MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Don “The Predator” Frye: The Last Of A Dying Breed

Don Frye is the last of a dying breed. A true cowboy from the old days, “The Pedator” seems to have had the misfortune of being born about one hundred years to late. Every time I speak with Don I get the sense that he would have been right at home riding into town on the back of his trusty stead with his six-shooters at his side and getting into a good old fashioned brawl at the local saloon.

One of the original pioneers of this amazing sport, Frye was laying beatdowns on guys in the UFC back in 1996. He won the UFC 8 tournament and the Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournament before making his way over to the PRIDE organization where he became an absolute superstar in Japan while waging war with the likes of Ken Shamrock and Yoshihiro Takayama.

After a recent loss to Ikuhisa Minowa at Deep in August of 2008, Frye was self admittedly ‘feeling sorry for himself’, wondering if there was any point to continuing on with his fighting carer at forty two years of age. However, it didn’t take long for one of the toughest men to have ever walked the planet earth to decide that it was time to ‘be a man again’.

There is much more on the line than just another victory in the mixed martial arts legend’s upcoming bout with Rich Moss at this Saturday evening’s Shark Fight 4 event taking place in Lubbock, Texas. The fight with Moss has fifteen long years of history behind it, and has been brewing and building for the last ten.

Tomorrow evening’s bout with Moss may very well prove to be the most personally significant fight in Frye’s prestigious career. Moss and Frye have both been longtime students to Judo master Steve Owens. With Owens having touted Moss as his best student for countless years running, Frye is out to show that he is the best student by laying a beating on his longtime friend and rival in Texas.

In an exclusive interview with FiveOuncesOfPain.com the future UFC hall of famer discussed the ’sibling rivalry’ that has been building up between him and his opponent for Saturday night, hopefully having the chance to one day knock Fedor Emelianenko ‘on his ass’, his role in the new Michael Mann film “Public Enemies” and who would win in a fight between the stars from the film, Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.

Cory Brady for FiveOuncesOfPain.com: I know the last time I spoke with you after your bout with Minowa in Japan you were considering leaving mixed martial arts, what were some of the factors behind your decision to return to the ring?

Don Frye: I quit feeling sorry for myself. I got beat and I felt sorry for myself for a while but finally it became time for me to be a man again. If you get bucked off of the horse you have to get right back in the saddle. Otherwise if you get scared you’ll never ride again.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: How are you feeling physically heading into your fight with Rich Moss?

Don Frye: I feel like a million dollars baby! I almost look as good as Miss America.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Who are some of the key people that have been helping you to prepare for this one?

Don Frye: Well, I’ve been training with Rocco Santoli, my boxing guy, and Steve Owen. Steve was training me up until he found out that I was going to be fighting Rich and then he pulled out of training me. Steve was Rich’s sensei too, and that’s kind of what started the whole fight. I know Rich, you know, I like Rich, he’s an acquaintance of mine. I’ve been training with Steve for fifteen years now and I got tired of hearing about how Rich is his best student. I’m like ‘Bullshit, I’m your best student!’, and now I’m going to prove it. We were a couple kids, a couple of brothers always trying to compete for the attention of the father. This fight is a sibling rivalry.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: So it’s a battle to determine who the best student is once and for all then, huh?

Don Frye: You’re damn right it is.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: So how long has this fight been building?

Don Frye: Probably for about ten years. Like I said, I was with Steve for fifteen years, and after five years of hearing about Rich Moss I got tired of it. Now after fifteen years I’m really tired of it!

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: I know Rich is a National Judo Champion, but how do you feel you match up with him in mixed martial arts and what do you expect for him to bring to the table?

Don Frye: I think we match up really good but unfortunately for Rich, I have about thirty pounds on him and that’s going to help me out. Rich is a man. He’s man enough to step up to the plate. He knows that I have thirty pounds on him, but he’s still going to show up to fight. He’s not making any excuses, and win or lose he’s not going to make any excuses. Luckily for me he was dumb enough to sign up for an MMA fight instead of a Judo fight [laughs].

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: So outside of the weight differential, what do you think will be some of your key advantages over Moss in this fight?

Don Frye: Well, my boxing’s better than his, my wrestling is better than his, I’m better looking than him, I’m more intelligent. I have a wide variety of advantages over Rich Moss. Well, except for the Judo. I just need to be careful,not to get hit with a fancy Judo throw. I have to stay the hell away from those because he’s really good at that stuff.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: So you’ll give him the edge in the Judo department at least?

Don Frye: I’ll give him the edge in the Judo department, yeah, but this is MMA [laughs].

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Do you have any kind of idea as to how many more fights you’d like to have before stepping away from the game or are you just taking things one fight at a time right now?

Don Frye: Well hell, for every fighter out there, every fight they take is potentially their last fight, so you just have to shoot from the hip. I’d like to stick around for a couple of more years unless I strike it rich in Hollywood in the movie department.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Is there anyone that you would really just love to beat the crap out of before you hang them up for good?

Don Frye: Yeah, everyone I lost to. I want to get revenge on them bastards.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: So you’d like to possibly get in there with Gary Goodridge one more time?

Don Frye: Yes I do, yes I do [laughs]. Him and that big British kid James Thompson. You name it, if they beat me, I want to fight them. The same thing goes with anyone that I’ve beat. If they want a rematch, I’m man enough to give them a rematch.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Yeah, the fight with James Thompson was amazing.

Don Frye: Amazing for him [laughs].

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: I thought it was a good fight though. It’s one of my favorite heavyweight battles to watch.

Don Frye: Yeah, how come?

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: It was just such a brutal fight. Even though you ended up on the losing end of that one, you did damage early, then when he had you rocked you stayed on your feet for over a minute while he was hitting you with everything he had, and you still kept firing back. That was the fight, to me, that really showed how tough of a son of beach you really are.

Don Frye: Well thanks partner. I didn’t mean to turn away, I just thought I heard the bell [laughs]. Hell, I was hearing bells for at least a minute before the ref stopped the fight, so when the bell rung I just thought the round was over [laughs].

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Now on top of your other roles in films such as Miami Vice and more recently, Big Stan, I know that you are appeared in a film with Christian Bale and Johnny Depp called Public Enemies. Any word on when that film is set to release?

Don Frye: It comes out on July 1. That’s going to be a hell of a movie. I’ll tell you, Michael Mann can make a movie like nobody else. This one will be almost as good as the movie “Heat” that he made. I just can’t believe that I actually got paid to watch Johnny Depp and Christian Bale act, you know. I got to hang out with Stephen Lang the whole time and work closely with him. Really, this is a hell of a movie.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Could you ever have imagined growing up as a kid that you would one day be appearing in big budget blockbusters alongside the likes of movie stars like Johnny Depp and Christian Bale?

Don Frye: Well yeah, but I thought I’d be appearing with stars like John Wayne and Robert Mitchum, you know. Then they both died on me [laughs].

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Did you have a chance to meet either Christian Bale or Johnny Depp, and if so, how were they in person?

Don Frye: You know, they’re both really good guys. I talked with both of them several times and they’re really down to earth, good old boys just earning their way as they go. There has to be something with the whole Christian Bale incident (the incident on the set of Terminator Salvation where Bale was recorded yelling at a crew member), there’s got to be more to it. Someone probably got up Christian’s ass and then the other boy walked into it and Christian just took it out on him. They were all really polite to me. They knew I was just a bumbling idiot out there stumbling my way through there, but they all understood and they treated me as a professional.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Who would win in a mixed martial arts bout, Johnny or Christian?

Don Frye: [Laughs]

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: It would have to be a catch-weight possibly? Are they about the same size?

