MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

SPIKE TV LAUNCHES "THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER: THE AFTERMATH"

New York, New York, September 22, 2009 – Spike TV’s hit series “The Ultimate Fighter” has propelled mixed martial arts into the American mainstream while becoming the most successful franchise in the network’s history. With its tenth iteration having premiered to record ratings, Spike.com will launch the original series “The Ultimate Fighter: The Aftermath.”

Hosted by Amir Sadollah, the new show will be a video roundtable discussion about the on-air episode that precedes it, with the fighters that competed in an elimination bout on hand to talk about what went on, both inside and outside of the Octagon™, during “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.”

“‘The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights’ promises to be the show’s biggest season yet, and Spike.com has enjoyed great success with its ‘Aftermath’ franchise,” said Jon Slusser, SVP, Spike digital entertainment. “In combining the two, this new show will deliver exclusive content to our audience, and allow Spike viewers and members of our online community to interact with our signature franchise in new ways.”

Premiering Tuesday, September 22 on Spike.com, “The Ultimate Fighter: The Aftermath” will allow fans, for the first time in the show’s history, to pose their questions about “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” directly to the fighters involved. UFC® president Dana White will be on hand for the premiere episode, and, over the course of the season, coaches Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson, as well as the show’s entire cast, including Kimbo Slice, Wes Sims, Marcus Jones, and Roy Nelson, will stop by to take part in “The Aftermath.”

"Ten seasons in, and ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ still packs as much of a punch as ever,” said Brian J. Diamond, SVP, sports and specials, Spike TV. “We’re excited to build on the show’s continued on air success and venture into a new platform with “‘The Ultimate Fighter: The Aftermath.’”

 

[Shogun Locc]

SENGOKU 10: DOERKSEN GOES FOR FOUR IN A ROW

After a bit of a misstep a couple of years ago, former UFC middleweight Joe “El Dirte” Doerksen is back on track, winning three fights in a row.

Eager to keep up his momentum, Doerksen returns to action on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Sengoku 10 against Takenori Sato.

“Training’s gone really well,” Doerksen told MMAWeekly.com before heading to Japan. “I really have no injuries, no complaints and no problems, so I’m doing great.”

Normally a fighter who likes to stay busy, Doerksen explains why his Sengoku return is only the second fight of the year for him.

“We had a couple of opportunities to fight earlier in the year, but we were kind of waiting to see what Sengoku wanted to do,” he said. “Obviously, they are one of the bigger shows out there, and their talent is pretty good, so we kept holding off and hoping to fight for them.

“Unfortunately the way this business works, you kind of have to gamble a little and it ended up being a pretty slow year. But things are looking good now, so it all worked out because I’m going back (on Sept. 23).”

Having been since last November when Doerksen last competed for Sengoku, he took a fight in May in his native Manitoba, Canada, to get the rust out.

“It was a good experience,” he commented. “It was a local show, but really well produced and done. I ended up fighting a really good kid from France named Gregory Babene and it was a really good fight.

“It was a back and forth fight, and in the second round I ended up catching him with a really good punch. We went to the floor and I managed to catch him in a (triangle) choke.”

Turning his attention back to Sengoku, Doerksen is anticipating another tough outing as he takes on Takenori Sato, a fighter he’s familiar with as the two share a common former opponent.

“My last opponent in Sengoku was Izuru Takeuchi, and I know they just fought to a draw in August, and I’ve seen that fight, so I know a little bit about him,” said Doerksen.

“I think he’s a well-rounded fighter, is young, hungry and comes in great shape. I think all around he’s a really good fighter, doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses and it should be a challenging fight.”

Having taken more time off in between fights in addition to working with a strength and conditioning coach have helped Doerksen on his three-fight winning streak.

Should all go well against Sato, he wants to keep the momentum continuing through to the end of the year.

“If I get a chance to fight in November or December, I’ll take it,” he stated. “If I come out of this fight healthy, I’ll want to fight right away and we’ll just kind of go from there; if I get injured, I’ll have to take time off.

“I’ll just have to do a good job in this one and create the best situation afterwards. For me, I’d like to stay busy and fight three or four times a year if possible.”

