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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
November
Pride
Bushido 5
(MMA)
(Yokohama Arena, Japan)
September
Ring
of Honor 6
( Kickboxing/MMA)
(Kauai)
Tentative
9/25/04
NAGA Hawaii State Grappling Championships
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Tentative)
9/11/04
K-1 Hawaii
(Boxing & Kickboxing)
(Aloha Stadium)
August
Ring of Honor 6
( Kickboxing/MMA)
(Maui)
Tentative
8/28/04
Hawaiian Grappling Challenge
(Submission Grappling)
(Oahu)
8/15/04
Pride
Final Conflict
(MMA)
(Saitama Super Arena, Japan)
July
Bushido 4
(MMA)
(Nagoya Rainbow Hall, Japan)
7/26/04
False Crack Mondays
(MMA, Kickboxing, Toughman)
(Volcanoes Night Club)
7/24/04
Submission Wrestling Tpurnament
(Sub Grappling)
(Kahului, Maui, Hawaii)
July 9-12
BJJ
World Cup (CBJJO)
(BJJ)
(SESC gym, Salvador, Brazil)
7/9/04
Shooto
Hawaii
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
6/26/04
Kickin' It
(Kickboxing)
(Palama Settlement)
|
|
June 2004 News Part
3
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
"Some people come into our lives and quickly go, some stay
for a while and leave footprints in our hearts, and we are never,
ever the same."
Unknown |
Soljah
Fight Night Weigh-In
The weigh-ins will be held at Hard Rock Cafe at 2:00 pm on July
8th. Come meet all the big names that will be fighting on this
super card!
Soljah
Fight Night
"Hawaii & Japan vs the World!"
Neal Blaisdell Arena
Friday, July 9th, 2004
Fights start at 6:00 PM so get there early
Promoted by Sustain and sanctioned by the International Shooto
Commission.
Tickets
are on sale NOW
and are starting at $20. There is no reason
to miss this show!
This
show is for Hawaii National Guard's Youth Challenge.
Keep the youth off of drugs and out of gangs and use their energy
to hit the books hard. You have to start the prevention early
and keep repeating the message!
This
is the most talent filled card ever put on in Hawaii. Two Shooto
World Title Fights are featured on this card. Hawaii's Ray "Bradda"
Cooper finally gets a title shot against Cesar Gracie trained
Jake Shields and the return of Masanori Suda, the man who beat
Egan Inoue for the Super Brawl World Title in just 27 seconds
comes back to Hawaii to defend his Shooto Light Heavyweight Title
against the submission machine, Dustin Denes from the black belt
filled American Top Team. The two hardest punchers pound for
pound in MMA face off as Hawaii's Stephen "Bozo" Paling
fights former UFC Lightweight Champion, Jens Pulver. One of the
best submission grapplers on the planet, multiple time black
belt Jiu-Jitsu World Champion and currently undefeated Shooto
Lightweight Champion, Vitor "Shaolin" Riberio makes
his first appearance in an MMA match on Hawaii soil. Also on
this card is the show stopper, Rumina Sato, facing a very tough
Bao Quach. A women's match is even included on this card as HMC's
Betta Yeung squares off with Ana Michelle Dantas of Arizona Combat
Sports/Nova Uniao. The card is rounded out with exciting and
top local talent such as Takao vs Newalu, Kikuchi vs the undefeated
Andres, and the much anticipated Moreno vs Dean slugfest. If
there ever was a reason to come to Hawaii, other than the sun
and beautiful people, this event should seal the deal.
Tentative Fight Card:
Card subject to change.
Shooto
Middleweight World Title Fight
Ray "Bradda" Cooper (12-6, #2 ranked in Shooto)
vs.
Jake Shields (Cesar Gracie, 8-3-1, #1 ranked in Shooto)
Lightweight
3R
Stephen
"Bozo" Paling (Jesus is Lord, 11-6-1, #3 ranked in
Shooto)
vs.
Jens Pulver (Miletich Fighting Systems, 20-5-1, #6 ranked in
Shooto, former UFC lightweight Champion)
Shooto
Light Heavyweight World Title Fight
Masanori Suda (Club J, 20-8-2, Shooto Light Heavyweight and Super
Brawl World Champion)
vs.
Dustin "Clean" Denes (American Top Team, 9-1-1, #1
ranked in Shooto)
Welterweight 3R
Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro (Nova Uniao, 9-0, Shooto Welterweight
Champion)
vs.
Mitsuhiro Ishida (Tops, Japan, 6-1-1, #10 ranked in Shooto)
Lightweight 3R
Alexandre "Pequeno" Nogueira (World Fight Center, 10-2-2,
Shooto World Lightweight Champion)
vs.
TBA.
Lightweight 3R
Rumina Sato (K'z Factory, 20-8-2)
vs.
Bao Quach (Team Oyama, 6-6, #10 ranked in Pac Rim Shooto)
Featherweight 2R
Kyle Takao
(HMC, 2-1-1)
vs.
Ed Newalu
(808 Fight Factory, 3-7)
Welterweight 2R
Jim Kikuchi
(808 Fight Factory, 4-3)
vs.
Neal Andres
(HMC, 4-0)
Middleweight 2R
Mark "El
Toro" Moreno (Bulls Pen, 5-4-2)
vs.
PJ Dean
(Team Bad Intentions)
|
SAPP'S
LATEST LOSS THE END?
MMAWeekly reader Mark Suzuki sent this interesting information
in from writer Zac Arnold. Arnold is a great writer who covers
the Japanese scene for puroresupower.com and had a great article
wondering if this was the end of the road for Bob Sapp.
Sapp
lost to Ray Sefo by KO at :49 seconds into Round 2 and Arnold
discussed whether or not K-1 was treating Sapp with respect or
not.
Here
is what Arnold said. "I'm amazed at the lack of outrage
there has been over the fact that K-1 management this last month
has basically thrown Sapp on the proverbial train tracks and
let him get run over. Did K-1 have a choice given the current
circumstances with Sapp wanting to go to Hollywood? No. But guess
what? They didn't have to book Sapp vs. Fujita on 5/22 in Saitama,
either, and they did. We've seen from PRIDE management that fighters
who have showed them box office bonanza with loyalty will get
that in return (see: Sakuraba).
However,
the way that K-1 management got rid of Sapp as soon as they possibly
could when he lost a no-win fight to Kazuyuki Fujita (who isn't
a draw in Japan and has the hardest cranium known to man) and
finished him off with a fight against Ray Sefo, someone with
skills 10-fold of Sapp in legitimate kickboxing, is stunning.
Yes, Sapp wanted out of fighting after the 5/22 Saitama fight.
And yes, Sapp had to fight the 6/26 show due to a contract. But
the way it was handled by K-1 was absurdly disloyal and dumb
on a business-level.
After
pushing and pushing and pushing Sapp onto the Japanese public
for merchandise, for wrestling matches, for fights, he finally
loses one MMA fight badly to a tough opponent and the next month
it is all over.
Sapp
was getting tired of the fight scene before his 5/22 Saitama
Super Arena fight with Kazuyuki Fujita, so imagine what he felt
like going into the fight on Saturday with Ray Sefo. It would
have been truly scary to have seen K-1 let Bob Sapp even get
a normal training schedule for fighting, which he just never
had.
And
when it's all said and done, Sapp's last fight comes on a B-level
show taping. Not the Saitama Super Arena, not the Yokohama Arena,
not even buildings like Nagoya Aiichi's Rainbow Hall or Fukuoka
Marine Messe. No, Sapp's last fight takes place in Shizuoka at
the Ekopa Arena with little fanfare.
This
is the difference between PRIDE & K-1 if it needed to be
stated anymore clearly. One understands how to book top draws,
the other one clearly has no idea what the hell they're doing
from one minute to another and has absolutely zero loyalty to
anyone at the top who even shows an ounce of being human as a
fighter (see: Hoost, Sapp, etc.)
I
don't hate K-1 or their office personally. I am confused as to
why they continue to accept mediocre business practices and put
themselves in a situation where they look secondary to PRIDE.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
BUTTERBEAN
LOSES AGAIN IN K-1
K-1 PRESS RELEASE
SHIZUOKA,
JAPAN, - Thirty-two year-old boxer and K-1 veteran Hiromi Amada
squeaked out the narrowest of majority decisions in his first
fight, KO'd his semifinal opponent, then took a comfortable unanimous
decision in the main event to win the K-1 Japan Grand Prix 2004
in Shizuoka.....
Shizuoka
was the home of Ieyasu (1542-1616), the first Tokugawa Shogun.
The central Japan Prefecture is also where you'll find majestic
Mt. Fuji, historic Kakegawa Castle, and the Ecopa Arena, part
of the sports complex that hosted 2002 FIFA World Cup matches.
On this day, the Ecopa hosted the hottest ticket in town, as
the K-1 Beast 2004 in Shizuoka featured the eight-man Japan GP
Final as well as a couple of big-name Superfights.
In
the first tournament quarterfinal, Hiraku Hori met Seidokaikan
fighter Shingo Koyasu. Hori had lost against superior K-1 fighters
in his last three bouts (Musashi, Mighty Mo, Cyril Abidi), but
the high level of competition seemed to have bumped his skills
up a notch.
Some
28cm taller and eight years younger than Koyasu, Hori used jabs
and front kicks to keep his aggressive opponent outside in the
early going. In the second, Hori was able to back Koyasu into
the corner and launch punch attacks, but Koyasu was quick and
creative with his counters. The best strike of the round was
a Hori uppercut, and the fighters were just about even on the
cards going into the third.
As
Koyasu began to come in with his head down, Hori was smart picking
his spots, and answered a Koyasu low kick with a left punch to
score the down that made the difference. It wasn't a particularly
exciting or dominating performance by Hori, but it was sufficient
to put him through with a unanimous decision.
After
losing five in a row, Karate fighter Tsuyoshi Nakasako found
his form against German-American fighter Mavrick this March,
scoring a convincing first round KO victory against the tattooed
tough guy. In the second quarterfinal here, Nakasako stepped
in against Nobu Hayashi, who has been training at the respected
Chakuriki Gym in Amsterdam for years now. Hayashi had dropped
four of his last five, and so had to be looking to turn things
around here.
Both
fighters were tentative in the first, although Hayashi probably
had the better stuff with some smart combinations. In the second
we had more of the same, the two trading blows but neither able
or willing to step up and take control. There was also a relative
lack of kicks in the first two rounds.
In
the third, Hayashi worked the low kicks more, and toward the
end of the round found an opening and got in with a couple of
right hooks that rattled Nakasako. In the absence of Seidokaikan
fighter Musashi (who has a bye to the Final Elimination), Nakasako
was one of the favorites to win the Japan GP. It had to be disappointing
for the 30 year-old fighter when the narrow but unanimous decision
went Hayashi's way. Again, not exactly action-packed, but a good
technical bout, with Hayashi simply a little better.
Continuing
the tradition of inviting a foreign fighter to the Japan GP Final,
K-1 put South African boxer Mike Bernardo up against tough customer
Tatsufumi Tomihira in the next pairing. Bernardo is a K-1 veteran,
while Tomihira is a hot young scrapper (nicknamed "Mr. Yellow
Card) with a lot of heart. Tomihira lost a close (some say controversial)
decision against Kelly Leo in Las Vegas this April.
Here,
Tomihira came out swinging, and quickly put Bernardo on the retreat.
The Japanese fighter took to the clinch to work the knees, but
Bernardo lurched forward and the two went careening across the
ring. There was accidental head to head contact during the exchange,
and this opened a cut over Bernardo's right eye.
After
a doctor check, Bernardo was cleared to continue, and quickly
delivered a right hook that set Tomihira to stumbling. The two
muscled in close, and for a spell this looked more like horizontal
wrestling than K-1 fighting. After another time stop to check
on Bernardo's eye, Tomihira got the knees working as he wanted,
connecting twice from the clinch. With Bernardo momentarily stunned,
Tomihira seized the opportunity to throw a high left kick that
dropped the South African for good. The blitzkrieg start stood
him in good stead, earning a tremendous upset for the scrappy
Tomihira.
Hiromi
Amada is always a tough customer, and something of an old-school
showman as well. He beat Kimo and Butterbean in his most recent
outings, and went up against MA Japan Heavyweight Champion Noboru
Uchida in the last of the tournament quarterfinals.
It
was close, but in the final analysis Amada just outworked Uchida
here -- focused, aggressive, and relentless. Uchida deked, and
danced the fancy, but Amada was better with his no-nonsense punch
combinations. In the third Uchida came out with high kicks, but
Amada refused to be intimidated and stayed on his game, charging
forward with haymakers and hooks. This made for a wild round
with plenty of shifts in momentum. One judge saw the fight as
a draw, but Amada was up by a single point on the other two cards
to take the majority decision.
In
the first of the quarterfinals, Hiraku Hori got into trouble
early against Nobu Hayashi. After head-to-head contact left Hayashi
with a cut over the eye, Hori was assessed a red card, which
cost him a point. Shortly thereafter, Hayashi got a straight
punch in for a down and Hori was trailing by another point.
Keen
to get back in the fight, Hori threw caution to the wind and
launched a desperate punching attack, but Hayashi was more than
capable with his defense and counters. Throughout, Hori the southpaw
had trouble when Hayashi stepped in and threw the right straight
-- by the end of the second Hori already looked utterly lost.
Hayashi scored two downs in the third, the first with a low kick
and the second with a right straight, to take the win by KO and
advance to the final.
Hiromi
Amada and Tatsufumi Tomihira had a raucous start to their semifinal
bout, both charging in from the bell to a brutal clinch. Midway
through the first, Amada's right hook counter dropped Tomihira,
and it took a gutsy effort for the fighter to get to his feet
and (barely) beat the count. Throughout this bout, Amada appeared
unbothered by Tomihira's kicks, and, as he had in his first outing,
stuck with his punch combinations to effect. Amada corralled
his opponent into the corner in the second and threw several
unanswered punches, but Tomihira absorbed these valiantly. Finally,
in the third, Amada's onslaught took its toll when another right
hook counter put Tomihira down. A minute later, a left to the
head caught Tomihira coming in and ended the bout.
For
all the determination in his first two fights, Hiromi Amada started
uncharacteristically cautious with Nobu Hayashi in the final,
and the first round was close. Both fighters did, however, score
with good punches, and there was more of this is in the second,
Hayashi working the jab and Amada good with his right. Hayashi
threw more low kicks, but Amada repeatedly put his hooks over
Hayashi's guard to make his counters better. Hayashi got a solid
right punch through in the second, and remained smart with his
combinations, but as the fight wore on it looked like Amada simply
wanted it more.
The
third began with Hayashi taking the initiative, but Amada was
again seemingly immune to low kicks, and soon he took control,
stepping in with the punches. The two mixed it up here, Amada
always a little better in the exchange. If there was any doubt
in the judges' minds Amada erased it with the strike of the bout,
a right hook that caught Hayashi's jaw at the clapper. By the
end of this one, Hayashi's face looked mighty rough. As for Amada's
mug -- it always looks rough.
A
well-deserved unanimous decision and Japan GP Championship for
Amada, whose wife and one year-old twins joined him as he pronounced
an emotional thank-you from the winner's circle
Amada
collects 5 million yen for the tournament win and a 300,000 yen
bonus for his semifinal KO. Equally importantly, the victory
earns him a trip to the World GP Final Elimination, the one-match
tournament this autumn which will determine the 2004 World GP
Tokyo Dome Final Eight.
Said
Amada in his post-tournament interview: "I trained very
hard for this tournament, with weights and running and boxing,
but another difference from previous years is that I used to
be nervous or excited before a big tournament, but this time
I was more relaxed. That helped me, that and the fact that my
punches are very hard!"
There
were two Superfights on the card. The first pitted Montanha Silva
of Brazil against Butterbean of the United States.
Silva
got the big punches working his last time out, scoring a third
round KO against Yusuke Fujimoto for his first K-1 win in four
starts. Coincidentally, Butterbean also recorded his lone K-1
victory against Fujimoto. Here, both fighters wanted very much
to put a second notch in their belts.
Silva
stands at 225cm, which afforded him a 45cm edge over Butterbean,
who lugged a 30kg weight advantage into the ring, for what that
was worth. This was a curious fight, to say the least, both men
struggling not only against their opponent but also with their
own preternatural physical configurations -- Silva's gargantuan
limbs do not permit him to strike quickly, whilst Butterbean's
corpulence reduces the reach of his relatively undersized arms.
The crowd gasped and giggled during the center-ring stare down,
and applauded anytime either of the fighters did anything halfway
good -- each low kick Butterbean managed, for example, drew an
appreciative response, and similarly when Silva hoisted a big
leg up for a high kick, well, it seemed to defy physics, which
is always interesting, so that tended to also elicit an 'Ooh!'
Somewhat
surprisingly, this dance went the distance. Butterbean, a constant
source of amusement, tried his best, but the stoic Silva had
the harder low kicks and initiated most of the exchanges, and
so he got the unanimous decision.
The
second Superfight saw Bob "The Beast" Sapp take on
K-1 veteran Ray Sefo of New Zealand.
There
had been many rumors swirling around Japan in the wake of Sapp's
recent ROMANEX Rules loss to Kazuyuki Fujita -- some stories
had The Beast giving up the fight game altogether! Few of the
tittle-tattlers bothered to mention the fact that Sapp had won
an impressive seven of his previous nine K-1 Rules bouts (with
the only losses coming against elite fighters Mirko CroCop and
Remy Bonjasky). Sapp's matchup here with Sefo was, therefore,
a chance for the American fighter to show his mettle.
As
usual, at the bell, Sapp charged, head down, NFL-style toward
his opponent. Within seconds he had bowled Sefo over, this ruled
a slip not a down. When Sapp reverted to his bad boy antics and
came in with punches on his seated opponent, he was disciplined
with the yellow card. The fight resumed with Sapp once again
bulldozing Sefo, this time into the corner, where he laid in
with a left-right punching and piledriving attack. Sefo wobbled
as he absorbed almost two dozen blows and a knee before somehow
rallying with his own fists. But with Sapp leaned far forward,
the Kiwi had nowhere to put his punches but the side and back
of Sapp's head, so referee Kakuda called for a break.
Again,
Sapp barreled forward when the fight resumed, but this time he
was met by a knee to the groin, and fell to the canvas in pain.
Sefo was cautioned and a two minute time stop called to permit
the wincing Sapp to recompose.
When
things started again, Sapp first threw a kick (remarkably, not
his only legwork, Sapp threw a number of hard kicks and knees
here), then again chased his opponent down with haymakers. There
ensued a real slugfest, but Sefo was able to get the upper hand
and put Sapp in the corner. Sefo rained perhaps a dozen punches
down on Sapp, stopping only when time ran out on the round.
Sapp
kept on coming in the second, but less than a minute in Sefo
brought a punishing right hook in to stun The Beast, then followed
up with a another to drop him like a tranquilizer dart. Sapp
struggled to beat the count, but could not, and so Sefo had the
victory.
As
Sapp left the ring, a reporter asked him how he felt. "I'm
a little bit tired," he replied, softly, "and I'm a
little bit injured."
"Sugarfoot"
Sefo the consummate sportsman had words of praise for The Beast:
"I took this fight on five days notice, and I am happy to
have the win. But tonight Bob showed he has balls, he is a true
competitor."
In
other bouts, K-1 fledgling Vitor Vitinho of Brazil got off to
a promising start, beating Great Kusatsu by unanimous decision
in the tournament reserve fight; and Ryo Takigawa beat Tsutomu
Takahagi by unanimous decision in an undercard matchup.
The
K-1 Japan Series Beast 2004 in Shizuoka attracted 5,500 fans
to the Shizuoka Ecopa Arena and was same-day broadcast across
Japan on the Nippon TV network.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
TATAME'S
100TH ISSUE
(The following Press Release happened right before the Pride
GP show)
In
this week's edition of our Brazilian Insider, we would like to
wish our partners at Tatame.com a happy 100th! Almost ten years
after it´s first issue has printed, TATAME Magazine reaches
their 100th edition. To celebrate the most traditional MMA Brazilian
Magazine printed this cover page with a special golden color
cover which launches a series of reports about it´s own
history.
The
main story of this special issue talks about the evolution of
Japanese fighters. To prove that, TATAME # 100 cover brings you
Genki Sudo beating Royler Gracie, Takanori Gomi knocking out
Ralph Gracie and Kazuyuki Fujita kicking Bob Sapp.
The
headline says : "The Japanese Revenge - they improved their
skills and climbed the top of MMA". Take a look now at the
stories and more details of TATAME # 100 at www.tatame.com
Tatame
Press Release from Brazil
From
Chute Boxe camp
This
Meca 11 edition, on June 5, was a typical nightmare to the guys
from Chute Boxe camp. Five of thier six athletes lost, with just
Daniel Acácio winning. Talking about Acácio, his
victory over Eric Tavares (Ruas Vale-Tudo) was really impressive
and proved once again that it’s about time to fight in the
biggest shows of the MMA world, such as Pride, K-1 MMA or UFC
who should open their doors to him.
At
this days, the Luta-Livre representative doesn’t have opponents
on his weight in Brazil and he can do a good job out there. Two
Chute Boxe fighters are living a not a good moment this time.
Coming from losses at Pride, Jadyson Costa and Jorge Patino Macaco
were beat once again, by Milton Vieira (BTT) and the BJJ black
belt Délson Pé-de-Chumbo (Bitta). Milton and Pé-de-Chumbo
didn’t let their opponents to fight, with BTT’s representative
doing a great participation and submitting Costa by arm-triangle
choke, that one Minotauro used to submit Hiro Yokoi at Pride
GP’s first round.
De
Souza looking for Pride
Tony
de Souza returned last Wednesday (16) to Peru. After almost two
months training at Nova União gym, in Rio de Janeiro,
De Souza is in his birthplace, where he intend to stay a month
and a half to come back to Brazil. Tony is taking this opportunity
of being in Peru to also take the visa to Japan. It seems that
Pride's men Nobuyuki Sakakibara and Nobuhiko Takada liked his
participation at last Meca 11.
"Japanese
considered Tony's fight the best of the night and they also considered
Tony the best fighter", stated André Pederneiras,
the leader of Nova União team. According to Pederneiras,
they have already invited Tony to fight at next Pride's shows,
taking to Japan his beggar's look that he took to Meca and turned
the audience crazy calling him "Mendigo" (beggar, in
Portuguese). "They liked the Mendigo thing and they want
it at Pride. We now want to face Takanori Gomi, probably in one
of Bushidos", announced Pederneiras.
Belfort's
extra incentive to beat Randy
In
the United States since June 6, Vitor Belfort got an extra surprise
before his third battle against Randy Couture, on August 21st,
in Las Vegas. Last week, his wife Joana Prado informed him by
phone she's pregnant. 'When she told him, he called us here in
Brazil. Vitor is very happy with the news,' told us his manager
Ricardo Saito.
During
his first week in US, Vitor first went to Las Vegas, where he
was one of the stars of the UFC 49 TV advertising. Then, the
Light Heavyweight champ went to a city over the mountains next
to Los Angeles. The place where Vitor is living now is a famous
Boxing training camp and still had received names such as the
Mexican Oscar de la Hoya. Now Vitor is waiting for his coaches
Leonardo Vieira and Distac, that departured to US last Friday
(18).
Meanwhile
Vitor Belfort gets ready for his Light Heavyweight battle at
Ultimate Fighting Championship with Randy Couture, there is a
team working hard behind the scenes. The actual UFC champion
is recording a DVD with everything what does happen behind the
scenes during his training to face Couture. Those unseen images
will not be aired in any TV. The DVD will contain around 1 hour
30 minutes duration.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Lee
Murray Fires Back At Phil Baroni
The following was posted by "Lightning" Lee Murray
on The Underground Forum over @ MMA.tv. Due to its' vulgar nature,
you'll need to highlight the space below to read it.
--
"you think you're a mean mutha fucker,ok we will see how
mean you are pussy.try running your mouth on mmaradio like i
am one of these dodging guys like tanner and the rest of them
you think your the fucking bad man,im the fucking bad man you
think you can take my shots bring it on,i tell you what,you think
i hide behind money we put the winnings in a pot and winner takes
all!send the mutha fucking contract."
--
A
fight between Phil Baroni and Lee Murray is rumored for UFC 48
in June, given Baroni beats Evan Tanner, and Murray wins his
next fight.
Once
before, also in a Baroni fight, the actual "win" purse
was supposed to be put up for grabs. This was the second fight
with Matt Lindland, and the deal never came to fruition. Something
tells me Lee Murray isn't afraid to follow through on his words,
much the same with Phil Baroni.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right
thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing
at the tempting moment."
Dorothy Nevill
|
Punishment
In Paradise 4
“NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS”
PUNISHMENT
IN PARADISE 4
"NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS"
July 2,2004
@ Campbell High School
Tickets are still on sale for one of the HOTTEST kickboxing cards
to hit Hawaii in 2004. We are very pleased with the fighters
that are stepping up to BANG!!. Fighters from Eastside like Mike
Malone, Kaleo Kwon, Kaipo Gonzales along with other fighters
from Waimanalo Kickboxing gym and Team Thundas Instructor Andre
Washington. And Westside Team Bigdogs YOUNG GUNS Wayne Perrin
III & Domi "Dominator" Lopes along with Waianaes
AFC Champion PJ DEAN. Also 808 Dain Agbayani and Undeafeated
Frank Robello from Advanced Kempo plus much more. This is card
so STACKED from once I don't know which one would be the fight
of the night.
GET YOUR PRESALE TICKETS WHILE YOU STILL CAN.
Brennan Kamaka / 330-4483 or second2none@hawaii.rr.com
I'm available to meet people while supplies last.
808 Fight Factory / Kim Jhun 671-4140
808 is open from 530pm till 9pm
Advanced Kempo & Team Bigdogs
Both schools are carring tickets...
**Presale is going fast for this fight**
Cruiserweight
Kickboxing Championship
205lbs.
3x2 Minute Rounds
Mike
Malone (Eastsidaz) Vs. Andre Washington (Team Thunda)
Super
Middleweight Kickboxing Championships
172lbs.
3x2 Minute Rounds
Wayne
Perrin III (Team Bigdogs) Vs. Deshawn Johnson (HMC)
INTERMISSION
Middleweight
Kickboxing Championships
165lbs.
3x2 Minute Rounds
Dain
Agbayani (808 F.F.) Vs. PJ Dean (Bad Intentions)
Super
Lightweight Kickboxing Championship
137lbs.
3x2 Minute Rounds
Domi
“Dominator’ Lopes ( Team Bigdogs) Vs. Steven Tandal
(Waimanalo Kickboxing)
Lightweight
Kickboxing Championships
132LBS
3x2 Minute Rounds
Gerald
Orvalio (808 Fight Factory) Vs. David Balicao (H.S.D.)
Super
Welterweight Kickboxing #1 Contender Match
157lbs.
3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Vs.
Kaleo Kwon (Eastsidaz)
196lbs.
3x1 ½ Minute Rounds
Cruiserweight
#1 Contender Match
Val
(Team Bigdogs) Vs. Joshua Versola (Advanced Kempo)
Welterweight
Kickboxing #1 Contender Match
147lbs.
3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Chris
Coderio (Bad Intentions) Vs. Kaipo Gonzales (Eastsidaz)
Middleweight
Kickboxing #1 Contender Match
165lbs.
3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Ikaika
(Eastsidaz) Vs. Frank Rebello (Advanced Kenpo)
Junior
Heavyweight Kickboxing #1 Contender Match
100lbs.
3x1 Minute Rounds
Sage
Yoshida (H.M.C.) Vs. Keola McKee (Wailuku Kickboxing, Maui)
Junior
Bantamweight #1 Contender Match
60lbs.
3x1 Minute Rounds
Tristen
Febria (E.B.F.C.) Vs. Abraham Reinhart (Wailuku Kickboxing, Maui) |
Korea's
GLADIATOR FC - Complete 2 Day Results!
GLADIATOR - EPISODE 1
2004 Olympic Gymnastics Arena, Seoul - SOUTH KOREA
Complete
results from Korea's 2 day MMA extrqavaganza held this last weekend
are in. An international field of competitors made there way
to Korea for the event, representing the host country as well
as Japan, Brazil, Russia and the USA among others.
Day
1 / June 26th:
- Shinji Katase KO'd Rhee Jeung Pil in R1;
- Matkine Seguei submitted Ku Wang Mo via guillotine choke in
R1
- Yasuhito Namekawa def. Fabiano Capoane by forfeit in R2
- Kozo Urita decisioned Jin O Kim by unanimous decision
- Dan Severn defeated Irie Hidetada by unanimous decision
- Ikuhisa Minowa KO'd Tchourakov Edouard in R1
- Jong Wang Kim KO'd Brad Kohler in R1
- Rogerio 'Minotouro' Nogueira decisioned Alex Stiebling by unanimous
decision
Day
2 / June 27th:
- Akhmedov Zourab KO'd Kokji Okuyama Koji in R1
- Sultanmagomedov Kavkaz KO'd Mitsunori Tanimura in R1
- Uji Sakurai TKO'd Sung Chul Kim in R1
- Claudio Godoy submitted Hamada Jyunpei no R3
- Alex 'Negao' Paz KO'd Chun Ho Bae in R1
- Paulo Filho decisioned Daijiro Matsui by unanimous decision
- Choi Mu Bae TKO'd Ammaev Murad in R1
- Anderson Silva decisioned Jeremy Horn by unanimous decision
Source: ADCC
Jeremy
Horn has been on quite the streak. He has only lost once in his
last 23 fights, but this weekend in South Korea, it was Anderson
Silva winning a unanimous decision over Horn.
There
have been a few reports saying that Horn pulled his groin in
the fight; however, MMAWeekly was unable to receive confirmation
that it did happen. Silva fought a very good fight and beat Horn
to the punch in the win.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Marcos
'Parrumpinha' Pumped
ATT
Instructor Marcos 'Parrumpinha' is all pumped up with his recent
victory over ADCC runner-up Baret Yoshida. 'Parrumpa' stated: 'I am so happy about my
win. He is a two times ADCC runner-up and I feel I showed the
people in America what they already know in Brazil, that I am
a contender in the division. I had been concentrating on teaching
and building the ATT Gi program for some time and laid low for
a while but lately I am competing more and more. I hope I get
a berth to ADCC 2005!'
Look
for more great things from 'Parrumpinha' and ATT.
Source: ADCC
|
TRIGG
WOULD LIKE ANOTHER SHOT AT HUGHES
Frank "Twinkle Toes" Trigg, fresh off his dominating
win over Dennis Hallman, joined MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio on Friday
and spoke about the fight, the 170 pound division in general,
and what his future plans are.
Trigg
said he was actually surprised at how one sided his fight with
Hallman ended up being. He attributed his performance to pushing
himself harder than he thought he could in training and training
with partners that are better than he is, on a daily basis. Trigg
has also changed his mental approach to fighting.
Frank
said he used to always compete in a "realm of uncomfortableness."
He was "super anxious and super excited," and now,
he is much more relaxed. He had to concentrate on staying calm
during the bout but his efforts paid off in a big way. Trigg
stated that he prepared in reverse, mentally, physically, then
technically. This new game plan, he thinks, would have made his
fight with Matt Hughes a very different one.
If
you read MMAWeekly's Ivan Trembow's medical suspension article
on Thursday's news page, you know that Frank Trigg was medically
suspended by the state of Nevada for an injured right hand. Quoting
from the article, "Frank Trigg is medically suspended for
six months unless his injured right hand is X-rayed and cleared
by a doctor." Trigg said it is just a routine, precaution
suspension and stated that his hand is fine. He did have some
swelling in it following the fight but that was all it was.
Frank
gave his opinion of the top five 170 pound fighters in the world.
He puts BJ Penn at number one for his victory over Matt Hughes.
Number two on his list is Matt Hughes for his record and established
ability in competition. Trigg puts himself at number three, with
Sean Sherk at number four. The fifth spot is up in the air basically.
He mentioned Nick Diaz and St. Pierre but pointed out their youth
and lack of high ranked opponents.
If
he were just going to rank the 170 pound guys in the UFC, Trigg
puts Matt Hughes as the top dog with himself second. Although
Hughes submitted Trigg in the first round, Frank said, "Matt's
not much of a finisher." He went on to say that Hughes is
a guy who will beat you up for all the rounds but typically won't
finish you. He also said he felt that things would go differently
a second time and would like to fight him a second time.
