MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

DANA WHITE ON POUND-FOR-POUND & SUPERFIGHTS

Pound-for-pound rankings in mixed martial arts are a highly debated topic that plays out on voting panels, website forums and around water coolers in workplaces on any given day.

There are really only three names being mentioned as the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world: Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre and Fedor Emelianenko, although Lyoto Machida's stock is quickly rising.

Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White believes the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the world are in his organization with Anderson Silva being No. 1 and Georges St. Pierre a close second.

"I still wouldn't call (St. Pierre) pound-for pound the best in the world. But I would say, yea, he's No. 2. No doubt about it," said the high profile president of the UFC. "Anderson Silva has been annihilating everybody for a long time. Georges has some work to do now.

"If Georges takes out Thiago Alves, he's on his way," added White. "The pound-for-pound to me, I would say Georges St. Pierre would be neck-and-neck with Anderson had he not lost to Matt Serra."

An Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre bout seems to be on a collision course if the stars align and both remain champions through their next fights.

"I think it's possible," White commented. "Right now, what I think we should do is guys stay in their weight classes for a while, but I'm a fan of super-fights."

White admitted he'd "absolutely" like to see the two highly regarded fighters test their skills against each other in the Octagon, but it probably won't happen in the near future. "I think if these guys continue to go unbeaten and keep fighting... what I like to see, I like to see weight classes cleaned out. When you empty a division and you're looking for that next challenge, why not step up and try to take it?"

Yet, White won't commit to a hard timeline for such a bout. "Do I think it will be by Super Bowl of next year? I don't know."

 

[Shogun Locc]

WEC AXES WELTERWEIGHTS; ANNOUNCES FLYWEIGHTS

World Extreme Cagefighting on Tuesday announced that it would add a flyweight division to the WEC championship divisions, confirming original reports by MMAWeeklky.com. The organization will no longer actively promote the welterweight division, instead continuing its focus on the lighter weight classes including lightweight (155 pounds), featherweight (145 pounds), bantamweight (135 pounds), and flyweight (125 pounds).

Carlos Condit, reigning champion of the WEC welterweight division, and Brock Larson, as well as other top 170-pound WEC fighters, will transition to the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization to continue their athletic careers as UFC welterweight fighters.

Condit's UFC debut was officially announced on Tuesday. He will face UFC veteran Martin Kampmann at UFC Fight Night 18 on April 1 in Nashville, Tenn. Larson's return to the UFC has yet to be announced, but it is believed he will face Jesse Sanders at the Nashville event.

“With the addition of the flyweight division, the WEC has cemented its status as the home of the greatest lighter weight fighters in the world,” said Peter Dropick, WEC Vice President of Operations and Production. “We are excited to launch the 125-pound championship division, and look forward to giving our fans the best and most action-packed flyweight fights in the sport.”

More information about the WEC flyweight division will be announced at a later date.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Ryan Couture Heads Amateur Fight Card in Vegas

Ryan Couture, the son of former UFC champion Randy Couture, is headlining the Tuff-N-Uff MMA Amateur show on Sunday, February 15th at the Orleans in Las Vegas.

Ryan is 1-0 coming into this fight and is looking forward to fighting a strong competitor Art Martinez.

Nick Fekete is making his MMA debut on the card against Shawn Fry.

 

[Shogun Locc]

St. Pierre vs. Silva “superfight” could happen in 2010

The next superfight?

Georges St. Pierre took on and defeated one of the biggest challenges of his career in UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn. The fight was the first to have a three-part UFC Primetime preview special on Spike TV to help promote it.

If St. Pierre should successfully hold onto his welterweight title over the next year, another superfight could certainly be in the offing: St. Pierre against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

“I think it’s possible,” said UFC president Dana White. “Would I like to see those two fight? Absolutely.”

When asked if he wants to fight Silva, St. Pierre was very quick with his answer.

“For sure,” said St. Pierre.

St. Pierre then explained why.

