MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Bellator confirms April 17 show in Oklahoma, 185-pound bracket set

An ambitious 12-week schedule for the upstart Bellator Fighting Championships is rapidly gaining form.

On the heels of the release of its first full fight card, Bellator has now confirmed its third card will take place April 17 in Norman, Okla.

The organization has also released the pairings for its 185-pound tournament.

The April 17 show is set for the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., and tickets go on sale Tuesday at 12 p.m. CDT at Ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices range from $18 to $98.

While the fight card has not been finalized, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned the event will feature all four first-round matchups in Bellator's inaugural 185-pound tournament.

The middleweight brackets include Hector Lombard (18-2-1) vs. Virgil Lozano (6-1-1), Alex Andrade (8-4) vs. Damien Stelly (8-2), Daniel Tabera (12-1-3) vs. Jared Hess (6-0-1) and Yosmany Cabezas (7-1) vs. Edwin Aguilar (20-12).

Lombard is a former Cuban judoka making his long-anticipated U.S. debut. The PRIDE, DEEP and Spirit MC veteran is currently riding a 12-fight unbeaten streak that includes 1 draw. Lombard's two career losses were by decision to top-rated Gegard Mousasi and the wily Akihiro Gono.

Known as "The Mexican Machine," Lozano began fighting professionally in 2001. Fighting out of Tijuana, Mexico, he has earned five of his six career wins by submission.

Andrade is a 13-year veteran of the sport who fought seven times between 1995 and 2001 before taking a five-year break from competition. "El Toro" has put together a 4-1 record since returning to active status, including a March 2008 disqualification loss to the UFC's Krzysztof Soszynski. Andrade has previously fought for the UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase and King of the Cage.

Stelly has been fighting professionally since 2004. Riding a three-fight winning streak, Stelly last faced defeat in a September 2007 knockout loss to current UFC light-heavyweight Luis Cane.

Tabera is a Spanish native who began fighting professionally in 2002. Tabera's last bout was a September 2008 draw with ShoXC veteran Mamed Khalidov in the Polish promotion KSW. Tabera's lone career loss was April 2008 decision defeat at the hands of Roman Zentsov at an M-1 Challenge event.

Hess is an undefeated middleweight who has fought five times in Oklahoma and once in Texas. Fighting professionally since September 2007, Hess has earned all six of his career victories via first-round stoppage.

Cabezas has fought for six different organizations since his January 2007 debut. Cabezas earned a submission win over Ron Kirk for EliteXC in his lone appearance for the now-defunct organization. His lone loss came in a May 2008 decision to Danny Babcock.

Aguilar hails from Tijuana, Mexico, and has been fighting professionally since 2002. The striking specialist owns a 2005 win over the UFC's Alan Belcher, and has notable losses to Martin Kampmann, Art Santore, Tony Bonello, Homer Moore and Brian Ebersole.

The card will also feature a 170-pound tournament bout previously announced for April 10, as former UFC champion Dave Menne (42-15-2) will meet undefeated Frenchman Norman Paraisy (5-0).

Kerry Vera (0-0), wife of UFC light-heavyweight Brandon Vera, will also be appearing on the card. Vera's opponent has not yet been determined.

The card now includes:

* 185 tourney: Hector Lombard vs. Virgil Lozano
* 185 tourney: Alex Andrade vs. Damien Stelly
* 185 tourney: Daniel Tabera vs. Jared Hess
* 185 tourney: Yosmany Cabezas vs. Edwin Aguilar
* 170 tourney: Dave Menne vs. Norman Paraisy
* Non-tourney: Kerry Vera vs. TBA

 

[Shogun Locc]

Report: Mike Brown vs. Urijah Faber set for June 7 at WEC 41

A much discussed rematch between current WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown (17-4 MMA, 3-0 WEC) and the man from whom he took the belt, Urijah Faber (22-2 MMA, 7-1 WEC), has been signed according to a report from FiveOuncesOfPain.com.

