MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Bellator Fighting Championships hits Oklahoma four times in upcoming fourth season

Bellator Fighting Championships hasn't visited Oklahoma since it taped two shows on night during its first season, but the promotion is now set to make up for lost time.

Bellator officials today announced the company will the Sooner State four times in it upcoming fourth season.

The selected venues include the Lucky Star Casino in Concho, Okla., for Bellator 37 and Bellator 42, as well as the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Okla., for Bellator 40 and Bellator 43.

"It's great to visit locations where fans love MMA and Oklahoma is one of those places," Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney stated in today's official release.

Both venues have previously held multiple MMA events, including multiple contests under the C3 Fights banner. Rebney credited the C3 Fights promotion for assisting in securing the venues for the season four events.

"We are happy to be working with Howard Pollack and his team at C3 Fights to bring our MTV2 MMA tournament events to Oklahoma fans four times in 2011," Rebney stated.

The promotion visits Lucky Star Casino on March 19 and April 23 for Bellator 37 and Bellator 42, respectively, while it treks to First Council Casino on April 9 and May 7 for Bellator 40 and Bellator 43, respectively.

The promotion has yet to announce any contests for any of the four newly confirmed dates.

Bellator's fourth season features eight-man tourneys in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and light-heavyweight divisions. Each winner gets $100,000 in total pay and a guaranteed title shot.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Evans opens as near 2-to-1 favorite in potential rematch with "Rampage"

It may only be potential matchup at this point, but oddsmakers are ready to start taking real money.

With multiple reports that UFC 130 may host a rematch between former UFC light heavyweight champions Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, oddsmakers aren't waiting for an official announcement to start the wagering action.

Noted MMA oddsmaker and frequent MMAjunkie.com Radio guest Joey Oddessa today confirmed the initial line with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). Evans opens as a -185 favorite while Jackson is a +155 underdog.

Currently, Jackson is still slated to face Thiago Silva at UFC 130, though several reports have suggested Silva could be pulled from the contest in favor of Evans. Oddessa's initial line is conditional upon the fight taking place before June 27.

The opening number lies in stark contrast to the wagering line for the pair's original 2010 meeting, when Jackson remained the favorite from the opening line until the opening bell.

"The UFC 114 number for the first fight between the two opened in February 2010 with Jackson as a -150 betting favorite, and the line was bet down early," said Oddessa, who provides line-movement updates at Twitter.com/mmaodds. "After all the media days and appearances, the UFC did a tremendous job in selling the fight as a pick 'em bout, and the line closed with Jackson as a slight wagering favorite."

The -185 line means oddsmakers are giving Evans an approximate 65 percent change of winning. "Rampage" is an approximate 40 percent favorite. (Due to the nature of sports wagering, the two figures don't add up to an even 100 percent.)

After a much-ballyhooed buildup to what was largely a one-sided affair in their first contest, Oddessa said he expects the UFC's promotional materials to focus more on Jackson's third-round assault rather than Evans' controlling game throughout the remainder of the fight.

"I expect all the preview shows to show the devastating shot Jackson caught Evans with in round three of their first encounter – and focus on the revenge angle – making the potential rematch appealing to fans while building support for Jackson among bettors," Oddessa said. "Coming off his win against what I felt was a flat Machida, partnered with Rashad's reluctance to fight a teammate, Jackson should have the makings of an even fight on paper, anyway."

But while Oddessa considers the fight even on paper, he's not so sure it will play out much differently in the octagon than the pair's initial meeting.

"I said in first meeting between the two that Rashad Evans would not lose a single round," Oddessa said. "I was almost dead wrong, as he was as close to asleep as one can get in a three-round fight despite winning three-quarters of the 15-minute fight. But despite the layoff, I think Evans will do the same this time around. The judges may find a mercy round to give to Jackson, but 'Rampage' has a long camp and a little weight battle ahead of him before he steps into the octagon."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Alan Belcher Back in Training, Looking at Summer Return to the UFC

The long road back for Alan Belcher finally has a light at the end of the tunnel. The UFC middleweight has returned to training and will return to action this summer.

Belcher’s manager, Malki Kawa of Authentic Sports Management, says that he is back in training and looking to step back into the Octagon in June or July.

“Absolutely, Alan’s going full speed ahead,” Kawa said about Belcher’s progression.

