MMA News Thread
- Thread starter Shogun Locc
- Start date
Cavalcante Eyes Hansen With Alvarez On Hold
In early 2008, Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante, or as he is known in Japan, JZ Calvan, was hovering around the top of the world light weight rankings. Unfortunately for the 26 year old Brazilian, injuries would plague him through the rest of 2008 and into 2009, keeping him on the shelf and causing him to drop off the light weight ranks all together.
After making his return to the ring in May at DREAM 9, and although on the losing end of a decision to Tatsuya Kawajiri, Cavalcante feels his injuries are near back to 100%.
“I’m feeling good” he tells MMANews.com “It took a year to recover from my injuries but nothing bothers me and I’m cool now thanks to god. The time off really helped me because I was able to take care of my injuries but right now I am looking to get back on top.”
Cavalcante was under the impression his next fight would be in September at DREAM 11 against the newly crowned Bellator FC Lightweight Champ Eddie Alvarez, but things appear to have changed. “I’m not sure. Alvarez may not be able to fight but I think it would be an awesome fight. I’m a fighter but I’m also a fan and I like to watch and I think it would be an awesome fight. Right now I guess I’ll have to wait. I’m waiting to hear from DREAM to see what’s up. They asked me to fight Eddie and I thought it was confirmed but now I’m hearing things from his manager that he is not going to fight.”
If the fight with Alvarez does fall through, Cavalcante has a good idea of whom he’d like instead. “No one in particular but there are a lot of good guys in Japan. I want good matches. I would like to fight Joachim Hansen again or Shinya Aoki. I know Aoki won’t be able to but I think Hansen is available and that is a fight I want.“
Hansen and Aoki are the only other blemishes on his 14-3-1 record but for JZ, revenge isn’t something he worries about. “I don’t think much about revenge. I don’t focus on it. A fight is a fight and every fight is different. We’re different fighters now (speaking on Hansen). I want to fight him because he is good and he is DREAM champion. If he wasn’t good and he was losing I wouldn’t have any interest in fighting him.”
Cavalcante isn’t a stranger to training for top level fights, his home gym; American Top Team in Coconut Creek, FL has some of the top fighters in the world today. “We have such a great bunch of guys. We always have big fights in this gym. Thiago (Alves) is fighting GSP; Jorge (Santiago) is fighting Vitor Belfort in Affliction, Mike Brown just had a big fight. Every day I come to the gym I have great guys to train with no matter what time of day I show up. You look around and you see Thiago Alves, Thiago Silva, Antonio Silva, Mike Brown, Jorge Santiago, Wilson Gouveia, and that is just to name a few. There is a lot of experience in this gym and I can’t wait to see the youngest guys coming up. In a couple of more years those guys are going to be the future.“
The close knit group that trains at ATT is like a second family for the lightweight. When they aren’t in the gym, Cavalcante says they are hanging out together. Each of the fighters has the same goals and when you put a group together like that only special things can happen.
In early 2008, Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante, or as he is known in Japan, JZ Calvan, was hovering around the top of the world light weight rankings. Unfortunately for the 26 year old Brazilian, injuries would plague him through the rest of 2008 and into 2009, keeping him on the shelf and causing him to drop off the light weight ranks all together.
After making his return to the ring in May at DREAM 9, and although on the losing end of a decision to Tatsuya Kawajiri, Cavalcante feels his injuries are near back to 100%.
“I’m feeling good” he tells MMANews.com “It took a year to recover from my injuries but nothing bothers me and I’m cool now thanks to god. The time off really helped me because I was able to take care of my injuries but right now I am looking to get back on top.”
Cavalcante was under the impression his next fight would be in September at DREAM 11 against the newly crowned Bellator FC Lightweight Champ Eddie Alvarez, but things appear to have changed. “I’m not sure. Alvarez may not be able to fight but I think it would be an awesome fight. I’m a fighter but I’m also a fan and I like to watch and I think it would be an awesome fight. Right now I guess I’ll have to wait. I’m waiting to hear from DREAM to see what’s up. They asked me to fight Eddie and I thought it was confirmed but now I’m hearing things from his manager that he is not going to fight.”
If the fight with Alvarez does fall through, Cavalcante has a good idea of whom he’d like instead. “No one in particular but there are a lot of good guys in Japan. I want good matches. I would like to fight Joachim Hansen again or Shinya Aoki. I know Aoki won’t be able to but I think Hansen is available and that is a fight I want.“
Hansen and Aoki are the only other blemishes on his 14-3-1 record but for JZ, revenge isn’t something he worries about. “I don’t think much about revenge. I don’t focus on it. A fight is a fight and every fight is different. We’re different fighters now (speaking on Hansen). I want to fight him because he is good and he is DREAM champion. If he wasn’t good and he was losing I wouldn’t have any interest in fighting him.”
Cavalcante isn’t a stranger to training for top level fights, his home gym; American Top Team in Coconut Creek, FL has some of the top fighters in the world today. “We have such a great bunch of guys. We always have big fights in this gym. Thiago (Alves) is fighting GSP; Jorge (Santiago) is fighting Vitor Belfort in Affliction, Mike Brown just had a big fight. Every day I come to the gym I have great guys to train with no matter what time of day I show up. You look around and you see Thiago Alves, Thiago Silva, Antonio Silva, Mike Brown, Jorge Santiago, Wilson Gouveia, and that is just to name a few. There is a lot of experience in this gym and I can’t wait to see the youngest guys coming up. In a couple of more years those guys are going to be the future.“
The close knit group that trains at ATT is like a second family for the lightweight. When they aren’t in the gym, Cavalcante says they are hanging out together. Each of the fighters has the same goals and when you put a group together like that only special things can happen.
UFC RELEASES CIESNOLEVICZ AFTER TUF LOSS
The current downsizing of the UFC’s packed roster continued recently, as MMAWeekly.com has learned the promotion has released Mike Ciesnolevicz, who joins fellow light heavyweight Tim Boetsch on the outside of the Octagon looking in.
Boetsch made waves when he stepped in as a late replacement for Tomasz Drwal at UFC 81 and defeated David Heath in impressive fashion, but went 2-2 for the promotion, with his most recent appearance being a unanimous decision loss to Jason Brilz at UFC 96 in March. He was released shortly thereafter.
Ciesnolevicz also stepped in with late notice for his UFC debut, moving up a weight class against Neil Grove in a heavyweight bout this past February at UFC 95, defeating the massive Grove via heel hook in the first round.
However, in his follow-up bout against Drwal at the recent Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale, Ciesnolevicz again was a late replacement, but this time admittedly performed below expectations, losing in the first round via TKO, splitting his UFC record at 1-1.
Sources say Boetsch’s next stop may be Strikeforce; while Ciesnolevicz told MMAWeekly.com that he is looking into fighting again soon, with the eventual hopes of returning to the UFC after stringing together a couple of wins outside the promotion.
The current downsizing of the UFC’s packed roster continued recently, as MMAWeekly.com has learned the promotion has released Mike Ciesnolevicz, who joins fellow light heavyweight Tim Boetsch on the outside of the Octagon looking in.
Boetsch made waves when he stepped in as a late replacement for Tomasz Drwal at UFC 81 and defeated David Heath in impressive fashion, but went 2-2 for the promotion, with his most recent appearance being a unanimous decision loss to Jason Brilz at UFC 96 in March. He was released shortly thereafter.
Ciesnolevicz also stepped in with late notice for his UFC debut, moving up a weight class against Neil Grove in a heavyweight bout this past February at UFC 95, defeating the massive Grove via heel hook in the first round.
However, in his follow-up bout against Drwal at the recent Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale, Ciesnolevicz again was a late replacement, but this time admittedly performed below expectations, losing in the first round via TKO, splitting his UFC record at 1-1.
Sources say Boetsch’s next stop may be Strikeforce; while Ciesnolevicz told MMAWeekly.com that he is looking into fighting again soon, with the eventual hopes of returning to the UFC after stringing together a couple of wins outside the promotion.
Gracie Admires Strategy, Style of UFC Champs
MMA pioneer Royce Gracie won his fights with the ground game. Yet the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has high praise for two countrymen who do their best work on the feet.
During a breakfast last month in Beijing for the Chinese event Art of War, Gracie discussed what he likes most about UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
“Lyoto is one of the few guys that knows how to use strategy,” Gracie said. “Besides his karate and his ground game, he knows how to use strategy and that’s what puts him on the top. I saw his victory over Rashad. He wasn’t punched one single time in the whole fight and that’s (the strategy).”
Gracie also complimented Silva for similar reasons. Although Silva was criticized by some for his UFC 97 performance against Thales Leites, Gracie praised the showing.
“I don’t understand why people criticized (Silva) so much,” Gracie said. “He used a perfect strategy and wasn’t hit in the whole fight, had a clean fight and won. Do we have rules? So let’s fight under the rules. Why would he go there and fight until he rips his opponent’s head off? … Why would he expose himself? You have to use your mind. I like the guys who use strategy -- these are the guys who are on the top: Lyoto, Anderson, GSP. They fight clean and take their opponents out of their own games.”
Asked if he is retired, the UFC legend finished the conversation with his sense of humor.
“I don’t have anything in a contract,” he said with a laugh. “I’m OK, relaxing, doing a lot of seminars, traveling all around the world, but nothing is on my mind. That’s it. I don’t feel that will to fight anymore. Only if someone gives me a great offer, so I won’t (refuse). I know where the will lives. If I decide to, I can go there and ask her out to have dinner with me.”
MMA pioneer Royce Gracie won his fights with the ground game. Yet the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has high praise for two countrymen who do their best work on the feet.
During a breakfast last month in Beijing for the Chinese event Art of War, Gracie discussed what he likes most about UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
“Lyoto is one of the few guys that knows how to use strategy,” Gracie said. “Besides his karate and his ground game, he knows how to use strategy and that’s what puts him on the top. I saw his victory over Rashad. He wasn’t punched one single time in the whole fight and that’s (the strategy).”
Gracie also complimented Silva for similar reasons. Although Silva was criticized by some for his UFC 97 performance against Thales Leites, Gracie praised the showing.
“I don’t understand why people criticized (Silva) so much,” Gracie said. “He used a perfect strategy and wasn’t hit in the whole fight, had a clean fight and won. Do we have rules? So let’s fight under the rules. Why would he go there and fight until he rips his opponent’s head off? … Why would he expose himself? You have to use your mind. I like the guys who use strategy -- these are the guys who are on the top: Lyoto, Anderson, GSP. They fight clean and take their opponents out of their own games.”
Asked if he is retired, the UFC legend finished the conversation with his sense of humor.
“I don’t have anything in a contract,” he said with a laugh. “I’m OK, relaxing, doing a lot of seminars, traveling all around the world, but nothing is on my mind. That’s it. I don’t feel that will to fight anymore. Only if someone gives me a great offer, so I won’t (refuse). I know where the will lives. If I decide to, I can go there and ask her out to have dinner with me.”
Cerrone vs. Henderson set for WEC in September, title implications not determined (Updated)
Top WEC lightweight contender Donald Cerrone (10-1 MMA, 3-1 WEC) will meet fast-rising prospect Ben Henderson (9-1 MMA, 2-0 WEC) at an as-yet-unannounced WEC event in September.
Henderson announced the fight on his official website on Friday.
Cerrone had been expected to compete in a lightweight title rematch with Jamie Varner, but recent complications in the champ's recovery process from a hand injury have forced the change in opponent for Cerrone.
