MMA News Thread
- Thread starter Shogun Locc
- Start date
Nick Diaz vs. Inoue Katsuya DREAM 3 fight booked
Former UFC star and current Elite XC lightweight, Nick Diaz (15-7), will travel overseas to take on Inoue Katsuya (16-5-3) during the DREAM 3 event at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on May 11.
This latest announcement gives the fighters just about 10 days to prepare for the showdown; however there’s no telling how long both of them have known about the fight. In fact, Diaz was in talks to take on Brazilian jiu-jitsu stud Marcelo Garcia on this same card prior to this most recent news.
Diaz will look to rebound from his loss to KJ Noons for the vacant EliteXC lightweight title back in November 2007. It’s been a long strange trip back to action for him ever since — he had surgery on the scar tissue around his eyes to prevent cuts (he’s a bleeder) and the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) yanked him off a recent card at the last minute under very bizarre circumstances (centering mostly around his medical marijuana card).
He is slated to take on Muhsin Corbbrey during the EliteXC show in Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 14.
Inoue is a Japanese fighter who has spent most of his time competing in the Pancrase organization. In more than 20 professional bouts he has never submitted an opponent or been submitted himself. That could all change; however, if Diaz decides to leverage his strengths.
Sometimes he just doesn’t do that.
DREAM 3 will feature the second round of the 2008 Lightweight Grand Prix tournament, as well as the return of Jason “Mayhem” Miller. Should be a nice card. DREAM 3 will air LIVE on the HDNet network at 3 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 11.
Former UFC star and current Elite XC lightweight, Nick Diaz (15-7), will travel overseas to take on Inoue Katsuya (16-5-3) during the DREAM 3 event at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on May 11.
This latest announcement gives the fighters just about 10 days to prepare for the showdown; however there’s no telling how long both of them have known about the fight. In fact, Diaz was in talks to take on Brazilian jiu-jitsu stud Marcelo Garcia on this same card prior to this most recent news.
Diaz will look to rebound from his loss to KJ Noons for the vacant EliteXC lightweight title back in November 2007. It’s been a long strange trip back to action for him ever since — he had surgery on the scar tissue around his eyes to prevent cuts (he’s a bleeder) and the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) yanked him off a recent card at the last minute under very bizarre circumstances (centering mostly around his medical marijuana card).
He is slated to take on Muhsin Corbbrey during the EliteXC show in Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 14.
Inoue is a Japanese fighter who has spent most of his time competing in the Pancrase organization. In more than 20 professional bouts he has never submitted an opponent or been submitted himself. That could all change; however, if Diaz decides to leverage his strengths.
Sometimes he just doesn’t do that.
DREAM 3 will feature the second round of the 2008 Lightweight Grand Prix tournament, as well as the return of Jason “Mayhem” Miller. Should be a nice card. DREAM 3 will air LIVE on the HDNet network at 3 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 11.
TUF 7 Rating - Week 5
MMAPayout.com has learned thatthis week's episode of the Ultimate Fighter on Spike drew a 0.9 rating (1.2 million viewers). The program drew quarter hours of 0.84, 0.91, 0.92, and 0.98. In the key demographic numbers were a 1.11 in M18-49 and a 1.34 in M18-34.
That is the lowest number is series history and continues this season's downward trend. However, the program was facing competition from the NBA playoffs.
MMAPayout.com has learned thatthis week's episode of the Ultimate Fighter on Spike drew a 0.9 rating (1.2 million viewers). The program drew quarter hours of 0.84, 0.91, 0.92, and 0.98. In the key demographic numbers were a 1.11 in M18-49 and a 1.34 in M18-34.
That is the lowest number is series history and continues this season's downward trend. However, the program was facing competition from the NBA playoffs.
Yves Edwards: 'I’ve got to beat up a kid that I respect'
Perennial contender in the Lightweight division, Yves Edwards recently sealed a spectacular knock out win over Edson Berto as he countered a single leg takedown attempt with an incredible jump knee.
However, things have not always been so rosy for the Texan Thug-Jitsu expert as a string of losses starting in late 2006 forced him to rethink his training strategy.
Bouncing back in tremendous style over the following year, Yves recently took the time to speak with Ironlife.com to discuss the turnaround and his up-coming EliteXC lightweight title challenge against former sparring partner, KJ Noons.
You went through a bit of a rough patch in late 2006, early 2007 and suffered 3 straight losses – did that have any affect on your confidence?
Yeah, it has affected my confidence, but not necessarily my confidence in what I was capable of. It had more of an affect on my confidence for that fact that I don’t think I was doing the right things. I got away from training with really good guys, my team sort of split up and I really didn’t have anyone to train with and I ended up doing a lot of training with my students and you can’t compete at a high level, training with people who are just learning the game.
So I decided that I needed to make a change and American Top Team, I had known those guys for years, they’ve always been real good friends of mine, so I just talked to them about it and they were more than happy to let me join their ranks and that kinda changed everything for me.
After your subsequent 3 stoppage wins, how is your confidence now?
I know what I need to do and I know that I’m doing the right things. I real excited about that, I’m real excited to be a part of ATT and train with those guys. I think that when you’re in that room, you’re in there with Mike Brown and JZ and Thiago Alves, Marcus Aurelio, all these guys that are so good at what they do and you’re doing fine also, with them and against them, your confidence, everything changes.
You get in the cage, or the ring and you look across the ring and you see somebody, there’s no preceding of his reputation, he’s just another guy. That part of the confidence is completely different for me now. Honestly, when I look at that streak where I lost, I think I lost against three really good guys, but I don’t think I would have won three fights against three guys who weren’t any good.. I probably would have had a really hard time, but fighting these tough guys, I think that made me make a decision to change what I was doing rather than possibly give up on myself.
Now my confidence is through the roof, knowing who I’ve got to work with, there’s no-one outside of my team who can stop me, so I’m satisfied with the way the world is right now.
What has been your favourite career win so far?
The one fight that really stands out when I think about it, I enjoy all my fights but when I watch them , it’s not I’m not really watching myself. I don’t remember what it felt like to be in there at that moment. It seems weird that I’m doing that and it just looks so good!
I sat back and watch them and the fight that has the most weight to me, the one that I remember the most is my fight with Hermes Franca the second time that we fought. That fight was really big for me because, the first round of that fight, I was out of gas, I was tired as hell. I was pretty much done, but at the time my son was in the hospital and wasn’t doing very well… and that was part of the reason why I wasn’t able to train.
He was fighting really hard and for me, I think that made it easier for me to push through with what I was doing physically in the ring because it really, really meant something to me. I didn’t want to have to go back home and have him still at the hospital and getting out of the hospital and have to tell him that I lost.
That sounds rough - did he make a good recovery?
Yes, he did and he’s doing really, really well right now.
Good to hear it! Are there any rematches out there that you are interested in?
Of course, you always want to fight the guys who hold a win over you. Unfortunately Mike Brown and Jorge Masvidal are like twice a week (laughs) I don’t think we are going to fight at any other times than that, but everybody else, definitely, I would love to fight them. I think some of the losses I had earlier in my career would be different now because of experience and because I understand the game a whole lot more than I did back then.
I used to have big problems with wrestlers, people like Kawajiri. I would love to fight Kawajiri again, simply because he’s a really tough guy, he’s a very good opponent and the thing that he is very strong at is something that I have been working on, which is my wrestling and my wrestling defence. I would love to have rematches, but then again, there are so many good guys out there that I want to fight – there’s great wrestlers that I haven’t fought, Gray Maynard, Frankie Edgar…
Then there’s guys who I’ve always had respect for, I think they are going to become the greatest fighters in the world, like BJ [Penn]. He’s probably one of my favourite fighters, it’s cool and it sucks that he’s back at 155lbs. It’s cool, because he’s at ’55 and it’s a possibility that I could fight him because we are in the same weight class, but it’s not cool, because he’s in the UFC and I’m with EliteXC right now, so it’s not a possibility if we are not in the same company.
How many more fights have you got with EliteXC?
I’ve got 4 more fights with Elite. It’s a fun place to fight; they put on a really good show. It’s got some quality guys there also, Berto was no chump, KJ is the champion and he looks really good, you know. He beat a really tough guy in Nick Diaz. Eddie Alvarez is there, Nick Diaz is there, I’m just excited about fighting tough guys and I’m glad to be with a company that has these tough guys; although the UFC has a lot of guys I want to fight, EliteXC also has a lot of tough guys and that’s who I want to fight – the toughest.
Have you got an opponent signed for your next fight?
Yeah, I’m going to fight KJ Noons for the Lightweight title on June 14.
What strengths do you have that you think will cause him problems?
I think my experience in MMA is going to cause him problems. I think my stand up is, at the very least, equal to his, if not better, but I think I have other options as well; my wrestling is better and, of course, my ground game is better. But he is a really tough guy.
Nick Diaz has a really good ground game but he wasn’t able to take KJ out. I think my fight with him will be a completely different fight to his with Nick, although me and Nick both fight southpaw, I still think I’m a completely different style of fighter. I’m going to cause him problems, I don’t want to tell you all the details, but I think I’m going to ask him some questions that he’s going to find hard to answer.
Have you got a message for KJ?
No, not really, I’ve got a lot of respect for KJ. I’ve known him for years, you know, when he was a kid, he lived here in Houston – I’m still in Houston right now – and I trained with him a few times when he was about 18 or 19.
He’s improved a lot since then, but right now, I’ve got to be selfish and it’s got to be my time, because of that, I’ve got to beat up a kid that I respect and wish good things for, but at the same time, he has something I want and for 25 minutes, if it goes that far, our friendship goes out the window.
Have you got anything to add?
I want to thank all of the Thug-Jitsu fans all over the world, for people from the other side of the world in countries I’ve never been to, to appreciate what I do and want to see me do it, that’s amazing, I love it.
Perennial contender in the Lightweight division, Yves Edwards recently sealed a spectacular knock out win over Edson Berto as he countered a single leg takedown attempt with an incredible jump knee.
However, things have not always been so rosy for the Texan Thug-Jitsu expert as a string of losses starting in late 2006 forced him to rethink his training strategy.
Bouncing back in tremendous style over the following year, Yves recently took the time to speak with Ironlife.com to discuss the turnaround and his up-coming EliteXC lightweight title challenge against former sparring partner, KJ Noons.
You went through a bit of a rough patch in late 2006, early 2007 and suffered 3 straight losses – did that have any affect on your confidence?
Yeah, it has affected my confidence, but not necessarily my confidence in what I was capable of. It had more of an affect on my confidence for that fact that I don’t think I was doing the right things. I got away from training with really good guys, my team sort of split up and I really didn’t have anyone to train with and I ended up doing a lot of training with my students and you can’t compete at a high level, training with people who are just learning the game.
So I decided that I needed to make a change and American Top Team, I had known those guys for years, they’ve always been real good friends of mine, so I just talked to them about it and they were more than happy to let me join their ranks and that kinda changed everything for me.
After your subsequent 3 stoppage wins, how is your confidence now?
I know what I need to do and I know that I’m doing the right things. I real excited about that, I’m real excited to be a part of ATT and train with those guys. I think that when you’re in that room, you’re in there with Mike Brown and JZ and Thiago Alves, Marcus Aurelio, all these guys that are so good at what they do and you’re doing fine also, with them and against them, your confidence, everything changes.
You get in the cage, or the ring and you look across the ring and you see somebody, there’s no preceding of his reputation, he’s just another guy. That part of the confidence is completely different for me now. Honestly, when I look at that streak where I lost, I think I lost against three really good guys, but I don’t think I would have won three fights against three guys who weren’t any good.. I probably would have had a really hard time, but fighting these tough guys, I think that made me make a decision to change what I was doing rather than possibly give up on myself.
Now my confidence is through the roof, knowing who I’ve got to work with, there’s no-one outside of my team who can stop me, so I’m satisfied with the way the world is right now.
What has been your favourite career win so far?