The fact that Belcher is fighting at all now is somewhat miraculous. Prior to his scheduled fight in September 2010 against Demian Maia, Belcher suffered an eye injury while training in Brazil that not only almost cost him his career, but nearly cost him his eyesight.

Will and determination have never been a problem for Belcher, and after getting the good news after a second surgery was performed on his eye, he knew he’d be able to resume his fight career in 2011.

“If I start back hard in January, it’s probably going to take me a little while to get back in fight shape. I want to have a good base under me before I accept a fight, but once I do it will be on,” said Belcher when speaking with MMAWeekly after he was cleared to train again.

“Whatever is soon, but when I’m ready. As soon as I’m ready.”

It looks like that timeline has been determined and Belcher is back in training now, but making sure that when he officially returns to the UFC he is in top form.

Prior to being sidelined with the injury, Belcher and reeled off back-to-back wins in the UFC and hopes to build on that when he finally gets back in the summer.

There are a number of challenges ahead for the Mississippi based fighter, but with his career resurrected, Belcher is ready for anyone.

 

[Shogun Locc]

 

[Shogun Locc]

Toronto Set On Making UFC 129 A Sell-Out

The Ultimate Fighting Championship set the North American mixed martial arts attendance record at 23,152 when Georges St-Pierre defeated Josh Koscheck at UFC 124 on Dec. 11, 2010 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Canada came through for the MMA juggernaut once again, with UFC Fight Club members reportedly snapping up more than 40,000 tickets to UFC 129, the promotions Toronto debut, in a special pre-sale on Thursday.

The original configuration for the Rogers Centre called for a setting for 42,000 seats for UFC 129. Sportsnet.ca’s Joe Ferraro, however, on Thursday said that UFC officials released more tickets, likely setting the stadium up for a final configuration of somewhere around 45,000 seats.

Thursday’s UFC Fight Club pre-sale in and of itself obliterates the record set at UFC 124. There is an additional pre-sale event set for Friday for UFC newsletter subscribers before tickets go on-sale to the general public on Saturday.

It appears fans in Toronto are set on a sell-out for UFC 129, where Canadian Georges St-Pierre will attempt to defend his UFC welterweight title against Jake Shields.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Fabricio Werdum Interview

 

[B-Buzz]

this is gonna be so awesome.

 

[$migg Cant Rap]

Freddie Roach: St-Pierre vs. Silva is the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather of MMA

Count boxing guru Freddie Roach among those who can't wait to see UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre (21-2 MMA, 15-2 UFC) fight middleweight champion Anderson Silva (27-4 MMA, 12-0 UFC).

After watching boxing's biggest fight go the way of the dodo bird, the trainer, who's been a fistic consultant for both champs, thinks it's the biggest possible draw for MMA.

"It's Pacquiao-Mayweather in MMA," Roach told UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan on this week's episode of "UFC Ultimate Insider." "It's one guy going up in weight to fight the bigger and better – supposedly better – guy."

Roach, who's trained some of boxing's biggest stars including multi-division champ Manny Pacquiao, knows about the heartache that comes with lost opportunity. After endless months of rumors about a possible megafight between Pacquiao and welterweight champ Floyd Mayweather, he gave an interview this past November in which he said the fight would never happen.

To see a meeting of MMA greats in their prime must be a small consolation.

At this point, the 50-year-old Roach said he has a closer relationship to St-Pierre. The welterweight champ sought him out as he prepared for his sixth title defense at UFC 124 against Josh Koscheck, and later asked Roach to be his cornerman (Roach declined due to prior commitments).

Roach marveled at the discipline St-Pierre brought to the table during their work together and predicted a left hook knockout of Koscheck. (No such luck for St-Pierre, though he broke Koscheck's orbital bone in the first punch of the fight and dominated the standup action en route to a unanimous decision.)

It's been more than a year since Roach worked steadily with Silva, though his time with the middleweight champ certainly left an impression.

"Anderson is a better boxer at this point," Roach said.

But while Roach believes St-Pierre is somewhat of an underdog, he thinks he might be able to change that.

"There's some things I've learned about Anderson that I think I can help Georges with," he said. "Because I've worked with [Anderson] closely, and Anderson is a very clever fighter."

So clever, in fact, that Roach thinks Silva has often mailed it in during his long reign as middleweight champion.

That won't be an issue for this fight, he added.

"That's one fight I don't think you have to worry about Anderson not getting up for," he said. "He will get up for [St-Pierre]. Because he doesn't always get up for fights like talented people do at times. Sometimes it comes so easily and natural to them that they get a bit lazy.