When
asked about Sean Sherk, Frank said Sherk's five foot five and
"it's like beating my littler brother." He said that
Sean is strong and explosive but style wise, it is a good match
up for him and not Sherk.
What
does the immediate future hold for Frank Trigg? Trigg's contract
with the UFC is up and he is officially a free agent. He expects
to start negotiations with the UFC soon but said, other offers
are coming in. On July 4th, he will be at the "Warped Tour"
in Vegas, selling some merchandise and hanging out. July 17th,
Trigg is conducting a seminar in Matthews, North Carolina. It
is a four hour seminar at the Matthews Judo Club. For all information
on Frank Trigg, his seminar and all things Trigg, got to www.FrankTrigg.com.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
LEBEN
COMES BACK TO DEFEAT RADACH
In front of a sell out crowd of 4,000 fans in attendance in Gresham,
Oregon, it was a tale of two fights in the main event between
Benji Radach and Chris Leben.
Radach
looked very good in the first round coming out and landing repeated
shots against Leben. Radach would stand and bang, then shoot
in and take Leben down, with some good scrambles in between.
The
second round was very similar and in that round Leben's eye was
swollen shut from the shots he took in the fight. The third round
was when the fight changed. Leben, in third round, tried to press
the action and in the round he threw five punches that went unanswered
by Radach. Radach tried to take Leben down and as he took him
down, his jaw was a bloody mess. Leben had broken Radach's jaw
with the punches and broke the jaw in two places. Radach's pallet
was cracked and when the doctor looked at the face of Benji,
he immediately stopped the fight.
After
the fight Radach when in for emergency surgery to fix the jaw
and mouth. For Leben it was an amazing come from behind victory
and for the fans it was another solid promotion by Matt Lindland
and Randy Couture as well as the rest of the Sportsfight organization.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
“Sportfight
4: Fight For Freedom” Quick Results
Sportfight 4: Fight For Freedom
Saturday, June 26th, 2004
Mt. Hood Community College, Portland, Oregon
The
Pacific Northwest fans experienced the “Ultimate Evolution
of One on One Combat” last night when Randy “The Natural”
Couture and Matt “The Law” Lindland presented their
4th installment of Sportfight at the domed sports arena on the
campus of Mt. Hood Community College in Portland, Oregon. “Fight
For Freedom” featured a card full of explosive young fighters
showcasing their power, speed and skill on this competitive 11
fight pro-am card.
Professional
Card:
- Chris “Lights Out” Leben vs. Benji “The Razor”
Radach -- Leben by TKO in Round 3
- Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman vs. “Ice
Cold” Kyacey Uscola -- Burkman by rear naked choke in Round
1
- Ed “Short Fuse” Herman vs. “Sugar” Shane
Davis -- Herman by arm bar in Round 3
- Dennis “The Piranha” Davis vs. “Slick”
Jeremy Saunders -- Davis by guillotine choke in Round 2
- Eddie Ellis vs. Chris Wilson -- Ellis by Unanimous Decision
- Brandon Melendez vs. Ray Perales -- Melendez by neck crank
in Round 2
Amateur
Card:
- Shaun Castlin vs. Jerry Linderman -- Castlin by rear naked
choke in Round 1
- David Brown vs. Toby Welch -- Brown by arm bar in Round 1
- Guy Delemeau vs. Brad Horner -- Delemeau by submission in Round
2
- Floyd Willis vs. Bill Brewer -- Willis by submission in Round
1
- Ian Loveland vs. Zach Combs -- Loveland by guillotine choke
in Round 1
Source: ADCC
|
BRINK
GETS DISQUALIFIED IN BOXING FOR KNEES
MMA fighter Aaron Brink hasn't been too active in MMA recently
so he has been trying his hand in boxing. Only problem was the
fact that he was disqualified a SECOND time for using knees in
a fight. Only problem? Last time we checked boxing doesn't allow
knees.
Brink
knee'd his opponent, not just once, but twice in the fight. The
first time the referee took a point away, the second time he
disqualified him. This isn't the first time Brink has used knees.
If you go back to 2001 he was also disqualified for using knees.
Needless to say, the California State Boxing Commission said
that Brink will never fight in the state again.
In
other MMA to boxing stories, Marvin Eastman won his boxing debut
this weekend with a win over Willie Broadie. Eastman won by TKO
in the 4th round of their four round fight at the Silverton Hotel
in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you
may be the world."
Origin Unknown.
|
Rivera/Weir
headline Cage Rage 7!
London,
England - Cage Rage 7 is set for July 10th and looks to be taking
a huge step into the international spotlight with a main event
featurig UFC vets Jorge Rivera vs. Mark Weir. Also on the card
are UFC vets Renato Sobral and Leigh Remedios, plus several of
the up-and-coming EU fighters.
Rivera
vs. Weir is a fight with “bet the car the winner goes back
to UFC” written all over it. Both these fighters share David
Loiseau as a common opponent from their UFC days, with Weir losing
to Loiseau with a 1st round KO and Rivera winning a judges decision
after coming back from losing the first round. That loss to Loiseau
was Weir’s second loss in the UFC with his first being to
Phillip Miller by rear choke while his UFC debut resulted in
a win over Eugene Jackson with a 0:10 KO. Since then Weir has
gone 3-1. Rivera, after his win over Loiseau went on to pick
up a loss in the UFC to Weir’s fellow countryman Lee Murray
by armbar, and he also recently picked up a win 3rd round TKO
over Ricardo Almeida’s standout student James Gabert. Although
both fighters have repeatedly shown themselves to be well-rounded,
look for Weir to have an advantage on the ground and Rivera to
have an edge standing with the real winner being the fans lucky
enough to see this show.
Remedios
faces 4-0 Emanuel Fernandez out of France. Fernandez has been
fighting in Cage Warriors where he picked up four victories by
triangle choke in a row. Remedios needs the win since his record
post-UFC loss to Genki Sudo stands at 2-2 with his most recent
US fight being a decision loss to Team Elite’s Mike Brown
followed by a KO loss to Jean Silva in February. Sudo won by
rear choke but Remedios’ only other submission loss is way
back in 1998 when Denis Hallman got him with a kimura.
One
question mark to the show is Bisping/Sobral. Bisping has an internet
verifiable MMA record of 2-0 with both wins by KO and TKO in
under a minute. Not much else is known about him other than he
fights out of England. Sobral on the other hand has been headline
news for years ever since getting all the way to the finals of
Rings King Of Kings in ’99 where he lost to Pride vet and
Team Quest star Dan Henderson. He continued on in Rings picking
up an 8-2 record with his two losses being to Pride vet Valentin
Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko, the current Pride Heavyweight
champ and contender in this year’s Grand Prix. In his UFC
debut Sobral lost to another Pride Grand Prix contender Kevin
Randleman, the fighter Fedor beat in the last Pride show. In
the UFC Sobral went on to beat Elvis Sinosic and lose to Chuck
Liddell. Most recently Sobral won the IFC Light Heavyweight tournament
by beating not just three fighters in one night but by beating
UFC vet Trevor Prangley, Chute Boxe’s otherwise undefeated
“Shogun” Rua, and UFC/Pride vet Jeremy Horn.
Other
fighters on this card are vets of some of the best feeder shows
from around the world such as Liaudin from King Of The Cage,
Foupa-Pokam from European Vale Tudo, Damien Riccio from Shooto,
and Jean Silva and Robbie Oliver from that spectacular Extreme
Force show last summer.
The
full card so far is:
Mark
Weir (ENGLAND) VS Jorge Rivera (USA) Middleweight
Micheal Bisping (ENGLAND) VS Renato (Babalu) Sobral (BRAZIL)
Light-heavyweight
Jean Sliva (BRAZIL) Champion VS Ollie Ellis (ENGLAND) Lightweight
Robbie Oliver (ENGLAND) VS Sammy Schiavo (FRANCE) Lightweight
Leigh Remedios (ENGLAND) VS Emmanuel Fernandez (France) Featherweight
Matt Ewin (ENGLAND) VS Jess Liaudin (FRANCE) Middleeight
Paul Daley (ENGLAND) VS Xavier Foupa-Pokam (FRANCE) Middleweight
Damien Riccio (FRANCE) VS Jean Francoise-Lenogue (FRANCE)- Middleweight
Ronaldo Campos (BRAZIL) Champion VS Paul Jenkins (Wales) Welterweight
Dave Elliot (ENGLAND) VS Dave Roche (IRELAND) Lightweight
Jeremy (Bad Boy) Bailey VS Ricky Andrew
Source: ADCC
|
Cyborg:
Chute Boxe's new star
Brazil's Chute Boxe has announced that vetran Brazilian Evangelista
'Cyborg' will be joingin the team for an upcoming series of matches.
The Pancrase veteran started training with Chute Boxe camp last
Tuesday and the team is celebrating this new acquisition.
'Cyborg
has all the skills to be a Chuteboxer. He has no fear, and he
switches great on his feet' analyzed Rafael Cordeiro, one of
Chute Boxe's instructors. On his first day in Curitiba, Cyborg
trained for three periods with his new team mates, who now include
the Pride Middleweight champ Wanderlei Silva and Maurício
Shogun.
'He
trained hard and with Nino (Schembri) and Cristiano's (Marcello)
teaching, we will improve Cyborg's ground game' guaranteed Rafael,
who also dismisses any problems between Shogun and Cyborg. 'They
fought at Meca 9 and all ended there, inside the ring. Both trained
without a problem and after the practice they also chatted. Cyborg
is a different person outside the ring, very funny and friendly'
confided Cordeiro. Cyobrg continues living in Uberlândia
(Minas Gerais state) and he comes to Curitiba for the practice
at the Chute Boxe camp.
Source: ADCC
|
BUFFER
REFLECTS ON UFC 48
With UFC 48 in the books, veteran voice of the octagon Bruce
Buffer spoke with MMA Weekly’s Mick Hammond about what his
impressions of the show were and what is on the horizon not only
for the UFC but his continuously growing announcing career.
When
asked to comment about UFC 48 Buffer candidly replied, “I
thought it was a good solid show. It wasn’t the magnitude
of the last show with Tito and Chuck, but still a very good show.
Things went pretty much how I thought they would. The only unexpected
thing on my part was the Tim Sylvia situation. When his fight
with Frank Mir was first stopped Dana White, myself, and others
around the octagon weren’t sure why the referee Herb had
stopped the fight because from our vantage point you couldn’t
see what happened. After we saw the replay of the events we were
all very pleased the fight was stopped. When I got up in the
octagon I pulled Herb aside and told him it was a good call.”
Buffer
further commented on some of the nights fights, “With Phil
Baroni and Evan Tanner I saw Phil coming in very confident. He’s
a banger; a great mixed martial artist and hit very hard. Usually
he goes out and just goes to it, but it was obvious something
was different. I could tell he trained hard on his cardio and
that most likely his strategy was to stretch the fight out over
the three rounds. Evan on the other hand looked like he had the
best gameplan for any fight I’ve seen him have. At first
I wasn’t sure if the 360-degree turns he was doing after
punches was a planned thing but after he kept hitting Phil it
was apparent it was. It’s over now and Evan is the better
man, but Phil will be back and be in the UFC for a long time,
he’s just too marketable to let go.”
As
for the Charuto
Verissimo
versus Matt Hughes fight the usually vocal Buffer was very concise
in his response by saying, “It went the way I thought it
would. Charuto went after a ton of submissions and was definitely
the more active fighter. It’s not Matt’s best performance
but it is a ‘W’ in the win-loss column for him and
that’s all I can say.”
Bruce
finished out his retrospection on the action at UFC 48 talking
about the main event between Ken Shamrock and Kimo “Things
went very well for Ken. I figured he was going to KO Kimo but
I was surprised at how fast it happened and how easily he was
able to muscle around Kimo with over a 20lb weight difference.
It’s a definite chess game out there and Ken kept hitting
those knees and eventually he caught Kimo with his head hanging
too low and that was that. Ken is a legend and possibly the most
marketable MMA fighter to American audiences and I would love
to see him keep going at it in the heavyweight division rather
than go down to 205lbs and fight Tito Ortiz. Ken is a much stronger
fighter at 215lbs and I would love to see him against other legends
such as Marco Ruas, Oleg Taktarov, Don Frye or even Mark Coleman
who I would love to see back in the octagon, he carries such
a mystique about him.”
When
asked about the post fight festivities between Shamrock and Ortiz
where Ken had to be restrained from going after Tito, Buffer
commented, “It wasn’t a staged thing at all on Ken’s
behalf. I think Tito had in mind he was going to do something
and went in there and stepped on Ken’s spotlight. Ken can
be volatile if you catch him at the wrong time and Tito did.
I will say though that a rematch would be a huge marketing key
for the UFC and it needs it now more than ever with how things
continue to grow for the sport.”
The
conversation soon shifted as Buffer discussed the upcoming card
at UFC 49 which is taking place at the MGM Grand on August 21st.
“Obviously Randy versus Vitor is a huge fight and the one
I’m anticipating the most. It’s going to be a very
exciting fight as Randy always finds a way to win but can never
count Vitor out of a fight. I think Randy is the perfect example
of a MMA fighter with how versatile he is, Vitor on the other
hand is just so incredibly talented and explosive.”
Buffer
continued, “Josh Thompson versus Yves Edwards is also going
to be great. There’s going to be a lot of firepower in that
fight and it will come down to whomever can stay the most levelheaded.
Chuck Liddell verses Vernon ‘Tiger’ White could be
a great stand up war. It’s all up to how people show up
and what mind frame they will be in. Chuck seems to be more up
for bigger fighters and Tiger is very dangerous. I will say though
the fighters I am most excited about seeing is David Terrell
and Robbie Lawler. David is an amazing Jiu-Jitsu guy with devastating
abilities, I’m very curious to see how well he’ll strike
and handle a big time MMA fight against Matt Lindland. And we
all love Robbie, he’s a very exciting fighter every time
out and he generates a lot of energy at the events.”
As
the conversation winded down Buffer talked about what he has
coming up for the remainder of the year. “I will be working
the Moralis fight card at the MGM Grand on July 3rd. In August
I will be doing the K-1 show on the 7th and was originally going
to do the Hockey Gladiator show where Hockey guys get dressed
up in their gear and go at it, but it fell on the same day as
the UFC and the UFC is priority so I will be doing it on the
21st. I will be working the Oscar De La Hoya versus Bernard Hopkins
show in September. And of course there is my management company
for all the enterprises my brother and I do, which I love doing.
I’ve had offers to return to Japan for Inoki on New Year’s
but there’s a big MMA show in California that I’m involved
with, so we’ll see what happens. One exciting thing coming
up is that on Max Fighting is that I’ve arranged for the
Mixed Fighting Championship between USA and Russia that was in
Atlantic City earlier this year to be shown in its entirety on
the site. It was one of top non-UFC shows I’ve done, every
fight was action packed, and top notch. I’ll be doing their
next show too next November in Atlantic City as well.”
The
conversation finished out by Buffer commenting on his love of
high-stakes card games, “I usually win when I’m in
Vegas, but this time I managed to lose for the first time in
seven months at this last UFC. You figure I’m in Vegas two
times a month at least for work so I had a pretty good run. I’m
pretty good at blackjack and poker and even was recently invited
to one of those TV celebrity type of shows which I’d like
to do with my brother Michael possibly sometime next year.”
Things
ended with Buffer saying, “I want to thank all the fans
for coming out to the show and supporting us. I’d also like
to thank MMA Weekly and say to Ryan and the entire crew that
you guys do a great job on the site.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Letícia
Ribeiro out of BJJ World Cup
BJJ
fighter Letícia Ribeiro will not fight at BJJ World Cup,
which takes place in Bahia, from July 8th to 10th. Letícia's
problem is the prize paid for women over the tournament. She
doesn't agree about fighting for R$400 and the man fighting for
R$5,000. 'I am a BJJ black belt and I have won all the tournaments
I am into. I don't think its right," complains Ribeiro.
Check out this Sunday morning a full interview with Letícia
Ribeiro, here at TATAME.com. Keep tuned!
Source: Tatame
|
First
look at Sugar Shane Davis
Shane Davis took his first MMA fight in February 2003 just 3
weeks after he started training with UFC veterans Dennis Hallman
and Benji Radach at Victory Athletics in Washington. That submission
win over heavyweight Carl Pope was the first of many for the
Centralia, Washington, native, as he followed it up in March
with a submission win over Josh Robinett and in May win a submission
win over Tom Truex. The middleweight then experienced his only
loss to Tim McKenzie of Team Cesar Gracie at IFC in July “it
was a learning experience,” he said, of fighting up in weight
and on short notice, but he came back at 185 to defeat Ed “Short
Fuse” Herman of Team Quest by arm bar at “Sportfight:
Second Coming” in August. The high school wrestling team
captain stepped up in weight again and took former Sportfight
light heavyweight champion and Herman team mate Matt “Suave”
Horwich to a 3-round draw in October. A carpenter by trade, the
25-year-old took some time off to handle personal issues and
came back strong with a TKO win by way of Referee Stoppage from
strikes over RJ Gamez at “Lords of the Cage” in Washington
earlier this month. Now 5-1-1, the veteran of the IFC, Pride
& Fury and Sportfight recently sat down with me for this
interview.
JC:
Who is Shane Davis? SD: I’m just a guy who is a full-time
carpenter with 2 kids going through a divorce. Just somebody
who has grown up wrestling and never really did anything in college
with it, but it has gotten me into fighting and training and
enjoying it.
JC:
Where were you raised? SD: Pretty much all over. My parents got
divorced when I was little; probably 4 or 5, and I lived with
my mom for the first number of years just south of Olympia. I
then moved in with my dad for a while in Salt Lake City, on the
Hawaiian Islands and then back here in Washington. I later went
back with my mom, who remarried, and we moved to Castle Rock.
I’ve been in this area even since.
JC:
What were you like growing up? SD: A quiet guy. I was a pudgy
little guy back then. I kept to myself a lot. I was always moving,
so I was always the new kid in school. I always got picked on
and never really thought I had a certain spot to be, just kind
of going along with the shuffle.
JC:
What time frame are we talking? SD: Probably the first 10 years
of my life. Getting shuffled around a lot and dealing with the
parents not living together. Going through their things. I was
in the 6th grade when my mom remarried and we moved here. I finally
had a place where we stayed for a while and a place I could call
home and get in with some friends and keep friends. I found a
place where I am suppose to be.
JC:
Where you academically strong during school? SD: No, I wasn’t.
I was probably an average student. When I wanted to I could pull
off B’s pretty easily, but for the most part it was C’s
and D’s; just because I didn’t apply myself. I was
just too busy having fun.
JC:
How were you athletically? SD: I was always good at sports. I
have 2 brothers and we are all good athletes. I was on the varsity
football team and wrestling team.
[I
hear a blender in the background where Benji Radach is mixing
a fiber drinks post workout, which includes romaine lettuce,
spinach, cucumbers, celery, parsley and basil... along with a
banana, pear or peach (thrown in) for flavoring. I am told it
seems to work pretty well. It is all green and high in fiber.
It is designed to clean the toxins out of you.]
JC:
What dictates a fighting weight for you because you have fought
at middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight? SD: I chose
to go down to 185 because I thought I was more competitive. I
feel I am at the top of the list at 185 -- I’m bigger and
stronger then most of the guys I come across, compared to the
guys at 205. I feel they are pretty big boys there. Skill wise
I fair pretty well with them due to my wrestling background,
but strength wise I equally matched them or I was over powered.
Since I dropped down to 185, I noticed I have the skill and the
quickness to compete in that division and I also have the strength
of a 205 pounder.
JC:
With that said, your first fight was at heavyweight. How did
that fight happen? SD: Hallman called me and said “what
do you weigh?” and I said “205 or 210” and he
said “ok.” I showed up (at an event) not knowing what
the weight classes were and they put me in the heavyweight because
I was over 205. As soon as I found that out I was quick to get
under 205. [laughing]
JC:
How did you become involved in MMA? SD: I got involved in MMA
through Benji and Dennis. Benji and I watched every UFC there
was and spent hours and hours after watching UFC putting on 16oz
gloves in his living room and going at it for hours to the point
where we are exhausted. That was back in 1995. It was a long
time ago. I was always interested in it, but never knew of an
opportunity on how to get involved. Then I moved up to Olympia
and I knew Dennis through wrestling and we were friends. I ran
into him in Olympia in 1998 and he said “hey, I’m doing
this MMA stuff you really need to do it. You’d be good at
it.” I didn’t think much about it. I just shrugged
it off, but then Benji got into it a couple of years later and
I’d go to all his fights and I’d keep saying “I
need to do it... I want to do this” and finally he dragged
me into the gym and I’ve been going ever since.
JC:
What was training like today? SD: Today was a low key day because
it is the week leading into my fight. We went hard yesterday.
We did 3 5-minute rounds of Pankration; then 4 rounds of Bas
Rutten stand up audio tape, then some drilling and some boxing
stand up. We had a pretty hard day yesterday, so today, we tapered
down a bit by doing 30 minutes of cardio on the bike keeping
our heart rate above 100; then we did some quick sprints.
JC:
Do you train for an opponent or to fight? SD: Normally I train
for the way I fight. I am going to bring my game to the ring,
so I can’t sit there and try to change my game according
to somebody else’s because I am just playing into their
guard.
JC:
What is your fighting style? SD: I feel I am more well-rounded
then some fighters coming in. I might not be as good at submissions
as some fighters and I may not be as good at stand up as some
fighters, but for all around, I feel I have the upper hand. I
can grapple with the best of them. I stand up with most of them
(like Benji Radach) and I roll with the best on submissions (like
Dennis Hallman).
JC:
Most of your wins have been by submission? SD: With the exception
of my last fight, my wins have all been by submission. I’m
known as a wrestler who should be a ground and pounder, but I
can throw on a submission if I see it, and if the opportunity
is not there I can go with the ground and pound.
JC:
What has been you most memorable fight? SD: There is one fight
that I dwell on more then any other. The one that I loss to Tim
McKenzie. I really didn’t know exactly what I was doing.
I knew I was going to a big show, but I didn’t know the
capacity of it. I was excited and happy to be there. When I went
out and fought, I fought, for the most part, my game and I was
taking it to him, and he even talks to this day of my fight with
him, but partially through the second round I got, you can call
it shelled shocked, but I was frozen and he took an arm bar and
I didn’t know what to do.
JC:
You described the feeling of that loss as “like a deer in
headlights.” Explain? SD: I have replayed it in my head
many times and I try to figure out why I did that... it’s
not like he was getting the best of me because I was taking it
to him the entire fight. He spent the first round on his back
taking blows. The second round started the same way, and I remember
looking up at the crowd, seeing all the people and being in the
cage for the first time. I had fought in a ring in smaller venues
or a smokie bar pretty much, but I was overwhelmed by the whole
thing and drew a blank in my mind, which threw me off.
JC:
What has been a high for you in MMA? SD: It would have to be...
well, I met Tito Ortiz and I’ve trained with Randy (Couture),
and I’ve trained with Matt (Lindland), and I train with
Dennis, and I train with Benji... some people look at that like
“man you’ve met Tito Ortiz,” and they get overwhelmed,
but I don’t get star-struck like that. It was cool to meet
them and I enjoy working out with Randy and Matt, but they are
just people -- they put their pants on one leg at a time, but
for me my biggest thing that I am most proud of in my MMA career
is the self-confidence that I have in myself now, that I have
gained, that I never had before.
JC:
What has been a low for you in MMA? SD: The toll it has taken
on my family and my marriage. I’m not saying that MMA was
the demise of my marriage, but I know it didn’t help. Also,
being away from home a lot.
JC:
Why the time off, nearly 8 months, between your last 2 fights?
SD: I was on a pretty good roll getting a fight every 2 months,
but it was right then that I split up with my wife in September
-- I didn’t train for the fight in October against Matt
Horwich and it showed in the results. I just separated from my
wife and going through all that, and to call a spade a spade,
I was being a drunk and feeling sorry for myself.
JC:
Is that in the past? SD: Oh yeah. God knows what he has going
for me and I am going to do what I do.
JC:
What drives you in MMA? SD: I’d have to say what drives
me the most are the people I work out with. I’m not a very
conceded person and I know I am not the best looking guy and
I know I’m not the best wrestler and I know I’m not
the greatest fighter, but to hear Benji and Dennis and Matt and
those guys sit there and say how good I am and how much progress
I am making and I’ll be at the big show it’s just getting
my break, that is what drives me now. That keeps me motivated.
JC:
When was the point that you knew this was for you? SD: I would
have to say right after my very first win. There are guys who
have fought that have come with us to practice and get one fight
in or a few fights in and they don’t come back. They just
wanted to say I did it. You can do that in this sport at the
amateur level, but if you want to go to the top you can’t
go with that and it’s just one of those things were some
people have it and some people don’t. You either get hooked
or you don’t, and for me I just got hooked after my first
fight and that adrenaline rush and gearing the crowd go nuts
and having my buddies there is awesome!
JC:
How far would you like to go in MMA? SD: I’m going to go
as far as I can in this business for as long as I can. As long
as my heart and desire are in it. I don’t want to just go
through the motions. That is where I was with wrestling. I did
it for so long and got burned out. I had been to nationals and
I had been to the tournaments and there really wasn’t anywhere
I could go now that I haven’t been before, but now with
this it is completely different. If my skills get better, and
I imagine they will progressing with the times and the more I
train and the more I fight, I’ll get better. So, as long
as I keep progressing in MMA I think I will move toward my goal.
If the day comes that I don’t have the heart or I’m
sitting stagnant on my skills, it might be time to hang it up.
JC:
Preference ring or cage? SD: I prefer a cage for my style because
you can use a cage to your advantage in ground and pound, where
in a ring you can get tied up in the rings and they bring you
back in or you fall through the ropes. There are a lot of stoppages
in a ring with ground and pound. I think a stand up fighter prefers
a ring, where a ground and pound fighter prefers a cage. For
me, a cage is better suited for my style.
JC:
What do you do outside MMA? SD: I spend as much time with my
kids as allowed. That is my first priority. I get very few visitations
now compared to what I use too. My weekly schedule now is go
to work, work out on Monday, go to work on Tuesday, pick my kids
up, Wednesday work and go to practice, so on. If I have some
free time I like to go out on a boat and play around with some
buddies ride motorcycles and shit, hang out.
JC:
Finish this line: Training with UFC veteran Dennis “Superman”
Hallman for me has been... SD: nothing but... there’s no
way to really put it... I don’t want to say a God sent,
but I mean it’s definitely an excellent opportunity for
one to have as good a friend and kick ass trainer and manager...
and for me to be around that caliber fighter and to train with
him is good for me.
JC:
What is one thing about you that would have people saying “hmmm...
I didn’t know that about Sugar Shane Davis?” SD: My
kids are my life. For me, I’m a low key and quiet humble
type of guy.
JC:
That wraps it up. Have a great fight this weekend, Shane. SD:
Thanks.
Source: ADCC
|
Quote
of the Day
"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor
the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to change."
Charles Darwin
|
Parrumpa
Beats Baret Yoshida in NAGA!
This
information is from the Underground forum, so it may or may not
be true. This is the only results I could find on their submission
grappling match.
Not many people thought he would win but Parrumpa pulled it off
winning by points. No trademark triangles or armbars this time.
Huge win for Parrumpa! Congrats to Baret for coming down and
giving Parrumpa this opportunity. Baret seems like a class act.
Congrats to Superfight winner Dan Lambert beating Kirik by points.
2 of the classiest guys in the biz.
Jeff
Monson subbed his first opponent then beat Rene Hernandez from
FFA by sweep to win in the finals. What impressed me is Jeff's
back went out on him and just gutted this tournament out. True
Champion Monson.
Renato
Tavares once again, proves he is the man at 150 beating Mike
Cardoso decisively in the finals to win it all. Great job by
Renato!
Marcel
Ferreira is the MAN! He faced off against Charles McCarthy in
the finals and they both went at it. Charles landed an armlock
that would have tapped most guys easily. Marcel is just not human
and refused to tap, then almost gets caught in a triangle. I
guess that was Marcel's wake up call because he fianlly got out
pulled guard and swept Charles, then passed, mounted got Charles
back and mounted again. Alot of action between these two, but
it was Marcel who pulled away at the end winning by decision.
Hats off to both for a great showing!
In
Gi, Edson beat Diego Saravaia(sp) by points. Edson is just a
freak with the Gi. He put the Gi on this week for the first time
in quite a while and he just flows like he never took it off.
In my opinion he would be a World Champ if he concentrated soley
on the Gi. Great win for Edson and congrats to Diego.
Great
tournament all around.
Also,
congrats to Robert Portocarrero for winning the Mens AdVanced
Adult Lightweight Division. Ben Guerriero for winning the Mens
Masters Lightweight Division. Chris Martin raking up 4 medals,
Carloa and MArcoa for splitting the heavyweight Advanced division
and the rest of the guys for giviing it there all. Congrats!
And
to our Coaches who kick our ass everyday!! Thank You!
American
Top Team
Source: ATT post on the Underground |
FRIENDS
FIGHT THIS WEEKEND AT SPORTFIGHT
Benji Radach faces training partner Chris Leben for his 185-pound
title
By Joe Hall
It's
being billed as the biggest MMA bout in the history of the Northwest.
Indeed, the Sportfight 4 main event between heavy-handed middleweights
Benji Radach and Chris Leben looks like a wild fireworks extravaganza
on paper.
They
know each other well, having trained together considerably over
the last two and a half years. Radach trains primarily with Dennis
Hallman and the Victory Athletics team, but has stepped onto
the mat and into the ring with Team Quest -- and Chris Leben
-- regularly over the last two years for friendly sparring sessions.
"I
like Chris and he's a tough fighter," says Radach. "I
have nothing but good things to say about him, except that he
started to get a little cocky after he beat some fairly good
guys."
Leben
denies that he began talking trash as he accumulated wins. "Benji
knows me," he says. "I know him. That's total bullshit,
man. Everybody that knows me, that's ever trained with me knows
that I'm not a person to talk shit about anybody."
Neither
fighter sounds especially enthusiastic at the thought of fighting
the other. Talking to them gives you the sense that the grapevine
has generated just enough disdain to get them in the ring together
for a couple high-powered exchanges ... and then they'll go back
to being friends.
"A
lot of other people want to see us fight more than we really
want to fight each other," says Radach tellingly. "I
think this fight is kind of stupid in one way because we are
teammates and there's lots of other guys we could be fighting."
Leben
traces the claims that he ran his mouth back to when he requested
to fight Radach's trainer Dennis Hallman. The fight was expected
to happen, but when the UFC called Hallman to fight Frank Trigg,
Leben was asked to square off against Radach instead. "I
said I didn't want to fight him because he's my friend,"
says Leben. "I don't really like to fight my friends."
A
series of indirect exchanges however, will bring the fight together
this Saturday in Gresham, Oregon, at Sportfight, a promotion
ran by Matt Lindland and other Team Quest luminaries. "He
says I started talking shit about him and now I'm scared to fight
him or whatever," explains Leben. "If it gets like
that, I'll fight anybody at 185. Now we can fight and I can worry
about being his friend after the fight."
A
CLASH OF STYLES ... VERY REAL IMPLICATIONS
Radach
is the better known of the two, as he has fought in the UFC three
times, losing only to Sean Sherk on a cut. He has since moved
up from 170 pounds to the 185-pound middleweight division, and
has taken knockout power standing and on the ground with him.
"He's a hard-hitter, we know that," says Leben of his
foe. "He's a hard-hitter and he's fast.
"All-around,
he's a good fighter. I don't think he's great at submissions.
I know he can't submit me. I mean, if (Joe) Doerksen can't submit
me, then Benji can't submit me. He might be able to take me down,
but if he takes me down he's not going to be able to hold me
down. As far as standup goes, he hits hard, but I hit harder.
And I can take a hit. If you look at some of my fights, I've
been hit by the best of them. If he wants to play rock'em sock'em,
that's fine with me."
Leben
is steadily building his name as a heavy-fisted slugger with
a jumbo-sized heart. "Chris is a brawler," says Team
Quest teammate Matt Lindland. "He fights on heart. I don't
know if I've seen anybody that enjoys beating people up as much
as I do .... Chris may be that guy. He loves fighting."