The one fight that really stands out when I think about it, I enjoy all my fights but when I watch them , it’s not I’m not really watching myself. I don’t remember what it felt like to be in there at that moment. It seems weird that I’m doing that and it just looks so good!
I sat back and watch them and the fight that has the most weight to me, the one that I remember the most is my fight with Hermes Franca the second time that we fought. That fight was really big for me because, the first round of that fight, I was out of gas, I was tired as hell. I was pretty much done, but at the time my son was in the hospital and wasn’t doing very well… and that was part of the reason why I wasn’t able to train.
He was fighting really hard and for me, I think that made it easier for me to push through with what I was doing physically in the ring because it really, really meant something to me. I didn’t want to have to go back home and have him still at the hospital and getting out of the hospital and have to tell him that I lost.
That sounds rough - did he make a good recovery?
Yes, he did and he’s doing really, really well right now.
Good to hear it! Are there any rematches out there that you are interested in?
Of course, you always want to fight the guys who hold a win over you. Unfortunately Mike Brown and Jorge Masvidal are like twice a week (laughs) I don’t think we are going to fight at any other times than that, but everybody else, definitely, I would love to fight them. I think some of the losses I had earlier in my career would be different now because of experience and because I understand the game a whole lot more than I did back then.
I used to have big problems with wrestlers, people like Kawajiri. I would love to fight Kawajiri again, simply because he’s a really tough guy, he’s a very good opponent and the thing that he is very strong at is something that I have been working on, which is my wrestling and my wrestling defence. I would love to have rematches, but then again, there are so many good guys out there that I want to fight – there’s great wrestlers that I haven’t fought, Gray Maynard, Frankie Edgar…
Then there’s guys who I’ve always had respect for, I think they are going to become the greatest fighters in the world, like BJ [Penn]. He’s probably one of my favourite fighters, it’s cool and it sucks that he’s back at 155lbs. It’s cool, because he’s at ’55 and it’s a possibility that I could fight him because we are in the same weight class, but it’s not cool, because he’s in the UFC and I’m with EliteXC right now, so it’s not a possibility if we are not in the same company.
How many more fights have you got with EliteXC?
I’ve got 4 more fights with Elite. It’s a fun place to fight; they put on a really good show. It’s got some quality guys there also, Berto was no chump, KJ is the champion and he looks really good, you know. He beat a really tough guy in Nick Diaz. Eddie Alvarez is there, Nick Diaz is there, I’m just excited about fighting tough guys and I’m glad to be with a company that has these tough guys; although the UFC has a lot of guys I want to fight, EliteXC also has a lot of tough guys and that’s who I want to fight – the toughest.
Have you got an opponent signed for your next fight?
Yeah, I’m going to fight KJ Noons for the Lightweight title on June 14.
What strengths do you have that you think will cause him problems?
I think my experience in MMA is going to cause him problems. I think my stand up is, at the very least, equal to his, if not better, but I think I have other options as well; my wrestling is better and, of course, my ground game is better. But he is a really tough guy.
Nick Diaz has a really good ground game but he wasn’t able to take KJ out. I think my fight with him will be a completely different fight to his with Nick, although me and Nick both fight southpaw, I still think I’m a completely different style of fighter. I’m going to cause him problems, I don’t want to tell you all the details, but I think I’m going to ask him some questions that he’s going to find hard to answer.
Have you got a message for KJ?
No, not really, I’ve got a lot of respect for KJ. I’ve known him for years, you know, when he was a kid, he lived here in Houston – I’m still in Houston right now – and I trained with him a few times when he was about 18 or 19.
He’s improved a lot since then, but right now, I’ve got to be selfish and it’s got to be my time, because of that, I’ve got to beat up a kid that I respect and wish good things for, but at the same time, he has something I want and for 25 minutes, if it goes that far, our friendship goes out the window.
Have you got anything to add?
I want to thank all of the Thug-Jitsu fans all over the world, for people from the other side of the world in countries I’ve never been to, to appreciate what I do and want to see me do it, that’s amazing, I love it.
RASHAD EVANS: MAYBE HE FELT LIKE A LIL' BOY AGAINST RAMPAGE
link: http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content2566.html?PHPSESSID=c6ed95b2f6aace4d41dd9aaf0250684a
"I moved on. I was kind of upset for a couple of hours, but there'll be other times. I'll get a chance to fight him again," stated UFC light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans as he talked about his fight with former champion Chuck Liddell getting cancelled. Check out what else he had to say as he discussed the change in opponents and shared his thoughts on James Irvin, Tito Ortiz, Michael Bisping's move to the middleweight division and much more.
link: http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content2566.html?PHPSESSID=c6ed95b2f6aace4d41dd9aaf0250684a
"I moved on. I was kind of upset for a couple of hours, but there'll be other times. I'll get a chance to fight him again," stated UFC light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans as he talked about his fight with former champion Chuck Liddell getting cancelled. Check out what else he had to say as he discussed the change in opponents and shared his thoughts on James Irvin, Tito Ortiz, Michael Bisping's move to the middleweight division and much more.
Elvis Sinosic 'Looking for a Fight'
PDG: Since your last fight at Cage Rage; what have you been doing?
Elvis: Since my last fight I have mostly been focusing on helping my training partner Anthony Perosh prepare for his fights as well as helping my fighters get ready for their fights. Recently Shane Nix, one of our fighters, just earned a title shot in the CFC after his last victory. I’ve also been doing more work with my school, Sinosic-Perosh Martial Arts (www.spma.net.au). I’ve also been approaching promoters about getting myself another match as well.
PDG: Can you give your insight on your last fight with Paul Cahoon?
Elvis: Really not much insight to give. I felt strong and confident going into the match, under-estimated him and walked into a right hand. I went down hard, but recovered quickly. The ref came from the wrong side and stopped the match for my safety. I thought it was a premature stoppage but not much you can do in retrospect. I’ve had a couple of quick stoppages and I don’t understand it. I’ve had some brutal fights where I have taken a lot of punishment and pushed through to keep on going. So I have a history of being tough and resilient. So I don’t understand why the ref doesn’t let the match go on a bit longer, to give the fans a real finish or me an opportunity to recover and fight on.
PDG: There have been rumors of your return......Any update?
Elvis: Nothing at the moment. I’ve been talking to some promoters lately but none have made any commitment to getting me on their shows. To my fans, if you have a favorite show, contact the promoter and let them know you want to see my fighting on it.
PDG: How is training going and can you give some info on the fighters that you are training?
Elvis: Training is going well. Currently the main fighters I’ve been working with have been Anthony Perosh (my long term training partner and business associate), he has a fight coming up with the CFC here in Australia. Everyone should be aware of him as he is a UFC veteran. Also we have Shane Nix, a strong up and comer. He is currently undefeated and will be fighting for the title at the next CFC facing his toughest opponent to date. Anthony and I also helped Brad Morris with his preparation for this UFC debut. He showed a lot of heart in that encounter and we will no doubt see him back in the Octagon again. We’ve also got a few other fighters who are looking for fights as well.
PDG: What current MMA events have caught your attention?
Elvis: Honestly there are a few out there. As usual, the UFC continues to make waves at the forefront of MMA. Elite XC is doing big things, continuing to grow. Strikeforce is putting out strong cards. Cage Rage continues to go strong as always. HDNet fights is making waves as new promotion. Of course there are also events like K-1 Dream and World Victory Road in Japan which have strong followings. Not too mention the rumors of new promoters coming into the sport. MMA has a lot of interest in it at the moment. Hopefully it will continue to grow strong.
PDG: Australian MMA; How is the sport progressing there and what are your thoughts?
Elvis: Australian MMA is growing slowly. There have been a couple of road-blocks along the way and too be honest we are not over all the hurdles yet. But I think that with continued strong events from the promoters, it will go. We are finally getting home grown shows on TV and that is a big step. I think with more exposure and continued education of the fans, the sport will slowly climb and find it’s place in Australian sporting culture.
now some questions off-topic......
PDG: Do you drink any alcohol and if so what are your favorites?
Elvis: I don’t drink very often. But I guess when I do, a Red-Bull and Vodka or a Jägermeister Bomb seem to be my drink of choice.
PDG: Video Games; Do you play any? If so, what games are your favorites and what system/console do you prefer?
Elvis: I don’t play many video games. If I do, it is the UFC video game with my character. Lame I know, but hey, if you had your own character you’d do the same thing.
back to fighting now......
PDG: What are your thoughts on the current state of MMA worldwide and do you see any particular organization challenging the UFC anytime soon?
Elvis: I think MMA is in a state of growth. Everyone sees the potential and is trying to get in and make money off of it. At the moment, the UFC is the only company that really has everything in place. I believe the shows that take things slowly, build up their support structures, promote their brand and fighters will be able to be successful. I don’t want to see other shows “challenge” the UFC. I want to see other shows successfully promoting alongside the UFC. I don’t see the point of trying to knock each other off. I’d rather see several successful shows. This gives the fans more choice. It also gives the fighters more opportunities. It creates more room for sponsors. This will allow the sport to be more successful over the long term.
PDG: Khalib Starnes was recently booed out of the Arena at UFC 83 in his home country; you have fought anyone that has been put in front of you and sometimes it was not a good match-up for you. What did you think of Starnes performance and have you ever not been 100% mentally and physically prepared for a fight?
Elvis: I’ve taken a lot of tough fights. I have gone into the fights with insufficient preparation time. I have gone into fights with injuries. I have fought many times without being fully prepared. The thing is, from my perspective, is that I have accepted the fight. Therefore when I step into the arena, I come to fight. For me, there is no other option. I have never come in too not lose. I fight only to win. I put everything on the line when I fight. Because of that I have a rough record. But my fans love the way I fight and always come to watch me. Each fighter has their own reason for fighting. Each fighter makes there own decisions. I make mine and I am proud of what I do.
PDG: Thanks again for your time Elvis; Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Elvis: I’d like to thank all my fans for their continued support. You know I always come to fight and I always will. I want to thank my training and business partner Anthony Perosh. I’d like to thank my assistant coaches, Justin Stevenson and Gary Edwards. I want to thank all my students for their continued help and support. Of course, I could not forget my family and friends, thank you to them. Finally, and most importantly my sponsors, Atama, Fairtex and my newest sponsor Lojak Fightwear. These guys help in my drive to succeed. Thanks for the opportunity to have my say and let my fans know what is going on.
PDG: Since your last fight at Cage Rage; what have you been doing?
Elvis: Since my last fight I have mostly been focusing on helping my training partner Anthony Perosh prepare for his fights as well as helping my fighters get ready for their fights. Recently Shane Nix, one of our fighters, just earned a title shot in the CFC after his last victory. I’ve also been doing more work with my school, Sinosic-Perosh Martial Arts (www.spma.net.au). I’ve also been approaching promoters about getting myself another match as well.
PDG: Can you give your insight on your last fight with Paul Cahoon?
Elvis: Really not much insight to give. I felt strong and confident going into the match, under-estimated him and walked into a right hand. I went down hard, but recovered quickly. The ref came from the wrong side and stopped the match for my safety. I thought it was a premature stoppage but not much you can do in retrospect. I’ve had a couple of quick stoppages and I don’t understand it. I’ve had some brutal fights where I have taken a lot of punishment and pushed through to keep on going. So I have a history of being tough and resilient. So I don’t understand why the ref doesn’t let the match go on a bit longer, to give the fans a real finish or me an opportunity to recover and fight on.
PDG: There have been rumors of your return......Any update?
Elvis: Nothing at the moment. I’ve been talking to some promoters lately but none have made any commitment to getting me on their shows. To my fans, if you have a favorite show, contact the promoter and let them know you want to see my fighting on it.
PDG: How is training going and can you give some info on the fighters that you are training?
