
"This
year was very difficult for me," said Hoost, in Japanese,
in the ring after the fight. "My brother Andrew died, my
wife got sick, and I had my health problems as well. I promise
all my K-1 fans that next year will be better."
The
next two fights were again fought under K-1 MMA rules.
It
was David and Goliath time again when Barcelona Olympics Judo
Gold medallist David Khakhaleishvili of Georgia (175kg) stepped
into the ring against wrestler Yoshihiro Nakao (98kg). At the
pre-event press conference, Khakhaleishvili said this would be
"a fight of honor."
Khakhaleishvili
clearly did not want to go to the mat with Nakao, and throughout
the first he threw hard right straight punches to keep Nakao
at bay. When Khakhaleishvili did slip, he was remarkably quick
to bounce back to his feet.
Nakao
threw a fair number of low kicks in the first, and continued
that line of attack in the second. Then, suddenly, he was able
to dive in and get a hold of Khakhaleishvili's foot, and twist
the big Georgian to the ground. Getting in quickly, Nakao threw
a half dozen punches in perhaps twice as many seconds against
a semi-prone Khakhaleishvili, who saw no escape and so tapped
out.
In
his MMA debut, Belorussian K-1 star Alexey "The Scorpion"
Ignashov met the very tough pro-wrestler Shinsuke Nakamura. Ignashov
looked relaxed here, perhaps too relaxed. Repeatedly, Nakamura
was able to charge in on Ignashov's knees and take the Belorussian
down to get in. Ignashov repeatedly wrapped his legs round Nakamura,
locked up Nakamura's right arm, and defended from the closed
guard, but really it was Nakamura who was the more aggressive
and successful fighter in round one.
The
second round was also almost all on the mat, although Ignashov
did get a knee up to slow down the charging Nakamura in the early
going. But soon afterward, Ignashov was assessed a Yellow Card
when he threw a kick at his prone opponent. In the late part
of the round, Ignashov focused on staying on his feet, and when
he was on the mat was able to slip out of the guard position
on a couple of occasions. Nakamura knew what sort of fight he
wanted, and was persistent in mounting Ignashov to effect. But
Ignashov's counters were getting better, and Nakamura's face
was paying the price.
Early
in the third round, a cut opened under Ignashov's left eye, but
the ringside doctor decided the Belorussian could continue. And
then, as he is wont to do, "The Scorpion" struck. Throughout
the fight, Nakamura had dove at his knees for the takedown. But
Ignashov read this, and when Nakamura, relentless in his style,
again came in at the legs, Ignashov brought the knee up and in
on the attacking Japanese fighter, who went down in a heap. So
devastating was the contact, the referee immediately stepped
in to stop the fight, and Ignashov had a KO victory.
The
Bob Sapp vs Akebono main event was one of the most-anticipated
fights in K-1 history. At the pre-event press conference, K-1
veteran Sam Greco introduced Sapp, who was led in restrained
in straightjacket and a plastic mouth guard: "Bob likes
to eat blowfish," said Greco, "so that is why he is
dressed like this, he will do the eating tomorrow."
Soon
afterward, former Sumo Grand Champion Akebono thanked his trainers
and sparring partners, "I have learned a lot, all that is
left to do is put all I've learned into practice tomorrow."
As
the countdown entered its final minutes, the crowd watched on
the big screen monitors as Tyson in Hawaii weighed in with his
prediction: "I think Sapp will win the fight, I don't think
Akebono can take the punches, and I don't expect it to last long."
After
the fighters had made their entrances, Japanese singing star
Yuki Koyanagi came out to sing "Kimigaiyo," the Japanese
national anthem. She was followed by none other than living legend
Stevie Wonder, who delivered a rendition of "The Star Spangled
Banner" on a harmonica.
Then
it was down to the nitty gritty. As it happened, Tyson was right.
From the bell, Sapp rushed in, Beast-style, but Akebono was effective
in pushing him back, Sumo-style. Akebono then attempted a low
kick, but Sapp got in close and brought up the knee. An Akebono
left uppercut looked good, but as the round wore on, Sapp, for
perhaps the first time in his K-1 career, had more stamina than
his opponent.