Don Frye: Yeah, they’re about the same size but I’d have to go with Christian probably, because he’s British and those British are a bunch of tough bastards. You know, Johnny Depp, he’s a tough old Kentucky boy, but he went and ran off to France, and you know that if you hang out in France and drink their water for too long you’re gonna become kind of a sissy.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Who are some of your favorite fighters to watch in MMA right now? Is there anyone that you really look forward to it when they fight?

Don Frye: Well I like watching Fedor. Me and everybody else on the planet likes to watch Fedor fight. Hell, I’d like to watch him fight me. I’d like to watch Fedor get knocked on his ass fighting me. I also like watching B.J. Penn fight. B.J.’s a good old boy. I get a kick out of that guy. Another great fighter is Melvin Manhoef. He’s a great athlete. I like watching Melvin fight all the time. That boy’s tough as nails.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Yeah, you just named one of my favorite fighters. He reminds of a kickboxing version of a young Mike Tyson.

Don Frye: [Laughs] Yeah, he’s a tough little bastard.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Out of Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez and Shane Carwin, who do you think stands the best chance of becoming the future of the heavyweight division?

Don Frye: Well I’ve never seen Shane Carwin or Cain Velasquez fight so I wouldn’t know anything about them. Brock’s only had three fights. I mean he’s the heavyweight champion of the UFC and he only has three fights? C’mon guys. That just shows the status of the business right there.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Alright Don, thanks for your time. Is there anyone you would like to thank?

Don Frye: I want to thank GLC 2000. It keeps my joints moving. If it wasn’t for that GLC 2000 I’d be curled up like a webbed spider in the corner somewhere.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Jacaré wants war against Miller at Dream

Without fighting since September of 2008, at Dream’s middleweight GP final, Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza will be back at May 26th to fight for the belt one more time, now against Jason Miller, who he defeated at the tournament’s quarterfinals. In interview with TATAME.com, Jacaré revealed he loved the fact that he’ll fight Miller again.

"I hope this fight to become a war. I didn’t like at all when I fought against him... It is great that they’ve putted me to fight against him again", says Jacaré, praising the opponent. "He is a very strong man and flexible at the same time. His strong point is to handle with hits and, the weak point is that he thinks that his bones can handle anthing”, said Jacaré. Always polemic in his interviews, Jason called the Brazilian “asshole”, but Jacaré doesn’t mind. "He is like that when he’s in an interview, but I don’t care. I met him in Japan and he didn’t say anything in front of me".

Training hard at X-Gym, Jacaré saw the good debut of his partner of trainings, André Galvão, at the Dream welterweight tournament, winning his third fight by submission, against John Alessio. "He was spectacular. He trained a lot for this fight and gave no chance for the experienced John Alessio”, praises Souza, pointing Hayato Sakurai, who defeated Shinya Aoki, as the biggest threat in the Brazilian way towards the title.

Talking about another sparring partner, Ronaldo praises Anderson Silva for another win at the UFC, the ninth in a row, criticizing the critics to the reign champion. "I think is unfair! Many (people) just look at the Anderson fighter... The guy has made history in the UFC and I'm not seeing anyone celebrating this record of our Brazilian fighter", finalized.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Rudimar puts Wanderlei among the tops

Even losing to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who he beat twice at Pride, Wanderlei Silva still is one of the most exciting and loved fighters. Leader of Chute Boxe team, which Wanderlei used to train until 2007, Rudimar Fedrigo watched Wanderlei’s evolution, which took him to the top of the world at the Japanese event. In exclusive interview to TATAME MAgazine, Rudimar spoke about the biggest fighters in the world.

"Anderson Silva and Fedor are the most complete, today. I also like (Alistair) Overeem, who has developed a lot. On an inspired night, Wanderlei Silva too", points the Chute Boxe leader, who commented Wandy’s decision to move to middleweight division. "I prefer Wanderlei at 205lbs. If he persists in this category, get back his confidence and rhythm of fight, I believe he has great chances of becoming UFC champion", bets Rudimar, commenting about Maurício "Shogun", another former Chute Boxe fighter. "I also believe that Shogun, well trained and with rhythm, has great chances to get the title, but Lyoto is the favorite to take the belt because of the excellent phase he’s going through".

 

[Shogun Locc]

Chris Horodecki to put past behind while preparing for "Fight Force"

For nine-time IFL veteran Chris Horodecki (12-1), the past year has been a series of unfortunate incidents.

His former employer folded. An injury then forced him out of a scheduled bout with Dan Lauzon at January's "Affliction: Day of Reckoning" at the last possible second.

But as "The Polish Hammer" now prepares for a June bout with William Sriyapai (12-4) at "Fight Force: Ultimate Chaos" in Biloxi, Miss., the 21-year-old looks to move on from those setbacks.

"It was kind of an awkward situation because I had done the neurological exams in Las Vegas," Horodecki recently explained to MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) regarding his January withdrawal. "No tests on my body were really done. They were just checking if you can talk and remember things and stuff like that.

"Fortunately, I was alright. But it wasn't done on the right paperwork, and California wouldn't accept it."

When Horodecki arrived in Anaheim, Calif., he was subjected to further tests.

"[The California State Athletic Commission] sent me to their doctor, and as we all know, California has one of the tightest athletic commissions in MMA," Horodecki said. "I went to the fight doctor there, and he put me through the whole test, and he quickly saw how weak my right side was. He said, 'I can't let you fight. You've got something impinging your nerve in your arm. You've got no strength in your right arm. I can't let you fight.'

"It was a big shock to me. It just kind of happened. A couple days before that, I thought I was all good. I had all my medicals done. It was just the paperwork was incorrect. I guess you could say something happened for a reason or something like that. But it's very unfortunate the way it went down."

L.C. Green took the fight with Lauzon on last-second notice, and Horodecki was forced to go home empty handed for an unplanned vacation.

Horodecki said his injury is now completely healed, and he looks forward to the June bout with the near-10-year-veteran Sriyapai.

"[Sriyapai] has been around for a long, long time," Horodecki said. "He plays right into my style. He likes to stand up. He likes to trade. He likes to bang. It's definitely going to be an exciting fight.

"I just think my game is a little bit better all-around than his. But I take nothing away from him. I think it's going to be a real exciting fight for the fans, and it's definitely going to be a hit on pay per view."

Headlined by a bout between the massive Bob Sapp and equally large Bobby Lashley, the Fight Force card will also feature Pedro Rizzo vs. Gilbert Yvel, Din Thomas vs. Javier Vazquez and even Affliction promoter Tom Atencio vs. Randy Hedderick.

While the show has a definite Afflicition flavor, Horodecki said he still looks forward to actually competing on an Affliction show.

"Tom's fighting on this show, a bunch of Affliction fighters," Horodecki said. "We're kind of lending ourselves.

"I think they made the smart move not going head-to-head with UFC. I think that was a real bad business move on their part to even think about trying to go head-to-head with UFC 100. The card is stacked top-to-bottom, and you know the UFC will do everything to make it as big as possible. What [Affliction] is doing is taking its time, being a little bit more strategic. Hopefully it works out."

And if all goes as planned, another run at fighting Lauzon could be on the horizon.

"We had planned to fight each other since October of last year," Horodecki said. "It's definitely a fight that could happen.

"I think it will be an exciting fight. You've got two young guys that want to put on a show. A little bit of counter styles, but both exciting and both always looking for the win. We'll see what happens in the future."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Anderson Silva's UFC title contenders stuck in the middle

The fallout of Anderson Silva's (24-4 MMA, 9-0 UFC) two recent dull middleweight title defenses – with the UFC feeling the need to "challenge" him with Forrest Griffin (16-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC), a former light-heavyweight champion with a reputation for exciting fights – has left a slew of viable challengers spinning their wheels.