While Cerrone has openly requested to compete for an interim title in Varner's absence, WEC officials have not yet committed to the implementation of such a belt.
"We're talking about all of that," WEC co-founder and general manager Reed Harris told the crew of the "GoodSports" radio show, which on Thursday included MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) lead staff reporter John Morgan as a guest co-host. "We hadn't even really made the fight (between Varner and Cerrone).
"We were waiting to hear from [Varner] as far as his doctor's report. He went to the doctor, and he's not cleared yet. We're just going to have to wait and see. We're going to talk about what we're doing, where we're going with our lightweight division. Whether we do an interim title, how that works, I just can't comment yet because I haven't had the discussion yet."
While Cerrone has made several comments insinuating Varner is uninterested in revisiting the controversial January bout, Harris insisted the champ was hoping his health would allow him to again face "Cowboy."
"[Varner] wanted to fight Donald," Harris said. "But at the end of the day, it is about being ready and having things heal right. I know he's struggling with that, so we're going to sit down and talk about it."
While a September date would mean the 155-pound title would be supplemented by an interim crown just eight months after the original belt was most recently defended, Harris said the lack of a firm timetable for Varner's return, coupled with additional factors, means anything is possible.
"It seems like [Varner] has a ways to go," Harris said. "The other thing I'm thinking is, 'Does he want to come back right into a title fight?' He may want to take another fight.
"We're going to discuss it. We'll talk to his team. At WEC, our fighters are our partners. We'll work it out with [Varner's camp] and see. We've got to get their input, too, as far as what they think."
Varner handed Cerrone the lone loss of his career in their original meeting. Varner earned a technical split-decision after the bout ended in the fifth round when Cerrone landed an illegal blow that left the champ unable to continue.
Meanwhile, Henderson has reeled off eight-straight wins, including a January win over Anthony Njokuani and an April TKO-victory over Shane Roller, both in the WEC.
Top WEC lightweight contender Donald Cerrone (10-1 MMA, 3-1 WEC) will meet fast-rising prospect Ben Henderson (9-1 MMA, 2-0 WEC) at an as-yet-unannounced WEC event in September.
Henderson announced the fight on his official website on Friday.
Cerrone had been expected to compete in a lightweight title rematch with Jamie Varner, but recent complications in the champ's recovery process from a hand injury have forced the change in opponent for Cerrone.
While Cerrone has openly requested to compete for an interim title in Varner's absence, WEC officials have not yet committed to the implementation of such a belt.
"We're talking about all of that," WEC co-founder and general manager Reed Harris told the crew of the "GoodSports" radio show, which on Thursday included MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) lead staff reporter John Morgan as a guest co-host. "We hadn't even really made the fight (between Varner and Cerrone).
"We were waiting to hear from [Varner] as far as his doctor's report. He went to the doctor, and he's not cleared yet. We're just going to have to wait and see. We're going to talk about what we're doing, where we're going with our lightweight division. Whether we do an interim title, how that works, I just can't comment yet because I haven't had the discussion yet."
While Cerrone has made several comments insinuating Varner is uninterested in revisiting the controversial January bout, Harris insisted the champ was hoping his health would allow him to again face "Cowboy."
"[Varner] wanted to fight Donald," Harris said. "But at the end of the day, it is about being ready and having things heal right. I know he's struggling with that, so we're going to sit down and talk about it."
While a September date would mean the 155-pound title would be supplemented by an interim crown just eight months after the original belt was most recently defended, Harris said the lack of a firm timetable for Varner's return, coupled with additional factors, means anything is possible.
"It seems like [Varner] has a ways to go," Harris said. "The other thing I'm thinking is, 'Does he want to come back right into a title fight?' He may want to take another fight.
"We're going to discuss it. We'll talk to his team. At WEC, our fighters are our partners. We'll work it out with [Varner's camp] and see. We've got to get their input, too, as far as what they think."
Varner handed Cerrone the lone loss of his career in their original meeting. Varner earned a technical split-decision after the bout ended in the fifth round when Cerrone landed an illegal blow that left the champ unable to continue.
Meanwhile, Henderson has reeled off eight-straight wins, including a January win over Anthony Njokuani and an April TKO-victory over Shane Roller, both in the WEC.
Jon Jones makes no bones about MMA skills
When Jon Jones was a kid, he frequently was the first player chosen in pickup basketball games. By his own admission, though, that was a mistake. Jones is no basketball player.
With brothers Arthur and Chandler starring on the Syracuse University football team, he often was expected to be a star wide receiver or running back. But Jones chuckles and admits he's lucky if he can catch one of every three balls thrown his way.
"Can't play basketball and can't play football," Jones said, chuckling. "Actually, I was never really much of an athlete. I always sucked at everything in gym class. My brothers were always the captains of teams they were on, and they were always very good at whatever they did.
"Not me, though."
That's not entirely true. Jones was a good enough wrestler that he twice was offered a scholarship at Iowa State. The first time, he couldn't take it because his grades weren't good enough to qualify. The second time, he declined because his girlfriend became pregnant and he decided to find a job to support his family.
Leah Jones will celebrate her first birthday on July 11, and as he prophesied when he learned that his girlfriend, Jessie Moses, was pregnant, he'll be working on Leah's birthday.
But while he speaks derisively of his athletic prowess, the 21-year-old Jones is supporting his family with his athletic ability.
He has become a mixed martial artist and is one of the hottest prospects under contract to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He'll meet veteran Jake O'Brien in a three-round light heavyweight bout on July 11 as part of the touted UFC 100 card at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
"Not wrestling, there was going to be a void in my life, and MMA was the closest thing I could see to wrestling," Jones said. "I didn't want to waste this God-given ability."
But Jones isn't your average wrestler-turned-MMA-fighter. Even during his days a junior college wrestling champion, Jones looked for something more exciting than grappling with his opponent on the mat.
So he often would take down his opponent, let him up and begin the chase to take him down all over again.
"During my collegiate wrestling career, I was always the type of wrestler who didn't want to get involved in ground too much," Jones said. "I didn't look at the ground as being exciting. I'd always win my matches by taking my opponent down, scoring the two points, and then allowing them to escape back to their feet. I'd do that over and over and over again. I'd take him down and let him up, take him down and let him up.
"When I got into MMA, I had the same mindset. I didn't want to roll around with people and grapple with people."
So Jones trekked to his local bookstore and scoured YouTube, looking for techniques on how to strike. And when he began to use his hands, he found something that he was a natural at.
He might not be able to dribble a basketball or catch a football, but there weren't many people around who could punch or kick or elbow the way he could.
What makes Jones unique, though, is that his striking is so unusual. He'll throw punches or elbows or kicks from any angle, often drawing audible gasps from the crowd. He dominated veteran Stephan Bonnar at UFC 94, never allowing his opponent to get into the fight by landing shots neither he could expect nor see.
It was a high-risk style, but it's what Jones practices every day.
"Some people look at it and say it's flashy and high-risk," Jones said. "I don't look at what I do as being flashy, though. When I'm practicing those flashy, high-risk moves every day, they become part of what I do. To me, it's being unpredictable. And that's hard to train for, hard to counter and hard to block."
He's 2-0 in the UFC after wins over Andre Gusmao and Bonnar and on the verge of facing tougher competition.
But UFC president Dana White realizes that Jones has lots to learn and can't be thrown in against the best light heavyweights just yet.
White, though, is very bullish on Jones' potential as a future star.
"Awesome is probably the perfect word to describe this kid," White said of Jones. "He does some things that make you look at the person next to you and go, 'Did you just see that?' But at the same time, he hasn't been fighting that long. He's got a long way to go, and when we make matches we always take all of that into consideration."
Jones handled Bonnar like a veteran at UFC 94 and brought plenty of ooohs and aaahs from the crowd. He said he didn't notice as he was fighting and was a bit surprised at the attention he received post-fight.
It wasn't until he went home and watched a tape that he was willing to crack a smile.
"I'm still learning how to fight, but I'm learning on a really big stage," Jones said. "I'm creating my own funky, unique style. I'm out there trying to survive, and I don't realize how cool things look until I see them later.
"I see some of the things I do, and I wonder where they come from. I just react and things happen."
When Jon Jones was a kid, he frequently was the first player chosen in pickup basketball games. By his own admission, though, that was a mistake. Jones is no basketball player.
With brothers Arthur and Chandler starring on the Syracuse University football team, he often was expected to be a star wide receiver or running back. But Jones chuckles and admits he's lucky if he can catch one of every three balls thrown his way.
"Can't play basketball and can't play football," Jones said, chuckling. "Actually, I was never really much of an athlete. I always sucked at everything in gym class. My brothers were always the captains of teams they were on, and they were always very good at whatever they did.
"Not me, though."
That's not entirely true. Jones was a good enough wrestler that he twice was offered a scholarship at Iowa State. The first time, he couldn't take it because his grades weren't good enough to qualify. The second time, he declined because his girlfriend became pregnant and he decided to find a job to support his family.
Leah Jones will celebrate her first birthday on July 11, and as he prophesied when he learned that his girlfriend, Jessie Moses, was pregnant, he'll be working on Leah's birthday.
But while he speaks derisively of his athletic prowess, the 21-year-old Jones is supporting his family with his athletic ability.
He has become a mixed martial artist and is one of the hottest prospects under contract to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He'll meet veteran Jake O'Brien in a three-round light heavyweight bout on July 11 as part of the touted UFC 100 card at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
"Not wrestling, there was going to be a void in my life, and MMA was the closest thing I could see to wrestling," Jones said. "I didn't want to waste this God-given ability."
But Jones isn't your average wrestler-turned-MMA-fighter. Even during his days a junior college wrestling champion, Jones looked for something more exciting than grappling with his opponent on the mat.
So he often would take down his opponent, let him up and begin the chase to take him down all over again.
"During my collegiate wrestling career, I was always the type of wrestler who didn't want to get involved in ground too much," Jones said. "I didn't look at the ground as being exciting. I'd always win my matches by taking my opponent down, scoring the two points, and then allowing them to escape back to their feet. I'd do that over and over and over again. I'd take him down and let him up, take him down and let him up.
"When I got into MMA, I had the same mindset. I didn't want to roll around with people and grapple with people."
So Jones trekked to his local bookstore and scoured YouTube, looking for techniques on how to strike. And when he began to use his hands, he found something that he was a natural at.
He might not be able to dribble a basketball or catch a football, but there weren't many people around who could punch or kick or elbow the way he could.
What makes Jones unique, though, is that his striking is so unusual. He'll throw punches or elbows or kicks from any angle, often drawing audible gasps from the crowd. He dominated veteran Stephan Bonnar at UFC 94, never allowing his opponent to get into the fight by landing shots neither he could expect nor see.
It was a high-risk style, but it's what Jones practices every day.
"Some people look at it and say it's flashy and high-risk," Jones said. "I don't look at what I do as being flashy, though. When I'm practicing those flashy, high-risk moves every day, they become part of what I do. To me, it's being unpredictable. And that's hard to train for, hard to counter and hard to block."
He's 2-0 in the UFC after wins over Andre Gusmao and Bonnar and on the verge of facing tougher competition.
But UFC president Dana White realizes that Jones has lots to learn and can't be thrown in against the best light heavyweights just yet.
White, though, is very bullish on Jones' potential as a future star.
