MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Shawn Tompkins Interview Part II: “I kind made a career of doing what people told me not to do”

Shawn Tompkins is one of the foremost authorities in MMA on the art of striking and thanks to Jake Hattan, one of his managers at Denaro Sports Marketing, FiveOuncesOfPain.com was recently granted an opportunity to interview the Xtreme Couture striking specialist.

In Part II of our interview, Tompkins continued his rebuttal to famed boxing instructor Freddie Roach’s recent critique of Fedor Emelianenko; shared his feelings whether boxing translates well to MMA; and also became introspective when discussing his start in traditional martial arts and ultimately mixed martial arts.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): How do you feel about fighters working with boxing-only coaches? Is there a lot of techniques that translate back and forth between the two sports that are applicable?

Shawn Tompkins: No. I am a big fan of boxing and I am a big fan of MMA and I don’t think one should be held over the other at all. But at the same time I will tell you that everything I did with striking as far as becoming a coach in mixed martial arts, I had to transfer and change to make it transfer more to MMA.

As far as going to train with a guy like Freddie Roach, or Nacho, or any of those great boxing coaches, no I don’t believe it transfers over at all. I think where they come in is with a pure wrestler or jiu-jitsu guy in trying to build their hand skills from basics, that’s where they would come in.

But as far as coming in to make Arlovski a better striker for Fedor? I just don’t think that style of boxing will transfer over. Absolutely not.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): I wanted to see if you could get into more technical specifics. What are some main boxing fundamentals that don’t transfer over well to MMA?

Shawn Tompkins: First and foremost is the stance. The stance is completely wrong for mixed martial arts. Having the front foot turn into the inside of the opponent makes you accessible for a shot against a wrestler and a low kick against a kickboxer. It takes the power off the punch.

Boxers also tend to be very jab-oriented; before they can set up any kind of combination, they have to throw a jab. In MMA that can get you in trouble because you’re putting about 95 percent of your weight on your front leg, which doesn’t allow you to be defensive in your stance.

Any good kickboxers or boxers that transfer over to MMA like, say, Chuck Liddell, you’ll notice he uses a longer, lower stance. He has to use power shots and in MMA that’s needed to defend in order to defend against the wrestlers.

As I stated earlier, I think the stance and footwork in any combat sport and I think that’s where boxing just won’t transfer into MMA.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): What do you think of head movement in MMA? I hear boxing instructors complain all the time about the lack of head movement in MMA. Is that one area where MMA fighters can improve in?

Shawn Tompkins: I absolutely believe that’s a big problem for a lot of MMA fighters. And I think that comes from the fact that a lot of MMA fighters are trying to catch up when it comes to striking. Head movement even in a boxer is an advance thing. You don’t go to a boxing gym and the first thing is how to move your head. Instead, it’s stance and footwork.

Head movement is taught more at an intermediate to advance level so when you look at MMA the guys at MMA are really just trying to learn how to turn their punches over and how to walk with them forward and backwards. So head movement is going to be something that evolves later in an MMA fighter’s career. But do I think it’s needed? Absolutely, one hundred percent.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): Can you talk about your roots as a striking? Which specific disciplines have you been involved in?

Shawn Tompkins: I started martial arts when I was six-years old. I hold a third degree black belt in traditional Shotokan Karate. I’ve trained in Thai boxing since the age of 18 and I hold three championships in Thai boxing with approximately 47 fights under my belt. I’ve also trained with the great Bas Rutten, who has been a mentor in my life for the last 12 years.

It was really an easy progression for me to go from a traditional martial art into Thai boxing, where I learned a lot of my skills and technique and experienced the toughening and conditioning of my body. And then it was an easy transition for me when I met a guy like Bas Rutten, who is such a great mixed martial artist to be able to transition everything and blend it.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): I wanted to know if you could talk more about how you got into MMA because I originally started in traditional martial arts, where there was a bias against MMA and we were always told that MMA was just a “fad” and that it couldn’t be applied in a self-defense situation. And when I’ve trained Muay Thai, around certain Krus, Muay Thai is practically a religion to them and they’re really not open to anything that isn’t Muay Thai. What was your transition into MMA like?

Shawn Tompkins: Just like anybody else, 12 years ago MMA was viewed as the new fad and anybody that was a martial artist wanted to test themselves. I’ve had four fights in MMA that date back as far as 12 years ago. The sport has evolved so much in that time period and I wasn’t that successful when I was coming straight from a Thai boxing background with no wrestling. Nobody told me that you had to blend styles and that you had to know everything. I just wanted to go out and test myself and get a feel for it and I’m glad that I did. I think it’s made me a better coach and it’s made me understand the sport more.

But yeah, I got involved back then, back in the early days when it was just something as a martial artist that you had to try and you had to do. I was just fortunate that I lived in Canada. Montreal had the ECC and TKO organizations and they knew my kickboxing background and gave me the opportunity to give it a try and I really grew to love the sport.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): Did you experience any peer pressure or resistance from people that you trained under or trained with to not get involved with MMA?

Shawn Tompkins: Well, yeah, absolutely I did. There were people back then who felt it was the wrong thing to do and that it was bad for martial arts and that it was going to put the art further back as far as evolving. But I just stuck to my guns, much like I have for most of my martial arts career. I even opened up my own gym when I was 18 when everyone told me I was too young. I kind of have made a career of doing what people told me not to do and I’m proud that it worked out the way they it did and I think it’s things like that have helped me progress and be where I am today.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC 93 Regulation: “As if it would be in the state of Nevada”?

Because the Irish government does not recognize MMA as a sport, Ratner will oversee many logistical duties normally done by an athletic commission, including hiring of referees, ringside officials, and drug testing.

“As if it would be in the state of Nevada,” Ratner tells MMAInsider.

Those were Marc Ratner’s comments to MMAWeekly’s MMAInsider blog on how the UFC will handle the regulatory environment for the upcoming UFC 93 card from Ireland. As MMAPayout blogged about previously, saying this is like a Nevada card is untrue, specifically in respect to steroid testing. Nevada conducts out of competition testing, something that seems absent from the UFC’s own internal policy. To borrow a turn of phrase from Ratner himself, one might even say that what happens in Las Vegas has “no bearing” on how the Ireland card is being handled.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Bigfoot wants to dominate Japan

Returning to Japan with victory, Antônio “Pezão” (Big Foot) celebrated one more triumph is his career, this time against Yoshihiro Nakao, on Sengoku’s seventh edition. Returning to Brazil to get a passport, before returning to Florida, U.S, the giant from American Top Team talked with TATAME about another victory.