“The primary reason I do the sport is not for the fame,” said St. Pierre. “I do it for myself. It’s important to me to always find a new challenge. It would be very interesting for me.”

The biggest adjustment for St. Pierre would be adding the extra weight to be competitive. St. Pierre wants to be sure to do that the right way.

“I have never taken a steroid in my life, and I never will,” said St. Pierre. “If I fight Silva, I’d have to put on some extra weight. It would take me a few extra months to get ready.”

With both fighters having prior commitments in 2009, the earliest the match could take place would be the beginning of 2010.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Pitbull looking for a knockout against GSP

After UFC 94’s main event, in which Georges St. Pierre dominated BJ Penn, the Brazilian Thiago "Pitbull" Alves entered the octagon to challenge the Canadian for the welterweight title. While the date of the confrontation isn’t defined, the Brazilian is waiting - and training – hungry for the fight of his dreams, and promises a great show.

"It’ll be a great fight. I’m very excited, I can’t wait... It’s going to be great", said the fighter, in conversation with the reporter Cristiane Ripari, after the press conference. "I saw what he did with BJ Penn and I’ll have to beat him a lot, do my game", said Thiago, who wasn’t expecting such domination over the Hawaiian. "I expected and didn’t expected, understood? (laughs). I knew he would win, but not this way. He’s much bigger than the BJ, a better athlete, and the sport today, in that level, you have to be the best athlete", said “Pitbull”, defining his strategy to the fight against GSP in a sentence: "I’ll go there to knock him out".

 

[Shogun Locc]

Satoshi “Ninja” Ishii?! Interested In Affliction Too

Satoshi Ishii is thinking about a nickname to have in U.S. fighting career. He himself wants “Kenshin” after Uesugi Kenshin but he asked a taxi driver in the U.S. if Kenshin is known and got no reaction. However, when he asked the driver what he thinks about ninja the driver said that it is very cool and stylish to be called that. So Ishii’s current plan is Satoshi “Ninja” Ishii but he isn’t 100% sure yet.

Ishii is moving to the U.S. at the end of February to start training with American Top Team. He is also planning to train in Brazil with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as he was invited there by him at UFC 94. He also had some contact with LYOTO (or his father) while there, because of his Japanese origin or something.

And the most important news, Ishii is putting contract negotiations with the UFC on hold for now. As a professional he wants to hear the talk of various organizations. He especially mentioned Affliction and mentioned both Fedor and Sylvia. However, he said that right now the UFC is still the first candidate.

 

[Shogun Locc]

DREAM.7 FWGP Update - Sergei Possible

DREAM.7: Feather Weight Grandprix 2009 1st Round is slated for March 8, 2009 and will be hosting the opening round of DREAM’s featherweight tournament. Here is a update and possible non-tournament fighters[fights].

Dreamfighters.com has been told by Japanese source “MMAphd” that Sergei Kharitonov could be fighting at DREAM.7, and is training for a fight of a “unkown timeline” according to sources.

Sergei last fought Jimmy Ambriz at DREAM.6 September 23, 2008, and won by submission (punches).

Melvin Manhoef has also been rumored to be fighting, however Dreamfighters.com just completed a one on one interview with Melvin and he told us he will be fighting on March 28th, making a fight at DREAM.7 impossible.

The only 2 fighters confirmed by the FEG are Chase Beebe and Takafumi Otsuka, however the following is a comprised list of possible FWGP entries.

Masakazu Imanari
Wicky Akiyo
Kazuyuki Miyata
Norifumi Yamamoto
Hideo Tokoro
Atsushi Yamamoto
Takeshi Yamazaki
DJ.taiki
SHOJI
Kim Jong Won

 

[B-Buzz]

Fuck yeah Kharitonov!