With a resurgent career, Doerksen feels he has a few good years left in him and sees no reason why he can’t continue on a hot streak and possibly challenge for a title as he moves forward.

“This fight is supposed to be on HDNet, so go check it out,” he closed out. “A big thank you to the fans for supporting me and watching me fight.

“I have a couple more years left and I want to make them count. I want to have good fights, interesting fights, fight that are exciting to watch.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Tito Ortiz wants to crush Mark ‘The Mummy’ Coleman at UFC 106

“I’m gonna crush him. I’m gonna push the tempo like he’s never had the tempo pushed against him. I watched him fight Fedor Emelianenko. I watched how afraid he was to stand with him. Let’s see if he wants to stand with me. I’m not afraid of him. To me he’s more of a mummy and less of a ‘Hammer.’ He started about a year-and-a-half before I started my career, and I see him as a ground and pound specialist. My own forte is to kind of take guys down and ground and pound them. Give the fans what they want to see. That’s what I do.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

A new Thiago Alves back in December

A new Thiago Alves. That’s what the Brazilian Pitbull promises for his UFC return, on December 5. After losing the title fight against Georges St. Pierre, Thiago wants to restart, focusing in a rematch. “You’re gonna see a different Pitbull. You didn’t see my wrestling and my ground game, because I didn’t have an opportunity to use it, and I feel that my career started after this last fight… I grew up a lot as a person and as a fighter, I’m recharged and I’ll get what I want, the belt”, guarantees Alves, who’s rumored to fight Paulo Thiago, but didn’t want to reveal his the opponent. “I’ll fight at December 5… I have an opponent, but I can’t say yet”.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Cigano celebrate his victory against Cro Cop

Until October 25th of 2008, few people knew who Junior “Cigano” dos Santos was. Rodrigo Minotauro’s pupil, the Santa Catarina native went to the UFC with a respectful record, and showed his potential in just 81 seconds. Dropping the former Pride fighter Fabrício Werdum, who had never been knocked out before, Dos Santos started to appear between the tops, but needed one more victory to confirm that wasn’t joking around on UFC.

After knocking Stefan Struve (UFC 95) out in 54 seconds, Junior was scheduled to fight the Pride legend Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, one of the biggest names on sport’s history. “He’s really tough! I knew he was really tough, that’s why he’s Cro Cop, but I was really confident on the work we made“, reveled the Brazilian, that had the fight on his hand from the start to the end, and made what more than 30 fighters couldn’t do: make Cro Cop give up. “Was really tough, but I knew I could win“, said in exclusive interview with TATAME.com.

Training beside champions as Anderson Silva and Rodrigo Nogueira, Cigano was confident to the fight. “I’m really happy, the work went well, thanks God. I’m on USA for two months, away from family, working hard to make a good fight and put my rhythm up there... Now it’s just happiness. I’m really happy with my performance there“, celebrates Junior, that wasn’t surprise when the Croatian tried to take the fight to the ground.

“I expected that, when things got hard for him, he would try to take me down, and I was well trained on the ground, but I didn’t want to stay there. I defended the takedowns very well and I fell on top, then he got up really quickly. I preferred the fight standing, where I was felling ok“, reveled. “They (UFC) liked a lot, were really happy with the fight. Now, probably they’ll put this kind of fights, and even bigger fights, and I expect this. There are a lot of good people, Velasquez, Lesnar, but I can’t and I won’t want to choose opponents. Whoever they put it’s excellent“, guarantees, calm, when asked about a title shot. "I have no rush to fight for the belt, but this is the consequence of the work and we’ll get there“.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Fighters make weight at Sengoku 10th Battle official weigh-ins in Japan (Updated)

All 22 fighters competing in Wednesday's Sengoku 10th Battle event have made weight for the show.

The event takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and airs in North American on HDNet.

Headliner Hiroshi Izumi, a Judo champion, weighed 205 pounds (93 kg) for his pro MMA debut. Opponent Antz Nansen, a veteran kickboxer and fellow MMA newcomer, tipped the scale at 204.1 pounds (92.6 kg).