"Awesome is probably the perfect word to describe this kid," White said of Jones. "He does some things that make you look at the person next to you and go, 'Did you just see that?' But at the same time, he hasn't been fighting that long. He's got a long way to go, and when we make matches we always take all of that into consideration."
Jones handled Bonnar like a veteran at UFC 94 and brought plenty of ooohs and aaahs from the crowd. He said he didn't notice as he was fighting and was a bit surprised at the attention he received post-fight.
It wasn't until he went home and watched a tape that he was willing to crack a smile.
"I'm still learning how to fight, but I'm learning on a really big stage," Jones said. "I'm creating my own funky, unique style. I'm out there trying to survive, and I don't realize how cool things look until I see them later.
"I see some of the things I do, and I wonder where they come from. I just react and things happen."
JOEY VILLASENOR IS BACK, TAKING AIM AT BIG NAMES
As someone once said, “Good things come to those who wait.”
That has never been more evident than it was recently for Strikeforce middleweight contender Joey Villasenor.
After a year in limbo, predicated by the downfall of EliteXC and numerous fight delays, he finally returned to action last Friday victorious over Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos at the second edition of ShoMMA: Strikeforce Challengers Series on Showtime.
“I put my head down and kept working,” said Villasenor to MMAWeekly.com about his year out of the cage. “It was frustrating, don’t get me wrong, but I definitely feel like I’ve gotten better.
“If anything, it put everything in perspective. For instance, all my teammates know how much I hate to cut weight, but I missed it. I missed those challenges of making weight, and really enjoying all those little things that I didn’t like before about fighting.”
Despite the hard fought split-decision battle with Santos, Villasenor admits he loved every minute of getting back into the fight game.
“The week of the fight was a great experience for me to do it all over again,” he elated. “I actually was all smiles in the cage – even though I had my serious face on – I was just glad to be back in there, and was appreciating the whole process of having a fight.”
Perhaps sensing it was his last chance at a big show, Santos fought differently than he had in previous bouts, becoming a cautious, methodical counter-striker, which definitely threw Villasenor for a curve at first.
“The game plan we had for him we had to totally adjust, because the Santos we faced wasn’t the one people are used to watching,” stated the Greg Jackson-trained fighter. “I think I fought the best Santos that’s shown himself – he’s definitely worked on his game and performance.
“It was a good fight to come back to after a year off. I was able to watch the film, and outside of taking some big leg kicks early on, I feel I performed really well.”
Now that he’s back in the swing of things, Villasenor addressed where he’d like to go next in Strikeforce.
“I think with my last performance I think that I kind of moved closer to the top,” he said. “In EliteXC I was the number one contender, so I didn’t fall that much further down anyway.
“I think I’ll be talked about in the middleweight division as one of their top contenders.”
As pointed out by many of the athletes currently in Strikeforce’s middleweight division, there’s no shortage of intriguing match-ups available, and Villasenor agrees.
“Once Strikeforce calls and gives me a date and an opponent, I’m down with competing against anybody,” he stated. “I’d be honored to fight the likes of Cung Le, Frank Shamrock, Scott Smith, and Robbie Lawler – that’s another fight I’d love to have.
“We have a great group of guys to pool from, with a lot of exciting bouts, and I’m just really excited to be a part of it.”
Hoping to get a couple more fights in by the end of the year, Villasenor is genuinely happy to be back to fighting, and can’t wait to see where the road leads to.
“I’ve definitely got to thank the sponsors that I’ve had since the beginning. Tapout and Fairtex, and I’d like to give a shout out to Tokyo Five Jeans,” he closed out. “Thanks to all my coaches, teammates, family and friends, and the fans – I appreciate you guys, and keep on supporting us.”
As someone once said, “Good things come to those who wait.”
That has never been more evident than it was recently for Strikeforce middleweight contender Joey Villasenor.
After a year in limbo, predicated by the downfall of EliteXC and numerous fight delays, he finally returned to action last Friday victorious over Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos at the second edition of ShoMMA: Strikeforce Challengers Series on Showtime.
“I put my head down and kept working,” said Villasenor to MMAWeekly.com about his year out of the cage. “It was frustrating, don’t get me wrong, but I definitely feel like I’ve gotten better.
“If anything, it put everything in perspective. For instance, all my teammates know how much I hate to cut weight, but I missed it. I missed those challenges of making weight, and really enjoying all those little things that I didn’t like before about fighting.”
Despite the hard fought split-decision battle with Santos, Villasenor admits he loved every minute of getting back into the fight game.
“The week of the fight was a great experience for me to do it all over again,” he elated. “I actually was all smiles in the cage – even though I had my serious face on – I was just glad to be back in there, and was appreciating the whole process of having a fight.”
Perhaps sensing it was his last chance at a big show, Santos fought differently than he had in previous bouts, becoming a cautious, methodical counter-striker, which definitely threw Villasenor for a curve at first.
“The game plan we had for him we had to totally adjust, because the Santos we faced wasn’t the one people are used to watching,” stated the Greg Jackson-trained fighter. “I think I fought the best Santos that’s shown himself – he’s definitely worked on his game and performance.
“It was a good fight to come back to after a year off. I was able to watch the film, and outside of taking some big leg kicks early on, I feel I performed really well.”
Now that he’s back in the swing of things, Villasenor addressed where he’d like to go next in Strikeforce.
“I think with my last performance I think that I kind of moved closer to the top,” he said. “In EliteXC I was the number one contender, so I didn’t fall that much further down anyway.
“I think I’ll be talked about in the middleweight division as one of their top contenders.”
As pointed out by many of the athletes currently in Strikeforce’s middleweight division, there’s no shortage of intriguing match-ups available, and Villasenor agrees.
“Once Strikeforce calls and gives me a date and an opponent, I’m down with competing against anybody,” he stated. “I’d be honored to fight the likes of Cung Le, Frank Shamrock, Scott Smith, and Robbie Lawler – that’s another fight I’d love to have.
“We have a great group of guys to pool from, with a lot of exciting bouts, and I’m just really excited to be a part of it.”
Hoping to get a couple more fights in by the end of the year, Villasenor is genuinely happy to be back to fighting, and can’t wait to see where the road leads to.
“I’ve definitely got to thank the sponsors that I’ve had since the beginning. Tapout and Fairtex, and I’d like to give a shout out to Tokyo Five Jeans,” he closed out. “Thanks to all my coaches, teammates, family and friends, and the fans – I appreciate you guys, and keep on supporting us.”
UFC'S RATNER HOLDS HOPE FOR N.Y. MMA IN 2009
The past two weeks have not been kind to the UFC’s interests in New York. Turmoil within the Senate has ground to a halt its legislative business and impeded the state assembly.
Day two of the Senate’s special session wrapped up Wednesday in near total chaos, with representatives feuding over control of the proceedings and refusing to address bills placed on the agenda by the Governor.
In other words, a fight is getting in the way of fights in New York.
UFC president Dana White has long had his eye on Madison Square Garden, promising an event there by the end of the year.
Senate bill S2165A and assembly bill 2009-B, which seek to legalize MMA in the Empire State, have remained in committee since the battle broke out.
There has been no indication the Senate version of MMA legislation will be heard.
On the assembly side, multiple legislators MMAWeekly.com spoke to said there were no special sessions planned for the myriad of bills left on its desk, but none ruled out the chance of going back to Albany.
But Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner doesn’t hear any singing just yet.
“Here’s my feeling as to what’s going to happen: Eventually, the Senate’s going to have to get back in session,” Ratner told MMAWeekly.com. “Once the Senate’s back in session, they're going to have to pass some bills. Then the Assembly’s going to have to come back before the end of the year or before the end of summer and they’re going to have to look at some of these bills. The session is, at this moment, over. But this is my prediction: they’re going to have to meet again.”
Of course, if the assembly decides to return before the close of 2009, MMA’s fate will rest in which bills they decide to address. That power lies with the Speaker of the Assembly, representative Sheldon Silver.
“In each of the last several years, the assembly has come back into special session two, sometimes three times after their regular session,” said a staffer for Herman D. Farrell, Jr., chair of the assembly’s Ways and Means committee where bill 2009-B was stranded. “However, during those special sessions, most of the bills that have been considered are of an economic nature. It is not unheard of for program bills to be considered during special session, but it’s not common.”
Ratner said the sheer volume of unfinished business actually improved his company’s chances.
“There’s going to be a lot of bills out there that only one house has passed,” he said. “I think the assembly passed around 150 or 200 bills in the last couple of days before they adjourned. So if the Senate changes any of those, they’re going to have to come back, they’re going to have to have some compromises. So I feel there’s still a chance that it will be done this year. Maybe I’m being more optimistic than some, but that’s the way I feel.”
Assemblyman Jonathan Bing, who’s argument for the MMA legislation helped it pass the Tourism, Arts, and Sports Development committee June 3, was hopeful the bill would be addressed sooner than later.
“There’s a good chance we’ll be back in Albany for one reason or another before then, and my hope is that when the legislature does re-convene, whether it’s later this year or early next year, that we can go forward on this legislation,” said Bing. “Certainly I will advocate for the bill to be brought up as soon as possible, but in terms of when that’s going to be, that’s made by the speaker.”
However, if the bill does not see the light of day before the year’s end, Bing says he will make the case once again in January. There, Bob Reilly, the “accidental opposition” to the bill, will take another chop at the sport.
A representative from Speaker Silver’s office declined comment on the likelihood of the MMA bill being placed on the agenda.
“The assembly is always available to return at the call of the Speaker, but as of now, there is no assembly session at this time,” the representative stated. “The bill is still being reviewed through the committee process.”
Regardless of the outcome in Albany, Ratner will soldier on.
“What’s happening is unprecedented in their political history,” he said. “I feel very strongly that if the Senate hadn’t had what happened to it, with guys changing sides, that we might have a bill on the Governor’s desk already. But it did happen, and we’re going to go forward. I’m still cautiously optimistic that in the year 2009, it will be passed.”
The past two weeks have not been kind to the UFC’s interests in New York. Turmoil within the Senate has ground to a halt its legislative business and impeded the state assembly.
Day two of the Senate’s special session wrapped up Wednesday in near total chaos, with representatives feuding over control of the proceedings and refusing to address bills placed on the agenda by the Governor.
In other words, a fight is getting in the way of fights in New York.
UFC president Dana White has long had his eye on Madison Square Garden, promising an event there by the end of the year.
Senate bill S2165A and assembly bill 2009-B, which seek to legalize MMA in the Empire State, have remained in committee since the battle broke out.
There has been no indication the Senate version of MMA legislation will be heard.
On the assembly side, multiple legislators MMAWeekly.com spoke to said there were no special sessions planned for the myriad of bills left on its desk, but none ruled out the chance of going back to Albany.
But Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner doesn’t hear any singing just yet.
“Here’s my feeling as to what’s going to happen: Eventually, the Senate’s going to have to get back in session,” Ratner told MMAWeekly.com. “Once the Senate’s back in session, they're going to have to pass some bills. Then the Assembly’s going to have to come back before the end of the year or before the end of summer and they’re going to have to look at some of these bills. The session is, at this moment, over. But this is my prediction: they’re going to have to meet again.”
Of course, if the assembly decides to return before the close of 2009, MMA’s fate will rest in which bills they decide to address. That power lies with the Speaker of the Assembly, representative Sheldon Silver.
“In each of the last several years, the assembly has come back into special session two, sometimes three times after their regular session,” said a staffer for Herman D. Farrell, Jr., chair of the assembly’s Ways and Means committee where bill 2009-B was stranded. “However, during those special sessions, most of the bills that have been considered are of an economic nature. It is not unheard of for program bills to be considered during special session, but it’s not common.”