The signing has since been confirmed by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

According to the report, the bout will headline the as-yet-unannounced WEC 41 event on June 7 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif.

Brown defied conventional logic in the pair's November 2008 title bout, earning a first-round TKO victory over then-champion Faber. The American Top Team product has since defended the belt in a submission win over Leonard Garcia in the main event of March's WEC 39. The win marked the ninth-straight victory for the 33-year-old.

Faber had carried the WEC's featherweight belt since January 2007. "The California Kid" defended the belt successfully four times before suffering the TKO loss to Brown, a defeat that snapped a 13-fight win streak for the 29-year-old.

Faber rebounded from the loss to Brown with a 94-second submission win over Jens Pulver at "WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone" in January.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com is also reporting that despite previous comments by UFC President Dana White, WEC 41 is scheduled to air live on VERSUS.

 

[Shogun Locc]

GEORGES ST. PIERRE SIGNS DEAL WITH GATORADE

Joining a list of athletes like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning and many, many more, Georges St. Pierre, has signed on to be a major part of Gatorade's latest campaign as one of the faces of their "G" marketing onslaught.

The Gatorade "G" campaign launched in the U.S. during the Super Bowl in January with many top flight athletes representing the brand. Now the company will move north of the border with a group of Canadian athletes to represent the brand.

Along with other top Canadians such as Gordie Howe, Cassie Campbell, Ray Zahab, Chantal Petitclerc, and Bradd Arseneau, St. Pierre will serve as one of the leaders to help push Gatorade in the newly branded market.

“Just like in the U.S., the Canadian Gatorade brand is recognizing some of our nation’s most influential and inspiring athletes,” said Dale Hooper, vice president of marketing for Gatorade in Canada. “These athletes represent Canada’s best while also serving as motivation to any Canadian who sweats, whether they’re in it to win, for the fun of it, or for better health.”

St. Pierre's addition to the Gatorade campaign can only be seen as a huge step forward for the marketing and advertising future of mixed martial artists who are looking to cross over into more mainstream work.

Late last year, the UFC welterweight champion signed on with CAA, a division of Creative Arts Agency, to help push the Canadian fighter into new markets including movies, television, licensing and digital media.

This latest move for St. Pierre to sign on with Gatorade signals the first MMA fighter to be involved with the popular sports drink brand, and a definite sign of the competitors involved with MMA moving forward to being more widely recognized alongside other top athletes.

St. Pierre filmed his first commercial for Gatorade over the last week while also working on the latest film the Canadian has been involved with, the second motion picture he has starred in over the last year.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC 99 FIGHT CARD HAS DECIDED EUROPEAN FLAVOR

The Ultimate Fighting Championship for the first time lands in Germany with UFC 99 on June 13. Headlining the fight card at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, is a 195-pound catchweight bout between former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin and former Pride 205-pound champ Wanderlei Silva.

Outside of the main event, UFC 99, not surprisingly, has a strong European presence spread throughout.

American Marcus Davis, who is steadily building a fan presence in Ireland, is in one of the most anticipated bouts of the night. He will face British fighter Dan Hardy, who is on a five-fight winning streak including back-to-back wins in the Octagon.

Fellow Brit John Hathaway returns to the UFC for his second time in the Octagon. He will face the debuting Rick Story.

Born in Russia, but now fighting out of Germany, Dennis Siver makes his sixth start for the promotion. He faces Dale Hartt, who is 1-1 thus far fighting for the UFC.

Fighting out of Holland, Denis Stojnic looks to bounce back from a disappointing loss in his UFC debut to American Kickboxing Academy's Cain Velasquez. He faces fellow Dutch fighter Stefan Struve, who also lost his first foray into the Octagon to Junior dos Santos.

