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No Elbow Strikes, Internationally-Inspired Card Make For Stand-Out Event By Loretta Hunt With some of the most accomplished lightweight fighters ever assembled in one place, along with a gathering of eight hungry (and hefty) heavyweights, the official EUPHORIA MFC weigh-ins, held today at the Tropicana Casino & Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey were a parade of talent from wall to wall. With Russia, Brazil, Japan, Spain, Norway and the United States all represented, EUPHORIA made good on its promise of international cross-over competition when all 16 tournament fighters, as well as 4 alternates, made their required numbers today under the New Jersey Athletic Control Board's watchful eye. It took less than fifteen minutes to weigh all of the participants in, while matchmaker Miguel Iturate quickly progressed into the rules meeting. Possibly hoping to get any consternation out of the way quickly, Itturate announced EUPHORIA's own amendment to the Unified Rules Of Combat currently observed the NJACB: Elbow strikes, including forearms, will not be allowed standing or on the ground at any time. Citing that the move(s) created too many fighter lacerations at the last EUPHORIA event and that numerous promotions like HOOKnSHOOT, SHOOTO and the AFC have also adopted this philosophy, Iturate visually demonstrated the foul multiple times for emphasis.
"I don't pay anybody enough money to go home with 25 stitches," Itturate answered patiently but firmly to some mild protests from fighter entourages hearing of the rule amendment for the first time. Tomorrow nights competitors, however, made no quarrels having been aware of the alteration for some time: it was stipulated in the contracts they signed to fight. It is an especially optimum situation for the Russian and Japanese visitors, whose MMA systems have also disallowed elbow strikes. However, for fighters like Travis Wiuff, a wrestler who actively uses elbow strikes on his hapless opponents, it will be an adjustment and, more importantly, a loss of a weapon. "I do use them a lot, and it's actually been hard in my training to resist the instinct to use them," Wiuff honestly commented. "I think it will be okay though. I use them most the time I'm in side mount, but I've been working in punches there." In addition to the "no elbows" topic, fighters were especially verbal regarding the "No kicking of a downed opponent" regulation, with both Hansen and Kotani asking for verification on the rule in various demonstrated scenarios. Kotani actively utilized the translator provided him, while Hansen's English was surprisingly accomplished enough to easily keep up on his own. Beyond the formalities today, the fighters were united in their feelings of excitement and pride that they are participating in a unique outing for the sport. Heavyweight Jeff Monson was well-supported in his thoughts that this cross-over event is the natural transition MMA will take in America. "I think that it will continue to happen because the audience, the crowd that follows MMA," Monson explained. "It will just become more of an interest to them because then they get to see fighters that they normally wouldn't get to see." As for the weights… The Lightweights For the alternate match of tomorrow night's proceedings, Team Quest wrestler Ryan Schultz seemed to make weight effortlessly today at 154 pounds, after beginning his MMA career as a welterweight before dropping classes to take last year's high-profile Superbrawl tourney. Wide-eyed opponent David Gaona, a S.H.O.O.T. Spain rep, came in the lightest of all at 149 pounds. Schultz is a scrappy ground-and-pounder with a haphazard air about him fans will surely love, while Gaona remains an X-factor in his U.S. debut. Hermes Franca was well-supported by his Brazilian Top Team brothers, which included former UFC middleweight champ and current PRIDE fighter Murilo Bustamante among the ones who came out to see their newest addition weight in on the dot at 155 pounds. One can't help but wonder will mean a more polished Franca emerging against opponent and fellow UFC veteran Phil Johns, who came in respectively at 154 pounds himself. There were no lollipops or Krispy Kremes in hand for Yves Edwards today, whose high-calorie stage antics have become a staple at UFC events. The Texan "Thugjitsu" master looked a tad sluggish yet