MMA News Thread

[CHAPO GUZMAN]

speaking of MMA, you guys seen that new show on discovery channel "fight quest"?

theyre gonna be filming in the bay area if they havent started already.. dont know their film schedule i just know that in february theres gonna be an episode on Kajukenbo and i think its gonna be in San Leandro.

They already started off with Wushu Kungfu, then Kali which is a filipino stick fighting martial art. And next up is Kyokushin Karate which is like the only good form of Karate IMO. Theyll be going to Mexico City for Boxing after that following PENCAK SILAT in indonesia, French savate in france, Hapkido in Korea, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Rio De Janeiro Brazil featuring Masters: Breno Sivak, Renato Barreto, after Krav Maga in Israel, and the last episode will be Kajukenbo here in the bay area on Fen 28th.

 

[RED HEAD STEVE]

I am going for Kimbo I think if he fights smart he will take this fight but if he does not respect tanks fighting ability then it will be lights out.

YEAH I AGREE. JUST TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT TANK DID TO CABBAGE THERE SECOND FIGHT AND CABBAGE HAS A GOOD CHIN.

 

[Shogun Locc]

A morning with Kimbo

 

[Shogun Locc]

ROB REPORT SNEAK PREVIEW

 

[heyzel]

I like kimbo coming out with the Rnc for the win

 

[Shogun Locc]

XTREME COUTURE BRANCHING INTO CANADA

The first Canadian Xtreme Couture training facility will open in Toronto within the next couple of months. The 33,000-square-foot mixed martial arts training facility is the first of its kind in the country.

The fitness center will be located in Etobicoke, Ontario and will house instructors that have fought in some of the most prominent organizations including Ultimate Fighting Championship, International Fight League, King Of The Cage and Freedom Fight. Disciplines that will be taught at this location include: Muay Thai kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wresting, Judo, Submission Grappling, and Traditional Boxing.

“This will be the first of four locations that we plan to open across Canada,” said Doug Urch, owner of the Xtreme Couture Gym. “Regardless of whether you’re a professional or a beginner, we have a number of classes geared to men, women and children.”

The facility will be modeled after Randy Couture’s gym in Las Vegas. The state of the art training equipment, boxing ring and full size professional octagon will be second to none.

The Toronto branch of Xtreme Couture Canada includes the following professional instructors:

Brent Beauparlant – MMA/Wrestling Instructor
Chris Horodecki – MMA/Muay Thai Instructor
Mark Hominick – MMA/Muay Thai Instructor
Jeff Joslin – MMA/Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Instructor
Shawn Geris – Freestyle/Greco Roman Wrestling Instructor
Dave Mair – Freestyle Wrestling Instructor
Yuri Botnarenko – Greco Roman Wrestling Instructor
Marco Antico – Muay Thai Instructor
Mish Cirkunov – Judo Instructor
Patrick Goulah – Traditional Jiu Jitsu Instructor

As the facilities grow look for more instructors to be added.

 

[Shogun Locc]

ON TRACK, LIDDELL WANTS HIS TITLE BACK

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder Chuck Liddell solidified his place in mixed martial arts history on Dec. 29 when he defeated long-time rival and former Pride Fighting Championships middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79: Nemesis in Las Vegas.

"It's great to get back on the winning track, getting my hand raised," Liddell told MMAWeekly.com.

Coming off back-to-back losses heading into the fight, many questioned if he still had what it takes to compete on MMA's highest level. Changes in preparation, both mentally and physically, showed in his performance.

"I think I changed a little bit of the intensity in the room, and kind of getting back to being a mixed martial artist. You know, mixing everything in and not just being a striker," commented the 38-year-old about his training.

Liddell was able to secure two takedowns against Silva and attempted three. We hadn't seen him take anyone down since his match with Alistair Overeem in August of 2003.

Discussing the takedowns, he explained, "I definitely wanted to work them in there sometime during the fight and keep him off balance a little bit."

Liddell was able to utilize his reach advantage and keep Silva at the end of his punches throughout the fight, something he does extremely well.

"I always try to use that advantage," he stated. "I've got pretty long arms for my height and always got a good reach for my size and weight class, so I've got to use that as much as possible.

"It just kind of works in the way I fight. There was no extra plan for it, but that's just kind of how I do things."