"But for that fight, I expect both guys to be at their best. Georges is stronger physically and can rough him up on the inside. Anderson's more of a technician and knows distance. Distance is the key to that fight."

Now, it's just a matter of St-Pierre getting past Jake Shields (26-4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC 129, which takes place April 30 at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Roach will have to cool his jets until then.

seagal>roach. you're going down, pierre. you're going down.

lol.

 

[$migg Cant Rap]

this is gonna be so awesome.

maaaaan, it sucked when he died.. big loss to the sport.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Elder Freire Joins Bellator Lightweight Tourney

Patricky Freire will join his brother, Patricio Freire, in Bellator's upcoming series of tournaments, as the elder “Pitbull” was officially announced by the promotion on Friday as a participant in its fourth-season lightweight tourney.

The promotion made the announcement Friday morning via press release. Having competed exclusively in Brazil during his five-year professional career, Freire will make both his Bellator and his U.S. debut in 2011. Freire rides a three-fight winning streak heading into the tournament.

“I’m very anxious to show fans in the United States what I'm capable of,” said Freire in the press release. “Ever since I was a kid, I've always wanted to fight at a really high level, and now I will with Bellator. I have always trained and fought very hard, and now it's time to test myself in deeper waters.”

Six combatants have now been confirmed for the lightweight tournament. The once-beaten Team Nogueira representative joins Olympic judoka Ferrid Kheder and former WEC champion Rob McCullough, among others, in the lightweight draw.

As with all of Bellator’s eight-man tournaments, the fighter who is able to win three consecutive bouts will be awarded $100,000 in total pay and become the No. 1 contender for Eddie Alvarez’s title. Season four begins with Bellator 35 March 5 and will showcase all four welterweight quarterfinals. Bellator's fourth-season events will be broadcast live on MTV2.

Freire's younger sibling, Patricio, was a finalist in the promotion's second-season featherweight tournament, falling to current Bellator king Joe Warren by split decision at Bellator 23. Now he will have another shot at capturing Bellator gold in Season four, as the younger Freire joins the likes of Wilson Reis and Georgi Karakhanyan in the tournament field.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Lapsley Replaces Injured Carl in Bellator Lightweight Tournament

King of the Cage veteran Anthony Lapsley will step in for an injured Steve Carl to compete in Bellator's season four welterweight tournament.

The promotion announced the change to the talent pool on Friday morning via press release. Lapsley joins Jim Wallhead, Rick Hawn, Lyman Good, Chris Lozano, Brent Weedman and Dan Hornbuckle in the tournament field, and “The Recipe” will now meet Strikeforce veteran Jay Hieron in the first round.

“Jay is actually a fighter I've always enjoyed watching; I just never thought I'd have the opportunity to fight him,” said Lapsley in the press release. “It's going to be a war. It's going to be a war because I'm going to make it a war. He's been on some big shows and fought some really tough guys, but it's my turn now.”

The welterweight tournament begins on March 5, as Bellator 35 emanates from the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif. The main draw, which will feature all four welterweight quarterfinals, will be broadcast live on MTV2. The winner of the tournament will be awarded $100,000 in total pay and a shot at current 170-pound king Ben Askren.

A submission specialist, Lapsley holds 13 of his 19 career victories by tap out. The 30-year-old began his professional career in 2006, rattling off seven straight wins before running into former WEC contender Carlo Prater in 2007. Lapsley made his Bellator debut in 2009, choking out Ryan Williams at Bellator 7. The Hoosier rides a four-fight winning streak heading into his bout with Hieron.

“This is what I've been waiting on my entire career. I've been waiting for the opportunity to make some good money, for one, and also to finally get the recognition I deserve,” said Lapsley. “I've been through my struggles and ups and downs, but I feel like I'm ready to take it to the next level and make it happen for the family. Winning this tournament is going to change my life, and change my kids' lives.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Zoila Frausto vs. Karina Hallinan non-title fight could make Bellator 35's broadcast

This past week, MMAjunkie.com broke the unfortunate news: A non-title fight between 115-pound champion Zoila Frausto (10-1 MMA, 4-0 BFC) and Karina Hallinan (3-4 MMA, 0-0 BFC) would be part of Bellator 35's preliminary card.

With all four of the opening-round bouts from the season-four welterweight tourney filling the main card, Frausto and Hallinan had been tapped the "headliner" of the untelevised preliminary card.

