MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Inside Lyle Beerbohm's Undefeated Record

Undefeated records in MMA just don't last. Boxing, where prospects are built up for years by promoters who hand them easy opponents, has scores of competitors who stay undefeated through their first 10, 20 or even 30 professional fights. But in MMA, that's not the case.

So when you see a fighter with a record like Lyle Beerbohm, you want to take a closer look. Beerbohm will put his undefeated record (the second-best record among all active MMA fighters) on the line Friday night against Pat Healy at the Strikeforce Challengers event in Cedar Park, Texas.

We'll take a closer look at Beerbohm's undefeated record below.

There are some disputes about what, exactly, Beerbohm's record is. Strikeforce says Beerbohm is 16-0, but it only lists 15 fights in his career summary. Wikipedia lists him as 16-0. Sherdog lists him as 15-0. In 2009 his publicity people sent out a press release calling him 22-0, combined, as a pro and amateur. The discrepancies about his record are a result of sloppy record keeping for his early fights on small shows. But we'll focus on the 15 pro fights listed on his Sherdog record.

The combined record of Beerbohm's 15 opponents is 108-93-2. Beerbohm has mixed in some wins against fighters with good career records (the 20-5 Vitor Ribeiro and the 20-11 Duane Ludwig) with some wins against fighters with very bad records (three of Beerbohm's opponents have never won a fight, and five others are .500 or worse in their carers).

Beerbohm has seven wins by submission. One of those wins was an opponent submitting because of injury. The other six were by chokes: Four guillotines, a rear-naked and a bulldog choke.

Beerbohm has six wins by TKO: Three were the result of punches, two were the result of doctor stoppages and one was the result of elbows.

Beerbohm has two wins by decision. One was a unanimous decision over Ed Nuno, and the other was a split decision, in by far Beerbohm's closest fight, against Ribeiro.

Seven of Beerbohm's opponents failed to make it into the second round. Beerbohm's quickest victory, a TKO over Josh Martin, took 1 minute, 29 seconds. He's also finished opponents in 2:42, 2:48, 3:44, 4:27 and 4:44. One opponent, former UFC fighter Rafaello Oliveira, made it through the first round but couldn't answer the bell for the second.

Beerbohm has fought for 10 different promotions. Friday night will be his fourth Strikeforce fight. He's also fought for Xtreme Cage Combat, EliteXC and Rumble on the Ridge twice each. Each of the following promotions has had Beerbohm in the cage once: Ringside Ticket, Conquest of the Cage, Elite Warriors Championship, Sportfight, King of the Cage and Arena Rumble.

Beerbohm has never fought an opponent with as many wins as Healy. The 25-17 Healy is by far the most experienced opponent Beerbohm has faced, and Healy's 25 wins are the most for anyone Beerbohm has fought. Beerbohm may be in for his toughest test on Friday night.

 

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[Shogun Locc]

Full Event! Road FC 01 The Resurrection Of Champions

Young Bok Gil, remember that name. Maybe the best Korean wrestler to transition to MMA thus far. Straight up beast.

Fights in the order below, starting with Hyo Ryong Kim vs. Soo Chul Kim. Comedian Seung Yun Lee’s MMA debut is taken from an MBC broadcast and not the same broadcast as the rest of the videos. Don’t think the Ui Cheol Nam fight is in there.

Road FC – The Resurrection Of Champions
Date: October 23rd, 2010
Place: Seoul, South Korea

10. Ui Cheol Nam vs. Kota Okazawa
9. Doo Won Seo vs. Akihito Hara ( video 8 )
8. Seung Hwan Bang vs. Daisuke Hanazawa ( video 7 )
7. Seung Yun Lee vs. Jong Woo Park ( video 6 )
6. Seung Bae Whi vs. Shuji Morikawa ( video 5 )
1. Sang Il Lee vs. Jae Hoon Yu ( video 5 )
5. Duk Young Jang vs. Yuki Yamasawa ( video 4 )
4. Woo Sung Yu vs. Keigo Hirayama ( video 3 )
3. Young Bok Gil vs. Jaral Bowman ( video 2 )
2. Hyo Ryong Kim vs. Soo Chul Kim ( video 1 )

 

[Shogun Locc]

‘Formiga’ Ready for Another Challenge in U.S.

Unbeaten in his MMA career, Jussier da Silva is set to return to the cage of Tachi Palace Fights this Friday night at TPF 8 “All or Nothing.” Widely considered the best flyweight in the world, the 25-year-old Brazilian will face Ian McCall, a veteran of WEC, in one of the most anticipated fights on the bill. With the event also featuring a promotional flyweight title fight between champion Ulysses Gomez and challenger Darrell Montague, “Formiga” might be one step away from a title shot.