Elvis: Training is going well. Currently the main fighters I’ve been working with have been Anthony Perosh (my long term training partner and business associate), he has a fight coming up with the CFC here in Australia. Everyone should be aware of him as he is a UFC veteran. Also we have Shane Nix, a strong up and comer. He is currently undefeated and will be fighting for the title at the next CFC facing his toughest opponent to date. Anthony and I also helped Brad Morris with his preparation for this UFC debut. He showed a lot of heart in that encounter and we will no doubt see him back in the Octagon again. We’ve also got a few other fighters who are looking for fights as well.
PDG: What current MMA events have caught your attention?
Elvis: Honestly there are a few out there. As usual, the UFC continues to make waves at the forefront of MMA. Elite XC is doing big things, continuing to grow. Strikeforce is putting out strong cards. Cage Rage continues to go strong as always. HDNet fights is making waves as new promotion. Of course there are also events like K-1 Dream and World Victory Road in Japan which have strong followings. Not too mention the rumors of new promoters coming into the sport. MMA has a lot of interest in it at the moment. Hopefully it will continue to grow strong.
PDG: Australian MMA; How is the sport progressing there and what are your thoughts?
Elvis: Australian MMA is growing slowly. There have been a couple of road-blocks along the way and too be honest we are not over all the hurdles yet. But I think that with continued strong events from the promoters, it will go. We are finally getting home grown shows on TV and that is a big step. I think with more exposure and continued education of the fans, the sport will slowly climb and find it’s place in Australian sporting culture.
now some questions off-topic......
PDG: Do you drink any alcohol and if so what are your favorites?
Elvis: I don’t drink very often. But I guess when I do, a Red-Bull and Vodka or a Jägermeister Bomb seem to be my drink of choice.
PDG: Video Games; Do you play any? If so, what games are your favorites and what system/console do you prefer?
Elvis: I don’t play many video games. If I do, it is the UFC video game with my character. Lame I know, but hey, if you had your own character you’d do the same thing.
back to fighting now......
PDG: What are your thoughts on the current state of MMA worldwide and do you see any particular organization challenging the UFC anytime soon?
Elvis: I think MMA is in a state of growth. Everyone sees the potential and is trying to get in and make money off of it. At the moment, the UFC is the only company that really has everything in place. I believe the shows that take things slowly, build up their support structures, promote their brand and fighters will be able to be successful. I don’t want to see other shows “challenge” the UFC. I want to see other shows successfully promoting alongside the UFC. I don’t see the point of trying to knock each other off. I’d rather see several successful shows. This gives the fans more choice. It also gives the fighters more opportunities. It creates more room for sponsors. This will allow the sport to be more successful over the long term.
PDG: Khalib Starnes was recently booed out of the Arena at UFC 83 in his home country; you have fought anyone that has been put in front of you and sometimes it was not a good match-up for you. What did you think of Starnes performance and have you ever not been 100% mentally and physically prepared for a fight?
Elvis: I’ve taken a lot of tough fights. I have gone into the fights with insufficient preparation time. I have gone into fights with injuries. I have fought many times without being fully prepared. The thing is, from my perspective, is that I have accepted the fight. Therefore when I step into the arena, I come to fight. For me, there is no other option. I have never come in too not lose. I fight only to win. I put everything on the line when I fight. Because of that I have a rough record. But my fans love the way I fight and always come to watch me. Each fighter has their own reason for fighting. Each fighter makes there own decisions. I make mine and I am proud of what I do.
PDG: Thanks again for your time Elvis; Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Elvis: I’d like to thank all my fans for their continued support. You know I always come to fight and I always will. I want to thank my training and business partner Anthony Perosh. I’d like to thank my assistant coaches, Justin Stevenson and Gary Edwards. I want to thank all my students for their continued help and support. Of course, I could not forget my family and friends, thank you to them. Finally, and most importantly my sponsors, Atama, Fairtex and my newest sponsor Lojak Fightwear. These guys help in my drive to succeed. Thanks for the opportunity to have my say and let my fans know what is going on.
For McGivern, Confidence is Key
Ryan McGivern has always been a fan of fantasy novels, but lately it seems like his life is more of a fantasy than any of the books he’s read.
It wasn’t long ago when McGivern was struggling to string together two wins in a row, but in a flash, he unleashed a barrage of uppercuts, left hooks and leg kicks on Fabio Leopoldo at the 2007 IFL Championship, and put an end to any doubts that he was a complete and dangerous fighter.
On that night, the world saw a Ryan McGivern that no one knew existed, perhaps not even McGivern himself. That was the same McGivern who returned to the Orelans Arena in Las Vegas to dethrone the standing champion Matt Horwich, and is likely to be the same McGivern to show up at the Mohegan Sun Arena on May 16 to defend his belt.
McGivern has wrestled his entire life and is no novice in the fight game, so why did it take him this long to develop into the champion that he is today?
“I feel I didn’t put my heart all the way into it,” he said of his wrestling career. “And in retrospect, either things weren’t clicking mentally or like I said my heart wasn’t completely there and this is an opportunity to grab a hold of something and put all my effort into it and see how it goes,” he continued.
It has come to be rather widely accepted that wrestlers are among the most suited athletes to make the transition into MMA, but the single aspect that most wrestlers tend to struggle with is the standup game. McGivern has proven that to be a non-issue for him.
“I am continually feeling more and more comfortable on my feet. I’m working with Pat [Miletich] and also our boxing coach Jeff Perez with the mitts. I’m just trying to believe more in my standup abilities and my abilities all around.”
He has worked enough on his standup that he’s nearly transformed into a pure boxer. It’s no wonder however, given his known training methods which have proven to baffle doctors. In a stress test years ago, McGivern was hooked up to a machine designed to monitor his heart rate as he ran on a treadmill, but the machine actually gave in to the stress before any notable change in his heartbeat took place.
It’s that type of work ethic that makes the difference between a good fighter and a champion; it’s a bit cliché, I know, but it’s an idea that hasn’t always made sense to the ex-Iowa wrestler. “A lot of the things I was being coached both by my dad and my coaches at Iowa are finally starting to click now, and I’m understanding the concept of putting that type of work into something. It allows you to have more of a confidence and allows you to work harder. I think that’s a big part of it.”
Confidence is soaring right now for McGivern. In the last year he’s gotten married, bought a new house and emerged as an elite caliber fighter, and after each win, he seems to get more and more comfortable in the ring.
Now with two monumental wins behind him, he prepares for his first-ever title defense at Mohegan Sun against Dan Miller, the wrestler from New Jersey. If McGivern has proven one thing over the last year, it’s that you won't know what to expect from him, but one thing is for sure: if Miller thinks he's going to have a chance, he’d better show up to fight.
Ryan McGivern has always been a fan of fantasy novels, but lately it seems like his life is more of a fantasy than any of the books he’s read.
It wasn’t long ago when McGivern was struggling to string together two wins in a row, but in a flash, he unleashed a barrage of uppercuts, left hooks and leg kicks on Fabio Leopoldo at the 2007 IFL Championship, and put an end to any doubts that he was a complete and dangerous fighter.
On that night, the world saw a Ryan McGivern that no one knew existed, perhaps not even McGivern himself. That was the same McGivern who returned to the Orelans Arena in Las Vegas to dethrone the standing champion Matt Horwich, and is likely to be the same McGivern to show up at the Mohegan Sun Arena on May 16 to defend his belt.
McGivern has wrestled his entire life and is no novice in the fight game, so why did it take him this long to develop into the champion that he is today?
“I feel I didn’t put my heart all the way into it,” he said of his wrestling career. “And in retrospect, either things weren’t clicking mentally or like I said my heart wasn’t completely there and this is an opportunity to grab a hold of something and put all my effort into it and see how it goes,” he continued.
It has come to be rather widely accepted that wrestlers are among the most suited athletes to make the transition into MMA, but the single aspect that most wrestlers tend to struggle with is the standup game. McGivern has proven that to be a non-issue for him.
“I am continually feeling more and more comfortable on my feet. I’m working with Pat [Miletich] and also our boxing coach Jeff Perez with the mitts. I’m just trying to believe more in my standup abilities and my abilities all around.”
He has worked enough on his standup that he’s nearly transformed into a pure boxer. It’s no wonder however, given his known training methods which have proven to baffle doctors. In a stress test years ago, McGivern was hooked up to a machine designed to monitor his heart rate as he ran on a treadmill, but the machine actually gave in to the stress before any notable change in his heartbeat took place.
It’s that type of work ethic that makes the difference between a good fighter and a champion; it’s a bit cliché, I know, but it’s an idea that hasn’t always made sense to the ex-Iowa wrestler. “A lot of the things I was being coached both by my dad and my coaches at Iowa are finally starting to click now, and I’m understanding the concept of putting that type of work into something. It allows you to have more of a confidence and allows you to work harder. I think that’s a big part of it.”
Confidence is soaring right now for McGivern. In the last year he’s gotten married, bought a new house and emerged as an elite caliber fighter, and after each win, he seems to get more and more comfortable in the ring.
Now with two monumental wins behind him, he prepares for his first-ever title defense at Mohegan Sun against Dan Miller, the wrestler from New Jersey. If McGivern has proven one thing over the last year, it’s that you won't know what to expect from him, but one thing is for sure: if Miller thinks he's going to have a chance, he’d better show up to fight.
Shaolin comments Gesias vs. Aoki
While he waits for offers to return to the rings, the BJJ champion and ex Shooto and Cage Rage champion Vitor Shaolin Ribeiro, is keeping an eye on the DREAM lightweight GP. The Nova União black belt follow Gesias Cavalcante vs. Shinya Aoki, that was hold at 29th April at , and exclusively commented to TATAME.
Aoki made the only one game that would be successful. He made a nice strategy and made a bind game. Gesias looks different and didn’t go to the fight as he used to. Maybe it wasn’t his day and it was Aoki’s, but Gesias had the chance to defeat him in the first round, but the Japanese put up with Gesias blows. We can not take out Aoki’s merits, he knew how to defeat Gesias”, said Shaolin, that believes in another bout between both. “Gesias until is the first at the ranking in my opinion and should have another fight between both, as happens at ”, said Shaolin.
While he waits for offers to return to the rings, the BJJ champion and ex Shooto and Cage Rage champion Vitor Shaolin Ribeiro, is keeping an eye on the DREAM lightweight GP. The Nova União black belt follow Gesias Cavalcante vs. Shinya Aoki, that was hold at 29th April at , and exclusively commented to TATAME.
Aoki made the only one game that would be successful. He made a nice strategy and made a bind game. Gesias looks different and didn’t go to the fight as he used to. Maybe it wasn’t his day and it was Aoki’s, but Gesias had the chance to defeat him in the first round, but the Japanese put up with Gesias blows. We can not take out Aoki’s merits, he knew how to defeat Gesias”, said Shaolin, that believes in another bout between both. “Gesias until is the first at the ranking in my opinion and should have another fight between both, as happens at ”, said Shaolin.
Tito Ortiz's reality series to host Sunday casting call
by Dann Stupp on May 02, 2008 at 1:26 pm ET
UFC light heavyweight Tito Ortiz's new reality series, "Anytown Beatdown," will host a casting call on Sunday in Hollywood, Calif., and producers are looking for potential contestants.
A casting consultant for the show contacted MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) with the event details.
The reality series, originally named "Anytown Throwdown," allows contestants to settle a dispute in the most basic of ways: they duke it up. Ortiz, who serves as the show's host, will train the participants during the build-up for each show-ending bout.
Contestants will receive $1,000, and the winner of each fight will receive a bonus.
If you have a score to settle and want to appear on the show, email [email protected] (a picture and phone number are mandatory) to arrange a spot during Sunday's casting call. The casting staff says all "shapes and sizes" are welcome.
"Anytown Beatdown" will appear on G4, but a debut date has not been confirmed.
Ortiz, a longtime UFC fighter and former champion, recently appeared on the reality series "The Celebrity Apprentice." He next fights Lyoto Machida at UFC 84, after which he becomes a free agent. He's not expected to re-sign with the UFC
by Dann Stupp on May 02, 2008 at 1:26 pm ET
UFC light heavyweight Tito Ortiz's new reality series, "Anytown Beatdown," will host a casting call on Sunday in Hollywood, Calif., and producers are looking for potential contestants.