But as expected, Bellator CEO and Chairman Bjorn Rebney today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) the women's fight could make the night's MTV2 broadcast if any tourney bouts end early.

"And we expect some of them to end early ... with those finishers," Rebney said.

Bellator 35, which kicks off the organization's fourth season, takes place March 5. The Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif., plays host. The California venue also is home to Tachi Palace Fights, which will assist in booking the night's preliminary card.

Rebney and other Bellator officials wanted Frausto on the card because of her local drawing power. The California native is expected to help make the 1,500-seat venue a quick sellout.

The women's bout actually marks a rematch of Frausto's first-ever pro fight. Back in early 2009, she scored a close split-decision win over Hallinan at a regional show in California.

In 2010 Frausto won Bellator's season-three women's tourney, which also made her the organization's first female champion. Her tourney run, which only came about after she upset Rosi Sexton in a season-two fight and took her spot in the eight-woman field, included decision wins over Jessica Pene and Jessica Aguilar. She then scored a major split-decision upset of then-undefeated Megumi Fujii (22-0) in the finale.

Frausto, who also twice competed under the Strikeforce banner (and suffered her only career defeat to upcoming title challenger Miesha Tate), now has won five straight fights.

Hallinan, who also made her pro debut in that close 2009 loss to Frausto, won three of her next four pro fights, and the lone loss came to notable Carla Esparza. The former Team Quest fighter and current Greg Jackson-trained competitor recently suffered back-to-back submission losses in the New Mexico-based Evolution Combat Sports Championship organization.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Daniel Cormier: Strikeforce Heavyweights Top UFC Heavyweights

The Strikeforce heavyweight division may be the deepest weight class the promotion has, and it’s exemplified by the upcoming Grand Prix kicking off this weekend in New Jersey.

With 8 of the world’s best heavyweights in the tournament, several top flight up and comers are also slotted in as alternates should someone get injured in the 3 round tournament format.

Proof of the strength of the division is the fact that one of Strikeforce’s best heavyweight prospects isn’t even in the tournament, or currently slated to appear in one of the alternate bouts. Undefeated American Kickboxing Academy fighter Daniel Cormier won his last fight over Devin Cole in early January, but most likely because of timing hasn’t been slotted in as an alternate for the heavyweight Grand Prix yet.

Cormier isn’t sure when he’ll be back in action just yet, but he believes this weekend’s card in New Jersey could play a crucial part in that decision.

“I think I’m in a position now where a lot of the things that goes on this weekend is going to determine what my next step is,” Cormier told MMAWeekly Radio. “Maybe a guy coming off of one of those alternate bout wins, or maybe a guy coming off one of those alternate bout losses is an opponent that fits in to what I’m doing right now in terms of the way my career’s progressed.

“Progression is another step up, one of these guys they see fit to make an alternate in this tournament, maybe I take on a winner of one of those reserve bouts.”

While Cormier would be happy to take an open spot in the heavyweight Grand Prix if Strikeforce made that call, realistically he understands that because of the alternate bouts already set up for this weekend, he’s not likely to get the shot.

Either way, he’s ready to step up to the challenge if they ask him to fill in.

“I think it’s getting to a point in my career where I’m going to have to,” Cormier said about facing the best in the heavyweight division. “You have to put out the opportunities put out in front of you. The thing is though I would be so far down the list of reserve people.”

Cormier did however take a look at the murderer’s row of heavyweights already in the tournament, and he’s absolutely impressed.

Cormier is also a main training partner of UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, who is currently sidelined by a shoulder injury, but even his teammate admits that the winner of the upcoming Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix will be considered the top big man in the sport.

“With the injury and the time off and dare I say level of competition that (Cain is) fighting and the guys in this tournament are fighting, it’s not a stretch to say the guy that wins this is the No. 1 heavyweight in the world,” Cormier commented regarding the heavyweight division.

“These 8 guys, when you look at these 8 guys versus the top 8 guys in the UFC, I’m thinking Strikeforce wins a lot of those fights. The majority actually.”

Fans may not get to see some of those dream match-ups, but they will see a slew of other top fights when the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix kicks off this weekend. As for Cormier, he’ll be watching and waiting to get the call on which heavyweight is next on his hit list.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Fedor Well Prepared For Strikeforce Return, Will His Mystique Follow?

“Fedor is a legend and to be a legend you have to beat a legend. And I’m ready to be the best heavyweight in the world.”