His
biggest asset, says Lindland, is the training room at Team Quest.
Leben has been training for a mere two and a half years, but
that's 30 months with names like Couture and Lindland and Henderson
and Tanner and trainer Robert Follis. The results have been swift
and violent, including several knockout wins and only one loss,
a recent decision he dropped to future UFC participant Joe Doerksen
in a fight that may have established Leben more so than any of
his wins.
"He's
not a technical fighter," says Lindland. "He likes
to get in there and mix it up. I think this is going to be an
exciting fight. Benji has the power; Chris has the toughness
and the chin to take that kind of power, and he can deliver it
back just as hard."
Although
Radach says he's never had any problems with Leben's striking
in their past, he says there is a dangerous stylistic clash.
"Our standup styles are bad for each one of us. I'm a straight
puncher. I have a straight right. And he's a left-hander with
a hook. I'm open to his hook and he's open to my straight right.
So it's kind of like, whoever hits the other first ...."
It
was almost exactly eight months ago when Radach was hit first
by little known Danny Lafever. The punch was an overhand right.
Radach never saw it, not in his dreams or anyone else's. He's
seen the stunning knockout blow several times since however,
through the bitter replays that have run in his mind, reminding
him of how he got cocky and got beat in front of family and friends
by someone who shouldn't have even been in the ring with him.
Asked
whether the knockout, which came in his last fight to-date, may
render him just a bit gun-shy against Leben, Radach doesn't hesitate
in replying. "No," he says quickly. "It's kind
of opened my eyes to a lot of things. I know I can get knocked
out. And I know if I am hesitant or if I'm not fighting my fight,
then that's more of a chance for you to get knocked out. If you
are gun-shy ... that's when you get knocked out because you're
not taking it to him and you're not setting the pace."
Hence,
Radach plans on striding out of the gate at a pace he intends
the fight to follow. Leben, however, feels his opponent will
indeed be affected by the nasty knockout he suffered in his last
bout. "He has to be a little wary about his chin,"
says Leben. "I think he's going to be timid to overcommit.
I don't think he's going to rush me. I think he's going to try
to draw me out and look for that one big shot."
Regardless,
neither fighter really throws anything that isn't packed with
power and the intention to blast a hole through its target. The
implications of this are very real: one friend could make a highlight
of another tomorrow night, and one could be leaving the ring
not exactly sure how to feel about his win as the other exits
with a confused stare from a foggy and recently regained consciousness.
Perhaps
the most overlooked skill of either fighter, though, is Radach's
wrestling ability, which is better than that of most middleweights
in the sport and could be his ace in the hole. Leben remains
undaunted, however. "I think he's probably, technically,
a better wrestler," he says. "He probably knows a little
bit more than me on the ground, but no way is he as tough as
me."
INSECURITY
AND BLOODBATHS
Despite
all the physical attributes that both fighters bring to the table,
general health may be the most vital element. There's a marked
difference between the two that can be heard when talking with
them over the phone just 48 hours before their showdown. Leben
sounds confident, eager now when he wasn't before; Radach sounds
like he belongs in a hospital somewhere.
"I've
had a lot of obstacles," says Radach, "like a staph
infection and I got bit by a brown recluse spider. That kind
of threw me out for a while. It's just been kind of a tough time.
If he's going to beat me, this is the best time."
Radach's
tone is less complaining and more genuine realization that he
can't work full-time and fight at this level much longer. "It's
just kind of kicking my ass," he says. Leben is in the same
boat, but he's getting out of it very soon to concentrate on
fighting. Radach is stuck until this fall at least, and his weary
schedule coupled with infections and spider bites have stirred
up an air of uncertainty.
"My
body's so crazy right now," he says. "I'm actually
really worried about how I'm going to perform strength-wise and
stuff like that because I've had a lot hold me up."
It's
not a good time for Radach's body to be going haywire. Leben
is hungry, and figures that a win over his friend could catapult
him into the UFC. "If I have it my way," says Leben,
"it's going to be a bloodbath. It's going to be all over
the place and, in the end, he's going to be knocked out."
Radach
feels a win will keep his name a familiar one at 185, which will
assist the major breakthrough he expects to make as soon as he
can fight full-time. As long as he holds up physically, says
Radach, he will beat his former and probably future training
partner. "If I'm on my game and my conditioning is where
it needs to be," he says, "I should have no problem
beating him. No one's really stopped him at all. He's run through
people and then he had that war with Doerksen. I want to be the
first guy to put a stop to him real quick."
Source FCF |
Georges
St. Pierre
One Dream at a time...
Story by Arnold "The Sushiboy" Lim
“I
was very sad...” Georges St Pierre trained Kyokushin Karate
from the age of six to to the age of sixteen years old, right
up until his Karate master of ten years, Jean Couture, died from
Lung Cancer. “When my Kyokushin Karate teacher died I wanted
to stop Martial Arts.” He almost quit, the then sixteen
year old was understandably devastated the day his sensei died,
but fortunately for him and his fans, St. Pierre made the decision
to continue his training. He now finds himself on the cusp of
his second UFC appearance, not a bad feat considering he is only
23 years old and still lives with his parents. It is an appearance
that is due in part, to the passing of his master. “I don’t
want to say this, as it is not a good thing, but when he died
I started a new style of martial arts, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. (The
fact) that he died made me start my career in MMA” From
the throes of death, birth is only a stones throw away and wrought
of sorrow, St. Pierre’s MMA career was born.
Much
like everyone else, his dream of fighting in the UFC began on
television, from the first show he ever watched he knew that
someday that would be his calling. “I went over to my friend’s
house and watched my first UFC. It was when Steve Jennum won
the UFC….I knew when I saw my first UFC, it was going to
be my sport.” His dream of fighting in the UFC would be
realized at UFC 46 where he faced off against and defeated the
heavily favored Karo Parisyan, grounding and pounding his way
to a well deserved unanimous decision victory. Success has followed
St. Pierre in every endeavor he has pursued, but even on the
eve of another showing in the “Big Show”, he is keeping
his eyes open and realizes that he is only one fall, or one injury
away from sitting on the sidelines for good. It is a reality
and something that has hit close to home for the young upstart.
“One of my friends got injured and now his career is finished.
[My girlfriend] is always saying to me “keep your mind open
because this thing happened to your friend and it can happen
to you.” She is a little bit worried about me but that is
good, she wants to keep my eyes open. I know one day I can get
injured and my career can be finished. It can happen to anybody,
this is a dangerous sport, we don’t play golf.” Golf
is the last thing on his mind as he prepares for the second step
in his journey of achieving one of his goals. In two years, his
hopes to get a title shot in the welterweight division against
whoever the champion is at that time. In the meantime he is also
preparing to start his first year of university in the fall to
study sport science. It is another dream that will be fulfilled
in the coming fall season to coincide with that of his dream
of fighting in the UFC.
While
his scholastic endeavors are goals that are developed with the
perusal of fat textbooks, the 23 year old’s MMA dreams are
cultivated on the mat, and training is spent with Angelo Exarhakos
at Tristar gym in Montreal Canada, sweating it out with UFC veteran
David Loiseau, Steve Vigneault, and Ivan Menjivar among others.
He currently wrestles with the Canadian Olympic team, boxes with
Canadian Golden glove champion Paul Clavette and is a purple
belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Brazilian Top Team Black belt
Fabio Holanda. It is the same Fabio Holanda who ironically fought
St. Pierre’s upcoming UFC opponent Jay Hieron in Hieron’s
most recent MMA fight.
St.
Pierre’s pro MMA record now stands at a perfect 5-0, with
one no contest with fellow UFC 48 cardmate Ivan Menjivar, he
has come a long way from his first MMA bout, which was an amateur
bout that took place when he was just 16 years old. “When
I won my first amateur (MMA) fight. I was 16 years old and I
beat a guy that was 25. I was only a Kyokushin Karate fighter
and the guy I fought was a boxer. At the time my ground skills
were very poor, I didn’t know nothing on the ground.”
Georges won his fight by knockout, going low with several leg
kicks and then going high with a Karate kick to the head. To
this day much of the media has him pegged as a wrestler, or a
Jiu Jitsu fighter, but he still considers himself a karate stylist
at heart. His amateur MMA record stands at 4 wins and no losses.
He even sports an amateur boxing record of 6-0 on top of his
pro MMA record of 5-0, with the most impressive victory of all
coming over the talented Judo stylist Karo Parisyan in his first
UFC fight, a fight that St Pierre claims was the toughest of
his career.
That
was then, this is now, he knows what Jay Hieron brings to the
table and he is prepared for the most grueling battle of his
career. He has spent some time with Hieron in the gym practicing
wrestling drills together in New York at Rodrigo Gracies academy,
an academy where he has spent some time in the past. They will
not be strangers when the meet in the Octagon in Las Vegas and
he knows that the talented Hieron will be looking to hurt him,
which is something that he is now accustomed to. “When I
was at school all the guys tried to hurt me to have my money
and tried to steal my clothes, I (would) always fight….
I was alone and I started martial arts…I got my ass kicked
a lot of times in the street at this time. A lot of people ask
me…“Hey Georges you must be undefeated in the street,
I think that nobody can beat you.” That maybe now, but when
I was young, I think my record was 2 victories and twenty five
losses… when you are 8-9 years old and the other guys are
12-13, they are teenagers and you are a kid.” George St
Pierre is right, he was a kid, but that was then, and this is
now. The young kid who got hurt and beat up for his money and
his clothes is no longer. Georges St Pierre the kid has ushered
in Georges St Pierre the man and is making his way in the world,
one step, one fight, and one dream at a time. -MMARR-
Source MMA Ring Report |
HORN
VS SILVA IN SOUTH KOREA
This weekend some big fights are taking place overseas as one
of the main events in South Korea featuring both UFC and Pride
veterans. Jeremy Horn will be squaring off against Anderson Silva
in one main event matchup. Horn weighed in yesterday at 84.9
kilos while Anderson Silva tipped the scales at 84 kilos on Friday
for the Gladiator Full Contact event in Seoul, S. Korea.
Horn
and Silva are the main event on Sunday, which is the second night
of competition. Alex Stiebling and Rogerio Nogueira are the main
event for Saturday's opening night as this two day event should
be very good.
Source MMA Weekly |
BARNETT
VS WATERMAN OFFICIAL
Pancrase has officially announced Josh Barnett vs. Ron Waterman
for the King of Pancrase as the main event in Seoul Korea, July
17th. This will be Josh's third defense of his title as King
of Pancrase and looks to add another notch to his belt. Waterman
is 6'2"(188cm) 265lbs(120kg) with a record of 11-2-2 with
all of his wins by KO or submission. Waterman has been asking
for this fight and Josh is ready to give him what he wants and
then some. Who's going to get suplexed in this fight?
Source MMA Weekly |
BAR
NONE TALKS ABOUT HAMMERHOUSE
MMAWeekly had a chance to talk with Adam "Bar None"
Guerra, an up and coming Hammer House heavyweight, about his
teammates, the UFC heavyweight division and his future fighting
plans. He held nothing back in this rather candid interview.
MMAWeekly:
First of all, how are you doing Adam?
Adam
Guerra: I am as good as a motherf#%ker can be bro. How are you
doing yourself?
MMAWeekly:
I am good. Tell me a little bit about training at Hammer House
with all those guys, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Wes Sims
and the others.
Guerra:
I will be honest, those guys are all f#%king bad ass. When I
get the chance to go to Ohio its a well worth trip. Those motherf#%kers
are as tough as anyone in any room. I go all over cross train
a lot but Ohio is tops. How many punk bitches can say they train
with real men? I get sick of hearing all the bullshit, Coleman
needs BJJ ,Randleman needs this, Wes needs that. Well, f#%k you
punks. How many BJJ men have won the Pride Grand Prix or been
multiple f#%king time UFC champs? That's what I f#%king thought.
MMAWeekly:
Hammer House isn't lacking in heavyweights to train with, is
that a big asset training there?
Guerra:
Big time! You have bad ass guys in there like Branden Lee Hinkle.
He is a bad motherf#%ker man. He gets no respect when it comes,
but people like me, after training with a beast like him, know
better. I have been around and I have yet to roll with anyone
stronger then my teammates. Wes for instance, he is a tough f#%ker.
He can take anything you give to him and keep going. He won't
be tapped out by anyone at all. His limbs are strong as f#%k.
Then when Kevin is on, he would beat anyone's ass that's his
mentality. Fedor was one lucky man on the day of their fight.
Anyone would have had their neck broke off. Coleman was dominating
Fedor and got caught in a mistake. He is like f#%king Joe Montana,
he will creep back on your ass when you least expect him. So
I would say these are men amongst men when it comes time to go
to war. So if I'm there and getting my ass handed to me in training,
nobody and I mean nobody is going to man handle me like there,
so hell yeah it's a strong asset.
MMAWeekly:
Let me ask you a little about Mark Coleman. He is being inducted
in the Universal Martial Arts Hall of Fame in July, that must
be a huge honor.
Guerra:
Mark has done a lot in MMA. Mark in my opinion will go down as
one of the best ever in the world of MMA. Mark Coleman is not
only a great fu#%king fighter, but a great role model as well.
He has done lots for me and I appreciate a person of his magnitude.
He is a great father and leader to the Hammer House. Without
Mark bringing strong wrestling into MMA would it be where it
is today? F#%k No! It's an honor to know him. The day I have
kids, I'll pop in a DVD and tell my kids that is one bad motherf#%ker.
I will always Cherish everytime I get to hang with him. Mark
is the best.
MMAWeekly:
Before we jump into what you have on the horizon, lets talk some
about Kevin Randleman. Even though he lost to Fedor, he sure
put together a nice highlight reel in the Pride Grand Prix. How's
he doing and does he plan on staying at heavyweight or fighting
at 205?
Guerra:
You never know with Kevin. Where ever and whoever he fights,
Kevin will always do f#%king well. I mean, he tossed Fedor like
a bitch. No disrespecting Fedor at all, who is a bad muthaf#%ker
but he was lucky not to die. Kevin is a cool cat. He does a lot
for people and is overlooked for it. People don't know the f#%king
good side of Kev. I for one was taken in by Kev when I fought
in Ohio where he gave me the f#%king nickname the Governor. Cause
I dress like a f#%king real pimp in Armani not bullshit curtain
blinds like some other idiot. Kevin will be a force for as long
as he wants. He is a threat to anyone, ,just ask Cro Cop. By
the way, how's his f#%kin chin?
MMAWeekly:
Before the Pride heavyweight Grand Prix, Kevin was rumored to
be one of the possible opponents for former UFC light heavyweight
champ Tito Ortiz. Is there any truth to that and who do you think
that fight would play out?
Guerra:
Well, I doubt there was any truth to it, but who knows? I don't
think Tito can handle Kevin. Tito would get his ass beat no if
ands or buts. Tito would rather fight Shamrock again anyways
so why take a chance on losing 3 straight fights? You don't see
Tito calling out Kev, Randy, or Chuck. Imagine if he lost to
Kevin, he would scream like he does after he loses and maybe
take a page out of Jeff Monson's Abu Dahbi 2003 and run and take
his shorts off.
MMAWeekly:
So, what do you have in the works, any fights coming up, what's
your plans?
Guerra:
I have something coming up for London, England that is in the
works and some people have contacted me from Japan again. Its
early to say but it's a f#%king honor to fight in Japan. I am
sure the London people will like me too if it happens cause,
win or lose I am far from boring and far from a staller. I hate
people who don't fight to win. To me it's a paycheck fighting
bitch who stalls. People go to see knock outs or fast pace submissions
and I can bring it. I am confident I can do well verses anyone.
I am finally in good shape. I'm not a fat f#%ker anymore so there
you have it.
MMAWeekly:
Adam, you have a good record, only two professional loses. It
varies depending on where you look, so what is your official
record?
Guerra:
Right now, I am 18-2. I have fought guys that weigh more and
less. I have beat down a guy once who was 385 lbs, big Bitch,
and small guy 200lbs. I have paid my dues.
MMAWeekly:
When do you think those dues are going to pay off to get in the
UFC or one of Pride's cards?
Guerra:
Well, I have fought in Japan already and its every f#%king fighters
dream to go. I been to Mexico. UFC? I would love to I guarantee
them a f#%king fight, no bullshit stall that's for sure, and
the fight, win or lose wouldn't leave round f#%king one.
MMAWeekly:
You seem to follow the sport pretty close, what is your take
on the state of the UFC heavyweight division?
Guerra:
Well since Tim caught a bad break and Gan is gone and Cabbage
who is one of my favorites is on suspension, it looks bad right
now. Don't get me wrong, their are some tough guys in the division
like Arlovski. Whew that's a bad man.
MMAWeekly:
Your training partner Wes Sims lost a controversial fight to
Mike Kyle, is there still some harsh feelings there and what
do you think about Mike Kyle?
Guerra:
Mike Kyle can't wrestle for shit. He is a dirty f#%ker. He has
to bite to win and throw a cheap shot. Maybe next time his ass
wants to eat and he is hungry I'll loan the bitch five dollars
for a happy meal. Wes doesn't care for him. I think in a rematch
Wes would own his ass.
MMAWeekly:
Have there been any mention of a rematch between them that you
know of?
Guerra:
Nah, I don't think Kyle could handle Wes when he is ready. Eilers
will beat him silly.
MMAWeekly:
Well Adam, it was nice talking to you my man. Good luck in Japan
or London, which ever it may be.
Guerra:
Thank you and hope to see you in a cage near you!
Source MMA Weekly |
BTT's
army ready to combat in Korea
Brazilian Top Team athletes Fabiano Capoane, Rogério Minotouro,
Cláudio Godoy and Paulão Filho will be in action
tonight (26) and tomorrow night at the Gladiators, MMA event
which takes place in Seoul, South Korea. The event will be held
at the 2004 Olympic Gymnastics Arena and BTT fighters are ready
for this new challenge. Other Brazilian over the tournament,
Anderson Silva will face American experienced fighter Jeremy
Horn. Keep tuned at TATAME.com to know the results as soon they
come out. Don't miss it!
COMPLETE
CARD (subject to change):
June
26th
- Tanimura Mitsunori x Tchourakov Edouard
- Yasuhito Namekawa x Fabiano Capoane
- Sung Chul Kim x Sakuragi Uji
- Dan Severn x Hidetada Irie
- Ikuhisa Minowa x Igor Borisov
- Kim Jong Wang x Brad Kohler
- Rogerio Minotouro Nogueira x Alex Stiebling
June
27th
- Okuyama Koji x Matkine Serguei
- Hamada Jyunpei x Claudio Godoy
- Sultanmagomedov Kavkaz x Bae Chun Ho
- Jin O Kim x Shinji Katase
- Choi Mu Bae x Akhmedov Zourab
- Daijiro Matsui x Paulo Filho
- Jeremy Horn x Anderson Silva
Source Tatame |
Montanha
Silva fighting at the TV
It's
not only in Japan Montanha Silva's size is popular. Over here,
the giant of 2,21m ended at the television. Montanha made a special
episode of "Da Cor do Pecado", aired by Globo Networks,
acting as fighter Maciste Brasil. During the recording, a couple
of weeks ago, Montanha acted with Caio Blat. "Montanha is
a such a professional and he will do everything he can to be
over the TV," guarantees Sérgio Batarelli, Montanha's
manager. Now the fighter is ready for a new battle, this time
for real, against American Butterbean, at K-1, which happes tonight,
over the K-1 Beast 2004.
Source Tatame |
Where
Would Roy Jones Jr. Rate As An All-Time Great If He Were To Retire
Today?
Juan Angel Zurita
In this two part series, Juan Angel Zurita assesses Roy Jones
Jr’s career and gives his personal rating of where Jones
would rate amongst the all-time pound-for-pound greats if he
were to retire today. Part 1 assesses Jones’ all-time rating
in each of the divisions he’s won titles in.
For
over a decade, Roy Jones Jr. had been hailed as an immortal whose
only real competition existed somewhere in the realms of time
travel. Many lauded him as the Michael Jordan of boxing, a present
day Ray Robinson. As his career neared its final chapter, it
appeared he’d never find a true challenge. That all changed
when he ran into a crushing left hook compliments of Antonio
Tarver.
With
Tarver’s kryptonite filled second round KO victory over
boxing’s ‘Superman’, many have now been left scrambling
to put Jones’ career into its proper perspective. In a crude
twist, Jones’ worst nightmare has provided the sport of
boxing with long sought after historical clarity. Boxing historians
now have a barometer of Jones’ degree of greatness. The
enigma that once existed is no more.
MUST
SEE AND IT'S FREE!
This week: Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero - Hardcore sparring
& non-stop action at the WildCard Boxing Club. If you haven't
heard of him...YOUR GONNA!.
Free At DogHouseBoxing.com.
Click Pic Below: Opens in Media Player
(Video © MaxBoxing.com)
Not surprisingly, in the light of Jones’ recent misfortune,
many are now questioning his place amongst boxing’s all-time
greats. There is often a huge backlash within the boxing community
when a perceived untouchable finally falls from his pedestal
and Jones is the latest to fall prey to this vicious web. Unfairly,
the criticism has been extremely harsh. Many have tossed around
the words ‘fraud’ and ‘exposed’ to describe
him. This is short-term memory loss and lunacy at his finest.
No
one in their right mind can erase the fact that Jones has had
a marvelous Hall of Fame career. Not even a grandiose perfectly
placed left hook.
In
his 14 year career, he has shown immense talent and skill, a
unique blend arguably unrivaled throughout the sport’s history.
However, talent alone does not equate to greatness. So what does
make Jones special? What makes him one of the best fighters of
his era?
Perhaps
it’s knowing that he would’ve brought home Olympic
gold had it not been for one of the most corrupt decisions in
the history of amateur boxing. Perhaps it’s that coupled
with the fact that he won titles at middleweight, super middleweight,
light heavyweight, and heavyweight, while dominating his competition
over 90% of the time.
Yes,
I’d say those are all good reasons.
After
rehashing the obvious, that brings us to the mother of all questions.
How would Roy Jones Jr. rate as an all-time great if he were
to retire today?
To
answer that intriguing question, we must first assess his place
in each of the divisions he’s graced.
The
Middleweight
Jones
looked damn near perfect in this weight class. He was as quick
as lightning and had one-punch dynamite in both hands. Just ask
Thomas Tate, a highly rated, world-class fighter whom Jones embarrassed
in two short rounds of work. Jones the middleweight was a sight
to behold. But ask current middleweight kingpin, Bernard Hopkins,
and he might tell you different.
In
their fight, Jones failed to dominate Hopkins. It was hardly
one of his greatest performances. It was simply a good, competitive,
match-up between two future greats who hadn’t yet come into
their own. Nevertheless, Jones is excused for that less than
stellar performance. After all, it was Hopkins and he did come
out victorious.
So
where does Jones rank as a middleweight? It depends on what one’s
ratings emphasize. If you focus on the highly subjective ‘who-beats-who’
argument, he’s easily in the top ten. Based on my criteria
(emphasis on quality of opposition, longevity, and accomplishments),
he shouldn’t crack the top ten, but there is an exception
to every rule. I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t rate
him as one of the top ten middleweights of all-time. I can’t
ignore the combination of talent and power he displayed in his
short-lived stay in this weight class. What further justifies
my ranking of Jones at middleweight is the success he went on
to have in the super middleweight (emphasis on the Toney victory)
and light heavyweight divisions.
I
rate him at number ten, a few slots behind Bernard Hopkins. Yes,
he did beat Hopkins, but Hopkins has accomplished much more in
this weight class. However, I won’t argue with anyone who
doesn’t rate him top ten at middleweight. Accomplishments
and longevity go a long way and Jones had neither at 160.
The
Super Middleweight
Now
this is where Jones began to shake up the boxing world. In his
first fight at super middleweight, he scored the most impressive
victory of his career by outclassing IBF Super Middleweight Champion,
James Toney, a top three pound-for-pound fighter of that time.
Most impressive about this performance was the manner in which
Jones easily out-boxed and toyed with ‘Lights Out’,
at times making him look like a third rate opponent. Sadly, rather
than pull out the broom stick and proceed to clean out the rest
of the division, Jones opted to defend his strap five times against
sub-par competition. Instead of facing Frankie Liles (scored
a standing 8 count on Jones in the amateurs), Steve Collins,
Chris Eubanks, Nigel Benn, Gerald McClellan (who beat Jones in
the amateurs), Michael Nunn (Jones’ mandatory in the late
90s), he sparred against Antoine Byrd, Vinny Pazienza (blown-up
lightweight), Tony Thornton, Merqui Sosa, Eric Lucas, and Bryant
Brannon. Take a close look and you’ll see that the former
bunch make the latter look like a Mercedes stacked up next to
a Ford Pinto.
Surprisingly,
despite failing to defend against the more difficult and dangerous
super middleweights that lurked during his super middleweight
reign, many boxing pundits, including this writer, will rate
Jones as the number one super middleweight of all-time. One might
ask how that could be possible. Jones is number one on the mere
basis of his dazzling victory over James Toney? That’s ludicrous
because he failed to defeat the aforementioned group, right?
Again, his dominance in a higher weight class (light heavyweight),
somewhat validates this ranking, but more importantly, it must
be pointed out that the super middleweight division is but a
mere twenty years old. There haven’t been many special talents
in this division. In terms of accomplishments, Sven Ottke has
a case, but do you really believe he was a much better super
middleweight than Jones? Jones is basically the default choice
in a division that has been a mediocre refuge during its short
lifespan.
The
Light Heavyweight
The
light heavyweight division ultimately became Jones’ niche.
It is in this division where he made his most significant mark.
Here he notched wins against Mike McCallum (Hall of Famer), Virgil
Hill (future Hall of Famer), Montell Griffin, Reggie Johnson,
Eric Harding, Antonio Tarver, unified all the major belts, and
in total scored twelve light heavyweight defenses. But as impressive
as those accomplishments may appear, a few things can be a bit
misleading regarding Jones’ opposition.
Mike
McCallum was a 39 year-old, blown-up junior middleweight, when
Jones defeated him. Virgil Hill was coming off a loss to German
Dariusz Michalczewski. Montell Griffin was the first fighter
to defeat Jones, albeit by DQ, in their first meeting. Harding
was giving Jones fits before his corner stopped the bout due
to a bicep injury suffered in the early rounds of their fight.
Many feel Antonio Tarver deserved no worse than a draw in their
first fight, and of course, Tarver knocked him out in the rematch.
Perhaps
the biggest black mark on Jones’ light heavyweight career
is the fact that he never became the undisputed light heavyweight
champion of the world. He managed to unify the three titles,
but never defeated the linear champion, Dariusz Michalczewski,
the biggest threat throughout the bulk of Jones’ light heavyweight
reign. Furthermore, the WBC light heavyweight title he held from
1998-2004 was unjustly stripped away from Graciano Rocchigiani
by the WBC in 1998 after he’d won it by defeating Michael
Nunn, the fighter Jones refused to defend that belt against.
It
is these negativities that have led many boxing historians to
conclude that Jones is not a top ten all-time light heavyweight.
I
beg to differ.
Personally,
I don’t rate Jones above light heavyweight greats, Sam Langford,
Gene Tunney, Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, Bob Foster, and Michael
Spinks, but I do rate him above Conn, Fitzsimmons, Rosenbloom,
Greb, and all others.
I
rate Jones at #7 for a number of reasons.
1.
Jones spent over six years at the top of the light heavyweight
food chain. How’s that for longevity?
2.
Although he didn’t exactly light the world on fire with
his level of opposition, he dominated most of his mediocre light
heavyweight opposition with such brilliance. Jones seldom lost
a round when he was in the zone.
3.
Critics will cite that when he finally ran into his best light
heavyweight challenge, Antonio Tarver, he didn’t dominate
him. He was lucky to pound out a win in the worst performance
of his career. But in all fairness, Jones didn’t look 100%
in that bout due to weight struggles, yet he still managed to
come out victorious against a top quality opponent on his worst
night.
Love
him or hate him, Jones did prove he was a top ten all-time light
heavyweight great. His longevity in the weight class and superb
talent make it difficult to deny him a spot among the light heavyweight
all-time top ten.
The
Heavyweight
There
isn’t much to discuss here. Jones took a calculated risk
against a top five heavyweight from one of boxing’s worst
heavyweight eras. Ruiz’s clumsy, slow-as-molasses style
was the perfect fit for Jones. Fights against smaller, extremely
skilled opponents (Hopkins, Jirov, Tarver) would’ve been
much more competitive, and Tarver clearly proved that notion
down the road. With one fight at heavyweight, Jones merits no
ranking in this weight class.
Propaganda Exposed
Before
anyone can attempt to objectively assess Jones’ rightful
place in boxing history, a few pitfalls must be avoided. Below
is a bulk of propaganda which Jones’ most ardent, misinformed,
and blind supporters regularly try to sell.
1.
Roy Jones Jr. only has one loss.
Did
I miss something? I do recall watching Jones disqualify himself
after viciously hitting Montell Griffin several times while he
was already down in a fight where Griffin was giving Jones many
fits. Boxing rules are in place for a reason and Jones broke
a major rule on that night. The disqualification was totally
just.
2.
Roy Jones Jr. is special because he didn’t lose in the early
or middle part of his career several times like a lot of highly
regarded hall of fame fighters.
Of
course not. Jones comes from an era where many fighters are babied.
Many all-time greats who lost a handful of times before hitting
their prime or during, lost due to a number of reasons.
a)
Rookies: A few of these all-time greats turned pro as kids with
no amateur careers whatsoever. Others turned pro at 18-21 yet
still didn’t manage to rack up decent amateur careers. You
basically see a lot of old timers with early and mid career losses
because they were learning their trade as professionals. As we
all know, Jones had an extensive and impressive amateur career.
Examples:
Baby Arizmendi, Henry Armstrong, Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore
b)
Level of activity: While these kids and rookies were learning
their trade as professionals, they were also fighting at an insane
rate. Look up the records of Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong,
Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, Willie Pep, Sandy Saddler, and
many other old time greats and you’ll see that they sometimes
fought several times a month or every other month. They’re
level of activity was unreal.
c)
Bring ‘Em All On: Jones didn’t always fight the best
his division(s) had to offer, and it could be argued that he
dominated for so long for that very reason. Many all-time greats
fought the best around because that’s what it was all about.
Fighters wanted to prove that they were the baddest hombres in
the ring. With that mentality, it’s no wonder they were
often bested. That’s what happens when you fight at a rampant
rate against the best of your time.
d)
Poor Management & ‘The Times’: Again, Jones comes
from an era where top talents are often times carefully managed,
and he was no exception. Can you imagine how much greater certain
all-time greats would appear on paper had they had the luxury
of fighting a string of handpicked opponents throughout their
careers?
Another
important factor that contributed to losses on the ledgers of
some all-time greats were ‘The Times.’ Black all-time
greats like Joe Gans and Henry Armstrong were reportedly coerced
to throw fights numerous times. These black greats who were stuck
in racist America basically had no choice. These are only several
examples.
In
a nutshell, Jones’ record looks much prettier than many
all-time greats because he fought less often (huge understatement),
didn’t consistently take on the most dangerous fighters,
and was managed a lot better during vastly improved social times.
3.
No other all-time greats have ever dominated for as long and
consistently as Jones and with far less losses.
Refer
to # 2.
4.
Roy Jones Jr. is in a league of his own because he’s defeated
17 current or former world champions.
This
feat is truly deceiving. With Oscar De La Hoya’s recent
victory over Felix Sturm, he now has 17 victories over current
or former world champions, counting the WBO. However, is anyone
arguing that he’s one of the greatest fighters to ever lace
‘em up? Today, we have four boxing organizations with four
titles apiece per division. The dilution of titles has lead to
misleading accomplishments like this one. C or D level fighters
with good management and connections can pick up a title these
days. Can you imagine if there had been four titles per division
when Robinson and Armstrong were around? With their fighting
mentalities, they would’ve probably racked up 60-70 wins
over current and former boxing champions. Okay, maybe that’s
a bit too much, but you get the picture.
5.
Jones completely dominated four Hall of Fame legends in Hill,
McCallum, Toney, and Hopkins.