The coach of the 125-pound beast, Jair Lourenco, recently spoke to Sherdog.com about his fighter’s challenge.

“Jussier’s training was pretty intense and diverse, since for this fight, we had over two months to prepare the perfect time for him to be 100 percent for the day of the fight,” said Lourenco.

“Ian McCall is a good wrestler. He likes to throw a right cross and go for the legs, and then, when he gets the takedown, usually works from half-guard to enforce the ground-and-pound. So, we worked a lot on takedown defense, both standing and against the fence, and I believe he has good balance and takedown defense well established,” Lourenco added.

In Da Silva’s December stateside debut, he won a unanimous verdict over another WEC veteran, Danny Martinez. The Natalense fighter dominated the first two rounds, but slowed in the final frame and struggled with Martinez’s elbow attack, something new for the Brazilian who had not fought under the unified rules before.

Accordingly, Lourenco says that Formiga has been working hard on all the basics and will be ready for any situation that might happen in the fight.

“We trained a lot with Jussier on his back, always looking first for the submission, which is his forte, and to sweep or stand if he can’t do the first option,” Lourenco said. “However, Jussier has an excellent boxing trainer, Netinho Pegado, father of Renan ‘Barao,’ who has been doing a very good job, greatly increasing Formiga’s knockout power.”

Lourenco was also keen to stress Da Silva’s work with strength and conditioning coach Thiago Macedo in transforming his fighter. Since December, Da Silva -- who daylights as a motorcycle delivery man in his home of Natal -- has intensified his training, as he’s slowly getting the chance to live as something more closely resembling a full-time fighter.

Lourenco expects to see another victory for his fighter, but is already looking forward to a potential future when his charge can join other Nova Uniao standouts in the UFC.

“Jussier is the first in the world in his division, which is another Brazilian on top of another category in the MMA world,” commented the Nova Uniao Kimura leader. “Unfortunately, the division it is still not as recognized and valued as others, but we hope that one day he enters the UFC; it would be a dream come true in the life of Jussier.”

 

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Greg Jackson: Arlovski Doesn’t Have a Weak Chin

Andrei Arlovski suffered his fourth straight defeat Saturday, but trainer Greg Jackson remains hopeful that the former UFC heavyweight champion can still get his career back on track.

“I think he’s going to come back a better fighter,” Jackson said recently on the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show. “You have to remember I’m a diehard optimist. It’s really hard to discourage me or tell me it shouldn’t be done or it can’t be done. I’m a guy that I think I know what to do to fix it. I’m going to try everything I can to do that.”

Arlovski was knocked out in the first round of his Strikeforce heavyweight matchup against Sergei Kharitonov. Jackson explained that Arlovski followed the game plan initially but then veered away from it.

“He kind of hesitated standing in front of [Kharitonov] and was grabbing around the neck and doing stuff that we hadn’t planned,” Jackson said. “For me, that’s part of the learning process. It didn’t go our way because we made some fundamental mistakes that we weren’t supposed to make. Of course you don’t want to stand in front of Kharitonov no matter who you are. He’s got bombs in either of those hands of his. We were doing very, very well following the game plan and we kind of had a lapse.”

One major criticism of Arlovski is his chin. However, Jackson disagreed that his fighter’s ability to take a punch is the issue.

“He got hit really hard by ‘Bigfoot’ Silva as well. He was taking some hard shots and was able to weather that storm,” Jackson said of the May 2010 decision Arlovski dropped to Antonio Silva. “He lost the decision of course, but still, he took some shots and was able to hang in there. It’s just these guys that he’s fighting, if you make one mistake with any of them, you’re going to get eaten.”

In Jackson’s view, Arlovski is consistently making the same mistake. The trainer did not go into particulars, but he said he has a beat on it now.

“I’m really identifying the mistake. It went a little deeper than I thought it did,” Jackson said. “Identifying that mistake and changing what we do there is going to be a big, important factor. I don’t think he has a weak chin. I think he’s fighting in a heavyweight division where these guys would knock down a house if they hit it.”

Jackson, who began working with Arlovski some before the Silva fight, is recognized by many as the top trainer in the sport. He believes Arlovski can still be one of the top heavyweights as well.

“I really learned a lot about Andrei and what we need to change and do differently,” Jackson said. “I don’t discourage easily. I want to go right back to the drawing board and attack what I think we need to attack to make him a better fighter.”