That is Antonio Silva’s take on his next opponent, Fedor Emelianenko. The two meet in the main event of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva, one of two World Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bouts, on Saturday night in New Jersey.

“Fedor is the best, so this is the top of the food chain. For me, this is the final and I will give it all I have to make this happen,” said Silva. “This is my dream and I’m going to beat the legend and I’m going to be a legend.”

Such praise isn’t usually reserved for a fighter coming off of a loss. Nevertheless, that praise is being heaped on Fedor, even though seven months ago, he tapped out to a Fabricio Werdum submission. It was the first time in 35 career fights that Fedor found himself in such a position.

The Fedor mystique may have taken a hit, but the Russian fighter has the opportunity on Saturday to minimize the damage. And if he goes on to win the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, he will likely have restored his legend to full strength.

Fedor, however, does not see the fight with Silva, or the tournament, with such perspective. That’s not how he operates.

“Nothing has changed for me (since the loss to Werdum). I train just as I’ve trained before. It just so happened that I had made an error in the previous fight, so in training I have just worked on trying not to make that same mistake again,” he said of his preparations for Silva. “For me nothing has changed inside of me and I still have the same beliefs. I just want to train harder for the next fight.”

That’s not to say that he wouldn’t appreciate another shot at Werdum, who is also one of the eight fighters that make up the Grand Prix field, but he’s not looking past Silva either.

“I’m ready and prepared to step into the cage against Fabricio at any time. It’s something that I’d very much like to do. In regard to Antonio, he’s a very tough opponent, a very dangerous opponent,” said Fedor.

“We’ve never fought before, so I’m very happy that we’re getting the opportunity to fight. I really don’t think that I should be fighting anyone else and I’m just going to fight whoever they want me to fight.”

That’s nothing out of character for the stoic Russian. Fedor is not a fighter built in the spotlight or on pretense. He’s a fighter that has put himself in uncomfortable situations, both in and our of the ring, believing that discomfort makes him the fighter he is today.

“When I train in the mountains in remote areas, I train in the high altitude where it’s very cold – even near freezing. It just makes the entire training process that much more difficult, which I believe is beneficial because if I can get through it then I’ll be that much better for it.”

Everyone around him is watching to see if the Fedor “The Invincible” will return when he steps into the cage on Saturday night, but not Fedor. He just keeps his same even demeanor, preparing the best that he can, leaving the fight and his future in the hands of his faith.

“I’m training hard and whatever happens, after that is up to God, but I’m training hard and I look forward to performing.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Wanderlei Silva challenges Vitor Belfort: “Where are you running to?”

When UFC came to Brazil for the first time, in 1998, Wanderlei Silva debuted on the event, but was defeated by Vitor Belfort. After that fight, Wanderlei reached the top of the world on Pride, but never got his so dreamed rematch. With Vitor’s loss to Anderson Silva, on UFC 126, “The Axe Murderer” proposed the challenge, on a phone talk with TATAME. “And now, where are you running to?”, asked Wanderlei. “I’d give him the number one (on the line to fight me) easily, I’m challenging him … I want him”. It’s up to you, Dana White and Joe Silva.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Former WEC champion Paulo Filho fights rising prospect in Brazil

Recife will be the stage for a huge MMA event on April 29th. Announcing the official card, the International Fighter Championship will have as its main event of the evening the bout between the experienced Paulo Filho, former champion of WEC and former Pride star, and the young prospect Ronny Marques. But that’s not all. There’ll also be the international challenges: Gregor Gracie against the Argentine Mariano Hinojal, and names like Ronys Torres, Rodrigo Artilheiro, Mario Soldado and Claudia Gadelha are also confirmed.



COMPLETE CARD:



International Fighter Championship

Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Friday, April 29th of 2011



- Renato Castro vs. Luis de França;

- Claudia Gadelha vs. Beta Tavares;

- Marcos Vinicius vs. Rony Jason;

- Caio Magalhães vs. Erick Wanderley;

- Mario Soldado vs. Reneer Forte;

- Cassio Jacaré vs. Rodrigo Artilheiro;

- Ronys Torres vs. Filhão;

- Thawã Ril vs. Carlos Prate;

- Gregor Gracie vs. Mariano Hinojal;

- Paulão Filho vs. Ronys Marques.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Anderson Silva Opens As Odds On Favorite In Potential Megafight Against GSP

UFC President Dana White has called it a legacy fight.