Let’s
examine these victories:
Virgil
Hill: Virgil Hill was coming off a loss to German Dariusz Michalczewski.
Mike
McCallum: Mike McCallum was a 39 year-old, blown-up junior middleweight.
James
Toney: A truly impressive victory against one of the top three
pound-for-pound fighters of that time.
Bernard
Hopkins: Jones didn’t exactly dominate Hopkins. It was a
close, competitive, fight which took place before Hopkins hit
his prime. We’re talking about the same version of Hopkins
who was given hell against Segundo Mercado in their first fight.
Hopkins wasn’t even a champion back then.
6.
When Jones defeated John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight title,
he joined Bob Fitzsimmons as the only other middleweight champion
to win the world heavyweight crown.
Hogwash!
Jones defeated a heavyweight titlist. If Jones really wanted
to join Fitzsimmons in that rare class, he would’ve had
to defeat Lennox Lewis, the true lineal heavyweight champion
during that time. Diluted titles cause frequent headaches.
7.
When Jones defeated John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight title,
he joined Bob Fitzsimmons, Gene Tunney, and Michael Spinks as
light heavyweight champions who went on to win the world heavyweight
crown.
Hogwash
part 2! Fitzsimmons, Tunney, and Spinks actually defeated the
linear and true heavyweight champions of their day. Diluted titles
can also cause heart attacks.
8.
Roy Jones dominated every weight class he’s won titles in.
Not
quite.
At
middleweight Jones beat Hopkins when Hopkins was but a mere top
five ranked middleweight. Hopkins wasn’t the badass we see
today. He was still learning his trade. Take a look at Hopkins’
first fight with Segundo Mercado and you’ll see that he
wasn’t the same fighter.
Jones
did in fact defeat the best super middleweight around when he
defeated James Toney, but he did not dominate the rest of the
weight class. He didn’t defeat Frankie Liles, Nigel Benn,
Steve Collins, Tim Littles, Michael Nunn, or Gerald McClellan.
As
a light heavyweight champion, Jones feasted on a lot of third
tier fighters, he never defeated the linear champion, Dariusz
Michalczeski, nor did he ever dominate Antonio Tarver. Against
the latter, he barely squeezed out a win in their first fight
and was knocked out in the rematch.
Roy
Jones Jr. never officially dominated an entire weight class.
The closest he came to accomplishing that feat was at light heavyweight,
but he missed his opportunity by failing to conquer Michalczeski.
9.
Jones’ place in boxing history should not be affected by
the fact that he didn’t face Vassily Jirov, Dariusz Michalczeski,
Bernard Hopkins (rematch), Frankie Liles, Nigel Benn, Steve Collins,
Michael Nunn, Gerald McClellan, and Julian Jackon, because he
would’ve beaten them silly.
Wasn’t
it a foregone conclusion that Curry would beat Lloyd Honeyghan?
Wasn’t
it a foregone conclusion that Tyson would squash Douglas and
Holyfield?
In
recent times, wasn’t it a foregone conclusion that Shane
Mosley would out-speed Vernon Forrest? There was all this talk
about Mosley bypassing Forrest to dominate the junior middleweight
division. Surely, Forrest had no business in the ring with the
return of ‘Sugar’. What were they thinking?
Ironically,
many believed that Jones defeating Tarver was a foregone conclusion
as well. Tarver had lost to Harding and many felt he’d be
no match for Jones. Tarver nearly defeated him in the first fight
and finished the task in the rematch. Go figure!
If
you’ve followed boxing long enough, you’d know that
boxing doesn’t work that way.
Styles
make fights and when you consistently take on the best, you’re
bound to run into some problems even against fighters that you’re
suppose to destroy on paper.
Justly,
Jones’ place in boxing history should take a hit for failing
to fight all of those fighters. It’s not just one or two
opponents we’re talking about. There are more than a handful
of them. It’s not absurd to think that several of those
fighters could’ve upset him.
Rating
Roy Jones (Pros)
*
Spanning four weight classes (three of the original eight), Jones
dazzled the boxing world with his flash and skill, picking up
titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight,
and heavyweight.
*
Taking into account the list of fighters he didn’t face,
we must also take into account those he did manage to defeat.
He dominated several current and future Hall of Famers more convincingly
than all of their previous or subsequent opponents.
*
James Toney, a great fighter in his own right, has never been
dominated like Jones dominated him. We’re talking about
a fighter who has since proven himself at cruiserweight and who
is now attempting to take over the heavyweight division.
*
Virgil Hill was still quite formidable when Jones became the
first man to knock him out with a picture perfect body shot.
*
Since his loss to Jones, Hopkins has gone on to establish himself
as the most dominant middleweight since Marvin Hagler. He hasn’t
lost a fight since losing to Jones and has racked up a record
18 defenses at middleweight. He’s currently rated as a top
three pound-for-pound fighter. For what it’s worth, The
Ring Magazine currently rates him as pound-for-pound #1.
*
Say what you will about John Ruiz, but he’s currently a
top five heavyweight and has given many top heavyweights fits.
Fighting him was a calculated risk, but an impressive performance
nonetheless.
*
Jones was not quite ‘The Fighter of the 90s’ but close
to it. I grant Pernell Whittaker that distinction. Second best
is not bad at all though considering that I rate Pernell Whittaker
as one of the top fifteen fighters to ever step into the ring.
Rating
Roy Jones (Cons)
*
Roy Jones Jr. has been an exceptional talent throughout his career,
but his reluctance to consistently test himself, damages his
all-time standing. If he would’ve had the same mentality
as Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, or Roberto Duran, he might’ve
cracked the top ten. However, that’s all mere speculation.
Those fighters actually took on the best and prevailed more often
than not while in their primes. Jones cannot boast the same.
*
When he did take on a few top quality opponents, he faired very
well, therefore, it’s difficult to understand why he was
so reluctant to consistently face the best. Why did he take an
eight year break between Toney and Ruiz? Maybe he knew something
that we weren’t aware of?
*
Jones’ all-time standing is further damaged by the nature
of his struggles with Antonio Tarver. Sure, he was 35 years-old,
but so was Tarver. It also doesn’t bode well for Jones that
he struggled and lost to the best light heavyweight he ever faced.
Tarver gave boxing historians a bit of insight as to how Jones
would fair against the taller, more powerful, all-time light
heavyweight greats.
*
Jones was still considered the top pound-for-pound fighter by
many when he barely scraped by Tarver in their first fight. Likewise,
he was a heavy favorite, and still the perceived pound-for-pound
head honcho when he was knocked out in two rounds in the rematch.
*
Can anyone think of the last time the perceived pound-for-pound
king was knocked out with one punch? Can anyone think of the
last time an all-time great fighter was knocked out with one
punch while still at the top of the pound-for-pound ranks? And
please don’t mention Lennox Lewis. He’s not an all-time
pound-for-pound great and he was never at the top of anyone’s
pound-for-pound list. Further, Jones was never known for having
a tender chin like Lewis. That makes his knockout loss even more
devastating.
Jones’
Rating Per Division (Summary)
Middleweight
– # 10
Super
Middleweight – # 1
Light
Heavyweight – # 7
Heavyweight
– N/A
Jones’
All-Time Rating
First
off, it should be noted that I have two all-time ranking lists.
The first includes fighters from all eras, dating back to the
late 1800s. The second I call my ‘Modern’ list and
it typically rates fighters who fought from the 1930s to the
present. I put more emphasis on my ‘Modern’ list because
I find it difficult to rate fighters from eras where there is
limited video footage, and because this list focuses on eras
post full-integration.
Rating
Jones as an all-time great is still a bit perplexing. One has
to find a balance between the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s
not easy.
Per
my estimation, if Jones were to retire today, he’d definitely
crack the top 35 on my first list without hesitation. He’d
probably fit somewhere between the late 20s and early 30s. Top
20 is a deep stretch. Those slots are reserved for the elite
core who consistently tested themselves against the best of their
time. Most of those slots also happen to be dominated by boxers
who fought at a freakish rate. Conversely, on my ‘Modern’
list, the picture looks a bit different. Jones rates somewhere
between 22-25 due to the omission of several pre full-integration
greats.
In
closing, this article hypothesized on how Jones would rank all-time
if he were to retire today, but since he isn’t really retired,
his all-time rating could still improve or suffer. To improve
it, he’ll have to avenge his knockout loss to Antonio Tarver
in impressive fashion. Jones proponents have always argued that
Jones has never had any real competition because he was simply
too great to be tested. Well, finally a ‘test’ has
arrived. Greatness is often defined by how a fighter reacts to
adversity and this test may ultimately define Jones’ place
in boxing history. Should he avoid Tarver or suffer the same
fate in the rematch, his all-time standing could suffer.
That
said, these ratings are tentative since a boxer’s place
in boxing history cannot be fully understood until years after
he’s left the boxing scene. And as we know, the final chapter
of Roy Jones Jr’s illustrious career has yet to be written.
The boxing world shimmers with the anticipation of its release.
Source Dog House Boxing |
K-1
RESULTS:
Sapp gets KO'd & Montanha beats Butterbean
K-1
'Beast 2004
June 26, 2004
Shizuoka Ecopa Arena
Shizuoka, Japan
Single
fughts:
Ray Sefo defeats Bob Sapp by KO at 0:49, RD 2.
'Montanha' Silva defeats Eric 'Butterbean' Esch by unanimous
decision.
Ryo Takigawa defeats Tsutomu Takahagi by unanimous decision.
Japan
GP tournament:
Quarterfinals:
Hiromi Amada defeats Noboru Uchida after three rounds by split
decision.
Tatsufumi Tomihira defeats Mike Bernardo by KO at 1:30, RD 1.
Nobu Hayashi defeats Tsuyoshi Nakasako by unanimous decision.
Hiraku Hori defeats Shingo Koyasu by unanimous decision.
Semifinals:
Hiromi Amada defeats Tatsufumi Tomihira by KO at 0:58, RD 3.
Nobu Hayashi defeats Hiraku Hori by KO at 2:31, RD 3.
Final:
Hiromi Amada defeats Nobu Hayashi by unanimous decision.
Source Fight Sport |
Quote
of the Day
"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor
the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to change."
Charles Darwin
|
Kick'in
It Returns to Palama Settlement Tonight!
Kick'in 5: 2004 Part II
Palama Settlement Gymnasium, Honolulu, Hawaii
June 26, 2004
Tentative Fight Card!
55 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Triston Pebria vs. Dahwen Bright
150
lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Randy Rivera vs. Jerome Kekumu
185
lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Jessie Matilda vs. Alan Yulip
150
lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Sonny Howell vs. Nick Correa
100
lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Sage Yoshida vs. Keoni Brick
115
lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Derwin Wright vs. J.B. Williams
300
lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Roger Danielson vs. Bob Atisinoe
300
lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Levi Joseph vs. John Taamu
105
lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Devin Damo vs. Tony Pererra
165
lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Oscar Kano vs. Kaleo Kwan
200
lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Kaleo Kamakeeaina vs. Joane Tao
120
lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Koichi vs. Ikaika Silva
130
lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Jensen Reece vs. Ronald Cordeiro
|
Leo Santos earns
R$20,000 at B. Belt
Leonardo Santos is the great champion of Black Belt GP, BJJ event
that ruled Espéria Gymnasium in São Paulo. The
Nova União black belt defeated the Bras athlete Reinaldo
Ribeiro by points. He scored 4x0 (2 sweeps). With the result,
Leo Santos takes home R$10, 000 cash prize plus a R$10,000 bonus,
gave by his sponsor. "Who wants to feature BJJ lightweight
events has to pay Nova União athletes to not to fight!
They are ruling everything!," stated the CBJJO's president
Luiz Hermínio de Morais
Check
out the full results:
1st
Round:
Leonardo Santos defeated Tiago Gomes by 4 x 0
Gustavo Falcirolli defeated Fredson Alves by 2 x 0
Luciano Casquinha defeated Carlos Eduardo 'Português' by
4 x 0
Frédson Paixão defeated Laercio Fernandes by 8x2
Márcio Feitosa defeated Rodrigo Damm by an advantage
Reinaldo Ribeiro submitted Danny Abu via choke
Daniel Moraes defeated Ocimar Costa by 16 x 0
Mário Reis submitted Leandro Fidellis
Quartas
de final:
Leo Santos derrotou Gustavo Falcirolli by 2x0
Reinaldo Ribeiro defeated Márcio Feitosa pby an advantage
(sweeping)
Frédson Paixão defeated Luciano Nutti by 8x2
Daniel Moraes defeated Mário Reis by (4x3 advantages)
Semi
Finais:
Leo Santos defeated Fredson Paixão by 5x0
Reinaldo Ribeiro submitted Daniel Moraes via choke
Finais:
Frédson Paixão defeated Daniel Moraes by WO and
got in third
Leo Santos defeated Reinaldo Ribeiro by 4x0 and got the title
of the GP
Source:
Tatame |
Confidence
Amid Confusion:
A UFC Champion Is Crowned
By Loretta Hunt
"I
knew I broke his arm," UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir
confidently beams from his Las Vegas home. "I knew. That's
why when they stopped the fight and I got up, I raised my hand.
I was like, this is over with. People were trying to tell me
in the locker room that it was popped, and I kept saying yeah,
okay. Sure enough the doctor came back and said, 'Nah, it's broken.'"
Ironically,
Mir was one of a small minority last Saturday night who realized
that something big had occurred just fifty seconds into his title
bout with former champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 48. Referee Herb
Dean was the first to catch the uncomfortable snap of Sylvia's
forearm under the pressure of Mir's hold, as he rushed in mid-fight
to separate the two entangled athletes. Commentator Joe Rogan
was the next to identify it on the multiple replays that followed.
Unfortunately for Mir, it took the estimated 10,000 in attendance
far more convincing that this fight needed halting before Sylvia
was subjected to further, even permanent, damage. Despite ringside
physician Margaret Goodman's simple nod towards Dean affirming
his fears, the audience still hissed the abrupt stoppage, further
fueled by Sylvia's protests that he was fine and could continue.
"That
kinda sucked with the confusion in the fight as far as the crowd
not understanding what was going on," Mir comments of those
awkward few moments. Granted, with the belt now secured around
his waist following a two-and-a-half year climb up the ranks
of the UFC promotion, the negative cries from an unsatisfied
audience was probably not how Mir's victorious moment had played
out in his mind. But true to his easygoing nature, the 25-year
old Las Vegas native has chosen to focus on the positives of
his career-topping performance. "As far as how the victory
happened, I'm very happy with it. I went out there and did pretty
much what I said I was going to do. I was gonna go out there
and every time he threw a punch I was going to kick his leg."
A 2 to 1 underdog against the 18-0, 6'8" striker, Mir was
just as startled as the crowd when Sylvia chose to move the action
to the ground after seizing the fighter's leg and pushing him
off-balance. According to Sylvia, he wanted to violently slam
Mir down and rise again quickly, but instead, the Miletich fighter
lingered in his opponent's guard, much to Mir's amazement. "The
fact that his next option was to go ahead and try and pull me
to the cage as if he was going to ground and pound me or something,
and stay inside my guard, which at this point in my game, I don't
think anyone in the heavyweight division wants to be in my guard.
I train pretty much now that everyone wants to stand up and get
out of my guard and for him to go ahead and stay there a few
extra seconds allowed me to go ahead and pull my hips out and
armbar him. Actually, that was surprising to me."
Whether
it be a flaw in Sylvia's strategy or a simple mistake, Mir's
ground prowess can not be denied. In fact, the Ricardo Pires
student has now amassed four swift submission victories in his
seven UFC appearances and not one has gone past a minute and
five seconds. The 6'1" fighter clocked in fifty seconds
flat for this latest flashy feat, sparking longtime coach Pires
to promote his top scholar right then and there to black belt
status. "It was just us in the back, just between us. He
threw it at me to be honest with you," Mir laughs lightly.
"After he lectured me about how much harder we're gonna
have to train for the next fight for the next ten minutes, he
then says, 'Oh, by the way, here's your black belt.'"
Although
it's a time of celebration in the Mir household, Pires' words
of wisdom aren't far behind in the new champion's mind. "Oh
yeah, I'll be fighting Andrei [Arlovski] in October," Mir
declares, referring to the tough Belarusian who, like himself,
had to wait a bit longer than first anticipated for his title
shot against the former champion. But, now instead of facing
Sylvia for the belt, Arlovski might have Mir to contend with.
Again, Mir is confident. "I think Andrei has pretty much
the same kind of mindset that Tim has," he rationalizes.
"He wants to try and knock you out with hands. I like that
match-up. I like when guys come in and try to box 'cause to me,
it'd be the equivalent of putting a really good boxer against
a really good kickboxer. Kicks beat punches every time, so I
feel comfortable again that if Andrei wants to throw hands, I'll
keep kicking him in the legs and taking shots, and eventually
within that time, we're gonna hit the ground. I know that Andrei
is a little more versed on the ground than Sylvia and I'm sure
he feels pretty confident about his ground game. He started off
as a grappler, but I feel that I'm a lot better and that once
we hit the ground, he'll be fighting off submissions."
Source:
FCF |
Sapp
miss the K-1 press conference
Always unpredictable over the press conference, Bob Sapp, this
time didn't show up at the Shizuoka Century Hotel, in Japan,
where the athletes popped up for the K-1 Japan Series Beast 2004,
which will happen tomorrow (26). Sapp will face the experienced
fighter from New Zealand Ray Sefo, who left his message: "I
do respect Bob, we are friends, but business are business. I
came here to win!" The event will also feature a eight-fight-tournament,
which will prize the winner with 5 millions of yen.
On
the other super-fight, Brazilian Montanha Silva (2,25m) will
face American Butterbean (1,80m). Montanha and Butterbean have
fought once at K-1 and won the same opponent: Yusuke Fujimoto.
This K-1 Beast 2004 will also be a debut night for Vitor Miranda
(Boxe Thai) in Japan. One of the highlights of last K-1 MMA in
Brazil, Vitinho will face the experienced Great Kusatsu on the
first fight of the night.
COMPLETE
CARD (subject to change):
-
Great Kusatsu Vs Vitor Miranda;
- Ryo Takigawa Vs Tsutomu Takahagi;
- Montanha Silva Vs Butterbean;
- Bob Sapp Vs Ray Sefo;
Tournament
1
- Hiraku Hori Vs Shingo Koyasu;
2 - Tsuyoshi Nakasako Vs Nobu Hayashi;
3 - Mike Bernardo Vs Tatsufumi Tomihira;
4 - Hiromi Amada Vs Noboru Uchida;
Semifinals:
5
- Winner (1) Vs Winner (2);
6 - Winner (3) Vs Winner (4);
Final:
Winner
(5) Vs Winner (6)
Source: Tatame |
LINDLAND
LOOKS AHEAD TO UFC & THIS WEEKEND
Matt "The Law" Lindland joined MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio
Thursday. Matt is preparing to fight David Terrell at UFC 49
and promoting his Sport Fight organization but took some time
out of his busy schedule to talk with us. Matt discussed UFC
48's results, the possibility of fighting Evan Tanner, and future
plans for Sport Fight.
Matt
was in Evan Tanner's corner for Evan's bout with Phil Baroni
and said, "Evan stuck to the game plan and the fight went
as planned. Laughing, Lindland commented that he has changed
the name of the strategy from, "stick and move to hit and
run." He added, "Phil's got one thing, he hits hard,
that's what he's got going for him," and it was key for
Evan to keep moving in order to win the fight.
"He
wasn't going to stand toe to toe with someone that that's their
only game," stated Lindland. He wasn't surprised at Phil's
lack of offense in the fight. Matt said Phil couldn't hit Tanner,
"Evan would be in and be gone."
When
asked about possibly having to fight Evan Tanner, Matt replied,
"I have no desire to fight Evan....but if it happens, it
happens." It is not Matt's goal to fight Tanner. He thinks
the 185 pound division is a "deep lake" of talent and
there are a lot of guys to fight rather then them facing each
other.
Matt
also said that he would take fights at 205 and so would Evan.
Matt just wants to stay active and if moving up for a fight helps
that, he is willing. Matt stated that Evan would like another
shot at Tito Ortiz, saying, "He would love to get a rematch
against Tito." Matt questioned why Tito is wanting to fight
Ken Shamrock again and was critical of Ortiz, saying, "The
only tough guys he's fought, he's lost." He speculated that
maybe Tito thinks it is an easy fight for him to win.
Matt
gave his take on the heavyweight title match between Frank Mir
and Tim Sylvia. He said Mir was able to exploit Tim's weakness
and win. He pretty much said that Sylvia didn't take the fight
seriously, planning victory parties and interviews. "That's
just not a good way to go into a fight," added Lindland.
This
Saturday night, Matt Lindland's and Randy Couture's fight promotion
of Sport Fight is holding an event at the Mt. Hood community
college gymnasium that they have renamed the "Sport Fight
Dome." The venue seats 4,000 and doesn't have a bad seat
in the house. Team Quest member, Chris Leben will be facing Benji
Radach as the main event, in what Randy called, "an awesome
fight."
Matt
said running Sport Fight is a lot of work, harder than fighting
even. Promoting isn't as easy as it seems, stated Lindland, there
are always complications and negotiations. In August, Sport Fight
is holding an outdoor event in an 8,000 seat stadium. They held
one last year and the fans wanted it brought back, even though,
"it is a security nightmare." For all the latest on
Sport Fight, go to WWW.SportFight.tv for all the latest information
on Sport Fight events, fight cards, ticket information and directions
to the shows.
Source: MMA Weekly |
PRIDE
NEWS AND NOTES
The following information comes from Jeremy Wall's Touch of Evil
Newsletter. The last Pride show did a 20.3 rating on FujiTV,
with Yoshida-Hunt being the highest quarter hour at 25.4
Quinton
Jackson will meet Wanderlei Silva sometime in October in a rematch
of the 2003 Grand Prix Finals, but this time it will be for Silva's
Middleweight title. Silva still has to fight Kondo first on August
15th in a non-title match. Kondo is booked against Shannon Ritch
on a Pancrase card at Korakuen Hall on June 22nd (tonight).
Sakuraba's
next opponent is unknown, but the rumor is that his fight against
Nino Schembri was the beginning of a series of fights with Sakuraba
vs. Chute Boxe fighters, leading to an ultimate rematch with
Wanderlei Silva sometime down the road.
Silva
is now rumored to be fighting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Mirko
Cro Cop on New Year's Eve, which means that either a possible
fourth fight with Sakuraba will have to wait until next year,
or Pride is planning on going in a different direction with Sakuraba.
Fedor
is said to be fine after the slam from Kevin Randleman. In fact,
Fedor looked fine just moments after the slam. Ricardo Arona's
condition after being powerbombed by Quinton Jackson is not known.
Randleman's
fight against Fedor was the last on his current contract. His
new deal he signed with Pride prior to the fight is for six fights
over the course of two years.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Javier
Vazquez Contemplating Future
By Ken Pishna
He was on a roll, headed towards the big shows. Javier Vazquez
had just won 7 fights in a row, including a huge win over Japanese
legend Rumina Sato, on his home turf in Japan no less. He stepped
into the cage at King of the Cage 21 to defend his lightweight
title against challenger
Alberto Crane. Though it was a defining moment, that's when everything
started to crumble.
Vazquez
tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in the opening
moments of the bout. Amazingly, he fought on through three rounds
of agony with the blown out knee. In the end, it was Crane that
won the decision and took Vazquez's belt.
Nine
months later, Vazquez returned to the ring, this time to face
Robert Emerson under the Shooto banner. He won a split decision
and earned his shot at the big time. Vazquez finally got the
call to face Matt Serra at UFC 46. While training for Serra,
he again injured his knee and had to bow out. Now, he's not sure
where to go from here.
"I
don't know man, it's just not worth the risk," Vazquez responded
when asked if he would ever return to the ring. "Right now,
there are two things that would make it worth while for me fight
again... money and Alberto Crane."
The
problem is that there just isn't that much money in the sport
of mixed martial arts right now. Why should Vazquez risk injuring
himself yet again, when the reward isn't even enough to cover
his medical expenses? He is still taking care of the medical
bills from his last injury.
Having
had surgery this past January, Vazquez is just starting to train
again. Though he can't do anything standing (no boxing or wrestling),
he is able to train jiujitsu, as long as he starts on the mat
and stays off his feet.
Despite
not having made a decision on his MMA career, Vazquez does plan
to continue teaching at his school, Millenium Jiujitsu, and competing
in grappling tournaments. In fact, he has plans to enter this
year's Abu Dhabi Combat Club North American Trials in Canada.
Evidently,
the loss to Crane still bothers him though and could be a driving
force in getting him back into the sport. Crane is one fighter
that Vazquez would return for, regardless of the risk. "If
I could fight Crane, I'd be able to sleep at night again. I can't
right now."
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Countdown
to Conflict
Pride’s Heavyweight Grand Prix Continues
By Jade "Ninjamonkey" Prout
Sixteen
fighters from around the globe were invited to participate in
a tournament of great magnitude, facing off in April’s "Total
Elimination 2004" event to determine the quarterfinalists.
After five submissions and three knockouts, the field of competitors
had been cut in half. On June 20th, the eight remaining warriors
returned to the Pride ring for "Critical Countdown"
to earn the right to advance to "Final Conflict" in
August.
In
the first of the four Grand Prix matches, Holland’s Semmy
"Hightower" Schilt squared off against the Russian
dark horse, Sergei Kharitonov. Schilt, a seven-footer with excellent
striking ability, made his way to the quarterfinals with an armbar
submission against fellow big-man and UFC veteran Gan McGee.
Kharitonov’s first-round fight was a brutal knockout victory
over Chute Boxe’s Academy’s Murilo "Ninja"
Rua. Fans anticipated an explosive slugfest, and were not disappointed.
Kharitonov
immediately went to work with an attempted jab to the body, then
a kick to the leg. Semmy landed a solid jab, then threw another,
only to be met with a right hook. Schilt launched a front kick
to the body, which Sergei caught in mid-flight, driving Semmy
into the ropes. Kharitonov appeared to be caught in a guillotine
choke, and the two hit the ground with Sergei popping out on
top. Schilt landed a hard left to the head, and attacked Kharitonov’s
kidneys with a barrage of heel-kicks. Sergei rose to his feet
with Semmy’s legs triangled around his midsection, and attempted
to unload a big right hand, but Schilt got a solid grip on both
of his wrists to prevent any potential pounding. With that avenue
closed to him, Kharitonov immediately passed Semmy’s guard
and then took the full mount! Schilt tried to hold Sergei’s
head down, but was unable to do so; instead, he grabbed the Russian’s
wrists and swept him onto his back, earning a roar of approval
from the rapt audience.
Semmy
went on the offensive with ground strikes, landing several left
hammer-fists before Kharitonov tied up his wrists and began looking
for a sweep of his own. Schilt landed a couple of powerful left
hands to Sergei’s face before both men scrambled back to
up their feet. Semmy fired off a high kick that fell just short
of its mark, then backed up to recompose himself. They clashed
again, with Kharitonov ducking a jab and throwing a left to the
body. Schilt backed Sergei into a corner and attempted a flying
knee that went high and outside. Kharitonov secured a body-lock,
then a headlock, but could not manage a throw. Semmy drove him
back into the corner and blasted him with a knee to the leg,
then another, putting all of his weight on the smaller man. With
the pace slowing, the referee broke up the clinch and restarted
the fight at the center of the ring. Schilt appeared to be bleeding
from the right eyebrow and from his mouth.
Sergei
blocked a kick and answered it with a looping right. He threw
a straight right to the body, then attempted a left, but was
stopped by a stiff left to the face from Semmy. The gargantuan
Dutchman advanced and missed with a kick. Kharitonov fired back
with a left, then went for a takedown, nearly eating a big knee
before backpedaling away. Schilt advanced, backing Sergei towards
the corner again, and launched a sharp left, which Kharitonov
ducked before scooping Schilt’s legs and driving him back
down to the mat. Again, Semmy gripped Sergei’s wrists and
held the guard position, but Kharitonov ripped his right hand
free and blasted the big man’s face with a powerful punch.
As Schilt tried to regain his grip, Sergei pounded down again,
and again. Still bleeding, and hoping to make up for lost points,
Semmy threw punches from the bottom and heel-kicks to the kidneys,
but Kharitonov rose to his feet and landed another right hand
bomb. Schilt pulled him back into his guard and connected with
a couple lefts, but Sergei again rose, throwing down a volley
of rights before backing out of the guard.
Kharitonov
dove back in, hoping to land in side control, but Semmy managed
to catch him in his guard again, and attacked with several more
heels to the kidneys. Sergei stood within the guard again, trying
to turn out to the right while striking down, then returned to
his knees, unable to pass. Schilt continued to slip in lefts
from his back, but caught a solid hammer-fist to the face. Kharitonov
repeatedly rose up and bombed down, but could not seem to solve
the riddle of Semmy’s guard. Finally, he got his chance;
a glancing heel-kick to the head from Schilt allowed Sergei to
pass to the left, and then to the full mount! Semmy tried to
buck, but was unable to do so; soon, Kharitonov got his right
knee over Schilt’s left bicep and pounded down with a looping
left and a series of right hammer-fists. From this horribly disadvantageous
position, Semmy could no longer control Sergei’s arms, and
was defenseless against the strikes from above. Schilt made several
attempts to use his legs to push Kharitonov off him, and made
one last effort to buck, but to no avail. Sergei continued to
drop the hammer, concentrating his shots on Semmy’s right
eye. When the referee saw the grisly condition of Schilt’s
face, he stopped the contest, giving Kharitonov the win by TKO.
Japanese
Judo superstar Naoya Ogawa stunned fans (and critics) with a
one-sided win over K-1 legend Stefan "Blitz" Leko at
Total Elimination, knocking the smaller man down with punches
before eventually locking in the kata-gatame for a speedy submission
victory. Paulo Cesar "Giant" Silva took his first-ever
MMA win over the completely inexperienced Sumo wrestler Henry
"Sentoryu" Miller by submission as well, with a Kimura
from the bottom. DSE claimed to have set this match up to see
how Ogawa would handle such a monstrous opponent, giving the
Japanese fans a "giant-killer" spectacle to behold.
Silva
came out with his trademark "caveman" punches, only
to be clinched and taken down, with Ogawa landing in the across-side
position. The judoka seemed to want the kata-gatame at first,
but had trouble locking it in against such a large target. A
struggle ensued; Ogawa went after Silva’s left arm, then
his right, and nearly secured an armbar from North-South before
the Giant powered up to his knees, lifting his smaller opponent
in what looked like a fireman’s carry! Ogawa tried to take
his back, but Silva turned around and ended up fully mounted,
much to the crowd’s delight.
Ogawa
tried another side choke, then an Americana, then seemed to be
working for an armbar when Silva turned onto his side. Ogawa
abandoned the arm and attempted another side choke, then landed
a solid left to the Giant’s face. Silva struggled back to
half-guard, avoiding a few more punches, but Ogawa continued
to look for submissions and throw strikes on his way to regaining
the mount. Once there, he opened fire with punches, and appeared
to stun Silva with a couple of hard lefts to the face. With the
Giant just covering up and mustering no intelligent defense,
the referee stopped the fight and declared Ogawa the victor by
TKO. The great Japanese hope would go on to fight in the next
round of the tournament.
The
third GP match on the star-studded card pitted Pride’s Interim
Heavyweight Champion, Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira,
against the always-exciting Heath "Texas Crazy Horse"
Herring in a rematch of their memorable Championship bout in
November of 2001. Nogueira had advanced to this event with a
choke-out victory over then-undefeated fighter Hirotaki Yokoi,
while Herring had pounded out UFC veteran and Pancrase standout
Yoshiki Takahashi with punishing hammer-fists.
Heath
immediately went to work with low kicks; Nogueira answered with
straight punches, getting the better of the exchanges. Herring
went to the clinch and was quickly leg-tripped, with Nogueira
landing in side-mount and going immediately for a lock on Heath’s
right arm from the opposite side. Herring tried to stave off
the attack with knee strikes from the bottom; maintaining a death
grip on the trapped arm, Nog flowed into knee-on-stomach and
then to North-South, but could not lock it out. Heath spun beneath
him, exposing his back for a frightening moment, then rolled
over and gave up side control again, this time with Nog on his
right. Minotauro again seized the opposite arm as Herring popped
him with another knee. Nogueira opened up with some short left
hands to Heath’s face, then turned around and transitioned
from North-South into a crucifix! He tried to lock in the rear
choke, but Heath squirmed out of it and into Nog’s guard,
getting a huge response from the crowd.