Other fights that are announced to highlight the card are Mike Swick versus Ben Saunders and Spencer Fisher facing Caol Uno.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Jon Fitch signs five-fight contract extension with UFC; Agreement to battle Paulo Thiago signed for July 11

MMAmania.com can report that Jon Fitch today signed a five-fight contract extension with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), ensuring that the former number one welterweight contender will continue to compete inside the Octagon well into 2010.

In addition, Fitch finalized the final paperwork for his next appearance against undefeated submission specialist Paulo Thiago at UFC 100 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 11.

Fitch scored a dominating unanimous decision win over Akihiro Gono in his most recent outing at UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2″ on Jan. 31, overcoming the sight of the charismatic Japanese standout and his corner dressed in drag.

The Purdue University wrestler now boasts nine victories for the promotion in 10 attempts. He also currently shares the record for most consecutive UFC wins (eight) along with mixed martial arts legend and UFC Hall of Famer, Royce Gracie, as well as 185-pound wrecking machine, Anderson Silva.

Talk about impressive company.

The lone blemish on Fitch’s UFC record is to welterweight deity Georges “Rush” St. Pierre in their championship match from UFC 87 “Seek and Destroy” on August 9. Fitch demonstrated a ton of heart in the 170-pound contest, refusing to relent from a punishing five-round attack from the Canadian.

Fitch is still widely considered the number two-ranked welterweight fighter on the planet. He’ll need to string together another impressive win streak to get another crack at the division title, which can likely happen under the current five-fight deal.

His journey back to the top will continue with Thiago on the historic pay-per-view (PPV) card. For Fitch it will provide him with an opportunity to exact revenge — the Brazilian most recently stunned his good friend and American Kickboxing Academy training partner, Josh Koscheck, with a fight-ending first round upper cut at UFC 95: “Sanchez vs. Stevenson” just last month.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Former EliteXC Lightweight Champion KJ Noons loses unanimous decision in Cincinnati boxing match

Former EliteXC Lightweight Champion KJ Noons was back in action over the weekend in a middleweight boxing match against James Countryman on the TKO Boxing: “3 The Hard Way” card at the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, according to our pugilist pals over at FightNews.com.

Noons (8-2) dropped a unanimous decision to Countryman (14-1) in a six round middleweight bout to record his second defeat as a pro boxer. Noons was outstruck and outworked the entire fight, but did manage to hang tough for all six rounds despite a cut suffered above the left eye.

While Noons didn’t get the result he had hoped for on Saturday night, he still has a chance to prove himself in another high profile match scheduled for April 18 in Minneapolis, Minnesota against another tough opponent in Matt Vanda (39-9).

A win or a loss in that fight will likely affect Noons’ decision as far as the continuation of his boxing career or a possible return to the sport of mixed martial arts — where he once wore championship gold courtesy of a TKO victory over Nick Diaz in November of 2007.

“King Karl” originally signed with Pro Elite with the understanding that he could pursue a career in both mixed martial arts and boxing. He successfully defended his belt against Yves Edwards at EliteXC “The Return of the King,” but when he and EliteXC could not agree to terms on a rematch with Diaz, he was stripped of his title.

Following that, Noons decided to switch back to boxing until the two sides could work out their differences.

Now that Pro Elite filed for bankruptcy and had its assets acquired by Strikeforce, a return to mixed martial arts is more likely for Noons in the near future. In fact, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has already expressed interest in adding Noons to his roster.

There were even rumors of a potential fight between Noons and Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson not too long ago.

There are options on the table for Noons if and when he decides to come back to mixed martial arts. Where he ends up and what promotion he signs with may not be decided until April 19. Of course we’ll have to wait and see what Matt Vanda has to say about all this first.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua anticipates DREAM debut on April 5

“I fight April 5 in Japan and I’m doing my final preparations here. I’m going to Curitiba Saturday and I’ll be back in training Monday. I’m going to fight at DREAM against a Korean.”

