MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Bisping: ‘Leben Still Looks the Same’

With Michael Bisping less than three days away from a middleweight clash with Chris Leben at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England, the UK standout made no qualms about what he thinks of his recently rejuvenated opponent.

“He still looks like the same Chris Leben,” Bisping told Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” on Wednesday. “There might be a little bit of a difference but I think ultimately he’s still the same fighter.”

Leben (18-4), who has won his last two bouts with strikes, was originally scheduled to face Bisping (16-1) at UFC 85 before the Oregonian violated his probation with his move to Hawaii and was incarcerated. And while the former Team Quest fighter has spent a lot of time leading up to Saturday’s main event bout talking about how he’s changed, Bisping doesn’t see a changed fighter in the cage.

“It looks like he’s cleared up a few demons in his personal life and that’s great for him, more power to him,” said Bisping. “But he talks about this big change, and I’m being brutally honest, but I can’t really see it when I watch his fights.”

A standout character on the fist season of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2005, the once-troubled Leben has won over half of his bouts with his fists and is known for his aggressive -- if not overly technical -- style. Still Bisping, who grasped the reality show’s third season contract, said he’s not worried about keeping the bout standing.

“Obviously Chris is there to strike and he’s got a big left hand and he’s got a few knockouts on his resume, so that’s something I’ve got to be aware of and something I’ve got to take seriously,” explained the Lancashire native. “But that said that’s not going to stop me from going out there and doing what I need to do to get the win.”

This will be the 29-year-old Bisping’s third bout since moving down to middleweight, a career decision that has gained him a little momentum with victories over former American Top Team fighter Charles McCarthy and Canadian standout Jason Day.

“It’s something I should have done a long time ago,” he said. “I just feel generally more athletic. I feel faster…I feel more explosive. My diet’s a lot better. I feel great.”

Bisping (16-1) has also benefited from a recent influx of talent to his Wolfslair Academy gym. Former UFC champion Ricco Rodriguez, IFL fighter Gerald Harris and recent headline fodder Quinton “Rampage” Jackson have all visited the booming facility.

“On the whole for the last nine, 10 weeks I’ve been at the Wolfslair and it’s been a fantastic camp to be honest,” said Bisping. “The gym has been packed every day. There have been a lot of good tough guys to train with. It’s been second to none really. I don’t think you could’ve gotten a better camp anywhere in the world…For me it’s a great confidence boost going into my fight knowing that I’m training with people like this.”

UFC 89 will mark the organization’s sixth trek to England. With the UFC’s recent push, the local media is drawing comparisons between Bisping and some of the region’s larger boxing stars, though the fighter doesn’t see the comparison.

“I’m just a normal guy from a normal, humble background,” he said. “I certainly don’t think of myself in terms of Ricky Hatton or Joe Calzaghe…It always makes me laugh. I just do what I do. I’m happy enough to make a living out of the sport that I love.”

UFC 89 “Bisping vs. Leben” also features light heavyweight bouts between Keith Jardine and Brandon Vera and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou taking on Luis Cane. Bisping’s teammate Paul Kelly will also meet Marcus Davis in a welterweight bout. The event will be aired Saturday on same-day tape delay on Spike TV.

 

[Shogun Locc]

From Jail Cell to Main Event

Chris Leben sat in a Clackamas County jail in northwestern Oregon for three weeks and pondered his past, present and future. Arrested on a probation violation related to a previous DUI conviction, Leben forfeited his chance to fight Michael Bisping at UFC 85 in June. As bad career moves go, few could have been worse.

“Obviously, things came up,” Leben says. “It was a huge letdown.”

Fortunately for the 28-year-old middleweight, UFC officials were in a forgiving mood. Given a reprieve by matchmakers, Leben (18-4) will challenge the once-beaten Bisping in the featured bout at UFC 89 this Saturday at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.

“This is a huge opportunity for me,” Leben says. “Luckily, the UFC came back around and offered the fight again. It lit a fire underneath me. When I got a second chance, it made me that much more focused. I love the matchup. It’s the fight I wanted.”

His stint in a Pacific Northwest slammer aside, Leben has undergone a dramatic transformation since he appeared on season one of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series. Gone seem the wild child days in which he found pleasure in breaking down doors and baptizing beds with urine. They were replaced by an eloquence and maturity spawned by genuine personal growth.

Leben’s metamorphosis was triggered by his embarrassing 49-second knockout loss to reigning UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in 2006. Brash antics were traded for respectful undertones. In recent days, new pictures of Leben have emerged, revealing how renewed dedication to training has altered his physical appearance. Ripped lean muscle has chipped away at his once pudgy exterior.

“He’s in really good shape,” says T.J. Thompson, whom Leben works under as the MMA instructor at the Icon Fitness gym in Hawaii. “It will be interesting to see what people say after all the interviews and the weigh-ins. He looks a lot different.”

A headliner on a significant UFC card for the first time in his career, Leben went to great lengths to prepare for Bisping and even brought former Sportfight champion and longtime Team Quest associate Chris Wilson to Hawaii. An accurate striker with quick hands, Wilson mimicked the British middleweight as a key part of Leben’s training camp.

“He’s got some height, and he’s a little better at striking than Michael,” says Leben, who also spent time honing his skills under MMA trainer extraordinaire Matt Hume in Seattle. “Training’s gone phenomenal. I started the camp a little early.”

Leben needs every edge. Bisping (16-1) has looked nearly unstoppable since he made the move to middleweight earlier this year. He annihilated American Top Team’s Charles McCarthy at UFC 83 in April and then carved through Canadian veteran Jason Day seven weeks later at UFC 85. A split-decision loss to top light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans remains the lone blemish on Bisping’s resume.