Right now there are five viable middleweight title contenders, although that number will likely be whittled to three at the end of the summer. With Silva fighting Griffin on Aug. 8, whomever emerges is likely to get a title shot in the fall or winter.

The two biggest names are former PRIDE champion Dan Henderson (24-7 MMA, 4-2 UFC), and his coaching rival on the current season of The Ultimate Fighter, Michael Bisping (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) of the U.K.

The others on the list include the last fighter with a win over Silva, the snake-bit Yushin Okami (23-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC), past Silva victim Nate Marquardt (28-8-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), and standout submission expert Demian Maia (10-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC).

Henderson will face Bisping on July 11 in Las Vegas, eliminating one contender. Marquardt vs. Maia has been reported for Aug. 29 in Portland, Ore., at UFC 102, although Marquardt noted the fight is not yet official and contracts haven't been signed.

Okami, the youngest of the pack of challengers at 27, was scheduled to face Dan Miller on May 23 in Las Vegas, but he suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his knee this week, and is now on the sidelines until at least September.

Okami beat Silva on a controversial disqualification call when he couldn't continue after an illegal kick on January 20, 2006, in Honolulu. Silva rolls his eyes whenever he's asked about the match, believing Okami wasn't hurt that badly but knew if he couldn't continue from the foul he'd be awarded the win.

But Okami has also gone 7-1 in UFC competition and his lone loss, to Rich Franklin, was a close decision in a fight where little happened in the first two rounds, and Okami clearly won round three.

Okami was scheduled for a title shot last year, but suffered a broken hand. With this latest injury, he finds himself submerged in a deeper pack of contenders, with this injury likely leaving him in third place for the next title shot behind the winners of the two summer fights.

Before Silva's win over Thales Leites on April 19 in Montreal, Maia, with five-straight submission wins in UFC competition, was being talked of behind the scenes in the UFC offices as the next challenger.

More than anyone else, Maia ended up the victim of the fallout of the Silva-Leites five-round decision. The dull fight saw the crowd turn to obscenity-based chants, as the challenger gave up trying to win, and the champion was content to take the decision.

Given that Maia, like Leites, is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert, not known for his stand-up, there became two questions. First, could the UFC sell such a fight to the public after the Leites fight? People could think twice about plunking down $44.95 if they thought they may get a repeat of the last title fight.

The second was, what if it was a similar fight?

"It doesn't matter what country you are from or your style, everyone is different," said Maia, 31, who felt Leites lost his confidence during the fight which caused it to turn out as it did. "My style is totally different than his. If I fight Anderson, it won't be the same fight.

"[Silva's] fight with Patrick Cote wasn't exciting at all. And that's with a Canadian striker. It doesn't matter your style or your country when it comes to having an exciting fight. My personality is to be more aggressive than those two."

Silva's jiu-jitsu, which is at black-belt level, has been strong enough to neutralize those who are considered better on the ground, and there is nobody in the UFC who has been able to even test him in the stand-up.

Maia, in particular, is questionable when it comes to stand-up, largely because his fights have been fought on the ground – where he's looked spectacular. In his Feb. 21 win over Chael Sonnen in London, he got a belly-to-belly takedown on the former All-American wrestler, and faster than you can say, "Submission of the Night," he'd already earned it with a triangle choke.

Maia made it clear he's got nothing bad to say about Silva, and said Silva has made negative remarks about him in their home country that he feels were spurred on by the Brazilian press.

"I don't care if I fight him," Maia said. "I just want to fight for the belt. I have nothing against Anderson. I just want a shot at the title."

Marquardt, 30, who lost a title match to Silva on July 7, 2007, in Sacramento, Calif., has been trying to avenge that memory but also feels Silva got a bum rap in the wake of Montreal.

"[Silva] showed up to fight," Marquardt said. "A lot of the blame should be on Thales. Anderson had a game plan and it was working."

Marquardt feels he's a different fighter from two years ago – more experienced and tougher because of constantly being pushed by the best training partners in the world, including Keith Jardine, Georges St. Pierre, Shane Carwin and Rashad Evans.

"First of all, I won't run away from a stand-up fight," Marquardt said. "I don't care where the fight goes. I'm going to take my openings. If there's an opening standing, I'll take it. If there's an opening for ground-and-pound, I'll go for it. If a submission opens up, I'll go for it. I feel I have a lot of different options."

Marquardt felt he was winning the fight with Silva at UFC 73 until he got caught at 4:50 of the first round. He also noted that Leites got the title shot based on beating him in a fight where Marquardt lost two points because of accidental fouls, including a very controversial call for an elbow behind the head.

To this day, different commissions have had different interpretations of what constitutes the back of the head. There is the "Mohawk" interpretation (a line down the center of the back and any blow within one inch in either direction is illegal) or the "Headphones" interpretation (put on headphones and any area below or behind that line would be illegal). Marquardt's elbow behind the ears he thought was legal based on what he believed the rule was.

Regardless, the Henderson-Bisping winner will come out of their July fight as the highest profile-challenger to the general public due to the buildup on Spike TV, and the bout's place on UFC 100, which will be seen by considerably more viewers than the proposed Marquardt vs. Maia battle. Both fighters were already bigger names coming in and Henderson has headlined three UFC events, including a fight with Quinton Jackson before the UFC's largest U.S. mixed martial arts TV audience ever, and he held championships in two weight classes in PRIDE.

The 38-year old Henderson is the most proven commodity of the five, and if there were any questions where he stands today because of age, he beat Franklin via decision on Jan. 17, which could have been considered a No. 1-contenders caliber match, except it was fought at light heavyweight.

Henderson has also been looking for a rematch with Silva, who beat him on March 1, 2008, in a fight in which Henderson won the first round. Henderson blamed his second-round TKO loss on incorrect training.

Bisping, 30, is one of the company's most popular fighters, but has only fought three times in the division after dropping from light heavyweight.

He's also the most untested against top competition. But a win over Henderson, which would be considered an upset, would answer all criticism.

"[Bisping's] got good stand-up," Maia said. "He's aggressive. His ground is I think is so-so. I want to see him fight Henderson. I'm curious."

From a business standpoint, if Bisping was to score the upset, Silva vs. Bisping would be the choice.

Those in the company's U.K. office say if a Silva-Bisping match materialized, they would want to hold it at one of the big soccer stadiums in the country and predicted drawing a UFC record crowd.

But Maia strongly feels he's the deserving contender if he wins his next fight, which he expects to be Marquardt, and who he called the most complete fighter of the different contenders.

"If I win against Marquardt, I think it's my chance," Maia said. "If I win, I'm 6-0 in UFC and I'll have beaten top contenders."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Bellator Fighting Championships Week 5 fight recaps and official results

DAYTON, Ohio - Bellator Fighting Championships holds its Week 5 event tonight at Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

MMAjunkie.com is on scene for the event and will have fight recaps and official results beginning at approximately 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).

As with all Bellator events, tonight's show, which features Eddie Alvarez and Jorge Masvidal in lightweight tournament semifinal bouts, airs on ESPN Deportes via 24-hour delay.

The night's undercard also features a handful of heavyweight notables, including top prospect and former EliteXC fighter Dave Herman and UFC vets Dan Evensen and Sherman Pendergarst.

For complete pre-event coverage, check out the Bellator Fighting Championships Week 5 section of MMAjunkie.com.


* * * *

(We'll have fight recaps below, but for full round-by-round coverage and fight photos, check out bellator.com.)