Co-headliner Antonio Silva bulked up for this fight and a likely return to the U.S. following the expiration of his suspension for a 2008 drug suspension. He weighed 270 pounds; opponent "Big" Jim York weighed 253.1 pounds.

The full results included:

* Hiroshi Izumi (93 kg/205 lb) vs. Antz Nansen (92.6 kg/204.1 lb)
* Antonio Silva (121.1 kg/270 lb) vs. Jim York (114.8 kg/253.1 lb)
* Jae Sun Lee (76 kg/167.6 lb) vs. Makoto Takimoto (75.3 kg/166 lb)
* Ryan Schultz (69.5 kg/153.2 lb) vs. Kazunori Yokota (69.8 kg/153.9 lb)
* Ryo Kawamura (92.4 kg/203.7 lb) vs. Fabio Silva (91.6 kg/201.9 lb)
* Dan Hornbuckle (74.9 kg/165.1 lb) vs. Nick Thompson (75.9 kg/167.3 lb)
* Joe Doerksen (82.7 kg/182.3 lb) vs. Takenori Sato (83kg/183 lb)
* Maximo Blanco (70 kg/154.3 lb) vs. Tetsuya Yamada (69.9 kg/154.1 lb)
* Baek Woo Hyun (69.8 kg/153.9 lb) vs. Ikuo Usuda (69.8 kg/153.9 lb)
* Shigeki Osawa (64.9 kg/143.1 lb) vs. Kim Ki Hyun (64.8 kg/142.9 lb)
* So Jee Hyun (60kg/132.3 lb) vs. Ryosuke Komori (59.9 kg/132.1 lb)

 

[Shogun Locc]

Vale Tudo Japan 2009! Welterweight Title Fight Set

Now former Shooto Welterweight champion Takashi Nakakura vacated his title today. The reason for the vacation is that he still can’t compete because of the detachment of his retina caused in his non-title fight with Takanori Gomi fight. Which means that he has to vacate the title because he can’t defend it in the time span a Shooto champion has to defend his title after his last defense.

Nakakura thought about retirement before but don’t worry, he’s working toward a return to the ring. He even thinks he can make a comeback in the beginning of next year. His aim is recapturing the Welterweight belt.

To decide the new champion, very promising Brazilian up-and-comer and Shooto South America champion Willamy “Chiquerinho” Chiquerim will take on Japanse Kenichiro Togashi, who is on a two fight winning streak, at Vale Tudo Japan 2009 in October.

Vale Tudo Japan 2009
Date: October 30th, 2009
Place: JCB Hall in Tokyo, Japan

VTJ rules, 65kg, 5×5 mins:
Lion Takeshi vs. Alexandre Franca Nogueira

Shooto Welterweight title fight, 3×5 mins:
Willamy “Chiquerinho” Chiquerim vs. Kenichiro Togashi

Participants:
Takanori Gomi
Rumina Sato

 

[YOUNGNUTT]

RAMPAGE RETIRES!!!

The UFC has done a lot for me but I think I have done more for them. The UFC bought WFA to get my contract & they saved my life, so I felt loyal to them. They pushed me into a fight with Chuck Liddel even when I clearly stated I wasn’t ready to fight for the belt because the American fans didn’t know me but I took the fight and didn’t complain & after I won the American fans booed me for the first time which changed the way I saw them & it hurt me deeply.

Then before I can even get out of the cage they announced that I was fighting Dan Henderson without even asking me. After I beat Dan Henderson, I made history in becoming the first undisputed champion in MMA but was never even given the pride belt in the cage & I was never promoted as the undisputed champ. Later Anderson Silva was.

Then they had me coach TUF season 7 and fight Forrest and the fight was very controversial & normally when a fight is that close & controversial there is normally an instant replay. I can name a couple of instances. Instead they offered me the Vanderlei Silva fight which I gladly accepted even though I know it was a very risky fight for me to take because of all the drama that was happening to me at the time. I fought that fight with a jaw injury and then a couple weeks later Dana called me and asked me to fight Rashad. For the first time I said no, I didn’t want to fight because it was such short notice & I wouldn’t have had a long break between camp. Dana talked me into fighting Rashad anyway but Rashad refused the fight and so I had to fight Jardine as a favor to the UFC instead of getting my belt back (which wasn’t even worth it to me financially).