Ratner said the sheer volume of unfinished business actually improved his company’s chances.
“There’s going to be a lot of bills out there that only one house has passed,” he said. “I think the assembly passed around 150 or 200 bills in the last couple of days before they adjourned. So if the Senate changes any of those, they’re going to have to come back, they’re going to have to have some compromises. So I feel there’s still a chance that it will be done this year. Maybe I’m being more optimistic than some, but that’s the way I feel.”
Assemblyman Jonathan Bing, who’s argument for the MMA legislation helped it pass the Tourism, Arts, and Sports Development committee June 3, was hopeful the bill would be addressed sooner than later.
“There’s a good chance we’ll be back in Albany for one reason or another before then, and my hope is that when the legislature does re-convene, whether it’s later this year or early next year, that we can go forward on this legislation,” said Bing. “Certainly I will advocate for the bill to be brought up as soon as possible, but in terms of when that’s going to be, that’s made by the speaker.”
However, if the bill does not see the light of day before the year’s end, Bing says he will make the case once again in January. There, Bob Reilly, the “accidental opposition” to the bill, will take another chop at the sport.
A representative from Speaker Silver’s office declined comment on the likelihood of the MMA bill being placed on the agenda.
“The assembly is always available to return at the call of the Speaker, but as of now, there is no assembly session at this time,” the representative stated. “The bill is still being reviewed through the committee process.”
Regardless of the outcome in Albany, Ratner will soldier on.
“What’s happening is unprecedented in their political history,” he said. “I feel very strongly that if the Senate hadn’t had what happened to it, with guys changing sides, that we might have a bill on the Governor’s desk already. But it did happen, and we’re going to go forward. I’m still cautiously optimistic that in the year 2009, it will be passed.”
CH'E MILLS RAMPING UP ANOTHER RUN WITH BAMMA
The inaugural British Association of Mixed Martial Arts rolls into view Saturday night and C’he Mills for one can’t wait to get the event underway.
“It’s the first show, but from what has been said so far it sounds good. I am just looking forward to getting in there,” explained the Gloucester based fighter, adding, “I fought three weeks ago as a warm-up in a local Somerset show. I won that, but now I am looking forward to the fight this weekend.”
He faces Edgelson Lua in his first BAMMA bout.
Walking around at 83 kilograms just days prior and required to make the 77-kilogram limit, he has kept his weight pretty close for this bout, probably on account of the close turnaround from his Somerset match, but he expects to just trim a little in the sauna the morning of the weigh-ins.
Mills is a fighter currently searching for recognition. His skills are there and his record is solid with wins over current UFC fighter Paul Taylor and surprise Dream breakout fighter Marius Zaromskis. He was the incumbent Cage Rage welterweight champion when the promotion succumbed to the administrators and only recently had a stab at The Ultimate Fighter: Team U.S.A. vs. Team U.K. season, although that part didn’t go to plan.
“I don’t know what happened during the qualifiers for the show,” explained the clearly disappointed fighter in reflection of his short bout. “It just wasn’t my day, no excuses, it just wasn’t.”
Still, Mills has dusted himself off and set about finding a path to the big time again and hopes that BAMMA will step into the vacuum between the international shows and the U.K. circuit. In his way stands a fighter who has been showing continual improvement through his last couple of outings.
“I think the biggest edge I have over him is experience,” assesses Mills; experience that will no doubt have to be drawn upon because he is coming into this fight without a game plan. He explained why, "He is a tricky character, kinda like Lyoto Machida in that he is hard to work out, constantly moving and very elusive. I don’t have a set game for this and will just push him hard and work out what he has going on.”
This weekend’s fights define the competitors that will advance towards the finals of the weight category in September; looking across at the other welterweight bracket, it is occupied by Eugene Fadiora and Nathan Champ. Who does Mills expect to be tussling with if he gets past Lua?
“I haven’t seen Nathan fight yet, so I haven’t really been focusing on him. My focus is on this weekend, but I know of Eugene. He has a good team, is the same kind of build and height to myself, and is young and hungry, so that may make for an interesting fight.”
C’he Mills is always dangerous and presents a tough opponent for Lua, let alone anyone else beyond that. But with his sights set firmly on the puzzle ahead of him this weekend, he knows he will need to be on top of his game in order to renew his charge at the international stage.
The inaugural British Association of Mixed Martial Arts rolls into view Saturday night and C’he Mills for one can’t wait to get the event underway.
“It’s the first show, but from what has been said so far it sounds good. I am just looking forward to getting in there,” explained the Gloucester based fighter, adding, “I fought three weeks ago as a warm-up in a local Somerset show. I won that, but now I am looking forward to the fight this weekend.”
He faces Edgelson Lua in his first BAMMA bout.
Walking around at 83 kilograms just days prior and required to make the 77-kilogram limit, he has kept his weight pretty close for this bout, probably on account of the close turnaround from his Somerset match, but he expects to just trim a little in the sauna the morning of the weigh-ins.
Mills is a fighter currently searching for recognition. His skills are there and his record is solid with wins over current UFC fighter Paul Taylor and surprise Dream breakout fighter Marius Zaromskis. He was the incumbent Cage Rage welterweight champion when the promotion succumbed to the administrators and only recently had a stab at The Ultimate Fighter: Team U.S.A. vs. Team U.K. season, although that part didn’t go to plan.
“I don’t know what happened during the qualifiers for the show,” explained the clearly disappointed fighter in reflection of his short bout. “It just wasn’t my day, no excuses, it just wasn’t.”
Still, Mills has dusted himself off and set about finding a path to the big time again and hopes that BAMMA will step into the vacuum between the international shows and the U.K. circuit. In his way stands a fighter who has been showing continual improvement through his last couple of outings.
“I think the biggest edge I have over him is experience,” assesses Mills; experience that will no doubt have to be drawn upon because he is coming into this fight without a game plan. He explained why, "He is a tricky character, kinda like Lyoto Machida in that he is hard to work out, constantly moving and very elusive. I don’t have a set game for this and will just push him hard and work out what he has going on.”
This weekend’s fights define the competitors that will advance towards the finals of the weight category in September; looking across at the other welterweight bracket, it is occupied by Eugene Fadiora and Nathan Champ. Who does Mills expect to be tussling with if he gets past Lua?
“I haven’t seen Nathan fight yet, so I haven’t really been focusing on him. My focus is on this weekend, but I know of Eugene. He has a good team, is the same kind of build and height to myself, and is young and hungry, so that may make for an interesting fight.”
C’he Mills is always dangerous and presents a tough opponent for Lua, let alone anyone else beyond that. But with his sights set firmly on the puzzle ahead of him this weekend, he knows he will need to be on top of his game in order to renew his charge at the international stage.
UFC Quick Quote: ‘Michael Bisping will out-wrestle Dan Henderson’
“He will take Dan Henderson down more than one time in the fight. He will, that’s how he is going to win the fight. That is how I see it. When they start trading I think Mike will win the scrambles. Dan is a great scrambler but in a scramble situation I think Mike is going to come out on top every time. [Bisping] is fighting a guy that I have competed against, in the sense that Rampage fought him before. What I have done is basically helped him complete his strategy for the fight. Wrestling-wise I am probably one of the best MMA-wrestling trainers in the world at the moment. There is no doubt in my mind that he will end this fight before the third round.”
– Zach Light, head wrestling coach at UK’s Wolfslair gym, tells Fighters Only that his star pupil Michael Bisping will actually out-wrestle the former Olympian Dan Henderson when they meet at UFC 100 on July 11. “The Count,” who was taken down at will by Matt Hamill at UFC 75 and then again by Rashad Evans at UFC 78, should at least take comfort in the fact that Light was also the wrestling coach for Cheick Kongo in his fight against Cain Velasquez at UFC 99 on June 13.
“He will take Dan Henderson down more than one time in the fight. He will, that’s how he is going to win the fight. That is how I see it. When they start trading I think Mike will win the scrambles. Dan is a great scrambler but in a scramble situation I think Mike is going to come out on top every time. [Bisping] is fighting a guy that I have competed against, in the sense that Rampage fought him before. What I have done is basically helped him complete his strategy for the fight. Wrestling-wise I am probably one of the best MMA-wrestling trainers in the world at the moment. There is no doubt in my mind that he will end this fight before the third round.”
– Zach Light, head wrestling coach at UK’s Wolfslair gym, tells Fighters Only that his star pupil Michael Bisping will actually out-wrestle the former Olympian Dan Henderson when they meet at UFC 100 on July 11. “The Count,” who was taken down at will by Matt Hamill at UFC 75 and then again by Rashad Evans at UFC 78, should at least take comfort in the fact that Light was also the wrestling coach for Cheick Kongo in his fight against Cain Velasquez at UFC 99 on June 13.
MMA Quick Quote: Bob Sapp is going to ‘wreck’ Bobby Lashley at ‘Ultimate Chaos’
“[Bobby Lashley is] looking for a train wreck. I’m the train that’s going to wreck him. He’s expecting me to go three rounds … no. I’m going to knock him out. He’s looking for me? He’ll see me after I knock him out and he’s laying there looking up at me. Everybody’s going to see what ‘Ultimate Chaos’ means … me and Bobby Lashley.”
– Bob “The Beast” Sapp puts the finishing touches on the trash talk during the final pre-fight press conference before his colossal collision with former professional wrestling champion Bobby Lashley. The pair of giants will headline “Ultimate Chaos” this weekend, which is slated to air on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss., on Saturday, June 27. It’s certainly not expected to capture “Fight of the Year” honors; however, it is a rather interesting match up on otherwise interesting fight card that also includes Pedro Rizzo, Gilbert Yvel, Din Thomas, Tom Atencio and Chris Horodecki, among others. So can Lashley survive the early onslaught that Sapp promises or is “The Beast” all bark and no bite? And can Sapp survive more than one round if his early knockout predicition does not come to fruition?
“[Bobby Lashley is] looking for a train wreck. I’m the train that’s going to wreck him. He’s expecting me to go three rounds … no. I’m going to knock him out. He’s looking for me? He’ll see me after I knock him out and he’s laying there looking up at me. Everybody’s going to see what ‘Ultimate Chaos’ means … me and Bobby Lashley.”
– Bob “The Beast” Sapp puts the finishing touches on the trash talk during the final pre-fight press conference before his colossal collision with former professional wrestling champion Bobby Lashley. The pair of giants will headline “Ultimate Chaos” this weekend, which is slated to air on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss., on Saturday, June 27. It’s certainly not expected to capture “Fight of the Year” honors; however, it is a rather interesting match up on otherwise interesting fight card that also includes Pedro Rizzo, Gilbert Yvel, Din Thomas, Tom Atencio and Chris Horodecki, among others. So can Lashley survive the early onslaught that Sapp promises or is “The Beast” all bark and no bite? And can Sapp survive more than one round if his early knockout predicition does not come to fruition?
Bobby Lashley on beating Bob Sapp: ‘You can Bet Your House on It.’
Former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley takes a big step up in competition tomorrow when he takes on Japan’s most famous fighter, Bob Sapp. The two main event the Ultimate Chaos PPV from the Gulfport Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi. Five Ounces of Pain’s Jonathan Snowden had a chance to talk to Lashley about his transition to MMA, why it was smart to take it slow, and what he would do if he was a betting man.