FRANK CARABELLO VS. WAYLON LOWE (Lightweights)

Fight summary: Lowe dominated the first round after an early takedown and extended ground-and-pound assault with effective elbow strikes from inside guard. Lowe, a wrestler, scored a beautiful takedown early in the second round and again dominated the frame. Sticking with what works, Lowe took the fight to the ground again in the third round and battered Carabello from the sidemount position. It's a remarkable performance for Lowe, who dictated all aspects of the fight.

Official result: Waylon Lowe def. Frank Carabello via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

JUSTIN EDWARDS VS. JOHN TROYER (Welterweights)

Fight summary: In an early fight-of-the-night favorite, Edwards and Troyer beat the snot out of each other standing and on the mat. Both fighters teed off and connected with countless power shots. Edwards (2-0), though, pulled guard midway through the round and forced the much more experienced Troyer (8-3) to tap out from a guillotine choke.

Official result: Justin Edwards def. John Troyer via submission (guillotine) - Round 1, 3:12

JESSICA PENE VS. TAMMIE SCHNEIDER (Catchweight 117 pounds)

Fight summary: In Bellator's first-ever female fight, Pene took her opponent's back, dragged Schneider to the mat, delivered knees to the body and punches to the head, and forced a quick TKO stoppage.

Official result: Jessica Pene def. Tammie Schneider via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 1:35

PETE DOMINGUEZ VS. MATT JAGGERS (Featherweights)

Fight summary: Dominquez did his best to avoid a takedown, but Jaggers took him to the mat, took his back, locked in a rear-naked choke, and after a near-two-minute struggle, finally forced the tapout with a minute remaining in the round.

Official result: Matt Jaggers def. Pete Dominguez via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 4:03

DAN EVENSEN VS. RAOUL ROMERO (Heavyweights)

Fight summary: UFC vet Evensen masterfully balanced out of his opponent's early takedown attempts, took control of the stand-up, brushed off his Romero's clowning, and battered him with lunging punches before avoiding some late-round submission attempts to win the first round. After taking Romero to his back in the second round, Evensen took the mount position and quickly forced a tapout due to strikes.

Official result: Dan Evensen def. Raoul Romera via submission (strikes) - Round 2, 1:44.

JOEY BELTRAN VS. SHERMAN PENDERGARST (Heavyweights)

Fight summary: A potential slugfest ended early when Pendergarst left his chin unprotected and was dropped with an effective (if not lightning-quick) flurry from Beltran. Beltran followed with a few punches from above before referee Greg Franklin halted the bout. "The Tank" protested the stoppage, but he left the ref little option.

Official result: Joey Beltran def. Sherman Pendergarst via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 2:24

JOSH BARNES VS. DAVE HERMAN (Heavyweights)

Fight summary: Barnes came out with guns blazing and threw everything but the kitchen sink at his opponent. Herman matched him punch for punch until catching Barnes with a brutal knee to the groin. Barnes somehow shook it off during the stop in action, continued matching Herman punch for punch, but was finally dropped with a knee to the head late in the round. The TKO stoppage came moments later.

Official result: Dave Herman def. Josh Barnes via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 4:46

TOBY IMADA VS. JORGE MASVIDAL (Lightweight tournament semifinal)

Fight summary: A very strategic round for two very quick and experienced lightweight fighters. Masvidal likely took the round on accuracy and a late-round takedown. Imada's bruised and bloodied face doesn't tell the whole story as round two was actually pretty close. Masvidal's stand-up, though, is looking phenomenal and so fluid. With round three underway, Masvidal looked like he had the fight wrapped up until a scrappy Imada locked in an inverted triangle choke and put Masvidal to sleep late in the round. What an unbelievable finish.

Official result: Toby Imada def. Jorge Masvidal via technical submission (triangle choke) - Round 3, 3:22

EDDIE ALVAREZ VS. ERIC REYNOLDS (Lightweight tournament semifinal)

Fight summary: Alvarez takes the first round with an effective ground-and-pound assault and a brutal barrage from the mount position. Once Reynolds got back to his feet, Alvarez made him pay with knees. Reynolds is a game opponent, but takedowns, ground and pound, and a near-fight-ending arm-triangle choke put Alvarez up, two rounds to none. After a quick takedown, Alvarez forces the tapout from a rear-naked choke early in the third round.

Official result: Eddie Alvarez def. Eric Reynolds via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 3, 1:30

 

[Shogun Locc]

DAN HARDY TO END MARCUS DAVIS' BRIT BASHING

U.K. welterweight Dan Hardy is ready to finish the war he started.

Prior to UFC 95, he had no real problems with Marcus Davis. They had met at Xtreme Coture in Las Vegas and got on well. They shared a locker room at UFC 89.

But Hardy thinks Davis is threatened by his recent success.

“Since the last fight, I think he’s been keeping an eye on me, because he seems to have this hold over the U.K.,” Hardy told MMAWeekly.com. “He’s beaten a couple of British fighters now and he kind of likes to pad his record out with British names. I kind of got that feeling from him.”

So he decided to get the drop on “The Irish Hand Grenade” by calling him out directly. And as Hardy thought, Davis exploded, immediately asking the UFC for the match-up. The promotion acquiesced, billing them fourth on the Cologne, Germany UFC 99 card.

In an interview with MMAWeekly.com after the fight was agreed to, Davis couldn’t contain his anger towards the Brit.

“When his name gets brought up or I hear anything, my girlfriend, or my friends, they just tell me, ‘calm down,’” said Davis. “I literally sweat on the back of my hands when I hear his name. I just don’t like this kid.”

Hardy says the call-out was just fight hype 101, and he knew Davis would take the bait.

“That was just something to get under his skin a little bit,” he said. “He’s quite an emotional guy, so it’s quite easy to get him wound up.”

It’s still surprising to him that Davis has gotten as wound up as he has, particularly because the Ultimate Fighter alum has used hype so well in the past. It’s a sign his skills are respected.

“Cause he knows I can beat him,” said Hardy. “He looks at me and sees I’ve got all the skills to beat him. I’m quicker than him, I’m fitter than him, and I’ve got a reach advantage. I can knock him out. As soon as he presents the opportunity, I’m going to be taking it. This is going to be his last fight against a British fighter.”

Hardy has recently worked with Freddie Roach on his boxing skills, and will begin his full training camp in Nottingham shortly. His last victim, Rory Markham, succumbed to a left hook in 69 seconds, but Hardy wants to further refine his technique, especially against former boxer Davis.

A win at UFC 99 is a bridge to bigger things.

“Without a doubt,” says Hardy. “If you look at any Top 10 ranking, you see Marcus Davis in there sometimes. He does move in and out of the rankings quite a bit, based on people’s opinions. To beat a guy like him, who would be worthy of a Top 10 ranking, it’s certainly going to make people pay attention to me.

“I didn’t get an easy welcome to the UFC with Gono; then it was followed by Rory Markham, who’s a real power puncher. They’re not giving me any easy challenges.”

Hardy says Davis will decide whether their beef continues after June 13.

“It all depends on how he handles being beaten, really,” says Hardy. “If he’s gracious in defeat, I think we can leave it at that. But if he continues, then I might have to put it on him one more time. It all depends on how he deals with loss.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Caol Uno is now independent of Wajyutsu Keisyukai

GBR reported today that Caol Uno who returned to the UFC after 6 years became independent of Wajyutsu Keisyukai where he belonged for 12 years on April 12. He hasn't said if he opens his own gym or not yet. A management company "From Frist Production" takes care of his contract with MMA events. He owns a apparel company called UCS and sells clothes he designed online.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Hioki Taps Mann to Advance in Sengoku GP

TOKYO -- Hatsu Hioki's “Golden Week” holiday gift to Japanese fans was a first-round submission of Ronnie Mann on Saturday in the main event of Sengoku's Eighth Battle at Yoyogi National No. 2 Gymnasium.