Still, Leben believes the Brit may fold under consistent pressure.

“It’s easy for him to look good if you don’t press the fight against him,” he says. “I’m going to go out and press him the entire time. I know I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in. Hopefully, that will play a factor in the fight.”

Leben expects a rude welcome from what promises to be a pro-Bisping crowd in Birmingham, though he shrugs off the idea that he will enter the cage as an underdog. Since back-to-back losses to Jason MacDonald and Kalib Starnes, Leben has rattled off consecutive victories against Terry Martin and Alessio Sakara, finishing both in spectacular fashion. He has momentum in his corner, too.

“I know that he’s going to have a few more fans in the building,” Leben says. “On paper, I don’t see myself as the underdog. You look at Bisping’s record and you look at my record; it’s a solid fight.”

Leben relishes the idea of being cast as the villain again.

“It doesn’t matter if they love you or hate you, as long as they care one way or another,” he says. “I like being the bad guy.”

Only one man -- the incomparable Silva -- has stopped Leben on strikes. Such durability could serve the American well against Bisping, who relies heavily on his hands and feet to win fights. In fact, 12 of his 16 victories have come by knockout, technical knockout or strike-induced submission.

“The guy can take a good punch,” Bisping says. “We’ve all seen it. Chris is tough. He’s not easy to put away.”

Much will be at stake when Leben and Bisping finally face one another. In a top-heavy division still thin on legitimate championship contenders, a convincing win could vault either of them into immediate title contention.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again,” Leben says. “This fight’s going to be a deciding factor in who moves into the top tier in the middleweight division and who’s going to be in line for a title shot.”

Leben wants nothing more than another shot at Silva, the Brazilian who buried him under a violent volley of punches, kicks and knees two years ago in Las Vegas. He claims to have learned from his mistakes.

“I’m a much different fighter now,” Leben says. “The Chris Leben of today wouldn’t do what I did then.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Mousasi Bumps to 205, New Year’s or Affliction Next

Five weeks have passed since the biggest night of Gegard Mousasi’s young career, and the toasted middleweight awaits his next assignment in Japan on New Year’s Eve or a possible U.S. debut for Affliction in January, though he’s asking for a bout in the light heavyweight division.

At Dream’s middleweight grand prix finals on Sept. 23 in Tokyo, the 23-year-old kickboxer needed just 3:43 to submit Dutch nemesis Melvin Manhoef and knock out Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, considered the world’s best jiu-jitsu player at 183 pounds. That was 3:43 combined, mind you.

After a quick seminar and his attendance at the seventh edition of the M-1 Challenge in England, the Iran-born Armenian’s feat is just now soaking in for him.

“I have only just realized what I have achieved,” the adopted Dutchman told Sherdog.com. “It’s nice to get some attention now after fighting in all those different organizations. In order to stay on top I will have to continue beating a lot of good fighters, so I have to stay focused and train hard. I am still very hungry, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Mousasi’s semifinal bout with countryman Manhoef was a battle for appreciation and respect. Choosing to train outside of the famous Dutch kickboxing gyms, Mousasi felt a lack of love and recognition from the fans there.

“Beating Melvin really felt good, because I had openly challenged him many times and obviously I didn't want to lose face,” he said. “I really wanted to prove to the Dutch fans that I am also one of the better mixed martial arts fighters out of Holland and there’s no better way to do that than beat a guy who is as loved and admired over here as Manhoef.”

With Kang, Manhoef and Jacare out of the way, the grand prix king has nearly cleaned out the Dream middleweight division. The obvious question arises: Who is left for him to fight in Japan?

“There are plenty of good middleweight fighters in Japan, but Akiyama is the only big name left in Dream that I haven’t fought yet,” he said. “Unfortunately for me, he is dead set on fighting [Hidehiko] Yoshida on New Year’s Eve and that leaves me on the outside looking in.”

As a result, Mousasi (24-2-1) said he and his team decided to move up a division the day after Dream 6.

“There is no reason to push me to the 185-pound limit anymore,” he said. “It just isn’t healthy for me to stay at middleweight. Instead I will let my body grow and get bigger and heavier.”

The “Young Vagabond” had plans to move up to the light heavyweight division all along. After an easy first-round TKO over Brazilian slugger Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos at the now defunct Canadian promotion Hardcore Championship Fighting in February, Mousasi was originally looking to fight Santos’ compatriot Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at an HCF show in late spring or early summer. That was when Dream came calling and invited him to join the tournament.

A rumored bout with former UFC standout Vitor Belfort is still a very real option for Affliction’s Jan. 24 return to the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Belfort, who recently dropped into the middleweight ranks himself, took out Terry Martin with an impressive second-round knockout at Affliction “Banned” last July.

“My manager has good contacts with Affliction and he said that there may be the possibility for me to fight Vitor in the United States,” said Mousasi. “I really want to fight for Affliction, but I still have a commitment with Dream, so I don’t know exactly which show I will be competing at next –- on New Year’s Eve in Japan for Dream or for Affliction in January.”

While he waits, Mousasi is back working the door of a Dutch nightclub part time. This is a fate he shares with 95 percent of all European fighters. Be it bouncer, firefighter or car mechanic, even world-ranked fighters like Mousasi have to look for side gigs to afford training.

“It’s really difficult to live on MMA alone, because the sport isn’t that big in Holland and we don't have the same sponsors that American fighters do,” explained Mousasi. “We also get paid in dollars at Dream and due to the current world economic situation, the dollar is worth much less than the Euro, which, pardon my language, really sucks too.”