“Thank God… It wasn’t how I expected, I wanted to finish the fight in a different way, with a knockout or finalizing, but what matters is the victory, the positive result in my cartel. Unfortunately he got hurt, put his hand on the knee and I’m not judging if it was true or not, but the important thing is the victory”, celebrates Big foot, satisfied with the return to the Earth of the Rising Sun. “The little time I was in the ring, people liked a lot, I was very welcomed back in Japan”.

Owner of three belts (EliteXC, Cage Rage and Cage Warriors), the Brazilian wants more. “I want to be the best heavyweight of Sengoku. I’m going to respect my opponents, but I’ll train hard to be the best of it, God willing. I hope to come back as soon as possible. It wasn’t spoken when I’ll come back yet, but they said at the press conference before the fight that if I win, they could give me the chance to be at the heavyweight belt challenge”, revealed the fighter, who waits anxiously for the confirmation of the good news.

“They want to do eight shows in 2009, and I’ll be prepared to fight at any moment. If continues the way it is, the best heavyweight that is there is Josh Barnett, but I don’t know if he’ll fight there… Much water is still going to roll under the bridge, we have to see the results and wait”, said Antônio Silva, celebrating the victory of Jorge Santiago, in the same night, winning the belt of the average weight of the event. “It was very exciting. Jorge was very well focused and went flying below. He didn’t seat between any round, he was very well physically and a fight for a belt is like this, always complicated, but thank God the party was complete. Not so complete because our little brother Gesias didn’t fight, because if he would, it would have been three victories”.

Leaving the celebration to treat with a seriously issue, Big Foot doesn’t discourage as he knew the threat of punishment from Athletic Commission, that wants to prevent the Brazilian to fight again in any American event. “Who don’t duty, don’t fear. If I were guilty, I wouldn’t be spending US$44 thousand with fines and lawyers, I’d simply let my head down and accept. I’ll go until the end with this story”, guarantees Silva, who doesn’t make much care of fighting in the American market.

“Fighting in the United Stares is great, my family likes it too, the American public likes my stile of fighting, but I’m being judged and, meanwhile, I’m going until the end with this. But I want to take my space in Japan. Being good at Japan, being well treated as I am, it makes no difference to me”, finalized Pezão, drawing to thank the support of his friends in this difficult situation. “I want to send a hug to the people from TATAME that are helping me with this and to the people that knows me, or the ones that don’t, and believe that I’m innocent, as the people from ATT, my family and my lawyers”.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Minotauro gives seminar in Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills promises to shake in the coming weeks. While the soft art dominates the four corners of the planet, the Brazilian Marcus Vinicius di Luccia, collaborator of TATAME in California, leads the Beverly Hils Jiu-Jitsu Club team, which begins 2009 with a full agenda.

On January 25th, the interim ex-champion of the UFC, Rodrigo "Minotauro", will give a seminar at the academy in the United States. Tickets are already for sale at the academy, and those that are interested can get in touch by phone at 310-854-7664. Completing the news of 2009, Marcus revealed that the fighter Fabrício Werdum will train and give lessons at the academy in a near future. For those who want to learn soft art with the Brazilian that is invading Beverly Hills with the cloth techniques, but don’t have how to go to the Uncle’s Sam Land, just buy the package of eight DVD’s with instructions of Jiu-Jitsu with the track black with a 40% discount.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Thiago Silva Interview

Coaching strong at American Top Team to face the tough challenge with Lyoto Machida in UFC 94, in January, Thiago Silva doesn’t want to know about a result that isn’t a victory, which he hopes that it’ll take him to a chance for the belt. Unbeaten in 13 fights in his career, Thiago talked with TATAME about the preparation for the fight, what he expects of the challenge and analyzed the defeat of Wanderlei Silva to Quinton Jackson in UFC 92. Check out below the exclusive interview, where the fighter still talks about the triumphs of Jorge Santiago and Antônio "Pezão" in Sengoku.

How are the trainings for the fight?

The training is the usual, very strong, with much sparring, blocking, fitness preparation... I’m making full preparation, training it all. I’m a guy who is always trying to be complete, I don’t do specific training. My thing is to drop inside, I always try to finalize, either is standing or on the floor, this specific thing is not for me.

How do you expect the combat to roll?

I look at the facts. Lyoto is a guy that has the same record that I do, 13 fights, but I think he has eight victories by decision. He doesn’t fall for the combat and, if he does, I’ll thank God. I believe he will run away the entire fight and I'm prepared for this. My head is good and he’ll not let me nervous. If he runs, I’ll run after him.

Lyoto is pointed as one of the toughest athletes of the category. How will it be your situation in the event with a victory over him?

It’s two unbeaten, we’re in the same goal of winning the belt. I’m doing my work, I prefer to wait for the end of the fight. It is being very cool, having the chance to fight with the bests in the world is very gratifying. I’m humble, I'm not counting advantage and I’m here to do my job. I have dreams to come true and I'm in the race.

What did you think about the victory of Quinton Jackson on Wanderlei Silva in UFC 92?

Surprised me a lot. I found Rampage very concentrated, Wanderlei as always in the aggressive style, I admire him a lot, I reflected very much on him in the beginning, loved him, but in this fight I thought Rampage came more concentrated, more closed and ended up getting to the knockout.

Many people believe that Wanderlei focused a lot on fitness preparation and less on training sparring, which he had been doing in Xtreme Couture. Do you think this counted in the fight?

I think the name "MMA" says it all, everything has to merge. I don’t know how were he’s drills, I haven’t followed, but today there are many athletes who focus more on preparation than on the rest and I don’t think this is good because, wanting or not, the technique will prevail in the end. Conditioning is important, but in my opinion, technique is above.

In an interview to TATAME, you had bet on the victory of Rashad Evans on Forrest Griffin... What did you think of the fight?

I thought it was cool. Forrest printed a good game on top, but ended up crashing on the floor. Rashad was much more prepared at the ground and knew how to advantage. I thought it was cool, is an unbeaten owner of a belt and, God willing, we will have two unbeaten disputing the belt... It will be cool, huh?

How do you think it would be a fight with you against Rashad?

It would be a very tough fight. He has a very good wrestling and improved considerably on foot. I would love to do this fight, honestly.

Passing through Lyoto, who do you believe that the UFC will put in front of you? Do you think you can face another Brazilian, Wanderlei or Luiz "Banha" Cane?