 

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Ex-UFC lightweight Dan Lauzon stabbed outside Boston-area nightclub

Dan Lauzon is recovering today after being stabbed in the shoulder following an altercation early Thursday morning outside a Boston-area nightclub.

An initial report from the "Enterprise News" states Lauzon was stabbed with a knife on the top of his shoulder during a fight with a group of men in the club's parking lot at around 1 a.m. ET.

Lauzon's name subsequently was removed from the report, but his older brother, current UFC lightweight Joe Lauzon, confirmed the incident via his personal blog.

Joe Lauzon was due this morning to depart for Iraq to visit active-duty troops. He injured his ankle on the way to Bridgewater Hospital where Dan was taken after the incident.

"I got to the hospital and gimp-walked my way into the ER and found Dan in one of the rooms," he wrote on his blog. "Luckily, everything was OK, and it wasn’t a big deal as was originally thought."

Bridgewater police are investigating the incident.

Older brother Joe's trip is now delayed while his ankle heals from what doctors are calling a bad sprain.

"Hopefully I can walk on it better by tomorrow and I can get another flight out there, but it’s not looking real good," he stated. "I definitely won't be able to train out there, but I would still like to be able to do all of the Q&A, meet and greets and whatnot."

Neither Joe or Dan Lauzon could be reached for a follow-up comment, and Dan Lauzon's manager, Joe Cavallaro, was unaware of the incident when contacted by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Dan Lauzon (13-4) most recently fought this past December and earned a second consecutive win in regional competition. He was released from the UFC in mid-2010 following consecutive losses to Cole Miller and Efrain Escudero.

 

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With documentary set to debut, David Loiseau looks for vintage form at TPF 8

David Loiseau believes mixed martial arts is one of the most fan-accessible sports imaginable. Yet, at the end of the day, he knows MMA fans rarely get the full story.

So as the former UFC title challenger and the upcoming Tachi Palace Fights 8 headliner prepares for the debut of a documentary based on his career and teammate Georges St-Pierre's, he's excited to pull back the curtain.

And as Loiseau told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio), the answers to often-asked questions aren't always easy ones.

Loiseau (19-10), once one of the world's top 185-pound fighters, look to get back to the top when he meets middleweight champion Leopoldo Serao (17-7) in the main event of Friday's "Tachi Palace Fights 8: All or Nothing" event. MMAjunkie.com streams the show for free from the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif.

Then, next week is the world premiere of "The Striking Truth," a documentary directed by Stephen J. Wong and Bobby Razak that features Loiseau and fellow Canadian St-Pierre.

Loiseau said he first pitched the idea of the film years before anyone really knew who he and St-Pierre were. But Wong liked the idea, and they began filming in 2006 at UFC 58. Loiseau fought then-champ Rich Franklin in the headliner, and St-Pierre took on legend B.J. Penn in a featured bout.

It was a pivotal time in both fighters' careers.

"It's a documentary but more of a human story," Loiseau said. "It's for everyone, not just MMA fans. It's something that's going to inspire a lot of people. It's not just about fighting. It's a great movie."

With more than four years of footage, including backstage access before the duo's major fights, the film captures all the highs and lows of professional-fighting careers. It also captures two careers that veered into very different directions.

"It came out better than I thought it would," Loiseau said.

At 31 years old, Loiseau's story is far from over. He's won four of his past six fights, but both losses came in one-fight returns to the UFC, where he struggled to reclaim his once-dominant form on MMA's biggest stage. The film captures all that. But though filming is complete, Loiseau's career isn't.

As he hopes the documentary will show, Loiseau can't give an easy answer to what went wrong in those fights.

"The mental game is very important," he said. "It's 80 percent on fight night. So you have to put in the work and punch in the hours in the gym so that mentally everything flows."

And when things go wrong?

"There are always factors that people, fans, don't know about from the outside," he said. "It's not only, 'You lost this fight and didn't let your hands go.' There's strategies, personal issues. There's stuff you guys don't know about. So it's hard to say, 'It happened because of this or that.'

Loiseau tries to explain the point further but interrupts himself, careful not to pin the blame on anyone but himself.

"The fans think I'm not exciting, but," he said before regrouping. "Actually, it is my fault. It's up to me to make adjustments. I take full blame for these losses and performances. That's it. I just need to move forward. I took a good look at me and my career, (and) I just needed to put in the right work at the right places."