remained high-spirited as he stepped onto the scales at 155 pounds exactly. Opponent Naoyuki Kotani will have quite a task ahead of him in striker Edwards, especially since the Japanese ZST star hasn't taken punches to the head on the ground as per the ZST promotion's guidelines. "It's not a problem I don't think," the reserved fighter said through his translator. "On a regular basis, I've been practicing with punches. The ground fight is kind of my forte, and I'd like to fight with somebody in that style. I believe he is going to be tough, but I'm going to persist." A wild-maned HOOKnSHOOT veteran Henry Matamoros weighed in at 154 pounds today, a late replacement last week when Alberto Crane dropped with injuries. Experienced veteran opponent Rich Clementi had expressed his disappointment last week in losing the original man he had trained the last two months to meet, but showed no hesitancy today as he came in at 156 pounds. (NJACB officials waived the pound allowance.) Matamoros was the most outgoing of the bunch, donning a bright green T-shirt that had the word "Fighter" crossed out on it, and the word "Lover" written in below it. He quipped "I'm more handsome," taking pictures with Clementi in their staredown, while his poised Louisiana opponent retorted, "But I punch harder," for a round of laughs from the room. Coming off ACL and hernia surgery, Matamoros says he is looking to make some waves at the next level after moderate success in mid west events. "They should have put me in [in the first place]," the confident Costa Rican purred, "because I'm going to beat the shit out of everybody. This is my tournament." Team Scandanavia and former SHOOTO champion Joachim Hansen rang in at 152 pounds, while returning 5'11" Red Devil super-striker Sergei Goliaev was a lanky 152 pounds A quick tally of his American counterparts revealed they all gunning for Hansen and his talents. "Most of the best fighters in the world are in my weight class," commented a relaxed Hansen of the competition. "It's going to be hard." Of opponent Goliaev, who he saw for the first time today, the 5'7" Hansen added, "He's a tall guy and strong. I try not to make so much of what my opponent is like, because then you give him a character and go in the ring and it might be very different then what you were expecting." The Heavyweights Moving to the other end of the spectrum, heavyweight alternates Ben Rothwell and Jonathan Wiezorek came in at 263.5 and 264 pounds respectively. Rothwell is yet another Miletich prospect looking to breakout. Wiezorek will be looking to redeem a less than stellar performance versus Wade Shipp at UFC 46. By proxy of familiarity and an impressive 16-fight winning streak, Travis Wiuff has been deemed the "hometown" favorite going into the four brackets tomorrow. Wiuff weighed in a lean 233 pounds on the scales, while his Red Devil adversary Ibagrim Magomedov came in at 244 pounds. "Honestly, I don't think I'm the favorite," the always humble Minnesotan said. "A lot of them [Wiuff's last opponents] were not at the caliber that these guys are at. It's just nice to know that this wasn't short notice. I've had a lot of time to prepare so I feel ready." Magomedov is warranted a heavy hitter, who won three fights in one night on route to the Russian M-1 heavyweight tournie victory last year. Touted as Canada's best heavyweight, Ulisses Castro has a win over Dan Severn to his credit. Today, he came in at 250 pounds, while experienced Superbrawl, Extreme Challenge, UCC, and RINGS foe Kerry "Meat Truck" Schall weighed in at 261 pounds. American Top Team member Jeff Monson weighed in at 239 pounds today, while last minute replacement and local Philadelphia fighter Pat Stano was two pounds heftier at 241. A strong wrestler who enjoys his ground game, Monson has undoubtedly seen more competition than his fellow grappling-heavy opponent. The final pair to weigh in, Red Devil returnee Roman Zentsov came in at 227.5 pounds while Ruas Vale Tudo rep Antoine Jaoude was a mere 2.5 pounds lighter. Boxer Zentsov has spent the last seven months training with teammate Emelianenko Fedor and has been rumored to have shown marked improvement in overall technique. Although, he lacks in ring time, Jaoude has just completed a successful Greco-Roman wrestling run on the mats at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. |
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