"The
Beast" threw some nice low kicks, and when a fatigued Akebono
relaxed his guard, got a solid left punch through that stunned
the Sumo wrestler. It was a right hook that sent Akebono to the
canvas for the first down. But to his credit, Akebono struggled
to his feet to beat the count.
Akebono
came back with another pushing attack, but Sapp answered this
with a left straight punch and then a right to put the big guy
down for good.
"Akebono
accepted the challenge," thundered the victorious Sapp afterward
from center ring, "he is a big man and he accepted the challenge!"
Sapp then turned to the big television monitor, and addressed
Tyson in Hawaii. "Next, it's your turn, Mike Tyson!"
Tyson's
response was to laugh. "I'd love to fight Bob Sapp,"
he said, "Sapp is strong, which I respect, but he can not
beat me!"
We
shall see.
In
another development on the night, Jiu Jitsu master Rickson Gracie
stepped into the ring to announce that he would fight in K-1
in 2004.
And
in the undercard fight, "Green Beret" Tom Howard of
America tapped out against Kristof Midoux "The Phoenix"
Midoux of France.
The
Fields K-1 Premium 2003 Dynamite attracted 43,560 people to the
Nagoya Dome, and was same-day broadcast across Japan by the TBS
network.
Source: Maxfighting |
TRAVIS
LEE LOSES IN EARLY MIDLANDS ACTION; MARK COLEMAN DUALS; OKLAHOMA
AND ARIZONA STATE WRESTLING NEWS
The
early results are in at the 41st annual Midlands Tournament.
The second annual Mark Coleman Duals were held this Saturday.
And we have more news, courtesy of Oklahoma and Arizona State
Wrestling.
41ST
MIDLANDS TOURNAMENT UNDERWAY; NCAA CHAMP TRAVIS LEE BEATEN
The
41st annual Midlands Tournament got underway Mon., Dec. 29, at
the Welsh-Ryan Arena at Northwestern University in Evanston,
IL. It will conclude Tues., Dec. 30.
The
early results contain some very interesting developments.
Travis
Lee of Cornell, the 125-pound NCAA Div. I champion last season who is wrestling at
133 this season, was upset by Donald Lockett of San Francisco
State, 5-4, in his opening match.
Lockett,
a junior, brings a most interesting story to this tournament.
A graduate of San Francisco's famed Lowell High School, he was
originally a walk-on to the San Francisco State program. Last
season his record was 19-18, but he won the NCAA Div. II West
Regional tournament, was an NCAA Division II championship qualifier,
and was also an NWCA Academic All-American. He is among those
profiled in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/03/12/SP59539.DTL
At
157, Travis Koppenhafer of Adams State, another Division II school,
edged previously-unbeaten Travis Paulson of Iowa State, 10-9.
Since the Midlands is not an official NCAA tournament, these
results may not be counted in the official NCAA records, but
they occurred on the mat nonetheless.
And
at 174, guess who showed up after all? Joe Williams, who at last
year's Midlands made it into the record books by winning his
ninth straight Midlands title, is competing and is in the running
for an unprecedented tenth straight championship.
TheMat.com
is posting updated results of the Midlands at:
http://www.themat.com/results/default.asp?CategoryID=72&ResultID=9113
SECOND
ANNUAL MARK COLEMAN DUALS HELD SATURDAY
A
high school wrestling tournament named for wrestler and fighter
Mark Coleman was held this past Saturday at St. Joseph Central
Catholic High School in Fremont, Ohio. Coleman, a 1988 NCAA Div.
I national champion at Ohio State, a 1992 Olympic freestyle wrestler,
and a champion in both UFC and Pride, was present at the second
annual Mark Coleman Duals.
An
article on this event can be found at:
http://www.thenews-messenger.com/news/stories/20031229/localsports/131186.html
OKLAHOMA
Dec.
28, 2003
Jeffrey H. Chill
Oklahoma
Will Compete In Lone Star Duals
The Sooner wrestling team will travel to Arlington, Texas on
Jan. 3 to compete in the Lone Star Duals after a three week Christmas
break. This will be the fourth tournament the Sooners have wrestled
in this
season.