-Murilo Rua, former PRIDE and EliteXC star (and brother of UFC light heavyweight Mauricio Rua), prepares for his return to Japan on April 5 at DREAM 8 after Strikeforce reportedly opted to pass on his acquired EliteXC contract. “Ninja” (16-9-1) hasn’t competed since a TKO loss to Benji Radach at “Heat” last October for the now-defunct organization.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Kendall Grove likely to compete at UFC 101

Fresh off the heels of his impressive first round TKO victory of Jason Day at UFC 96 earlier this month, middleweight Kendall Grove appears likely to be scheduled for UFC 101 in August.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com learned of the likelihood of Grove’s involvement from a source close to the event on Monday, although Grove has not yet officially signed to compete.

An opponent has also not been determined. Rumors have circulated in recent days that Grove could face Wilson Gouveia. However, when contacted by Five Ounces of Pain, a source close to Gouveia indicated that the UFC has not approached them about a fight vs. Grove.

Grove was 1-2 coming into his fight vs. Day and had also not competed in eight months so that he could spend time with his newborn daughter. Put on notice by UFC President Dana White before the fight, the season three middleweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter forced the referee to call a stoppage to his bout against Day at 1:32 into the fight due to strikes.

During his post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, Grove acknowledged that he felt his job was on the line. With the win over Day, Grove has now won two consecutive fights, including his split decision victory against the late Evan Tanner this past June during the live finale for the season season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Prior to his last two victories, Grove had sustained back-to-back first round TKOs, first to Patrick Cote at UFC 74 and then to Jorge Rivera at UFC 80.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Johny Hendricks slated to be transferred to UFC’s welterweight division

Former NCAA champion Johny Hendricks has been notified by UFC officials that he will be invited join the promotion in light of Zuffa’s decision shut down the WEC’s welterweight division.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the news Monday afternoon with Hendricks’ manager, Ted Ehrhardt of Team Takedown, who added that Hendricks has yet to sign a new UFC contract but that one is expected to be presented within the next several days.

According to Ehrhardt, an opponent and Octagon debut date for Hendricks could also be determined by week’s end.

Hendricks was an All-American wrestler while at Oklahoma State University and is 5-0 since making his pro MMA debut in September of 2007.

While competing for the WEC, Hendricks went 2-0 with wins over Justin Haskins at WEC 37 last December and Alex Serdyukov at WEC 39 earlier this month. Soon after Hendricks’ decision victory over Serdyukov, WEC officials designated the bout as the event’s “Fight of the Night.”

The 25-year old Hendricks now joins fellow OSU alum Jake Rosholt as the second member of Ehrhardt’s Team Takedown to make it to the UFC. Team Takedown’s third member, Shane Roller, competes in the WEC’s lightweight division and is 2-0 since debuting for the promotion. He is scheduled to fight Benson Henderson at WEC 40 on April 5 in Chicago, Ill.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Talks for B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian to headline UFC 101 in Philadelphia still tentative

ver the course of the past several days reports have been rampant suggesting that a UFC lightweight title defense by B.J. Penn against number one contender Kenny Florian is set to headline UFC 101 on August 8 in Philadelphia, PA.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has spoke to sources close to the fighters and the venue within the last 24 hours and has confirmed that while talks are taking place, nothing is close to being finalized.

When contacted by Five Ounces of Pain, Greg Sirb, the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, indicated that talks have indeed taken place regarding UFC 101 taking place at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia on Aug. 8. However, he was quick to caution that the talks were only in the preliminary stages and that a date is not close to being finalized.

Sources close to Florian also have confirmed that UFC officials are pursuing a headliner for the potential show that would involve Penn defending his title vs. Florian. While Florian is believed to be amenable to the fight and the date, final approval is still pending from Penn’s camp.

Sources within Penn’s camp have also confirmed to Five Ounces of Pain that the Aug. 8 title defense is a possibility but nothing more at this stage.