After braving several punches, Hioki took the Briton down with a trip. Mann ate short knees to the side of his head before scrambling to all fours for a single, but Hioki sprawled and used a brabo choke setup to push his way into mount. Hioki then dropped several punches while creeping forward to lock up a triangle.

Mann scrambled but was caught. He reached around Hioki’s back to prevent having his arm pulled across for the finish, but the maneuver opened him up to Hioki’s punches. The choke had Mann reddening, too, and soon enough, he tapped at the 3:09 mark.

“I started off well, standing up,” said a disappointed Mann, “but I fell into his game. Fell into his trap. The punches were only small punches, but it was the triangle that was slowly coming on, so in the end, I tapped.”

Hioki said he was able to fight his own style and pace.

“Mann was physically very strong, and I think his defense was good, but I set out to trap him,” Hioki said. “I think everything went according to plan.”

Michihiro Omigawa also advanced in the featherweight tournament, punishing Nam Phan for a first-round TKO. Omigawa set the pace by getting Phan to the ground and keeping him there with a guillotine. However, Omigawa wasn't interested in finishing the submission, as he used the headlock grip to deliver knees to Phan's face. Omigawa also piled on punishment from side and on the feet, bullying Phan in the corner before taking him down for an unrelenting barrage of punches from guard. Perhaps a tad early, referee Yoshinori Umeki intervened at 4:52.

“I think Phan has heart and is the kind of fighter who comes on strong once he gets his second wind, so I threw more punches when I had the chance,” said Omigawa of the end of the round.

“When you get hit, you get winded and stuff, but I felt like my pain tolerance was pretty good, and that I could have continued to the next round,” said Phan of the stoppage. “His clinch was very strong, and I thought I could utilize my jiu-jitsu on him, but he’s got really good submission defense, and his ground-and-pound was better than I’d expected.”

Lightweights Kazunori Yokota and Leonardo Santos fought to a tense split decision. Despite locking up mount and back mount on Yokota, Santos struggled to finish or keep him down. Scrambling and reversing, Yokota often found himself back in Santos' guard, where he dropped punches and the occasional stomp. The offense seemed to have trumped Santos' grappling advantages in two of the judges' minds, as Tenshin Matsumoto and Masanori Ohashi scored the fight 30-29 and 30-28 for Yokota, while Gen Isono scored it 29-28 for Santos.

Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro's stand-up training with Andre “Dida” Amade and Wanderlei Silva paid dividends, as the jiu-jitsu world champion knocked out Keiichiro Yamamiya in the third period. Confident that he'd won the first two rounds with grappling control and sub attempts, Xande came out swinging in the third. He caught Yamamiya with a counter right hook, and referee Umeki lunged in for the save at 0:51 in the third.

Chan Sung Jung couldn’t exact revenge for teammate Jong Man Kim in his featherweight tournament bout against Masanori Kanehara. Game to bang on the feet, Kanehara not only proved to have a good chin but also that he could hold his own with the heavy hitting Jung. Kanehara also took Jung down with relative ease early on, but Jung played an active bottom, punching, up-kicking and attempting submissions. A particularly vicious series of up-kicks followed by knees to the face by Jung in the third turned the tables in his favor, but all three judges ultimately gave the nod to Kanehara (30-29, 30-29, 29-28).

Featherweight King of Pancrase Marlon Sandro blitzed Canada's Nick Denis in their featherweight tournament bout, putting him down with a big right uppercut and left hook. Sandro followed up with hard right hands, bouncing Denis' head on the canvas until his legs stiffened. Referee Kenichi Serizawa jumped in for the save at a mere 0:19.

Makoto Takimoto meticulously worked his way out of an early Michael Costa guillotine to take side mount, where he hunted for an armbar. Costa stacked and escaped, targeting one of Takimoto's legs, but the Olympic judo gold medalist beat the Brazilian to the submission with an inverted heel hook at 3:31.

Stanislav Nedkov got off to a rocky start against Travis Wiuff, racking up two red cards for kneeing the American below the belt three times. However, Nedkov resurged at the opening of the third round, sending Wiuff to the mat with a big right counterpunch. Dizzied and tangled in the ropes, Wiuff ate several punches before referee Tomoki Matsumiya stopped the fight at 0:42 of the third.

The ever-exciting Maximo Blanco was on his way to a handy KO victory over Akihiko Mori, scoring big punches, flying knees and spinning back kicks. His recklessness got the better of him, though. After dropping Mori with a big right hand, he followed up with a soccer kick to the face at the 4:20 mark in the first. Mori was soon declared the winner by disqualification.

In the preliminary bouts, Shigeki Osawa's Sengoku debut against Kota Ishibashi was a victorious one, with the amateur wrestling champ taking a two-round decision (20-19, 20-19, 20-18), and Hirotoshi Saito submitted Yoshitaka Abe with an armbar at 2:52 in the first.

 

[B-Buzz]

TOBY IMADA VS. JORGE MASVIDAL (Lightweight tournament semifinal)

Fight summary: A very strategic round for two very quick and experienced lightweight fighters. Masvidal likely took the round on accuracy and a late-round takedown. Imada's bruised and bloodied face doesn't tell the whole story as round two was actually pretty close. Masvidal's stand-up, though, is looking phenomenal and so fluid. With round three underway, Masvidal looked like he had the fight wrapped up until a scrappy Imada locked in an inverted triangle choke and put Masvidal to sleep late in the round. What an unbelievable finish.

Official result: Toby Imada def. Jorge Masvidal via technical submission (triangle choke) - Round 3, 3:22

 

[Shogun Locc]

Bad Break: Alexander Withdraws from UFC 98

A broken hand forced light heavyweight Houston Alexander to withdraw from his match with International Fight League veteran Andre Gusmao at UFC 98 “Evans vs. Machida” on May 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. UFC officials announced the change on Sunday.

The 37-year-old Alexander becomes the fourth fighter to pull out of the event, joining Yushin Okami, Josh Koscheck and James Irvin.

His Octagon career in free fall, Alexander has dropped three consecutive bouts and was believed to be in danger of losing his spot on the UFC roster. The likeable Nebraskan has not fought since September when he submitted to an arm-triangle choke from Eric Schafer at UFC Fight Night 15. That followed consecutive losses to Irvin and Thiago Silva. Alexander (8-4, 1 NC) burst on the scene in 2007 when he destroyed world-ranked light heavyweight Keith Jardine at UFC 71.

Gusmao, 31, made his UFC debut in August, when he lost to the dynamic Jon Jones by unanimous decision. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with strong stand-up skills, he holds a pair of knockout wins against Pat Miletich protégé Mike Ciesnolevicz. Gusmao (5-1) will likely remain on the UFC 98 card, though a replacement for Alexander has not yet been announced.

A light heavyweight title fight between champion Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida will headline UFC 98, along with a grudge match between former welterweight champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Sengoku Enters Reality Business

At the post-fight presser for Sengoku’s Eighth Battle, World Victory Road PR Director Takahiro Kokuho unveiled his plans for Japan’s first stab at MMA reality TV. Superficial similarities aside, “The Ultimate Fighter” it is not.

Dubbed “Project: Gold Rush,” Sengoku initially aims to cultivate up-and-coming fighters within three weight classes: 60, 65 and 70 kg (132, 143, 154 pounds). In the vein of Sengoku’s open tryouts and a natural extension of its fighter development program (of which Shigeki Osawa and Maximo Blanco are current products), the show is intended to foster the development of young fighters.

Featuring four to five handpicked fighters per weight class from various Japanese gyms, the young talents will fight each other over the course of four to five episodes. The finals in each weight class will be slotted as preliminary bouts on the Aug. 2 Sengoku Ninth Battle.