Silva also likes to trade from the outside, but is probably more devastating and dangerous from the clinch position where we've seen him finish current UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson twice. The one time Liddell and Silva clinched in the bout, Liddell did the damage with two elbow strikes.

"I thought he would have tried to clinch more," Liddell reflected. "But I'm also decent in the clinch, and I throw good elbows in there when I gain that position, so I'm real comfortable there."

In round two, the former UFC champ hit the canvas twice. The first one was a slip, but the second time Liddell went down appeared to be caused by a punch. He agreed and disagreed, saying, "It was a slip. It was more getting hit while I was moving in an odd way and slipped. I just had a couple of slips in that round."

Along with the subtle changes in training, Liddell sought out motivational speaker Tony Robbins to assist in focusing for the bout.

He commented, "It was really good. . . I think (working with Robbins) really did help me get better and focus on just being in the moment of the fight. I'm not worried about anything else."

Refocused and motivated, Liddell expects a big year in 2008.

"I'm back. I'm coming after my title, and hopefully get a shot at that some time in 2008."

Asked about a rematch with Wanderlei Silva, and if the saga is over, Liddell responded, "I'm going after my title. I want to get the title back. If people want to see a rematch with us after that, then yeah. Sure."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Baroni talks career options and steroids in new interview

Phil Baroni has received recent offers to resume his fighting career from promotions such as EliteXC and WEC, he reveals in a new interview with PunchDrunkGamer.com:

I received an offer from Showtime’s Elite XC. And I received one from the WEC – which to me is different then the UFC, it’s a step down. I don’t see guys moving up to the UFC; I think there will always be WEC fighters. I don’t want to do that. I have a lot more fights in me then that. But I’ve received offers from Showtime and a new show in Japan that just opened up. I’m trying to figure out what I am doing next, but first I need to get in shape before I can do anything.

Baroni recently became eligible to fight after a one-year suspension levied by the California State Athletic Commission for testing positive for steroids following a June 22 fight vs. Frank Shamrock was reduced to six months.


Baroni would seem like ideal fits for both EliteXC and the WEC. Despite an unimpressive 10-8 record, his charismatic personality has allowed him to become a highly marketable fighter in mixed martial arts.
The Zuffa-owned WEC has been looking for name middleweight fighters for the past several months following the departures of Joe Riggs and Jason "Mayhem" Miller. The promotion had been negotiating with Frank Trigg at one point and was believed to have had an interest in Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza.

The WEC, which is looking to hold shows outside of Las Vegas in 2008, would be able to promote a potential fight between Baroni and the promotion's current middleweight champion, Paulo Filho that could attract a lot of interest.

With EliteXC, Baroni would seem like a natural fit to challenge the promotion's current middleweight champion, Robbie Lawler, in a bout featuring two of the heaviest hitters competing at 185 pounds.

A potential Lawler vs. Baroni matchup could easily headline a Showtime card or even possibly serve as an undercard match on a potential PPV.

A a point of pure conjecture on my part (i.e. no inside information, just fantasy matchmaking), I think EliteXC possibly could draw the biggest non-UFC PPV buyrate ever in MMA if they promoted a card featuring Frank Shamrock vs. Ken Shamrock, Kimbo Slice vs. Sean Gannon, Lawler vs. Baroni, Takanori Gomi vs. Nick Diaz II, and Gina Carano vs. Tara LaRosa.

It's believed that Baroni already has an existing contract in place with Strikeforce. However, the contract is non-exclusive and Baroni has been very vocal about his desire not to fight in California anytime soon. Strikeforce is based in San Jose, Calif.

Baroni also indicates that he could resume fighting as early as March:

I just got back in the gym and running a bit, doing some roadwork to get the weight off me. I plan on fighting again in March. I’ll be 100% in April or May, but I’ll be ready in March. I’d like a couple of back to back fights in March, April, May, or June – get in there and get a couple fights in.