If UFC 101 becomes official for Aug. 8, it could be one of two pay-per-views that would be held during the month. Sources have also informed Five Ounces of Pain that the UFC is exploring the possibility of holding UFC 102 on Saturday, August 29. The Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon is under consideration for an event that could feature former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture taking on former PRIDE heavyweight and ex-interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Dana White responds to reports of Affliction’s plans to counter-program UFC 100

If Affliction Entertainment is looking to create a sense of panic from the UFC regarding reported plans to counter-program UFC 100 on July 11, it would appear they will need to do a little more to rattle the cage of UFC President Dana White.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com submitted a request for comment to White via text message Sunday afternoon seeking his response to reports that Affliction is looking to go head-to-head on July 11 with one of the most historic cards in UFC history.

White responded to our request via voicemail and didn’t sound concerned in the least about Affliction’s plans.

“How do I feel about them trying to counter-program UFC 100?,” White began his statement, before continuing, “I love it. I fucking love it. I love it. I don’t like these guys and I want to see them spend more of their t-shirt money. What they should be worrying about is — they’ve already seen first hand that nobody gives a shit about Affliction MMA — what they need to starting worrying about is nobody wants to wear their goofy fucking clothes anymore either. The fad is over and they better start saving as much of that t-shirt money as they can.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

TVN Entertainment and UFC Partner to Launch UFC On Demand Network

OS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–TVN Entertainment Corp., the world’s largest television On Demand company, today announced that it has reached an industry-wide partnership agreement with Zuffa, LLC, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand, to launch the first ever UFC® On Demand™ network. Under this agreement, TVN is handling sales, licensing and distribution partnerships and will also support the channel through its award-winning ADONISS encoding, transport and asset management services.

The UFC On Demand network is currently available to avid UFC fans in over 6 million homes through TVN’s distribution partners including Verizon, Rogers, Shaw Cable, Insight, WOW, Bresnan, Atlantic Broadband, and Armstrong. Additional affiliate deals are in the works that will bring UFC On Demand to over 15 million homes in North America over the coming months.

“As UFC continues to dominate as the number one promoter of the fastest growing sport in the world, we constantly look for new ways to deliver the UFC experience to all of our loyal fans,” said Dana White, UFC President. “By partnering with industry leader TVN to form our new UFC on Demand service, our fans will now be able to experience UFC whenever they want, learning more about MMA and its fighters, and seeing some of the greatest fights in the sport.”

The new channel will consist of a triple-tiered offering of three distinct folders; UFC Free Zone, UFC Fight Zone and UFC Event Zone and will be available in multiple versions including SD, HD and Spanish.

UFC Free Zone offers free informative and entertaining short features on mixed martial arts rules, fighting disciplines, styles and techniques. The highly popular Countdown UFC shows, UFC event previews and full length fighter profiles are also available via UFC Free Zone.

UFC Fight Zone offers single UFC library fights in their entirety, at $2.99 per fight with a 24-hour viewing period. UFC Fight Zone features fighters who will be competing in an upcoming UFC pay-per-view event, offering fans the opportunity to see these champions and challengers in some of their most legendary fights and most recent matchups.

UFC Event Zone offers full UFC events and specials, starting at $4.99 per title for a 24-hour viewing period. Offerings include recent UFC pay-per-view events that feature fighters who will be competing in an upcoming UFC event, as well as the original and rarely seen “UFC Classics” from 1993-1998, along with UFC’s hottest selling full-length DVDs, UFC compilation specials and replays of current pay-per-view events.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Lyoto Machida’s secret revealed at TATAME

Undefeated after 14 fights in the career, Lyoto Machida impresses, and it’s the result of hard work. After knocking out Thiago Silva and get his chance for the title against Rashad Evans, the Brazilian revealed his secrets on the trainings to TATAME Magazine’s March issue. For those who think that good trainings happen with academies full of tough fighters, Machida goes for the opposite way.