Then I reinjured my jaw in the fight with Vanderlei & Jardine. Frank Mir gets hurt so they wanted to switch my fight from UFC 100 to the fight Frank couldn’t make it to but I couldn’t fight cause I needed jaw surgury. So they give Machida the fight against Rashad & they told me they want me to coach TUF season 10 against Rashad. That’s why I wanted Rashad to win so bad but when Rashad got knocked out I told them I wanted to fight Machida for the belt but Dana told me if I coach TUF against Rashad that I could fight Machida afterwards cause this was a different type of ultimate fighter show they were doing. After I signed the contract Dana then changes his mind & says I have to fight Rashad & even told me what to say in the press & so my fans think I was scared to fight Machida. After all that I still never complained & I did it all.

Then this movie role came about that I have been trying to get for over a year & as soon as I found out I was close to getting it, I called Dana right away & asked to push the Memphis fight back just a month or so. I told him what this movie role meant to me. I told him that I used to bond with my father watching the tv show as a kid when my parents where still married & it represents the memories I had with my father when we lived together. My dad became an alcohalic & addicted to drugs & we grew apart. But after my dad got his life back together, I was so proud of my dad & I told him I would always take care of him in the future & make him proud of me. My dad & I are still very big fans of the show & I am basically doing this for the childhood memories I had spending time in front of the tv with my dad. Dana went on the internet & mocked me because of that & I still did nothing. Dana & I finally talked & we made up & then after that he went back on the internet & said some bullshit & he was talking bad about the movie when information is not even supposed to be released & talking about payments which is not even true could really hurt my future acting career, which could very well last longer than my fighting career. I’m not like Randy Couture. My body has been getting so many different injuries that I wont be able to fight until my forties & neither do I want to fight that long. So I feel like my second career could be in jeopardy.. so I’m done fighting. I’ve been getting negative reviews from the dumb ass fans that don’t pay my bills or put my kids though college. So I’m hanging it up. I’m gonna miss all my loyal fans but hopefully they’ll follow me to my new career & I will gain more loyal fans along the way. & all you hater fans out there can kiss my big black hairy ass! & anybody that don’t like what I just said can come try to kick my ass!

I still feel the UFC is a great organization and I felt like I was very loyal to them but they didn’t respect my loyalty but I wish the UFC the best. I did a lot of things for them. I wish no bad blood between us but I have kids & a family back in Memphis to provide for & thats all that matters to me!

 

[Shogun Locc]

COUTURE: VERA FIRST, MACHIDA NEXT?

UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture says he’s game for a quick turnaround against Brandon Vera.

The dust had just barely settled on Couture’s “instant classic” with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 102 when another opportunity knocked. The promotion’s eighth trip to the United Kingdom, UFC 105 on Nov. 14 in Manchester, was without a main draw.

“They asked me if I’d be willing to step up and fill the spot,” Couture told MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday. “I talked to my team, and evaluated the turnaround and how I was feeling after the Nogueira fight, and it made sense, so we jumped back in.”

Initially, the UFC offered Rashad Evans as an opponent for the UK event, but Evans held fast to a fight with fellow “Ultimate Fighter” coach Quinton Jackson, who passed on meeting him at UFC 107 for a role in the movie remake of “The A-Team.” The two are expected to meet early next year.

Couture felt the Evans match-up was interesting, but was equally intrigued by a meeting with Vera.

“I like the match-up,” said Couture of Vera. “We’re both the same size, he’s a good size light heavyweight as well. He fought at heavyweight for a while. We both have Greco background. He uses his Thai skills a lot in his fights. It’s a good match-up and it’s an interesting fight.”

Vera, who fought alongside Couture on the main card of UFC 102, notched his third victory as a light heavyweight with a decision victory over Krzysztof Soszynski. Once considered a top contender in the heavyweight class, Vera dropped to 205lbs. after consecutive losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum. Like Couture, he maintains a walk-around weight around 220lbs.