 

[Robby2Slobby]

Alves wants his shitle tot... That's for sure.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Facial cut sidelines McCully, Ciesnolevicz to face Grove at UFC 95

UFC heavyweight Justin McCully (9-4-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) suffered a cut during a training session and has been forced out of his UFC 95 bout with Neil Grove (7-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

Grove will now face UFC newcomer and former International Fight League light heavyweight Mike Ciesnolevicz (16-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at the Feb. 21 event, which takes place at the 02 Arena in London, England.

Ken Pavia, McCully's agent, today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) McCully suffered the cut along his eyebrow and needed stitches to close the wound.

McCully, who debuted with the UFC in 2008, was coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Eddie Sanchez at UFC Fight Night 16 in December. The Team Punishment fighter has won five of his past six fights.

In his place steps Ciesnolevicz, a stand-out from the now-defunct IFL. He went 5-3 (with no-contest) in the organization. The only losses came to Andre Gusmao (twice) and Reese Andy, who both then moved to the UFC.

Ciesnolevicz has lost just once in his past 10 fights. He most recently scored a first-round submission victory over Derek Mehman at Ardrenaline MMA's December event in Moline, Ill.

Grove, who signed a four-fight deal with the UFC in late 2008, is a former Cage Rage heavyweight contender who's posted knockout stoppages in all seven of his career victories. The fighter, who debuted with the UK Mixed Martial Arts Championship before heading to Cage Rage, has twice defeated Robert Berry. Additionally, in just his third professional bout, he also scored a major upset of former PRIDE fighter and EliteXC headliner James Thompson with a 10-second knockout. Grove's lone loss came to Rob Broughton (7-4-1) via majority decision in early 2008.

 

[Shogun Locc]

CSAC issues medical suspensions to 12 "Affliction: Day of Reckoning" fighters

The California State Athletic Commission has issued medical suspensions to more than half of the competitors from the Jan. 24 "Affliction: Day of Reckoning" card that took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently requested and today received the list of suspensions from the CSAC.

Among those suspended is headliner Andrei Arlovski, who suffered a first-round knockout loss to WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko in the pay-per-view main event.

Arlovski is suspended 45 days (with no contact allowed during training for 30 days) for precautionary reasons. He'll also need to pass a physical before he's able to return to competition.

Gilbert Yvel, who suffered a third-round TKO in a brutal co-main-event fight with Josh Barnett, is suspended 60 days (with no contact for 60 days) due to facial cuts suffered in the loss.

Matt Lindland, who suffered a swift 37-second TKO to Vitor Belfort, is suspended 45 days (no contact for 30 days). Lindland was floored with a left hand and knocked into unconsciousness with a subsequent flurry of blows. Medical officials arrived with a stretcher, but Lindland eventually left the cage under his own power. In addition to needing a new physical, Lindland needs to undergo a CT scan of his head and neck, and he must be cleared by a neurologist before he returns to competition.

Vladimir Matyushenko, who suffered a knockout loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, could be suspended up to 180 days (no contact for 180 days) due to a possible fracture of his right ankle. He'll need an X-ray and physician's clearance, or the six-month suspension will be upheld. However, even if cleared from the ankle injury, Matyushenko is suspended 60 days (with no contact for 60 days) due to his facial cuts. However, like the ankle injury, he can be cleared early by a doctor. Regardless, though, he will need to serve a mandatory suspension of 45 days (no contact for 30 days) for precautionary reasons stemming from the knockout. He'll also need to pass a new physical before returning to competition.

Kiril Sidellnikov, whom Paul Buentello defeated via third-round TKO, is suspended 45 days (no contact for 30 days) for precautionary reasons. He'll need a new physical, as well.

Buentello, meanwhile, is suspended 180 days (no contact for 180 days) due to a possible fracture of his right hand. He can be cleared early following an X-ray and clearance from an orthopedic physician.

Jason High, who suffered a stunning first-round knockout to Jay Hieron, is suspended 45 days (no contact for 30 days) for precautionary reasons and will need a new physical.