A casting consultant for the show contacted MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) with the event details.
The reality series, originally named "Anytown Throwdown," allows contestants to settle a dispute in the most basic of ways: they duke it up. Ortiz, who serves as the show's host, will train the participants during the build-up for each show-ending bout.
Contestants will receive $1,000, and the winner of each fight will receive a bonus.
If you have a score to settle and want to appear on the show, email [email protected] (a picture and phone number are mandatory) to arrange a spot during Sunday's casting call. The casting staff says all "shapes and sizes" are welcome.
"Anytown Beatdown" will appear on G4, but a debut date has not been confirmed.
Ortiz, a longtime UFC fighter and former champion, recently appeared on the reality series "The Celebrity Apprentice." He next fights Lyoto Machida at UFC 84, after which he becomes a free agent. He's not expected to re-sign with the UFC
Injury forces Shields vs. Ficket title fight cancellation (again)
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on May 02, 2008 at 11:02 am ET
Drew Fickett (33-5) has suffered a knee injury and will no longer fight Jake Shields (20-4-1) for the first-ever EliteXC welterweight title on June 14, which was a make-up date for March 29, when the two fighters were originally scheduled to meet.
EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw confirmed the cancellation on Thursday while a guest on MMAWeekly.com Radio.
Shields and Fickett's first encounter, which was to take place during last month's EliteXC-Strikeforce co-promoted event, was first scratched because of a back injury suffered by Shields.
Shaw said the fight would be "rescheduled again" but didn't reveal a date. One possibility is July 26, when EliteXC will host its second "Saturday Nights Fight" event on CBS. However, Shaw said that Shields could still remain on the June 14 card and fight a different opponent.
Shaw also confirmed additional bouts for the June 14 card. As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) first reported, undefeated heavyweight prospect Dave Herman (10-0) meets PRIDE and UFC veteran Ron Waterman (15-5-2).
As previously announced, Nick Diaz (15-7) fights Muhsin Corbbrey (8-2).
Additionally, Murilo "Ninja" Rua (15-8-1) takes on Tony Bonello (16-0-1), and Rafael Feijao (5-1) meets Wayne Cole (11-6).
Although unannounced, "The Ultimate Fighter 7" cast member Paul Bradley, who recently inked a multi-fight deal with EliteXC, could also appear on the card.
For the full EliteXC in Hawaii card, check out the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on May 02, 2008 at 11:02 am ET
Drew Fickett (33-5) has suffered a knee injury and will no longer fight Jake Shields (20-4-1) for the first-ever EliteXC welterweight title on June 14, which was a make-up date for March 29, when the two fighters were originally scheduled to meet.
EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw confirmed the cancellation on Thursday while a guest on MMAWeekly.com Radio.
Shields and Fickett's first encounter, which was to take place during last month's EliteXC-Strikeforce co-promoted event, was first scratched because of a back injury suffered by Shields.
Shaw said the fight would be "rescheduled again" but didn't reveal a date. One possibility is July 26, when EliteXC will host its second "Saturday Nights Fight" event on CBS. However, Shaw said that Shields could still remain on the June 14 card and fight a different opponent.
Shaw also confirmed additional bouts for the June 14 card. As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) first reported, undefeated heavyweight prospect Dave Herman (10-0) meets PRIDE and UFC veteran Ron Waterman (15-5-2).
As previously announced, Nick Diaz (15-7) fights Muhsin Corbbrey (8-2).
Additionally, Murilo "Ninja" Rua (15-8-1) takes on Tony Bonello (16-0-1), and Rafael Feijao (5-1) meets Wayne Cole (11-6).
Although unannounced, "The Ultimate Fighter 7" cast member Paul Bradley, who recently inked a multi-fight deal with EliteXC, could also appear on the card.
For the full EliteXC in Hawaii card, check out the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on May 02, 2008 at 11:02 am ET
by Dann Stupp on May 02, 2008 at 10:12 am ET
Chris Wilson (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC), an Oregon-based fighter who posted a spirited but unsuccessful performance against top welterweight contender Jon Fitch at UFC 82, will meet American Top Team's Steve Bruno (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC 86.
The UFC officially announced the bout today.
UFC 86, which features a main event of UFC light heavyweight title-holder Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin, takes place July 5 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
The Wilson-Bruno bout will take place on the untelevised preliminary card.
Wilson, who filled in for an injured Akihiro Gono at UFC 82, trains with Team Quest. Prior to his unanimous-decision loss to Fitch, he was riding a four-fight win streak. Past victories have come over the likes of IFL welterweight champion Jay Hieron and a handful of UFC veterans, including Pat Healy and Brandon Melendez.
Bruno, a veteran and former middleweight champion of the South Korean-based Spirit MC organization, will make his UFC debut at the event. He's won his past four fights -- and nine of his past 11 -- and most recently defeated EliteXC and Strikeforce vet Jae Suk Lim. This will be Bruno's first fight in 17 months.
For the latest UFC 86 fight card, check out the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
* * * *
Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, who was scheduled to face Justin McCully, has officially been removed from the UFC 86 fight card, according to UFC.com.
by Dann Stupp on May 02, 2008 at 10:12 am ET
Chris Wilson (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC), an Oregon-based fighter who posted a spirited but unsuccessful performance against top welterweight contender Jon Fitch at UFC 82, will meet American Top Team's Steve Bruno (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC 86.
The UFC officially announced the bout today.
UFC 86, which features a main event of UFC light heavyweight title-holder Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin, takes place July 5 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
The Wilson-Bruno bout will take place on the untelevised preliminary card.
Wilson, who filled in for an injured Akihiro Gono at UFC 82, trains with Team Quest. Prior to his unanimous-decision loss to Fitch, he was riding a four-fight win streak. Past victories have come over the likes of IFL welterweight champion Jay Hieron and a handful of UFC veterans, including Pat Healy and Brandon Melendez.
Bruno, a veteran and former middleweight champion of the South Korean-based Spirit MC organization, will make his UFC debut at the event. He's won his past four fights -- and nine of his past 11 -- and most recently defeated EliteXC and Strikeforce vet Jae Suk Lim. This will be Bruno's first fight in 17 months.
For the latest UFC 86 fight card, check out the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
* * * *
Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, who was scheduled to face Justin McCully, has officially been removed from the UFC 86 fight card, according to UFC.com.
Rights for Ultimate Fighting sought for bigger market in NY
By MICHAEL VIRTANEN | Associated Press Writer
May 1, 2008
"The same show in the Garden would be every bit as big," Ultimate Fighting Championship's Marc Ratner said. The 21,000 seats for the 170-pound title rematch between Long Island's Matt Serra and Montreal's Georges St. Pierre had sold out three months earlier for a $5 million gate.
While New York is a top UFC pay per view and TV market, Madison Square Garden remains off-limits so far.
The state Assembly last year approved legislation that would legalize and regulate mixed martial arts, which Forbes magazine recently labeled "the billion-dollar blood sport." The bill died in the state Senate. This year the UFC's principals enlisted top Albany lobbyists, meanwhile talking to lawmakers in Massachusetts, South Carolina, Tennessee and Rhode Island.
"We're only going to go where it's regulated. Our slogan is we run to regulation," Ratner said. The 32 states that legalized it so far include California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Nevada, where Ratner was executive director of the state athletic commission.
The unified rules of mixed martial arts, formulated at a meeting in New Jersey almost a decade ago, prohibit biting, eye gouging, head butts, finger bending and many other fouls. Bouts, barefoot and with fingerless five-ounce gloves, often end with punch or kick KOs, chokes, quitting or judges' decisions.
Acknowledging the big gates are financially compelling, New York Senate Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said it's still controversial and under study here. "Some people who are very vehemently against it think it is extremely dangerous, almost irresponsible to the extreme, and the advocates will tell you, and I think they're right statistically, it's actually safer than boxing," he said.
"They point out to you no one's ever been killed in extreme or ultimate fighting because they can tap out," Bruno said of the ability to signal you're done, something choked fighters often do before blacking out or when their arm or leg is twisted toward the breaking point. "You can't say that about boxing," said Bruno, a former Army boxing champion and the state's most powerful Republican.
The sole correspondence received by the Senate Committee on Tourism, Recreation and Sports Development, which has jurisdiction over pending legislation, came from UNITE HERE, the hotel and restaurant workers' union.
Pointing to continued opposition from the American Medical Association because of "great potential injury," the union said police also are concerned about teenagers mimicking moves and staging fights.
"The potential social cost of holding MMA fighting exhibitions should be fully explored before the Legislature acts to allow such events in New York," the union wrote.
Sen. Joe Griffo, a Utica Republican, said he began watching UFC fighter Matt Hamill, with a home and gym in his district, on pay per view and said events could bring money to arenas in upstate cities. "I saw the sport has evolved. It's basically much more reformed and organized than it was in its origins," he said.
"There is some danger. We looked at that. In all of the contact sports like this, like boxing, there are certain precautions that need to be addressed," Griffo said. That's where the New York State Athletic Commission, which regulates boxing, would get involved. And while the UFC is the biggest brand in mixed martial arts, there are other professional organizations, as well as underground fights videotaped and posted on the Web.
Legislation passed the Assembly 145-0 last year directing the New York commission to update the list of martial arts organizations authorized to hold professional matches and ensure they comply with state laws and commission regulations.
Assemblyman Steven Englebright, who chairs the Committee on Tourism, Arts and Sports Development, said the Assembly panel will take a fresh look in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, gyms are springing up across the state where combined techniques in boxing, wrestling, jiujitsu and muay thai kickboxing are being taught.
Hamill (5-1), a former collegiate wrestling champion and 2004 Olympic alternate who is deaf, has become a celebrity. The 31-year-old's sponsorships from his recent fight in Colorado paid double his fight fees, which already exceed what most boxers make with similar records. Under UFC's rookie contract, Hamill got $5,000 an appearance the first year, $7,000 the second and will get $10,000 the third, for three fights a year, double for a win, manager Duff Holmes said.
Ron Scott Stevens, state athletic commission chairman, said they will regulate the mixed martial arts if the Legislature and governor ask them to, though it will require more staff. "That's the core function of an athletic commission, the health and safety of the boxer or participant, and act in the best interest of the sport. And we wouldn't relax those standards," he said.
The hotel workers' union, which claims 90,000 New York members and spent $100,000 on Albany lobbyists last year while making more than $130,000 in New York political donations, mostly to the Democratic and Working Families parties, has also been trying to represent workers at Station Casinos in Las Vegas, off-strip casinos that say they can't afford union pay. Behind the UFC is Zuffa LLC, which donated $25,000 to New York's Democratic Committee last year. Brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III are behind both the station casinos and the UFC effort.
Union spokesman Eric Sharfstein declined to comment about dealings with Station Casinos and the union's opposition to mixed martial arts in New York.
By MICHAEL VIRTANEN | Associated Press Writer
May 1, 2008
"The same show in the Garden would be every bit as big," Ultimate Fighting Championship's Marc Ratner said. The 21,000 seats for the 170-pound title rematch between Long Island's Matt Serra and Montreal's Georges St. Pierre had sold out three months earlier for a $5 million gate.
While New York is a top UFC pay per view and TV market, Madison Square Garden remains off-limits so far.
The state Assembly last year approved legislation that would legalize and regulate mixed martial arts, which Forbes magazine recently labeled "the billion-dollar blood sport." The bill died in the state Senate. This year the UFC's principals enlisted top Albany lobbyists, meanwhile talking to lawmakers in Massachusetts, South Carolina, Tennessee and Rhode Island.
"We're only going to go where it's regulated. Our slogan is we run to regulation," Ratner said. The 32 states that legalized it so far include California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Nevada, where Ratner was executive director of the state athletic commission.
The unified rules of mixed martial arts, formulated at a meeting in New Jersey almost a decade ago, prohibit biting, eye gouging, head butts, finger bending and many other fouls. Bouts, barefoot and with fingerless five-ounce gloves, often end with punch or kick KOs, chokes, quitting or judges' decisions.