Five Ounces of Pain: Tell me about your time in the service. You had already finished college. How did you end up in the Army?
Bobby Lashley: Well, first I was recruited to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. Olympic coach Kevin Jackson offered me a residency. But I had already graduated from college and been out for a year. I had bills and just couldn’t afford to do that. But the Army World Class Athletes Coach called me and told me about that program. So I went in to MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) and picked my MOS (Military Occupational Speciality) which was 11- Bravo (Editor’s Note: Infantry Grunt) went to Fort Benning, Georgia, and went to Basic and AIT (Advanced Individual Training). My orders after that were to go to Fort Carson and report to the World Class Athlete Program.
5 OZ: And then it was all wrestling.
Lashley: Yeah. But at WCAP they always said ‘Soldier first.’ Even though I was an athlete we still had to report and had formations in the morning.
5 OZ: You did pretty well there, winning the Armed Forces Championships and doing well in the International meets. What made you decide to get out of the Army and give up on your Olympic dreams?
Lashley: That’s kind of a long story, but I’ll give you the short version. I was in for four years, but in my last year I was having some difficulty. My knee was bad and we weren’t sure I could finish out my last year with my knee the way it was. I tried to keep my knee in somewhat good shape and I was getting it drained, but my bursa sack was very inflamed. It would get better and then had to be drained again. It got to the point that it was going to have to be removed, but I just wanted to get through the year because it was the Olympic year. I went to team trials and placed third and was moving up the ladder at 211 pounds. I only lost one match in that tournament, in double overtime by criteria point. So I was real close to beating the top guy in the weight class. I was gearing towards having a big year in 2004 and making the team but that summer I was in a bank and the bank got robbed. I got shot at. I took a dive down to the ground and landed on that knee one last time. And that sparked surgery. Then they botched the first surgery and I had to get surgery number two. After surgery number two, the guy told me I was pretty much done for a year.
5 OZ: That’s crazy. How many fighters have been injured in a bank robbery?
Lashley: (Laughs). And after my second surgery I was laying on my couch with a leg brace on and I can’t do anything at all because they cut my knee up pretty bad. It was just a botched surgery. If it had been the civilian world I would have been able to sue for millions. But in the military you can’t really do anything but say ‘Oh well.’
5 OZ: I’ve been there. I had a botched wrist surgery in the Army. I haven’t been half the writer since.
Lashley: (Laughs) You’re right with me there.
5 OZ: This isn’t a good advertisement for military doctors.
Lashley: So, then they wanted to medical me out of the Army. At that point the WWE was calling and I thought ‘Man I can make this move.’ Amateur wrestling was out and I rehabbed hard for the WWE tryout. It just went from there. Went to WWE, and I had a great time there.
5 OZ: You put on a lot of muscle for professional wrestling.
Lashley: I trained for the WWE like I was training for the Olympic championship. If you saw any of my stuff in the WWE you know I was in amazing shape. Incredible shape all the way around.
5 OZ: How did you go from the Army to professional wrestling? Did they have scouts everywhere, even in the foxhole? What’s the process like? Do you just get a call one day from Vince McMahon saying ‘Son, we want you in the business.’
Lashley: Well, Kurt Angle was in the WWE at the time and he came to Colorado Springs to the Olympic Training Center. He was doing a little vignette, a promo, and they were talking about his amateur days. That was the first time I met Kurt. And Kurt said ‘Have you thought about it? You have a great look for the WWE.’ At the time I was still wrestling, but I had watched it as a kid. I enjoyed it, but I had never seen myself doing it. We exchanged numbers and talked from time to time. Then I got a call from (WWE Executive) Gerald Brisco because they were discussing me again. This time when they said ‘Come out and we’ll have a look at you’ I did.
5 OZ: How hard was it to go from amateur wrestling to what the WWE does? So much of it is personality and charisma and connecting with the audience. How did you go about creating a character?
Lashley: It was probably the most fun I’ve had in my whole life. Professional wrestlers aren’t actors, so we can’t really play a character. Very, very few are good enough actors to play a character. Vince would say ‘We just want you to be yourself, but with the volume turned up. Think about who you are, and then turn the volume up.’ It was actually a fun transition, because you get to find out who you are.
5 OZ: I talked to Ken Shamrock about this and he told me his time in professional wrestling was way harder on his body than fighting. Did you find it hard taking all those falls night after night?
Lashley: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. At first you’re in your honeymoon period. You don’t realize the toll you are putting on your body because you are just so happy to be there and are having so much fun. but as the years go on, man… We’re doing four shows a week. That’s every week, because there is no down time. Your body is going to suffer because of it, but when it breaks down you can’t quit. Because the show must go on. It’s extremely tough on the body. If there was some way they could regulate it a little bit more, so the guys got a little more time off, it would be great. Because it really is fun.
5 OZ: When you came into MMA you became a heavyweight. How has that transition been for you? In college you were 177 pounds and in the Army just over 200 pounds. Now you’ve got some big boys you are trying to toss around. And no one is bigger than Bob Sapp.
Lashley: I think it helps me. Because heavyweights are used to what we used to call dancing bears. They would just hug each other and you’d see one move or two moves. The lighter you go, the more action you see. Since I was a lower weight guy, I was accustomed to going fast. Moving quick. Now that I’m a heavyweight, I’m doing the same things I did when I was a smaller guy. And it’s going to give these heavyweights trouble. Because they can’t move the way I can move.
5 OZ: What’s been the hardest thing for you about MMA? Obviously, you have the wrestling down pretty well, but how are you progressing with your striking and submissions?
Lashley: I had kind of messed with a lot of it before. I had messed with a little bit of boxing. The biggest obstacle is just getting in there. Getting in there and applying what you learned in practice to a real world situation. I don’t think people realize, a lot of these guys like your Anderson Silvas and your GSP’s , your Rampages, and the list goes on and on, they’re at the top of their games now. But if you rewind the hands of time back to their first or second match, you won’t see those guys fighting then like they fight now. Because through the years of getting out there and doing it, they’ve learned their bodies and what they can and can’t do. And they’ve adapted their game accordingly. That’s what I’m still doing. I’m just trying to collect all the pieces so I can put it all together.
5 OZ: Is that why you’ve started in smaller promotions and have worked your way up, now to pay per view and Bob Sapp?
Lashley: A lot of people don’t realize how many tough fighters there are out there. You can’t just come in and say ‘I could beat the champ.’ People don’t understand MMA if they think they can just go out there and beat the champ. There are people who have never wrestled before who are high calibre wrestlers. People who have never boxed professionally who are high calibre boxers. There are so many tough fighters out there that I believe you have to start off the right way and build yourself up. Then, if you have the ability, you can become a super superstar. As opposed to trying to scratch that lucky lottery ticket and win it all. I think the way I’m doing it is the way most people do it. People come in and think you can bypass the developmental stages. You can’t bypass that.
5 OZ: It’s hard to learn when you are at the very pinnacle of the sport.
Lashley: Exactly. You can’t go to Strikeforce, or Affliction, or the UFC and learn there. Because the fighters there are masters of their game.
5 OZ: I see there being two Bob Sapps. There’s the Sapp that beat up Nogueira and Ernesto Hoost and the Bob Sapp that lost to Jan Nortje. Which Sapp are you ready for?
Lashley: I’m prepared for the best Bob Sapp that makes it out here. We trained for a Bob Sapp that is like Anderson Silva at 350 pounds.
5 OZ: How did you end up choosing Sapp as your opponent?
Lashley: I just train. I let my manager do all that stuff. He comes to me with the different offers and we decide together which ones work and which ones don’t.
5 OZ: Speaking of training, you changed camps and went up to Colorado to work with Nate Marquardt and some other guys up there. Di you just want to stick close to home?
Lashley: Right. I went there because I wanted to start training in Colorado. Nate’s a good friend of mine, but Nate was pretty busy doing his own thing at the time. But he introduced me to a lot of good guys up there and a good camp to train with. I didn’t so much switch camps as go up there and train with some different people.
5 OZ: Who in the world do you bring in to play the roll of Bob Sapp? There aren’t many human beings that large on the planet.
Lashley: I had a guy named Ron Sparks, a big guy out of Louisville. And when I went down to ATT, I had “Bigfoot” Silva there. And Bigfoot’s a way better athlete than Bob Sapp. I had Scott Anthony Johnson, who’s kind of a new fighter, but an extremely talented kid. He’s weighing in at about 340. I used them for weight, but used other people for different things. When I get down to the ground, it doesn’t matter what they weigh when we get there.
5 OZ: A lot of fighters get nervous in front of the big crowds and the pressure of Pay-Per= View. That’s just a day at the office for you though isn’t it?
Lashley: Oh yeah. I don’t worry about that stuff at all. The big crowd doesn’t bother me. I just breathe in the energy from the crowd.
5 OZ: I’m thinking about putting money on this fight. You’re going to beat the crap out of Sapp aren’t you?
Lashley: You can bet your house on it.
5 OZ: If you beat Sapp, where do you see yourself fighting next. There are several options out there to choose from now.
Lashley: I just see myself back in the gym next week. Japan might be next. Who knows? With Bob involved there will be plenty of attention there. We don’t have anything big lined up. We’re keeping our options open.
5 OZ: Everyone wants to know: will we see you in the UFC?
Lashley: You’ve got to have respect for the UFC, because they are kind of the pioneers of the business. If given a chance to go to the UFC down the road, I’d definitely like to get in there and display my skills with some of the best in the world. But you know, at heavyweight, you have some of the best fighters in Affliction or Strikeforce. So, there’s not one organization that is clearly in my sights. But whenever the right door opens, I’m going to step in.
You can find Bobby on the web at http://www.bobbylashley.net/
Former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley takes a big step up in competition tomorrow when he takes on Japan’s most famous fighter, Bob Sapp. The two main event the Ultimate Chaos PPV from the Gulfport Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi. Five Ounces of Pain’s Jonathan Snowden had a chance to talk to Lashley about his transition to MMA, why it was smart to take it slow, and what he would do if he was a betting man.
Five Ounces of Pain: Tell me about your time in the service. You had already finished college. How did you end up in the Army?
Bobby Lashley: Well, first I was recruited to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. Olympic coach Kevin Jackson offered me a residency. But I had already graduated from college and been out for a year. I had bills and just couldn’t afford to do that. But the Army World Class Athletes Coach called me and told me about that program. So I went in to MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) and picked my MOS (Military Occupational Speciality) which was 11- Bravo (Editor’s Note: Infantry Grunt) went to Fort Benning, Georgia, and went to Basic and AIT (Advanced Individual Training). My orders after that were to go to Fort Carson and report to the World Class Athlete Program.
5 OZ: And then it was all wrestling.
Lashley: Yeah. But at WCAP they always said ‘Soldier first.’ Even though I was an athlete we still had to report and had formations in the morning.
5 OZ: You did pretty well there, winning the Armed Forces Championships and doing well in the International meets. What made you decide to get out of the Army and give up on your Olympic dreams?
Lashley: That’s kind of a long story, but I’ll give you the short version. I was in for four years, but in my last year I was having some difficulty. My knee was bad and we weren’t sure I could finish out my last year with my knee the way it was. I tried to keep my knee in somewhat good shape and I was getting it drained, but my bursa sack was very inflamed. It would get better and then had to be drained again. It got to the point that it was going to have to be removed, but I just wanted to get through the year because it was the Olympic year. I went to team trials and placed third and was moving up the ladder at 211 pounds. I only lost one match in that tournament, in double overtime by criteria point. So I was real close to beating the top guy in the weight class. I was gearing towards having a big year in 2004 and making the team but that summer I was in a bank and the bank got robbed. I got shot at. I took a dive down to the ground and landed on that knee one last time. And that sparked surgery. Then they botched the first surgery and I had to get surgery number two. After surgery number two, the guy told me I was pretty much done for a year.