I’m a professional, I want to win. Wanderlei is with a defeat and I heard rumors that he’ll go down in weight and Cane is okay, but I think he has to walk a lot, he just entered in the event. He has he’s values, but I need to value me. I’m here for a while and I want to fight with who is winning and who is with the belt.

And the victory of Jorge Santiago and Antônio “Pezão” (Big Foot) in Japan? How is the climate in ATT?

The team is more united, training is very good. Yesterday we had over 70 people training MMA in the ATT, one helps the other... Here is my home and I’m very happy. It’s very cool, you have to see to believe.

 

[Shogun Locc]

CroCop Retirement Talk! Taken Out Of Context?

Cro Cop Retiring Again?

Cro Cop is definitely not retiring in 2009. The quote from the Croatian article published last week was taken of context. Here is what he really said when asked for his long term plans:

“I’m not at the stage in my career where I can make long term plans. I will turn 35 in September. Today my health is my priority. I think I’ll be able to fight three times in Dream in 2009 and I also hope for a farewell fight in the UFC.” Quote from the Savage Science.

He was asked about long term plans, he simply said that he is not at the stage of his career when he can make these type of plans. He wants to fight 3 times in 2009 and perhaps down the road have a farewell fight in the UFC. Cro Cop has been talking retirement since 2006. I don’t think he can be taken at his word regarding the retirement issue.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Ryo Chonan: I continue to fight in the US

Ryo Chonan updated his column at kamipro.com on January 7 "after taking a week off, I started my training. I left Jason's apartment in CA last year and moved my training base back to Japan completely, yet I'm going to continue to fight in the US. I lived in the US for 6 months last year and fought only twice, and so I didn't feel a sense of fulfillment. I hope I can fight at least 4 times this year."

 

[Shogun Locc]

CONDIT VS LARSON 2 SET FOR WEC ON MARCH 1

World Extreme Cagefighting welterweight champion Carlos Condit will make his next title defense at WEC 39 on March 1, as he defends his championship for the second time against Brock Larson at an event currently scheduled for Corpus Christi, Texas.

The fight was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by multiple sources close to the fight on Friday. The bout agreements for the fight have been issued, and both fighters have already verbally accepted.

Since coming to the WEC, Condit has made a steady rise up the welterweight division, winning the gold in his second fight and then making three consecutive title defenses. The champion's last fight was his hardest fought yet as he was able to stop tough Japanese fighter Hiromitsu Miura in the fourth round of their title bout in August.

His opponent, Brock Larson, will be looking for the WEC championship for the second time. As previously mentioned, the Minnesota native lost to Condit by submission in August 2007.

After dropping the bout to Condit, Larson won his next three fights in a row including a TKO over Carlo Prater in his last bout in August 2008.

Condit vs. Larson will be featured as a co-main event for the show as it is expected that Mike Brown will defend his 145-pound title for the first time against Leonard Garcia at the same event.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC 94 FIGHT CARD OFFICIALLY RELEASED

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Friday officially released the full fight card for its Jan. 31 event, featuring a welterweight title defense by champion Georges St. Pierre in a mega-fight with UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn.

A win for Penn would make him the first champion in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes concurrently. Besides a future title defense against Thiago Alves, a St. Pierre victory could possibly line-up another dual champion bout, with current middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

The main card also features a light heavyweight bout between Top 10 ranked fighters Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva and an expected barnburner between Nate Diaz and Clay Guida.

The preliminary card features many UFC veterans, but is most notedly, and perhaps surprisingly, highlighted by a welterweight clash between Jon Fitch, just one fight removed from a challenge to St. Pierre's title, against Japanese fighter Akihiro Gono.

UFC 94 Fight Card:

Main Card Bouts:
-Georges St. Pierre (#1 Welterweight in the World)* vs. B.J. Penn (#2 Lightweight in the World)*
-Lyoto Machida (#4 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Thiago Silva (#10 Light Heavyweight in the World)*
-Karo Parisyan (#10 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Dong Hyun Kim
-Nathan Diaz vs. Clay Guida
-Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones

Preliminary Card Bouts:
-Jon Fitch (#2 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Akihiro Gono
-Jake O'Brien vs. Christian Wellisch
-Chris Wilson vs. John Howard
-Manny Gamburyan vs. Thiago Tavares
-Matt Arroyo vs. Dan Cramer

 

[Shogun Locc]

MFC Signs Sponsorship Agreement with Assassin Fight Wear

This week, the Maximum Fighting Championship reached a one-year sponsorship agreement with Calgary-based Assassin Fight Wear.

While the financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, Assassin now becomes the exclusive MMA apparel of the MFC and will join official MFC merchandise as the only other apparel available for purchase at MFC events.

Under the agreement, the Assassin name and logo will adorn the ring mat, ring posts, and banners throughout the venue. In addition, Assassin will also be sponsoring select fighters on the televised portions of each MFC event.

Founded by Steve Fader, the Assassin Fight Wear product line includes a host of high quality fight shorts, rash guards, t-shirts, hoodies, headgear, and ladies apparel.

CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS PLAYING INTEGRAL ROLE IN SPORTS BUSINESS

A strong corporate community is vital to the success of any professional sports organization in the new millennium because live-gate revenue is simply no longer enough to cope with the rising costs of production, personnel, and existing overhead.

This is particularly evident now, in a struggling global economy, where even the sports industry – despite historically being relatively impervious to economic downturn – is experiencing hardship.

Not only are casual fans pinching their purse strings, but so are the major corporate players like Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, and McDonalds.

Therefore, vertically integrated sponsorship agreements like the one signed with Assassin Fight Wear are truly crucial to the continued growth and development of organizations like the MFC and the MMA industry as a whole.

Though, according to MFC President Mark Pavelich, an equally important element of the new agreement is the type of working relationship that he has established with Fader and Assassin Fight Wear.

“We got excited about Steve because he really wants to be involved with the MFC” Pavelich said. “We had other larger companies from the U.S. that were willing to cut us a cheque but they weren’t going to be involved with us.”

“The big thing in ’09 with our company is we want people that are going to get involved.”

The agreement also makes dollars and sense from the Assassin perspective. It enables Assassin to directly target their core demographic and push those individuals to purchase apparel from the sales booth at the venue (which will enjoy the benefit of its right to retail exclusivity).

Although the greatest long-term benefit for Assassin is likely to be the exposure it receives as a result of the MFC’s live TV broadcast deal with Mark Cuban’s HDNet.