“We are trying to develop younger fighters, training them especially for Sengoku. Our primary plan … toward fostering these newcomers is called ‘Project: Gold Rush,’ and these bouts will be broadcast on our weekly ‘Sengoku Gold’ programs, every Sunday at 11:35 p.m.,” Kokuho said.

The “Sengoku G” shows have until recently been weekly recap and digest programs, catching fans up on the in-ring happenings of previous events. However, with “Gold Rush,” the show takes on another dimension of actually fostering talent that fans will have to tune in to TV Tokyo see.

While Kokuho doesn’t plan to copy the TUF formula completely by locking all the fighters in one house to film the ensuing shenanigans, the fights will be taped without a live audience. Kokuho also plans to explore some of the human drama with “behind the scenes footage” of fighters in daily life and training, while also implementing the time-honored but ever-entertaining “gym-versus-gym” angle.

Kokuho was mum on the participants, but we (or Japanese fans, at least) can certainly look forward to seeing fighters from Grabaka and Yoshida Dojo making an appearance in the program by mid-June. Taping begins later this month.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Riggs Strangely Respectful of Baroni

Stir the pot? Joe Riggs will knock that thing right over. (The guy Nick Diaz got into that infamous emergency room brawl with after a fight? Uh-huh -- Riggs.) When Strikeforce assigned him Phil Baroni for a June 6 welterweight bout, they probably anticipated an expletive-filled Internet hype show.

Speaking with MMAJunkie Radio, though, Riggs was curiously muted in his evaluation, complimenting Baroni’s power and wrestling.

“Phil can still knock anybody out on any given day,” Riggs said. “He's a f---ing tough guy.”

F---ing kind words there. Any built-up venom was directed at Jake Shields, whom Riggs was initially supposed to face before Shields chose to fight Robbie Lawler one weight division up.

“F--- that mother---er,” Riggs offered.

For Riggs, this might be considered playing it cool.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Filho Turns Down Chute Boxe

Driftwood middleweight Paulo Filho -- in career cryostasis since a bizarre performance against Chael Sonnen last November -- told Fighter’s Only that he’s turned down an offer to join the Chute Boxe fight academy.

“I represent pure jiu-jitsu,” he said. “… I will represent Carlson Gracie school until the day I die.”

At least he’s got an open mind about it.

To be fair, Filho’s approach to fighting has worked out just fine for him: He amassed a 16-0 record before dropping a decision to Sonnen after prolonged struggles with substance abuse. Per Tatame, he’s now slated to fight on Dream’s May 26 card -- the same evening that Jose Canseco will attempt to achieve greater infamy than he had ever dared dream of by fighting 7-foot-2 Hong Man Choi.

Filho’s opponent is TBA. ”Goose” Gossage is still in negotiations.

 

[Shogun Locc]

(Over?)Analyzing Omigawa: A Success Story for Japanese MMA

Four years ago, I was in an MMA pick 'em pool with four acquaintances. UFC and Pride cards, $20 buy-in, points for winner-method-round, and the total points winner took the pot.

It was May 2005, and Pride's Bushido 7 was on the slate. I could already feel the 100 bones making the act of sitting down near impossible, almost Costanza-like. Being a massive MMA nerd and with Dream Stage Entertainment having retooled the Bushido program to heavily feature lightweights and homegrown talents, I figured I had a natural leg-up on my pool contemporaries who didn't feel the need to maniacally obsess over the sport.

Naturally, I lost the Pride Bushido 7 pool. Actually, I didn't "lose" per se; I came in second place, by one point -- a fate infinitely more excruciating.

Within the pick 'em pool, I was the only person who took the debuting Michihiro Omigawa over Aaron Riley. None too surprisingly either. I still consider it one of the worst fight picks I've ever made (maybe this is a column idea in and of itself), not just because of the fact that it robbed me of $100 but because it's as classic an example of overanalysis as you can get.

Here was my idiotic rationale, as best I can recall: Omigawa's debut was coming on the heels of his teammate Makoto Takimoto getting a generous decision over sumo Henry "Sentoryu" Miller on New Year's Eve. As another pupil of Hidehiko Yoshida, one of DSE's few major domestic stars whom they wanted to keep happy, I expected Omigawa to be given considerable latitude for the officials. I anticipated that he would avoid mucking about on the feet with Riley, a battle-hardened brawler, and instead would quickly get some takedowns, at which point he would attempt to smother him with his gi and be given a gift decision by the judges due to the politics of the fight game.

Anyone with a scintilla of common sense would've looked at the fact that Omigawa was a debuting judoka and that Riley was one of the sport's toughest customers, then would’ve commented it was a good thing Omigawa brought his pajamas with him: He was going to be put to bed -- which he was at six minutes even of the first round.

However, with his recent underdog run halfway through Sengoku's featherweight grand prix, Omigawa now strikes different thoughts in my head.

His back-to-back upsets of L.C. Davis and Nam Phan have given me some mixture of relief and justice. Despite his pair of sensational wins, though, his record still stands at 6-7-1, a testament to a myriad of the things wrong with Japanese MMA and its ideology.

Omigawa was forced to begin his career with bashings from Aaron Riley and JZ Cavalcante. After fighting low-level opposition (even by Japanese regional standards) to even out his record, he was sent to the UFC to fight the likes of Matt Wiman and Thiago Tavares. The move could be best understood as his promotional company, J-Rock, feigning importance to a Japanese audience by superficially showcasing their fighters in the oh-so-arcane Octagon way across the ocean.

Despite high-profile connections, nothing was done at any point to ensure that Omigawa was being built for long-term success. This is the unfortunate reality that permeates most of Japanese MMA, where spectacle still stifles sport and where the "Que sera sera" school of matchmaking means that only a select cadre of young fighters will have success early in their careers, should they be fortunate enough to keep their heads above water in a dangerously deep baptismal pool.

Omigawa's recent turnaround isn't just a personal success story; it a success story for Japanese MMA. His improvement can't be attributed to any one single factor but rather a holistic process of fighter development that is normally absent in Japan. For starters, after racking up a 4-7 record as a lightweight, he finally cut down to the featherweight division -- a weight class that actually physically suits him. Typically, Japanese fighters don't realize they're a poor fit in their weight class until about a decade into their career, if at all.

Secondly, he's been wise enough to realize that his determined but unskilled stand-up can't cut it. He has recently started working out at the Watanabe Gym responsible for several Japanese national and Ocean Pacific boxing champions, as well as where K-1 Max star Masato worked on his hands before his 2003 World Grand Prix victory. Omigawa's transformation since beginning to train there earlier this year has been dramatic, with a rich demonstration this weekend as he bobbed, weaved and battered a high-quality fighter in Nam Phan with his boxing.

He hasn't simply fallen in love with his hands -- the pitfall of many grapplers who improve their striking. His upset wins over Davis and Phan required gameplanning, another aspect of Japanese MMA that is sorely lacking in many regards. To talk to many Japanese fighters and trainers about fight preparation simply boggles the mind, especially given the likes of Greg Jackson bringing hyperspecific strategy en vogue in North America. Credit is due to Omigawa's team for helping him transform from a judoka windmilling punches at his own detriment to a fighter who, in his last two fights, has transitioned seamlessly between the feet and the ground and controlled his opponents tactically throughout.

Also in need of due praise is Sengoku big boss Takahiro Kokuho. Kokuho, who handles virtually all of Sengoku's executive duties including matchmaking, is also the founder of J-Rock, therefore functioning as both Omigawa's manager and promoter. Yet, despite this textbook conflict of interest, Kokuho's approach to matchmaking (which I've already dedicated many column inches to) has helped Omigawa enormously. By refusing to give Omigawa an easy tournament draw, Kokuho has forced Omigawa to train intelligently and fight specifically against two difficult but manageable opponents. That is the very essence of good management and prospect development, which has been sorely lacking in MMA on the whole but woefully so in Japan for so long.