During his three-month hiatus from the ring, Mousasi said he’ll try to expand his training horizons.

“I am going to Thailand soon to train with Fedor [Emelianenko],” he said. “He is playing in a movie there and I will also get a small role in it. My priority is to work on my standup game though.”

And despite his rising star in Japan, Mousasi will await word of his next bout in the peace and quiet of his hometown of Leiden in South Holland, where few people recognize him on the street. For now.

 

[Shogun Locc]

‘Fighting Fedor’ Reality Show in Works

NEW YORK -- Affliction has partnered with M-1 Global, which is shopping around a reality TV series called “Fighting Fedor” that will feature a 16-man tournament with the winner eventually getting a shot at Fedor Emelianenko on an Affliction card.

The partnership was officially announced Thursday at Trump Tower, along with some details on the show.

A promo video presented by M-1 Global explained that participants from various countries will travel to St. Petersburg, Russia, where they’ll train at the Red Devil camp and compete in the tournament. The video said the show will be on “American TV,” though it doesn’t have a home yet.

“We’re currently having negotiations with many different networks and channels,” said M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelchtein through an interpreter.

Finkelchtein said networks are particularly interested because the show will focus on heavyweights. He also noted the international scope of M-1 Global, which through the M-1 Challenge has hosted events this year in Spain, Holland, England, Korea and Japan.

“There are many international fighters that the United States doesn’t know about,” Finkelchtein said. “Fighters from countries such as Bulgaria, Finland. Fighters that have very interesting and wonderful styles and are very exciting. We’re now opening the doors to breed the next generation of MMA fighters.”

M-1 Global and Affliction declined to set a timeline for when the show could begin production or air. However, Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio did say that Fedor would continue competing in the meantime, with his next match taking place in the “first quarter of 2009.” Atencio added that Affliction has extended its contract with the top-ranked heavyweight.

Donald Trump, who is also aligned with Affliction, mentioned the success of his reality show, “The Apprentice,” before assessing the potential of the Fedor show.

“I really believe, in its own way, this will be a great success,” he said.

Trump will travel to St. Petersburg at some point, though he won’t play a significant role. Although he was confident the show would succeed, he jokingly questioned the judgment of the 16 participants.

“I don’t know who these folks are that are trying to qualify to get a fight with Fedor,” he said. “I wouldn’t particularly like to do that. I can think of a lot of other things I’d rather be doing.”

 

[UCDgreek]

‘Fighting Fedor’ Reality Show in Works

NEW YORK -- Affliction has partnered with M-1 Global, which is shopping around a reality TV series called “Fighting Fedor” that will feature a 16-man tournament with the winner eventually getting a shot at Fedor Emelianenko on an Affliction card.

The partnership was officially announced Thursday at Trump Tower, along with some details on the show.

A promo video presented by M-1 Global explained that participants from various countries will travel to St. Petersburg, Russia, where they’ll train at the Red Devil camp and compete in the tournament. The video said the show will be on “American TV,” though it doesn’t have a home yet.

“We’re currently having negotiations with many different networks and channels,” said M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelchtein through an interpreter.

Finkelchtein said networks are particularly interested because the show will focus on heavyweights. He also noted the international scope of M-1 Global, which through the M-1 Challenge has hosted events this year in Spain, Holland, England, Korea and Japan.

“There are many international fighters that the United States doesn’t know about,” Finkelchtein said. “Fighters from countries such as Bulgaria, Finland. Fighters that have very interesting and wonderful styles and are very exciting. We’re now opening the doors to breed the next generation of MMA fighters.”

M-1 Global and Affliction declined to set a timeline for when the show could begin production or air. However, Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio did say that Fedor would continue competing in the meantime, with his next match taking place in the “first quarter of 2009.” Atencio added that Affliction has extended its contract with the top-ranked heavyweight.

Donald Trump, who is also aligned with Affliction, mentioned the success of his reality show, “The Apprentice,” before assessing the potential of the Fedor show.

“I really believe, in its own way, this will be a great success,” he said.

Trump will travel to St. Petersburg at some point, though he won’t play a significant role. Although he was confident the show would succeed, he jokingly questioned the judgment of the 16 participants.

“I don’t know who these folks are that are trying to qualify to get a fight with Fedor,” he said. “I wouldn’t particularly like to do that. I can think of a lot of other things I’d rather be doing.”

so i guess i can go fight fedor too. this is a joke

 

[Shogun Locc]

so i guess i can go fight fedor too. this is a joke

Never judge a book by it's cover this reality tv show is just going to get Fedor mainstream exposure. and not you could never fight Fedor.

 

[Shogun Locc]

With Greg Jackson in corner, ever-ready Keith Jardine ready for UFC 89

Albuquerque, N.M., has one of the highest elevations of any major U.S. city, ranging from 4,900 feet above sea level near the Valley to more than 6,700 feet in the foothill areas of Sandia Heights and Glenwood Hills. The city is nestled within the northern, upper edges of the Chihuahuan Desert ecoregion that hugs the U.S.-Mexico border.

At times it gets hot. Immensely hot, so imagine endless running up steep terrain under that climate and altitude.

That's hell for most. For MMA trainer Greg Jackson, it's home. For Keith Jardine, it's a playground for a roughneck whose past occupations include a debt collector for the mob, a bounty hunter, a miner, rugby player, wrestler and a football coach.

Keith Jardine tougher than unforgiving topography? Try mean, as in the Dean of Mean. Jardine drew a blank on whether the nickname goes beyond rhyming with his surname, but he's been a hit since arriving to the United Kingdom Monday morning in final preparations for another showdown.