During the interview, Baroni talks at length about the recent appeal hearing before CSAC in regard to his suspension for a positive steroid tests. He makes this interesting revelation at one point:

I never received paper work from the lab or the commission saying I failed. I never saw the test; I just received a phone call. I want to see the “dirty” test because the same sample I retested came back negative. How did they hear that I failed, over the phone? They called up a guy and said “this is who failed and this is what they failed for,” and scratch it down on some note paper? It’s ridiculous and I’m sick of talking about it. I want to move on, and it’s been hard to move on at this point.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Ninja claims he'll be fighting again for EliteXC in March

In a new interview with PunchDrunkGamer.com, former EliteXC middleweight champion Murilo "Ninja" Rua claims his next fight for EliteXC could come in March:

PDG: When will NINJA fans get to see you in action again?

Ninja: Probably in EliteXC, next March in USA.

As of now, March is scheduled to be a ShoXC card, with California rumored as a possible destination.


On the surface, it would seem unlikely that Rua would appear on ShoXC, which has been promoted as more of a proving ground for EliteXC's lesser established fighters. However, it's always possible that Rua might be used in a headlining role.
In the interview, Rua also discusses about fighting for Cage Rage again in July:

PDG: Anything else as far as appearances or events that you will be involved in the near future that you would your fans to know about?

Ninja: I will be looking to get the Cage Rage belt next July and maybe a participation in a movie in USA. Mauricio and Myself were invited to make part of a movie about MMA and we are very excited with the idea. This is a totally different thing to me and I'm sure that it could be a great opportunity. We are discussing some details but very soon we will have news for our fans. Thanks again to all my fans and I will be back in the cage soon.

 

[UCDgreek]

another question... wen is rampage gonna fight again?... id like to see rampage and griffin go at it.....

this isnt happening til the ultimate fighter finishes. and thats gonna be months. im guessing like october november

 

[UCDgreek]

speaking of MMA, you guys seen that new show on discovery channel "fight quest"?

theyre gonna be filming in the bay area if they havent started already.. dont know their film schedule i just know that in february theres gonna be an episode on Kajukenbo and i think its gonna be in San Leandro.

They already started off with Wushu Kungfu, then Kali which is a filipino stick fighting martial art. And next up is Kyokushin Karate which is like the only good form of Karate IMO. Theyll be going to Mexico City for Boxing after that following PENCAK SILAT in indonesia, French savate in france, Hapkido in Korea, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Rio De Janeiro Brazil featuring Masters: Breno Sivak, Renato Barreto, after Krav Maga in Israel, and the last episode will be Kajukenbo here in the bay area on Fen 28th.

is this a rip off of that fight show on History Channel? Human Weapon has covered most of those fight styles. but ill give this show a chance.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Garcia Joins American Top Team

After the recent announcement that Alessio Sakara (Pictures) had joined American Top Team, Ricardo Liborio (Pictures) confirmed with Sherdog.com that another fighter has become a member of the Florida-based camp: multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion and three-time ADCC 77-kg tournament winner Marcelo Garcia (Pictures).

"He trained with us and now he's part of American Top Team," said Liborio, a founding member of ATT. "We made an agreement with Fabio Gurgel (Pictures) [Alliance BJJ team leader], and Garcia will represent Alliance in BJJ and submission events and ATT in MMA events."

Following much success in submission and BJJ tournaments, Garcia debuted in mixed martial arts at a K-1 HERO'S event in South Korea. He lost the October 2007 bout to Dae Won Kim (Pictures) via doctor stoppage on a cut 20 seconds into the second stanza.

After the defeat, there were suggestions that Garcia should join a powerful MMA team to improve his MMA skills beyond grappling. The Brazilian submission wizard will now look to do that with Liborio and company at American Top Team.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Dan Henderson Confident In The Clinch Game Against Silva

Dan Henderson will face Anderson Silva at UFC 82 in an intriguing match up that will determine the world's best middleweight. Henderson has never been knocked out and Anderson Silva has consistently proved that he is perhaps the premiere striker at 185 pounds; classic battle of immovable object vs. unstoppable force. For his part, Henderson appears very confident as he prepares to lock horns with Silva at UFC 82.
"I'm excited," Henderson told Steve Sievert. "I'm ready to go kick his ass. Style-wise, I'm just a bad fight for him. He's very tough, very talented, but he hasn't fought anybody like me. My strength is the clinch game, and I don't get out of position there to allow strikes. That's what he thrives on - guys that are out of position and not very good in that clinch. For me, that's where I'm going to beat him up, and if he gets there with me, I'm going to be taking him down and beating him up on the ground."