L.C. Davis, who defeated late replacement Bao Quach via unanimous decision, is suspended 60 days (no contact for 60 days) due to a cut, though he can be cleared early by a doctor.

Quach is suspended 45 days (no contact for 30 days) for precautionary reasons.

Albert Rios, who defeated Antonio Duarte via unanimous decision, is suspended 180 days (no contact for 180 days) due to a possible fracture of his right foot. He can be cleared early by an orthopedic physician if X-rays detect no serious injury.

Finally, Patrick Speight, whom Brett Cooper defeated via first-round TKO, is suspended 60 days (no contact for 60 days) due to a cut, though he can be cleared early by a doctor. However, he will serve a mandatory suspension of 45 days (no contact for 30 days) for precautionary reasons and will need a new physical.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC Quick Quote: Nate Diaz feels like he whooped Clay Guida’s ass

“I know I lost the decision in the minds of the judges but I really felt I was whooping his ass the whole fight and he was just holding me. Before the fight people were asking me about his pace and if I would be able to keep up with it. I felt he couldn’t keep up with my pace and that’s why he was trying to slow things down by holding on and not trying anything. I even gave him my back so he would try to do something besides hugging me. A couple of times I looked at the ref to ask him if he wanted us to fight or what? Sorry I didn’t listen to my corner and stand with him more but I never thought he would be so happy to just stall like that.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Andrei Arlovski signs with Golden Boy Promotions

Sources have informed FiveOuncesOfPain.com that Andrei Arlovski has signed an agreement with Golden Boy Promotions.

Full details of the deal are not known at this time, but Arlovski had been rumored to enter the boxing world since early in 2008. Recently, trainer Freddie Roach confirmed that Arlovski was going to start boxing following the fight with Fedor Emelianenko. At the time, Roach stated that he wanted to Arlovski to challenge WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev.

News of the signing with Golden Boy signals that Arlovski’s entry into boxing is more than just rumor and is now expected to become reality.

Arlovski, a former UFC heavyweight champion, challenged Emelianenko for the WAMMA heavyweight title last month during Affliction M-1’s “Day of Reckoning” event in Anaheim, Calif. After winning much of the first round, Arlovski was knocked out by a right cross delivered Fedor while attempting to finish the former PRIDE champion with a flying knee.

A native of Belarus, Arlovski is 14-6 in a pro MMA career that dates back to 1999. He holds notable wins in his career over Roman Zentsov, Ian Freeman, the late Justin Eilers, Paul Buentello, Tim Sylvia, former IFL light heavyweight champion Vladimir Matyushenko, Fabricio Werdum, Ben Rothwell, and former IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Cain Velasquez: “I’m going to build my way up to the top”

Many of those surrounding Cain Velasquez knew there was something special about the powerful teen from very early on. Velasquez compiled a wrestling record of 110-10 during his high school days and went on to captain both his varsity football and wrestling teams in his senior year at Kofa High School in Yuma, Arizona.

Upon graduation, Velasquez went on to wrestle for Iowa Central Community College where he won the NJCAA National Championship in the heavyweight division. After one year at Iowa Central, Velasquez transferred schools and continued with his success in wrestling, this time for the prestigious Arizona State University wrestling team. While with ASU, the imposing heavyweight obtained All-America honors, a Pac-10 title, went on a 21 match win streak and was named the 2005 Pac-10 Conference Wrestler of the Year.

The transition to the fighting world of mixed martial arts was a natural one for Velasquez. He made his successful debut at a Strikeforce event in October of 2007, knocking out Jesse Fujarczyk in the very first round. Ending all of his fights on his own terms, Velasquez has yet to be pushed out of the opening round.

Known as a cardio machine and a monster in the gym, Velasquez has quickly garnered the respect of his peers, many of the top fighters in the game. Even before Velasquez had stepped into the octagon for the first time, people were talking. There were many that were saying then, and are saying now, that the twenty six year old prospect has the potential to become the future of the heavyweight division. Those are some pretty high expectations for a fighter entering his fifth professional bout to have hanging over his head but Velasquez told FiveOuncesOfPain.com in an exclusive interview that he’s not sweating what other people expect from him. According to Valasquez, actions speak louder than words in the cage.