Training primary at Tristar Gym with trainer Firas Zahabi, he thinks he's done that for Friday's fight, which is a golden opportunity. While not one of the world's most prominent promotions, Tachi Palace Fights has a strong following and influence in this sport, and it's helped many up-and-comers and seasoned vets go on to big fights elsewhere.

If victorious, Loiseau will claim a belt and further prove to himself that he's meant to be an MMA fighter. After all, he has no plans to quit anytime soon.

"It's my 11th year as a professional, and honestly, as long as God wants me to fight, I'll keep fighting," he said. "I live a clean lifestyle. No drugs ever. No alcohol ever. No partying. I live a clean lifetstyle, and as long as God wants me to fight, I fight."

 

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Lightweights Nik Lentz and Waylon Lowe sign on to UFC Fight Night 24

Takedown artists Nik Lentz (20-3-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and Waylon Lowe (10-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) are the latest additions to UFC Fight Night 24.

The lightweights meet on the event's preliminary card, according to sources close to the event who today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that bout agreements are in place. MMADiehards.com first reported the matchup.

UFC Fight Night 24 takes place March 26 at KeyArena in Seattle and airs live on Spike TV.

A light-heavyweight tilt between Tito Ortiz and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira headlines the 12-deep card.

Lentz most recently took on Tyson Griffin this past November at UFC 123 and earned an upset split-decision win over the lightweight standout. It was Lentz's fourth victory inside the octagon.

Still, the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy product has received stern criticism for a perceived "lay-and-pray" approach to fighting. Prior to the Griffin victory, Lentz met Andre Winner at UFC 118 and took the British fighter down at will in a one-sided (and less-than-explosive) affair. The fight aired live on Spike TV as part of a free "UFC Prelims" special for the Aug. 28 event and drew a series-low 1.1 million viewers.

Lowe, meanwhile, earned a second consecutive win this past month with a decision over Brazilian Willamy Freire in his most recent appearance at "UFC Fight Night 23: UFC Fights for the Troops 2." Much like Lentz, he dominated the fight on the mat, and despite running low on gas in later rounds, he managed to minimize Freire's striking.

Prior to the January fight, Lowe earned a split-decision win over Steve Lopez at UFC 119, which reversed a body-shot KO he suffered against Melvin Guillard in his octagon debut this past May at UFC 114.

The latest UFC Fight Night 24 card now includes:

MAIN CARD

* Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Tito Ortiz
* Dan Hardy vs. Anthony Johnson
* Duane "Bang" Ludwig vs. Amir Sadollah
* Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan

PRELIMINARY CARD (un-aired)

* Alex Caceres vs. Mackens Semerzier
* Jon Madsen vs. Mike Russow
* John Hathaway vs. Kris McCray
* Michael McDonald vs. Nick Pace
* Sean McCorkle vs. Christian Morecraft
* Mario Miranda vs. Aaron Simpson
* Dennis Hallman vs. T.J. Waldburger
* Nik Lentz vs. Waylon Lowe*

* - Not officially announced

 

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Fight Path: With notable trainer, 5-foot-tall Tyler Freeland ready for Tachi debut

The "M word" doesn't go over well with Tyler Freeland.

Especially when there are potential weapons nearby.

"I used to work at the Ranch Club, a bar back home," Freeland said during a recent appearance on MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "These Army guys came in and thought they were big and tough."

Freeland was there with his girlfriend, a friend and the friend's girlfriend. The 5-foot-tall fighter who is preparing to make his professional mixed-martial-arts debut was drinking and having a good time. The visitors had continued comments.

"They kept antagonizing me," Freeland said. "One pushed me and said, 'Hey, midget.'"

Not good.

"There was a pool stick next to me," he said. "I'm hot-headed, so I took this pool stick, and I busted it over the guy's head. [Freeland's friend] was beating the other guy, and when the guy I hit got up, he had a big gash on his face."

Such is the stereotype Freeland has been battling since he started wrestling in junior high school in Boise, Idaho. But the bar story – like others he shared – underline that he doesn't like that certain word, and he has the chops to back up his annoyance.

Now, after 21 amateur fights (and a 15-6 record), Freeland is set to make his pro debut in a 145-pound fight against fellow Las Vegas resident Diego Melendez (0-0) at Friday's Tachi Palace Fights 8 event, which streams for free on MMAjunkie.com. It's a rematch of an earlier fight "Hulk Hands" lost by triangle-choke submission, a weakness for him because of his height.

But with a move to Las Vegas and a stronger dedication to training – twice a day as his full-time job – Freeland is trying to make a successful jump to the professional world while shutting up anyone who uses the "M word."