Catch these two go at it during the main event at UFC 82. The event will take place on March 1 in Columbus, Ohio. Below is the rumored card as it stands:

-Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson

-Heath Herring vs. Cheick Kongo

-Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono -Dustin Hazelett vs. Josh Koscheck

-Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson

-Luke Cummo vs. TBA

 

[Shogun Locc]

Rob Emerson vs. Keita Nakamura Set for UFC 81

The UFC recently announced a slew of official UFC 81 fights, and one that hasn’t yet been reported by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) is a welterweight bout between “The Ultimate Fighter 5” cast member Rob Emerson (6-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Keita Nakamura (14-2-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC).

UFC.com reported the bout on Monday afternoon.

UFC 81, which features heavyweight battles of Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (for the interim heavyweight title) and Frank Mir vs. UFC newcomer Brock Lesnar, takes place Feb. 1 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The event airs live on pay-per-view.

Emerson, a former King of the Cage and Pancrase fighter, was knocked out of competition on “The Ultimate Fighter 5” when he suffered a second-round submission loss to Nate Diaz in the show’s third episode. He earned a second chance in the competition after Gabe Ruediger failed to make weight but dropped a unanimous decision to Corey Hill in the sixth episode.

At the show’s live finale in June 2007, Emerson fought fellow cast member Gray Maynard on the night’s undercard but entered the bout with a pre-existing rib injury. Maynard dominated the first round, and early in the second round, he slammed Emerson to the canvas. The force of the blow caused Emerson to instantly tap — but it also appeared Maynard temporarily knocked himself unconscious. The fight was ruled a no-contest.

Since then, Emerson’s status has been sketchy. According to the Orange County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Department website, Emerson was arrested Sept. 19 for unknown reasons. MMAjunkie.com spoke to a representative with the sheriff’s press office on numerous occasions and confirmed that Emerson had, in fact, been arrested. However, more than a dozen requests for additional information and records of the arrest were continually put off. We were repeatedly told to call back, and at other times, we were told the records has been misplaced or that they simply couldn’t be found.

During our digging into that story, we did learn that Emerson had been arrested before — years before he appeared on “The Ultimate Fighter” — as part of his involvement with a gang called “The Lords of South County.” (The disturbing details of the arrest can be found in a 2000 FOX 11 news report.)

Now apparently a free man, Emerson will take on Nakamura, a veteran of the Japanese fight scene. Nakamura headed to the U.S. for his octagon debut in December 2006, but the trip thus far hasn’t been a success; he’s suffered unanimous-decision losses to both Brock Larson (UFC Fight Night 7) and Drew Fickett (UFC Fight Night 9) — the first losses of his four-year career. Back in November, he returned to Japan and posted a first-round knockout victory over Takefumi Hanai (2-3-2) in a smaller fight promotion.

The Emerson-Nakamura fight will appear on the night’s un-televised preliminary card.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Exclusive: Eddie Alvarez signs three fight contract with EliteXc

ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) has learned that former BodogFIGHT welterweight champion Eddie Alvarez has signed a three fight contract with EliteXC.

The Philadelphia native will debut for the promotion on Jan. 25 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City against Ross "Da Boss" Ebanez in a headlining match during the promotion's ShoXC card.

Despite a press release issued by EliteXC on Friday that advertised Alvarez for the ShoXC card in an non-televised match against Carlos Quinlon, a deal between the promotion and Alvarez was not finalized until over the weekend.

As a part his agreement with EliteXC, Alvarez will also be allowed to compete for the M-1 Global promotion.

Alvarez, 11-1, has competed as a welterweight for his entire 12-fight professional MMA career but will be competing in EliteXC's 160 lbs. division.

Alvarez was a much sought after free agent who BodogFIGHT had been attempting to re-sign. A source also indicated in December that Alvarez had received an offer from the WEC that would have potentially seen him debut for the promotion on Feb. 13 in a match against Dave Terrel.

ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) has also learned of other changes to the ShoXC event scheduled for 1/25. A match between Yves Edwards and Kyle Bradley is no longer scheduled while an opponent for Paul Daley is also believed to have been finalized.

While Daley's opponent has not officially been named, rumors indicate that it could be Sammy Morgan, a veteran from the second season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV who lost in his most recent match to Cung Le this past November during a Strikeforce show in San Jose.