“I’m just doing my thing,” said Velasquez. “Regardless of what people say about me, I’m going to have to go out there and prove it. People can say all that they want but I’m going to have to go out there and make all of those statements true.”

He will have another opportunity to prove that he is the real deal on Saturday night when he faces off with Golden Glory striker, Denis Stojnic, at UFC Fight Night 17. Everything has gone according to plan with Velasquez’ training and he is hungry to get in the octagon and let his fists do the talking.

“I’m feeling really good right now,” said Velasquez. “All of my training is done so I’m ready to get in there and fight and get this over with.”

Training with one of the best camps in the business has left Velasquez overflowing with confidence entering his third trip into the octagon. American Kickboxing Academy has been the home to many of the UFC’s top fighters over the years and the gym has no shortage of big men for Velasquez to work with.

“I have been training a lot with Paul Buentello, Mike Kyle and Kyle Kingsbury to get ready for this one,” said Velasquez. “I’ve also been training a lot with Christian Wellisch, who’s fought Jake O’Brien on Saturday, and of course all of the rest of the guys at AKA.”

“I’ve really been focusing on my entire game for this fight. He likes to come forward so I want to use my footwork and look for openings when he comes in.”

Facing a fighter that is making his debut in the octagon often presents problems for fighters and coaches looking to obtain valuable video tape on their opponent and the fact that Stojnic has spent the bulk of his career competing in Eastern Europe and Holland makes the task no easier for Velasquez and his camp. Luckily for Velasquez he was able to utilize this glorious thing we call the internet to do the homework that had to be done.

“There’s a couple of his fights that I have seen of his on YouTube so I have been able to study him a little,” said Velasquez. “I’ve seen two of his fights and some of his training sessions. He’s an aggressive fighter and I’m an aggressive fighter so I think that it’s going to be a great fight. I think we match up well.”

Velasquez makes no bones about his intentions in his upcoming fight with Stojnic. His intentions are bad.

“The perfect ending to this fight would be the TKO or knockout, for sure,” said Velasquez. “A submission would be good too, I just want to finish him.”

Finishing his opponents has been something that Velasquez has shown a natural ability to do so far in his career. Four minutes is the longest any of his opponents have managed to last up until this point in his career.

“It just kind of happens,” said Velasquez. “I don’t like to force anything but of course, I like to end my fights with punches. I don’t really like to end fights with submissions but if it’s there I’ll take it.”

The stoppages may come easy to Velasquez but that doesn’t mean for a second that he wants to leave his fate in the hands of the judges anytime soon. The role of a finisher in the UFC’s heavyweight division suits Velasquez just fine.

“It’s important to me that I finish my fights,” said Velasquez. “It just goes along with my style of fighting. I’m aggressive and it will be exciting when I fight, for sure. It will not be a boring fight.”

The ASU stand out feels like the transition to MMA for top level wrestler’s such as himself is a natural progression. The experience with the type of grueling training that mixed martial artists must expose themselves to makes the crossover that much easier for life long athletes like Velasquez.

“I think that anyone that has wrestled at a high level will have an advantage when making the transition to mixed martial arts,” explained Velasquez. “Just because of the mentality that goes into training for wrestling and how we translate that to MMA. The mentality is very high paced and the practices for wrestling are very high paced so it makes the transition to MMA easy.”

“The transition from wrestling to MMA has been fairly easy for me. Just building all the jiu-jitsu and kickboxing around my wrestling, it has been easy.”

With all of the high expectations that have been placed on Velasquez at this early point in his career, the rising star knows to keep his feet on the ground and to take things one fight at a time. The title shot will come eventually, but there’s no need to rush things.

“I think the more fights I get under my belt before I challenge for the title, the better,” said Velasquez. “I’m not really sure how many more.”