Couture, who showcased a diligent study of the stand-up game in his performance against Nogueira and, earlier, Brock Lesnar, hinted that he would return to the ground and pound style that’s defined much of his career.

“I haven’t had a chance to break down tape on him yet, but just the fights that I’ve seen, I’m gonna have to work and cut him off,” said Couture. “I know he’s good at throwing kicks, high or low, so I’ve got to be prepared for that, but I think every time he picks his foot up, I should be able to transition and put him on the ground.

“I think I’m gonna focus more on what I do and do what I do well: just take guys down and put him on the bottom and force him to work from there. Brandon’s gonna come out and try to establish his range and land his long punches and kicks, and I’ve got to be ready to deal with that, and make him pay—put him on the ground every time he does.

“I’m not worried about the style match-up. He is what he is. Obviously, I’ve been in there with a lot of good strikers and done well. I don’t think he uses his wrestling skills much, and I think he’s going to be forced to use them here.”

Couture signed a new seven-fight contract with the UFC that began with UFC 102, and anticipates staying at light heavyweight for the near future, though heavyweight opportunities are still possible.

“I think this fight will put me in the mix at 205,” he said. “Ultimately, I’d love to compete against Machida. Nobody’s really seemed to solve that puzzle yet, and I’m very intrigued by him and his style.”

Machida has been the talk of the division since his title-winning performance at UFC 98, with many observers, including Couture, pondering how to defeat the Brazilian’s unorthodox, Karate based style.

“I think I have wrestling abilities that he maybe hasn’t seen yet, that could make his usual game plan and his usual style a little more difficult,” said Couture of a possible meeting with the champion.

For now, though, Vera is the challenge ahead. Couture is currently in Wyoming shooting a television special on archery hunting for deer and antelope. He plans to begin camp next Wednesday at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and says his partners will remain in-house.

Couture has not had such a short gap between fights since May 2001, when he negotiated a return to the UFC at UFC 31 with new owners, Zuffa LLC, after a contractual dispute with previous owners Semaphore Entertainment Group.

As to whether the Vera fight is an indicator of a busier fighting schedule, Couture says he will take it a fight at a time, as always.

“I’ve been fighting once, maybe twice a year,” he said. “I’m certainly capable of that schedule. I can do more. I can do three. I’ve done four before, but that’s pushing it, in my opinion. It’s more about the match-ups, taking it one fight at a time, and evaluating things when the opportunities present themselves.

“We’ll see what the UFC has and what’s interesting after this fight, if it’s at heavyweight or light heavyweight, I don’t think it’s an issue either way.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Chad Mendes, War Machine, Joe Soto head MMA's return to Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino

Mixed martial arts action returns to the birthplace of the WEC and Palace Fighting Championship.

The debut event for the newly formed Tachi Palace Fights, entitled "Most Wanted," takes place Oct. 8 at Tachi Palace Hotel & Casono in Lemoore, Calif.

Rising prospect Chad Mendes headlines the event, while former "The Ultimate Fighter 6" cast member War Machine and Bellator champion Joe Soto also feature prominently on the evening's main card.

After a successful five-year run by the WEC in Lemoore between 2001 and 2006, Palace Fighting Championship ran several well-attended mixed martial arts and hybrid events at Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino between 2007 and 2009.

PFC promoter Christian Printup recently halted that organization's operations, and Tachi Palace elected to create its own promotion rather than partner with an existing organization.

The new organization will be regulated by the California State Athletic Commission despite the event taking place on Tribal land. The new organization will also utilize five-minute rounds instead of the three-minut frames utilized by the PFC.

The organization's first event will include:

* Mike Joy (7-4) vs. Chad Mendes (4-0)
* War Machine (10-2) vs. David Mitchell (7-0)
* Joe Soto (7-0) vs. TBA
* Phil Collins (7-4) vs. Leopoldo Serao (15-7)
* Ulysses Gomez (3-1) vs. Martin Sandoval (4-1)
* Poppies Martinez (16-5) vs. Rolando Torres (4-7)
* Mike Martinez (4-2) vs. Steve Ramirez (7-5)
* Tito Jones (6-3) vs. Michael McDonald (7-1)
* Jessica Rakoczy (0-0) vs. TBA

 

[Shogun Locc]

Tyson Griffin fine with waiting on teammate, but he'll fight Gray Maynard, too

After an impressive win over Hermes Franca at this past Saturday's UFC 103 event in Dallas, Xtreme Couture lightweight Tyson Griffin (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is once again being discussed in the always-deep lightweight title picture.