 

[killahoe666]

Any news on a Diego Sanchez fight? I believe he has moved down in weight

 

[BROWN GUERRERO]

Any news on a Diego Sanchez fight? I believe he has moved down in weight

I haven't heard much. I know he was going to move down to 155 tho. He's got a bad bitch(Ali Sonoma the old UFC blond ring girl)!!!

 

[BROWN GUERRERO]

Diego Sanchez not Dropping to Lightweight Division
Posted by MMA Junkie on January 8, 2008 at 11:16 am ET

Diego Sanchez“The Ultimate Fighter 1” winner Diego Sanchez (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who’s lost back-to-back fights after winning his first 17 professional bouts, will not be moving down to the lightweight division after all.

Sanchez, who publicly flirted with the idea after a split-decision loss to Jon Fitch at UFC 76 in September, will continue to compete in the welterweight division — one of the deepest in the UFC.

Sanchez recently issued a MySpace bulletin with the news. Additionally, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) was able to confirm the decision with Sanchez’s new management team at Powermoves Entertainment.

The 26-year-old Sanchez emerged as one of the UFC’s top 170-pound contenders after posting six consecutive UFC victories over the likes of Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan and Joe Riggs. However, he then suffered a unanimous-decision loss to bitter rival Josh Koscheck at UFC 69, though we later learned Sanchez entered the fight with a serious staph infection. In fact, he was so sick and the illness had doctors so confused that Sanchez reportedly contemplated retirement on the eve of the fight.

Getting no reprieve, he was then pitted against Fitch — the winner of 13 straight fights (who made it 14 after the victory over Sanchez).

Sanchez hasn’t competed since that September loss to Fitch. However, he says he’ll learn of his next fight by the end of February. The fight will likely take place in April.

For more information about the fighter, check out the Diego Sanchez archives here on MMAjunkie.com.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Thales Leites Out of UFC 81

Thales Leites (Pictures) suffered a hand injury in training Monday that has forced him out of his Feb. 2 bout against Nathan Marquardt (Pictures) at UFC 81.

"I was training Muay Thai and threw a right cross punch that caught the guy who trains with me on the head," Leites told Sherdog.com. "Unfortunately I will not recover until the day of the fight. I'll probably be stopped for some six weeks."

The Brazilian middleweight will seek further consultation with a hand specialist on Tuesday to set up surgery. Leites expects to return to the Octagon by the end of the first quarter of 2008.

 

[Shogun Locc]

IFL Opener Takes Shape

Three title fights and two new teams will highlight the International Fight League's 2008 season opener Feb. 29 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

IFL middleweight champion Matt Horwich (Pictures) (21-9-1) will defend his title against Tim Kennedy (Pictures) (9-2). Horwich knocked out Benji Radach (Pictures) to win the belt in December, and Kennedy finished all three of his IFL opponents in 2007.

Lightweight titleholder Ryan Schultz (Pictures) (18-9-1), who impressively stopped Chris Horodecki (Pictures) in the IFL Grand Prix, will defend against John Gunderson (Pictures) (15-5).

Fabiano Scherner (Pictures) (7-5) will challenge heavyweight titleholder Roy Nelson (Pictures) (11-2).

In addition to the title bouts, the team competition will feature Matt Lindland (Pictures)'s Team Quest vs. Ken Shamrock (Pictures)'s Lions Den and Team Xtreme Couture vs. Mario Sperry (Pictures)'s MMA Top Team.

IFL Las Vegas
Friday, Feb. 29, 2008

Preliminary Bout
145 lbs.: Ian Loveland (Pictures) vs. Dennis Davis (Pictures)
Team Xtreme Couture vs. MMA Top Team
170 lbs.: TBD vs. Marcello Salazar (Pictures)
185 lbs.: Benji Radach (Pictures) vs. TBD

Team Quest vs. Lions Den
170 lbs.: TBD vs. Pat Healy (Pictures)
155 lbs.: Ryan Schultz (Pictures) vs. John Gunderson (Pictures)
265 lbs.: Fabiano Scherner (Pictures) vs. Roy Nelson (Pictures)

Championship Bout
185 lbs.: Tim Kennedy (Pictures) vs. Matt Horwich (Pictures)