If his training schedule is any indication, Freeland can handle the punishment. His favorite part? Sparring.

"I love getting hit," he said.

Making a move

Freeland was a wrestler and football player beginning in junior high, but he eventually chose wrestling over his running-back skills and improved.

His connections in that world eventually would lead to a move and a new full-time job.

A friend of Freeland's was a high school wrestling teammate of Johnny Nunez, who is a trainer at the TapouT Training Center in Las Vegas. He got in touch with Freeland.

"He said, 'Shawn wants to work with a little person,'" Freeland said.

With that, Freeland had his invitation to train with Shawn Tompkins at the TapouT facility. He packed up his girlfriend and his daughter and moved to Las Vegas.

For awhile, he lived on Nunez's couch before Tompkins liked what he saw and invited Freeland to move in with him. Freeland was happy to have found a consistent trainer – because he had faced some trainers who didn't want to work with him.

"Yeah, a couple of them, I don't know why," he said. "I guess my stature. A couple did back home, but Shawn was more interested than anybody. That's why I packed my bags and came to Las Vegas."

Now he's working to avenge one of his four amateur losses, which came against Melendez. Freeland remembers it as close for awhile with Freeland getting Melendez to the ground before Melendez put him in the triangle choke.

"I wasn't training at the time," he said. "This time I've been training twice a day for two months straight. He's gonna get the best of this little man."

The stature issue

Some parts of MMA are just simply more difficult for someone of Freeland's size. Some might think he would prefer working on the ground because his arms aren't as long, but Freeland insists he prefers the opposite.

"I love to bang; I love to put on a show," he said. "Even though I'm shorter, it doesn't really matter. I'd rather have the crowd see somebody get knocked out than lay on the canvas, so I've been working with Shawn on cutting the angles to where I can stand up and bang."

He's asked about his height a lot, and he insists he's not the 4-foot-10 many believe he is. He mentioned he measured himself just recently and he was 60 inches (5 feet) and 145 pounds.

He's been skilled enough to earn a three-fight contract with Tachi Palace Fights, which he hopes can turn into a bigger opportunity when those three fights are finished.

In the meantime, Freeland will continue to try proving that his size doesn't determine his skills as a fighter, so he's been training all aspects of the fight game at TapouT.

But, he also knows it's a topic that will be discussed, and it has led to a few fights in the street here and there.

"Some of them in high school, I was suspended a lot," he said. "I have some friends who like to go into the city to drink and chase women, and one night the bar was shutting down. Some guys were all interested, 'This little guy, this little guy.' Then they dropped the 'M' bomb, and that doesn't go well with me."

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC's Mike Brown dealing with hand injury, mystery heart ailment

Times are tough right now for Mike Brown, to say the very least.

The former WEC featherweight champion has lost four of his past six fights and two in a row for the first time since 2004. His future is uncertain and remains on unstable ground due to his recent performances.

Couple that with lingering questions regarding the 35-year-old's overall health after nearly a decade in the fight game, and his career officially has been placed in a quandary.

Winless in 2011, his year got off to a rocky start after a split-decision loss to Diego Nunes on New Year's Day on the preliminary card of UFC 125.

In an attempt to right his wrong, Brown (24-8 MMA, 0-3 UFC) jumped right back on the horse and took a fight with Rani Yahya just 21 days later on the preliminary card of the "UFC Fight Night 23: UFC Fights for the Troops 2" event.

He would suffer the same fate, but this time it was unanimous in the eyes of the judges. In the process, he clearly looked like a shell of his former self in the cage.

"That should be a cakewalk fight for me," Brown recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "Rani Yahya has better jiu jitsu than me, no doubt about it, but I'm stronger and have way better wrestling. I hit harder. It just didn't happen."

To make matters worse, his body began to betray him just as the fight unfolded.

"I tore a ligament in my finger, completely snapped it," he said. "My finger was like a rubber finger bending any which way, any time.

"It was in a scramble early. I don't know if I caught it on him or the cage. I went to grab him, and I couldn't grab him very well. I looked, and my finger was bent the wrong way. My hand was not working properly."

Despite his string of setbacks, Brown refuses to make any excuses as he expects results regardless.

"I can't blame the fight on that (the injury)," he said. "There was a lot going on. It was one of the worst performances I've ever had. It just breaks my heart. I can't even tell you how bad it hurts."

To correct his injured hand, Brown recently had surgery, his seventh career fight-related operation, to be exact.