Most fans call it a dream match-up.

Just about everybody is anticipating that at some point in 2011 we will see UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva defend his belt against current UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

The fight is next on deck if St-Pierre is able to get past Jake Shields at UFC 129 on April 30. While the former Strikeforce middleweight champion will have a big say in if the fight ever actually materializes that doesn’t mean people aren’t already anticipating the potential megafight.

BetUS.com and other sportsbooks have already listed the fight among their futures betting odds, listing Anderson Silva as a -190 favorite against St-Pierre as the +155 underdog.

It’s not a surprise to most that Silva would be a favorite considering his establishment at 185 pounds and his current 14-fight win streak, with four of those coming against past UFC champions. He also likely jumped out to an early lead on the betting side of the sport against St-Pierre due to his first round drubbing of Vitor Belfort at UFC 126.

The odds being released are just another indicator that a Silva/St-Pierre fight is on everyone’s mind even though it hasn’t even been made yet.

If it does happen this year, the fight could go down as the biggest in MMA history, but for now it’s just a fantasy match-up with Jake Shields aiming to turn everyone’s dream fight into a nightmare.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Imada Joins Bellator Lightweight Draw

Two-time lightweight tournament finalist Toby Imada will return to the Bellator cage for season four.

The promotion announced Friday morning Imada's official participation in its third lightweight tournament via press release, making seven fighters now set to compete for $100,000 in total pay and a shot at Bellator lightweight king Eddie Alvarez.

An announcement verifying Marcin Held's participation in the tourney is expected shortly.

Imada, perhaps best known for his award-winning inverted triangle submission over Jorge Masvidal in the semifinals of season one, has twice made it to the finals and been turned away both times. In Bellator's inaugural tournament, Imada was choked out by Eddie Alvarez. One year later, he suffered a split decision loss to Pat Curran in the finals of season two.

“I'm a little annoyed. I have a little bit of a mean streak going on right now, a little more of a fire under my butt this time around,” said Imada in the press release. “I'm definitely going to be meaner and more aggressive. I'm ready to go out there and give it my all. I'm tired of being the guy that comes up short and doesn't live up to what people expect from him. I'm going to give it all I have this time around, believe me. I'm going to be mean.”

Imada has won 12 of his last 14 contests, competing in King of the Cage as well as the WEC. The judo black belt has 40 career bouts to his credit and has finished 17 of his 26 career victims by submission.

“Winning this tournament would be the pay off for all of the sweat and sacrifice I have been putting into this sport for years and years,” said Imada. “It would be a pay off for all of the different things that have annoyed and aggravated me in my career on my way to that point.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Tuff-N-Uff streams live tonight; Farra and MMAjunkie.com's Morgan broadcast

Las Vegas' premier amateur MMA promotion returns this weekend, and a pair of legendary academies face off in a team vs. team battle featuring some of the nation's best up-and-coming fighters.

"Tuff-N-Uff: The Future Stars of Mixed Martial Arts" returns to the Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas tonight with "Xtreme Couture vs. Team Quest II."

In addition to the three-bout team series – which Xtreme Couture won in the two schools' first meeting – the promotion also features a lightweight title fight between current champion and Striking Unlimited product Dustin Chevalier and 10th Planet Riverside's Sean Bollinger.

The night's 15-bout card broadcasts in its entirety on GoFightLive.tv. MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and "MMA:30" host and X107.5 FM radio personality Dave Farra have once again been hired to call the action.

Widely recognized as one of the sport's premier amateur fighting organizations, Tuff-N-Uff's tournaments continue to attract top talent from across the nation.

In addition to the evening's featured contests, a full lineup of aspiring amateur fighters from some of the world's top academies, including Cobra Kai, Drysdale/Hyena, Gladiator Training Academy, Jackson's MMA, Rough House and Team Suffer, also compete at the event.

Tuff-N-Uff has seen the likes of Shonie Carter, Jon Fitch and Aaron Riley compete under its banner, and recent entrants include the famed bloodlines of the Couture and Mir families.

Tickets for tonight's Tuff-N-Uff's Jan. 7 event, which start at just $25, are available at the Orleans Hotel & Casino's box office or online at OrleansCasino.com and TuffNUff.net. The pay-per-view stream, which runs just $9.99, can be purchased at GoFightLive.tv.