Hazewinkel
Continues Winning Streak
Red-shirt freshman Sam Hazewinkel kept his undefeated streak
alive after pinning Mike Copeland of Bacone at 2:27 and Jared
Henning of Central Oklahoma at 3:24 in the 125 pound weight class.
Hazewinkel struck fast against Bacone with a takedown in the
first period at 1:56. Copeland escaped making the score 2-1.
That is all Hazewinkel needed though, he took down Copeland and
pinned him with 33 seconds left in the first. Hazewinkel pinned
Henning, his second opponent of the night, in the second
period after leading 6-2.
OU
Ranked No. 16 by Amateur Wrestling News No. 15 by InterMat
Polls
by Amateur Wrestling News and InterMat rank the Sooners No. 16
and No. 15, respectively. All five Big 12 Conference schools
with wrestling programs are ranked in the top-20 by both polls.
Defending
NCAA Champion Oklahoma State is ranked No. 1 in Amateur Wrestling
News and No. 1 by InterMat, while Iowa State is No. 2 in the
InterMat poll and No. 2 in the Amateur Wrestling News poll. Nebraska
is ranked No. 5 by InterMat and No. 4 by Amateur Wrestling News,
and Missouri is No. 8 in the InterMat poll and No. 8 in the Amateur
Wrestling News poll.
Crump
Moving Up Career Pin List
Leonce Crump added one more pin to the list against Dillion Ward
of Bacone College to remain in eighth place on the all-time pin
list. Crump currently has 32 pins, 26 short of Dan Chaid who
is first on the list with 58.
Probable
Starters
University of Oklahoma
Wt. Wrestler Record
125 Sam Hazewinkel, RSFR 12-0
133 Mimi Miller, FR 10-4
Brandon Hardy, FR
141 Teyon Ware, SO 1-0
Shane Kidd, SO
149 Jeff Ecklof, FR 13-5
157 Charles Jones, FR 4-1
165 Rafael Maturino, SR 9-5
Randy Sulaver, JR
174 E.K. Waldhaus, JR 10-4
184 Justin Dyer, RSFR 5-5
197 Joel Flaggert, FR 5-0
Joel Tapler, JR
HWT Leonce Crump, SR 13-2
ARIZONA
STATE
Quartet
of Duals Await No. 11 Arizona State This Week
ASU heads to Minnesota (Jan. 1) before playing host to Sun Devil
Duals
December 29, 2003
Alex Ryan
TEMPE,
Ariz. - No. 11 Arizona State (0-1, 0-0 Pac-10) will compete in
four duals this week, two against Top 10 competition, as the
Sun Devils first hit the road before returning home for three.
Action opens
Thursday in Minneapolis, Minn., with a 2 p.m. match-up with No.
10 Minnesota. The Sun Devils return home Sunday for three duals:
Stanford (10 a.m.), Embry-Riddle (noon) and No. 2 Iowa State
(4 p.m.).
PROBABLE
STARTERS
Sun Devil O’all Duals
125 Christian Staylor 10-4 1-0
133 Mike Simpson 2-1 0-1
141 Jeremy Mendoza 1-7 0-1
149 Patrick Williams 11-7 0-1
157 Brian Stith 13-4 1-0
165 James Terry 3-4 0-0
174 Ron Renzi 6-5 0-1
184 Nick Frost 11-5 1-0
197 Ryan Bader 13-1 1-0
285 Cain Velasquez 10-4 1-0
BADER
CLIMBING TOWARD THE TOP
With a 13-1 overall record and tournament titles won at the Missouri
Open and Reno Tournament of Champions this year, Ryan Bader has
climbed the national rankings to No. 3. His near-perfect record
and high national ranking will be put to the test Thursday on
the road as he faces top-ranked and defending NCAA champion Damion
Hahn of Minnesota in ASU's first dual of the week.