It
was then Heath’s turn to go on the offensive, landing some
quick left hands, but Nog fought back with some rights and a
nasty up-kick. Herring paused briefly to recover, and Nogueira
immediately went for an omoplata! Heath wriggled free and went
back to the ground strikes, with Nog using his knees to keep
him at a distance. The Brazilian attempted another omoplata,
but Herring slipped free and passed the guard to Minotauro’s
right side. Heath had just managed to take the mount when he
was neatly swept onto his back; Nogueira passed the guard and
slid his knee across his opponent’s stomach to take the
full mount! Herring immediately bucked and spun to his hands
and knees, giving up an arm in the process. As Heath struggled
back to the top position, Nog tried to lock in a triangle, but
lost control of the arm in the attempt, and ate several solid
lefts to the face. After another failed triangle attempt by Nogueira
and some glancing strikes by Herring, the referee called a halt
to the action to move the fighters out of the corner into which
they had worked themselves.
The
fight resumed in the center of the ring, with Heath in Nogueira’s
guard. Minotauro again used his knees to keep Heath at a distance,
but this time Heath stood up -- narrowly avoiding another up-kick
– and threw some chopping kicks to Nogueira’s legs.
With just seconds left on the clock, the referee motioned Nogueira
to his feet. Herring caught him with a high kick, but the tough-as-nails
Brazilian shrugged it off and responded with quick, straight
punches. Herring landed a takedown just as the round ended, and
both fighters returned to their corners for a brief respite.
In
the second round, Nogueira continued to use his boxing skills
to back up his opponent, but Heath rebounded off the ropes with
another takedown attempt. Nogueira sprawled and locked up Herring’s
head and arm, then spun onto his back for the same "Anaconda
Choke" he used to finish Yokoi in his last match. With the
hold locked in tightly, he rolled on top and gave Heath only
one option: to tap out. Nogueira took the win by submission,
advancing to the final four.
In
the final fight of the evening, former UFC Heavyweight Champion
Kevin "The Monster" Randleman took on the number-one
fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko. Kevin shocked the world
at Total Elimination when he knocked out fan favorite Mirko "CroCop"
Filipovic with a vicious left hook and jackhammer ground strikes.
Fedor, for his part, earned a spot in Critical Countdown with
an armbar submission victory over Kevin’s close friend and
trainer, former UFC Champion Mark "The Hammer" Coleman.
As
usual, Randleman looked amped and energized, and Fedor looked
slightly bored. They sized each other up for a few long seconds,
then Kevin threw his left hook and shot in for the double-leg,
lifting Fedor up into the air and slamming him down onto his
back. Randleman remained cautious in the half-guard, and allowed
Fedor to spin to his hands and knees beneath him. As the Russian
scrambled to his feet, Kevin body-locked him from behind and
delivered the most devastating German suplex the mixed martial
arts world may ever have seen! Incredibly, Fedor seemed unfazed.
Randleman floated from side control to North-South and fired
a knee, but Fedor blocked it and reversed into side-mount on
Kevin! Randleman tried to slide out from under him, but Fedor
rained down nearly twenty left hands to the left side of his
head. From that point, it was only a matter of seconds before
Fedor had stretched and twisted Kevin’s arm in a Kimura
lock; The Monster screamed in agony and tapped out. With that,
the night was over and Fedor filled out the final four.
What
will the match-ups be at Final Conflict? The prevailing theory
seems to be that DSE will want Ogawa to take on Nogueira, while
the two Russians will be forced to fight each other. After all,
the fan poll before this event showed that several thousand people
wanted to see Nogueira-Ogawa, and Mr. Sakakibara responded by
saying that DSE hoped to hold that match "in the finals."
As we learned in April, there is no guarantee that a favorite
will advance; if DSE wants this fight to happen, they need to
set it up A.S.A.P. However, with these four finalists, there
really are no bad match-ups possible. No matter what DSE decides,
the result is sure to be an exciting end to the Pride Heavyweight
Grand Prix and a treat for MMA fans everywhere.
Source:
MMA Fighting |
Shamrock
back on track, but whether Tito will follow is the question
From the Mount by Jason Probst
There are two types of fighters in the UFC - reality track and
nostalgia track. Admittedly, Ken Shamrock versus Kimo was something
of a nostalgia fight. But, it does bring in the critical eyeballs
to pay for the rest of the card. It's always funny when you hear
fighters complaining about what other guys make, who take either
lower-risk fights for bigger money.
Usually,
in some abstract sense of the meritocracy, they're right. When
a guy makes $100,000 for beating up a chimp, while you're making
$5,000 for tackling a gorilla, you've got a point. But what if
the hard corollary to that was nobody would be watching you fight
the gorilla unless the guy beat up the chimp? Indeed, a conundrum…
How
many of the guys on the UFC undercard would be mobbed at the
Mall in your hometown? Shamrock's been with the UFC since its
inception - he's like the veteran employee who doesn't have the
corner office anymore, but still has the sales figures that come
from cumulative exposure. And his win over Kimo was virtually
perfect. It extends his shelf life at least for another couple
fights, and to be honest, the UFC needs him.
The
UFC needs somebody….anybody…to penetrate the veil into
the mainstream. Shamrock is well spoken and a name that registers.
In the grocery store, they call it a loss leader - the item that
gets you inside so you'll hang around and buy more.
However,
the line must be drawn somewhere, and that's with a Tito Ortiz-Ken
Shamrock rematch.
Sure,
it's probably viable - more so to the casual fans than the hardcore,
who know that weights mean little in this match - but Tito Ortiz,
if he decides to do so, will have become the Roy Jones of MMA
if he takes a Shamrock fight.
Jones
- who said after losing to Antonio Tarver that he "couldn't
get up for this guy" - then proceeded to take a fight with
IBF champion Glencoffe Johnson instead of Tarver. Funny how he
can get up for Johnson, a tough, but up and down fighter with
nine losses on his record. He probably can get up for anybody
he feels confident about collecting an easy payday with.
Tito
is starting to look the same way. Talk of Lee Murray was thrown
around after UFC 46, after Murray, in his barely intelligible,
but highly entertaining Cockney accent, busted Tito's chops about
their alleged street encounter in London after UFC 38.
It
would only make Tito look bad to beat up on Murray. And he would
beat him something awful.
Lee
even isn't even a big 185-lb. fighter - he was 182 against Jorge
Rivera, and 140 of that is biceps and forehead. Tito needs to
fight Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort, or Chuck Liddell again. Hey,
if you lose while fighting the best, it's still better than beating
up on soft touches. Look at Chuck Liddell. The guy has more street
cred than any fighter in the game, because he fights anybody,
anytime. Fans respect that. Liddell could wait around for the
Belfort-Couture winner, but instead he's fighting Vernon White
at UFC 49, the same way he fought Renato Sobral at UFC 40 while
he was waiting for Tito.
If
Tito takes on Shamrock, let us dismiss talk of injuries, excuses,
and weights. What it really signifies is that Ortiz, like Roy
Jones, has let paydays become more important than prestige. Jones
jumped up to heavyweight, decisioned a very beatable John Ruiz,
and then slipped back down safely to light heavyweight. You can
guess whether or not Ortiz would really stay at heavy if he beats
Shamrock again. It's a good payday, sure, but does little for
his career.
When
Chuck Liddell is old and gray, he probably won't be as rich as
Ortiz. He won't have the endorsements, clothing lines, or movie
credits, whatever, the poseable action figure with the cage-slam
grip. But he'll be able to sleep easy at night knowing that he
fought every tough mother in the game. We can only hope Tito
keeps that in mind - and that the UFC avoids steering him onto
the nostalgia track - in the near future.
As
for what's next for Shamrock, who knows? He delivered Saturday
night, and at 40, your career pretty much goes on a fight-by-fight
basis. As storylines go, he and Frank Mir would make a good one
-- Old School versus New. Odds-wise he's likely to be as much
a long shot against Mir as he is against Ortiz, but at least
it's not a repeat…and Mir is more likely to fight from his
back, which always gave Ken a better chance.
Short
Shots
Matt
Hughes-Renato "Charuto" Verissimo was a tough, close
fight. But two judges scoring the first round for Hughes suggests
that a scoring review is in order with Las Vegas judges. If a
fighter like Verissimo has a near-submission locked in and has
the other fighter completely focusing on getting out of the impending
disaster, that should count the equivalent to a punching flurry
that has a guy on Queer Street. Charuto didn't do a lot after
the first round but he virtually neutralized Hughes' ground and
pound attack, although Hughes did land the occasional shot and
scored all the takedowns.
Charuto
will be a very dangerous spoiler against welterweights, particularly
strong aggressive types, with his astute groundwork and dexterity.
Against Georges St. Pierre or Frank Trigg, he'd be especially
effective.
A
word on Trigg: his post fight flip off of Dennis Hallman wasn't
much in the way of high etiquette, but Trigg nipped out-of-line
fans in the bud at the post fight press conference who cheered
Dana White's announcement that Tim Sylvia had suffered broken
bones from Frank Mir's arm bar.
"That
is jacked up," said Trigg, taking the mic and admonishing
fans who applauded the grotesque injury. It needed to be said,
and Trigg, for all his bluster in pre-fight buildup, earned this
writer's respect.
To
cheer a fighter is one thing, but to applaud an injury is sick.
There's enough cheering in press row as it is…much less
post fight conferences where half of the media are there to collect
autographs and pretend they're journalists, and the other half
are fighter entourages who serve no function except to take up
space and issue the occasional challenge. Hell, even boxing post
fight pressers are fairly organized compared to this chaos…..still
room for improvement there….
Georges
St. Pierre needs to fight a top ten opponent. He's pretty good
so far, and how many times have you seen such a good wrestler
try an honest-to-pete spinning back kick? How about St. Pierre
against Chris Lytle? Lytle's mix of striking and grappling would
be a fine test for St. Pierre.
Still
don't understand why Tim Sylvia willingly went to the floor with
Frank Mir. He seemed to be executing the game plan perfectly
- deterring Mir's first clinch attempt with a knee, and landing
a good shot before hooking a leg kick and charging forward, taking
Mir down. It ranks right up there, in terms of mysteries, with
why Tito ever chose to slug with Chuck. Baffling.
However,
Sylvia may be the toughest mother in MMA. It's a credit to ref
Herb Dean - the one pair of eyes that mattered - catching the
broken forearm and stopping the match. Sylvia deserves to fight
another day, and most refs might have missed it. Dean, who's
fought MMA himself, knew where to look and what to look for.
He probably would've given Verissimo the first round against
Hughes, too…..
Source:
Maxfighting |
TYSON
GRANTED BOXING LICENSE IN NEW JERSEY
The AP reports that Mike Tyson was granted a boxing license Monday
in the state of New Jersey.
Tyson
failed to re-gain his NJ License six years ago after swearing
at regulators during a licensing hearing regarding the ear-biting
incident with Evander Holyfield.
Tyson
manager Shelly Finkel added that they would like to see Tyson
fight in New Jersey in the near future, and that Tyson's next
fight will most likely be against former European champion Danny
Williams on July 30 in Louisville, Ky., but that the date isn't
official yet.
New
Jersey governor James E. McGreevey disagrees with the decision
of granting Tyson a boxing license this time around, and has
said that he will ask the board to review the decision. But according
to our own insiders, the decision will stand.
Source:
Fight Sport |
VANDERLEI'S
FUTURE OPPONENTS
Kakutogi World reports that Vanderlei Silva is scheduled to compete
on the next three PRIDE show, so long as he doesn't get injured.
Silva's
next three opponents will be Yuki Kondo in August, Quinton 'Rampage'
Jackson in October, and then an opponent-to-be-named on December
31st.
Silva's
opponent for December 31st will be either Rodrigo 'Minotauro'
Nogueira, Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic, or Fedor Emelianenko.
Source: Fight Sport |
'CRO
COP' VS. RANDLEMAN PART 2 POSSIBILITY
The
Japanese media reports that PRIDE is planning a rematch between
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic and Kevin Randleman for later this
year.
According
to reports, the rematch may happen in August, but will most likely
happen in October.
Source: Fight Sport |
|
TANNER
WANTS TITO
Inside
sources close to the Team Quest camp are telling us that if the
opportunity ever presents itself, that Evan Tanner would like
to move back up to light heavyweight for another shot at Tito
Ortiz.
These
same sources also say that Evan Tanner and Matt Lindland would
fight each other if the UFC asks them to,
Source:
Fight Sport |
Quote
of the Day
"Excellence is the result of caring more than others think
wise, risking more than other's think safe, dreaming more than
others think practical, and expecting more than others think
possible."
Anonymous
|
ATKINS
INSIDER: K-1 WANTS 'CHARUTO'
By Todd Atkins
My sources in in Japan and Hawaii are telling me that K-1 is
planning to sign Renato
'Charuto' Verissimo.
Look for this to be made official in the near future.
Source:
Fight Sport |
CATCHING
UP WITH JOAO ROQUE
by: Denis Martins
Denis Martins: Hello man, nice to meet you again. Joao Roque:
This is my pleasure. It is nice to with meet you too.
Denis
Martins:: Let's talk about your last match in SHOOTO 2004-1/24
in Korakuen Hall. That was a draw with Hiroyuki Takaya. Did this
result keep you from getting the SHOOTO lightweight title bout?
Joao Roque: I do not know if the fight against Alexandre 'Pequeno'
França Nogueira was depending on my last match. I do not
believe that. Anyway, I think if I had won, I would have gotten
a chance, but I am not sure I won't. My place in the rankings
did not change due to this draw, so I am relaxed because if the
rankings prevail, I will have a title bout sooner or later. I
think that I am still a contender.
Denis
Martins: Did this draw come at the wrong time? I mean you faced
a guy who fought A class in SHOOTO for the first time. Joao Roque:
I do not think it was the wrong time. Takaya made his first fight
as an A class fighter, but he was a good opponent and I respect
him. We, who are in the fight world, know that there're a lot
of very skilled fighters looking for their first good opportunity.
Denis
Martins: Did you get to watch any footage of him? Joao Roque:
I did get some. I watched two of his fights. Sometimes this happens.
I had two opportunities to beat him, in R1 and R2, but I failed.
This was the fate of the moment and it was not my day to win.
Denis
Martins: It seemed like you dominated the first round. What did
happened when you did not get the submission? Joao Roque: I took
Takaya down quickly in first round. I dominated the action with
punches from the mount position, where I hit him in his face
a lot. In the final moments of R1, I went for an armbar where
I stretched out his arm and the judge pointed to the 'catch'.
So due to that I won the first round.
Denis
Martins: This was the second time in your career that a Japanese
fighter has resisted your armbar! Joao Roque: Yeah, the first
was Hisao Ikeda and now Takaya. The Japanese fighters have the
Samurai Spirit in them!
Denis
Martins: So in the second round did Takaya balance the fight?
Joao Roque: I had problems taking him down and it was difficult
to impose my game-plan of putting him on the ground. Near the
end of the round I landed a knee to his face and I almost KO'd
him. However I committed a mistake that perhaps cost me the victory
by decision; I had hoped the referee would start counting, but
he did not and I went ahead. Takaya took advantage of the clinch
to recover.
Denis
Martins: Was the round 2 a draw? Joao Roque: Yes, I guess it
was. He showed better defense than my attacks. I did not feel
like I was in danger of losing at any time in R2, but I think
this was a draw due to my mistake. Also because when I shot in
for a takedown, he cut my eyebrow with a knee. The story of the
third round was basically, he struck me when I shot in for takedowns.
I had expended too much energy to take him down in the first
and second rounds and in the third I was gassed.
Denis
Martins: Now you have 4 draws in 12 fights. This is an oddity!
How are you feeling about that? Joao Roque: I do not see it that
way. My three first draws were different than this last one.
In my first three fights in Japan the results were draws. I feel
I was better than my opponent, especially against Ikeda who I
think I beat convincingly. Also, this event had different rules
and there were no winners by decision. In this bout against Takaya,
I know that this REALLY was a draw. I think that this draw will
not bring my name down in Japan. I have only one defeat and I
am undefeated in 7 fights where I submitted 4 of my opponents.
I had a contract of 3 fights with SHOOTO and I think I performed
well.
Denis
Martins: Will your SHOOTO contract be renewed? Joao Roque: I
hope so, but I am always looking for new fights and I am already
negotiating for two more fights. I am training to keep in shape
and I am open to fight for SHOOTO or any other MMA association.
Denis
Martins: You fought Ryan Bow in 2002 and beat him by decision.
Bow was beaten for the first time in his career by a method other
than decision against Tatsuya Kawajiri in SHOOTO's 2003-Year-End
Show. How did you see that fight going and how did you feel when
you fought him? Joao Roque: I saw it as normal, this happens
to everyone who steps in the ring. In my fight against him in
DEEP 2001-6th Impact, I think he adopted a very weird tactic
with me in the third round. We got tangled on the feet and when
we went to the ground, he was on the top and simply stalled.
I had never seen that before in my career! We did not trade much
on the feet. We fought on the ground throughout the bout and
I won the first two rounds. When he had a chance to change the
fight he stalled during his best chance in R3. He should have
used this tactic at the beginning of R1 and not at the end of
R3. When I realized what he was doing, I stayed very relaxed
(laughs).
Denis
Martins: Did you see any difference between the atmospheres at
the DEEP 2001 and SHOOTO shows? Joao Roque: The atmospheres were
the same but the challenges were new and good for me. I was at
a high point in my career, and I tested my skills against Ryan
Bow, a fighter who ranked number one in a division heavier than
my own. I fought him pretty well and I was very successful in
this challenge.
Denis
Martins: Is there anyone that you would like to face? Joao Roque:
I am not thinking like that at this point in my career. I want
to face whoever has a belt. I would like to fight 'Pequeno',
but if he loses the belt, I do not want to face him. I want to
continue to advance.
Denis
Martins: Well, I want to finish this interview with a very intriguing
question. Once on a Japanese MMA forum, there were rumors that
some Japanese promoter will put Takehiro Muharama against you
for a third time. He felt a third fight would prove something
that the other two did not. Have you heard that? Joao Roque:
(laughs) Never. By the way, I will accept the bout if the promoters
want to do it. However, I think this fight is done in MMA. I
would like to face him K-1 style. This would be interesting and
new for me.
Denis
Martins: Okay, I hope to see you back in action soon. Thank you
for the nice words. Joao Roque: You are welcome.
Source:
ADCC |
A
Brazilian Wrestler has eyes on Athens 2004
By: Gleidson Venga / Team TATAME
Antoine Jaoude traveled to Cuba this past Monday, where he will
spend a few weeks training Wrestling with the Cuban athletes.
Afterward, the athlete from Ruas Vale Tudo will go to Canada,
where he will meet his coach, Beto Leitão and where he
will compete in a tournament against wrestlers from the Americas
Europe.
In
July, Antoine heads back to Brazil, only to head back to Europe
to compete in a tournament in Russia, the last one before the
Olympic Games. He ends up his preparation in Bulgaria. From Bulgaria
he will travel to Athens, to take part in the Olympics, where
he qualified as a wildcard representing Brazil.
According
to Beto Leitão, Antoine will be very well prepared by
the time of the Olympic Games are here:
'This
preparation has been very well planned. We were here in Brazil
focused on his preparation for months, and he did the regimen
very well. The two tournaments he will participate in will be
very important. In the one in Russia, he will probably face other
qualified athletes for the Olympics'.
Source:
ADCC |
Mario
Reis to rematch to Yuki Nakai
by André Araújo / Team TATAME
In early 2000, during a visit to Brazilian Top Team headquarters,
BJJ black belt Yuki Nakai was surprised by a young BJJ blue belt.
At that time, Mário Reis was training for his first BJJ
Mundials, where a few days later he became world champion. 'I
remember when Zé Mário Sperry called me and invited
me to go to BTT. Japanese TV waw recording a program with Yuki
Nakai and I had a chance to roll with him. It was amazing! I
caught him twice with a triangle choke'! revealed Reis. This
fact turn him into a known fighter in Japan, and Reis also got
a chance to compete in Japan, during the 1st 'Desafio pro Jiu-Jitsu',
when he submitted Japanese fighter Watanabe Takashi with a arm-lock.
'Nakai told me at that time I was the toughest blue belt he ever
met' states Reis.
After
surprising everybody at the 2003 Mundial and the World Cup, when
he got the gold medal in both tournaments, Mário Reis
has been away from the mat since last November. Reis is about
to return at the upcoming Black Belt GP, BJJ event scheduked
for this month in São Paulo. After that, Reis will depart
for Spain, where will do a super-fight against a tough Submission
athlete in Europe.
'Then
I return to Brazil, where on July 3rd, I will fight at the World
Cup in Bahia. Then I will fight the feather weight division at
the Mundials and then I will have a great challenge: I will give
Nakai a rematch!,' celebrates Reis. The 2nd Desafio Internacional
Pro Jiu-Jitsu is scheduled to go on next July 29th at Olímpia
gymnasium, in São Paulo. 'I can tell you I am well prepared
and I will give my best one more time' stated the brazilian.
Source:
ADCC |
Fabrizo
Werdum challenges Alexandre 'Cafe' Dantas
With M. Dunlop
A
Brazilian who has been living in Madrid, Spain, BJJ black belt
Fabricio Werdum made a big splash in ADCC 2003, finishing 2nd
in the 99+ KG class, and finishing 3rd in the Absolutes. He kept
on a roll in 2003, debuting in MMA, starting his career with
5 wins and no losses.
We
caught up with Werdum, and one of his old Jiu-Jitsu bouts still
bothers the heavy-weight fighter, as he told us: 'I'd like to
face Alexandre 'Cafe' Dantas again, I have not forgotten when
he beat me at the BJJ Pan-Americans in 2003. I was not alert
and he submitted me with an ankle-lock. I want to avenge this
loss.'
Although
Werdum's challenge starts the heat for the upcoming BJJ World
Championships scheduled for July 22nd-25th, Werdum had a few
new ideas on the matter: 'I want to fight him with and without
gi, so we can see who is progressing, and who is who!' Let's
wait for Cafe's reply!
Source:
ADCC |
HOOKnSHOOT
ANNOUNCES WOMEN'S MMA EVENT!
November 6th, 2004
Evansville, Indiana
HOOKnSHOOT
will rise to the occasion once again to bring the best women
fighters to the forefront of MMA with athletes from around the
world.
In
April 2002 HnS stunned the world with 'Revolution.' An all-women's
Full Contact show that has since won a film award, was shown
on ESPN's 'Outside The Lines' and got an even bigger response
long after the show was over.
'Already
things have been happening that surpass the first show' says
promoter Jeff Osborne. 'Playboy has expressed interest in doing
an article as well as Femme Fatale Magazine (a publication about
prominent women's rolls in Hollywood movies).'
'One
thing that caught me off guard was MTV's interest in the show'
continues Osborne. 'They will be at the women's show filming
for a new series and potentially casting some of the women for
the show.'
The
main event is now official!
Megumi
Fuji of Japan will take on Erica Montoya in the main event.
Fuji
is both a Japan National Sambo Champion and pro wrestler as well.
Her list of grappling accomplishments are incredible. She is
1-0 in MMA but vows to tap Montoya out!
Erica
is not only a fighter, she's a UFC broadcaster, in addition to
her undefeated 6-0 record in MMA, Montoya still remains active
in grappling and many consider her a slight favorite to win.
Unlike
the first show, Osborne says instead of 18 fighters, there are
now over 55 interested women and he urges others to step up and
get involved.
Anyone
wishing to sponsor the event or get involved, should contact
HOOKnSHOOT@aol.com.
More
matches and big announcements will be made in the upcoming weeks!
Source:
ADCC |
FCF’s
New Issue is Out!
In the current issue of FCF ...
Pride
Bushido 3 hits the shores of Yokohama, Japan with Team Japan
vs. Team Gracie and the comeback fight for Cro Cop.
K-1
jumps into the MMA arena full force with Romanex.
Is
Massachusetts ready for Mixed Martial Arts? We speak to some
of the fighters, promoters and members of the Mass. Boxing Commission
to find out.
A
Puncher's Chance: MMA fighters compete for a spot on Sylvester
Stallone's reality show "The Contender".
Olympic
basketball player-turned MMA fighter "Giant" Silva
talks with us.
WEC
X: Bragging Rights - Melendez and Parisyan earn bragging rights
with belt victories.
Chute
Boxe no longer holds the monopoly on MMA in Parana. We take a
look at the new teams led by Pele, Minotauro and Anderson Silva
on the rise in the Brazilian state.
Jungle
Fight 2 turns the MMA World upside down.
TKO
16 returns with Quebec with Infernal.
Pride
& Fury in Idaho: Professional MMA gets its start.
Mass
Destruction 16 brings the action back to Boston.
Jay
Hieron makes his UFC debut and we sit down to take with the "Thorobred."
Cage
Warriors 7 hits South Yorkshire, UK with Showdown.
We
bring you the action from WFF 6 in Canada and FFC IX in Mississippi.
Fans
give their thoughts and predictions for the match-ups at the
upcoming UFC 48: Payback.
In
this month's Shooto Report, we bring you some of the best action
from the Shooto events held in Tokyo and Lithuania in May.
Former
AMC Pankration strength & conditioning coach Mark Ginther
discusses Injury Prevention & Rehab Part 2: The Shoulder
Joint.
Dan
"The Beast" Severn BioFile.
Fight
fans give their predictions and thoughts on the Pride Heavyweight
Grand Prix.
In
our monthly columns...
In Matt Hume's techniques, Matt Hume & Daniel Eng demonstrate
Kick Catch Sweep; and in the Punchers Corner, champion kickboxer
Derek Panza discusses Making Your Boxing Coach Work for You.
Every
issue of Full Contact Fighter is jam-packed with fight news from
the U.S. to Brazil to Japan. FCF travels the globe to bring the
fights to you. Get yours today! Available at Tower Records stores
around the world or by subscription...
For
FASTEST service call in your credit card order
(516)676-0033
Source:
FCF |
Alexandre
Cacareco
By Eduardo Ferreira
Changing home again
One
of the biggest names of national Submission, Alexandre Cacareco
is, one more time, changing home. Now, Cacareco approaches Brazilian
Top Team, after quitting Gracie Barra Combat Team. Old issues
has been solved as personal things between Paulão Filho
and Cacareco. Check out now the full interview with the old GBCT
fighter now at TATAME.com.
Why
did you chose to leave Gracie Barra Combat Team?
There
is nothing to do with training. I have been almost an year without
a single fight. I guess I haven't gotten what I deserved at Gracie
Barra and I opted to leave it. I have a wife, two kids and a
nephew to raise. Without my sponsorship, the situation would
be even worse.
You
reached the ADCC 2003 finals in two divisions and ruled Campos.
How come you got an year without fighting.
Over
there I felt I was not doing okay. It missed will power to set
me up in major events. I even talked with him, before I leave,
asked for fighting, but they didn't give me a concrete position.
So I felt comfortable to leave the team.
Why
did you chose Brazilian Top Team?
In
fact, I thought about quitting fighting, but my friend Marcelo
Salazar, who lives in Ilha do Governador (RJ), invited me to
train at BTT. He'd spoken with Zé Mário Sperry
and Murilo Bustamante and both of them welcome to train there,
but they would talk with the team to fix up the last details.
And
about your personal issues with Paulão Filho?
I
already did a first train in there, on last June 11th, and I
had a conversation with Paulão for 40 minutes. We solved
our differences. I do think our rivalry must remain on the mat...
we are professionals and I should keep this on the mat.
You
belonged to Ruas Vale-Tudo and you were the first one to leave,
going to GBCT. Now you are leaving to BTT. Do you care about
what people say about it?
The
athlete's career is too short and you have to enjoy it when you
are young and fine. When I left RVT, I called Zé Mário
and Murilo to train at BTT. But, as I had a personal issue with
Paulão, I went to GBCT. With our problems solved, I want
to join Top Team's group. Now I just wait for the final Team
decision.
Source:
Tatame |
Minotauro:
"I want Ogawa"
By DSE
After winning Heath Herring by submission at Pride GP, which
happened last weekend in Japan, Rodrigo Minotauro spoken with
Japanese press about his impressions of his fight and the event.
During a press conference organized by Dream Stage Entertainement
(DSE), Minotauro explained that Herring improved his game and
he is more technical than three years ago and stated he has been
training hard the new submission position: the hand's triangle
choke. "I have been training this move around 30 times per
train with my brother Rogério Minotouro. I ended ruling
this movement!," said the champ. Check out the full interview
bellow.
Tell
us a little bit about your fight with Heath Herring.
I
was feeling fine and peaceful. Just because my training, my fans
and cause, during the fight, I was able to do everything I wanted.
I got several positions, including the final one: the hand's
triangle choke. I was so happy with everything I got on the ring.
It's
the second time you use this movement over the GP. You seemed
to enjoy it?
For
this fight, I was able to get it faster. I was pretty confident
to use the hand's triangle choke faster. I reached omoplata,
triangle choke and armlock, but in fact, my opponents are already
aware about it. So, because of it, I have been training this
move with my brother. We did repeat it for 30 times during the
train. I ended ruling the position!
How
it was facing Herring for the second time?
He
is such a tough fighter and I had fought him three years ago.
I know him very well, and I am sure he knew me so. He is able
to escape from many of my moves, but this hand's triangle choke
made him confused and he didn't know to escape from it. On the
feet, I imposed my game and I put him on the corner... his only
choice was attacking my legs and that was the key I need to use
my secret weapon. He is one of the heavyweight fighters and everybody
was waiting to see this fight.
What's
the main difference about his game?
He
is way far more technical than last time. He's improved his game
and now he is even more tough than before.
Who
would you chose to face over the semifinals?
I
am ready to face anyone of the three guys. But I really need
to say I would prefer Ogawa. He made some comments over the press
telling Pride fighters are amateurs. I do represent Pride for
few years and I want to prove him we are professionals and we
do train hard. It would be a classic between Jiu-Jitsu and Judo,
it would be one of the best fights Pride ever seen.
Have
you seen Ogawa's bout? What do you think about it?
I
saw him facing Brazilian Giant Silva. Giant is new at Martial
Atrs and it is easy to dominate him on the ground. He is damn
big and strong... Now he is at the finals, it will be a little
hard to him to keep moving.
And
Randleman Vs Fedor?
That
fight was great. Kevin applied two good take downs and Fedor
showed he is a tough fighter and handled well the situation.
He got it reversed and proved the world why he is the Pride Heavyweight
champion.
Source:
Tatame |
Ricardo
Arona explains loss at GP
Ricardo Arona was ruling the fight against American fighter Quinton
Jackson at Pride GP, in Japan. The Brazilian was annulling his
game and almost won the combat, after a kick that cut Jackson's
face. "By that time I hit him and a bruise came off... I
saw him asking me to stop and he also called the referee...,
but it took so long to realize he was dizzy on me... When the
fight returned, you know what happened," lamented Arona,
referring to the movement used by Jackson when was inside a triangle
and elevated Arona over his head and threw him down.
"I
didn't feel anything. I lost my sense for few seconds and the
referee had already stopped the bout," tells Arona, revealing
he was ready to avoid that move. "In fact, he've already
studied movements like that, but when he raised me blocking my
legs, I realized it was too late. The shock was huge... it was
my mistake. I took so long to escape from the position",
admits Brazilian Top Team's fighter.
Source:
Tatame |
COUTURE
HAS UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Randy "The Natural" Couture was the featured guest
on MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio Wednesday. He is set to battle Vitor
Belfort at UFC 49 for the light heavyweight title and spoke about
the match-up as well as many other things.
This
is a brief recap of what Randy had to say. To hear the entire
interview, get yourself a Premium Membership and gain access
to the radio archive twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Training
has been going "very well" for Randy and he isn't changing
much in his approach for Belfort this time around. He said, "The
overall training is pretty much the same." Randy's "looking
forward to August and competing against Vitor and settling that
one way or another." He's been looking forward to it since
the last fight ended. He doesn't think he or Vitor learned much,
if anything from the last fight.