"I'm in a cast for five weeks, and I need four weeks of rehab," he said.

But that's not all. He potentially could have a bigger, much more serious issue to address.

"I am seeing a cardiologist," Brown said. "It's something to do with my heart rate not being right.

"It happened in the middle of camp. We thought we were overtraining because I was peaking hard, and all the sudden, I started getting more and more tired really quickly. It didn't make any sense. I'd be sparring for half a round, and I was getting exhausted. But two weeks before, I was mowing through everyone in camp."

Although he did experience the same sensation against Nunes, it was even more pronounced in the Yahya fight.

"My body shut down," he said. "I had this weird lactic acid buildup real early. It's the most bizarre thing. It just wasn't me."

Currently, the jury is still out on what exactly has been plaguing him.

Likely empathizing with his current situation, UFC officials decided not to sever ties with Brown after his most recent loss.

The fact that he's a former champion and known commodity, has shown a willingness to fight on short notice on multiple occasions, and competes in a division that is still evolving all helped his cause to a certain degree, as well.

"I was thinking after I lost it was maybe 50-50 (shot of getting released)," he said. "Who knows what they were going to do? I've seen great guys get dropped before. I've had a bad year. I wouldn't have been totally shocked if they dumped me, but I thank them for not.

"(Matchmaker) Sean Shelby and those guys – they like me, and they know something was up. They said, 'Don't worry, Mike. You've got a job. Get yourself together and we'll have you back.'"

 

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Strikeforce: Out Of Dad’s Shadow, Ryan Couture Pushing For Big Year

Ryan Couture’s venture into MMA has been anything but conventional.

As the son of one of the sport’s most beloved and legendary fighters, UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture, Ryan has experienced a level of attention and scrutiny few up-and-coming fighters at the beginning of their careers have endured.

Yet, through it all, he’s adjusted and more importantly, is making a name for himself as a fighter to be dealt with on his own merits.

MMAWeekly.com caught up with Couture as he finalized preparations to face Lee Higgins at Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers 14 in Cedar Creek, Texas, to discuss his career, being the son of an icon, and what lays ahead for his future.

MMAWeekly: Before we get into your upcoming fight, let’s go back to last August and your pro debut win over Lucas Stark. How do you feel about that whole experience?

Ryan Couture: I thought it was a really good experience. It was just like a bigger and better version of my amateur fights. I feel like I had some good practice runs and dealt with some of the media attention – but not nearly on that scale – and I felt like stepping up to that next level went really well.

MMAWeekly: Did you anticipate the level of interest and coverage you ended up receiving?

Ryan Couture: I kind of expected it, just because people are so interested in dad and everything he does. I kind of had a feeling some of that would trickle down. I also had seen the sort of the frenzy caused when Kim (Couture, Randy’s ex-wife) was trying to make a go as a fighter, so I had an idea that I would be catching more attention than people starting out. It kind of exceeded my expectations, but I enjoyed it.

MMAWeekly: You were scheduled to return in October, but had to bow out of the fight due to a staph infection. Was it disappointing, or having been around the fight game so long, had you learn to accept it as part of the sport?

Ryan Couture: I had a lot hard work in and was having a really good training camp up to that point, so that setback was definitely a letdown. At the same time, like you said, having been around the sport a long time, I know those kinds of infections and injuries are part of the game. It was hard to be too beat up over it, but spending the night in the hospital when I was supposed to be in the cage was definitely a downer.

MMAWeekly: Let’s talk about this Friday’s bout with Lee Higgins. What do you think about the fight?

Ryan Couture: I like the way our styles match up. We’re both at our best on the ground and we both like to submit guys, so I think it will be a crowd pleaser. I think whichever one of us gets out of position and gives the other the advantage on the ground is probably going to end up being on the losing end. I’ve just got to make sure I’m sharp and make sure I’m on point with my grappling.

I hope to have the chance to show off some of my striking, I do have an advantage there, but every time I go out there and try to knock somebody out I end up grappling with them anyway.

MMAWeekly: Would you like to have a fight where you just go out and bang with someone and see what happens?

Ryan Couture: I’m not really big on the whole standing there and trading with (my opponents). I’d like to go out there and hit somebody and not get hit. I don’t feel the need to be in a brawl and bang it out with anybody, but I definitely would like to show off the striking that I’ve worked so hard to develop.

MMAWeekly: Is your goal for this year to continue to take it slowly, one fight at a time, or is there a sense of urgency to capitalize on the buzz that surrounds you?