Acknowledging the big gates are financially compelling, New York Senate Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said it's still controversial and under study here. "Some people who are very vehemently against it think it is extremely dangerous, almost irresponsible to the extreme, and the advocates will tell you, and I think they're right statistically, it's actually safer than boxing," he said.
"They point out to you no one's ever been killed in extreme or ultimate fighting because they can tap out," Bruno said of the ability to signal you're done, something choked fighters often do before blacking out or when their arm or leg is twisted toward the breaking point. "You can't say that about boxing," said Bruno, a former Army boxing champion and the state's most powerful Republican.
The sole correspondence received by the Senate Committee on Tourism, Recreation and Sports Development, which has jurisdiction over pending legislation, came from UNITE HERE, the hotel and restaurant workers' union.
Pointing to continued opposition from the American Medical Association because of "great potential injury," the union said police also are concerned about teenagers mimicking moves and staging fights.
"The potential social cost of holding MMA fighting exhibitions should be fully explored before the Legislature acts to allow such events in New York," the union wrote.
Sen. Joe Griffo, a Utica Republican, said he began watching UFC fighter Matt Hamill, with a home and gym in his district, on pay per view and said events could bring money to arenas in upstate cities. "I saw the sport has evolved. It's basically much more reformed and organized than it was in its origins," he said.
"There is some danger. We looked at that. In all of the contact sports like this, like boxing, there are certain precautions that need to be addressed," Griffo said. That's where the New York State Athletic Commission, which regulates boxing, would get involved. And while the UFC is the biggest brand in mixed martial arts, there are other professional organizations, as well as underground fights videotaped and posted on the Web.
Legislation passed the Assembly 145-0 last year directing the New York commission to update the list of martial arts organizations authorized to hold professional matches and ensure they comply with state laws and commission regulations.
Assemblyman Steven Englebright, who chairs the Committee on Tourism, Arts and Sports Development, said the Assembly panel will take a fresh look in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, gyms are springing up across the state where combined techniques in boxing, wrestling, jiujitsu and muay thai kickboxing are being taught.
Hamill (5-1), a former collegiate wrestling champion and 2004 Olympic alternate who is deaf, has become a celebrity. The 31-year-old's sponsorships from his recent fight in Colorado paid double his fight fees, which already exceed what most boxers make with similar records. Under UFC's rookie contract, Hamill got $5,000 an appearance the first year, $7,000 the second and will get $10,000 the third, for three fights a year, double for a win, manager Duff Holmes said.
Ron Scott Stevens, state athletic commission chairman, said they will regulate the mixed martial arts if the Legislature and governor ask them to, though it will require more staff. "That's the core function of an athletic commission, the health and safety of the boxer or participant, and act in the best interest of the sport. And we wouldn't relax those standards," he said.
The hotel workers' union, which claims 90,000 New York members and spent $100,000 on Albany lobbyists last year while making more than $130,000 in New York political donations, mostly to the Democratic and Working Families parties, has also been trying to represent workers at Station Casinos in Las Vegas, off-strip casinos that say they can't afford union pay. Behind the UFC is Zuffa LLC, which donated $25,000 to New York's Democratic Committee last year. Brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III are behind both the station casinos and the UFC effort.
Union spokesman Eric Sharfstein declined to comment about dealings with Station Casinos and the union's opposition to mixed martial arts in New York.
ESPN Writer Calls Kimbo Slice 'Disgusting'
by Michael David Smith
ESPN's LZ Granderson has an interesting column this week about Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson who got somewhat famous by posting his street fights on the Internet and is now getting even more famous for fighting in legitimate mixed martial arts competitions.
And Granderson writes that he thinks the fact that Slice is going big-time is a big problem:
I don't know if he's necessarily stupid, because I've never met the man, but he certainly seems to be misguided. Why else would Slice disregard all sense of honor, pride and history to project an image that can best be described as a cross between Lil' Wayne and Kunta Kinte -- a runaway slave with a mouth full of gold teeth playing up every single stereotype of an African-American male in exchange for short-lived adoration from a soulless media with ADD. ... I find what Slice is consciously doing downright disgusting.
I think Granderson is one of America's best sports writers, and I share some of his concerns about the way Slice is sometimes portrayed. But I also think it's important to remember that Slice can't control how others portray him, and he demonstrates in all of his interviews that he's an intelligent and articulate person who takes his sport seriously. I think people who watch his first CBS fight will come away thinking highly of him
by Michael David Smith
ESPN's LZ Granderson has an interesting column this week about Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson who got somewhat famous by posting his street fights on the Internet and is now getting even more famous for fighting in legitimate mixed martial arts competitions.
And Granderson writes that he thinks the fact that Slice is going big-time is a big problem:
I don't know if he's necessarily stupid, because I've never met the man, but he certainly seems to be misguided. Why else would Slice disregard all sense of honor, pride and history to project an image that can best be described as a cross between Lil' Wayne and Kunta Kinte -- a runaway slave with a mouth full of gold teeth playing up every single stereotype of an African-American male in exchange for short-lived adoration from a soulless media with ADD. ... I find what Slice is consciously doing downright disgusting.
I think Granderson is one of America's best sports writers, and I share some of his concerns about the way Slice is sometimes portrayed. But I also think it's important to remember that Slice can't control how others portray him, and he demonstrates in all of his interviews that he's an intelligent and articulate person who takes his sport seriously. I think people who watch his first CBS fight will come away thinking highly of him
Tito Ortiz Q'n'A
By MARK GILBERT
Published: 01 May 2008
LEGENDARY mixed martial arts fighter Tito Ortiz was the face of the UFC when the company exploded onto the mainstream in the 1990s.
And in the second of our exclusive two-part interview, the Huntingdon Beach Bad Boy reveals his thoughts on the UFC, his own future and his rivalry with the Shamrocks...
Did you ever think the UFC would become mainstream? It’s bigger than boxing in America at the moment...
I think that was my whole job - to bring it in to the mainstream public. We MMA fighters are not just meat heads - guys who are stupid thugs - we're intelligent and articulate, we have a lot of charisma when it comes to a fight and we are great athletes.
A lot of champions who fought in the UFC and are still fighting in the UFC were college students, undergraduates, guys like Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture are intelligent people, not some thug fighters from the street.
We are in a combative sport where we use kickboxing, boxing, wrestling and jiu jitsu and need to have good cardio. It’s not just boxing where you’re using punching and making use of cardio , it’s like playing a chess game, it’s a game plan where you have to be very smart.
I knew it was going to be big. I was very outgoing. I talk s*** but I back it up when it's fight time. I think that’s what really matters, my fans support me no matter what. I’ve never taken a fight lightly. I put my heart and soul into it. I’m there to entertain, it’s not just about a fight to me, it’s more than that, its entertainment.
I want to make sure the pay-per-view buyers are all excited by my fight and people who are paying up to $700 to come and see me fight are getting their money’s worth.
I’m not looking for a fast submission. I’m looking to punish the guy, hurt him as bad as possible so the fans get entertained by my fight, that’s the way I’ve always been.
Am I right in saying Mike Tyson was training with you?
Mike Tyson was actually in my corner when I thought at UFC 33 in Las Vegas, he was in my dressing room. He wore my Punishment gear when he fought out in England. He’s a friend.
The Gracie’s challenged Tyson, if someone like Royce Gracie fought Tyson who do you think would win?
If it’s a boxing match, Royce would get knocked out but if it’s an MMA match Royce would choke him out. It’s one of those games man, it’s like comparing chess to chequers - two different sports.
You compare soccer to our football - they're two different sports. So I think it’s exactly the same thing about boxing and MMA. When you put the kicks in, the elbows and the takedowns, the chokes and submissions it changes the whole game.
With boxing, when the two fighters tie up, the referee brakes them. You can’t really compare a boxer to an MMA guy because MMA guys are just so much better than boxers.
Before MMA was invented and started to become popular, boxers were much more respected, and made more money. Now we've seen that’s not necessarily the case?
I think that’s right, once these MMA fighters really start to say what they believe in - and I personally have been out spoken about this - when the company (UFC) makes 95 per cent of the money and only 5 per cent goes back to the fighters I think that’s bulls***!
The UFC and Dana White hve taken advantage of us, the fighters. They are monopolising martial arts by owning everything, he WFA, Pride, WEC.
Boxers make 60 per cent of the money and we only make five per cent. The fans pay for the pay per-view and tickets to watch us, why shouldn’t we get a big chunk of that? The fighters have been taken advantage of. That is why I’m the person to shout out loud so someone can hear me.
Randy Couture said something too, I’ve been saying it for the last three or four years, we are the ones putting our life on the line why shouldn’t we get some of the redemption from it.
Let’s talk about your new book which comes out in the US next month and hits UK in July...
I think it’s different to any other fighter's book. Other’s have more of the fight game and how they became champions, but with me it’s how I became what I am today.
With all the stuff I went through as a kid, with parents being drug addicts and not having a chance in this world but I made everything for myself, I came from nothing - look where I am now.
I’m very comfortable, I own houses , I own cars, I have a beautiful son, I have a clothing company Punishment Athletics I’ve really made my name into an icon of mixed martial arts I think. I’m not even done yet! I have so much more to do.
The hard work and dedication I put into my life is all in my book and there’s a little bit about the fight game, about me being a champion and me fighting and stuff like that, maybe one or two chapters in it but the rest is really about me growing up as a kid to sacrifices and a lot of trials and tribulations I have had in my life.
Advertisement
I wasn’t supposed to make it man, I should have been dead or in prison but I’ve excelled and accepted a lot of sacrifices in my life to get to where I am today, and in my book you will find that.
We are going to see what so many saw as a bad boy but was really a good man who worked really hard to get to where he is today. I never took short cuts, I never killed anybody, or tried to get one over on somebody. I had dedication to make it happen.
It shows with hard work and dedication you can achieve anything in this world, and I’ve shown it man, I’m living the American dream. I try to help other fighters and other people. I never had anything given to me, I’ve always worked for it.
What's next for you? You're fighting Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 later this month...
I’m getting ready for that fight right now, May 24th in Las Vegas , Nevada at the MGN Grand. This is the last fight in my contract with the UFC. Then I’m going to go and sign up with somebody else just because the way Dana White treats me as a fighter is very disrespectable.
It's not about money anymore it’s about respect. I’m going to go with someone else who will pay me more money and treat me with more respect than Dana White has ever treated me. I’m very excited to move on, to grow and go somewhere else and help them build a company like I did with the UFC.
You had a famous rivalry with Ken Shamrock, is that done and dusted now?
I think the rivalry is pretty much done. I tried to hype the fights as much as possible and I shut them down three times in a row. I've gone on with my life and he’s gone on with his life and I have to be thankful to him because we’ve had some of the biggest pay-per-views buys. It's one of those things. We had hatred towards each other and we’ll be men and grow up and that’s what we’ve being doing. I’ve gone on with my life and he’s gone on with his.
Any new projects on the horizon?
I’m producing my own reality show called ‘Anytown Beatdown’ which will be shown on G4 in America. People in dispute with each other can comeand fight in an octagon. I’m going to help the guys train for the fight, they will fight each other and solve their differences in the octagon.
I just want to thank my European fans who supported me, I’ve been fighting for 11 years and I’ll continue to fight. I have a good couple of solid years left in me, and I’m not fighting for the UFC but someone else, possibly Europe sometime soon. I’d love to do that, if it wasn’t for my fans I wouldn’t be who I am today.
By MARK GILBERT
Published: 01 May 2008
LEGENDARY mixed martial arts fighter Tito Ortiz was the face of the UFC when the company exploded onto the mainstream in the 1990s.
And in the second of our exclusive two-part interview, the Huntingdon Beach Bad Boy reveals his thoughts on the UFC, his own future and his rivalry with the Shamrocks...
Did you ever think the UFC would become mainstream? It’s bigger than boxing in America at the moment...