And of course, Omigawa deserves much credit for his own self-improvement. What I've found chiefly interesting recently is how he's revealed his inner resolve. Typically I am nauseated by fans and pundits playing armchair psychologist with the sport ("Fighter X looked scared at the weigh-ins; he's going to get knocked out!"), but Omigawa has recently displayed an uncommon and frankly startling level of brashness and brusqueness that seems downright out of place in Japanese MMA.

In a society that richly values the honne-tatemae duality, any "personality" in Japanese MMA is typically contrived or cartoonish. However, there is a stark authenticity to Omigawa telling his doubters after the Davis win to be fruitful and multiply, and likewise for his strikingly terse shutdown of Nam Phan's media friendly quote that he wanted to submit Omigawa with a Kadowaki Special.

At Sunday's news conference, when the three remaining Japanese tournament entrants were playfully asked which would like to volunteer to face remaining foreigner Marlon Sandro, Hatsu Hioki and Masanori Kanehara gave predictably bland stock answers. Omigawa then told the room that he would fight all three of the other semifinalists on the same night, and knock them all out.

Omigawa's comments all show off an ironclad crustiness, the kind that enables a 4-7 afterthought to begin auditioning to be a top-10 featherweight, even if he wears leopard-print scarves.

Or, maybe I'm overanalyzing again.

 

[Shogun Locc]

FRANK MIR: "I WOULD LIKE TO COACH BROCK"

Frank Mir is not bothered much by Brock Lesnar’s trash talk. The UFC heavyweight champion is just a garden variety bully, he says.

“It’s like when you go to school and you’re not comfortable with yourself, you tend to pick on other people to take the attention away from yourself,” the interim UFC heavyweight champion told MMAWeekly.com.

Lesnar challenged the validity of Mir’s belt, and the rescheduling of their second bout from UFC 98 to UFC 100 in an interview with Inside MMA.

“In my mind, is it, is Frank really hurt, or is he scared?” Lesnar told Ron Kruck.

In pro wrestling terms, the criticism was minor, and dull in its delivery. But Lesnar doesn’t do a lot of interviews these days, so the comments made a lot more noise.

“The only time it could ever be upsetting is when I know I’ll never get my hands on that person,” said Mir. “But in a situation like this, where I know that on July 11, we get to step into the Octagon together, I can’t take things too harshly.”

To be fair, Mir fired the first shot in the war of words, telling Lesnar, “you have my belt, be careful what you wish for,” in the heat of his post-UFC 92 victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, which brought him the interim belt.

He fired back, as well, after the interview, invoking his 91-second tapout of Lesnar at UFC 81 and the slanted expectations the now-champion draws. But he says most of the time, the talk is like a suit he wears uncomfortably. It’s a part of the job, but he doesn’t necessary like it.

“There are some days I try, and there are other days that I don’t give a (expletive) about any of that, I could care less about answering my phone, and I don’t want to do interviews. Screw everybody, I just want to fight,” he continued. “But I know that that’s not productive and I’ll switch back in. Usually my wife will step in, bring me back to reality, and explain to me that if I’m going to get punched in the face, I might as well make as much money for my family as I possibly can in the midst of it.”

He’s more introspective than brash one sunny afternoon at Striking Unlimited in Las Vegas. The best he can muster is to reiterate he and Brock are cut from a different cloth.

“I’m a martial artist; he’s a professional fighter,” said Mir. “He fights because he gets paid to fight. If the UFC were to go bankrupt tomorrow, a month later I would still be in some small organization fighting. Not because I need to; my house is paid off, my cars are paid; I don’t need the money as far as desperately.

“I fight because I enjoy fighting. I enjoy the preparation and the training and the mindset, everything that goes behind it. I don’t know if we can say the same about Lesnar. If Lesnar was making $10,000, would he show up to fight?”

Mir says he can’t fault Lesnar for taking shots at him. He takes his own, and like Lesnar’s they’re often sideways.

“At this point, I think he’s going to do whatever causes a distraction from his qualifications,” he said. “I think that a lot of people realize that he was only 1-1, he had a .500 record in the UFC when he got a title shot. So I think the more that he can scream about my belt, people maybe don’t look at his.”

Some moments, the suit is easier to put on.

It’s been an unusual course of events that have brought the two together for a second time, but Mir is ready to put words aside when they meet at UFC 100.

“I know at the end I’m going to be able to get a hold of him. There’s going to be a day of reckoning. So he’ll have to answer to me personally. There’s going to be no reporters or nobody to protect him.”

He says the outcome of the fight will determine whether any bad blood lives. And as parting consideration, he offers an olive branch, sideways, to Lesnar.

“Three or four years from now, if I decide to switch over into full time coaching, I would like to coach Brock,” said Mir. “I see a lot of things that he’s done in his last couple of fights that I think are mistakes that are not really his fault, they’re maybe his trainer’s faults. How can he be so talented, an NCAA champion, probably one of the best wrestlers to come out of college in the heavyweight division, and still make some of the real basic balancing and footwork mistakes that he’s making right now?”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Trainer John Hackleman: Chuck Liddell has "more than one fight left in him"

Dana White's message to Chuck Liddell was clear before UFC 97: Don't just win, but bring it again. Following "The Iceman's" first-round TKO loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, White was adamant that one of the most storied and famous careers in mixed martial arts has ended.

Or has it?

John Hackleman, Liddell's longtime trainer and close friend, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) – with confidence – that Liddell isn't done yet. Liddell has one more fight on his UFC contract, but Hackleman hinted that the fighter would explore competing elsewhere if White keeps the door closed.

"I don't know what's going to happen," Hackleman said in a telephone interview. "Just on his abilities, his skill and his power, and what he has left, I think he has more than one fight left in him. Maybe his game isn't what it was 10 years ago. I don't know. But he's definitely at the top of the food chain.

"Who beat him? 'Shogun' (Rua). Quinton (Jackson). Rashad (Evans). And he was barely beaten in a really close, one-point fight by [Keith] Jardine, so it's not like he was knocked out by Shannon Ritch."

Once considered one of the UFC's most dominant champions – one who compiled seven straight knockout wins and four title defenses (from 2005 to 2007) – Liddell is now just 1-4 in his past five fights, three of which left him knocked out. Liddell trained with 1976 Olympic gold medalist Howard Davis Jr. for the Rua fight, and his new skills (footwork and holding his left hand higher) were on display, yet the pattern of Liddell's recent bouts remained the same. With Liddell looking for an uppercut, his right shoulder dropped down, and that created the opening for Rua to connect with a left hook at just under the one-minute mark of Round 1.

Liddell is 21-7, his 16 UFC wins remain a record in the organization, and he remains a popular draw at age 39. But White stressed after the loss to Rua that his career is over and has repeatedly stated that he's ready to butt heads with Liddell if he plans to fight again.

Liddell has been vacationing with his two children. Neither he nor Hackleman has had dialogue with White, with Hackleman adding he "has no reason" to reach out to the outspoken UFC president.

"You'll have to ask Dana White that," Hackleman said when asked if Liddell will fight in the UFC again. "Chuck will make his decision, and then it'll be up to Dana whether to give him a fight or not. We're just hanging back right now and relaxing."

Hackleman compared Liddell's recent plight to Randy Couture's. On February 2006 at UFC 57, nearly 10 months after losing the light-heavyweight championship to Liddell, Couture faced "The Iceman" for a third time. Couture was knocked out in the second round and immediately announced his retirement. The following year, Couture came out of retirement, defeated Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight crown and signed a four-fight, two-year deal with the UFC – at 43 years of age.