“The deal with [MFC] is our first step to getting a North American marketing push” Fader said. “We’ve proven that the logo and the name have sold well and that the public is taking to it very well.”

“So, hopefully the television exposure for our logo and our name will increase sales on the internet and at the live events as well.”

And as the television exposure is helping to build the Assassin brand, Fader will be working hard to iron out several local distribution deals to ensure that Assassin Fight Wear can capitalize on its exposure.

It’s a big endeavour for the young entrepreneur, but one that he’s determined to make a success.

“We haven’t really had a lot of financial backing, up until recently, to be putting in any kind of major marketing push” Fader said, but “now that we’ve got the opportunity to work with Mark and on this level, it’s really do or die now.”

“I think 2009 is going to be a big year.”

Check out the MFC and Assassin Fight Wear online:

www.maximumfighting.com
www.assassinfightwear.com

 

[Shogun Locc]

Rampage Jackson To Make Appearance At CES

ED Note- For those in the MMA biz attending the Annual CES show in Vegas, meet Rampage on Sat from 1-2. MMAPayout.com is in town to cover the MTX Fight Night and will bring a report on the CES next week.

LOS ANGELES –Platinum Wireless in conjunction with Boost Mobile™ are pleased to announce that renowned Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will be appearing and signing autographs at the Platinum Wireless booth on Saturday, January 10th at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Platinum Wireless is a national authorized dealer and distributor of Boost Mobile products and services. They will demonstrate the value of their diverse product line consisting of innovative wireless solutions at CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 8 -11, 2009. Platinum Wireless will be located in South Hall 4; Booth #36000.

“We are excited to have Mr. Jackson on hand at CES and are looking forward to a great show,” exclaimed CEO Jeff Javidzad. On December 27, 2008, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson recently fought Wanderlei Silva, whom he knocked out for the win.

WHAT:
Mixed Martial Arts Fighter Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson

WHEN:
Saturday, January 10th (1pm-2pm)

WHERE:
Platinum Wireless Booth
Las Vegas Convention Center
CES South Hall 4 Booth #36000
850 Las Vegas Blvd N
Las Vegas, NV 89101

WHY:
Autograph session

MEDIA:
Interview opportunities: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
Visual opportunity: Platinum Wireless Ferrari will be showcased

 

[Shogun Locc]

1/18 Shooto Tradition 5 - BJ's Opponent & Fight Cancelled!

Shooto have announced "BJ" Shinichi Kojima's opponent today. It is Jesse Taitano, and it should be a very good fight! It is a fight at bantam weight, and is a good oppurtunity for Jesse Taitano to get into the Shooto rankings. This is NOT a title fight.

Taitano is not new to taking on top Japanese fighters. Just over a year ago I was impressed by his performance in Cage Force 5, where he fought a very good fight (ended in a draw) against Shooto star Yasuhiro Urushitani.

The featherweight fight between So Tazawa and Katsuya Toida is taken off the card due to injury on Katsuya Toida, he would need about 1 month to recover.

Added:
Bantam: Shinichi "BJ" Kojima 9-3-4 vs. 4-1-0 Jesse Taitano

Cancelled:
Feather: So Tazawa 8-3-3 vs. 10-9-3 Katsuya Toida

Previously announced:
Light: Hiroshi "Iron" Nakamura 5-3-4 vs. 10-6-1 Hayate Usui
Fly: Sakae Kasuya 4-3-3 vs. 3-5-2 Tomonori Taniguchi
Middle: Akihiro Yamazaki 10-2-1 vs. 全　龍左 Zon Yon Ze(?)
Welter: Yusuke Endo 12-2-1 vs. 13-5-1 Kotetsu Boku
Light: Shintaro Ishiwatari 6-1-2 vs. 4-7-0 Michihiro Omigawa
Feather: Junya Kudo "KODO" 6-2-2 vs. 5-4-1 Takahiro Hosoi
Bantam: Jin Akimoto 10-12-4 vs. 4-6-0 Ayumu "Gozo" Shioda

 

[Shogun Locc]

Finals for the First Season of the M-1 Challenge Set for Sunday

Superfights to be streamed for free on Sherdog.com starting at 1 p.m. ET.

With the 2008 regular season of the M-1 Challenge (www.M1Mixfight.com) in the books, Team Russian Red Devil and Team Holland are set to square off in the finals this coming Sunday (January 11).

The finals, which had originally been scheduled for Dec. 26 in Seattle, Washington but postponed due to inclement weather, will take place in Hilversum, Holland and feature a best-of-five format that will determine the first-ever M-1 Challenge championship team.

While U.S. vieweras will have to wait to see the finals at a later date on HDNet, M-1 fans will be able to see superfights from the event streamed live for the first-time ever this Sunday on Sherdog.com (www.Sherdog.com).

The four superfight bouts will be free of charge and commence at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT. Set to face off are Radimir Gabdullin (Russia) vs. Kim Hoon (South Korea), Toni Valtonen (Finland) vs. Lee Chang Seob (South Korea), Inoc Solves (Spain) vs. Whi Sung Bae (South Korea), and Ricardo Wondel (Holland) vs. Lee Sang Soo (South Korea).

Lineups for the best of five head-to-head M-1 2008 championship finals have also been finalzied. At lightweight, Team Holland's Bogdan Christea (Career MMA Record: 5-3/M-1 Challenge Record: 2-1) will take on Mikhail Malutin (8-6/4-0) of Team Russian Red Devil.

If MMA had a "Comeback of the Year" award, Christea would be the leading contender after overcoming near fatal injuries sustained in an auto accident.

Despite receiving a prognosis from doctors that he'd never fight again, Christea went 2-1 during M-1 Challenge regular season play. Once overheard telling his coach that an "armbar is not a submission," the rugged Christea knows he'll have his work cut out for him on the 26th.

"It is gonna be a challenge for me, but I like challenges," said Christea. "I respect (Malutin) very much, he has a lot of experience and a good training camp with Fedor and the others. I will do my best and hope I can make a good show of it. We are both pool winners, so may the best win."


At welterweight, Red Devil's Erik Oganov (8-8/3-2) will meet Romano de los Reyes (8-6/1-2) of Team Holland. Oganov, one of Red Devil's most active competitors might be best known to U.S. fans after going 2-0 for the BodogFIGHT promotion with wins over Derrick Noble and former UFC veteran Keith Wisniewski.



In a season in which many fighters involved with the M-1 Challenge raised their global profile, few involved with the competition saw their stock rise higher than that of Jason Jones (7-5/1-2). Despite finishing with a record below .500 during M-1 Challenge play, Jones has made quite a name for himself this season with his dynamic striking ability.