“I do feel really comfortable out there in the cage but I think that the more fights I have, the better off I would be. Just for me to feel really super comfortable in there and have a lot of experience in the cage before that big fight comes along.”

As a Mexican American in the UFC, Velasquez is in a unique position to grab the attention of an enormous market in the sport. Known for their undying loyalty to their native boxers throughout the years, Mexican Americans have historically been tremendous fans of the fight game. Being one of the representatives for his race in the worlds fastest growing sport is a position that Velasquez considers himself honored to be in.

“It’s a great feeling that people would look at me in that way and to be a representative,” said Velasquez. “There has always been a lot of interest in the Mexican boxers. The Mexican boxers have always been in the high rankings, especially in the lighter weights. I think it’s a great feeling for me to be in that position and to show everybody what I have.”

What better fighter to potentially capture the attention of a large audience that may be unfamiliar with the sport than Velasquez? The talented Mexican American sums up what he stands for with the writing on his chest, “Brown Pride”.

“My tattoo is a symbol for the pride that I have in my heritage. It just stands for Mexican pride, being proud of who I am. It’s not gang related or anything like that, it’s just being proud of where I come from.”

Velasquez may very well be the future of the heavyweight division but only time and combat will tell. “The future” or not, Velasquez promises to be one to watch for years to come in the increasingly top level athlete dominated world of mixed martial arts.

“I’m going to keep my fights exciting,” said Velasquez. “I’m going to build my way up to the top. I’m going to climb the ladder, for sure.”

“My ultimate goal is to become the UFC heavyweight champion, that’s it. People talk about all the hype surrounding me but I have to go out there and prove it and that’s what I’m here to do.”

“I want to thank my team, Team AKA and all of my coaches. Also, I want to thank my manager, DeWayne Zinkin at Zinkin Entertainment.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

ProElite Sold or Nearly Sold

After a number of deals falling through at the last minute, it appears Pro Elite has either been sold or is in the very final stages of being sold as of this morning. Under the terms of the sale, the buyer would likely return to CBS television with live events this year.

The most likely buyer is Strikeforce. The other leading contender was King of The Cage, but industry sources have suggested that Pro Elite fighters are much more willing to fight for Strikeforce than KoTC, and the ease of signing new contracts may have played a part in finalizing this deal.

If the buyer is Strikeforce, the contracts are probably not transferrable, but the vast majority of fighters will likely be happy to just move over and fight there just to get on with their lives.

This is great news for fighters who are finally free from limbo to pursue their careers. If Strikeforce is the buyer, every fighter will have a choice to either move over to the new organization or pursue free agency. As the UFC learned when they bought Pride, personal service contracts are generally not transferrable, especially in a right to work state like California.

 

[Shogun Locc]

BJJ champ negotiating with Bellator Fighting

After Wilson Reis, EliteXC’s featherweright champion, sign with Bellator Fighting Championship, a new MMA event in the United States, that debut on April 4th, another Brazilian is next to sign with the show. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion in 2008, Sérgio Moraes expects to return on the rings in 2009, and his destiny may be the United States. "It has nothing confirmed yet, but we’re negotiating", said the black belt.

With three MMA and three victories, being the responsible for the only defeat in the career of André “Chatuba”, Shooto Brazil champion, Moraes wants to fight at BJJ competitions and MMA in 2009. "My expectations are the best possible, I want so much to fight MMA this year. My focus won’t be just fighting Jiu-Jitsu, I think it’s perfectly possible to do both, I think one helps the other, one makes you more aggressive in the other", said the champion, who wants to win all the titles in the BJJ competitions.

"The plans are to run all over again, the major championships, Pan-American, Brazilian, World Champinship and Paulista... I’ll enter to win everything", promises the Alliance’s athlete, commenting the change of his life after winning the World’s, in the United States. "A lot of things has changed, the community is receiving a lot of help in terms of sponsorship, we’re having much support after the conquest of this World’s, it really opened many doors for me", says the fighter, revealing plans for the ADCC: "I don’t know what will happen yet, but I'm already training without kimono for a while and I’m very well prepared, we’ll see".