“My training is with my family, out Karate, and it makes it more easy. If I go out there, maybe I won’t find what I have in Belém any place in the world. I train with guys who live there”, tells Lyoto. Besides telling all his preparation routine, the undefeated fighter revealed a curious tradition in his family, a secret until then: urine therapy. Once in the day, he and his family drinks their own urine. “My father does that for a long time and bring it to us. People think it’s a joke (laughs). I never said it in the United States because I don’t know how the fans will react (laughs). I drink my urine every morning like a natural medicine”, revealed the fighter.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Barreto and the plans for the M-1 Challenge

With the debut with defeat in the M-1 Challenge, a sort of tournament of national selections of MMA, the Brazilian team is planning changes. With two wins in five fights, the team leaded by Carlão Barreto is getting prepared for the second phase, witch happens on May 9, in São Paulo, and can appear news. "We’ll make a camp, where we’ll have technical foundations, physical and lectures in the first week of April. Some fighters have been invited and, in this camp, we’ll decide which will be the Brazilian team that will face the Russians", says.

Among the guests is the name of Alexandre "Cacareco", who was a time without fighting, but after a report disclosed in TATAME, joined the Chute Boxe, in Curitiba. Despite the invitation, the fighter won’t go to the camp. "Cacareco is a great fighter and is stop for a long time. He was invited, but we didn’t reach an agreement. He has other prospects that he thinks are best for him. He would be a great acquisition for the team, but he emphasized other things", revealed Carlão, speaking of the difficulty of set up a MMA team.

"For you to make a selection, the athlete has to believe in the proposal and feel that will be benefit to integrate. Many were called, but we have to do a mathematic between talent, professionalism and determination. Every Brazilian is, by excellence, a technician, there’s no way to please Greeks and Trojans, but we want to make a strong selection to have a good result", said the ex-fighter, who talk about news for the tournament in 2010.

"As we’ll have more time, we’ll have big news. In the next year, we will open a front to attract new talents, video curriculums and athletes all over Brazil. We are thinking about doing events and small championships of sorting”, revealed, sending a message to all athletes of Brazil. "Don’t deject, because next year we’ll have opportunity for everyone", finished.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Marlon Sandro: “It’s gonna be tough now”

A few hours after winning his first victory in the Sengoku GP, which happened in March 20, in Tokyo, Japan, Marlon Sandro talked with the TATAME directly from Japan, celebrating the good submission victory. Against Matt Jaggers, the Brazilian used the sharp Jiu-Jitsu to ensure another victory for the undefeated career. "I trained a lot of everything, more Muay Thai, Boxing, Wrestling and ground, but my ground part I trained a lot of submission and it worked. I’m very happy, but I know it’s gonna be tough now, but I’m calm and I will continue training", said the black belt, commenting about the fight.

"I started in striking and took him down in the first round, tried to finish, but it didn’t work. He hit me with his me a knee, I was pissed and then went up soon. In the second round, I tried to give some kicks, but ended taking to the ground. He tried to get up and I got the arm triangle choke on foot and he slept", recalls Marlon, who still strong in the featherweight tournament. "The next fight is already on May 2nd and should be against a Japanese, but still has nothing right", finished.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Paulo Thiago Interview

After impressing the world with a first round knockout victory against Josh Koscheck, Paulo Thiago won’t have easy job in his second UFC fight. After signing the contract to face Jon Fitch at UFC 100, Paulo Thiago spoke with TATAME.com about his preparation for the fight, his training and his thoughts for the fight. “He has a solid Wrestling, knows how to fight standing, is good on takedowns and knows how to fight on the ground, but we’ll do a good job to annul it. It’ll be a chess fight again”, said Paulo, who also commented his professional situation, once that he’s an officer of Brasilia’s special police team (BOPE), and the upcoming fight between St. Pierre and Thiago Alves.

What did you think about your fight against Koscheck?
We’ve studied his game a lot, we were expecting him to do what he did. Of course it was a surprise, he’s really a tough guy, but the team trained a lot for that.