Representing Team Holland in the M-1 Challenge finals as its middleweight representative, Jones will be looking to set off some championship fireworks when he takes on Red Devil's Dimitri Samoilov.

"Samoilov is a good fighter," Jones began, "but he stands in my way to the top and after my recent loss I have to settle the score. No need to say more."


At light heavyweight, Red Devil will be represented by Michael Zayats (7-1/3-0) with Team Holland's Kamil Uygun (6-3/1-2) opposing him.

Uygun knows he will have his work cut out for him against Zayats, a World Champion in Sambo.

"I saw the fights of Michael Zayats and he is a good fighter, because you're not just a fighter if you become the World Champion in Sambo," said Ogun. "But if we enter the ring I don't think about that. I'm really ready for him and on the day itself we will see what happens. I never enter the ring with the feeling that I'm going to lose."


At heavyweight, Team Holland's Jessy Gibbs (6-1/3-0) will be taking on Alexey Oleinik (9-4/1-0) of Red Devil. Oleinik will be replacing up and coming heavyweight prospect Kirill Sidelnikov, who has been tapped to fight Paul Buentello during Affliction and M-1's "Day of Reckoning" event on Jan. 24.

Gibbs was looking forward to making a name for himself against Sidelnikov, who is known around the world as "Baby Fedor." Disappointed that he won't be afforded that opportunity, Gibbs is planning to take out his frustrations on his replacement.

"I was supposed to fight Kirill Sidelnikov but now I have a new unknown opponent," said Gibbs. "Whoever it is, it won't be a problem but I'd love to fight Kirill because he is becoming a big name in the MMA circuit and I'm sure that I'm better."

But Gibbs better not take the 9-4 Oleinik lightly. Oleinik made a name for himself having fought in the U.S. earlier this year during YAMMA's heavyweight tournament in Atlantic City. Facing UFC veteran Sherman Pendergarst during the tournament's first round, Oleinik submitted the Miletich Fighting Systems veteran with an Ezekiel choke.

Gibbs vs. Oleinik could be the deciding fight because while a team only needs three wins to clinch the title, pundits believe it will take all five fights to decide the first-ever M-1 Challenge champion.

"I am really excited about the Red Devil vs. Holland final, and feel that either side can win the championship," said M-1 Challenge play-by-play announcer Sean Wheelock. "I see the final score 3-2 for whoever is the winner."



The lineup for the M-1 Challenge finals are as follows:LW: Mikhail Malutin (Team Russian Red Devil) vs. Bogdan Christea (Team Holland)

WW: Erik Oganov (Team Russian Red Devil) vs. Romano de slos Reyes (Team Holland)

MW: Dimitri Samoilov (Team Russian Red Devil) vs. Jason Jones (Team Holland)

LHW: Michael Zayats (Team Russian Red Devil) vs. Kamil Ogun (Team Holland)

HW: Alexey Oleinik (Team Russian Red Devil) vs. Jessy Gibbs (Team Holland)



Superfight Lineup (airing on Sherdog.com at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT):

Radimir Gabdullin (Russia) vs. Kim Hoon (South Korea)

Toni Valtonen (Finland) vs. Lee Chang Seob (South Korea)

Inoc Solves (Spain) vs. Whi Sung Bae (South Korea)

Ricardo Wondel vs. Lee Sang Soo (Korea)

 

[Shogun Locc]

Huerta: I should be coming back to the UFC

With one revelation came many questions.

After popular UFC lightweight contender Roger Huerta (20-2-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) revealed to Sherdog.com that he had elected not to re-sign with the organization -- despite previous reports by to the contrary -- many MMA pundits wondered aloud if there were contributing factors to El Matador's decision beyond a newfound passion for acting.

Today Huerta told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) his relationship with the UFC is great and his passion for fighting is as strong as ever -- yet he has decided to walk away anyway.

"I've been fighting my all life," Huerta said. "It's in me. It's always been in me. I've been fighting for everything I've gotten.

"I've been fighting forever. So maybe let's just put this on hold for awhile. That's kind of where I'm at."

Huerta said previous reports that he had re-inked with the UFC weren't entirely accurate, but that he had certainly intended to recommit himself to the organization.

"I had intended to sign, but all the other stuff came up," Huerta said. "I realized why not do the acting thing?"

The "acting thing" started earlier this year when Huerta utilized some free time originally tagged for finishing his college degree in order to participate in the silver-screen version of the popular video-game series Tekken.

"I had taken time off after the (Clay) Guida fight because I need to get back into school and finish the one class that I need to finish (my degree)," Huerta said. "But then the movie Tekken was brought up to me if I could do it. And I'm like, 'Well, why not?'

"I'm a big fan of Tekken. I'm a huge fan of that video game. To be one of those characters in that game was really awesome. I said 'Yes' to it, and eventually I had to put school on hold again."

Huerta landed not only a role in Tekken, but also a three-movie deal with Canadian-based Lions Gate Entertainment. That opportunity eventually led Huerta to believe it was in his best interest to leave the UFC, at least for now.

"I spent a lot of time with family and friends around the holidays," Huerta said. "Everybody always brought up to me to pursue the acting thing and modeling. I never really considered it because I was so devoted into fighting and so devoted into the UFC. Eventually when I did the Tekken movie, I was really intrigued by it.

"I could see it was a lot of hard work. I couldn't really give [acting] 100% because I was so devoted into fighting and the UFC."

Huerta said it was his observation of other successful UFC fighters that helped him believe he was making the right choice by putting his MMA career on hold.

"Basically it was one of those things where I'm 25-years-old," Huerta said. "I see Chuck (Liddell), and I see Randy (Couture). They've been able to peak at their careers in their early 30's. I figure why not? Maybe I can do the whole acting and [modeling] now, and the fighting will be there (later)."

Huerta, one of the UFC's most marketable fighters -- and once considered a vital component of the UFC's planned expansion into Latin America -- insists that increased contractual restrictions recently instituted by the UFC had nothing to do with his decision.

"Not at all," Huerta said. "For me, I just realized it wouldn't be fair to the UFC if I signed with them and then keep turning down fights because I was obligated to the other projects.

"The UFC has a business to run, and that's that. To me, I don't think it would have been fair to them."

One of the key issues of contention by several fighters -- most notably welterweight contender Jon Fitch and several of his American Kickboxing Academy teammates -- regarding current UFC contracts was the organization's desire for perpetual ownership of name and likeness rights. Huerta insisted there was no connection between those requirements and his leaving the organization.