Couture
discussed last week's UFC 48, where Randy called all the fights
right except for the heavyweight title match between Frank Mir
and Tim Sylvia. He thought Mir would have "serious problems"
taking Sylvia down. It was a surprise to Randy that Mir was able
to do what he did. When asked what Tim did wrong, Randy said,
the first thing he did wrong was he didn't tap.
Randy
thinks Tim should have stood up in Mir's guard as soon as Frank
hit the ground to get out of that position. He felt that by the
time Tim realized he wasn't getting out of the arm bar, it was
too late.
Couture
commented that Ken Shamrock did great. He thought that Ken would
wear Kimo out to win the fight and was a little bit surprised
that Shamrock got the KO. He further discussed Ken's probable
next fight against Tito Ortiz.
Randy
thinks Ken may have had problems getting down to 205 the first
time he and Tito fought but could probably easily make 205 now.
He added that Ken is doing the right things, going back to the
drawing board and re-dedicating himself. When asked if he would
like to fight Ken, Randy replied, he'd love to fight Ken. He
thinks it would be a great fight and one that a lot of fans wouldn't
mind seeing.
Radio
show host Ryan Bennett asked Randy if he missed competing at
heavyweight and if he would want to avenge any of his loses against,
Enson Inoue, Ricco Rodriguez and others. Randy said he didn't
miss it "at all" and, "I'm pretty comfortable
at 205 now and don't think I need to go back up." He did
say that Enson would probably be willing to fight at 205 so that
isn't out of the question.
A
question Randy is frequently asked is, will he and Wanderlei
Silva ever fight. Randy said he has certainly been open to the
idea but won't hold his breath. When asked point blank if he
thought the fight would ever happen, Randy replied, "Probably
wouldn't happen before I retire from competition unfortunately."
That
of course leaves the question of how long will Randy Couture
continue fighting. Randy said, "I'm going to take it one
fight at a time. I think as long as my body holds up and I'm
able to train and prepare the way I need to, I'm going to keep
fighting." After his fighting days are over, Randy said,
'I want to be involved in fighting in some way, shape or form,
help promote it and help see it grow."
This
Saturday night, Randy's and Matt Lindland's fight promotion of
Sport Fight is holding an event at the Mt. Hood community college
gymnasium that they have renamed the "Sport Fight Dome."
The venue seats 4,000 and doesn't have a bad seat in the house.
Team Quest member, Chris Leben will be facing Benji Radach in
what Randy called, "an awesome fight." Couture said
running Sport Fight is a lot of work and that he is more of a
figurehead and Matt Lindland is the "Chief Operating Officer."
Go to WWW.SportFight.tv for all the latest information on Sport
Fight events, fight cards, ticket information and directions
to the show.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
SHAMROCK'S
SECRET TO SUCCESS LAST FIGHT?
TRAINING WITH NEW COACH..
UFC Hall of Famer, Ken Shamrock looked very good in his first
fight back since his ACL surgery. He moved well, he threw his
hands well, and bottom line is that he fought well against Kimo
at UFC 48.
So
what was his secret to success? Could be his new boxing coach
Battalia Balamoundo of "Battalia Olympic Fitness" in
Yorba Linda, CA. Battalia was a three-time Olympic boxer for
Italy who competed at middleweight in 1976 in Montreal, 1980
in Moscow and 1984 in Los Angeles. Here's what coach Battalia
had to say with our friends over at boxing insider.com
Boxinginsider.com:
Were you pleased with Ken's performance boxing-wise?
Battalia:
"Well, his boxing is very good. When I met him in the beginning,
his quickness was too slow. Last fight with Tito, he was too
slow. He wasn't moving well, his condition was terrible. I changed
his diet, nutrition-wise, worked on his quickness. Got him to
jump rope. And we worked on some technical things like he used
to close his eyes sometimes when he punched. Against Kimo, his
boxing was excellent. And next fight it will be even better."
Boxinginsider.com:
What can still be improved about Ken's boxing?
Battalia:
"If he fights Tito in October, you're gonna see a lot of
boxing in that fight. His right hand is very strong. But he needs
to twist his hand and shoulder a little more - to make it harder.
I tell him, when he twists it, he can knock ANYBODY out."
Ken's
shoot fighting coach Eric Paulson said:
"Ken
totally changed his strike game. He's actually ten times better
now. He did tons and tons of padwork. Tons of different drills.
He knows all the different drills now, he can go right through
them...His right hand - at the end of training - nobody wanted
to spar with him. He broke two noses and had three knockouts.
And that was with 18 oz. gloves. And I had a bruised leg for
two weeks after a leg kick. I think his striking is actually
going to get better...I was really content with his performance
against Kimo. We trained for seven months for that fight. He
really trained hard. He really sacrificed a lot for this...For
him to end the fight with that knee like that was just wonderful.
We worked for almost seven months to get his standup back. Our
whole plan was to keep the fight standing up...He did 100 rounds
a week, I'm not exaggerating about this, he did it."
Boxinginsider.com:
I'm getting the impression the new and improved Ken might beat
Tito Ortiz....
Battalia:
"Easy. If it's boxing, easy. The first fight he wasn't ready.
If he fight him right now - after Kimo - he beat him easy. I
guarantee it can be easy. Now we have months to get Ken even
better...I was very upset at what (Tito) did after the fight.
It's not only Ken's fight, it's gonna be my fight. I boxed in
the Olympics, I don't like any athlete talking like that, attack
him like that - especially after winning. This fight is not only
Ken's fight, it's my fight."
To
contact Battalia's Olympic Fitness in Yorba Linda, CA for training
information and rates, you may call 714-524-6330.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Inside
MMA: UFC 48 Fighter Salaries with In-Depth Analysis
by Ivan Trembow
UFC 48 Fighter Salaries
-Ken
Shamrock: $170,000 ($120,000 for fighting; $50,000 win bonus)
-Matt
Hughes: $110,000 ($55,000 for fighting; $55,000 win bonus)
-Frank
Mir: $90,000 ($60,000 for fighting; $30,000 win bonus)
-Kimo:
$55,000 ($55,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $0)
-Tim
Sylvia: $40,000 ($40,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$40,000)
-Evan
Tanner: $30,000 ($15,000 for fighting; $15,000 win bonus)
-Phil
Baroni: $20,000 ($20,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$20,000)
-Frank
Trigg: $20,000 ($10,000 for fighting; $10,000 win bonus)
-Matt
Serra: $16,000 ($8,000 for fighting; $8,000 win bonus)
-Renato
Verissimo: $10,000 ($10,000 for fighting; win bonus would have
been $10,000)
-Georges
St. Pierre: $8,000 ($4,000 for fighting; $4,000 win bonus)
-Trevor
Prangley: $5,000 ($2,500 for fighting; $2,500 win bonus)
-Dennis
Hallman: $4,000 ($4,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$4,000)
-Curtis
Stout: $3,000 ($3,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$3,000)
-Jay
Hieron: $3,000 ($3,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$3,000)
-Ivan
Menjivar: $2,000 ($2,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been
$2,000)
Total
Fighter Payroll: $586,000
Comparative
Notes on Total Fighter Payroll
UFC 46: $540,500
UFC 47: $333,000
UFC 48: $586,000
Comparative
Notes on Number of Fighters Making $10,000 or More
UFC 46: 8 out of 16 fighters made $10,000 or more
UFC 47: 6 out of 16 fighters made $10,000 or more
UFC 48: 10 out of 16 fighters made $10,000 or more
Commentary
and Analysis on UFC 48 Salaries by Ivan Trembow
-The
overall fighter payroll increased dramatically from UFC 47 to
UFC 48, as did the parity of the contracts. A whopping ten of
the sixteen fighters who competed on the card made $10,000 or
more, which has not been the case since the early days of Zuffa
owning the UFC. Only fighters who are relative newcomers to the
UFC took home less than $10,000 for their fights at this event,
and you can't always say that about any given UFC event.
-Ken
Shamrock and Tito Ortiz have almost identical UFC contracts when
it comes to the bottom line financially. Ortiz makes $125,000
for fighting and another $50,000 if he wins, while Shamrock makes
$120,000 for fighting and another $50,000 if he wins.
-Matt
Hughes' contract of $55,000 to fight and another $55,000 for
winning is huge for a fighter of his weight, but it's hard to
argue that Hughes isn't worth every penny given the fact that
Hughes was one of the most dominant champions in UFC history
in any weight class. With BJ Penn unwilling to give Hughes a
rematch and choosing to sign with K-1 instead, it seems likely
that the now-vacant UFC Welterweight Title will be decided in
a fight between Matt Hughes and an opponent to be determined.
The list of possible suspects includes Frank Trigg, Georges St.
Pierre, and the winner of the Nick Diaz vs. Karo Parisyan fight.
-Frank
Mir is still making the same amount of money that he has made
for his last several UFC fights--- $60,000 for fighting and another
$30,000 if he wins. That was considered by many fans to be an
inflated salary for "a non-champion who has never really
proven himself," which is what many fans thought of Mir
before his decisive victory over Tim Sylvia. However, now that
Mir is the bona-fide, 100% legitimate UFC Heavyweight Champion,
I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a pay raise in the future.
This has to be considered even more likely when you consider
the huge level of international demand for heavyweight fighters
from companies like K-1 and Pride who have much deeper pockets
than the UFC. While any light-heavyweight or heavyweight fighter
in the UFC is an attractive target for K-1 and Pride, Mir won't
be going anywhere in the near future. He has more fights remaining
on his UFC contract, and even if he didn't, all contracts for
UFC title fights now state that the winner will be exclusive
to the UFC for a period of one year after winning the title.
-Kimo's
gauranteed contract, which paid him $55,000 to fight and had
no win bonus, is not the norm in the UFC but is not all that
unusual, either. Several other fighters have had similar contracts
in the past (with no win bonus), including Carlos Newton, who
always fights with that kind of contract when he fights in the
UFC.
-It
was expected that Tim Sylvia might have to take a pay cut after
coming back from his steroid scandal, but the opposite is true.
This is due to the fact that Sylvia is in the middle of a five-fight
contract that appears to pay him slightly more with each passing
fight. Sylvia's most recent fight prior to UFC 48 saw Sylvia
make $30,000 for fighting and another $30,000 for winning. Sylvia's
fight at UFC 48 saw him make $40,000 for fighting, and he would
have made an additional $40,000 if he had been victorious.
-If
you want to talk about fighters who might have had to play a
little bit of hardball to get their current deals (based on the
current UFC pay landscape), the three names that would come to
mind would be Evan Tanner, Frank Trigg, and Renato Verissimo.
-In
Renato Verissimo's case, it is extremely unusual for any fighter
in only his second UFC fight to have a contract that pays him
$10,000 to fight and another $10,000 if he wins. Even Robbie
Lawler doesn't make that kind of money, and he is one of the
UFC's "poster boys." Then again, when your first UFC
fight is such a thorough and impressive domination of a fighter
like Carlos Newton, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise
that Verissimo got this much of a pay raise for his second UFC
fight. (Verissimo's first UFC fight paid him $5,000 to fight
and another $5,000 to win.)
-Frank
Trigg pulled off the slightly more impressive feat of getting
a two-fight contract with the UFC wherein both fights would pay
him $10,000 to fight and another $10,000 to win. (The UFC 45
fight with Matt Hughes was the first fight on Trigg's contract,
and the UFC 48 fight with Dennis Hallman was the second.) Trigg
likely got that kind of deal by sitting out so long and turning
down several offers for less money, and actually making it seem
like it was a step down for him to make $10,000 and $10,000.
While that's considered a lot of money on the UFC pay scale due
to the fact that Trigg is "just a welterweight," it
really shouldn't be that way in my opinion. Trigg came in as
a big-name free agent signing who was going to fight for the
title at his weight class. To do so for any less than $10,000
and $10,000 would only skew the pay scale of the whole 170-pound
weight class downward.
-I
was also somewhat surprised to see that Evan Tanner's contract
for UFC 48 paid him $15,000 to fight and another $15,000 to win.
That might not seem like a lot of money, but it's fairly high
up on the UFC pay scale for non-main-eventers, and is only slightly
smaller than the contract that Baroni himself came into UFC 48
with. The reason it was surprising for me to see Tanner making
that much money is not because he doesn't deserve it; I just
wouldn't expect that kind of money to be going to someone whose
only fights in the UFC over the previous two years consisted
of getting TKO'ed by Rich Franklin and scoring a controversial
victory over Phil Baroni. It was a risky investment for Zuffa
to pay Tanner that much for his UFC 48 bout with Baroni when
it was considered a strong possibility that Tanner would be knocked
out and might then be gone from the UFC for a long time. Fortunately,
Tanner made Zuffa's investment in him more than worth it with
his impressive performance at UFC 48.
-One
of the reasons that Phil Baroni has gotten the treatment he has
gotten from the UFC is that he is a big name from New York, and
the UFC's pay-per-view buy rates have always been noticeably
lower on the East Coast than on the West Coast. The line of thinking
is that if a marketable fighter from a big East Coast city such
as New York were to do well in the UFC and blossom into a championship-caliber
fighter, it could boost buy-rates on the East Coast. So, given
that some people within Zuffa consider Phil Baroni to be one
of the company's top draws, I would actually consider his UFC
48 contract of $20,000 to fight and another $20,000 if he wins
to be a little lower than I expected. One could easily argue
that Baroni is lucky to be employed at all given the fact that
he intentionally struck an official in the face several times,
but if you're going to employ him and you consider him one of
your top draws, I would expect to see him making more than $20,000
to fight and $20,000 more to win.
However,
now that Baroni is 3-4 in the UFC, even casual fans have caught
on to the fact that Baroni is more about marketing than actual
fighting. I don't mean that in an insulting way, but you have
to be considered "more about marketing than actual fighting"
when anyone else with your record would have been long-gone from
the UFC by now. New fans who have started watching the UFC since
September of 2002 have never seen Baroni win a fight on pay-per-view.
It would be a major blow to the UFC's credibility if Phil Baroni,
or any other fighter on a three-fight losing streak, would continue
to fight in the UFC with no explanation or sense of consistency,
as if he's not on a three-fight losing streak.
While
Phil Baroni is obviously a much higher-caliber athlete than Tank
Abbott, the comparison has to be made to Tank Abbott's 2003 Death
March through the UFC, which was an embarrassment to the sport
and turned off even casual fans by the end. If it's just about
getting fighters with a marketable look who can cut pro wrestling-style
promos, there are any number of (non-WWE) pro wrestlers that
the UFC could sign who could, A) Have a marketable look, B) Cut
pro wrestling-style promos, and C) Maintain a losing record in
the UFC. Given all of these facts, I would consider it to be
a huge gift to Phil Baroni if he fights again in the UFC for
any amount of money (much less for $20,000 and $20,000) without
having to prove himself on smaller shows like anyone else would
have to.
Making
it Big in the UFC
Not
all fighters make $10,000 or more for competing in the UFC. In
fact, on most UFC events the majority of the fighters make less
than $10,000. The six fighters on this event who were gauranteed
to take home less than $10,000 were Georges St. Pierre, Trevor
Prangley, Dennis Hallman, Curtis Stout, Jay Hieron, and Ivan
Menjivar. This is consistent with the salary structure in the
UFC for fighters who are not considered "big stars"
and are not long-time UFC veterans.
If
you're not considered an already established big star coming
in, it's almost certain that your first one, two, or three UFC
fights are going to pay you $2,000 to $4,000 to fight, and another
$2,000 to $4,000 if you win. Even Lee Murray, with all of the
hype around his debut at UFC 46, only made $3,000 and $3,000.
This relatively small paycheck is acceptable for fighters who
simply love to fight and don't care about the money, but even
these fighters have to have "bigger paydays down the road"
as a topic in the back of their mind.
What's
so risky for fighters coming up through the ranks in the UFC
is the fact that there is so little room for error. Looking at
UFC newcomers since the first Zuffa-run UFC event in early 2001,
the trend is clear: Lose one fight, and there is a very strong
possibility that you're out of the UFC for the forseeable future.
Lose two fights, and you're almost certainly out. There is often
no second chance, and hardly ever a third chance, for a young
hopeful just starting out in the UFC making a few thousand dollars
per fight. For aspiring mixed martial artists, the task of getting
to the UFC is not the big payoff at the end of the rainbow in
and of itself. It's only after you succeed in the UFC on multiple
occasions that you can begin the dream job of doing something
you love for a living and getting paid good money to do it.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
UFC
Vets in "Blind Date"
Sometime
in July, some of the veteran fighters of the UFC will be on the
T.V. show, Blind Date. Rumoured to be on the show are fighters,
Pete Spratt, Josh Thompson, and Tim Sylvia. Nick Diaz was approached
to be on the show, but it is still unclear if Nick will accept.
The show will be taped in Las Vegas and fight scenes will be
broadcast throughout the show.
Source: Gracie Fighter |
UFC
49 CARD
UFC 49: Unfinished Business
Saturday, August 21, 2004
MGM Grand Garden
Las Vegas, Nevada
Vitor
Belfort vs. Randy Couture (light heavyweight title)
Chuck Liddell vs. Vernon 'Tiger' White
Nick Diaz vs. Karo Pariysan
David Terrell vs. Matt Lindland
Mike Kyle vs. Justin Eilers
Robbie Lawler vs. Ronald Jhun
Joe Riggs vs. Joe Doerksen
Josh Thompson vs. Yves Edwards
Source:
Fight Sport |
Fight
Sport News
ICEMAN OUT IN THE COLD AGAIN, OTHER UFC NEWS
Atkins
Insider
BY TODD ATKINS
UFC was pleased with the live gate and walk up ticket sales at
UFC 48. PPV number's so far are not as good but they expect them
to be solid because of Ken Shamrock.
Ken
Shamrock and Tito Ortiz will fight at UFC 50. Ken Shamrock had
the rematch clause in his contract and would like the fight to
be at Heavyweight but Tito Ortiz wants to fight at Light HeavyWeight
205lbs. He has told Zuffa that's where he will fight Ken Shamrock
or else.
Tito
Ortiz was telling people all weekend that fighting Ken Shamrock
again is a perfect deal for him, Great payday and super PPV exposure.
He said Ken was an opponent he thinks he can easily dominate
again. Here is the real kicker, if he wins he gets a title shot,
thus leaving Chuck Liddell out in the cold yet again!!!!
Dana
White and Lorenzo Fertita were pretty happy with the show. The
biggest dissappointment for them was Evan Tanner beating Phil
Baroni again. ZUFFA is praying that Dave Terrell will take out
Matt Lindland to avoid 2 Team Quest fighters facing each other
in the same weight class. Word is that ZUFFA will try to bring
Jeremy Horn into this weight class if the money is not too high
to sign him.
Frank
Mir's win sets up a nice fight with Andre Arlovski.
Dennis
Hallman getting beaten was also a bit of downer for ZUFFA, but
with Georges St. Pierre looking so good, UFC has a couple of
options in the 170lbs Welterweight division . Frank Trigg and
St. Pierre looked the best and got the live crowd pumped up pretty
good. Those two would make for a nice matchup but UFC has to
give Matt Hughes a title shot next. So the question for ZUFFA
is, do they put Frank Trigg in there again so soon or feed St
Pierre to Matt Hughes?
YOSHIDA
INJURED
The Japanese media report that Hidehiko Yoshida injured his left
shoulder in his victory against Mark Hunt in last weekend's PRIDE
show.
Doctors
will examine it furhter this week to decide if surgery will be
needed. Either way, it's been said that Yoshida will not be fighting
until the end of the year at the earliest.
SAPP
TO TAKE TIME OFF
Yomiuri Sports reports that Bob Sapp's fight against Ray Sefo
on June 26th will be Sapp's last fight for a long while.
Furthermore,
according to inside sources, Sapp will be taking the extended
time off from fighting to concentrate on improving his fighting
skills, and to work on a few movies in Hollywood.
According
to these sources, Sapp is still with K-1, and will be returning
to the ring some time next year, most likely in the spring or
2005.
IAN
FREEMAN: 'MIR IS A PAPER CHAMPION'
English
MMA Fighter Ian Freeman directed the following statement to Frank
Mir
LOL,
Mir beats Tim and he is a champion.... yeah, like hell he is.
As
long as there is a hole in my ass, I will always say your a paper
champion. Why? because there is someone you will never submit
or ko and thats ME! Yes, ME...you know the guy that schooled
your ignorant ass in England.
Sorry
to hear you lost Tim, but you just aint got the limbs to hold
off submission guys like Mir. Your the real champ, you just played
your game wrong.
Mir
looked shabby against Sims, beat a worn out Tank and fought Tim
who for some unknown reason took the fight to the floor?????????
You
cannot claim to be the champ with a half assed record like that.....
Washed out UFC fighters, 1st time UFC fighters or worn out UFC
fighters and you get a title shot.... who's dick you sucking
pal
Oh
yeah, and you have also been beaten off a big dumb englishman,
who you said "would never beat me." and if I did you
said "I'll swim my ass back to USA if he does." ......you
still swimming big boy?
And
before all you Mir ass kissers diss me.... I'm just saying what
is on most people's minds right now.
Does
this make your blood boil Mir??? Sorry pal, but I don't give
shit after the way you tried to diss me as a dumb fuck Englishman.
Ian
'The Machine' Freeman.
Source:
Fight Sport |
Quote
of the Day
"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the
stream always wins- not through strength but by perseverance."
H. Jackson Brown, Author, Life's Little Instruction Book
|
Shooto
Hawaii Super Show Coming Up!
Neal Blaisdell Arena
Friday,
July 9th, 2004
Fights start at 6:00
PM so get
there early
Tickets
are on sale NOW
and are starting at $20. There is no reason
to miss this show!
This
show is linked to Hawaii Youth Challenge.
Keep the youth off of drugs and gangs and use their energy to
hit the books hard. You have to start the prevention early and
keep repeating the message!
This
is the most talent filled card ever put on in Hawaii. Two Shooto
World Title Fights are featured on this card. Hawaii's Ray "Bradda"
Cooper finally gets a title shot against Cesar Gracie trained
Jake Shields and the return of Masanori Suda, the man who beat
Egan Inoue for the Super Brawl World Title comes back to Hawaii
to defend his Shooto Light Heavyweight Title against the submission
machine, Dustin Denes from the black belt filled American Top
Team. The two hardest punchers pound for pound face off as Hawaii's
Stephen "Bozo" Paling fights former UFC Lightweight
Champion, Jens Pulver. One of the best submission grapplers on
the planet, multiple time black belt Jiu-Jitsu World Champion
and currently undefeated Shooto Lightweight Champion, Vitor "Shaolin"
Riberio makes his first appearance in an MMA match on Hawaii
soil. Also on this card is the show stopper, Rumina Sato, facing
a very tough Bao Quach. A women's match is even included on this
card as HMC's Betta Yeung squares off with Ana Michelle Dantas
of Arizona Combat Sports/Nova Uniao. The card is rounded out
with exciting and top local talent such as Takao vs Newalu, Kikuchi
vs the undefeated Andres, and the much anticipated Moreno vs
Dean slugfest.
Tentative Fight Card:
Card subject to change.
Shooto
Middleweight World Title Fight
Ray "Bradda" Cooper (12-6, #2 ranked in Shooto)
vs.
Jake Shields (Cesar Gracie, 8-3-1, #1 ranked in Shooto)
Lightweight
3R
Stephen
"Bozo" Paling (Jesus is Lord, 11-6-1, #3 ranked in
Shooto)
vs.
Jens Pulver (Miletich Fighting Systems, 20-5-1, #6 ranked in
Shooto, former UFC lightweight Champion)
Shooto
Light Heavyweight World Title Fight
Masanori Suda (Club J, 20-8-2, Shooto Light Heavyweight and Super
Brawl World Champion)
vs.
Dustin "Clean" Denes (American Top Team, 9-1-1, #1
ranked in Shooto)
Welterweight 3R
Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro (Nova Uniao, 9-0, Shooto Welterweight
Champion)
vs.
Mitsuhiro Ishida (Tops, Japan, 6-1-1, #10 ranked in Shooto)
Lightweight 3R
Alexandre "Pequeno" Nogueira (World Fight Center, 10-2-2,
Shooto World Lightweight Champion)
vs.
TBA.
Lightweight 3R
Rumina Sato (K'z Factory, 20-8-2)
vs.
Bao Quach (Team Oyama, 6-6, #10 ranked in Pac Rim Shooto)
Female 51kg 2R
Ana Michelle Dantas (Arizona Combat Sports/Nova Uniao)
vs.
Betta Yeung
(HMC, 1-1)
Featherweight 2R
Kyle Takao
(HMC, 2-1-1)
vs.
Ed Newalu
(808 Fight Factory, 3-7)
Welterweight 2R
Jim Kikuchi
(808 Fight Factory, 4-3)
vs.
Neal Andres
(HMC, 4-0)
Middleweight 2R
Mark "El
Toro" Moreno (Bulls Pen, 5-4-2)
vs.
PJ Dean
(Team Bad Intentions)
|
Hawaii's
Best Strikers to BANG in PIP!
Punishment
In Paradise will put 6 Championship Belts as 16 fighters will
BATTLE for the GOLD!
TICKET
INFORMATION
Brennan
Kamaka
second2none@hawaii.rr.com or 330-4483
808
Fight Factory/ Kim at 671-4140
Punishment
In Paradise 4
“NIGHT
OF CHAMPIONS”
@
CAMPBELL HIGH GYM
Cruiserweight
Kickboxing Championship
205lbs.
3x2 Minute Rounds
Mike
Malone (Eastsidaz) Vs. Andre Washington (Team Thunda)
Light
Heavyweight Kickboxing Championship
179.lbs.
3x2 Minute Rounds
Tommy
Pestana (808 Fight Factory) Vs. Kaleo Padilla (Westbrook Boxing,
Kodan Kon)
Super
Middleweight Kickboxing Championships
172lbs.
3x2 Minute Rounds
Wayne
Perrin III (Team Bigdogs) Vs. Deshawn Johnson (HMC)
INTERMISSION
Middleweight
Kickboxing Championships
165lbs.
3x2 Minute Rounds
Dain
Agbayani (808 F.F.) Vs. PJ Dean (Bad Intentions)
Super
Lightweight Kickboxing Championship
137lbs.
3x2 Minute Rounds
Domi
“Dominator’ Lopes ( Team Bigdogs) Vs. Steven Tandal
(Waimanalo Kickboxing)
Lightweight
Kickboxing Championships
132LBS
3x2 Minute Rounds
Gerald
"G-Money" Orvalio (808 Fight Factory) Vs. David Balicao
(H.S.D.)
Super
Welterweight Kickboxing #1 Contender Match
157lbs.
3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Tyson
Coloma’ Nahooikaika (M.F.C.F) Vs. Kaleo Koon (Eastsidaz)
196lbs.
Kickboxing 3x1 1/2 Minute Rounds
Val
(Team Bigdos) Vs. Joshua Versola (Advanced Kenpo)
147lbs.
3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Chris
Coderio (Bad Intentions) Vs. Kaipo Gonzales (Eastsidaz)
Middleweight
Kickboxing #1 Contender Match
165lbs.2x3
Minute Rounds
Ikaika
(Eastsidaz) Vs. Frank Rebello (Advanced Kenpo)
Junior
Heavyweight Kickboxing #1 Contender Match
100lbs.
3x1 Minute Rounds
Sage
Yoshida (H.M.C.) Vs. Keola McKee (Wailuku Kickboxing, Maui)
Junior
Bantamweight #1 Contender Match
60lbs.
3x1 Minute Rounds
Tristen
Febria (E.B.F.C.) Vs. Abraham Reinhart (Wailuku Kickboxing, Maui)
|
UFC
48: Payback Suspension List
Las
Vegas, Nevada -- The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC)
released the official suspension list for “UFC 48: Payback”
held last Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas,
Nevada. Licensed fighters with TKO losses received an immediate
30-day suspension until July 20, along with a no contact, or
no sparring, order until July 11. Additional time was given to
Tim Sylvia and Jay Hieron, who sustained injuries during their
respective fights.
Kimo
Leopoldo is suspended until July 20 due to his TKO loss to Ken
Shamrock. He also received a no contact order until July 11.
Tim
Sylvia must receive a doctors clearance for his broken right
forearm or he is under a no contest order until December 17.
Dennis
Hallman is suspended until July 20 due to his TKO loss to Frank
Trigg. He also received a no contact order until July 11.
Frank
Trigg must have his right hand x-rayed and be cleared by a doctor
or he is under a no contest order until December 17.
Renato
Verissimo DeOliveira is suspended until July 20 and has a no
contact order until July 11 due to a right eye laceration.
Evan
Tanner must have right hand x-rayed and be cleared by a doctor
or he is under a no contest order until December 17. He received
a minimum suspension and no contest order until July 20 and a
no contact order until July 11.
Curtis
Stout is suspended until July 20 and has a no contact order until
July 11 due to a right eyebrow laceration.
Jay
Hieron must receive a doctors clearance for his broken nose or
he is under a no contest order until December 17. He received
a minimum suspension and no contest order until August 19 and
a no contact order until August 4.
Ivan
Menjivar and Matt Serra is the only fight not to receive a suspension
or no contest order.
Source: ADCC
|
SHOOTO
'SHOOTO JUNKIE is BACK'
Sunday, June 27th
Blue Field, Chiba - JAPAN
CARD
SUBJECT TO CHANGE:
Class
B (2 x 5 minutes rounds)
Flyweight
[-52.0Kg] 2004 Rookie Tournament 1st round
Kenichi Takeda (PARAESTRA Sapporo) x Hayato Sato (PARAESTRA Matsudo)
Featherweight
[-60.0Kg] 2004 Rookie Tournament 2nd round
Shin 'JET' Kato (PARAESTRA Sapporo ) x Tetsu Suzuki (Keisyu Kai
Iwate)
Featherweight
[-60.0Kg]
Nobuyuki Minami (PUREBRED Omiya) x Yasushi 'MAD' Watanabe (PARAESTRA
Matsudo)
Welterweight
[-70.0Kg]
J-Taro Takita (Keisyu Kai) x Takashi 'Doctor' Ouchi (PARAESTRA
Koiwa)
Class
A (3 x 5 minutes rounds)
Welterweight
[-70.0Kg]
Takeshi Yamazaki (Team GRABAKA) x Kazeka Muniz (Gracie Barra)
Lightweight
[-65.0Kg]
Naoya Uematsu (K'z FACTORY) x Hideki Kadowaki (WKSS)
Featherweight
[-60.0Kg]
Ryota Matsune (PARAESTRA) x Daniel Lima (Five Rings Dojo)
Brazilian
Jiu Jitsu match
Purple
belt - Absolute weight - 8 minutes
Akihiko Adachi (PARAESTRA Matsudo) x Edmundo Cavalcante Jr. (Amazon
Jiu Jitsu)
Source: ADCC
|
"Payback"
Playback - A UFC 48 Postscript
"It doesn't mean anything" was the Gregorian Chant
leading up to UFC 48 headliner Ken Shamrock's repeat encounter
with Kimo this past Friday. Disgraced former champ Tim Sylvia
expressed outrage that the two vets got top billing over his
title bout with Frank Mir; fans were apathetic. Funny thing about
nostalgia, though: it can sneak up on you.
Cheering
a decisive finish for the dedicated Shamrock in the same caged
arena where it all started was apt to melt the heart of even
the most jaded, tattoo-laden onlookers. How can you not root
for a pioneer giving his most sincere effort to entertain and
remain relevant? Hell, even poker-faced Shaquille O'Neal couldn't
contain his excitement, gnawing on the nearest head he could
find.
Seeing
Ken - eerily unchanged since UFC 1 - strut around the ring with
a mixture of elation and pride brought a smile to my face. Now
that a knee to the head can actually be construed as heartwarming,
it could be time for a break...but not before I get my rant on.
"NO
MAS" TO ORTIZ/SHAM II
UFC light heavyweight leadweight Tito Ortiz needs to notch a
win, and who better to sacrifice than the newly energized Shamrock?
Seeing the two engage in a labored war of words at the post-fight
presser implies that this is seriously being considered.
It's
beyond my comprehension. Fans want to see the old school crew
with their hands raised, not gurgling in a puddle of blood. We
already know that matching the old regime with newer models is
a foolish, obvious exercise in sadism. Let Ken continue to settle
old scores with his contemporaries. Their first fight left nothing
to the imagination and I don't think a rematch is the box office
guarantee Zuffa believes it to be. Does anyone really have any
unanswered questions after that mauling? It was enough to make
John Merrick cover his eyehole. Once was enough.