The responsible for Kron Gracie’s only loss in the career in his first fight in black belt, submitting Rickson’s son in his debut in the World Championship, in 2008, Moraes congratulated the athlete by winning the European Jiu-Jitsu Championship, last weekend. "Many thought I would hide (after the victory over Kron), but I fought all that appeared last year and only went to rest on December 24th, Christmas Eve... I thought his victory very good, Kron has his merits, has his value. I think it’s cool that he has won his first title in black belt. He must want to fight me and we’ll meet in the championships, for sure", ended.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Jeff Monson: "Fedor is on another planet right now"

Jeff Monson talks the Fedor Emelianenko - Andrei Arlovski fight and the future clash between the WAMMA champion from Russia and Josh Barnett

"I think Arlovski is really a great fighter, but Fedor is kind of on another planet right now. People say Arlovski was winning the fight, but it was the first 2 minutes of the fight. Fedor wasn't hurt, he just looked like he was relaxed out there. It just seems like it's a matter of time with him before he gets you. I was hoping the fight went a little bit longer as a fan just to watch. But he's tough man (laughing). He's a tough guy to beat. Fedor is kind of on a different planet than everybody else right now. Barnett's got a chance man. Barnett's got the game to beat him. I would definitely want a ticket to see that one. If he can get him down and keep him on his back, anything can happen."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Half Of The Field Complete! Team ZST Invades SENGOKU

Three new fighters were announced for the SENGOKU Featherweight GP today. They are ZST veteran Masanori Kanehara, “Super High School Student” Tetsuya Yamada, and the 21 year old Korean talent Chan Sung Jung (Chang Son Jon).

Masanori Kanehara started his career a little shaky with a couple of losses and draws but since 2006 he has done much better with some very good good results against tough fighters. Since fights are automatic draws if they go the distance in ZST, Kanehara’s record could have looked better. He went the distance with notable Lightweight Naoyuki Kotani in a ZST vale tudo fight in 2007. After the fight Kotani left the ring disappointed as he knew who would’ve won the fight had there been judges.

Chan Sung Jung has an 8-0 record with 5 KO’s record according to his SENGOKU profile. However, his notable fights have been in Japan where he defeated UFC & PRIDE veteran Michihiro Omigawa at the second GLADIATOR event in August and TKO’d Cage Force FWGP semifinalist Fanjin Son, who had never been stopped before, in only 17 seconds.

Tetsuya Yamada was born in 1990 and one wonders for how long he will manage to stay at Featherweight with his 180 cm height and his body still growing. He currently has a 2-1 (3-0?) record with all of his fights having taken place in ZST. However, he has more experience than his record tells as he has participated in a few grappling, tag team grappling and tag team MMA fights at ZST. He is called “Super High School Student” and will graduate from senior high school in March.

Update: I think the Sherdog fight finder has an error. I believe Yamada defeated Ota by KO and not the other way around.

SENGOKU VII
Date: March 20th, 2009
Place: National Yoyogi Stadium 2nd Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan

Light Heavyweight Fight:
King Mo vs. Ryo Kawamura

Featherweight GP Participants:
Marlon Sandro
Hatsu Hioki
Nick Denis
Ronnie Ushikawa
Chris Manuel
Masanori Kanehara
Chan Sung Jung
Tetsuya Yamada

Possible Featherweight GP Participants:
Alexandre Franca Nogueira
Hiroyuki Takaya
Nam Phan

Possible Fights:
Roger Gracie vs. Jeff Monson

Possible Participants:
Antonio Silva
Pawel Nastula

 

[Shogun Locc]

Micah Miller In DREAM GP?! Press Conference Tomorrow?