The evening's full card includes:

* Champ Dustin Chevalier vs. Sean Bollinger (for lightweight title)
* Jamie Hernandez vs. Jerry Shapiro
* Craig Cook vs. James Lanham
* Jesse Bowler vs. Ramon Hernandez
* Tori Adams vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith
* Brandon Morris vs. Milan Zerjan
* Jimmy Blakey vs. Tyler Jeppesen
* Carlos Garcia vs. Jeese Romero
* T.J. Cunanan vs. Emily Peters-Kagan
* Chris Alvarado vs. Eddie Velasquez
* Cesar Campos vs. Denny Prokopos
* Chris Hererra vs. Shane Johnson
* Colton Bowler vs. Steve Ramirez
* Joey Gomez vs. Alesio Velasquez
* Manny Murillo vs. Scott Rosa

 

[Shogun Locc]

Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Dark Horse – Shane Del Rosario

…Fedor Emelianenko. Alistair Overeem. Fabricio Werdum. Josh Barnett. Andre Arlovski….

Some of the biggest names in MMA’s heavyweight division have been assembled for the Strikeforce World Grand Prix. Some are calling the tournament a throwback to the glory days of the PRIDE Fighting Championships. It all starts on Saturday February 12, when Emelianenko, arguably the greatest fighter in the history of the sport, faces off against the mammoth Antonio “Big Foot” Silva. However, just like Rocky Balboa got his one-in-a-million chance against champion Apollo Creed on screen, a largely unknown fighter may just get the chance to crash this party of heavyweight greats. On the undercard to Fedor vs. Silva, up-and-coming heavyweights Shane Del Rosario and Lavar Johnson will fight for the opportunity to be an alternate in the Grand Prix should one of the headliners gets injured.

Del Rosario, the 28-year-old Orange County, CA native who may get this chance of a lifetime, is far from a typical mixed martial artist. Unlike many fighters of this generation, Del Rosario did not grow up watching UFC 1 and idolizing Royce Gracie. “I was more the kind of person to just go out and do it instead of watching it,” he recalls. Growing up near the beach in Dana Point, Del Rosario surfed and played basketball as a youth. On a whim, he and a bunch of friends in high school started training with UFC pioneer Marco Ruas. After getting his psychology degree at UC Irvine, Del Rosario had to make a choice: go to graduate school or give the fight game a shot.

In 2005, just as the sport was starting to explode thanks to The Ultimate Fighter, Del Rosario made the decision to join Colin Oyama’s fight team with friend and fellow fighter, Rob Emerson. Oyama, veteran trainer who had worked with the likes of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Tito Ortiz, concentrated on his young protégé’s stand up skills, eventually guiding Del Rosario to his first belt, a WBC Heavyweight title in Muay Thai. But as his ground game developed, thanks to Jiu-Jitsu coach and BJJ champion Giva Santana, Strikeforce came calling and signed the heavyweight prospect. Now, the undefeated fighter is on the cusp of stardom. The possibility of competing with some of the all-time great heavyweights is no longer just a dream.

However, the road to this golden opportunity was not an easy one. In a 2009 fight against Brandon Cash, Del Rosario was blasted by a huge right hand within the first 20 seconds of the bout and on the brink of a crushing knockout defeat. “That was definitely my toughest fight. I thought he double-legged me. I didn’t know I got dropped with a punch.” But he was able to weather the storm and eventually submit Cash with an Omoplata. “I learned that I can take a punch and that I can relax and do my thing (on the ground). Just because you’re a good striker, that doesn’t mean you’re not going to get hit,” says Del Rosario.

But before he can get to that next level, he must face another fighter on the brink of stardom: Johnson, who just happens to be Cash’s teammate. “We’re kind of in the same position. I’m 10-0 and I think he’s 13-3. He’s a big guy and he’s got a big right hand,” Del Rosario states, referencing the fact that, at 240 lbs., he is considered by many to be a “small” heavyweight. “I’m quicker and have better footwork than most heavyweights,” Del Rosario states when talking about what advantages he brings to the table against larger opponents. “I want to fight like a lighter weight guy. One of my teammates and coaches, Romie Adanza, I always try to mimic him. He fights at like 118-127 (lbs.). If I can do that at the heavyweight level, I’m going to pose a lot of problems for a lot of heavyweights.”

Does a fighter like Del Rosario, with just a fraction of the experience of some of the big-time names in this tournament, have a chance to win it all? If he gets by Johnson this Saturday, we may just find out.