I'm
sure Tito would love a win right now, and I'm sure Ken would
relish the chance to redeem himself. Tough. Get Tito back into
the competitive mix at 205 and let Ken do his thing with guys
like Tank Abbott or Marco Ruas.
If
the higher-ups can't be persuaded to drop the match, at least
make it a heavyweight fight so we can see how Ken and Tito stack
up at 220-ish. I doubt the result will be any different, but
at least you can squeeze a few ounces of suspense out of it.
SYLVIA
Whenever a fight looks so one-sided on that proverbial paper,
you know something's up. Rather than be concerned with taking
Sylvia down, Frank Mir found Tim literally falling into his lap,
and it wasn't hard to figure out what was coming next. Ref Herb
Dean had the unenviable front-row seat for Sylvia getting his
forearm snapped in two, easily the most gruesome finish in UFC
history. I was amazed at Sylvia's composure afterwards, going
so far as to complain about a premature stoppage and intoning
to Mir that the fight would continue. (Joe Rogan went on to say
it was because Tim was "so juiced up," a Freudian slip
if there ever was one.)
Boy,
does Mir make a credible, marketable champ. In a sport filled
with good sportsmanship and apologetic fighters, Mir's ruthless
approach to submission fighting is an interesting contrast. Mir
doesn't have the demeanor of a Vanderlei Silva, but I suspect
he's going to emerge as the grappling equivalent to that brand
of anticipated brutality.
Arlovski
should be next in line for a title shot once he recovers from
his hand injury. I don't think it's a stretch to say that one
will be incredibly violent.
THE
REST
I don't know what to make of Phil Baroni. He came into the rematch
with Evan Tanner sporting considerably less muscle than usual,
presumably to improve his cardio conditioning. Had it not been
for fatigue setting in quickly during their November '03 contest,
Tanner's head would likely have been auctioned off on eBay.
But
Baroni was unable to find a happy medium, instead choosing to
play it too conservative and allowing Tanner to rack up points
on the feet. By the time Phil realized he had been too lethargic,
it was too late to change momentum. Team Quest has Baroni's number.
We get it. Time to move on.
Equally
underwhelming was Matt Hughes' plodding, safety-first victory
over Renato Verissimo. As he controlled the tempo of the fight
and landed more strikes, it was a deserved win under UFC scoring
methods. But unless Hughes regains some of that killer instinct
that had him decimating the best at welterweight, the crowd may
refuse to back him.
Trigg/Hughes
II seems like the logical pairing for the welterweight title,
especially now that Trigg has settled the score with a game -
if easily exhausted - Hallman. Trigg is not likely to make the
same mistake of giving up his back twice, and he was matching
Hughes step for step right up until then. Let's see it.
COUTURE/BELFORT
REDUX
Do Couture and Belfort qualify as two of the classiest, most
respectful fighters in the game, or what? Amidst a fight card
nearly choking on its own bad blood, it was a refreshing change
of pace to see the two of them laugh and joke around during what
was intended to be a slice of pre-fight hype. Belfort had a wise
bit of strategy in having delayed the rubber match for as long
as he was able, letting Father Time do some of his work for him.
At a certain point, age will catch up to Couture. Whether August
21 is the date remains to be seen.
Oh,
and memo to the Madison Avenue contingent of Zuffa: "Unfinished
Business" clearly represents the last stop on the subtitle
highway. You're really reaching now. "Belfort Vs. Couture
III" would've done just fine. After a decade of Meltdowns,
Battles, Brawls, and Clashes, it may be time for these guys to
make the sale based on their own reputations.
TIP
OF THE HAT TO...
Frank Trigg, who risked substitute teacher-level apathy when
he chastised some ghoulish fans for cheering when Dana White
announced Tim Sylvia's injuries during the press conference.
Sylvia's post-fight attitude and recent troubles haven't won
him any new fans, but he's still a human being who risks his
neck in a spectator sport. Trigg never provoked a reaction in
me before, but I have a newfound respect for his integrity.
HALF-EMPTY?
I'm finding less and less to complain about, re: the UFC's broadcast
values. Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan continue to offer a polished
and informative commentary, especially now that Rogan has brought
a different, dialed-down attitude in contrast to his "Man
Show" duties. The video packages do a decent job of explaining
whatever motivation - real or invented - exists for a match.
My
only initial complaint was the morbid shot of a woman - presumably
a girlfriend - crying after Jay Hieron was pummeled by Georges
St. Pierre. It wasn't a pleasant sight, but maybe it's not so
bad we're reminded that these guys aren't just palookas dueling
for our amusement. The people who care for them have a far different
perspective on what goes on inside the cage, one worlds removed
from betting slips and armchair cornering.
If
you need help remembering that, maybe Trigg can be of some assistance.
Source: Maxfighting
|
TIM
SYLVIA INJURY UPDATE
Sylvia On The Shelf For 2004
Last
Saturday night at UFC 48, Tim Sylvia's arm was fractured as he
attempted to fend off an armbar by Frank Mir. Because of the
fracture, referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the bout and Mir
was awarded the most prestigious distinction in American mixed
martial arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight
Title.
MMAWeekly's
Mick Hammond spoke with the Nevada State Athletic Commission's
executive director Marc Ratner who filled him in on Tim Sylvia's
condition following the devastating loss. According to Ratner,
Sylvia's arm is fractured in possibly three or four places and
he couldn't even lift it in the dressing room following the fight.
Following
the rules in place by the Nevada commission, Sylvia is automatically
placed on medical suspension, effective immediately. He will
be on suspension at least until December 17th and until such
time that he can be cleared for competition by an orthopedic
surgeon. Basically, this means that he is most likely out of
action for the rest of the year.
Both
the ulna and the radius bones in Sylvia's arm were broken. The
ulna bone was broke at least once, while the radius bone was
broke twice. In order for the arm to heal properly, there is
usually a surgery involved in which the doctors will put the
bones back in place. To hold the bones in place while they heal,
there is usually a metal plate inserted that is attached to the
bones with screws. The minimum healing time for such an injury
is normally 8 to 10 weeks. Sylvia is scheduled for surgery on
Monday.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
185
JUST GOT DEEPER
...ADD RICH FRANKLIN TO LIST
In an MMAWeekly.com exclusive, MMAWeekly has learned that Rich
Franklin will move down from the 205 weight class to 185 and
compete in the middleweight division.
Franklin
has compiled a record of 13-1 in the light heavyweight division,
but felt he could be one of the most dominant fighters in the
world, if he moved down to 185.
Right
now Franklin has been training hard and is on his way to South
Korea to corner Jeremy Horn. Franklin hasn't heard back from
the big organizations yet about his future, but it appears now
that future will be at 185.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MIR
TALKS ABOUT BEING CHAMP, SYLVIA AND FREEMAN
The new UFC heavyweight champ, Frank Mir, joined MMAWeekly SoundOff
Radio Tuesday and talked about the title bout, who may be next,
and set the rumors straight about the rift between he and Ian
Freeman.
Frank
said that he didn't think Sylvia respected his game going in
to the fight. Mir knew it would be hard to shoot in on Tim and
had no real intentions of doing so. His plan was to kickbox,
using leg kicks to offset Tim's reach advantage, throw Tim off
balance and take away some of Tim's power. "Plan B"
was to shoot in for a takedown but only if "Plan A"
failed.
When
asked why he thinks some people still don't give him credit for
what he has accomplished, Frank said, people really don't understand
submissions and they may think it is luck. Mir has finished every
opponent outside of his one loss to Ian Freeman and his MMA debut.
Frank
feels he is getting better every time he steps in the octagon.
He admitted that training was an issue for him in the past because
things came so easy for him at first. The days of relying on
natural talent are over for Mir. He added, once you get in the
octagon, that is the easy part, the hard part is the training
weeks before hand.
Mir
addressed the rumors about him saying things about Ian Freeman's
family following his loss to Ian at UFC 38. Frank denied saying
anything like that. "I have enough animosity to Ian Freeman
himself to go ahead and accept the fight, I don't need to bring
his family into it." He went on to say that he would definitely
like to fight Freeman again. Mir thinks this time will be different
because he is much more poised, relaxed and focused now versus
then.
Having
said all of that, Frank commented that Andrei Arlovski, "most
likely he's going to get a shot." He described Arlovski
as having fast hands, powerful, with a good understanding of
submissions. He sees the fight as, "fighting a very good
kickboxer who has a very good understanding of Jiu-Jitsu."
He did point out that he has submitted guys with a better ground
game that Arlovski has.
For
his fight with Tim Sylvia, Mir had the chance to train and roll
around with Vitor Belfort, the UFC light heavyweight champion.
Frank said, "He's good," and "He's a black belt
in Jiu-Jitsu legitimately." Although, the two of them rolling
around on the mat was interesting, Frank said it was boring to
watch.
In
Belfort's rematch with Randy Couture, Mir is leaning toward Vitor
to take the win. He said you can't count Randy out but Vitor
is really focused right now. He went on to say, "I'd hate
to have to fight a mentally focused Vitor Belfort."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"People are like stained glass windows, they sparkle and
shine when the sun is out, but when darkness sets in their true
beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, psychiatrist Author, On Death and Dying.
|
False
Crack Mondays Results
Volcanoes Night Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
June 21, 2004
By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com
 
(Left) Deshaun "3D" Johnson finishing Edsel
Fukuda with a short guillotine as super-referee Dain Agbayani
pulls Johnson off. (Right) Champ 3D striking a pose with his
new belt.
To meet the demand for new fighters wanting experience, False
Crack Mondays was created. It hopes to give a lot of fighters
an opportunity to make their debut in a smaller venue. As with
many new fighters, the order of the night was wild hooks...and
boy was it served up in large portions. However, the action was
at a super high intensity and carried through the second round,
burning out by the end of the fight. There were some interesting
styles from the different fighters. One fighter fought using
a French Savate style that confused his opponent for the first
half of the match, but after some adjustments, his opponent came
back to win the fight. There were three MMA matches scheduled,
but two fighters from the same gym, who showed up for weigh-ins,
did not make it to the event, leaving their opponents high and
dry. The main event pitted Deshaun "3D" Johnson and
Japanese fighter Edsel Fukuda. Johnson just fought in the Super
Brawl 155lbs tournament three days earlier, not once, but twice
that night. You would have never known it because he showed the
ferocity that we have not seen in 3D for a while. Fukuda pushed
to take the fight to the ground, but Johnson side stepped and
landed hooks, kicks and knees, making Fukuda pay for every attempt
to clinch. Fukuda started looking worse for wear, but showed
his toughness by sticking to his game plan. Johnson stopped every
take down attempt and threw a few punches from the guard before
letting Fukuda back up to his feet. The fight ended when Johnson
sprawled on a shot attempt and locked in a short guillotine on
Fukuda and pushed him back into the corner, where Fukuda had
no choice but to tap out. Johnson's impressive performance won
him the Punishment In Paradise Welterweight Championship title,
which is a sister show to False Crack Mondays. Overall, the crowd
enjoyed the action, but some of the family and friends were disappointed
with the cancelled matches. Such is the plight of a promoter.
Hopefully the event gains popularity because the promoter is
planning to hold these events monthly and possibly weekly if
there is the demand.
Exhibition:
3 Rounds - 1 Minute
Light Middleweight Kickboxing Match
3 Rounds x 1 Minute
Zane Kamaka (Freelance) vs. Alex Zarrello (Muay Thai Family Center)
Welterweight
Kickboxing Match
3 Rounds X 11/2 Minutes
Dyson Domen (Team Big dog, Waianae) def. Frank Moreno (Bulls
Pen)
Unanimous decision [(28-29), (28-27), (29-27)] after 3 rounds.
Super
Middleweight Match
3 Rounds x 1 1/2 Minutes
Joe Palino'o (Freelance) def. Jason Yee (Freelance)
Unanimous decision [(29-28), (26-24), (30-29)] after 3 rounds.
Super
Lightweight Kickboxing Match
3 Rounds x1 1/2 Minutes
Ryan Lee (Bulls Pen) def. Matthew Takata (Palolo Gym)
Unanimous decision [(26-24), (29-28), (29-27)] after 3 rounds.
Welterweight
Kickboxing Match
3 Rounds x 1 1/2 Minutes
Marcus Moreno (Bulls Pen) def. Alan Villegas (Freelance)
TKO via referee stoppage in Round 2.
Punishment
In Paradise Championship MMA Match
Welterweight
2 Rounds x 3 Minutes
Deshawn Johnson (HMC) def. Edsel Fukuda (Freelance, Japan)
Submission via short guillotine at 2:36 minutes in Round 1. |
HUGHES
ESCAPES WITH A WIN VS CHARUTO
Just
a couple of minutes into the first round, it looked as though
Matt Hughes was about to tap out, as Charuto Verissimo had locked
a triangle choke that had Hughes going out. "I just fell
on my butt to get out of it..." Hughes said after the fight.
"I was in huge trouble and just had to find a way out."
He
found his way out, when he literally dropped to his derriere
to get out of the triangle choke, which loosen the hold enough
for Verissimo to decide to change tatics in the first round.
Hughes escaped the first round and later did enough to win a
very close decision over Verissimo.
While
the outcome seemed to be in doubt until the judges cards were
read, the most perplexing thing about this fight was the fact
that two judges ruled the fight 30-27. How anyone in the building
could gives Hughes the first round is beyond comprehension. Hughes
was almost choked out, but still TWO judges ruled all three rounds
for Hughes. MMAWeekly scored the fight 29-28 Hughes in a very
close decision. (Yes we did receive a billion emails that if
this was Pride rules Verissimo would have won)
Nevertheless,
Hughes did win and hopefully we see a showdown fight between
Georges St. Pierre and Hughes from the vacant UFC welterweight
title.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Touch
of Evil's PRIDE GP News Update!
The following information comes from the Touch of Evil Newsletter,
which can be accessed at www.touchofevil.us:
The
most likely match-ups for the final four in the Pride Grand Prix
tournament are Naoya Ogawa vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Sergei
Kharitonov vs. Fedor Emelianenko. Ogawa-Nogueira was second in
the DSE Japanese fan polls for which fight fans wanted to see
the most in the second round, behind Fedor vs. Randleman. Kharitonov
and Fedor are former training partners.
The
way the match-ups work out, the most likely outcome to the Grand
Prix tournament is Fedor vs. Nogueira in the finals. Fedor already
holds a win over Nogueira in Pride in an exciting fight, so Fedor
is easily the heavy favourite to win the tournament right now.
Hidehiko
Yoshida injured his shoulder against Mark Hunt, and was very
visibly favouring the shoulder after the fight. He has a checkup
with his doctor regarding the shoulder this week to determine
whether or not he will need surgery, but he's most likely going
to be out for most of this year.
We'll
have more analysis on the possibility of Ogawa-Giant Silva being
a work in the July 5th issue of Touch of Evil Newsletter.
The
show did a 20.3 rating on FujiTV, with Yoshida-Hunt being the
highest quarter hour at 25.4
Quinton
Jackson will meet Wanderlei Silva sometime in October in a rematch
of the 2003 Grand Prix Finals, but this time it will be for Silva's
Middleweight title. Silva still has to fight Kondo first on August
15th in a non-title match. Kondo is booked against Shannon Ritch
on a Pancrase card at Korakuen Hall on June 22nd (Kondo won in
under 2 minutes).
Sakuraba's
next opponent is unknown, but the rumor is that his fight against
Nino Schembri was the beginning of a series of fights with Sakuraba
vs. Chute Boxe fighters, leading to an ultimate rematch with
Wanderlei Silva sometime down the road.
Silva
is now rumored to be fighting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Mirko
Cro Cop on New Year's Eve, which means that either a possible
fourth fight with Sakuraba will have to wait until next year,
or Pride is planning on going in a different direction with Sakuraba.
Fedor
is said to be fine after the slam from Kevin Randleman. In fact,
Fedor looked fine just moments after the slam. Ricardo Arona's
condition after being powerbombed by Quinton Jackson is not known.
Randleman's
fight against Fedor was the last on his current contract. His
new deal he signed with Pride prior to the fight is for six fights
over the
course of two years.
Rumored
Lineup for August 15th:
- Sergei Kharitonov vs. Fedor Emelianenko: GP Semi-Finals
- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Naoya Ogawa: GP Semi-Finals
- Nogueira/Ogawa vs. Kharitonov/Fedor: GP Finals
- Wanderlei Silva vs. Yuki Kondo
To
order Touch of Evil Newsletter, please visit www.touchofevil.us
for
subscription information.
Source: ADCC
|
AND
"NEW" UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION....WILL SYLVIA EVER
BE THE SAME AFTER INJURY?
He
was a big underdog entering the fight. He heard the comparisions
that were flying around Las Vegas. If Ricco Rodriguez couldn't
take down Tim Syliva, how could Frank Mir.
Well
Mir not only took down Tim Sylvia, he finished him in under a
minute. Think about that for a moment folks. Tim Sylvia, who
had been not only the champion, but dominant champion, lost in
under a minute to the skilled black belt jiu-jitsu player.
"I
knew once I got the arm, that I would finish him" Mir told
MMAWeekly. "He's a tough guy and I was surprised he still
wanted to fight....you know the Miletich guys, they will never
tap..." but not tapping may have damaged the future for
the former champion.
No
one will ever question the toughness of Big Tim Sylvia, but after
breaking the two bones in his forearm, the immediate future doesn't
look good. MMAWeekly Reader, Gary Furness, who is a doctor, posted
his expert opinion on the Soundoff Forum. "Unfortunately,
it appeared that Tim Sylvia suffered what is commonly called
a "both bones" fracture of his mid forearm. Usually,
both the ulna and radius are fractured, and the typcial method
of healing involves a metal plate plus a half dozen screws, to
be in place for several weeks. Long term, his forearm will always
be weakened." Not a good diagnosis for the former champion.
For
the current champion, maybe people will start respecting Frank
Mir. He is a fighter who was barely ranked in the Top 10 in the
latest Fighters and Broadcasters Poll at MMAWeekly. He has always
has been knocked as being "too soft" in the Octagon,
but the bottom line is this. He has just one loss in his professional
career and he has finished ever fight he has been in, with the
exception of his first fight of his career. Maybe now Frank Mir
will get the respect he deserves.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
FEDOR
TAKES OUT RANDLEMAN IN GRAND PRIX
Kevin Randleman had so much emotion going into the fight with
Fedor Emelieneko, that it was hard to predict how his fight would
go.
Randleman
used the emotion to his advantage early in the fight. After taking
down the bigger Fedor early in the fight, "Big Kev"
executed a vicious belly to back suplex that amazed all 43,000
people watching in attendance.
For
a split second, it looked as though Randleman would KO Fedor
as Kevin pulled off an incredible suplex/slam that was similar,
to Sapp and Nogueira as Fedor apperared to land on his neck from
the violent slam.
Fedor,
basically landing on his head, somehow survived the slam and
would later establish superior position from the north/south
position and would go on to apply a kimura for the submission
victory.
Fedor
showed why he is the best heavyweight in all of mixed martial
arts, with the impressive submission victory over Kevin Randleman
in the emotionally charged match.
Fedor
will now wait and see who his next fight will be against. Will
he face his countryman in Kharitonov , or will he face the Brazilian
submission machine in Minotauro Nogueira in a rematch, or will
it be the Japanese fighter Ogawa? We should know soon enough,
but this is what we do know. The best Heavyweight in the world,
showed why he is the champion, as Fedor moves on in the Pride
Grand Prix.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
"RAMPAGE"
SLAM DIFFERENCE IN FIGHT
A nasty cut that took somewhere between 30 and 40 stiches to
close, he took a nasty kick that had him stunned, he had to fight
off submissions and from a fight Arona was winning, it all changed
quickly from one huge slam by the man we know as "Rampage"
Quinton
"Rampage" Jackson picked up Arona after Ricardo was
trying to lock down a triangle choke, and Rampage elevated his
opponent past his head and threw down Arona, what almost seemed
through the mat with a violent, powerful slam to knock out Arona
late in the first round.
The
win for Jackson allows him to face Vanderlei Silva, for a shot
at the middleweight title.
Jackson
fought off submission attempt after submission attempt and some
how survived a kick from Arona, in his guard that dropped Jackson
for a moment.
Somehow
though, Rampage would survive the Arona onslaught and win with
just over a minute left in the round to get the ko victory and
set up a huge showdown between himself and Vanderlei Silva.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MINOTAURO
WINS AGAIN,
KHARINTAROV IS FOR REAL
Minotauro Nogueira has shown the world that he is back as one
of the best in the world in the heavyweight division.
A
very game Heath Herring spent the first round standing with Noguiera,
but half way through the round, the fight would go to the ground
and Herring would spend a lot of time escaping from Nogueira's
potential submissions.
Herring
did a great job defending the submissions and extend the fight
to the second round. It was in the second round that Herring
would shoot in to try and get Nogueira down to the ground, but
in the end Herring would pay for the mistake.
After
Herring came in on a shot, it was Nogueira locking in a guillotine
choke, but then changing the position of the hold to a "anaconda"
choke, as he calls it, and Herring could not escape in the opening
stages of the second round and would later have to tap out in
the second round.
Nogueira
was very active in the fight, showing a ton of aggressiveness
with an offensive arsenal of submission skills. The "old"
Nogueira appears to be back which is bad news for future opponents
in the Pride Grand Prix.
If
there was a question going in how good Sergei Kharitonov was,
the answers came fast and furious as Kharitonov was extremely
impressive with a win over Semmy Schilt.
There
seemed to be questions about the Russian after defeating blown
up middleweight fighter Murilo Ninja Rua in his last fight. This
time though, he took out the 6'10, 300 pound Schilt with a vicious
ground n pound style.
After
a very entertaining exchange, where Schilt swept Kharitonov,
it was Sergei coming back and getting superior position and using
some wicked ground n pound, pinning Schilt's left hand, behind
the right leg of the russian and landing many hammer fans then
went unanswered, turning Schilts fans into a bloody mess. The
referee would have to stop the fight after Schilt could not intelligently
defend himself from the wicked blows in the first round TKO.
If
there were any questions before the fight, there is no question
now. Kharitonov is a legitmate contender and has a shot to win
the entire Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
SAK,
YOSHIDA AND OGAWA ALL WIN AS JAPAN GOES 3-0
One of the bigger stories in this past Grand Prix was how the
Japanese fighters performed this past weekend. The Japanese fighters
went 3-0 in Pride's Critical Countdown.
Kazushi
Sakuraba got more than he bargained for against Elivs "Nino"
Schembri. Sakuraba's superior striking style was the big difference
in the fight, but Nino was very game and surprised the over 43,000
in attendance, pressuring Saku through out the fight, as it was
Sakuraba getting a unanimous decision over Schembri.
Naoya
Ogawa continues to be impressive with a TKO victory over Giant
Silva in Round 1. There were a few questions whether Ogawa could
get the big giant down, but just a few minutes into the first
round, not only did he get the mammoth 7'7 fighter down, he punished
him on way to the TKO victory.
In
a high profile match, what happens when a gold medalist judo
player in Hidehiko Yoshida faces one of the most feared strikes
in K-1 in Mark Hunt? As usually is the case, the ground fighter
beats the stand up fighter as Yoshida took down a very game Hunt
and ended up with a submission victory by armbar in Round 1.
Hunt
tried to keep the fight standing, but Yoshida did a very good
job of closing the distance and after taking some nice body shots,
it was Yoshida securing the arm for an arm bar victory over Hunt,
as the Japanese fighters sweep the three matches at Critical
Countdown.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
PRELIM
FIGHTS SEE STARS ON THE RISE
UFC 48
STARS ON THE RISE
People
argued whether Ken Shamrock and Kimo Leopoldo was worthy of main
event status or whether the UFC Heavyweight title bout between
Tim Sylvia and Frank Mir should be at the top of the card at
UFC 48 held Saturday night in Las Vegas. Regardless of who was
at the top of the card, one thing is for sure, those arguments
aren't going to stop anytime soon because there are some fighters
on their way up that are going to be vying for main event status
for some time to come.
The
preliminary fights, or dark matches, at Mandalay Bay Hotel &
Casino, was a diverse crew of fighters that ranged from young
first timers in the octagon to cagey veterans and everywhere
in between. One common thread between them all? They all came
to fight and fight they did.
In
the first bout of the night, the latest fighter in the current
wave of impressive Canadians crossing the boarder, Georges St.
Pierre, came out fast and furious and proved that his win over
Karo Parisyan at UFC 46 was no fluke.
St.
Pierre squared off against UFC first timer Jay Heiron. Most were
a little suspect of Heiron's credentials coming in, with only
4 total MMA bouts to his credit. Heiron's conditioning was excellent
and he actually looked pretty good standing and trading with
St. Pierre. Unfortunately for Heiron, St. Pierre was one step
ahead the entire bout. About a minute and a half into the bout,
St. Pierre landed a nice combination that dropped Heiron and
immediately pounced on top of him and landed punches and forearms
until referee Steve Mazzagatti was forced to stop the bout at
1:45 of the first round.
St.
Pierre then did a little spin-a-rooni move on the mat followed
by some acrobatics that proved, not only is he a well rounded
fighter, but he knows how to get the crowd excited as well. At
the post fight press conference, UFC President Dana White introduced
St. Pierre as "the future of the 170 pound division."
That's high praise considering the UFC's welterweight class already
includes Matt Hughes, Frank Trigg, Charuto Verissimo, Nick Diaz
and Karo Parisyan.
The
next preliminary bout featured two longtime MMA veterans, Trevor
Prangley and Curtis Stout. Prangley was making his Octagon debut
and Stout his sophomore attempt in the cage.
South
African Prangley controlled this bout from start to finish, taking
Stout down at will and wearing him down with an effective ground
and pound strategy. There were a few good exchanges on the feet
as well, but it was Prangley that showed his diversity of skill
and took Stout down in the second round and finished him by applying
a neck crank that actually constricts the rib cage area causing
Stout to tap out at 1:09 of the second round.
Now
7-1 as a professional, Prangley's only loss was to a much bigger
Renato "Babalu" Sobral in the IFC Light Heavyweight
Tournament last year. At 31 years of age, he is looking to make
his name in the big leagues and Prangley has shown the well rounded
skills that it will take to do so. Expect him to be vying for
the top position in the middleweight division, soon.
The
final preliminary bout pitted Matt Serra, a seven time UFC veteran,
against Octagon newcomer Ivan Menjivar. Serra really needed a
win here, having lost two of his last three bouts. Menjivar,
a star in Canada, was stepping up onto the biggest stage of his
career and looking to impress. Neither fighter disappointed.
Serra
was visibly much larger than Menjivar, a fighter used to competing
at 145 pounds, but stepping up to 155 for his UFC debut. Serra
used his size to his advantage throughout the bout and basically
converted himself from a submission specialist to a ground and
pounder. He consistently was able to put Menjivar on his back
and used his size to control and pound him.
Menjivar,
for his part, was very active from the bottom and able to reverse
positions several times. Serra was still able to score the takedown,
basically at will. At one point in the second round, Serra performed
a huge belly to back suplex, but landed with Menjivar applying
a kimura lock that he was barely able to fend off until the bell.
Serra
continued his assault throughout the third round, still fighting
off Menjivar's submission attempts and scoring with his ground
and pound attack to win by unanimous decision. Serra's conversion
from submission expert to ground and pounder was a tremendously
effective strategy that really played to his size advantage.
Serra evolved once again to show that he continues to grow and
earned his spot in the UFC.
For
his part, Menjivar was very exciting and nearly pulled off the
victory at the end of the second round. He showed a lot of heart
and skill and would be a great addition to the UFC's lightweight
division. Hopefully, they will bring him back soon and match
him up in bouts against Hermes Franca and Yves Edwards. Stylistically,
these would be great fights with tons of explosive potential.
The
victors will be back for sure. Serra, despite being a veteran,
showed that he is still growing as a fighter and is a player
in the UFC. Prangley and St. Pierre showed that there is some
tremendous
talent out there that will continue to drive the future of the
UFC. St. Pierre especially is a very exciting fighter that is
the prototype of the complete package that is starting to dominate
in MMA. Looks like there is a bright future ahead as new talent
continues to rise.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They
see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire
of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these dreams die,
but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days
till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always
to those who hope that their dreams will come true."
Woodrow Wilson, 1856-1924, Twenty-eighth President of the USA
|
UFC
49: Unfinished 'Business' - A First Look!
UFC 49: Unfinished Business
Saturday, August 21, 2004
MGM Grand Garden
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las
Vegas, Nevada -- Randy “The Natural” Couture has unfinished
business to take care of Saturday, August 21st, at the MGM Grand
Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada, as he returns to the octagon to
fight Vitor Belfort in the main event at “UFC 49: Unfinished
Business.”
Couture,
12-6-0, from Portland, Oregon, is determined to get back the
light heavyweight title he lost to Brazilian phenom Vitor Belfort,
12-3-0, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, in a fight that ended quickly
at “UFC 46: Super Natural.” Belfort is out to prove
that his win over Couture was no fluke. Belfort caught Couture
with a glancing left hook in the first 30 seconds of the fight
that opened a deep cut under Couture’s left eye. As the
fighters clinched, referee John McCarthy stopped the fight at
the 0:48 mark so Nevada State Athletic Commission doctors could
check the cut. Suddenly, it was over almost before it began and
Belfort was the new UFC light heavyweight champ. Couture suffered
a corneal abrasion that impaired his vision and NSAC doctors
ruled he could not continue.
Light
Heavyweight Championship: Vitor Belfort vs. Randy Couture
Light Heavyweight: Chuck Liddell vs. Vernon White
Welterweight: Nick Diaz vs. Karo Pariysan
Middleweight: David Terrell vs. Matt Lindland
Heavyweight: Mike Kyle vs. Justin Eilers
Middleweight: Robbie Lawler vs. Ronald Jhun
Middleweight: Joe Riggs vs. Joe Doerksen
Lightweight: Josh Thomson vs. Yves Edwards
Source: ADCC
|
Wanderlei
confirms: 'I will face Rodrigo Minotauro or Mirko Cro Cop on
December 31st´
Pride´s middleweight champion, Wanderlei Silva is scheduled
to face the Japanese star Yuki Kondo on August 15th, but the
brazilian fighter is already thinking almost six months ahead.
Last week, he confirmed the information that many of martial
arts fans would like to hear: 'I will face Rodrigo Minotauro
Nogueira or Mirko Cro Cop on December 31st' stated Wand.
The
chuteboxer pointed to his countryman Nogueira as the toughest
fighter in the world: 'To beat him, I must avoid his takedowns
and try to win the fight using my striking skills. I will try
to knock him out while we are standing'.
Rodrigo
Minotauro Nogueira, who defeated Heath Herring last Sunday during
the Pride GP quarterfinals, celebrates the opportunity to face
Wanderlei. 'I´m more than ready to get him. I respect him
very much and I think it is going to be a great fight, in a great
event. Maybe I am the one who will stop his streak and end his
four year period without a defeat' says Minotauro.
The
challenge against Minotauro might be the first step for Wanderlei
Silva on his way to the heavyweight category. 'My current weight
is 98kg and I´m ready to fight anyone, whether im my category
or among the heavyweights, I´m able to face any fighter
in the world', ends Wand.
Do
you disagree?
Source: ADCC
|
JUNE
2004 - ADCC's TOP TEN MMA!
under 145 lbs.
#1 Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira (Brazil)
#2 Jens Pulver (Team EXTREME, USA)
#3 Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto (Japan)
#4 Joao Roque (Nova Uniao, Brazil)
#5 Ivan Menjivar (Costa Rica)
#6 Stephen
Paling (USA)
#7 Tetsuo Katsuta (Japan)
#8 Hiroyuki Abe (Japan)
#9 Hiroyuki Takaya (Japan)
#10 Mike Brown (Team Elite, USA)
145.1
- 155 lbs.
#1 Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro (Nova Uniao, Brazil)
#2 Yves Edwards (3rd Column, USA)
#3 Genki Sudo (Japan)
#4 Joachim Hansen (Team Scandinavia, Oslo, Norway)
#5 Josh Thompson (Team AKA, USA)
#6 Caol Uno (Japan)
#7 Takanori Gomi (SHOOTO, Japan)
#8 Hermes Franca (American TOP TEAM, USA)
#9 Matt Serra (Team Renzo Gracie, USA)
#10 Caol Uno (Japan)
155.1
- 170 lbs.