"I was told just today that it's ironic by a fan here in Birmingham," Jardine told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Apparently I'm pretty polite." [laughs]

Polite and soft-spoken may define Jardine's personality, but the beast within demands physicality and pure violence. So, he took up mixed martial arts, enlisted Jackson as a trainer, and moved to Albuquerque, where he has become the king of the mountain runs.

"He does it knowing he can keep going and going and going, so when he's going up and down the hill, he's counting, so if he does seven, he'll want to do eight or nine the next time and 11 after that," said Jackson, owner of Jackson's Submission Fighting. "He always wants to know he can go this much faster and this much farther. It's a mental tool to keep the preparedness and mental strength in line, so when it's that third round and you're really tired, he's been there so many times it's not a big deal to him."

On Saturday Jardine will battle Brandon Vera at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England, an event that airs in the U.S. on SpikeTV at 9 p.m. The opponents are cut from the same cloth: immensely talented with the potential to be an all-time great, yet each is tormented by a few blistering defeats.

Jardine (13-4-1) is 2-2 over his past four fights, a collection of spectacular wins and losses. He TKOd current light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 66 and grinded out a split-decision win over legend Chuck Lidell at UFC 76. Conversely, little-known Houston Alexander stopped him 48 seconds into round one. Ex-PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva bull-rushed him and needed only 36 seconds to deliver a stunning knockout, baiting Jardine into a kick and landing an overhand right, in his most recent fight.

"It's hard to say," said Jardine when asked if he had reached a career low. "It was definitely my fault with that loss. Wanderlei executed a perfect game plan and I got beat. It happens, but I am ready to fight again."

Vera is 1-2 since winning his first eight fights and comes off a boring unanimous-decision win over Reese Andy panned mightily by fans and commentators and one that Jardine said Vera "took the easy way out." In fairness, it was Vera's first fight since dropping to 205 pounds, and he showed effects of the weight loss by the end of the first round. But another loss would inflict major damage to his UFC career. The same can be said for Jardine, who has been only as good – or bad – as his last fight. Devastating as the Silva loss was, Jardine immediately went back to work like a pitcher shelled for seven runs in less than an inning preparing for his next start.

Win or else for The Dean of Mean?

"It's definitely important, especially in a division this stacked, but I think the flipside to that is that in a division this stacked, even with a loss, my next fight would be against an extremely tough and worthy opponent," Jardine said. "There's no such thing as a bad loss with this much depth, and every win is a quality win."

Jackson supports the idea.

"I understand people like to build drama for the fight, and that's fine, but from my perspective, nothing is a must-win," Jackson said. "I don't feel it's a must-win, and I don't think Keith feels it's a must-win. We both want to win – we always do – but for us it's just another fight against a super-tough opponent. Anything that deviates from that would mess with our mental state and our game plan. We're focused on winning a fight."

Fighting has been Jardine's sole focus since enrolling in a program that's produced Rashad Evans, Roger Huerta and Karo Parisyan, and now trains welterweight king Georges St. Pierre. Jardine was training with one of Jackson's students in Las Vegas and New Mexico when he met his future coach. Jackson remembered Jackson as an amazingly talented athlete and a great fit for his school and teachings, one that combines judo locks and strikes into a "Gaidojutsu" technique simply known as Jackson's Mixed Martial Arts.

"The thing that's great about him is that he's a workhorse," Jackson said. "When others are in between fights, they'll come to the dojo a little bit, maybe at the beginning of their career, and they start thinking they know it all. Keith is always in there in between fights, always training and helping the team out. He's just one of those guys who's always improving because he's always in the mix to get better. He's had that from the beginning."

Jardine won his MMA debut with an armbar submission of Amir Rahnavardi in 2001, one of only two victories via tap out. You can't ignore his ground game, but Jardine's strength is standing up, so don't expect that to change against Vera or anyone else.

"He's just so good with his knockouts right now, so we're just going with what works, but he's no slouch grappling," Jackson said. "He has that background, but he has that knockout power, so he enjoys using that, especially with high-level grappling really, really hard.

"He'll take people to the ground here and there, but mostly he's known for his strong shots and those get in before his submissions do."

Jackson may deny it, but Jardine needs this win by knockout, tap out or the judges not only to boost his career but to back up criticism that Vera lacked a killer instinct against Andy. Both fighter and trainer have promised a different Keith Jardine, one prepared for an enigma expected to be more prepared to fight at a lighter weight and to push for the full 15 minutes.

If not, there's Plan B: Brandon the Bust.

"I'm prepared for both the tentative and aggressive Veras that we've seen in his last few fights," Jardine said. "I'll either take it to him if he backs off, or he'll run into a wall if he comes at me."

The one who doesn't pull the Jekyll and Hyde routine will take this fight. Should it be Jardine, he'll grab that prize not worth its weight in gold, but in redemption, and he'll be in better shape for the sport's most difficult climb.

"The main thing is shut off your mind, narrow your focus and just relax and go," Jardine said. "That's what I'll be in this next fight, just like anything else."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Affliction’s Atencio says Arlovski and Barnett both being considered as Fedor’s next opponent

New York, NY — Despite the presence of Donald Trump and the revelation that he will be backing M-1 Global and Affliction’s proposed Fighting Fedor reality television show, the topic of Affliction’s next show was one that reporters in attendance at today’s press conference brought to the forefront once Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio was brought to the podium.

While much of the focus was on Trump and the television project, the press conference was also called to announce an extension of Fedor Emelianenko’s contract with Affliction.