5 OZ: That’s crazy. How many fighters have been injured in a bank robbery?
Lashley: (Laughs). And after my second surgery I was laying on my couch with a leg brace on and I can’t do anything at all because they cut my knee up pretty bad. It was just a botched surgery. If it had been the civilian world I would have been able to sue for millions. But in the military you can’t really do anything but say ‘Oh well.’
5 OZ: I’ve been there. I had a botched wrist surgery in the Army. I haven’t been half the writer since.
Lashley: (Laughs) You’re right with me there.
5 OZ: This isn’t a good advertisement for military doctors.
Lashley: So, then they wanted to medical me out of the Army. At that point the WWE was calling and I thought ‘Man I can make this move.’ Amateur wrestling was out and I rehabbed hard for the WWE tryout. It just went from there. Went to WWE, and I had a great time there.
5 OZ: You put on a lot of muscle for professional wrestling.
Lashley: I trained for the WWE like I was training for the Olympic championship. If you saw any of my stuff in the WWE you know I was in amazing shape. Incredible shape all the way around.
5 OZ: How did you go from the Army to professional wrestling? Did they have scouts everywhere, even in the foxhole? What’s the process like? Do you just get a call one day from Vince McMahon saying ‘Son, we want you in the business.’
Lashley: Well, Kurt Angle was in the WWE at the time and he came to Colorado Springs to the Olympic Training Center. He was doing a little vignette, a promo, and they were talking about his amateur days. That was the first time I met Kurt. And Kurt said ‘Have you thought about it? You have a great look for the WWE.’ At the time I was still wrestling, but I had watched it as a kid. I enjoyed it, but I had never seen myself doing it. We exchanged numbers and talked from time to time. Then I got a call from (WWE Executive) Gerald Brisco because they were discussing me again. This time when they said ‘Come out and we’ll have a look at you’ I did.
5 OZ: How hard was it to go from amateur wrestling to what the WWE does? So much of it is personality and charisma and connecting with the audience. How did you go about creating a character?
Lashley: It was probably the most fun I’ve had in my whole life. Professional wrestlers aren’t actors, so we can’t really play a character. Very, very few are good enough actors to play a character. Vince would say ‘We just want you to be yourself, but with the volume turned up. Think about who you are, and then turn the volume up.’ It was actually a fun transition, because you get to find out who you are.
5 OZ: I talked to Ken Shamrock about this and he told me his time in professional wrestling was way harder on his body than fighting. Did you find it hard taking all those falls night after night?
Lashley: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. At first you’re in your honeymoon period. You don’t realize the toll you are putting on your body because you are just so happy to be there and are having so much fun. but as the years go on, man… We’re doing four shows a week. That’s every week, because there is no down time. Your body is going to suffer because of it, but when it breaks down you can’t quit. Because the show must go on. It’s extremely tough on the body. If there was some way they could regulate it a little bit more, so the guys got a little more time off, it would be great. Because it really is fun.
5 OZ: When you came into MMA you became a heavyweight. How has that transition been for you? In college you were 177 pounds and in the Army just over 200 pounds. Now you’ve got some big boys you are trying to toss around. And no one is bigger than Bob Sapp.
Lashley: I think it helps me. Because heavyweights are used to what we used to call dancing bears. They would just hug each other and you’d see one move or two moves. The lighter you go, the more action you see. Since I was a lower weight guy, I was accustomed to going fast. Moving quick. Now that I’m a heavyweight, I’m doing the same things I did when I was a smaller guy. And it’s going to give these heavyweights trouble. Because they can’t move the way I can move.
5 OZ: What’s been the hardest thing for you about MMA? Obviously, you have the wrestling down pretty well, but how are you progressing with your striking and submissions?
Lashley: I had kind of messed with a lot of it before. I had messed with a little bit of boxing. The biggest obstacle is just getting in there. Getting in there and applying what you learned in practice to a real world situation. I don’t think people realize, a lot of these guys like your Anderson Silvas and your GSP’s , your Rampages, and the list goes on and on, they’re at the top of their games now. But if you rewind the hands of time back to their first or second match, you won’t see those guys fighting then like they fight now. Because through the years of getting out there and doing it, they’ve learned their bodies and what they can and can’t do. And they’ve adapted their game accordingly. That’s what I’m still doing. I’m just trying to collect all the pieces so I can put it all together.
5 OZ: Is that why you’ve started in smaller promotions and have worked your way up, now to pay per view and Bob Sapp?
Lashley: A lot of people don’t realize how many tough fighters there are out there. You can’t just come in and say ‘I could beat the champ.’ People don’t understand MMA if they think they can just go out there and beat the champ. There are people who have never wrestled before who are high calibre wrestlers. People who have never boxed professionally who are high calibre boxers. There are so many tough fighters out there that I believe you have to start off the right way and build yourself up. Then, if you have the ability, you can become a super superstar. As opposed to trying to scratch that lucky lottery ticket and win it all. I think the way I’m doing it is the way most people do it. People come in and think you can bypass the developmental stages. You can’t bypass that.
5 OZ: It’s hard to learn when you are at the very pinnacle of the sport.
Lashley: Exactly. You can’t go to Strikeforce, or Affliction, or the UFC and learn there. Because the fighters there are masters of their game.
5 OZ: I see there being two Bob Sapps. There’s the Sapp that beat up Nogueira and Ernesto Hoost and the Bob Sapp that lost to Jan Nortje. Which Sapp are you ready for?
Lashley: I’m prepared for the best Bob Sapp that makes it out here. We trained for a Bob Sapp that is like Anderson Silva at 350 pounds.
5 OZ: How did you end up choosing Sapp as your opponent?
Lashley: I just train. I let my manager do all that stuff. He comes to me with the different offers and we decide together which ones work and which ones don’t.
5 OZ: Speaking of training, you changed camps and went up to Colorado to work with Nate Marquardt and some other guys up there. Di you just want to stick close to home?
Lashley: Right. I went there because I wanted to start training in Colorado. Nate’s a good friend of mine, but Nate was pretty busy doing his own thing at the time. But he introduced me to a lot of good guys up there and a good camp to train with. I didn’t so much switch camps as go up there and train with some different people.
5 OZ: Who in the world do you bring in to play the roll of Bob Sapp? There aren’t many human beings that large on the planet.
Lashley: I had a guy named Ron Sparks, a big guy out of Louisville. And when I went down to ATT, I had “Bigfoot” Silva there. And Bigfoot’s a way better athlete than Bob Sapp. I had Scott Anthony Johnson, who’s kind of a new fighter, but an extremely talented kid. He’s weighing in at about 340. I used them for weight, but used other people for different things. When I get down to the ground, it doesn’t matter what they weigh when we get there.
5 OZ: A lot of fighters get nervous in front of the big crowds and the pressure of Pay-Per= View. That’s just a day at the office for you though isn’t it?
Lashley: Oh yeah. I don’t worry about that stuff at all. The big crowd doesn’t bother me. I just breathe in the energy from the crowd.
5 OZ: I’m thinking about putting money on this fight. You’re going to beat the crap out of Sapp aren’t you?
Lashley: You can bet your house on it.
5 OZ: If you beat Sapp, where do you see yourself fighting next. There are several options out there to choose from now.
Lashley: I just see myself back in the gym next week. Japan might be next. Who knows? With Bob involved there will be plenty of attention there. We don’t have anything big lined up. We’re keeping our options open.
5 OZ: Everyone wants to know: will we see you in the UFC?
Lashley: You’ve got to have respect for the UFC, because they are kind of the pioneers of the business. If given a chance to go to the UFC down the road, I’d definitely like to get in there and display my skills with some of the best in the world. But you know, at heavyweight, you have some of the best fighters in Affliction or Strikeforce. So, there’s not one organization that is clearly in my sights. But whenever the right door opens, I’m going to step in.
You can find Bobby on the web at http://www.bobbylashley.net/
‘The Grabaka Hit (and run) Man’ Kazuo Misaki apologizes, escapes jail time for traffic incident
Kazuo Misaki (left, with Sengoku representative Takahiro Kokuho) publicly apologized today for a March incident in which he struck and sped away from a Tokyo police officer who attempted to cite him for talking on his cell phone while driving. The "Grabaka Hitman" was found guilty on Thursday and sentenced to three years probation plus community service. Kokuho commented that no decision had been made of yet on Misaki's status for his August 2nd title eliminator bout against Kaz Nakamura, but said that Misaki training hard and putting on a good fight would help mend his relationship with the public.
Kazuo Misaki (left, with Sengoku representative Takahiro Kokuho) publicly apologized today for a March incident in which he struck and sped away from a Tokyo police officer who attempted to cite him for talking on his cell phone while driving. The "Grabaka Hitman" was found guilty on Thursday and sentenced to three years probation plus community service. Kokuho commented that no decision had been made of yet on Misaki's status for his August 2nd title eliminator bout against Kaz Nakamura, but said that Misaki training hard and putting on a good fight would help mend his relationship with the public.
UFC submission aces Rousimar Palhares and Thiago Tavares eye fall returns from injury
UFC submission aces Rousimar Palhares (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Thiago Tavares (14-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will eye fall returns to action after being forced to withdraw from summer bouts due to injury.
An elbow injury forced Tavares out of his The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale bout with Melvin Guillard, while Palhares had been scheduled to face Alessio Sakara at UFC 101 in August before a broken leg forced the middleweight out of the contest.
Alex Davis, manager for both Palhares and Tavares, today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) both are progressing on schedule in their recoveries and will eye fall bouts in the UFC.
Tavares suffered a partial tear of his elbow ligament in May while preparing for his bout with Guillard. Teammate Gleison Tibau stepped in on short notice for the contest, suffering suffered a decision loss in the preliminary card bout.
Tavares last fought in a January win over Manny Gamburyan at UFC 94. The win snapped a two-fight losing streak for the Brazilian, and Tavares vowed a new focus and change in training would lead to a better 2009.
Davis said Tavares has resumed training and should be available by late August.
Meanwhile, Palhares last fought at UFC 93, also in January. "Toquinho" earned a decision win over Jeremy Horn in that contest despite suffering a broken hand during the bout.
With his powerful ground game, many MMA observers have identified Palhares as a potential contender in the middleweight division despite his September 2008 loss to Dan Henderson. According to Davis, Palhares' fractured Tibia will keep him out of action until November.
UFC submission aces Rousimar Palhares (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Thiago Tavares (14-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will eye fall returns to action after being forced to withdraw from summer bouts due to injury.
An elbow injury forced Tavares out of his The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale bout with Melvin Guillard, while Palhares had been scheduled to face Alessio Sakara at UFC 101 in August before a broken leg forced the middleweight out of the contest.
Alex Davis, manager for both Palhares and Tavares, today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) both are progressing on schedule in their recoveries and will eye fall bouts in the UFC.
Tavares suffered a partial tear of his elbow ligament in May while preparing for his bout with Guillard. Teammate Gleison Tibau stepped in on short notice for the contest, suffering suffered a decision loss in the preliminary card bout.