An interesting study in the validity of that opinion may come very quickly. Huerta's likeness is currently scheduled for use in the upcoming video game UFC 2009 Undisputed. The 25-year-old doesn't think his decision will affect his standing on the video game's roster.

"I don't think [my leaving the organization] should have any affect at all," Huerta said. "I think I should be in it."

But Huerta admits he is unsure if the UFC will elect to pull his likeness from the final release.

"I really don't know," Huerta said. "I don't know anything about that stuff."

The UFC has been accused of "freezing out" fighters such as Andrei Arlovski and Brandon Vera in recent years. Each fighter found themselves in a similar position to Huerta -- holding one remaining fight and an extended period of time on their UFC contract.

After turning down a fight with Joe Stevenson at UFC 95 in February due to "personal issues with family and stuff," the UFC extended Huerta's contract by six months. Coupled with an extension issued after his request for the time off that eventually led to his role in Tekken, Huerta's fight contract now runs through December.

Huerta said he is unaware of when the UFC plans on promoting the final bout of his contract, and that a rumored bout this spring with Spencer Fisher was never a possibility.

"That (fight with Fisher) was never brought up to me, actually," Huerta said. "I hope [my final fight with the UFC] happens sometimes soon.

"You know what card I would like to get in is that April card in Montreal. It would be pretty cool to fight there. I saw all the fans that were there for the UFC and for the fighters. That would be an honor to fight on that card."

What happens between now and December could prove to be a true indicator of the UFC's feelings towards Huerta's departure from the organization. It may also help to determine the lightweight's eventual path in mixed martial arts.

But for now, Huerta insists the bond is strong and he should eventually return to the UFC.

"The UFC is my home," Huerta said. "They are my family, and eventually I should be coming back to them."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra likely for May

The long awaited grudge match between outspoken welterweight rivals Matt Hughes (42-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) and Matt Serra (9-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) may finally be settled in the cage.

According to Hughes, the UFC is looking to arrange the matchup on an as-yet-unannounced card in May.

Hughes posted the news on his official website late Friday night.

"Just got a call from (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva, and as of right now it looks like I’ll be fighting Matt Serra in Vegas on May 23rd," Hughes stated. "This is not 100% confirmed, but I believe it is going to be on this date."

Hughes and Serra developed an intense rivalry during their tenure as opposing coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter 6." The two fighters have proven polar opposites in personality and beliefs, and neither has shied away from voicing their disdain towards the other.

The grudge match between the two former welterweight champion was originally scheduled for UFC 79 in December 2007. Serra was forced to withdraw from the fight after suffering a back injury in training.

All previous announcements had pointed towards a possible April date for the contest, but Serra and his wife are reportedly expecting their first child sometime during that month.

The bout is the first rumored contest for a potential Memorial Day weekend UFC event.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Fighters twist while EliteXC dithers

Patience is starting to wear thin among some of the country's top mixed martial arts fighters whose futures have remained in limbo since EliteXC closed its doors in late October.

The issue is complicated, as parent company ProElite laid off all its employees and has no plans to run future cards. But they have not closed the company, nor have they declared bankruptcy. They have a CEO, Chuck Champion, and an attorney, each still working on methods to sell the company's assets and perhaps remain as a minority interest partner with new ownership going forward.

This has left approximately 80 fighters, who were under contract, waiting. The biggest names include Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, Gina Carano, Frank Shamrock, Nick Diaz, Eddie Alvarez, Scott Smith and champions Jake Shields (welterweight), Robbie Lawler (middleweight), Wilson Reis (featherweight) and Antonio Silva (heavyweight).

A few with non-exclusive contracts have been able to pick up individual fights, but none have been able to negotiate with major companies who aren't willing to risk a tampering lawsuit, or aren’t willing to sign fighters for single-fight deals.

Of the aforementioned names, only Smith, Alvarez and Silva have fought in recent months, and none on the list have any scheduled future fights.

Smith fought on a single-fight deal with Strikeforce in November. Alvarez has a unique contract, as he can fight on Midwest promoter Monte Cox's shows, DREAM events in Japan, and EliteXC. He fought on the FieLDS Dynamite 2008!! show on New Year's Eve, losing to Shinya Aoki.

Silva, who was under suspension in the U.S. until July after failing a steroid test in California for his title win over the late Justin Eilers, beat Yoshihiro Nakao on Sunday in Saitama, Japan for Sengoku. This may result in Silva his losing his license to fight in California, essentially banning him in all commission states, so he'd be unavailable in the event EliteXC in some form gets resurrected or until he is reinstated.

As each day goes by, fighters are getting more and more impatient.

"Jake [Shields] is in the prime of his career, and he wants to fight the top guys in the world," said Jack Shields, the father and manager of the EliteXC welterweight champion. "If they can't get him a fight, they should let him go."

Jack Shields, along with other agents of EliteXC fighters such as Ken Pavia (who represents 12 fighters under contract to the organization), Monte Cox (who represents four, most notably Lawler) and Matt Walker (who represents Carano) have all independently talked of taking legal action to invalidate the contracts of their clients and have them declared free agents so they can start fighting again.

"For us, it's about finding the right home," said Walker regarding the future of Carano, who brought women's MMA to the forefront with her fights on Showtime and CBS over the past two years. "She didn't ask to be how people put it, the face of women's MMA, but she's starting to embrace it. She wants to make sure there is a place for women in the sport. We're in constant touch with [Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos'] people to make sure we don't go in different directions."

Carano vs. Santos had been promoted on the past two CBS specials, building for a match that would have been the highest-profile women's MMA fight ever in North America. It was originally expected to take place early this year, tentatively in February, before EliteXC announced it would no longer run shows.

The stalling tactics continue because EliteXC -- after first attempting to raise funds by auctioning off fighter contracts -- has attempted to sell the assets of the promotion, which are the fighter contracts and what are potentially valuable television contracts with CBS and Showtime.

Indications are CBS wants to continue running quarterly prime-time shows on Saturday nights, and Showtime is interested in continuing with six major events and six minor events per year. Six different companies put in bids for EliteXC, four of which were believed to be UFC, Affliction, Strikeforce and King of the Cage.

It is believed that CBS tried to steer the deal toward Strikeforce because the UFC has a reputation for difficulty in television negotiations and Strikeforce is a stable company backed by the same group that owns the HP Pavilion in San Jose, as well as the NHL's San Jose Sharks. The group currently has a weekly show Saturday nights on NBC. All of the agents were of the belief that a deal was close before Christmas, but things hit a snag.