Unlike Couture, who alternated wins and losses before retiring, Liddell's 1-4 skid has his career in doubt. His fighter considered finished, Hackleman hopes that Liddell receives a chance to follow Couture's path. Despite coming off a second-round TKO loss to Brock Lesnar, Couture will face Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira in the main event of UFC 102 on Aug. 29 in Portland, Ore.

"It's an automatic conclusion on him at [age] 39, quicker than they did when he knocked Randy out cold twice in a row, then Randy jumped to heavyweight and won a title," Hackleman said. "I don't know. I don't think he's done because of that. We'll see what Dana has to say and if he'll fight in the UFC again.

"He's fine. He's a veteran who doesn't like to lose, but he takes his losses and accepts them. He's looking for what's next. There's no hurry. There's no rush."

At the top of Hackleman's wish list, and long a desire of Liddell's, is a rematch with Jardine, who defeated Liddell in a split decision at UFC 76. "The Dean of Mean," on a losing end of a unanimous decision to "Rampage" Jackson in his most recent fight, faces Thiago Silva at UFC 102 and could be ready to go again before year's end.

"That would be a great fight," Hackleman said. "It'd be a great comeback for both of them, and the UFC can use a look at that."

Couture's legacy is secure, but his story continues, Meanwhile, where, when – and if – Liddell fights next remains a mystery. All that Liddell's camp wants is a battle with anyone, anytime.

"They don't have to throw him into a killer fight every single time; I mean Jesus Christ," Hackleman said. "He's won a hell of a lot more than he's lost, but when you lose a couple and you're Chuck Liddell, people start talking about retirement and this went wrong, that went wrong, everything went wrong.

"Even if he doesn't (fight anymore), [Muhammad] Ali in his final days didn't do too well, and he's still a legend. So are Roberto Duran and 'Sugar' Ray Leonard. Chuck's still proven himself as one of the greatest, if not the greatest."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira makes Brazilian debut May 9 at Jungle Fight

Former PRIDE fighter Antonio Rogiero Nogueira (16-3), returning to action for the first time since his January TKO victory over Vladimir Matyushenko at "Affliction: Day of Reckoning," will make his Brazilian debut this weekend.

Nogueira meets Dion Staring (15-5) in the main event of Jungle Fight's May 9 "Ceara" event.

The show takes place in Fortaleza, Ceará, at Iracema Beach.

Despite being born in Brazil with twin brother (and former UFC champion) Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, "Minotoro" Nogueira has never fought professionally in his home country. He debuted in 2001 at an event in Japan and since competed in the U.S., South Korea and Canada.

Nogueira has won his past four fights and five of his past six (with all but one coming via TKO). Considered one of the world's top-15 light-heavyweight fighters, the 32-year-old now meets Staring, a Golden Glory fighter who was born in Holland.

The light heavyweight has recently suffered back-to-back losses but went 14-2 from June 2000 to November 2008. Staring trains with the likes of noted strikers Alistair Overeem and Semmy Schilt.

"[Staring] is a tough guy who trains with great fighters in (the) Netherlands," Jungle Fight promoter Wallid Ismail stated in a press release. "He's not a fool. Who(ever) expected that Minotouro was going to face an easy opponent is wrong. You will see a very tough guy. It will be a war."

The Nogueira vs. Staring bout heads a card with 11 scheduled bouts.

Ismail expects Saturday's event to launch a new era of the Jungle Fight promotion. Although shows have been held sporadically in the past, he now plans to host monthly events and wants to showcase the country's top fighters, many of whom end up fighting in the U.S. and Japan.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Strikeforce confirms finalized fight card for May 15 "SHO MMA" event

The full card is set for Strikeforce's May 15 "SHO MMA" event, the first Showtime-televised installment of the organization's "Challengers" series.

Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz today confirmed the full lineup with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

The 10-fight card takes place at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., and the main card, including a headliner between lightweights Billy Evangelista (9-0) and Mike Aina (11-6-1), airs on Showtime.

In addition to the main event, the May 15 card includes heavyweights Carl Seumanutafa (4-2) vs. Lavar Johnson (11-3), 205-pounders Aaron Rosa (11-2) vs. Anthony Ruiz (21-12), and featherweights Tito Jones (6-2) vs. Bao Quach (15-9-1).

Seumanutafa is a late replacement for George Bush III, and Jones takes a spot recently vacated by Isaac De Jesus.

As reported by MMAjunkie.com earlier today (and later officially announced by the organization), undefeated Sarah Kaufman (8-0) also appears on the card as a replacement for Kim Couture (1-1), who pulled out of her scheduled bout with Miesha Tate (5-5) due to personal reasons. The Kaufman vs. Tate bout now takes the second slot on the night's televised main card.

The full card for the event includes:

MAIN CARD

* Mike Aina vs. Billy Evangelista
* Sarah Kaufman vs. Miesha Tate
* Lavar Johnson vs. Carl Seumanutafa
* Aaron Rosa vs. Anthony Ruiz
* Tito Jones vs. Bao Quach

PRELIMINARY CARD

* Cody Cantebury vs. Ben Holscher
* Zolia Frausto vs. Avery Vilche
* Ousmane Thomas Diagne vs. Kaleo Kwan
* Fabricio Camoes vs. Torrance Taylor
* Spencer Herns vs. Chad Sutton

 

[Shogun Locc]

Xtreme Couture's Ron Frazier: "Forrest has nothing to lose" at UFC 101

It's an intriguing battle, to say the least.

A UFC 101 bout that no one anticipated between current UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva (24-4 MMA, 9-0 UFC) and former light heavyweight title holder Forrest Griffin (16-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) has created quite a stir – and the bout is still three months away.

Xtreme Couture boxing coach Ron Frazier recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) he's happy with the bout – Griffin's third potential opponent – and that his fighter is in a no-lose situation.

"I like the fight," Frazier said. "There was another fight out there. They had changed his opponent, actually, a couple of weeks ago. Nobody knows that, but they did.

"I like this fight a lot better than that one because you know what? I see this as a fight for Forrest that he has nothing to lose."

Griffin had been preparing to face Thiago Silva at the Aug. 8 event in Philadelphia. Public outcry following Silva's much-discussed April win over Thales Leites led the UFC to make the change in plans. While Anderson Silva is undoubtedly among the world's top pound-for-pound fighters, Frazier believes Griffin will present a multitude of problems for "The Spider."

"A lot of people on the Internet here and around the MMA community are probably going to expect [Griffin] to lose like they did against (Mauricio) 'Shogun' (Rua)," Frazier said. "Forrest fights well in big fights. He's not a small 205 [pounder]. He's a big 205 [pounder]. Take it down, make this a grimy, grind-out type of fight."

Frazier believes if Griffin can take advantage of his size, many of Silva's weapons could be neutralized.

"[Griffin] is going to hit the cage at about 225 (pounds)," Frazier said. "Make Anderson feel your weight. Don't try to make it a speed contest. Let this go 15 minutes hard.

"Anderson hasn't been pushed. Anderson has not had to be pushed. He hasn't had to go, 'Man, this guy just won't stop.' Forrest is not going to stop, so it'll be a great test for him."

While Griffin's December loss to Rashad Evans means he can longer call himself the champ, Frazier believes a win over Silva would put the former "TUF" winner in very good company.

"[Griffin] does well in big fights, and his last four fights will have been 'Shogun,' (Quinton) 'Rampage' (Jackson), Rashad and Anderson," Frazier said. "Most people fighting those four are going to go 0-4. He has a chance of going 3-1. That says a lot about him as a fighter."