Atencio was very vague about many details pertaining to the next show, going so far as to only say that the next event will “take place in the first quarter of ‘09″ without even committing to the month. When asked by FiveOuncesOfPain.com why he’s hesitant to give out a date, he stated that a deal with a proposed venue simply isn’t official yet.

“I haven’t finalized or signed the papers yet, and until I sign the papers with the venue and everything else, I just don’t want to have to re-schedule again,” Atencio told Five Ounces of Pain. “I don’t want to have to do that to the fans.”

Atencio was able to confirm that Emelianenko will headline the next show against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. He stated that Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett are both being considered. The mentioning of Barnett was interesting considering the fact that he’s stated publicly that he isn’t interested in fighting Fedor on the next Affliction show due to contract particulars.

Atencio also stated that with the promotion’s decision to extend Emelianenko’s contract he will be precluded from competing on New Year’s Eve in Japan this year. He acknowledged that it was something Emelianenko expressed a desire doing but that a Dec. 31 fight in Japan involving Fedor will have to wait until 2010.

Outside of Fedor fighting Arlovski or Barnett, Atencio said no other fighters for the show have been finalized and indicated that rumored fights involving DREAM middleweight Grand Prix winner Gegard Mousasi vs. Vitor Belfort and Matt Lindland vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral are far from concrete.

“There are a lot of rumors,” Atencio acknowledged. “I did sponsor Mousasi for his event (in Japan). As you probably saw, he was wearing Affliction. We have a relationship and if he comes and fights for us, absolutely, he’d be a great asset to the company. But everything is a rumor until I finalize it. Until you hear it from me, it’s a rumor and it’s as easy as that.”

Atencio also shot down a rumor that suggested Affliction’s next event will be airing on CBS. For the time being, the promotion remains committed to pay-per-view.

“(The plan) is still pay-per-view right now,” Atencio responded when asked about which platform the next show will air on. “As far as the undercard, it will be on HDNet and the main fights will air on pay-per-view.”

While the next event will be a PPV, Atencio did not rule out the possibility of a presence on network television in the future.

“We’re talking to different networks,” he said. “A lot of people are excited about what we’re doing. The strategic alliance that we brought together is great for everybody, so I think that eventually you will see us on network television.”

 

[UCDgreek]

Never judge a book by it's cover this reality tv show is just going to get Fedor mainstream exposure. and not you could never fight Fedor.

im all for more fedor fights. i want to see him fight as much as he can. but i want them to be against at least decent opponents.
i would watch fedor against the winner of the show, but i dont think i would watch any of the rest of the show.

and yes i could fight fedor.but i didnt say i could beat him

 

[Shogun Locc]

Bas Rutten Talks Kimbo Slice, Main Event Status

 

[Shogun Locc]

im all for more fedor fights. i want to see him fight as much as he can. but i want them to be against at least decent opponents.
i would watch fedor against the winner of the show, but i dont think i would watch any of the rest of the show.

and yes i could fight fedor.but i didnt say i could beat him

Don't jump to conclusions im sure there will be decent heavyweights on the show there are alot of good heavyweights out there that we don't even know about. Fedor would be too much for you..lol j/k

 

[Shogun Locc]

Gesias bets on Thiago Alves at UFC 90

Waiting to come back on fighting this year, Gesias Cavalcante keeps training hard with his partners at American Top Team. At UFC 90, that’ll shake Chicago at October 25th, two of them will be in action: Thiago Alves and Marcus Aurélio. The last one will face the former ATT fighter, Hermes França, and Pitbull fights against Josh Koscheck, new opponent knew only a few days before the fight, but Gesias thinks it won’t make any difference. “To me, it’ll only change the name of who’ll he beat. Pitbull in flying and the way he is, they (UFC) could put Georges St. Pierre against him. I train with him everyday and know that, he’s very strong. Fight is fight, Josh Koscheck is a better wrestler than Diego Sanchez, but Thiago developed a lot his takedown defenses. Koscheck developed a lot his stand up game and might wanna surprise him, but it’ll be his disaster. If he is smart, he’ll try to take Thiago down and work to win by decision, but I don’t see this fight going the three rounds”, analyzes the two times Hero’s champion. On the UFC 90’s Brazilian fight, between his friend Marcus Aurélio and his former ATT partner, Hermes França, Gesias don’t know about the result. “Aurélio is very relaxed. This thing about their problem is gone, they both know each other and any of them can win by decision or submit, but I see Marcus winning by decision, he’s BJJ is way better. But it’s a tough fight to bet”, said Gesias.

 

[Shogun Locc]

MARCUS DAVIS: 2 SURGERIES DOWN, KELLY TO GO

Following an 11-fight win streak, Marcus Davis suffered his first loss in almost three years in his last bout against Mike Swick, but after two surgeries and an amazing training camp, he is back for the attack getting ready for Paul Kelly on Saturday night at UFC 89 in England.

The fight with Swick was supposed to be Davis' toughest test to date, but while he would never talk about it before or immediately after the fight, he was fighting with a bum shoulder that kept him down for much of the match.

After the fight with Swick was over, Davis decided to get some things fixed. First he had shoulder surgery to repair tears and then also went forward with plastic surgery to help repair scar damage he had endured from his many years of fighting.

According to Davis, doctors were able to file down bones to smooth them out to prevent cuts while also imputing collagen pads that will eventually dissolve and help make his skin thicker.