"It's a delicate situation," said Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker. "At the end of the day, ProElite is still deciding what it wants to do, and I don't know what it is. Right now, there is no direct talks between our company and their company."

"Every day the story is different; nothing ever comes to fruition," said Walker, who specifically mentioned the UFC and Strikeforce as possibilities for Carano.

Walker also questioned whether fighter contracts would even be assignable in a sale. Originally, Elite XC was going to auction off the contracts individually as a way of raising some money for the companies it owed money to, but agents representing 60 of the 80 fighters worked together in getting the auction canceled.

Even if a deal for the company was reached for a sale this week, it would be March at the earliest before a show could be arranged and properly promoted, and there is no indication that any kind of a sale is imminent.

With their MMA careers on hold, some fighters have started looking in other directions.

Slice, the company's biggest star, flew to Japan in December as a guest on a K-1 show, where he did some television commentary, but has been unable to commit to a match there yet.

Slice's 14-second loss to Seth Petruzelli on the Oct. 4 CBS special set the wheels in motion for everything that has happened since.

EliteXC, with more than $55 million in losses and little money left, was in negotiations to sell to CBS and Showtime. Petruzelli indicated in a radio interview, which he later claimed was misinterpreted, that EliteXC officials made it clear they wanted the fight to stay standing.

The scandal got significant sports-media play, CBS and Showtime pulled out of negotiations, and Showtime recalled the loans that had kept the company afloat. At that point, the company was forced to lay off virtually its entire staff and cancel all future events.

James Thompson, the U.K. heavyweight who lost to Slice on the first CBS special on May 31, and hasn't been able to fight since, has had to take a freak-show fight on Feb. 6 in Montreal to pay bills. The fight will be against former-minor-league-hockey-enforcer-turned-fighter Steve Bosse on a promotion called Strikebox.

It's a sport involving boxing, but with takedowns, similar to the martial art San Shou or the Japanese sport of Shootbox, except using smaller MMA gloves instead of boxing gloves. The rules: Punching and takedowns are allowed, and takedowns are worth points, but there is an immediate stand-up after a takedown, with no ground fighting allowed.

Shields and Lawler are both ranked in the world's Top 10 in their divisions in most polls. Cox and Jack Shields both confirmed UFC having interest, but said that UFC officials won't negotiate until the fighters are legally free of their contracts.

"Everyone is interested in Lawler: Japan, UFC, Strikeforce, Affliction," Cox said. "But no big company wants a one-off (single-fight) deal. UFC isn't interested into getting into a lawsuit over it. Our goal is to find a way out of the contract."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Matt Hamill vs. Mark Munoz added to UFC 96

While a main event has yet to be announced, the UFC has added another bout to the organization's nearly complete return to Ohio.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the fight that a light-heavyweight tile between Matt Hamill (5-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and WEC import Mark Munoz (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has been signed for UFC 96.

UFC 96 is scheduled for March 7 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

"The Utimate Fighter 3" veteran Hamill will be looking to win consecutive bouts for the first time since March 2007. The 32-year-old dominated Reese Andy at UFC 92 in December, but he has gone just 2-2 in his past four bouts.

The former collegiate wrestling Division III national champion has earned four of his five career victories by TKO.

Undefeated WEC and Palace Fighting Championship veteran Mark Munoz will be looking to make an immediate impact in his UFC debut.

The former collegiate wrestling Division I national champion made his professional debut in May 2007 and has since reeled off five-straight wins. Munoz was contracted by the WEC and brought into the UFC when its sister promotion's 205-pound weight class was scrapped.

 

[Shogun Locc]

KAMPMANN EXPECTS THE UNEXPECTED IN 170 DEBUT

Martin Kampmann will be making his welterweight debut against Alexandre Barros at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland.

Kampmann had a solid run at middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but after a loss to Nathan Marquardt back in September, he decided to give welterweight a shot.

“It's something that I considered for a long time, cutting to 170,” explained Kampmann in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “I pretty much walk around at 185 and on weight for the weight class. I didn't really cut weight for 185, so I considered dropping to 170. I got a loss, so I thought I'd give it a try.”

“The Hitman” always walked around pretty light at middleweight, but he never saw a reason to drop down a weight class. After all, he was a perfect 4-0 in the Octagon before his loss to Marquardt. There's a famous saying that goes, “If it isn't broke, don't fix it.” Kampmann believed that to be the truth until his recent loss.

“A lot of people were telling me to drop down to 170 before the loss, but I was like, don't fix what isn't broken,” he said. “I was doing good. I think I could still do good at 185, but we'll try this out and hopefully I'll be even better at 170.”

Some fighters won't even look at the video of a loss, but the Danish fighter did view his first loss in the UFC. That doesn't mean he wants to watch it repeatedly though. “I've seen it, but I don't like watching it to be honest with you. I made a mistake and I shouldn't have been caught the way I did, but I got a little shaky legs and he hurt me. He was really good at keeping the pressure on me once I got hurt. He never let me back in the fight and I give him credit for that. I shouldn't of have been hurt in the first place.”

Since Kampmann had never had to drop any weight before, he felt like he should do a test cut. However, after training as rigorously as he does, he found that the weight actually comes off pretty easy for him.

“I did a test cut for 170,” said the 26-year-old fighter. “I'm actually really light right now from the training. I don't think it will be any problem cutting to 175.”

It's come full circle for Kampmann, as he was supposed to fight in the UFC's first show in Belfast, Northern Ireland, before succumbing to his debilitating knee injury. A year and a half later, the Dane will finally be able to come back to take care of some business he couldn't complete in June of 2007.

His opponent is a relative unknown fighter in Alexandre Barros, however Barros is not a newcomer to the sport. Barros is a Marco Ruas trained fighter and has been fighting for 10 years professionally. He has fought some tough fighters in his time like Matt Hughes, Dave Strasser, and Aaron Riley.

Unfortunately for Kampmann, he hasn't had the opportunity to view much footage on his opponent, which doesn't make him as comfortable as he'd like to be. “I don't know much, but he's an experienced guy. He fought for a long time. He's fought bare knuckle Vale Tudo back in the '90s before I knew what MMA was. I got to give him credit. I'm sure he's a dangerous opponent. From the little footage I got of him, I can tell he's a southpaw. I definitely prefer having some more footage on the guy. It'd be a lot more comfortable, but that's how it's going to be. I can deal with this, too.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Matt Lindland vs Vitor Belfort video promo for Affliction fight Jan. 24

 

[Shogun Locc]

Shawn Tompkins Interview Part III: “I look at B.J. Penn as one of the best boxers in the business

Shawn Tompkins is one of the foremost authorities in MMA on the art of striking and thanks to Jake Hattan, one of his managers at Denaro Sports Marketing, FiveOuncesOfPain.com was recently granted an opportunity to interview the Xtreme Couture striking specialist.