Were you expecting a knockout that fast?
I wasn’t expecting that fast, on the first round, but I went there prepared to the striking and for the fight on the ground. Wherever the fight goes, I was ready.

Your next fight will be against Jon Fitch, another top contender. How do you think will be the fight?
He’s the third on the welterweight rankings, after Pitbull (Thiago Alves) and (Georges) St. Pierre, so we’ll do a very good job for this fight. He has a strong Wrestling, knows to fight stand, good on takedowns and plays well on the ground, but we’ll do a good job to annul it. It’ll be a chess match again.

You just arrived in the UFC and faced a top five and now a top three. How do you see that?
Thanks God. I think the promoters liked my fight and I just have to thank Dana White and Joe Silva for this opportunity, besides fighting at UFC 100, which will be huge, a great party. Everybody wants to be there and thanks God I got my spot.

How is the preparation for the fight?
The training is hard, the whole team has fights to do, like Rani (Yahya) at WEC, Alex at Jungle Fight, Gabriel at Shooto Brazil… The team is working hard here. Another fighters are negotiating their fights and we’re training hard, everyday is a war.

You’re a police man from BOPE, the Brazilian special police squad. How does it help you on training and fighting?
My superiors are supporting me a lot. They’re happy with my job, help me in everything that they can. One thing increases the other, being a MMA fighter makes my work at the police even bigger and more important. They’re proud of having a police man representing them, they’re with me and I’m with them.

Winning another top welterweight, what else do you wait for you in the octagon?
Man, it’s just the beginning of a long walk. I want to set myself in the UFC, show my job and I’m just an employee. Who else they put against me, I’ll fight. I don’t have anything to ask, just to thank. I haven’t done anything yet, I just did one fight until now, and I’m just thinking in Jon Fitch now, nothing else.

How do you think it’ll be Georges St.Pierre’s fight against Thiago Alves at UFC 100?
I won’t risk any results, let the best win. Of course I’ll cheer for the Brazilian, but St. Pierre is a tough opponent and it’s a high level fight, and I’ll be there watching to see who’s gonna be the best.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Kazunori Yokota vs Leonardo Santos added to Sengoku.9

World Victory Road announced a fight of Kazunori Yokota vs. Leonardo Santos in Sengoku.9 on March 23. Yokota is the 3rd DEEP lightweight champion and lost by Satoru Kitaoka in Sengoku Lightweight GP final last year.

Sengoku Lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka will fight to defend his belt in August. The challenger hasn't chosen yet. Leo Santos and Mizuto Hirota are listed among the challengers.

Sengoku 8
Date: May 2, 16:00 ~
Place: Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo

One Match:
- Kazunori Yokota vs. Leonardo Santos

Featherweight GP 2nd Round:
- Hatsu Hioki
- Michihiro Omigawa
- Masanori Kanehara
- Marlon Sandro
- Ronnie Ushiwaka
- Nick Denis
- Jung Chan Sung
- Nam Phan

 

[Shogun Locc]

Satoru Kitaoka fights in Pancrase

Sportsnavi reported Monday that Sengoku Lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka participates in "Pancrase 2009 Changing Tour" on June 7. His opponent hasn't announced yet. Kitaoka is hoping to fight against Katsuya Inoue, who is the current Pancrase Lightweight champion, and get the title.

Pancrase "Pancrase 2009 Changing Tour"
Date: June 7, 2009 17:00~
Place: Differ Ariake, Tokyo

 

[Shogun Locc]

Wanderlei Training Hard for Franklin

 

[Shogun Locc]

“Cannibal” To SENGOKU?!

Part of a new interview with the managers of Mamed Khalidov has been translated by Today at the Bloody Elbow Fanshots. There they say that they are in final talks to have Khalidov fight for WVR. Khalidov has only lost once since his first two professional fights and is a very exciting addition to the SENGOKU Light Heavyweight division, which includes fighters such as King Mo and Xande Ribeiro, should he sign with WVR.