I think that was my whole job - to bring it in to the mainstream public. We MMA fighters are not just meat heads - guys who are stupid thugs - we're intelligent and articulate, we have a lot of charisma when it comes to a fight and we are great athletes.
A lot of champions who fought in the UFC and are still fighting in the UFC were college students, undergraduates, guys like Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture are intelligent people, not some thug fighters from the street.
We are in a combative sport where we use kickboxing, boxing, wrestling and jiu jitsu and need to have good cardio. It’s not just boxing where you’re using punching and making use of cardio , it’s like playing a chess game, it’s a game plan where you have to be very smart.
I knew it was going to be big. I was very outgoing. I talk s*** but I back it up when it's fight time. I think that’s what really matters, my fans support me no matter what. I’ve never taken a fight lightly. I put my heart and soul into it. I’m there to entertain, it’s not just about a fight to me, it’s more than that, its entertainment.
I want to make sure the pay-per-view buyers are all excited by my fight and people who are paying up to $700 to come and see me fight are getting their money’s worth.
I’m not looking for a fast submission. I’m looking to punish the guy, hurt him as bad as possible so the fans get entertained by my fight, that’s the way I’ve always been.
Am I right in saying Mike Tyson was training with you?
Mike Tyson was actually in my corner when I thought at UFC 33 in Las Vegas, he was in my dressing room. He wore my Punishment gear when he fought out in England. He’s a friend.
The Gracie’s challenged Tyson, if someone like Royce Gracie fought Tyson who do you think would win?
If it’s a boxing match, Royce would get knocked out but if it’s an MMA match Royce would choke him out. It’s one of those games man, it’s like comparing chess to chequers - two different sports.
You compare soccer to our football - they're two different sports. So I think it’s exactly the same thing about boxing and MMA. When you put the kicks in, the elbows and the takedowns, the chokes and submissions it changes the whole game.
With boxing, when the two fighters tie up, the referee brakes them. You can’t really compare a boxer to an MMA guy because MMA guys are just so much better than boxers.
Before MMA was invented and started to become popular, boxers were much more respected, and made more money. Now we've seen that’s not necessarily the case?
I think that’s right, once these MMA fighters really start to say what they believe in - and I personally have been out spoken about this - when the company (UFC) makes 95 per cent of the money and only 5 per cent goes back to the fighters I think that’s bulls***!
The UFC and Dana White hve taken advantage of us, the fighters. They are monopolising martial arts by owning everything, he WFA, Pride, WEC.
Boxers make 60 per cent of the money and we only make five per cent. The fans pay for the pay per-view and tickets to watch us, why shouldn’t we get a big chunk of that? The fighters have been taken advantage of. That is why I’m the person to shout out loud so someone can hear me.
Randy Couture said something too, I’ve been saying it for the last three or four years, we are the ones putting our life on the line why shouldn’t we get some of the redemption from it.
Let’s talk about your new book which comes out in the US next month and hits UK in July...
I think it’s different to any other fighter's book. Other’s have more of the fight game and how they became champions, but with me it’s how I became what I am today.
With all the stuff I went through as a kid, with parents being drug addicts and not having a chance in this world but I made everything for myself, I came from nothing - look where I am now.
I’m very comfortable, I own houses , I own cars, I have a beautiful son, I have a clothing company Punishment Athletics I’ve really made my name into an icon of mixed martial arts I think. I’m not even done yet! I have so much more to do.
The hard work and dedication I put into my life is all in my book and there’s a little bit about the fight game, about me being a champion and me fighting and stuff like that, maybe one or two chapters in it but the rest is really about me growing up as a kid to sacrifices and a lot of trials and tribulations I have had in my life.
Advertisement
I wasn’t supposed to make it man, I should have been dead or in prison but I’ve excelled and accepted a lot of sacrifices in my life to get to where I am today, and in my book you will find that.
We are going to see what so many saw as a bad boy but was really a good man who worked really hard to get to where he is today. I never took short cuts, I never killed anybody, or tried to get one over on somebody. I had dedication to make it happen.
It shows with hard work and dedication you can achieve anything in this world, and I’ve shown it man, I’m living the American dream. I try to help other fighters and other people. I never had anything given to me, I’ve always worked for it.
What's next for you? You're fighting Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 later this month...
I’m getting ready for that fight right now, May 24th in Las Vegas , Nevada at the MGN Grand. This is the last fight in my contract with the UFC. Then I’m going to go and sign up with somebody else just because the way Dana White treats me as a fighter is very disrespectable.
It's not about money anymore it’s about respect. I’m going to go with someone else who will pay me more money and treat me with more respect than Dana White has ever treated me. I’m very excited to move on, to grow and go somewhere else and help them build a company like I did with the UFC.
You had a famous rivalry with Ken Shamrock, is that done and dusted now?
I think the rivalry is pretty much done. I tried to hype the fights as much as possible and I shut them down three times in a row. I've gone on with my life and he’s gone on with his life and I have to be thankful to him because we’ve had some of the biggest pay-per-views buys. It's one of those things. We had hatred towards each other and we’ll be men and grow up and that’s what we’ve being doing. I’ve gone on with my life and he’s gone on with his.
Any new projects on the horizon?
I’m producing my own reality show called ‘Anytown Beatdown’ which will be shown on G4 in America. People in dispute with each other can comeand fight in an octagon. I’m going to help the guys train for the fight, they will fight each other and solve their differences in the octagon.
I just want to thank my European fans who supported me, I’ve been fighting for 11 years and I’ll continue to fight. I have a good couple of solid years left in me, and I’m not fighting for the UFC but someone else, possibly Europe sometime soon. I’d love to do that, if it wasn’t for my fans I wouldn’t be who I am today.
Jens Pulver: On The Warpath
For UFC Legend Jens Pulver, it seemed like the end of the road. He had just dropped his second straight fight, a submission loss to BJ Penn. The prior loss wasn’t much better – a quick knockout at the hands of then-unknown Joe Lauzon.
But where other fighters would give up, Pulver made a new plan entirely.
But where other fighters would give up, Pulver made a new plan entirely.
“I went to (UFC President) Dana White and I said, ‘Hey, I want to help build [the WEC] and I want to be a part of this,’” he said.
By staying under the “Zuffa umbrella,” as Pulver puts it, he gained the ability to revive his career and be a part of something big. Pulver dropped from lightweight (155 pounds) to featherweight (145) and opened his WEC career with a dominating first-round victory against top featherweight Cub Swanson.
“For me, it was big because I didn’t want to lose three fights (in a row),” Pulver said. “I’d lost to BJ and Lauzon and I was like ‘Come on!’ I didn’t want to go 0-3 so the biggest thing was I needed to know that I could still compete.”
With a sound mental attitude in place, Pulver had just one thing left to do: capitalize.
“Patience was my game plan. I wanted to let him try to take me down. If he shot in, the plan was to punish him and lock in the guillotine. I needed to lay back, be cool, calm, collected, and if I got to a point where I’m weak, just keep attacking. I didn’t even throw one punch.”
Keeping with his plan, Pulver didn’t need that one punch as he calmly locked in an anaconda choke 35 seconds into the bout.
With the win, Pulver’s career went from life support to one of the biggest fights of his career, a June 1 match against WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento. Sources inside the WEC feel it will be the biggest fight in the promotion’s history.
“A bunch of 145-pounders selling out an arena?” Pulver says, “What’s bigger than that?”
For Pulver, the only event bigger than a fight with Faber would be beating him. The man who dismantled Cub with his sound plan has one for this match up too.
“It’s gotta be different,” protests Pulver. “He is a different kind of explosive. He’s real aggressive so I want to go straight at him. I can’t let him think that he can throw anything he wants. I gotta get in there and make him do the ‘uh-oh’. You know, grab his head and throw him in the quicksand.”
Some critics, including Faber, have questioned Pulver’s conditioning and whether or not he’ll be ready.
“My conditioning?” Pulver scoffs, recalling that he once beat Penn in a five-round war for the UFC title. “I’m the 25-minute king.”
For UFC Legend Jens Pulver, it seemed like the end of the road. He had just dropped his second straight fight, a submission loss to BJ Penn. The prior loss wasn’t much better – a quick knockout at the hands of then-unknown Joe Lauzon.
But where other fighters would give up, Pulver made a new plan entirely.
But where other fighters would give up, Pulver made a new plan entirely.
“I went to (UFC President) Dana White and I said, ‘Hey, I want to help build [the WEC] and I want to be a part of this,’” he said.
By staying under the “Zuffa umbrella,” as Pulver puts it, he gained the ability to revive his career and be a part of something big. Pulver dropped from lightweight (155 pounds) to featherweight (145) and opened his WEC career with a dominating first-round victory against top featherweight Cub Swanson.
“For me, it was big because I didn’t want to lose three fights (in a row),” Pulver said. “I’d lost to BJ and Lauzon and I was like ‘Come on!’ I didn’t want to go 0-3 so the biggest thing was I needed to know that I could still compete.”
With a sound mental attitude in place, Pulver had just one thing left to do: capitalize.
“Patience was my game plan. I wanted to let him try to take me down. If he shot in, the plan was to punish him and lock in the guillotine. I needed to lay back, be cool, calm, collected, and if I got to a point where I’m weak, just keep attacking. I didn’t even throw one punch.”
Keeping with his plan, Pulver didn’t need that one punch as he calmly locked in an anaconda choke 35 seconds into the bout.
With the win, Pulver’s career went from life support to one of the biggest fights of his career, a June 1 match against WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento. Sources inside the WEC feel it will be the biggest fight in the promotion’s history.
“A bunch of 145-pounders selling out an arena?” Pulver says, “What’s bigger than that?”
For Pulver, the only event bigger than a fight with Faber would be beating him. The man who dismantled Cub with his sound plan has one for this match up too.
“It’s gotta be different,” protests Pulver. “He is a different kind of explosive. He’s real aggressive so I want to go straight at him. I can’t let him think that he can throw anything he wants. I gotta get in there and make him do the ‘uh-oh’. You know, grab his head and throw him in the quicksand.”
Some critics, including Faber, have questioned Pulver’s conditioning and whether or not he’ll be ready.
“My conditioning?” Pulver scoffs, recalling that he once beat Penn in a five-round war for the UFC title. “I’m the 25-minute king.”
HDNet airs DREAM.1 and DREAM.2 this weekend
The first two events produced by DREAM, a new fight promotion created from K-1 HERO'S with help from former staffers of PRIDE Fighting Championships, will air this weekend on the all-high-decision cable station HDNet.
DREAM.1, which took place March 15 and featured the opening round of a lightweight grand prix, airs tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET.
DREAM.2, which took place April 29 and featured the opening round of a middleweight grand prix, airs tomorrow at 10:30 p.m. ET.
HDNet, which is owned by HDNet Fights founder Mark Cuban, recently inked a deal with the Japanese-based organization to begin airing future DREAM events live. DREAM.3, for example, airs live on May 11 at 3 a.m. ET.
For a full schedule of MMA on HDNet, check out hdnetfights.com.
Additionally, be sure to catch tonight's new episode of "Inside MMA," which airs at 9:30 p.m. ET. In addition to hosts Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice, as well as reporter Ron Kruck, panelits include former pro wrestling champion and Hall of Fame inductee "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, former lightweight boxing champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, and MMA filmmaker Bobby Razak.
The first two events produced by DREAM, a new fight promotion created from K-1 HERO'S with help from former staffers of PRIDE Fighting Championships, will air this weekend on the all-high-decision cable station HDNet.
DREAM.1, which took place March 15 and featured the opening round of a lightweight grand prix, airs tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET.
DREAM.2, which took place April 29 and featured the opening round of a middleweight grand prix, airs tomorrow at 10:30 p.m. ET.
HDNet, which is owned by HDNet Fights founder Mark Cuban, recently inked a deal with the Japanese-based organization to begin airing future DREAM events live. DREAM.3, for example, airs live on May 11 at 3 a.m. ET.