Ryan Couture: At this point, I want to take fights that make sense for where I’m at, where my skills are at, and match up with guys who are a good challenge and help me take the next step towards the fighter I want to be. I’d like to get four fights and four wins in this year and then I think if I can do that I can have a good head of steam going and good momentum to start moving up the ranks this year.

MMAWeekly: Thanks for your time Ryan. Is there anything you want to say in closing?

Ryan Couture: As always a huge thanks to my whole team at Xtreme Couture and Xtreme Couture Management for helping me get in shape and getting all this lined up and making it possible. I want to thank everyone that’s taken an interest in my career and supported me. I urge everyone to tune into Showtime Friday night and check out the fights; it’s going to be a great show.

 

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[Shogun Locc]

Jose Aldo won’t talk trash with Mark Hominick

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will put his belt in line first time against the Mark Hominick, who’s coming from five wins in a row. The belt defense is scheduled for UFC 129, which happens on April 30th, in Toronto, Canada, Hominick’s homeland, and it’ll be broadcasted live by SporTV in Brazil. The Canadian stated on many websites that Aldo have never face a powerful striker as he is and that the Brazilian had only fought grapplers.

TATAME got in touch with the champion to know his opinion about the statement, and Aldo said he doesn’t care about his trash talking. “Oh yeah, what he said is part of who he is, we’ll see it later at the fight. To me, it doesn’t change a thing. I think that all fighters that challenge the champion, always say something, but I’m cool with that. He’s doing his job, and if I never fought a striker like him, we’ll see it in the fight”, said, commenting on his trainings. “The preparation phase is going just fine, I’m on the final phase, finishing all the work in Brazil. My mind is good, I’m motivated, and I ask for the fans to watch my fight”, said Aldo.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Aiming For The Top Once Again! The Fireball Kid Enters ADCC

Takanori Gomi, who seems to be quite determined to turn things around after his last loss in UFC, has been training BJJ recently.

Today he wrote on his blog that he’ll participate in the ADCC Asia Trial 2011 (presented by ISAMI reversal) on February 27th in Japan.

Another interesting thing to note is that when Shinya Aoki read a tweet about Gomi’s participation, he retweeted the tweet, adding: “I wonder if it’s still too late to sign up.”

It seems like February 17th (it’s the 18th in Japan now) was the last day to sign up so he’s a bit late.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Growing Slowly But Surely! Akira Maeda X Vladivostok?

The Outsider recently held a successful 15th event on the 13th.

Their next event will be on May 8th at the 5000 capacity Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium. They plan to hold two events there this year. Last year they held one there and it was the big The Outsider X American Army in Japan X pro MMA org ZST event. There might be a team-up with other pro MMA organizations besides ZST for the May event as well.

Speaking of teaming up with organizations, Akira Maeda has his eyes set on Vladivostok, Russia and bringing in amateur fighters from the Russian army there. He said that he thinks he’s going there after the event on the 13th.

So expect some The Outsider vs. different organization fights in May.

Also, they will do a ranking style system rather than a tournament style system to decide champions this year. They’ll have rankings fights for three events in a row on June, July, and August.

 

[Shogun Locc]

M-1 Challenge Returns to U.S. on March 25

M-1 Global will hold its first stateside M-1 Challenge event of the year March 25 in Norfolk, Va.

M-1 Challenge 24 “Damkovsky vs. Figueroa” will emanate from the Ted Constant Convocation Center on the campus of Old Dominion University. Newly-crowned lightweight champion Artiom Damkovsky is set to defend his title for the first time against 2010 M-1 Selection Americas tournament winner Jose Figueroa in the main event. Broadcast plans for the event have not yet been announced.

Despite entering 2010 with an 0-1 record in the M-1 ring, Damkovsky finished the year as the promotion’s first ever 155-pound titleholder on the heels of four consecutive wins. The 25-year-old Belarusian rattled off a trio of unanimous decisions to win the 2010 M-1 Selection Eastern Europe lightweight bracket, including two straight against Arsen Ubaidulaev, Damkovsky’s semifinal opponent who later replaced injured finalist Alexander Sarnavskiy.

In October, Damkovsky squared off against Western Europe tournament winner Mairbek Taisumov at M-1 Challenge 21 in St. Petersburg, Russia. After two and a half seesaw rounds, Taisumov, who went into the bout on a seven-fight win streak, declined to continue after receiving an inadvertent poke in the eye. Damkovsky earned the upset via technical knockout and joined the inaugural class of M-1 Challenge champions.