He is now back in his main fight training camp at Team Sityodtong in Boston working alongside head trainer Mark DellaGrotte and a host of top training partners like Kenny Florian, Patrick Cote, Din Thomas, Nate Quarry, and Kurt Pellegrino.

"I'm training with people that are much better than the kid I'm fighting with to begin with," Davis commented during a recent appearance on MMAWeekly Radio. "I've got the best coach in the business, he can't have a better coach."

His confidence in his training camp also goes to strength and conditioning coach Kevin Kearns, who also works with Kenny Florian, to help keep Davis on pace for this fight. Davis disclosed that he has been able to keep his weight down much better for this fight, saying that 2 weeks out from the fight against Mike Swick he was walking around at 195 pounds, and at 2 weeks before Saturday's fight with Paul Kelly, he was down to 177 pounds.

The help doesn't stop there as Davis has also been working with wrestling prodigy Muzzafar "The Moose" Abdurakmanov, who he credits his ability to deal with Kelly's ground prowess and clinch in this fight.

"The only choice this kid's going to have is to try to clinch with me," Davis stated. "So if he's not able to, reaching and stuff, he's going to get caught with punches, kind of similar as when Rashad (Evans) kept running from Chuck (Liddell) and Chuck started getting desperate and reaching to hit Rashad and Rashad caught him."

He also explains that even if Kelly is able to get him down, now having the full use of both of his arms will make the biggest difference in this fight.

"I am fighting a guy a lot of people are thinking shouldn't be in there with me, but at the same time there are those people that are also saying because of his last performance this is definitely a winnable fight for Paul Kelly because he can take him down and hold him down like Mike Swick did," Davis said. "People don't understand that I couldn't get back up, there was nothing I could do, I couldn't put any weight on that shoulder.

"Worst case scenario, he takes me down and I stand up, or he takes me down and I submit him. But I don’t even think he's going to be able to take me down. I don't think I'm going to end up on my back. He's going to be surprised when he clinches with me when I start throwing like belly to belly's with him, he's going to be surprised."

The Maine-based fighter also commented that he has studied other fighters such as Lyoto Machida, to help build his technique going into this match-up.

Of course, Davis is confident in his ability to beat Paul Kelly and he has extra motivation this time around as the UFC has already announced a January event to take place in Dublin, Ireland, and the "Irish Hand Grenade" already let the promotion know he wants to be on the UFC 93 card.

He also intimated that if both he and Chris Lytle are successful at UFC 89 that he would love the chance to fight another former boxing pro.

"We've both been like, 'I respect you, respect what you do, but a fight between each other is money in the bank,'" Davis commented on a fight with Lytle. "I basically said, 'Yeah, let's do it and the first guy to take the other guy down is a p****y.'

"Let's just stand up and kick the living (expletive) out of each other."

Davis also mentioned that he would like the chance to welcome Martin Kampmann to 170 pounds, but for now his focus is solely on Paul Kelly and his excitement for the bout is boiling over.

"I'm just so happy to be fighting and be back over there again, to be able to perform," said Davis. "This has been for me the best camp I've ever had. When everything goes this well and everything's been just the way I want it, it's kind of like a euphoric feeling. I'm just so excited to get in there and fight."

 

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BISPING THINKS LEBEN IS UNDERESTIMATING HIM

Michael “The Count” Bisping and Chris Leben headline UFC 89 Saturday night from The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England. Two days before the scheduled main event, Bisping thinks Leben is confident but is underestimating him.

“He looked confident to be honest,” Bisping said following the UFC 89 pre-fight press conference. “I think he’s totally underestimating me. I don’t think he gives me any respect. He’s also said a lot of things that were complete rubbish. He’s trying to convince himself saying ‘I have no conditioning. I have no chin and no knockout power.’ It’s just complete nonsense. I think he’s confident, but we’ll see what happens Saturday night.”

“I think he underestimates my overall game to be honest, probably, particularly my ground game. A lot of people seem to underestimate that. I’ve got a very competent ground game,” added the Englishman. “He probably thinks he can take me down without trying and submit me on the ground like I’m some kind of sitting duck. A: He won’t be able to take me down. And B: He certainly won’t be able to submit me.”

Leben commented to MMAWeekly Radio, “The only thing cooler than making 20,000 people scream at once is making them all shut up. That's going to be a nice feeling when I knock Bisping out and that whole arena is dead, stone quiet." He’s said similar things to several news outlets leading up to this weekend’s event. When questioned about Leben’s statements, Bisping said, “I said this to him. I said it’s all well and good that he has this little fantasy built up in his head. But, unfortunately, this is the real world. It’s not a movie. I don’t think he’s going to get the chance to live out that little fantasy.”

Bisping sees the verbal jabs as Chris Leben trying to bait him into brawling with the heavy handed Hawaii resident. “He keeps going on and on about how I have no punching power, so I think he’s trying to get me to go out there and try to knock him out and brawl with him because that’s his best chance,” stated Bisping. “If I fight a smart, technical fight, I really don’t see what he can do to me.”

The bout with Leben will be Bisping’s third fight as a middleweight after dropping down from the 205-pound light heavyweight division. He’s 2-0 as a middleweight and predicts to defeat Chris Leben the same way he did his other two 185-pound opponents, by TKO.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC 89 weigh-in results

All fighters taking part in Saturday's "UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben" event hit the scales today at The NIA in Birmingham, England -- the same venue that hosts Saturday's 11-fight event -- for official weigh-ins.

Middleweight headliners Michael Bisping and Chris Leben had no problems making the 186-pound limit. Leben weighed in at 186 pounds; Bisping tipped the scale at 185.