For a full schedule of MMA on HDNet, check out hdnetfights.com.
Additionally, be sure to catch tonight's new episode of "Inside MMA," which airs at 9:30 p.m. ET. In addition to hosts Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice, as well as reporter Ron Kruck, panelits include former pro wrestling champion and Hall of Fame inductee "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, former lightweight boxing champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, and MMA filmmaker Bobby Razak.
Kimbo Sets Record Straight On Rumors That He Was KO'd In Practice
MMANews.com had the chance to speak with Kimbo Slice yesterday and when asked about the rumours surrounding being knocked out by Forrest Griffin during a sparring match he was quick to put them to rest.
"No, there is no truth to that at all. It's bullshit and Forrest Griffin will tell you that it's bullshit to." Slice stated
The rumours began when UFC President Dana White questioned Kimbo in a a recent interview. He was quotes as saying "Kimbo’s not there yet. He would get destroyed. I heard he just got knocked out by Forrest Griffin last week in a sparring match after a kick to the head."
Kimbo elaborated a little more on what actually happened "The fact is it was a good sparring session and I was training with Forrest and he was talking to me about defending yourself at all times and then he threw a big kick and I was like "WOAH I never even seen that coming" but no I never got knocked out. Even if I did get knocked out, saying that and putting that rumour out there just makes you a pussy."
MMANews.com will have a complete interview up with Kimbo later today or early tomorrow morning so be on the look out for it. Kimbo goes a little more in depth about that training session as well as talks about his upcoming fight with James Thompson, his development as an MMA fighter and his online feud with Chuck Liddell. Stay Tuned!!
MMANews.com had the chance to speak with Kimbo Slice yesterday and when asked about the rumours surrounding being knocked out by Forrest Griffin during a sparring match he was quick to put them to rest.
"No, there is no truth to that at all. It's bullshit and Forrest Griffin will tell you that it's bullshit to." Slice stated
The rumours began when UFC President Dana White questioned Kimbo in a a recent interview. He was quotes as saying "Kimbo’s not there yet. He would get destroyed. I heard he just got knocked out by Forrest Griffin last week in a sparring match after a kick to the head."
Kimbo elaborated a little more on what actually happened "The fact is it was a good sparring session and I was training with Forrest and he was talking to me about defending yourself at all times and then he threw a big kick and I was like "WOAH I never even seen that coming" but no I never got knocked out. Even if I did get knocked out, saying that and putting that rumour out there just makes you a pussy."
MMANews.com will have a complete interview up with Kimbo later today or early tomorrow morning so be on the look out for it. Kimbo goes a little more in depth about that training session as well as talks about his upcoming fight with James Thompson, his development as an MMA fighter and his online feud with Chuck Liddell. Stay Tuned!!
Pre Fight Goran Reljic Interview Discussing UFC Debut
MMA Manager: Hello Goran How is your day today?
Goran Reljic: My day is doing great thanks for asking.
MMA Manager: Which city are you stationed in at the moment?
GR: At the moment I am in the beautiful Las Vegas.
MMA Manager: What a pleasant surprise to have you in the US. Is it your first time here?
GR: My first time here, yes.
MMA Manager: So you must have lot of fun in Vegas?
GR: Not really. To be honest with you I haven’t seen the town yet, at the moment I just eat, train and sleep. That s why I am here.
MMA Manager: Let me guess, you are training in Randy Couture’s gym?
GR: You are right!!
MMA Manager: When did you decide to change training camp 2 months before the fight?
GR: First of all I took strong advice from my manager Zoran Saric to come to the US and prepare for the fight 2 months before,
and on the top of that I need to train with the UFC level fighters which is hard to get in Europe.
MMA Manager: How is your preparation for upcoming fight coming up?
GR: Excellent I am injury free; train 2-3 times a day usually morning strength and conditioning and night sparing and techniques.
MMA Manager: Who are your sparing partners?
GR: Randy Couture, Wanderlei Silva, Forrest Griffin, Martin Kampmann, Jay White, Mike Pyle and all the others from Extreme Couture.
MMA Manager: What do you think about Extreme Couture?
GR: Its great because there are a lot of high level sparring partners at the one place, trainings are hard but that s the only way to push forward and make the progress to win.
MMA Manager: Where did you train in Europe?
GR: In Croatia with CRO COP, and in London with Roger Gracie
MMA Manager: Can you explain the difference between Europe and US in training of MMA?
GR: It would take me whole week to talk about, let s say that Europe and USA are 2 different worlds as far as training goes.
MMA Manager: So how did you end it up in UFC?
GR: I am here to fight and I believe one day be the best, and for everything else my manager Zoran Saric is the man who made the decisions in my carrier and he got me in the UFC.
MMA Manager: Let’s talk about your opponent Wilson Gouveia, what do you know and think about him?
GR: He is a good fighter with great guillotine chokes, heavy hands, strong grip and strong leg kicks, all respect to him but he did not impress me in any way.
It looks like he’s got a lot of luck fighting. For everything else I know that I am better fighter and I will prove it may 24th with no mercy; its business, its not personal.
MMA Manager: He is coming from last 4 straight wins in UFC, what do you think about that? Did he impress you in any way?
GR: Not at all, seems like he was losing in every one of them and somehow ended up with Guillotine or KO but luck is important too.
MMA Manager: What are your plans and tools for the upcoming fight?
GR: Not too many people know about me and my skills and just for the first time I would like to keep it a secret.
MMA Manager: This is your biggest fight so far, are you exited and mentally ready for it?
GR: Yes I am excited and ready. I can’t wait!
MMA Manager: Any thanks to sponsors or people responsible for you carrier?
GR: Yes thanks to my sponsors, my manager, all my trainers, sparing partners, and the people who supported me.
MMA Manager: We wish you best of luck and thanks for your time. Thank you
MMA Manager: Hello Goran How is your day today?
Goran Reljic: My day is doing great thanks for asking.
MMA Manager: Which city are you stationed in at the moment?
GR: At the moment I am in the beautiful Las Vegas.
MMA Manager: What a pleasant surprise to have you in the US. Is it your first time here?
GR: My first time here, yes.
MMA Manager: So you must have lot of fun in Vegas?
GR: Not really. To be honest with you I haven’t seen the town yet, at the moment I just eat, train and sleep. That s why I am here.
MMA Manager: Let me guess, you are training in Randy Couture’s gym?
GR: You are right!!
MMA Manager: When did you decide to change training camp 2 months before the fight?
GR: First of all I took strong advice from my manager Zoran Saric to come to the US and prepare for the fight 2 months before,
and on the top of that I need to train with the UFC level fighters which is hard to get in Europe.
MMA Manager: How is your preparation for upcoming fight coming up?
GR: Excellent I am injury free; train 2-3 times a day usually morning strength and conditioning and night sparing and techniques.
MMA Manager: Who are your sparing partners?
GR: Randy Couture, Wanderlei Silva, Forrest Griffin, Martin Kampmann, Jay White, Mike Pyle and all the others from Extreme Couture.
MMA Manager: What do you think about Extreme Couture?
GR: Its great because there are a lot of high level sparring partners at the one place, trainings are hard but that s the only way to push forward and make the progress to win.
MMA Manager: Where did you train in Europe?
GR: In Croatia with CRO COP, and in London with Roger Gracie
MMA Manager: Can you explain the difference between Europe and US in training of MMA?
GR: It would take me whole week to talk about, let s say that Europe and USA are 2 different worlds as far as training goes.
MMA Manager: So how did you end it up in UFC?
GR: I am here to fight and I believe one day be the best, and for everything else my manager Zoran Saric is the man who made the decisions in my carrier and he got me in the UFC.
MMA Manager: Let’s talk about your opponent Wilson Gouveia, what do you know and think about him?
GR: He is a good fighter with great guillotine chokes, heavy hands, strong grip and strong leg kicks, all respect to him but he did not impress me in any way.
It looks like he’s got a lot of luck fighting. For everything else I know that I am better fighter and I will prove it may 24th with no mercy; its business, its not personal.
MMA Manager: He is coming from last 4 straight wins in UFC, what do you think about that? Did he impress you in any way?
GR: Not at all, seems like he was losing in every one of them and somehow ended up with Guillotine or KO but luck is important too.
MMA Manager: What are your plans and tools for the upcoming fight?
GR: Not too many people know about me and my skills and just for the first time I would like to keep it a secret.
MMA Manager: This is your biggest fight so far, are you exited and mentally ready for it?
GR: Yes I am excited and ready. I can’t wait!
MMA Manager: Any thanks to sponsors or people responsible for you carrier?
GR: Yes thanks to my sponsors, my manager, all my trainers, sparing partners, and the people who supported me.
MMA Manager: We wish you best of luck and thanks for your time. Thank you
Video: Sokoudjou Featured on ‘Inside MMA’
videolink: http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1555
On this week's HDNet "Inside MMA," featured exclusively on the Internet via Sherdog.com, Bas Rutten (Pictures) and Kenny Rice review the April 29 DREAM II event from Japan and preview the latest MMA movie "Redbelt."
Guests include Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Pictures), former lightweight boxing champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, MMA filmmaker Bobby Razak and former pro wrestling icon "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
Don't miss Ron Kruck in the news cage for all the latest MMA updates and the week's best highlights. Also, Bas goes "Toe-To-Toe" with viewer's emails and the #2 fighter is revealed from the "Inside MMA All-Time Top 10."
videolink: http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1555
On this week's HDNet "Inside MMA," featured exclusively on the Internet via Sherdog.com, Bas Rutten (Pictures) and Kenny Rice review the April 29 DREAM II event from Japan and preview the latest MMA movie "Redbelt."
Guests include Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Pictures), former lightweight boxing champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, MMA filmmaker Bobby Razak and former pro wrestling icon "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
Don't miss Ron Kruck in the news cage for all the latest MMA updates and the week's best highlights. Also, Bas goes "Toe-To-Toe" with viewer's emails and the #2 fighter is revealed from the "Inside MMA All-Time Top 10."
Nakakura Crowned Champ; Sakurai Upset
TOKYO -- More than 3,900 fans gathered Saturday to celebrate the first card of Shooto's 20th anniversary series at the newly opened JCB Hall, just a stone's throw from the time-honored Korakuen Hall in Japan's Tokyo Dome City complex.
While the evening proved to be a rough one for some of Japan's best, it was still an exciting night of fights.
Capping off the card was a welterweight showdown between two of Shooto's top 154-pounders in Takashi Nakakura (Pictures) and Ganjo Tentsuku (Pictures), who were vying for the title Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) had recently vacated.
In a matchup that saw the savvy technician against the scrappy brawler, Tentsuku attempted to take the fight to Nakakura with powerful combinations intended to decapitate. Nakakura, however, played a smart counter game. He allowed Tentsuku to close in toward him while he unleashed with sharp jabs and low kicks, occasionally throwing in a push kick to keep Tentsuku from getting too close for comfort.
Though Nakakura was excellent in his efforts at keeping Tentsuku at bay, he could not keep up the defense for long.
Tentsuku, by the force of his forward momentum, often careened into his opponent, clinched with him and stuffed him into the corner. He then delivered body shots and dirty boxing hammerfists to Nakakura's face.
Nakakura did his best to counter with knees and dirty boxing of his own, but it was Tentsuku who controlled the clinches, forcing Nakakura to struggle his way back out.
With both men going tit for tat and neither backing down after three rounds, the judges appeared to be less impressed by Tentsuku's power shots than they were in the multitude of stinging jabs and low kicks he received from Nakakura. As such, all three judges ruled the bout in favor of Nakakura, 30-28, 30-29, 30-29.
David Baron (Pictures) surprisingly finished highly regarded Hayato Sakurai (Pictures) in the final seconds of the first round in their 168-pound bout.
Despite looking for all intents and purposes the more skilled fighter in the standup, Sakurai was unable to match Baron's skill set on the ground. After scoring clean punches and low kicks on the feet, it was a moment of carelessness that cost Sakurai the fight.