CHALLENGE
AHEAD
Brian Stith (157) will have a challenge ahead of him this week
as well. Ranked 10th in the latest polls, Stith will face two
undefeated wrestlers (as of Dec. 29) in No. 6 Matt Gentry of
Stanford and No. 4 Travis
Paulson of Iowa State, on the same day.
2004
SUN DEVIL DUALS
Eight teams will compete in the 2004 Sun Devil Duals including
several highly ranked squads. No. 2 Iowa State, No. 8 Missouri,
No. 11 ASU, No. 18 West Virginia and No. 23 Cal Poly will all
compete with American, Embry-Riddle and Stanford filling the
field.
SUN
DEVILS VS GOLDEN GOPHERS
Arizona State and Minnesota (0-1) have met on the mats 14 times
with the Sun Devils holding a 9-5 lead in the series, though
they have dropped the last two contests. UM is led by coach J
Robinson and eight
nationally ranked wrestlers. Leading the way is No. 1 Damion
Hahn at 197, the defending NCAA Champion.
SUN
DEVILS VS CARDINALS
Though Arizona State and Stanford are conference foes, this will
be just the fourth time they have faced one another. The Sun
Devils hold a 3-0 record in the series and renew a series that
was last contested in the 1985-86 season. Coach Steve Buddie's
team is 2-1 on the year and is led by Matt Gentry at 157 who
is 14-0 (heading into the Midlands tournament Dec. 29-30).
SUN
DEVILS VS EAGLES
An intrastate foe, Arizona State is 4-0 all-time against Embry-Riddle
following a 46-0 blanking of the Eagles in the 2003 Sun Devil
Duals. John Perry is in his first season at the helm of the program
that is 2-1. Tyler Moran at 149 leads the team following his
title at the Menlo Tournament.
SUN
DEVILS VS CYCLONES
Student meets teacher as Thom Ortiz and ASU face former Sun Devil
coach Bobby Douglas and Iowa State. The Cyclones are 18-4 all-time
against the Sun Devils and have won 11 in a row. ISU (8-0) is
led by three lower-weight wrestlers that are undefeated on the
year (heading into the Midlands), each posting more than 10 wins
apiece.
2003
SUN DEVIL DUALS IN REVIEW
Arizona State went 2-1 in the Sun Devil Duals last year, winning
its first two matches before falling in the finale. The day opened
with ASU downing Lock Haven, 21-16, for the 400th win in school
history. The Sun
Devils then blanked Embry-Riddle, 46-0, before falling to Minnesota,
26-13.
ARIZONA
STATE IN THE RANKINGS
According to the national team rankings released Dec. 16-17,
the Sun Devils are No. 11 in both the NWCA Coaches Poll and InterMat.
The ranking is the highest for the team this season.
INDIVIDUAL
RANKINGS
Ryan Bader leads the way for the team as he is ranked No. 3 in
both Amateur Wrestling News and InterMat.com. In the AWN poll
(Dec. 16), both Patrick Williams (149) and Brian Stith (157)
are 10th with Cain Velasquez (HWT) and Nick Frost (184) being
ranked 11th and 12th, respectively. In the Intermat.com poll
(Dec. 16), Stith and Frost are ninth with Williams in 11th and
Velasquez in 12th. TheWrestlingMall.com has not released new
rankings since Dec. 1.
NEXT
TIME ON THE MATS
Arizona State returns to action Friday and Saturday, Jan. 9-10,
in Hampton, Va., for the Virginia Duals. The Sun Devils will
be one of seven nationally ranked teams to compete in the event,
led by No. 3 Lehigh and No. 4 Nebraska. Behind ASU are No. 19
Wisconsin, No. 20 Purdue, No. 22 Edinboro and No. 25 Citadel.
Source: ADCC
|
Josh
Barnett
On New Year's Eve "The Baby Faced Assassin," Josh Barnett
will continue to march on in another defense of his King Of Pancrase
Open-weight title. Although now doing some work as a pro-wrestler,
his KOP title defense will be an MMA match against the near 7-foot-tall
Semmy Schilt - a rematch of their UFC 32 outing, which Barnett
won via armbar.