#1 BJ Penn
(USA)
#2 Matt Hughes (Miletich Fighting Systems,, USA)
#3 Sean Sherk (USA)
#4 Jutaro Nakao (Japan)
#5 Rodrigo Gracie (Team Renzo Gracie, USA)
#6 Nick Diaz (Cesar Gracie, USA)
#7 Chris Lytle (Integrated Fighting, USA)
#8 Renato
Verrisimo (Nova Uniao, Brazil)
#9 Carlos Newton (Canada)
#10 Frank Trigg (USA)
170.1
- 185 lbs.
#1 Yuki Kondo (Japan)
#2 Jeremy Horn (Miletich Fighting Systems,, USA)
#3 Anderson Silva (Brazil)
#4 Kazushi Sakuraba (Japan)
#5 Matt Lindland (USA)
#6 Masanori Suda (SHOOTO Champion, Japan)
#7 Evan Tanner (USA)
#8 Ricardo Almeida (Team Renzo Gracie, USA)
#9 Amar Suloev (Red Devil, Russia)
#10 Denis Kang (Soares JJ, Canada)
185.1
- 205 lbs.
#1 Wanderlei Silva (Chute Boxe, Brazil)
#2 Randy Couture (Team Quest, USA)
#3 Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson (USA)
#4 Vitor Belfort (Brazil)
#5 Dan Henderson (USA)
#6 Chuck Liddell (USA)
#7 Tito Ortiz (USA)
#8 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Brazilian TOP TEAM, Brazil)
#9 Rich Franklin (Team EXTREME, USA)
#10 Renato 'Babalu' (Brazil)
205.1
lbs and Up.
#1 Emilianenko Fedor (Red Devil, Russia)
#2 Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira (Brazilian TOP TEAM, Brazil)
#3 Josh Barnett (NJPW, USA)
#4 Frank Mir (Pires JJ, USA)
#5 Andrei Orlovski (Belarus)
#6 Mirko Filipovic (Croatia)
#7 Sergei Kharitonov (Russia)
#8 Tim Sylvia (Miletich Fighting Systems, USA)
#9 Ibragim Magomedov (Red Devil, Russia)
#10 Pedro Rizzo (Brazil)
Source: ADCC
|
A
HEALTHY LEGEND FINISHES KIMO
He is already a UFC Hall of Famer and on Saturday night he went
back in time as the Shamrock of old was present at Mandalay Bay.
In front of an announced crowd of just over 10,000 people, a
healthy Ken Shamrock made quick work of Kimo with a perfectly
timed knee that knocked out the bigger heavyweight. "I didn't
have any injuries and I've been healthy for the first time in
many years...." Shamrock told MMAWeekly.
A
couple of telling signs early in the fight is when Kimo shot
in on to try and take down Shamrock. Ken just pushed Kimo to
the side on the shot, then put Kimo up against the fence, negating
Kimo's strength. That showed that the strength and knee was back
for Ken. Even though Shamrock was giving up 26 pounds, it looked
as though Shamrock was the stronger fighter.
After
Kimo could not wrestle down Shamrock, it was the 40 year old
Shamrock, working hard in the clinch and landing a perfect Muay
Thai knee that ended the night for the man from Hunington Beach.
The
press conference was just as entertaining as the fight in the
Octagon. Shamrock got up and spoke to the media and was very
gracious in the victory. After Shamrock was done with his speech,
UFC President Dana White got up and asked for questions. That's
when Tito Ortiz followed up with a couple of comments that got
the blood boiling for Shamrock.
Shamrock
responded with a few comments, maybe the best was the quote when
Shamrock told Tito "I'm going to hit you so hard, I'm going
to knock your hair...black." The entire post fight press
conference is up right now on MMAWeekly TV.
So
what will Shamrock's future be? Most likely against Tito Ortiz.
Don't be surprised if this fight highlightes UFC 50. What better
way to celebrate 50 fights for the UFC then another Shamrock
vs Ortiz fight? They saw the magic at UFC 40's Vendetta. Don't
be surprised if it happens again. Shamrock said in the press
conference he would like to fight Tito at 208, not 205. Would
it be any different? Judging from Shamrock's mobility and performance,
it defintely could be different the second time around.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
U.S.
MEN WRESTLERS ROUT GEORGIA AND SPAIN, BUT U.S. WOMEN SPLIT WITH
CANADA, AT TITAN GAMES
The
second annual Titan Games came to a close Sunday night in Atlanta
with a series of decisive victories for the American men freestyle
and Greco-Roman wrestlers over Georgia and Spain.
While
most of those wrestling for the U.S. were members of the 2004
U.S.. Olympic Team, Georgia, the 2003 world champions in both
freestyle and Greco, did not send many of their top wrestlers
to this event, less than two months before the start of the 2004
Olympic Games in August in Athens, Greece.
While
the American women escaped with an 8-6 team win over Canada,
each team, which included their respective country's 2004 Olympians,
won two matches.
The
most significant wins in women's wrestling came at 48 kg/105.5
lbs., where 2003 World Cup gold medalist Lyndsay Belisle of Canada
defeated two-time world silver medalist Patricia Miranda of the
U.S., 4-0, and at 72 kg/158.5 lbs., where two-time world silver
medalist Toccara Montgomery scored a pin over Canada's six-time
world champion, Christine Nordhagen.
The
reported total attendance for this three-day, multi-sport event
was 11,334. The Ultimate Titan awards went to female judoka Celita
Schutz and male weightlifter Shane Hamman. The Rising Star Award
went to judoka Ronda Rousey.
For
complete Titan Games results in all sports, go to:
http://www.usolympicteam.com/titangames/index.cfm
Below
are the press releases issued by USA Wrestling and the final
results issued by the U.S. Olympic Committee for the wrestling
competition.
WRESTLING:
U.S. men's freestylers close out 2004 Titan Games with 26-3 win
over Georgia
by John Fuller - USA Wrestling
Atlanta,
Ga. - The U.S. men's freestyle team closed out competition at
the 2004 Titan Games Built by Home Depot on Sunday evening with
a 26-3 win over the Republic of Georgia.
In
the closest match of the evening, Eric Guerrero battled for a
4-1 victory over Levan Chabradze at 60 kg/132 lbs.
Guerrero
trailed 1-0 midway through the first period before scoring four
consecutive points to win the match.
2003
World silver medalists Cael Sanderson (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids)
and Kerry McCoy (Bethlehem, Pa./New York AC) also posted victories.
Sanderson
defeated Malkhaz Jorbenadze 9-1 at 84 kg/185 lbs. McCoy won by
injury default over David Otiashvili at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.
'Any
time you can get international competition is a great advantage.
Any time you can get top level international competition, it's
that much better,' stated McCoy as he spoke of the competition
at the Titan Games.
2001
World bronze medalist Joe Williams (Iowa City, Iowa/Sunkist Kids)
won by a 10-0 technical superiority at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Daniel
Cormier (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) won by a 11-1 technical
superiority at 96 kg/211.5 lbs.
Winning
by forfeit were Stephen Abas (Fresno, Calif./Sunkist Kids) at
55 kg/121 lbs. and Jamill Kelly (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC)
at 66 kg/145.5 lbs
TITAN
GAMES -- Session IV
Sunday, June 20, 2004
Philips Arena, Atlanta, Ga.
Greco-Roman: Georgia 16, Spain 10
55 kg/121 lbs. - Vicente Lillo (ESP) win by forfeit
60 kg/132 lbs. - Lasha Lomadze (GEO) dec. Joaquin Martinez (ESP),
2-1 OT
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Moises Sanchez (ESP) win by forfeit
74 kg/163 lbs. - Tariel Melashvili (GEO) dec. Alberto Recuero
(ESP), 3-0
84 kg/185 lbs. - Tedo Kupatadze (GEO) tech fall Ramon Garcia
(ESP), 11-0 4:27
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Petre Metreveli (GEO) dec. Waldo Moreno (ESP),
7-1
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Revaz Chelidze (GEO) dec. Jairo Rodriguez
(ESP), 7-0
Greco-Roman
Exhibition Matches
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Jim Gruenwald (USA) tech fall Ahamed Jasim
(IRQ), 11-0 at 5:30
Men's
Freestyle: USA 26, Georgia 3
55 kg/121 lbs. - Stephen Abas (USA) win by forfeit
60 kg/132 lbs. - Eric Guerrero (USA) dec. Levan Chabradze (GEO),
4-1
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Jamill Kelly (USA) win by forfeit
74 kg/163 lbs. - Joe Williams (USA) tech fall Mikheil Kharebava
(GEO), 10-0 at 2:51
84 kg/185 lbs. - Cael Sanderson (USA) dec. Malkhaz Jorbenadze
(GEO), 9-1
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Daniel Cormier (USA) tech fall Tamaz Gegeshidze
(GEO), 11-1
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Kerry McCoy (USA) win by injury default David
Otiashvili (GEO)
Team
Results
Women's Freestyle
1. USA
2. CAN
Men's
Freestyle
1. USA
2. GEO
3. ESP
Men's
Greco-Roman Wrestling
1. USA
2. GEO
3. ESP
WRESTLING:
Belisle upsets Miranda, men's Greco-Roman team tears through
Spain
by
John Fuller - USA Wrestling
Atlanta,
Ga. - Canada won its first two matches in a dual meet against
the U.S. women's freestyle Olympic Team at the 2004 Titan Games,
Built by Home Depot, but it was not enough as the U.S. pulled
away with an 8-6 win at Phillips Arena.
Lyndsay
Belisle, a 2003 World Cup gold medalist, upset two-time World
silver medalist Patricia Miranda (Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave
Schultz WC) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs., 4-0. Belisle controlled the
entire match, and Miranda was unable to finish her shot attempts
in the match.
Pins
by Sara McMann (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 63 kg/138..75
lbs. and Toccara Montgomery (Cleveland, Ohio/New York AC) at
72 kg/158.5 lbs. gave the U.S. team the win, however.
Montgomery's
pin was over six-time World champion Christine Nordhagen.
McMann
pinned 2003 World bronze medalist Viola Yanik midway through
the second period. The match was tied 1-1 at the time of the
fall.
Tela
O'Donnell (Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave Schultz WC) dropped a
9-4 decision to 2003 World Cup silver medalist Tonya Verbeek
at 55 kg/121 lbs.
In
Greco-Roman action, the U.S. won six of seven matches en route
to a 22-6 win over Spain.
2000
Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner (Cascade, Colo./Sunkist Kids)
dominated Jairo Rodriguez 10-0 at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. to finish
off the victory for the U.S. Gardner's win was the third technical
fall in the dual meet for the U.S.
'I
did exactly what I wanted to do, even while nursing my wrist
back to health. I set up the way I wanted it to a go,' Gardner
said after his win.
The
U.S. won two matches against 2004 Olympic wrestlers in the dual
meet.
At
66 kg/145.5 lbs., Oscar Wood (Fountain, Colo./U.S. Army) continued
to dominate, pinning Moises Sanchez midway through the second
period. Keith Sieracki (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army), fought
back from a 3-0 deficit to wear down 2004 Olympian Albert Recuero
in a 7-3 win.
Also
posting wins for the U.S. Greco-Roman team were Lindsey Durlacher
(Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 55 kg/121 lbs., Jim
Gruenwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 60 kg/132
lbs. and Brad Vering (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at
84 kg/185 lbs.
Vering
and Gruenwald both recorded wins by technical superiority.
2000
Olympic bronze medalist Garrett Lowney (Freedom, Wis./Minnesota
Storm) did not compete due to damaged cartilage in his ribs.
Also
injured an unable to compete is Giorgi Kharebava of the Republic
of Georgia, who was competing in both styles at 66 kg/145.5 lbs.
Kharebava tore his ACL last night.
Spain
defeated the Republic of Georgia 12-12 on the criteria of most
wins (4-3) in men's freestyle action.
In
an exhibition match, Tariel Melelashvili of Georgia pinned Ahmed
Weali of Iraq at 74 kg/163 lbs. in Greco-Roman competition
TITAN
GAMES - Session III
Sunday, June 20, 2004
Philips Arena, Atlanta, Ga.
Women's
Freestyle: USA 8, Canada 6
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Lyndsay Belisle (CAN) dec. Patricia Miranda
(USA), 4-0
55 kg/121 lbs. - Tonya Verbeek (CAN) dec. Tela O'Donnell (USA),
9-4
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Sara McMann (USA) fall Viola Yanik (CAN),
at 4:12
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Toccara Montgomery (USA) fall Christine Nordhagen
(CAN), at 3:34
Greco-Roman:
USA 22, Spain 6
55 kg/121 lbs. - Lindsey Durlacher (USA) dec. Vicente Lillo (ESP),
8-4
60 kg/132 lbs. - Jim Gruenwald (USA) tech fall Joaquin Martinez
(ESP), 10-0 at 4:59
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Oscar Wood (USA) fall Moises Sanchez (ESP),
at 4:40
74 kg/163 lbs. - Keith Sieracki (USA) dec. Alberto Recuero (ESP),
7-3
84 kg/185 lbs. - Brad Vering (USA) tech fall Ramon Garcia (ESP),
11-0 at :47
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Waldo Moreno (ESP) win by medical forfeit
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Rulon Gardner (USA) tech fall Jairo Rodriguez
(ESP), 10-0 at 4:12
Greco-Roman
Exhibition Matches
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Ahamed Jasim (IRQ) win by medical forfeit
74 kg/163 lbs. - Tariel Melashvili (GEO) fall Ahmed Weali (IRQ),
at 1:30
Men's
Freestyle: Spain 12, Georgia 12
55 kg/121 lbs. - Francisco Sanchez (ESP) v. win by forfeit
60 kg/132 lbs. - David Del Val (ESP) tech fall Levan Chabradze
(GEO), 10-0 at 3:58
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Fernando Rodriguez (ESP) v. win by forfeit
74 kg/163 lbs. - Urtzi Lertxundi (ESP) dec. Mikheil Kharebava
(GEO), 4-3
84 kg/185 lbs. - Malkhaz Jorbenadze (GEO) win by default
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Tamaz Gegeshidze (GEO) dec. Nicolas Castro
(ESP), 9-5
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - David Otiashvili (GEO) tech fall Jose Cuba
(ESP), 10-0 at 2:01
Source: ADCC
|
Quote
of the Day
"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life,
that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping
himself."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882, American Poet, Essayist
|
Monday
Night Fights Tonight!
Volcanoes
Night Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
June 21, 2004
Doors Open @ 6:30pm
Fights Start @ 7:30pm
Volcanos
is the club behind Nimitz Business Center with Eagle Cafe (the
old World Cafe).
Last fight card released (subject to change):
HMC'S Johnson to
Fight Japans Fukuda for P.I.P Welterweight Belt
We
are pleased to announce Deshawn Johnson will fight Undefeated
Edsel Fukuda a freelance fighter from Japan for the vacant Punishment
In Paradise Welterweight Championship Belt.
Welterweight
Championship MMA Match
165lbs. 2x3 Minute Rounds
Deshawn Johnson (HMC) Vs. Edsel Fukuda (Freelance,Japan)
Featherweight
MMA Match
135lbs. 2x3 Minute Rounds
Mark Oshiro (Bulls Pin, Kalihi) Vs. Kini Sofa (Hardknocks, Waianae)
Welterweight
Kickboxing Match
147lbs. 3x11/;2 Minute Rounds
Marcus Moreno (Bulls Pin, Kailihi) Vs. Louis (Team Bigdogs, Waianae)
Welterweight
Kickboxing Match
147lbs. 3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Toni “The Tiger’ Rodriquez (Team Bigdogs) Vs. Alex
(Home Grown Muay Thai)
Super
Lightweight Kickboxing Match
137lbs. 3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Ryan Lee (Bulls Pin, Waipahu) Vs. Chad (Bigdogs, Waianae)
Welterweight
MMA Match
175lbs. 2x3 Minute Rounds
Rae Cavako(Eastside, Kailua) Vs. Mickey Tafflinger (Team Nanakuli)
Super
Middleweight Kickboxing Match
172lbs. 3x2 Minute Rounds
Kevin Smith (Team Bigdogs,Waianae) Vs. Bryon Ingram (Freelance,
California)
Flyweight
MMA Match
145lbs 2x3 Minute Rounds
Kevin Delima (Bulls Pin, Kalihi) Vs. Curtis Rivera (Freelance,
Waianae)
Welterweight
Kickboxing Match
147lbs. 3X2 Minute Rounds
Frank Moreno (Bulls Pin, Kalihi) Vs. Dyson (Team Bigdogs, Waianae)
Light
Middleweight Kickboxing Match
159lbs. 3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Zane Kamaka (Freelance, Waianae) Vs. Mike (Hardknocks, Waianae)
Source: Event Promoter |
Post-fight
with new KOTC champion Diego Sanchez
On
June 12th, Diego Sanchez won the vacant KOTC Welterweight belt
by beating American Top Team’s Jorge Santiago via unanimous
decision. Up until about two weeks prior, the belt was held by
John Alessio with Jorge scheduled to fight him for the belt this
night, and Diego to fight the winner in August.
KM:
What are your thoughts on being the new King Of The Cage Welterweight
champion? DS: I worked so hard for it but after I won it, it
was a weird feeling. I knew the guy was tough but I wasn’t
expecting him to come in with so much heart. He trained three
months to fight John Alessio day in and day out and he wanted
it. I took the fight on a thirteen days notice and I didn’t
tell nobody about this but I injured my tendon on my right leg
so I was unable to run for two months. The only conditioning
I could really do was jump rope and wrestling but that just wasn’t
enough. I ended up getting tired.
KM:
Tell me about the first round. DS: We mixed it up a little bit
but he didn’t want to come in on me so I had to push. He
maybe caught me with five or six punches throughout but mainly
I took him down and I had some real ground-and-pound. After the
fight my forearm was sore, my elbows, my big knuckle on my right
hand was extremely sprained. I thought I was going to feel better
than I did but I was kind of tired. I kind of punched myself
out a little bit throwing a lot of leather.
KM:
I heard he got a good slam in the second round. Can you describe
that? DS: We came out in the second round and mixed it up a little
bit, we got into a clinch, and he was a real lanky guy so he
had underhooks on me and I had a bear hug overlock on him. He
had inside position on me and I had him up against the cage resting
trying to catch my breath and he got me with a little judo trip.
He sunk his leg inside and had a pretty good takedown on me.
He ended up in side mount but as soon as we got to the ground
I got my hips out and got back into the guard. I was being more
aggressive than he was, throwing harder strikes and defending
all his strikes and basically he was trying to stall on the top
so Cecil (ref) stood us back up. He landed a couple inside leg
kicks and then I dropped him with a right hook. He went down
and I landed another big punch on him and thought for sure he
was going to go out but he didn’t. He stayed conscious and
I pounded throughout the rest of that round.
KM:
Third round? DS: We mixed it up a little bit and I went in with
a combination and he threw a high kick. I caught his leg and
I took him down, pounding him from the guard some more. I passed
his guard to side mount and then took the mount. When I took
the mount I fired hard shots and I saw a real clean armbar. I
went to go for the armbar and my coach Greg told me ‘no,
hit him’. I hit him and he kind of turtled a little bit
so I was in the middle of his back and in the mount. I hit him
with a big left hook to the nose and he went back in the mount
position. I decided to go for the armbar but unfortunately he
turned his arm over and I kind of had a triangle on him and time
ran out.
KM:
I heard with the exception of that slam that the fight was all
you. Was that the fight for which you want to be remembered?
DS: I should have been in better shape. I couldn’t run and
didn’t want to tell nobody and took the fight on a short
amount of time plus me and my trainer Greg had a big plan to
work a lot of up fighting, a lot of kickboxing, and a lot of
boxing up until August (when he was originally scheduled to fight
the winner of Alessio/Santiago) because mostly I have been doing
a lot of ground fights and submission grappling tournaments.
I did give the fans and the MMA world a little bit of a view
of how I fight but it’s not totally all me.
KM:
At what point did you feel the fatigue? DS: Going into the second
round. I felt pretty fresh the first five minutes. I was throwing
so much…Jorge Santiago has a huge heart, a true warrior.
He showed a lot of spirit and I’m sure he’s going to
come back from this loss. A very tough fighter. I have never
seen a person take that kind of punishment and not go out.
KM:
From a team perspective or New Mexican perspective is there any
sense of vindication like “proved New Mexico is worthy”?
DS: Only have to say one thing. My team is going to prove to
America that we are the American top team. I’m not trying
to talk trash or anything but are 85% Brazilian and that is not
American in my opinion. We re going to continue to win and we’re
going to show who really is the American top team.
KM:
Now that it is over is there any sense of dissatisfaction it
wasn’t Alessio or that it was a vacant belt? DS: Not at
all. I know Jorge Santiago has two losses but I think as a fighter
he really learned from those losses and they have guided him
to be a better fighter. The Jorge Santiago I fought was not the
same Jorge Santiago that lost those other fights at all.
KM:
You were originally scheduled to fight for the belt in August.
Is there any word on if your first defense would be in August
or if you would get some time off? DS: I might defend it in August,
I really don’t know. I kind of hurt my hand so might be
taking a couple weeks off. It’s not broken or anything…I’ll
be back at the gym as soon as possible.
KM:
That was your first decision. Do you feel disappointed you didn’t
finish him or content you have proven you can go the distance?
DS: I would rather have finished him. This fight I take as a
learning experience. Now that I’ve worked my way to the
top now if I’m hurt I’m not going to take the fight.
In a way it’s a blessing in disguise because anybody looking
at the fight can say “oh, I can take him in this area or
take him in that area, look. he got tired” and they’ll
think they can hang with my pace but they will find out when
they get in that cage it’s not going to be the same pace.
When I defend the belt it’s going to be in New Mexico and
they’ll come up to 5,000 feet altitude.
KM:
Are you superstitious at all? DS: I’m not really superstitious,
I just believe in God.
KM:
I’m not either. Where this is going is in the past I’ve
made the point the Welterweight belt has only been successfully
defended once and that was by Joe Hurley back in ’99. Since
then it has either been vacated or the champion lost. Given that
Matt Hughes years ago said you aren’t really the champion
until you have defended the belt at least once how do you feel
about defending it? DS: I feel that I’m special and the
KOTC belt is just a stepping stone for me. I will move on to
bigger things. I will defend it and they will have to come to
New Mexico and get the beatdown. The first guy who will probably
get the title shot will be Thomas Denny.
Source: ADCC |
TAKADA
STUDENT TO STAY AT CHUTE BOXE FOR 3 MONTHS!
Japanese
fighter Wataru Takahashi of Takada Dojo made hjis MMA debut at
the last Meca FC event last June 5th, and he received a gift
from his master Takada, after submitting local warrior Emerson
Portilho with a guillotine choke in 4min48s.
Wataru
will stay in Brazil training at the world famous Chute Boxe gym
in Curitiba for 3 months. During this period, he will be living
inside the academy. The 19 years old japanese fighter will have
the oportunity to train 3 times a day with some of Vale-Tudo
top fighters, such as Wanderlei and Shogun. During the last two
weeks of training, Wataru won over Chute Boxe leader Rudimar
Fedrigo. 'He is a good fighter. He is also a Judo black belt
under Yoshida. Besides learning, he is also teaching some interesting
throws to our members' revealed Rudimar Fedrigo, who decided
at last minute to not accompany Nino and Cordeiro to Japan, due
to health problems with his son.
Source: ADCC |
UFC
48 - Little "Payback" for Returning Foes
Las Vegas, June 19 - On a card laden with second chances, few
fighters were able to take advantage and avoid history repeating
itself during UFC 48: Payback, an eight-fight event originating
from the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Eight
years after their initial encounter, UFC heavyweight veterans
Ken Shamrock and Kimo drew the most recognition from casual fans.
Despite being outweighed by 26 lbs, crowd favorite Shamrock was
able to avoid being muscled around by his opponent, keeping a
neutral position in the clinch before unloading with a knee that
sent Kimo sprawling to the canvas. Down but not out, Shamrock
threw a score of punches to punctuate the victory, with referee
John McCarthy stopping it at just 1:26 of the first round.
The
bout marks Shamrock's first victory since a win over journeyman
Sam Adkins in 2001. Newly invigorated after rehabilitating a
problem knee, the 40 year old Shamrock seemed excited to be back
in the ring. Some speculate that a rematch with Tito Ortiz could
be in the offing.
One
of the many vacant title spots was filled in the co-main event,
as Frank Mir overcame his underdog status to claim the heavyweight
crown over distressed former champ Tim Sylvia. Sylvia - previously
barred twice from competing due to testing positive for performance
enhancers - was thought to be too slick a slugger for submission
expert Mir. But it was Sylvia who moved into Mir, forcing them
both to the ground.
Mir
used every inch of his 250 lb. frame to lock out an armbar; referee
Herb Dean shouted out in surprise and then moved to break the
two apart at :50 into the first round. Initially, it seemed as
though the stoppage was premature - but the replay displayed
all the gory details of Dean's POV, as Sylvia's forearm literally
snapped in two. An angry, irrational Sylvia insisted the fight
continue, but it'll have to be on another date.
Continuing
the series of rematches, welterweight Frank Trigg cleared the
air over his 2002 match with Dennis Hallman. In that fight, Trigg
scored a win after Hallman couldn't continue due to a low blow.
There were no accidents this time, as Trigg wound up in the guard,
avoided a few submission attempts, and then opened up with punches
to score a stoppage at 4:15 into the first round.
In
a bout declared a grudge match by everyone except its participants,
welterweight Matt Hughes found himself in a bit of trouble against
Renato Verissimo. Hughes - who was vanquished after a long championship
run by Verissimo student BJ Penn - could not figure out the puzzle
of his opponent's guard. The lanky Renato couldn't avoid the
takedown, but kept Hughes at bay and locked in a triangle choke
during the first round that had a good shot of ending it. Hughes
escaped and never found himself in that much trouble again for
the duration of the three-round fight, earning the unanimous
decision by dominating position and scoring with strikes.
Oddsmakers
made middleweight Phil Baroni a heavy favorite after seeing his
trimmed-down physique at Friday's weigh-in. He had, after all,
rocked Evan Tanner with strikes in their first fight, and many
believed that if he had been able to keep up the pressure, he
would've emerged a winner. But a different night brings different
circumstances, and this time Tanner circled Baroni, refusing
to let him unload a flurry. Tanner scored with strikes and knees
of his own, and was able to bring the fight to the mat several
times en route to a three-round unanimous decision.
In
preliminary action, UFC lightweight rookie Ivan Menjivar was
outmuscled by Matt Serra, losing a unanimous decision; middleweight
Trevor Prangley slapped on a neck crank to force a submission
over Curtis Stout at 1:09 of round one; welterweight Georges
St. Pierre TKOed a game Jay Hieron at 1:45 of the first.
Source: Maxfighting |
"MIR
IS A PAPER CHAMPION" - IAN FREEMAN
Ian
Freeman defeated Frank Mir at UFC38 by brutal TKO
English
MMA Fighter Ian Freeman directed the following statement to Frank
Mir
LOL,
Mir beats Tim and he is a champion.... yeah, like hell he is.
As
long as there is a hole in my ass, I will always say your a paper
champion. Why? because there is someone you will never submit
or ko and thats ME! Yes, ME...you know the guy that schooled
your ignorant ass in England.
Sorry
to hear you lost Tim, but you just aint got the limbs to hold
off submission guys like Mir. Your the real champ, you just played
your game wrong.
Mir
looked shabby against Sims, beat a worn out Tank and fought Tim
who for some unknown reason took the fight to the floor?????????
You
cannot claim to be the champ with a half assed record like that.....
Washed out UFC fighters, 1st time UFC fighters or worn out UFC
fighters and you get a title shot.... who's dick you sucking
pal
Oh
yeah, and you have also been beaten off a big dumb englishman,
who you said "would never beat me." and if I did you
said "I'll swim my ass back to USA if he does." ......you
still swimming big boy?
And
before all you Mir ass kissers diss me.... I'm just saying what
is on most people's minds right now.
Does
this make your blood boil Mir??? Sorry pal, but I don't give
shit after the way you tried to diss me as a dumb fuck Englishman.
Ian
'The Machine' Freeman.
Source: Fight Sport |
TYSON
VS. LE BANNER POSSIBILITY
Mike Tyson
Hirohito
reports the following from Japan:
"I
hear that K-1 is planning a Mike Tyson vs. Jerome LeBanner matchup
for late July. The fight would take place under Western Boxing
rules.
LeBanner
told the Japanese media that he doesn't care about rules and
will still throw leg kicks."
Source: Fight Sport |
SHAMROCK-ORTIZ
IN POST FIGHT INCIDENT
Fallen Champion, Tito Ortiz after his humiliating loss to Randy
Couture
FS
24-7's Keith Sutton witnessed the following incident at the UFC48
Post Fight Press Conference;
Ken
Shamrock finished speaking and had sat down, then Tito from the
back asked if he could ask a question. "So whats your answer
Ken?"
Ken at first looked like he didn't know what Tito meant and then
Ken blew up and they had a good 3 or 4 minute scene with Ken
saying such things as "im going to hit you so hard it'll
turn your hair black" and "lets go right now"
and "don't let me see you out around tonight Tito".
Tito
was just laughing most of the time and wanted to get up on the
mic but Ken was too 'out of control'. Tito just said "I
don't want to beat you up here" and "why should I do
it for free?"
Tito
also told Ken to come back down to 205 and Ken said he would.
It
was pretty entertaining IMO. I'd count on them fighting again
Source: Fight Sport |
Fedor
overcomes Randleman at Pride
The rematch between Rodrigo Minotauro and Fedor Emelinanenko
may by getting closer. Ending the Pride GP Heavyweight, at Saitama
Super Arena in Japan, Fedor overcame Kevin Randleman. The American
started better and took the Heavyweight champion to the ground,
while hitting him. Fedor was confident. He swept and reversed
the situation. He got few good punches and ended to submit Randleman
via Kimura. Now we do have the name of four finalists of pride
GP Final Conflic, which happens on August 20th: Sergei Kharitonov,
Naoya Ogawa, Rodrigo Minotauro and Fedor Emelianenko.
R. Minotauro rules Heath at Pride GP
Rodrigo Minotauro one more time proved his Boxing training has
been making the difference at this Pride GP, which is happening
now at Saitama Super Arena, in Japan. Showing a sharpening Boxing,
Brazilian gave a hard time to Heath Herring on the standing game.
This fact open the way for Minotauro complete the second task:
on the ground. Brazilian Top Team attacked the arm, tried the
triangle choke, and Herring was brave and swept Minotauro in
the first round. However, in beginning of second one, Minotauro
used his secret weapon. The same move used against Hiro Yokoi
was enough to beat Herring: arm's triangle choke. Rodrigo Minotauro
was the third name to qualify to Pride GP Final Conflict, which
happens on August 20th. During the super-fight between Hidehiko
Yoshida and K1 star Mark Hunt, Japanese submitted Hunt via armlock
in first round. It was Hunt's debut night at Pride.
Ogawa & Kharitonov in the final of GP
Sergei Kharitonov was the first name among the Heavyweights to
guarantee his presence at the final of Pride GP, which is going
on now at Saitama Super Arena. Kharitonov has just defeated Semmy
Schilt in round 1. Both fighters exchanged lot of punches and
Schilt was the first one to take the fight to the ground, when
attempted a choke. Kharitonov escaped and got the mount, when
punished the opponent. Schilt swept and both returned on the
feet. So Kharitonov took Schilt down and reached once again the
mount. Then Russian fighter punished Schilt until the referee's
stoppage.
Over the second GP's bout, Brazilian one more time saw his plans
ruined. At this time, Giant Silva didn't resist to Japanese Naoya
Ogawa's attacks and was disqualified of the GP. Ogawa knocked
Silva down and gave him a hrad time on the ground. From the side,
Ogawa tried the submission, Giant got his arm free and escaped.
The Japanese was superior and kept the fight on the ground, reached
the mount and abused of ground'n pound. The referee once again
had to interrupt the combat.
Source: Tatame |
|