A sloppy attempt to take Baron down while on his haunches allowed the Frenchman to sink in the guillotine for the catch point. Unable to fight his way out, Sakurai submitted moments later, ending the bout at 4:50 in the first.
In what may have been the fight of the night, former Shooto 143-pound champion Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) took out Shooto legend Rumina Sato (Pictures) in an exciting, back-and-forth war.
With Sato returning to his original style of reckless abandon, the "Shooto Charisma" got right in Tamura's face from the opening bell and looked for a knockout with winging punches. Despite eating a great deal of punishment, Tamura kept his cool and managed to turn the tables in every round, controlling the grappling portions that had Sato looking for unique ways to dispense with his young opponent.
One highlight was Sato's attempt to armbar Tamura by stretching his arm out under his chin while Tamura had captured his back. Using his chin as a breaking point for three such armbar attempts, Sato had the crowd's approval for his ingenuity in the face of danger.
Be that as it may, Tamura survived the assaults and even returned with some of his own reckless standup, which had Sato rocked throughout the fight. Battered and with his right eye swollen shut, Tamura dug deep and surprised Sato midway through the third, sealing his fate with a tight north-south clock choke and forcing the tap at the 2:37 mark.
Trenell "Savant" Young made his Japanese and Shooto debut Saturday, besting highly regarded 143-pounder "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) in a two-round affair that wasn't without its own fair share of controversy.
While Lion controlled the center and landed hard low kicks and jabs, Young stuck to the outside, rib-roasting with hard rights and looking to decapitate with lunging left hooks and overhand rights. Inoue looked to be taking Young's powerful punches in stride, but the end came near when a missed knee in the second round saw the Japanese fighter slip. Immediately Young was able to capitalize and locked on a tight guillotine for the catch.
Knowingly or not, Lion then dove through the ropes, forcing the hold to be broken -- but not until Young had made sure that his opponent was out cold. Curiously, however, the fight was soon restarted after both fighters were pulled back into the ring.
For the remainder of the second round, Inoue and Young traded vicious combinations on the feet until the final bell. Given his overwhelmingly physical performance and the guillotine catch, all three judges ruled the bout 19-18 in favor of Young for the unanimous decision.
Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures) and Ryuichi Miki (Pictures) fought to a majority draw after three technical rounds.
In typical Urushitani fashion, the slick standup technician circled and landed innumerable jabs, along with low and body kicks. Miki, to his credit, returned with heavy power punches on the feet and spinning backhands that had Urushitani retreating in spots.
Urushitani would always return to take charge of the situation, though. With his superior skills, he once again dictated the pace of the fight and frustrated Miki, who fought to get clean shots on his elusive opponent. However, perhaps due to Urushitani's attacks doing little apparent damage to Miki, one judge ruled in favor of Miki (30-28), and the remaining two curiously ruled the bout a draw (29-29, 29-29) for the disappointing majority draw.
In yet another bout involving controversy and a Bodyshop Fitness Team fighter, Yusuke Endo (Pictures) defeated the visiting Vince Ortiz in the first round by questionable technical submission.
Ortiz almost took out Endo with a savage one-two that dropped him for the knockdown. Endo returned seconds later, however, with his own wild combo that returned the favor to Ortiz.
With both men essentially out on their feet, swinging at each other and missing by wide margins, it was no surprise that they eventually collided into the clinch and fell through the ropes. Halfway out of the ring and dangling on the ropes, Endo sank the rear-naked choke while the referees were attempting to pull both men in.
Whereas the referees were sure to separate Trenell "Savant" Young from his guillotine on Inoue later in the evening, a visibly puzzled Ortiz was forced to endure as Endo sank the choke deeper while referee Taro Wakabayashi pulled the fighters back into the ring. Wakabayashi called the catch once the two had been pulled back in, but it was all for naught, as the bout was called moments later. Ortiz had been choked unconscious, awarding Endo the technical submission at 3:31 in the first period.
David Baron (Pictures) wasn't the only winning Frenchman this evening. Haute Tension teammate Bendy Casimir (Pictures) put on a spirited effort against up-and-coming grappler Shinji Sasaki (Pictures), winning a very dominant unanimous decision after three rounds.
With the talk being that Sasaki would weather the extremely physical game of Casimir to catch him in the later rounds, Saturday's bout proved to be quite the contrary case. Casimir endured submission attempt after submission attempt, reversing position almost at will to take top and keep the Japanese grappler on the defensive while he dropped short strikes from above.
This in turn tired out Sasaki. With him wilting in the later rounds under Casimir's pressure, the judges saw fit to award Casimir the unanimous decision, 29-28, 30-29, 30-27.
In the lightweight prelim, Sakae Kasuya (Pictures) found the sleeping tiger in Hayate Usui (Pictures). He controlled the grappling and the standup portions until Usui had decided enough was enough and threw down, beating Kasuya up until the end of the second period to earn the majority decision victory (20-19, 19-19, 20-18).
In their flyweight prelim, Noboru Tahara (Pictures) stopped Katsuya Murofushi (Pictures) at 45 seconds into the second round after opening a cut over his left eye.
TOKYO -- More than 3,900 fans gathered Saturday to celebrate the first card of Shooto's 20th anniversary series at the newly opened JCB Hall, just a stone's throw from the time-honored Korakuen Hall in Japan's Tokyo Dome City complex.
While the evening proved to be a rough one for some of Japan's best, it was still an exciting night of fights.
Capping off the card was a welterweight showdown between two of Shooto's top 154-pounders in Takashi Nakakura (Pictures) and Ganjo Tentsuku (Pictures), who were vying for the title Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) had recently vacated.
In a matchup that saw the savvy technician against the scrappy brawler, Tentsuku attempted to take the fight to Nakakura with powerful combinations intended to decapitate. Nakakura, however, played a smart counter game. He allowed Tentsuku to close in toward him while he unleashed with sharp jabs and low kicks, occasionally throwing in a push kick to keep Tentsuku from getting too close for comfort.
Though Nakakura was excellent in his efforts at keeping Tentsuku at bay, he could not keep up the defense for long.
Tentsuku, by the force of his forward momentum, often careened into his opponent, clinched with him and stuffed him into the corner. He then delivered body shots and dirty boxing hammerfists to Nakakura's face.
Nakakura did his best to counter with knees and dirty boxing of his own, but it was Tentsuku who controlled the clinches, forcing Nakakura to struggle his way back out.
With both men going tit for tat and neither backing down after three rounds, the judges appeared to be less impressed by Tentsuku's power shots than they were in the multitude of stinging jabs and low kicks he received from Nakakura. As such, all three judges ruled the bout in favor of Nakakura, 30-28, 30-29, 30-29.
David Baron (Pictures) surprisingly finished highly regarded Hayato Sakurai (Pictures) in the final seconds of the first round in their 168-pound bout.
Despite looking for all intents and purposes the more skilled fighter in the standup, Sakurai was unable to match Baron's skill set on the ground. After scoring clean punches and low kicks on the feet, it was a moment of carelessness that cost Sakurai the fight.
A sloppy attempt to take Baron down while on his haunches allowed the Frenchman to sink in the guillotine for the catch point. Unable to fight his way out, Sakurai submitted moments later, ending the bout at 4:50 in the first.
In what may have been the fight of the night, former Shooto 143-pound champion Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) took out Shooto legend Rumina Sato (Pictures) in an exciting, back-and-forth war.
With Sato returning to his original style of reckless abandon, the "Shooto Charisma" got right in Tamura's face from the opening bell and looked for a knockout with winging punches. Despite eating a great deal of punishment, Tamura kept his cool and managed to turn the tables in every round, controlling the grappling portions that had Sato looking for unique ways to dispense with his young opponent.
One highlight was Sato's attempt to armbar Tamura by stretching his arm out under his chin while Tamura had captured his back. Using his chin as a breaking point for three such armbar attempts, Sato had the crowd's approval for his ingenuity in the face of danger.
Be that as it may, Tamura survived the assaults and even returned with some of his own reckless standup, which had Sato rocked throughout the fight. Battered and with his right eye swollen shut, Tamura dug deep and surprised Sato midway through the third, sealing his fate with a tight north-south clock choke and forcing the tap at the 2:37 mark.
Trenell "Savant" Young made his Japanese and Shooto debut Saturday, besting highly regarded 143-pounder "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) in a two-round affair that wasn't without its own fair share of controversy.
While Lion controlled the center and landed hard low kicks and jabs, Young stuck to the outside, rib-roasting with hard rights and looking to decapitate with lunging left hooks and overhand rights. Inoue looked to be taking Young's powerful punches in stride, but the end came near when a missed knee in the second round saw the Japanese fighter slip. Immediately Young was able to capitalize and locked on a tight guillotine for the catch.
Knowingly or not, Lion then dove through the ropes, forcing the hold to be broken -- but not until Young had made sure that his opponent was out cold. Curiously, however, the fight was soon restarted after both fighters were pulled back into the ring.
For the remainder of the second round, Inoue and Young traded vicious combinations on the feet until the final bell. Given his overwhelmingly physical performance and the guillotine catch, all three judges ruled the bout 19-18 in favor of Young for the unanimous decision.
Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures) and Ryuichi Miki (Pictures) fought to a majority draw after three technical rounds.
In typical Urushitani fashion, the slick standup technician circled and landed innumerable jabs, along with low and body kicks. Miki, to his credit, returned with heavy power punches on the feet and spinning backhands that had Urushitani retreating in spots.
Urushitani would always return to take charge of the situation, though. With his superior skills, he once again dictated the pace of the fight and frustrated Miki, who fought to get clean shots on his elusive opponent. However, perhaps due to Urushitani's attacks doing little apparent damage to Miki, one judge ruled in favor of Miki (30-28), and the remaining two curiously ruled the bout a draw (29-29, 29-29) for the disappointing majority draw.
In yet another bout involving controversy and a Bodyshop Fitness Team fighter, Yusuke Endo (Pictures) defeated the visiting Vince Ortiz in the first round by questionable technical submission.
Ortiz almost took out Endo with a savage one-two that dropped him for the knockdown. Endo returned seconds later, however, with his own wild combo that returned the favor to Ortiz.
With both men essentially out on their feet, swinging at each other and missing by wide margins, it was no surprise that they eventually collided into the clinch and fell through the ropes. Halfway out of the ring and dangling on the ropes, Endo sank the rear-naked choke while the referees were attempting to pull both men in.
Whereas the referees were sure to separate Trenell "Savant" Young from his guillotine on Inoue later in the evening, a visibly puzzled Ortiz was forced to endure as Endo sank the choke deeper while referee Taro Wakabayashi pulled the fighters back into the ring. Wakabayashi called the catch once the two had been pulled back in, but it was all for naught, as the bout was called moments later. Ortiz had been choked unconscious, awarding Endo the technical submission at 3:31 in the first period.
David Baron (Pictures) wasn't the only winning Frenchman this evening. Haute Tension teammate Bendy Casimir (Pictures) put on a spirited effort against up-and-coming grappler Shinji Sasaki (Pictures), winning a very dominant unanimous decision after three rounds.
With the talk being that Sasaki would weather the extremely physical game of Casimir to catch him in the later rounds, Saturday's bout proved to be quite the contrary case. Casimir endured submission attempt after submission attempt, reversing position almost at will to take top and keep the Japanese grappler on the defensive while he dropped short strikes from above.
This in turn tired out Sasaki. With him wilting in the later rounds under Casimir's pressure, the judges saw fit to award Casimir the unanimous decision, 29-28, 30-29, 30-27.
In the lightweight prelim, Sakae Kasuya (Pictures) found the sleeping tiger in Hayate Usui (Pictures). He controlled the grappling and the standup portions until Usui had decided enough was enough and threw down, beating Kasuya up until the end of the second period to earn the majority decision victory (20-19, 19-19, 20-18).
In their flyweight prelim, Noboru Tahara (Pictures) stopped Katsuya Murofushi (Pictures) at 45 seconds into the second round after opening a cut over his left eye.