In Part III, Tompkins shares his thoughts on new interim UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir’s improved striking at UFC 92; who he feels is the top striker in MMA; and he offers his analysis as to why three of K-1’s top strikers were upset by MMA fighters during FEG’s recent “Dynamite!!” event on New Year’s Eve.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): What did you think of Frank Mir’s performance at UFC 92?

Shawn Tompkins: Like anybody else I was stunned by his performance (laughs). But at the same time I’m proud of them and I am happy to see that the Frank Mir that we all wanted to see back in the day is truly here and I think he’s here to say. I have a really good friend in his trainer, Ken Hahn at Striking Unlimited and I’m glad that they’re getting the respect that they deserve now.

I think that they got Nogueira at the right time but that’s any fight. Walking in you could get your opponent at the right time or the wrong time and I think he hit Nogueira when he was supposed to. I think he was 100 percent underestimated amd I’m really happy to see the result because I think we needed it in the heavyweight division. We need more guys that are solid talents all around and Frank Mir proved himself and I don’t think anyone is going to second guess him every again.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): A lot of people proclaim Anderson Silva as the best striker in all of MMA. However, you’re a true expert and I wanted to know who you feel is the best striker competing right now?

Shawn Tompkins: Well I think when it comes to Anderson Silva, it comes down to his speed, his distance and his timing are impeccable. They are second to none and that’s what makes him dangerous. I look at Anderson Silva and he can fight moving forward, he can fight moving backward, and he can fight moving left or right. It’s something that I don’t think anyone else in the sport other than Chuck Liddell has really been able to do. And I think Anderson Silva is ahead of Chuck Liddell as far as that goes. So I have to agree. If I had train someone to fight Anderson Silva that would probably be my biggest challenge yet as far as being prepared for a striker.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): Who do you consider to be some of the other top strikers in MMA right now?

Shawn Tompkins: It doesn’t even have to be pure strikers. I look at B.J. Penn as one of the best boxers in the business. He’s got one of the best jabs around. Arlovski proved himself against Ben Rothwell. As far as a power puncher in the mold of a Mike Tyson-style power puncher, you’re not going to find anyone tougher than Fedor. There’s a lot of great strikers in the business but no one should ever forget about Chuck Liddell. The strange part of MMA is that you lose one or two fights and people start to question you but he was on top for so long and it was purely his striking that made him so good. Nobody can step backwards and knock someone out as well as Chuck Liddell can.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): I wanted to know if you were able to see some of the fights from “Dynamite!!” a few weeks back and if so, I wanted to know what you thought of Overeem, Mousasi, and Kawajiri taking out the K-1 fighters. Were you shocked by that?

Shawn Tompkins: No and maybe it’s because I follow K-1 closely and also train Ray Sefo. My heart is with K-1 and I love the sport of standup kickboxing. What I think a lot of that was K-1 having had their Grand Prix finals not even a month before the “Dynamite!!” show so a lot of those guys were coming into that fight pressured to fight.

They were coming in with injuries and had no time to recuperate and start a camp again. I think that was a huge part of it and I think the other component of it was that there were good matchups. I think when K-1 put them together and you put Badr Hari with an opponent like Overeem and that’s nothing but a great matchup and Overeem is one of the best strikers in MMA as well.

But I think really, if I were to defend the K-1 strikers, that it was a pressure of not enough time to re-prepare for a fight and not enough time to repair for a fight as a result of the last show.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): You and some choice words for Joe Rogan a year and a half ago after he was critical of some advice you gave to Sam Stout at UFN 10. Are relations between you and him still strained?

Shawn Tompkins: Absolutely not. We squashed that a long time ago. I have the utmost respect for Joe Rogan. I think he does his job better than anybody else could. I just think that we were both coming through a maturing stage in our careers and he said what he said and I said what I said. And we’ve both grown since then. I ever said back when we had our choice words I still told everybody that I respected him. I wouldn’t want to have to do his job and I don’t know anybody else that could do his job. He does a great job of it and keeps the sport entertaining and even my mom loves to listen to Joe Rogan when the fights are on so that tells you right there that he does something for the new fans of the sport that nobody else could.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): There was some talk last year that you were looking to get back into fighting. I wanted to know if there was any validity to those reports and if you had any plans to fight in 2009?

Shawn Tompkins: I was scheduled to fight in November of 2008 in a kickboxing show called XMA. There were some controversies that happened between my management team as well as some of the promoters as far as setting up the fights. There was some talk of Ken Shamrock but nobody else had talked to Ken about it as far as the promoting.

That left a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth and since that time I’ve decided to move on purely and solely as a coach and building my name in the sport. I’ve got a full 2009 schedule of projects so I think we’re going to stay with that. As far as training, I’ve been around fighters enough to know that you have to be able to give 100 percent of your effort and time into training for a sport. I have too many guys that count on me as a coach so in 2009 you’re going to see me in a lot of cages and rings but I’ll only be in them to corner my fighters.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): I also wanted to ask you about some rumors I’ve heard about an instructional video possibly coming out this year. I wanted to see if I could get some more information from you in regard to that.

Shawn Tompkins: Absolutely. I am actually just getting ready to starting shooting in February. I’m working with a team that actually did all the filming for the Diehard movies. We’re going to shoot a new style of instructional video that is far beyond what anyone has ever done before. It will be very interactive for the people who purchase it and watch it. I can’t give out too many other details but filming will be done in February and people are going to be able to have it their hands as soon as May. I’m really excited about it and it’s going to be a great project.

Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com): There’s also a few rumors about you possibly doing a show on Sirius Satellite Radio?

Shawn Tompkins: It’s the “Between Rounds Radio Show,” which you can check out at BetweenRoundsRadioShow.com. It’s a radio show that I’ve been doing for the past two months and I’m a part owner of it as well. It’s produced for the Internet right now but we’ve been picked up by Sirius Satellite Radio and we will be live in LA starting in the end of February. And there’s talk of us sharing the same station as the LA Dodgers so I’m really excited about that. Again, you can check us out a BetweenRoundsRadioShow.com.