FCF:
Since your leave from the UFC what have you been up to?
Josh Barnett: 6'3" so nothing has really changed. Oh and
touring on the New Japan Pro-Wrestling circuit and still fighting
in MMA in between. I dabble.
FCF:
How does what you're doing now in Japan compare to the old UFC
fights?
JB: Well I have to say that I like the rules a lot better since
there is more freedom and I also like that most fights in Japan
are judged on damage and effectiveness to end the fight, not
control. It awards the guy trying to finish and as I have only
had 2 decisions in my career so far that's good news for me.
I do miss Big John though; he was a character, literally. I told
him that I couldn't stand his character in the UFC game. His
front kick would practically kill you with one hit and [is] almost
impossible to beat. Way too aggravating. So I told him that one
day I was going to turn and attack him during a fight one of
these days. Big John, I haven't forgotten all those times you
infuriated me through that video game and I know you had this
planned all from the beginning to drive me mad. I still have
my sanity and I will savor my revenge.
FCF:
PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko ran into some trouble
with PRIDE when he tried to fight in another show. It seems as
if many of the great heavyweights are in PRIDE where there are
good fights for you. Do you foresee any similar troubles in fighting
outside of Pancrase?
JB: No, because I signed my contract with Vaseline, which makes
it easy for me to slip out of my obligations and fight wherever
I choose.
FCF:
You're facing Semmy Schilt next for the KOP title, how has your
training been altered for this fight?
JB: Well this is something that never changes, but I can say
again that I always train the same except for some emphasis towards
a weakness in my opponent. I believe that I should be ready for
any and everything.
FCF:
What are the advantages/disadvantages of fighting someone in
a rematch?
JB: Simply the fact that you have already beaten them and they
stand to gain much more than you stand to lose externally as
well as internally. Of course you are both now more familiar
with each other's styles, but that's not always a factor because
sometimes there wasn't that much you could pick up from the fight.
Maybe it was over quick or either one was not able to utilize
their strengths. Still, going in with one over them is never
going to hurt.
FCF:
What was the driving force behind your accepting this bout?
JB: They asked and he said yes. Oh and a red-hot poker.
FCF:
This is your first top contender at your weight in a little while,
how do the emotions change while facing a known threat as compared
to a lighter and/or seemingly overmatched opponent?
JB: As a fighter I understand other fighters and their strength
a lot better than someone who isn't. Kondo, Takahashi, and Ambriz
were not weak or easy opponents and weight doesn't mean as much
as people make it out to. If I won quickly or dominated a fight
it isn't because my opponents aren't good, I just trained really
hard and did what I do better than they could do at what they
do. Before me, Ambriz was undefeated and KOTC Super-heavyweight
champ with all wins by finish and 60lbs heavier. Because I beat
him in the first round laymen want to cry "bum." Kondo
was smaller, but had fought many, many times at unlimited and
had defeated Semmy three times before. Takahashi was at the top
of his game when he showed up at Ultimate Crush 2 and is known
to be a real tough guy and weighed 210, which is heavyweight.
The only people who think that those guys weren't any good are
people who aren't training for a fight. Personally I don't take
people lightly and I don't care who ranks them where or what
weight or how great people talk of him. I can tell who can bring
it and who just sings it.
FCF:
You've submitted your last two opponents and have previously
beaten Schilt by armbar. Are these stats any hint at a possible
strategy?
JB: Hell no! I don't give hints or play twenty questions. You
never know what I'll do, except that it'll be as exciting as
possible. I have to say there aren't many who can claim to have
pulled off a rolling German suplex in a fight. In fact just two
I know of. Someone already did the giant swing, and [Bob] Sapp
used the powerbomb so maybe I'll try a Death Valley Bomb. What
the hell is that you say? Guess you'll have to watch.
FCF:
After Schilt, what's next for you?
JB: You buddy. Hot sauce eating contest with the gloves off.
Loser has to rub "the Bomb: Ground Zero" in his underwear
and wear it. Then maybe PRIDE, or really anywhere that will give
me the chance to show the most exciting fights in the world.
Source: FCF
|
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