Co-main-event light heavyweights Keith Jardine (205) and Brandon Vera (203) also had no troubles.

The full results included:

MAIN CARD

Michael Bisping (185) vs. Chris Leben (186)
Keith Jardine (205) vs. Brandon Vera (203)
Luiz Cane (206) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (205)
Chris Lytle (170) vs. Paul Taylor (170)
Marcus Davis (169) vs. Paul Kelly (169)
PRELIMINARY CARD

Akihiro Gono (171) vs. Dan Hardy (169)
Shane Carwin (264) vs. Neil Wain (254)
David Bielkheden (156) vs. Jess Liaudin (155)
Terry Etim (155) vs. Sam Stout (155)
David Baron (155) vs. Jim Miller (155)
Sammy Schiavo (156) vs. Per Eklund (156)

 

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Michael Bisping in as "TUF9" coach; Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin possible

Regardless of the outcome of his fight with Chris Leben at Saturday's UFC 89 event, Michael Bisping will be tapped as a coach for the upcoming ninth season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

Additionally, UFC 93 headliners Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson are being considered for the second coaching slot.

The news comes from Fighters Only Magazine, which cited UFC President Dana White.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today spoke to J.T. Stewart, Franklin's business manager, who said he wasn't aware of any definite plans but, "like everything else, it's something we'd consider."

"The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs. U.K.," which is tentatively scheduled to commence taping in January 2009 (with a debut date in April 2009), will feature teams representing the two countries.

Bisping, a Brit who fights Chris Leben in Saturday's UFC 89 main event, will head the U.K. squad. Bisping actually found his way to the UFC via the reality series. The 29-year-old was the light-heavyweight winner of the series' third season.

Franklin, who coached the second season of the Spike TV reality series, recently moved from middleweight to light heavyweight after losing his title and a subsequent rematch to Anderson Silva. He meets Henderson, a fellow fighter who's bounced between the two weight classes, at a Jan. 17 event in Dublin, Ireland.

The winner of that headline fight could determine who gets the coaching slot on "TUF" and would presumedly fight Bisping at the conclusion of the reality series.

"The Ultimate Fighter" reality series debuted in January 2005. In addition to launching the careers of more than 100 UFC fighters, "TUF" has featured rival coaches while to some of the UFC's biggest fights, including Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture II (season-one coaches), Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock II (season three), and Forrest Griffin vs. Quinton Jackson (season seven).

 

[Shogun Locc]

HORODECKI VS. LAUZON AT JANUARY'S AFFLICTION 2

London, Ontario native Chris Horodecki is off the table for a proposed bout with Josh Thomson at Strikeforce’s “Destruction” on Nov. 21. Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz confirmed the vacancy to MMAWeekly.com on Thursday.

Horodecki will not remain inactive, though. His representatives at NCFC Fight Management said the young lightweight was confirmed for Affliction’s January show – presumably on the 24th – against Dan Lauzon. The two had been paired for Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” on Oct. 11, but the card’s postponement placed the fight in question.

In the meantime, Horodecki told MMAWeekly.com he is considering a fight in Japan’s Shoot Boxing promotion for November. Fights there utilize standing strikes and submissions, as well as throws. Horodecki’s teammate and friend, Mark Hominick, fought there in 2007 and was successful. Horodecki wasn’t aware that he was being considered for the Strikeforce bout.

“I’d like to fight Thomson, but now I’m thinking about November and Affliction,” Horodecki said.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Koscheck Has Different Approach for Alves Than Hughes

Though he has under two weeks to prepare, Josh Koscheck knows what course he won’t be taking in his welterweight bout against Thiago Alves at UFC 90 “Silva vs. Cote” in Rosemont, Ill.

“That was a bad strategy by Matt Hughes,” Koscheck said of the former champion’s June tussle with Alves in a teleconference Thursday. “I didn’t know what he was doing in that fight. It was probably one of the worst strategies in UFC history, in my opinion.”

Hughes, a two-time UFC welterweight champion with seven title defenses to his name, charged and collided with an Alves knee in the second round at UFC 85 “Bedlam” on June 7 in London. The Illinois wrestler had more than held his own with the 25-year-old Alves in the first round.

The upset victory has become the American Top Team protégé’s calling card of late though, topping Alves’ impressive second-round TKO of Karo Parisyan last April. The Brazilian has strung together six victories in the Octagon since October 2006, with the last five of them TKO or KO nods. The man nicknamed “The Pitbull” has been on a tear.

Koscheck (11-2), who was short on the details of his own game plan for Alves (15-3) before showtime, agreed to step into the co-headlining bout on Monday for an injured Diego Sanchez. Already training for a Dec. 10 tilt against Japanese judo prospect Yoshiyuki Yoshida, the four-time Div. 1 All-American wrestler said he didn’t skip a beat with the last-minute offer which could very well leapfrog him over Sanchez in the contenders’ line.

“I actually had a feeling a month, a month and a half ago, that one of those two could possibly get hurt and I’ve been in the gym training really hard for my upcoming fight in December,” said Koscheck. “I just had to change a couple of things in the last week, but that’s it.”

Koscheck said he’s returned to his wrestling roots in recent months, but was hesitant to be compared to Hughes or Alves on the mats.

“I have way better wrestling than those guys,” he said.

The 30-year-old American Kickboxing Academy fighter is arguably the most improved fighter to come out of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality TV series, and has developed a growing arsenal of standup skills to round out his formidable wrestling base and general athleticism.