Tavares last fought in a January win over Manny Gamburyan at UFC 94. The win snapped a two-fight losing streak for the Brazilian, and Tavares vowed a new focus and change in training would lead to a better 2009.
Davis said Tavares has resumed training and should be available by late August.
Meanwhile, Palhares last fought at UFC 93, also in January. "Toquinho" earned a decision win over Jeremy Horn in that contest despite suffering a broken hand during the bout.
With his powerful ground game, many MMA observers have identified Palhares as a potential contender in the middleweight division despite his September 2008 loss to Dan Henderson. According to Davis, Palhares' fractured Tibia will keep him out of action until November.
All 22 "Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg" competitors issued medical suspensions
All 22 fighters who took part in the June 19 "Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg" event have been issued mandatory medical suspensions.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently requested and today received the list of suspensions from the Washington State Department of Licensing's Professional Athletics Program.
The majority of suspensions were for the minimum one week period (and expired today). However, some fighters, including main-card winners Joey Villasenor and Jorge Gurgel, were issued indefinite suspensions and must receive doctor's clearance before returning to the cage.
Unlike some states, Washington apparently issues all competitors a minimum one-week suspension. Paperwork was void of any details of each fighter's particular ailment, though suspension dates are listed below.
* Joey Villasenor: Suspended indefinitely, doctor's clearance needed
* Evangelista Cyborg: Suspended until July 19
* Tim Kennedy: Suspended until June 26
* Nick Thompson: Suspended until June 26
* Jorge Gurgel: Suspended indefinitely, doctor's clearance needed
* Conor Heun: Suspended indefinitely, doctor's clearance needed
* Sarah Kaufman: Suspended until June 26
* Shayna Baszler: Suspended until June 26
* Luke Rockhold: Suspended until June 26
* Corey Devela: Suspended until June 26
* Dennis Hallman: Suspended until June 26
* Justin Davis: Suspended until June 26
* Brian Caraway: Suspended until June 26
* Alex Zuniga: Suspended until June 26
* Lyle Beerbohm: Suspended until June 26
* Duane Ludwig: Suspended until June 26
* Landon Showalter: Suspended until June 26
* George Stork: Suspended until July 19
* Len Bentley: Suspended until June 26
* Marques Daniels: Suspended until July 19
* Steve Hadsel: Suspended until June 26
* Taylor Roberts: Suspended until Aug. 18
All 22 fighters who took part in the June 19 "Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg" event have been issued mandatory medical suspensions.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently requested and today received the list of suspensions from the Washington State Department of Licensing's Professional Athletics Program.
The majority of suspensions were for the minimum one week period (and expired today). However, some fighters, including main-card winners Joey Villasenor and Jorge Gurgel, were issued indefinite suspensions and must receive doctor's clearance before returning to the cage.
Unlike some states, Washington apparently issues all competitors a minimum one-week suspension. Paperwork was void of any details of each fighter's particular ailment, though suspension dates are listed below.
* Joey Villasenor: Suspended indefinitely, doctor's clearance needed
* Evangelista Cyborg: Suspended until July 19
* Tim Kennedy: Suspended until June 26
* Nick Thompson: Suspended until June 26
* Jorge Gurgel: Suspended indefinitely, doctor's clearance needed
* Conor Heun: Suspended indefinitely, doctor's clearance needed
* Sarah Kaufman: Suspended until June 26
* Shayna Baszler: Suspended until June 26
* Luke Rockhold: Suspended until June 26
* Corey Devela: Suspended until June 26
* Dennis Hallman: Suspended until June 26
* Justin Davis: Suspended until June 26
* Brian Caraway: Suspended until June 26
* Alex Zuniga: Suspended until June 26
* Lyle Beerbohm: Suspended until June 26
* Duane Ludwig: Suspended until June 26
* Landon Showalter: Suspended until June 26
* George Stork: Suspended until July 19
* Len Bentley: Suspended until June 26
* Marques Daniels: Suspended until July 19
* Steve Hadsel: Suspended until June 26
* Taylor Roberts: Suspended until Aug. 18
June 19 Strikeforce Challengers fighters salaries: Villasenor, Kennedy and Gurgel earn top pay
Headliner and main-event winner Joey Villasenor took home an event-high disclosed salary of $48,000 from the June 19 "Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg" event at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently requested and today received the list of disclosed paydays from the Washington State Department of Licensing's Professional Athletics Program.
The total disclosed payroll for the Showtime-televised event was $198,500.
Other top earners included Tim Kennedy and Jorge Gurgel, who both earned $20,000 for their main-card victories. Nick Thompson and preliminary-card fighter Duane "Bang" Ludwig were next on the list with $15,000 each.
The list of official salaries includes:
Joey Villasenor: $48,000
def. Evangelista Cyborg: $10,000
Tim Kennedy: $20,000
def. Nick Thompson: $15,000
Jorge Gurgel: $20,000
def. Conor Heun: $4,000
Sarah Kaufman: $8,000
def. Shayna Baszler: $8,000
Luke Rockhold: $7,000
def. Corey Devela: $7,500
Dennis Hallman: $10,000
def. Justin Davis: $2,000
Brian Caraway: $6,000
def. Alex Zuniga: $1,000
Lyle Beerbohm: $6,000
def. Duane Ludwig: $15,000
Landon Showalter: $3,000
def. George Stork: $1000
Len Bentley: $1,500
def. Marques Daniels: $1,500
Steve Hadsel: $3,000
def. Taylor Roberts: $1,000
Now, the usual disclaimer: The figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighter's income.
In other words, these are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not represent the total amounts earned by each fighter.
Headliner and main-event winner Joey Villasenor took home an event-high disclosed salary of $48,000 from the June 19 "Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg" event at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently requested and today received the list of disclosed paydays from the Washington State Department of Licensing's Professional Athletics Program.
The total disclosed payroll for the Showtime-televised event was $198,500.
Other top earners included Tim Kennedy and Jorge Gurgel, who both earned $20,000 for their main-card victories. Nick Thompson and preliminary-card fighter Duane "Bang" Ludwig were next on the list with $15,000 each.
The list of official salaries includes:
Joey Villasenor: $48,000
def. Evangelista Cyborg: $10,000
Tim Kennedy: $20,000
def. Nick Thompson: $15,000
Jorge Gurgel: $20,000
def. Conor Heun: $4,000
Sarah Kaufman: $8,000
def. Shayna Baszler: $8,000
Luke Rockhold: $7,000
def. Corey Devela: $7,500
Dennis Hallman: $10,000
def. Justin Davis: $2,000
Brian Caraway: $6,000
def. Alex Zuniga: $1,000
Lyle Beerbohm: $6,000
def. Duane Ludwig: $15,000
Landon Showalter: $3,000
def. George Stork: $1000
Len Bentley: $1,500
def. Marques Daniels: $1,500
Steve Hadsel: $3,000
def. Taylor Roberts: $1,000
Now, the usual disclaimer: The figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighter's income.
In other words, these are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not represent the total amounts earned by each fighter.
New Territory Equals New Promotions, the UCFC in Pittsburgh
This past February, the state of Pennsylvania finally passed legislation to regulate the sport of mixed martial arts. It took 19 months for the many committees and politicians to finally give the green light for MMA regulation in the Keystone state. The UFC quickly capitalized on one of the markets, with plans to hold UFC 101 in August in the historical fight town of Philadelphia. But as diverse the state of Pennsylvania is, contact sports are popular throughout. On Saturday, this theory will be tested for the brand new Ultimate Cage Fighting Championship.
Looking to make an immediate splash in the MMA world is the UCFC, headed by Kenny Holtzman, his wife Tiffany, and brother Gregg, owners of Still Standing Productions, LLC. The trio are going all out for their first event, Rumble on the Rivers, at Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena. There is an impressive debut card featuring UFC veteran Rich Clementi against WEC vet Kyle Jensen in the main event, along with several other notable names such as Micah Miller, Phil Davis, and Paul Bradley. Also looking to pull in Pittsburgh football fans, former Steeler offensive guard Carlton Haselrig is on the card.
In this family run and operated promotion, each person has their own job. Tiffany works with the outside ticket sales, while her husband Kenny works with sponsors, and brother Gregg handles advertising, promotions, and negotiations with the arena. Gregg is a businessman that attended Roy Englebrecht’s Fight Promoter University last year to learn the ropes of putting on a fight.
“It was just the best experience for me, as it gave me the knowledge, and more important the confidence that I could be a successful fight promoter,” said Gregg, the VP of Still Standing Productions. “It allowed me to price my tickets correctly, realizing the type of show I was offering.”
Englebrecht owns Roy Englebrecht Promotions, which is the third largest boxing and MMA promoter in California. He has run five classes at FPU, with Holtzman’s ending this past November. That’s when Gregg got the ball rolling on the event this Saturday in front of his hometown.
“I wanted to bring MMA, a sport finally sanctioned in PA just this year to my hometown of Pittsburgh, plus I am a huge MMA fan,” said Holtzman.
Home of the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, the arena holds 16,940 for hockey and 17,537 for basketball. MMA fans can think back of notable promotions like the IFL and Elite XC that tried to get too big too quick, however Holtzman says that’s not the case with his show. They’ve also been getting help from one of the sports’ biggest stars.
“Roy’s philosophy of any first show has to be the best, as he says “You don’t get a second chance at making a good first impression”, so we are spending more on the entertainment portion, as well as a few more dollars on the fight card which Paul Domenech has done such a great job in matchmaking,” said Holtzman. “We have had Tito Ortiz in town all week doing three to four appearances a day, so that has just make a huge impact and really build the buzz in town.”
The Huntington Beach Bad Boy threw out the first pitch at a Pirates/Indians game at PNC Park on Wednesday evening as apart of his promotional work this week. Based on how well the nine fight card on Saturday goes, the UCFC plans to have two more events this year, and have plans to put on six to eight shows in 2010. Ticket prices range from $30 to $98.50 on ticketmaster.com. For more information, go to ucfc-mma.com.
Main Event- Rich Clementi vs. Kyle Jensen
Co-Main Event- Micah Miller vs. JC Pennington
Co-Main Event- Phil Davis vs. David Baggett
Paul Bradley vs. Leonardo Pecanha
Carlton Haselrig vs. Shawn Jorden
James Brasco vs. Matt Brown
Dave Sachs vs. Brock Kerry
Angela Magana vs. Meghan Wright
Joe DeMore vs. Jason Trzewieczynski
This past February, the state of Pennsylvania finally passed legislation to regulate the sport of mixed martial arts. It took 19 months for the many committees and politicians to finally give the green light for MMA regulation in the Keystone state. The UFC quickly capitalized on one of the markets, with plans to hold UFC 101 in August in the historical fight town of Philadelphia. But as diverse the state of Pennsylvania is, contact sports are popular throughout. On Saturday, this theory will be tested for the brand new Ultimate Cage Fighting Championship.
Looking to make an immediate splash in the MMA world is the UCFC, headed by Kenny Holtzman, his wife Tiffany, and brother Gregg, owners of Still Standing Productions, LLC. The trio are going all out for their first event, Rumble on the Rivers, at Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena. There is an impressive debut card featuring UFC veteran Rich Clementi against WEC vet Kyle Jensen in the main event, along with several other notable names such as Micah Miller, Phil Davis, and Paul Bradley. Also looking to pull in Pittsburgh football fans, former Steeler offensive guard Carlton Haselrig is on the card.