Figueroa, a gigantic 155-pounder at 6-foot-3, fights out of American Top Team in Orlando, Fla. The 26-year-old halted a three-fight losing skid -- including a brutal knockout at the hands of current UFC prospect Edson Mendes Barboza, Jr. -- by out-striking Joshua Thorpe in an August M-1 Selection Americas semifinal. Six weeks later, Figueroa won the tournament when opponent George Sheppard retired after receiving two accidental groin strikes.

 

[Shogun Locc]

"UFC Fight Night 23: UFC Fight for the Troops 2" drug tests come back clean

All six fighters who underwent drug testing at January's "UFC Fight Night 23: UFC Fight for the Troops 2" event tested clean for performance-enhancing drugs and recreational/drugs of abuse.

UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner today confirmed the results with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

"UFC Fight Night 23: UFC Fight for the Troops 2" took place Jan. 22 at Fort Hood in Texas, and the night's main card aired on Spike TV. The event raised more than $4 million for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

Main-event fighters Melvin Guillard and Evan Dunham both were screened, as were four other fighters selected on a random basis. Those additional fighters were not identified.

All of the fighters tested negative for drugs of abuse (such as marijuana and cocaine), as well as anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancers. The drug testing was conducted at the UFC's discretion by an unnamed laboratory. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which oversaw the Jan. 22 event, does not conduct pre or post-fight drug testing as a matter of course.

The initial airing of UFC Fight Night 23 scored a 1.3 household rating and an average of 1.85 million viewers. The event also peaked with 2.5 million viewers. The previous "Fight Night" event, "UFC Fight Night 22: Marquardt vs. Palhares," scored an average audience of just 1.2 million viewers in September.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Dave Herman Knows It’s Special To Be in the UFC, But There’s Still Work Ahead

With a 20-2 record, while standing six-foot-five and weighing 240-plus pounds, Dave Herman on paper is a beast that should have a great chance to beat any heavyweight in the sport.

Thought of for the past few years as one of the biggest raw talents in the sport, Herman has fought all over the world for several different promotions. But now he’s starting over again, and that’s okay by him because it means Herman has signed on with the UFC, the biggest MMA promotion in the world.

Herman signed his new deal just a few days ago, and while he’s ready to take on all challengers, he’s not asking for any handouts or special treatment. He’s ready to earn his spot like everybody else.

“I’m looking forward to fighting in the UFC. I think it’s the best way to advance my career at this time. The UFC is the largest and best MMA promotion out there and I am looking forward to being a part of it,” Herman told MMAWeekly.com.

So many fighters feel like they’ve reached the pinnacle just by making it to the UFC, and sometimes it’s that very attitude that leads to their downfall. Right now, Herman is happy that he’s got a new promotion to work for and a place to call home, but that doesn’t mean he’s satisfied by just putting UFC fighter on his resume.

“It does mean something special, but at the same time it’s work,” Herman explained. ” Sometimes you have a good job sometimes you don’t. Regardless it still has to get done.”

Herman has had several jobs in the terms of different promotions over the last few years. He fought for EliteXC before they folded, and had to deal with a falling out with Bellator after signing with them.

Most recently, Herman competed under the Sengoku banner in Japan, but financial struggles have seemingly crippled the once powerful Japanese organization. Several of their top stars have been released recently and are moving onto new places.

Whether it’s EliteXC, Bellator, or even Sengoku, Herman doesn’t hold a grudge against any of his past employers, but he’s happy to be with the UFC now.

“I don’t have any hard feelings towards any promotions out there,” said Herman. “For the most part I feel like I’ve been treated pretty well.”

Training on his own for much of his career, Herman has upped his game to prepare for his UFC debut. He’s started training full-time with Team Quest in Temecula, Calif., alongside former UFC middleweight contender Dan Henderson and his stable of fighters.

While currently rumors have him facing British fighter Rob Broughton in his UFC debut, Herman is happy to face any and all challengers because in the long run he knows he’ll have to fight them all anyways.

He’s just ready to become a top heavyweight by facing the top heavyweights.

“There are a lot of good heavyweights in the UFC right now. Hopefully, I can jump into the mix and be one of them,” Herman commented.

He did mention one distinct difference about fighting for the UFC as opposed to some other promotions, however.

“I really don’t have anyone in particular I would like to fight. It is kind of nice knowing about a fight two or three months in advance instead of two or three weeks though,” Herman said.

If the current timeline is correct, Herman will make his UFC debut in June at UFC 131 currently set to take place in Vancouver.

 

[Shogun Locc]