Koscheck rematched Sanchez at UFC 69 in April 2007 and outpointed the fellow wrestler in a toe-to-toe showdown. Besides the hiccup that followed to now UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 74 the following August, Koscheck has been dominant in his last two victories over jiu-jitsu ace Dustin Hazelett and the steady Chris Lytle.

“I felt like me and [Alves] should have been fighting in the first place, but I don’t make those decisions,” he said. “There obviously must have been someone up there that didn’t want to fight or the UFC makes the decision.”

Alves, who professed to walking into the cage at 195-200 pounds come fight time, is one of the heftier welterweights in the division. Koscheck said he won’t be far behind at 187 pounds.

“I’ve fought bigger guys than him,” said Koscheck. “Hazelett was 6-foot-2. He’s a monster. Georges St. Pierre is obviously a big 170-pounder.”

And if confidence is any indication, Koscheck is as sure a bet as any fighter gracing the Oct. 25 card, two week’s notice or not.

“It’s a short-notice fight for him too and he has a lot to prepare for,” said Koscheck. “I’m not Diego Sanchez. He’s fighting Josh Koscheck. I’m a lot better than Diego Sanchez. I pose a lot of threats in the cage, and he’s got only two weeks to prepare for me. That’s the way I look at it.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC Quick Quote: Patrick Cote has a plan for Anderson Silva

“We’ve found some holes in his game and we’re going to exploit that for sure. We’re going to have a good strategy, a good game plan in this fight. The plan is to win. The plan is to put him away and take his belt…. I’m training like crazy and I’m ready to go. I’m ready for 25 minutes with anybody.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

The Cornerman: What didn’t kill Kimbo will make him a real mixed martial artist

Mike Reilly is the owner and head instructor of Team Bison MMA in St. Paul, Minnesota. Team Bison is the home to many competitive mixed martial artists such as Brett Rogers, Sammy Morgan, and Kelly Kobold. Mike was cageside working Kobold’s corner during her Oct. 4 fight against Gina Carano on CBS’ Saturday Night Fights. In Mike’s latest column for Five Ounces of Pain, he provides our readers with a unique look into the event.

You can judge a sport by how bad it hurts when you lose.

In MMA losing is devastating. Physically, the pain inflicted by the victors is meaningless. MMA fighters are used to physical pain. Injuries and blood are part of the game. After the fight, the pain of a loss remains not only in the days after, but the weeks that follow it as well. A loss effects not only your most recent fight, but the very next one as well. Your pay will be less; your spot on the card drop; and sponsors dry up.

Winning doesn’t mean doubling a fighter’s pay day; it means quadrupling their money and moving them one step further towards the top. Making matters worse is that your next opportunity to redeem yourself will not present itself for months. Yet it is in the dust of defeat that we still find greatness. The lessons learned in victory do not rival the magnitude of the ones you learn in defeat.

EliteXC’s Oct. 4 show on CBS was one of the best cards I have ever been part of. While Elite remains the favorite target of the Internet fanboiz, this show had everything. Fighters showed amazing heart, skill and spirit. We saw massive upsets coupled with back and forth battles that kept fans on the edge of the seats.

Then came the main event.

The intrigue was amusing. More theories have sprouted up than compared to the Kennedy Assassination. In fact, the next day at the Flagler Dog Track I was playing poker with a guy who knew “for a fact” the entire thing had been rigged by the mob. Just for that, I had to crack his Jacks and send him to the rail.

People saw what they wanted to see in Kimbo Slice and they saw what they wanted to see in Kimbo going down. Now if Kimbo has had a harsher, more dogged critic than me, then I don’t know who that person might be. Remember, I’m the same guy who helped author an open statement to Kimbo that became quite the talk a few months back. However, Kimbo did not get exposed in that fight vs. Seth Petruzelli; he did not get embarrassed; and he certainly didn’t get paid off by some shadowy figure on the grassy knoll.

On October 4, 2008, Kimbo Slice became a fighter; a real, full-fledged, dangerous mixed martial arts fighter.
We watched the fight from the locker room cheering for Seth. I have been a fan of Seth’s for many years and hoped he’d make the most of this amazing opportunity. In a flash, Seth had jumped from an also-ran with potential to being a superstar. But we saw something else. In defeat, that horrible pain, that gut wrenching, soul ripping feeling that the fight is lost. The moment gone. That pain was in Kimbo’s eyes and that pain will make him dangerous.

Kimbo had a tough night. The guy carries the show on his back and then gets put on his back with a lightning strike no one saw coming. But fighters are not measured in how they fall; but rather in how they get up. In this game everything can turn on a second. One mistake, one misstep at any time and it can be over. No one gets out unbloodied, unmarked. No one leaves the field without wounds. But how will that warrior come back?

For all my poking, prodding and provoking Kimbo, I believe the man will come back better, stronger and more focused than before. Kimbo’s next opponent had better come ready for war because they won’t be fighting Kimbo the sideshow or Kimbo the “YouTube Legend”. They will be fighting Kevin Ferguson: MMA fighter; and a hell of a good one at that!

Our game is great because it hurts so bad to lose that you have no choice but to come back better. Glory to the victors and congratulations to Seth, Gina, Arlovski and the rest. But take heart those who stood to watch the other warrior’s hand raised; those whose dreams lay shattered in the dust. Take heart and stand tall for you are no less the warrior. The next time you walk through the door to risk it all you will come through better.

I have stood with my fighters hundreds of times. I have raised them up in victory and helped them up in defeat. Win, lose or draw I have looked in their eyes and never been less then awed at the greatness they behold. I hope every camp can look at their fighters in victory or defeat and see the same thing. We have a great sport, because even in defeat there is honor, glory and a reason to dare once more.