In this family run and operated promotion, each person has their own job. Tiffany works with the outside ticket sales, while her husband Kenny works with sponsors, and brother Gregg handles advertising, promotions, and negotiations with the arena. Gregg is a businessman that attended Roy Englebrecht’s Fight Promoter University last year to learn the ropes of putting on a fight.
“It was just the best experience for me, as it gave me the knowledge, and more important the confidence that I could be a successful fight promoter,” said Gregg, the VP of Still Standing Productions. “It allowed me to price my tickets correctly, realizing the type of show I was offering.”
Englebrecht owns Roy Englebrecht Promotions, which is the third largest boxing and MMA promoter in California. He has run five classes at FPU, with Holtzman’s ending this past November. That’s when Gregg got the ball rolling on the event this Saturday in front of his hometown.
“I wanted to bring MMA, a sport finally sanctioned in PA just this year to my hometown of Pittsburgh, plus I am a huge MMA fan,” said Holtzman.
Home of the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, the arena holds 16,940 for hockey and 17,537 for basketball. MMA fans can think back of notable promotions like the IFL and Elite XC that tried to get too big too quick, however Holtzman says that’s not the case with his show. They’ve also been getting help from one of the sports’ biggest stars.
“Roy’s philosophy of any first show has to be the best, as he says “You don’t get a second chance at making a good first impression”, so we are spending more on the entertainment portion, as well as a few more dollars on the fight card which Paul Domenech has done such a great job in matchmaking,” said Holtzman. “We have had Tito Ortiz in town all week doing three to four appearances a day, so that has just make a huge impact and really build the buzz in town.”
The Huntington Beach Bad Boy threw out the first pitch at a Pirates/Indians game at PNC Park on Wednesday evening as apart of his promotional work this week. Based on how well the nine fight card on Saturday goes, the UCFC plans to have two more events this year, and have plans to put on six to eight shows in 2010. Ticket prices range from $30 to $98.50 on ticketmaster.com. For more information, go to ucfc-mma.com.
Main Event- Rich Clementi vs. Kyle Jensen
Co-Main Event- Micah Miller vs. JC Pennington
Co-Main Event- Phil Davis vs. David Baggett
Paul Bradley vs. Leonardo Pecanha
Carlton Haselrig vs. Shawn Jorden
James Brasco vs. Matt Brown
Dave Sachs vs. Brock Kerry
Angela Magana vs. Meghan Wright
Joe DeMore vs. Jason Trzewieczynski
Gymtops.com A Leader in MMA Apparel News and Trends
MMA fans love to show off their acceptance of and affiliation to the lifestyle by sporting a vast array of MMA gear. Fortunately for all the MMA apparel addicts, Jay Tillery with Gymtops.com had the foresight to develop a blog dedicated to the Mixed Martial Arts gear enthusiasts. Whether a fan or apparel business, Gymtops is a go to site for the latest news and trends in the apparel business.
Gymtops was launched with a two pronged focus. The mission statement for Gymtops, Jay said, “For the MMA Apparel fan, we hope we are able to keep the MMA gear enthusiast informed of cool products within their lifestyle without having to have a million sites bookmarked.” “For MMA businesses, We try to provide a platform that will allow apparel companies to promote their gear to a wider audience and keep their customers informed of the latest and greatest news on gear.”
Launched in August of 2007 by Jay Tillery, Gymtops.com was born from a love of combat sports and a bit of curiosity. Tillery was watching UFC/K1 and noticed the fighters entering the ring/cage with different tee-shirts and shorts. This was just a first step, as Jay puts it, “Then I started to notice the brands and got curious to find out the meaning behind each and how deep MMA merchandising was…and it was very deep. I found a bunch of brands from around the world and thought it [a blog] would be an excellent resource for curious minds like mine.”
Gymtops.com offers up a ton of great information. Gymtops gives you the newest and best in MMA apparel but also often the story behind the brands. Maybe you know the brand VAS, Victory Amongst Soldiers, but you probably didn’t know that it is a division of VASYLI International, an Australian company that’s been pumping out high-quality foot care and footwear products for over 25 years. Were you aware that Contract Killer was the brainchild of pro paint-baller John Marques and designer Chris Corcino? These are just some of the interesting back stories you get on the merchandise featured on gymtops.
Gymtops.com covers all the big players in the MMA apparel game but is also keen to keep an eye on all of the nascent labels that are bubbling up in the mma apparel market. Jay stated “The sport is already growing at an alarming rate. We get so many emails about new products from apparel companies we never heard of, and some of the things locals are doing for the sport is insane.” Gymtops provides a spotlight for these future players on the MMA business landscape.
The site also offers multiple contest giveaways to its’ rabid readers. Kimurawear, Triumph United, and Silver Star are among the brands that have recently participated in these contests. Gymtops.com try to do giveaways before each major UFC event, with one always around the corner. “We will have some pretty cool contests in the future. Stay tuned,” said Tillery.
MMA fans love to show off their acceptance of and affiliation to the lifestyle by sporting a vast array of MMA gear. Fortunately for all the MMA apparel addicts, Jay Tillery with Gymtops.com had the foresight to develop a blog dedicated to the Mixed Martial Arts gear enthusiasts. Whether a fan or apparel business, Gymtops is a go to site for the latest news and trends in the apparel business.
Gymtops was launched with a two pronged focus. The mission statement for Gymtops, Jay said, “For the MMA Apparel fan, we hope we are able to keep the MMA gear enthusiast informed of cool products within their lifestyle without having to have a million sites bookmarked.” “For MMA businesses, We try to provide a platform that will allow apparel companies to promote their gear to a wider audience and keep their customers informed of the latest and greatest news on gear.”
Launched in August of 2007 by Jay Tillery, Gymtops.com was born from a love of combat sports and a bit of curiosity. Tillery was watching UFC/K1 and noticed the fighters entering the ring/cage with different tee-shirts and shorts. This was just a first step, as Jay puts it, “Then I started to notice the brands and got curious to find out the meaning behind each and how deep MMA merchandising was…and it was very deep. I found a bunch of brands from around the world and thought it [a blog] would be an excellent resource for curious minds like mine.”
Gymtops.com offers up a ton of great information. Gymtops gives you the newest and best in MMA apparel but also often the story behind the brands. Maybe you know the brand VAS, Victory Amongst Soldiers, but you probably didn’t know that it is a division of VASYLI International, an Australian company that’s been pumping out high-quality foot care and footwear products for over 25 years. Were you aware that Contract Killer was the brainchild of pro paint-baller John Marques and designer Chris Corcino? These are just some of the interesting back stories you get on the merchandise featured on gymtops.
Gymtops.com covers all the big players in the MMA apparel game but is also keen to keep an eye on all of the nascent labels that are bubbling up in the mma apparel market. Jay stated “The sport is already growing at an alarming rate. We get so many emails about new products from apparel companies we never heard of, and some of the things locals are doing for the sport is insane.” Gymtops provides a spotlight for these future players on the MMA business landscape.
The site also offers multiple contest giveaways to its’ rabid readers. Kimurawear, Triumph United, and Silver Star are among the brands that have recently participated in these contests. Gymtops.com try to do giveaways before each major UFC event, with one always around the corner. “We will have some pretty cool contests in the future. Stay tuned,” said Tillery.
EDDIE ALVAREZ PUTS ON THE BRAKES
Reports that Eddie Alvarez was Japan bound this fall spread quickly after his lightweight championship run in Bellator FC.
Initially, the word was that Alvarez’s contract with the tournament based promotion ruled out a bout with Tatsuya Kawajiri for Dream in September.
After speaking with Alvarez rep Monte Cox and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney this week, the story is the same, but the reason is a little different.
Alvarez just wants a break.
“Just hanging out at the pool with Eddie after the (Bellator) win, I can tell you that all Eddie wants to do is relax and eat some pizza,” said Rebney.
“We agreed that win or lose, he would take three months off,” Cox agreed. “He’s had like six fights in a year, and at the level of fights he’s fighting, not too many bums in there. He’s had a heck of a run. If he’s going to take July, August, and September off, he’s not going to fight in September, that’s for sure. It doesn’t give him any time to train.”
Rebney echoed an earlier interview with MMAWeekly.com where he opened the door to fighter loan-outs that made sense, and said a future Alvarez appearance overseas might be possible.
“If Eddie came back and said, ‘man, I’d like to get back in the cage,’ (around a) September time frame, and there was the right opportunity out there, be it in Japan or wherever, I’d talk about it and we’d figure out if there was a way to make it work,” said Rebney.
Bellator’s second season is targeted to begin in October, and will focus on a challenger tournament to determine four contenders to the current titleholders in the featherweight through middleweight classes. An announcement on the promotion’s broadcast partners is forthcoming.
Rebney and Cox expect Alvarez to sit out four to five months as the next challenger is groomed. If he wants a fight before that, a sit-down will be needed.
“The reality is from a contractual perspective, we have the ability to approve or not approve one of those outside fights happening,” said Rebney. “But my first inclination would be to get on the phone with folks and say, hey, what can we do, how can we make this work, what can we do together? As opposed to taking the closed-door approach where we say, no, they’ll only fight guys that are under contract with us.”
Switching to his fan hat, Rebney said Kawajiri was a good match-up.
“That would be a cool fight, wouldn’t it?” he said. “He hasn’t had the best run as of late, but still, he’s a magical fighter at 155. That isn’t a fight I would mind watching.”
Reports that Eddie Alvarez was Japan bound this fall spread quickly after his lightweight championship run in Bellator FC.
Initially, the word was that Alvarez’s contract with the tournament based promotion ruled out a bout with Tatsuya Kawajiri for Dream in September.
After speaking with Alvarez rep Monte Cox and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney this week, the story is the same, but the reason is a little different.
Alvarez just wants a break.
“Just hanging out at the pool with Eddie after the (Bellator) win, I can tell you that all Eddie wants to do is relax and eat some pizza,” said Rebney.
“We agreed that win or lose, he would take three months off,” Cox agreed. “He’s had like six fights in a year, and at the level of fights he’s fighting, not too many bums in there. He’s had a heck of a run. If he’s going to take July, August, and September off, he’s not going to fight in September, that’s for sure. It doesn’t give him any time to train.”
Rebney echoed an earlier interview with MMAWeekly.com where he opened the door to fighter loan-outs that made sense, and said a future Alvarez appearance overseas might be possible.
“If Eddie came back and said, ‘man, I’d like to get back in the cage,’ (around a) September time frame, and there was the right opportunity out there, be it in Japan or wherever, I’d talk about it and we’d figure out if there was a way to make it work,” said Rebney.
Bellator’s second season is targeted to begin in October, and will focus on a challenger tournament to determine four contenders to the current titleholders in the featherweight through middleweight classes. An announcement on the promotion’s broadcast partners is forthcoming.
Rebney and Cox expect Alvarez to sit out four to five months as the next challenger is groomed. If he wants a fight before that, a sit-down will be needed.
“The reality is from a contractual perspective, we have the ability to approve or not approve one of those outside fights happening,” said Rebney. “But my first inclination would be to get on the phone with folks and say, hey, what can we do, how can we make this work, what can we do together? As opposed to taking the closed-door approach where we say, no, they’ll only fight guys that are under contract with us.”
Switching to his fan hat, Rebney said Kawajiri was a good match-up.
“That would be a cool fight, wouldn’t it?” he said. “He hasn’t had the best run as of late, but still, he’s a magical fighter at 155. That isn’t a fight I would mind watching.”