American Top Team have released the scheduled fights of their fighters for February and March. On the list it says that Micah Miller will participate in DREAM in March.

Feb 6th WCA Marcus Aurelio (see preview)
Feb 7th UFC Fight Night 17 Gleison Tibau, Luigi Fioravanti, and Steve Bruno
Feb 21st UFC 95 Wilson Gouveia
Mar 1st WEC Mike Brown
Mar 8th Dream Micah Miller
Mar 20th Sengoku Chris Manuel
Apr 1st UFC Fight Night 18 Cole Miller, Carmelo Marrero

There might be a DREAM press conference tomorrow. DREAM EP Sasahara said at the DREAM 2009 schedule press conference that there will be a big announcement in the future.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Franca has faith in protégé Stephens, but still wants fight with Lauzon

Hermes Franca is down, but don't count him out.

He's been though that before, most recently in November when he was arrested on a DUI offense. In the summer of 2007 it was a failed steroid test, resulting in a 12-month suspension. And upon his return from the resulting 12-month suspension, there was a loss to Frankie Edgar that had the skeptical believing this was another case of wasted talent.

Speaking to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) by telephone near Miami, Franca expressed confidence that he'll overcome his newest challenge, a torn ACL in right knee that was suffered while sparring. He expects the injury will keep him out for six to 10 months. Franca met with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Paul Meli Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale. Next Tuesday he's seeing Miami Dolphins physician Dr. John Uribe to receive a second opinion – and he may seek a third – on the inevitable procedure.

Franca was injured Jan. 24 while working during a training session and mock fight situation. In the second round, he was taken down with a double leg and felt a "pang" in his right knee. He stood up and tried to resume the session, but he couldn't stand. An MRI given to him on Monday revealed the injury, which forced the UFC to remove him from his scheduled bout against Joe Lauzon at Saturday's UFC Fight Night 17.

"Right away we called [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva, and he told me he'd look for a replacement right away," Franca said. "I was real excited, especially because it was the main event. But it was a good time to stop. I want to just fix my knee.

"Some guys who hurt their ACL, they don't have surgeries. But in my situation, I have to box, wrestle and do sprints. If I rehabbed, it would bother me forever. People have sent me messages ... suggesting that I get the surgery."

In Franca's place will be his protégé, Jeremy Stephens, currently building momentum that has him 4-1 in his past five fights, his most recent a violent third-round knockout of Rafael dos Anjos that earned him a $60,000 Knockout of the Night bonus. Even his lone loss in the stretch – a unanimous-decision loss to Spencer Fisher in June 2008 – Stephens, 22, grabbed the attention of UFC matchmakers and built equity just by taking this fight on 12 days' notice. Despite a prior commitment to meet Efrain Escadero on April 1, Stephens wanted the Lauzon fight, too.

"He told me, 'Hermes, I want to win for you,'" said Franca, who will be in Tampa to be at Stephens' side. "He's ready, and he's hungry. It's going to be a good fight."

Steve Baccari, Lauzon's strength and conditioning coach, and also a master motivator, boldly predicted that his fighter would use Stephens' aggressive stand-up game against him and knock him out in the first round.

Franca thinks otherwise.

"Joe is not going to take Jeremy down," Franca said. "I'm not saying Joe doesn't have a chance; he has a great chance, but Jeremy has a lot of power. He finishes people. You have to see him in sparring. It's like he's fighting for the title. He pushes hard."

Once he's cleared to return to the octagon, Franca would also like a chance at Lauzon. The two recently engaged in an exchange on the popular MMA forum, The Underground, that started as good-natured, but escalated into something personal when Franca criticized Joe's brother, Affliction fighter Dan Lauzon, on his most recent performance. Lauzon then poked fun at Franca's DUI arrest in November.

"I like Joe; I like the kid, and I like his style," Franca said. "But I'm pissed, and I can't wait to fight him. I'm mad and want to step in the cage and face him – and I want to fight him in Boston, his city. I want to make him feel bad over there."