While that's good news for Griffin, the bad news is that his teammate, Gray Maynard, also had an impressive performance this past week at UFC Fight Night 19 on Wednesday.

Following his win on Saturday night, Griffin said he was just fine letting Maynard get first crack at the UFC's lightweight belt. But Griffin also said he's not afraid to face his training partner if necessary.

"If Gray got the title shot (first), I'd be happy for him and I'd help him train for it," Griffin told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). I'd train with him to win.

"As far as fighting teammates, it's kind of an unwritten rule that it happens for titles."

While Griffin said he wouldn't back away from a bout with Maynard if it were for the title, don't mistake that statement for a challenge of his teammate.

"If it happens, it happens," Griffin said. "Other than that, the weight division is stacked. There's tons of other guys that we can fight if the title's not on the line."

Griffin has now won six of his past seven lightweight contests. The win over Franca was Griffin's first finish of an opponent in eight trips to the octagon and just the second time the Brazilian has ever been finished.

And Griffin took the fight despite Franca only cutting down to 159 pounds at Friday's official weigh-ins.

The lightweight insisted he wasn't upset at being forced to accept a catchweight contest or risk losing an opportunity to fight.

"No frustration at all," Griffin said. "I come professionally, and I come on weight. I come ready to fight. I found out early he was off weight, and they asked me if I was still willing to take the fight. I told them, 'Yeah.' So, no frustration at all.

"If anything, it might have hurt him. If he couldn't make weight, he might not have been in shape."

It's the type of attitude that UFC president Dana White loves to hear from his fighters, and the exec did little to hide his admiration fro Griffin at the conference.

"You hear all the answers he had?" White asked. "Were those not the best answers ever? Teammates will fight teammates if it's for the title. He'll take the fight even though he's overweight. The best."

 

[B-Buzz]

Anyone staying up to watch Sengoku tonight? I don't have shit to do tomorrow so I'm gonna try to find a stream. Hornbuckle-Thompson fight should be dope and I haven't seen Bigfoot fight in forever. Fucking Guida told me he lost his foot in a motorcycle accident a couple months ago lol

 

[B-Buzz]

Sengoku live stream

Just about to start, they're doing all the intros now. The place is empty :\

 

[killahoe666]

link?

 

[B-Buzz]

it's hyperlinked lol. Click Sengoku live stream.

Pretty good so far, 3 fights 3 finishes. Hornbuckle's the real deal.

 

[killahoe666]

lol I didn't snap but I got it right after I asked yeh hornbuckle looked real good in that fight hopefully I can stay awake to watch the rest

 

[B-Buzz]

That was pretty badass, felt like I was watching old Wand after Fabio did the wrist roll and had all the chute boxe guys in his corner yelling AYYYYYY.

Nice, Schultz is fighting next.

 

[killahoe666]

yeh that was nice Fabio looked impressive and dominant

 

[B-Buzz]

intermission's finally over. I made some pizza and had a couple glasses of wine lol. They announced some fights for 11, Omigawa vs. Hioki which is fucking weak, Hioki should be fighting Kanehara for the title. Jorge Santiago said he'll be fighting and wants a good opponent. Gono said something about being pissed that people were happy to see him get KO'd by Hornbuckle at 9 and has never been in that role, and he'll be fighting at 11. King Mo vs. Randleman...
Oh wow, they just announced that 12 is going to be on NYE. Guess they really are going head to head with Dynamite. Ishii and Yoshida are in the ring, did a little smack talk. It said Sengoku Raiden Championship so I dunno if that's going to be the name of the event or what.

takimoto-lee fight had some pretty slick grappling and judo throws.

Time for Bigfoot vs. Big Jim, finally... Man Bigfoot is agile as shit for how big huge he is. Sub skills too lol, Big Jim got owned. Wonder if Silva's gonna fight Barnett or come to the states. Should be sweet either way.

main event. lol Izumi looks like the fatass baby of Mach and Joe Daddy.

Antz said he's only practiced grappling for 3 weeks. Pure rape by Antz, Izumi tried to stand with him lol.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Sengoku 10th Battle results: Hiroshi Izumi's debut spoiled, Antonio Silva wins again

Any hopes World Victory Road had that Olympian Hiroshi Izumi would make an immediate impact in the MMA world were dashed today when the Judo standout suffered a first-round TKO loss to fellow MMA newcomer Antz Nansen.

Antonio Silva, meanwhile, picked up his sixth consecutive victory with an efficient first-round submission victory over Jim York.

The two fights co-headlined Sengoku 10th Battle at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

WVR officials had grand expectations for Izumi, Japan's 2004 Olympic silver medalist. However, as Nansen, an accomplished kickboxer from New Zealand, began unloading a series of punches in the night's headliner, Izumi made the ill-advised decision to stand and trade.

Nansen (1-0) successfully mixed in punches and kicks and tagged his opponent high and low. One punch, though, connected flush and knocked Izumi's legs out from under him. After hitting the mat, Izumi (0-1) attempted to defend and fight back, but Nansen's continued assault and heavy right-left combination ultimately forced the TKO stoppage.

The referee halted the bout at 2:56 of the first round.

Silva's victory wasn't quite as smooth, but the former EliteXC heavyweight champion produced the win nearly as swiftly.

After Silva's initial takedown attempt sent York to the mat and out of the ring, the referee forced a restart. York, who had posted 10 consecutive victories via stoppage until a loss to Yoshihiro Nakao in 2008, popped his opponent with a solid right. Silva (13-1), though, again forced the fight to the mat, quickly improved his position and passed guard, and then locked in the arm-triangle choke to force York (11-3) into submission.

The tap-out came at 3:51 of the first round.

In other action, Sengoku veteran Kazunori Yokota (10-2-3) picked up his fourth win in five fights with a vicious knockout of former IFL champion Ryan Schultz (20-12-1). Yokota knocked out his opponent standing and sent Schultz crashing to the mat in a violent matter. The loss, which came at the 2:31 mark of the first round, was Schultz's third straight.

Picking up his 17th win in 18 fights (and ninth straight via stoppage) and building off the momentum of an August victory over Akihiro Gono, Don Hornbuckle (19-2) used a dominant first round to set up a convincing assault in the second to stop MMA veteran Nick Thompson (38-12-1). Hornbuckle's onslaught was stopped only when Thompson suffered a gash on his forehead, which required a quick examination from the ringside physician. Once cleared to continue, Hornbuckle quickly put the finishing touches on the performance and stopped Thompson with punches at 1:30 of the second round.

In middleweight action, former UFC fighter Joe Doerksen (43-12) nearly stopped Takenori Sato (9-6-5) in the opening minutes of their bout but ultimately settled for a second-round TKO due to strikes. The referee's stoppage came at the 4:27 mark. Since a string of three losses in the UFC and WEC in 2008, Doerksen has now won four straight.

The full Sengoku 10th Battle results included:

* Antz Nansen def. Hiroshi Izumi via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 2:56
* Antonio Silva def. Jim York via submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 1, 3:51
* Makoto Takimoto def. Jae Sun Lee via unanimous decision
* Kazunori Yokota def. Ryan Schultz via first-round KO (punch) - Round 1, 2:31
* Fabio Silva def. Ryo Kawamura via second-round TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 2:28
* Dan Hornbuckle def. Nick Thompson via second-round TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 1:30
* Joe Doerksen def. Takenori Sato via first-round TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 4:27
* Maximo Blanco def. Tetsuya Yamada via second-round TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 1:12
* Ikuo Usuda def. Woo Hyon Baek via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 4:59
* Shigeki Osawa def. Ki Hyun Kim via unanimous decision
* Jae Hyun So def. Ryosuke Komori via unanimous decision